Heading from Oceanside to Scottsdale, Arizona will be the longest single journey of the trip and one that took us from the coast, over the mountain range and into the desert. We hadn't been driving long when the temperature started to soar, rising from a humid 75 degrees in Oceanside to a steady 100 degrees of dry heat as we climbed the mountain roads. By the time we arrived in Scottsdale at 4:30 in the afternoon the car was noting a sweltering 104 degrees Farenheit.

The only highlights along the way, aside from some barren scenery, were some odd ... um ... choices?! One being Ailsa's steak sandwich at a truck stop diner which arrived doused in gravy which was well and truly soaked through the white bread. Ailsa would also like to point out that it wasn't pleasant gravy either! There were also multiple roads signs warning you to turn off your air conditioning in the most severe areas. Obviously to prevent engine overheating, but it was quite disheartening to see the temperature top 100 degrees, the road kick up and a sign telling you to turn off your AC for the next 15 miles.

After checking in to our Scottsdale hotel we toddled down to the 'Old Town': a couple of square blocks of single level shops, restaurants and bars styled like old west saloons on the outside (and some on the inside). Even after sundown temperatures were still in the high 90's and it was incredible to see how the local business had chosen to deal with this. To encourage custom, many of the buildings used misting to encourage folk in. Literally, mist is sprayed from the building overhang onto the sidewalk. The restaurant we ended up in had an entire inner courtyard ... fully misted! The restaurant was an authentic New York pizzeria - every pizza was hand made from scratch and stone baked (to perfection I might add).