Anthem, Arizona (Phoenix)

I arrived in Phoenix, Arizona around 8 o'clock, but I didn't experience much of the city because my friend and old coworker, Harv, lived 30 minutes north in a small unincorporated town called Anthem. Harv, his wife Leslie, and his two sons moved here last year from Escondido. I'd been meaning to come out and visit, so I figured my road trip would be the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

The interesting thing about Anthem is that it's a community developed by Del Webb. Webb was a famous developer, and former Yankee's owner, known for developing communities for ideal active adult lifestyles. Although most of his communities were for seniors 55 and up, Anthem seemed to be available to any age group.

Upon driving to the community from Phoenix, you'd think that there would be nothing to do, or you'd have to commute a long distance just to get your groceries. The surrounding area is nothing but desert, but when you get to the center of the town there's plenty of shopping areas and community facilities to keep you busy the entire day.

The community is pretty self contained. Only a few blocks and you can run into your favorite franchises. Like most suburban communities, Anthem comes fully equipped with a Walmart, Target, HomeDepot, Denny's and anything else an average suburbanite could need. The whole time I was there, I didn't feel the need to visit Phoenix. For some reason my experience here reminded me of the Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes exhibit I experienced at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.

The best part about Anthem was the activity complex located in the center of the community. Inside the complex was a fully equipped gym, with an aerobics room, full sized basketball court, and rock climbing wall! Outside was an eight lane lap pool with diving boards, and a water park with two snakelike water slides. The best part? It's all free! For home owners of course.

My time in Anthem was more spent in leisure than in exploration. I didn't feel like doing anything other than swim in Harv's pool and soak up the sun. Which is mostly what I did. It was a good break from all the traveling.

Tomorrow I head back home to San Diego to bring this two and a half month journey to an end.