This Weekend We Pretended We’re Super Rich and Fancy
You: So how was your weekend?
Me: It was fantastic! Saturday we did this crazy Rabbit Island Brunch thing where we flew to a tiny island in Roosevelt Lake, landed in the water and then they served us this amazing meal and poured wine down our throats until we couldn’t see straight.
You: Oh I bet they had to work really hard to get you to drink that amount of wine.
Me: It was practically a requirement of the experience. It wasn’t even my idea.
And then Sunday I was going to do the No Pants Light Rail Ride thing, but I had circus class at the exact same time and I really didn’t want to miss it. Plus I don’t think I actually have any underwear that would be suitable to wear in public. In circus class we ended up learning partnering stuff, which was awesome, painful and hardcore, so I was really glad I went. Oh, and Jason and I got up early and he added more blue to my hair for me that morning. But apparently I didn’t rinse it properly this time, so now my body is stained blue in random places. It’s tough to tell where the dye ends and the circus bruises begin.
This is when I pause to consider if I’ve crossed the line from ‘Quirky and Fun’ to ‘Unrelatable Weirdo’… whatever, I’m going with ‘Lucky’. I’m a lucky weirdo to have had such a fun weekend.
But back to the Rabbit Island Brunch. I feel the need to convey its sheer awesomeness as an activity simply to help get the word out so more people can partake in it. Apparently it doesn’t always sell out, WHICH I THINK IS CAPSLOCK-LEVEL INSANITY, and can only be because not everyone knows it exists.
I know, I know, But like, what IS it? you’re asking.
It’s basically a partnership between Desert Splash Adventures (a little plane tour company that runs out of Scottsdale Airpark) and FNB Restaurant. You buy a ticket to a brunch they hold once a month on a Saturday or Sunday. You show up at Scottsdale Airpark in the morning and they put you on a little seaplane and take you on a tour over Fountain Hills and the McDowell Mountains over to Roosevelt Lake where they land in the water next to a tiny little island called Rabbit Island. Nothing exists on this island but a flat plateau-ish area at the top, some island-ish bushes and white clamshells along the beach.
Once you land, they escort you off the plane, hand you a wine glass and proceed to feed and wine you for two hours or so at a long table covered in a simple white table cloth, surrounded by nothing but a 360 degree view of desert mountains and Lake Roosevelt. They also invite local food and wine businesses to come speak about their craft. We got Melinda Petznick of Stage Stop Vineyards accompanied by her chef, Eden Sierra.
When Jason and I were introduced to Melinda, we told her we were celebrating our 12 year anniversary. Later, after several glasses of wine, we were discussing our children and she said, “Oh I just did the math. You’re celebrating your 12 year anniversary and you have a 13 year old son…” and giggled. It’s something I often see on people’s faces, but I don’t know that anyone’s ever actually said the words to me before. That’s when I stopped worrying about being the most obnoxious person there and wondered if I made her my new best friend I’d get really great free wine.
We flew past some dam thing and the pilot pointed it out. So it was educational, too!
As we were coming in to land we flew past this and I thought maybe it was the island we were shooting for. It wasn’t. Which is probably good because I don’t know how you’d set up a table on a tiny boob. Also how would you not refer to it as Tiny Boob Island the entire time?
This is when we were pretending we’re really rich and we own the plane and the island. Plus there’s a unicorn on it, it’s just not in the picture.
This was the real island! Totally un-boob-like.
This is when I was taking pictures of every single thing we encountered and all the other people in attendance were rolling their eyes all, Oh great, she’s one of those.
This was the potty tent. It had a camping toilet which I found moderately confusing. But I was like 3 glasses in, so it probably wasn’t actually.
Stupidly delicious food that sounded super weird until we put it in our mouths. And then we were like, Why wouldn’t we think of putting crushed cashews and cumin on oranges? DUH.
Pavle, the co-owner of FNB telling us all about the process of making and bottling his own wine. (He called himself a ‘pinotfile’ in his thick accent and Melinda and I both snorted.)
The bottle of Pavle’s wine (the LAST of it that he isn’t saving specifically for his daughter, who it’s named after) he gave us at the end of the meal.
On the return trip home we flew past the fountain in Fountain Hills and it was on! And I got a little teary-eyed because it was so perfect. And because I was wasted.
Melinda autographing a bottle of her wine for us too! I’m gonna have to go visit that chick in Verde Valley at her vineyard.
I’m so glad we did it. I hope they do it for years and someday after I get on Survivor and win a million dollars we can take our whole family. And we’ll bring the unicorn too.