Storybook houses

Saturday evening we picked up Heather and then drove to the F. Q. Story neighborhood in Phoenix for their annual home tour. The neighborhood may be named after Mr. Story who started buying the land where this neighborhood sits in the late 1880's, but Heather and I thought the houses reminded us of those one might find in a storybook.


We walked 10 blocks along luminaria lined sidewalks south of McDowell Street and between 7th and 15th Avenues with the lights of the tall buildings of downtown Phoenix as a background and the noise of cars swishing by on the freeway to the south. It was lovely.


If the luminarias followed the front walk that was an invitation to come on inside. We were allowed to walk through the houses and on into beautiful backyards. The homes were charming and were built sometime between 1920 and 1940. Smart Heather could quickly calculate in her head how old a particular home was upon looking at the informational sign on the porch, "Oh, this house is 87 years old."

Her next remark might be to the owner, "When will this house be for sell?" She loved the cozy cottages with their beautiful windows, roof lines, and fireplaces which were all blazing. I think she would move into one in a minute! Back in the 20's a fully improved lot would have cost $750.

We were glad to have her company. As we exited the 202 on our way home, Grandpa Glen said, "Heather, there is one more house I just have to show you." We were soon parked in our own driveway and Heather was getting a personalized tour of Grandpa's Christmas lights. Then she came in to see Grandma's trees and help us eat our Golden Spoon frozen yogurt before being delivered home.

This year we chose to use our monies for this tour instead of visiting the Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Gardens. It was a good choice because we still had the Dickens Carolers!