The iconic Arizona Biltmore Resort hosted composer Irving Berlin while he wrote "White Christmas." (azcentral.com)
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Editor’s note: Tony Grossi is an analyst on the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
(Throughout the Browns regular season, I join my travel partner, Delta Airlines, in giving our followers a feel for the cities we’ll visit in 2019.)
PHOENIX
Arizona always has been my favorite getaway destination.
The best weather, best natural terrain, best golf, best variety of restaurants at any price range.
I’ll take a mountain hike over the beach most any day; coyotes and roadrunners over alligators every day.
In the 1980s, I thought Hi Corbett Field in Tucson was almost heaven.
For us snowbirds, leaning back with a cold beer, shirts off under the desert sun, watching the Cleveland Indians train in the early spring while the Air Force Thunderbirds from nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base streaked across an eternally cloudless blue sky … well, that couldn’t be beat.
The Browns first played the newly relocated St. Louis Cardinals in Phoenix in the 1988 season. I remember it as Bernie Kosar’s first game after a career-changing elbow injury in that season’s opener. Soothed by a radiant day, Kosar threw the ball 43 times for 314 yards and three touchdowns, signaling an important comeback.
Over the years, my many trips to Arizona have included visits to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Saguaro National Park and many terrific golf courses unique to the desert southwest.
On the occasion of the Browns’ game against the Cardinals, I took the recommendation of a long-time sportswriter friend and visited Desert Botanical Garden – with a twist.
Instead of strolling the 140 acres of botanical gardens and five scenic trails in daytime, I waited for the conversion to Las Noches de las Luminaria – a nighttime festival of sparkling holiday lights, live music, drink and food.
This has been a holiday tradition for over 40 years in Phoenix. The centerpiece of this year’s edition was more than 1,000 colorful-lit sculptures of frogs, meerkats, bears, wolves and rabbits along with 8,000 twinkling luminaria bags. They made for spectacular sights along the Garden’s trails under the desert’s pitch darkness.
Upon entering, you were greeted by The King’s Carolers, a quartet that belted out the traditional Christmas carols.
Inside the Garden, the wide variety of live music included a contemporary Spanish Guitar twosome, a Latin America Christmas act, a reed ensemble performing classic Christmas songs and, my favorite, a band called Traveler, which was a combination of high-energy violin and rock influenced by Gypsy, Middle Eastern, Greek and Turkish music.
This was quite a pleasant setting to enjoy a peaceful night of holiday entertainment.
Although there were food stations and a full-scale restaurant available, we retreated to dinner at Avanti, a long-time haunt of NFL owners that once featured the Art Modell Cobb Salad on its menu.
Avanti is a just a few miles from the iconic Arizona Biltmore Resort, which hosted the Browns on this trip and has hosted NFL owners meetings on a regular, rotational basis.
The Frank Lloyd Wright sandstone block landmark has an impressive legacy of hosting U.S. presidents and serving as a playground for Hollywood celebrities. Clark Gable honeymooned there.
Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas” while sunning at one of the hotel’s magnificent pools.
What’s not to like about Arizona?