My Chick-fil-a Saga

This may or may not be another story that gets long and drawn out, but the people who I've told in person have enjoyed it (I think!). When I arrived in Arizona, I had been there for approximately 22 minutes (after getting off the plane, giving big hugs to Amy, Josh, and Daynah, and getting my luggage) we were pulling onto the first road of my Arizona experience when I very loudly and excitedly and animatedly exclaimed, "YOU HAVE CHICKFILA IN ARIZONA!!!!!!!" To which Amy very calmly replied, "I had hoped you wouldn't notice that Chick-fil-a." I think at this point I might have still been exclaiming in my head. This might have had to do with the fact that it was 4:22 Arizona time (5:22 Peoria time) and I had not had a meal since about 10:30am. Alas, we did not stop at Chick-fil-a.

Now, I should probably side-note this story by stating that Amy, Daynah, and Josh have only eaten at Chick-fil-a once and that was when we drove down to Georgia and I made them stop at the first Chick-fil-a we spotted from the highway. To say that my family does not share my love of Chick-fil-a would be an understatement, and will become more and more evident as this story becomes even longer! :)

I arrived in Arizona on Tuesday afternoon. That evening there was a Christmas party at Sunshine Acres.

Wednesday am: It is decided we should eat at Chick-fil-a for lunch (I think Amy might have been thinking we should just get it out of the way quickly! :) ) She googled the Chick-fil-a's in the area. Now, they have lived in Arizona since September and couldn't even name where one was located. I was a little devastated and thinking of adopting a new family, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they have been kind of busy and they don't eat out much.

Wednesday noonish: We finally get ready to head out to our location, but have to pick up Josh from choir practice first. As we were leaving choir practice we notice a maintenance vehicle outside of the house. The refrigerator had been on the blitz and they had requested a new one. So, we drive back to the house...an hour later, we're all hungry and head back out to find the Chick-fil-a. As we turn down the street, we start looking for that wonderful sign, only to realize that the empty, forlorn building we see is where the Chick-fil-a used to be. Sigh. After some debate, we decide we are too hungry to look for the next Chick-fil-a and we head to Chili's instead.

Wednesday pm: Another Christmas party.

Thursday am: We decide to head to Tempe marketplace. There was mention the day before that there was a Chick-fil-a in Tempe. I decide not to act even more childish than I already have, and I decide to go with the flow. My family knows that I want Chick-fil-a. They won't deny me the whole trip.

Thursday 11:30ish: We are almost to Tempe when I see that wonderful sign from the highway. Again, I don't say anything because I realize we are not getting off at this exit. As we approach the exit for the Marketplace, it gets mentioned that there should be a Chick-fil-a close by. Again, I don't mention my foreknowledge of the Chick-fil-a a few exits back and instead suggest Red Robin (another favorite) for lunch. Aren't I magnanimous?!

Thursday evening: We go see movies (me and the kids saw Tangled; Dad and Amy saw Little Fockers). We had popcorn and soda for dinner. As we were leaving the theater, I notice a Chick-fil-a on the corner. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not. But I did file it back in the corner of my mind that I was going to be seeing another movie with the kids and if we came to this theater we could eat Chick-fil-a for lunch.

Friday: Christmas eve. Lunch with Kurt Warner. We didn't leave the Acres.

Saturday: Christmas Day. We didn't leave the acres. At some point in time I realized that we were going to see the movie on Sunday. I exclaimed in my head: CHICK-FIL-A IS CLOSED ON SUNDAY!

Sunday: No Chick-fil-a for obvious reasons.

Monday am: I am beginning to worry. I am only in Arizona for two more days. And we are heading into the mountains for the day. Yikes. Well, we had lunch in the mountains at a really cool place. And we found out that our drive through the mountain and around to Globe was going to be cut short because of a road being closed. We arrived back at the house around 5ish and began discussing dinner options. I decided I wanted Chick-fil-a, but realized that my family might not want to drive the 20 minutes to go there, since its not their favorite place to eat. But I basically said that was where I was going and they could join me if they wanted. Some wanted to, some didn't. Josh didn't really want to be in the car any longer, and on the way made some ridiculous statement about Chick-fil-a being just like any other fast food place. Don't worry, I refrained from opening the side door and pushing him out...
Here is my glorious meal! :) Nuggets, waffle fries, and Polynesian sauce. Yum. E. But don't worry, the saga doesn't end there! (In my head, I've been trying to think about how many readers I still have, but than I decided that I don't really care. This story has to be told!)

Tuesday: We spent the day in Old Town Scottsdale. When we left Scottsdale, we went to a mall. I was too tired to walk around the mall, so I sat in a chair and read a book. While I was waiting I started people watching. And about 3 minutes into my people watching I saw a woman walk by with a Chick-fil-a cup. For approximately 32 seconds I debated going to find the Chick-fil-a (it was about 4 and I was just starting to feel hungry for dinner) but than I went back to my book. When the family reunited, Daynah told me there was a Chick-fil-a and it was right around the corner. Shucks. As we were leaving the mall parking lot, I realized that across the street was the Chili's we ate at my second day in Arizona. Ironically, there was a Chick-fil-a across the street. I pointed out the irony to my family, but they didn't seem to care.

Wednesday, somewhere around the butt crack of dawn or a little earlier: We were on the way to the airport and I remembered the Chick-fil-a from my 22minutes in Arizona. I suggested to Dad that we stop for a chicken biscuit. We get off the exit, only to discover that the Chick-fil-a isn't open yet. I thought about crying, but then decided to be thankful for the one meal I got during my stay in Arizona!

That's all to the story. Really. :)