“Where have all the flowers gone” by The Kingston Trio was for me a revolution. Yes I know Pete Seeger wrote it but back then I never hear of him. To me The Kingston Trio was a revolution. Growing up in the Northern Midwest I was weaned on Lawerence Welk and the big band music from the top floor of the Hotel Blackhawk. Then The Kingston Trio came along with a couple guitars and lyrics with issues other than “teen anguish” – like “Tom Dooley” and “The MTA”
They were an early folk group I suppose although the they pre-Dated the folk music surge. From Hawaii and California they were also the first wave of alternative music from the west coast.
This is one of my songs on my “Peace” playlist which I listen to when the world gets me down (more on that in the next post)
To be fair another wind of change was blowing though our community at that time. My older brother, Jim, was into a different genre with artists like Bo Diddley and James Brown.
On the Pop stations yet another style was gaining popularity – pop music with songs like “A thousand stars in the sky” by Linda Scott and “Sherry Baby” by The Four Seasons. We called it “Pretty Rock” with a look of disgust.
This was al Pre-Bob-Dylan who totally, totally overturned the apple cart. He appeared at the perfect time in the sixties along with rioting in the streets, Vietnam protests, equal opportunity, cancer warnings on cigarettes, the pill, the Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King assassinations, and the list goes on and on
Seems like 2022 just started and now we are in 2023. All in all 2022 was a good year for us. Gwen’s PSP is progressing slowly. There were things she could do last January she can’t do now but the specialist tells us her progression is much slower than normal for people with PSP.
On a happier note we were able to travel some this year after several years hunkered down at home because of the COVID pandemic. However, we had to postpone our major trip of the year which was a Baltic Cruise on Viking because we contracted COVID just before the trip was scheduled. We have rescheduled it for this year and looking forward to the cruise.
We had no major medical problems other than Gwen’s PSP of which there is no cure. I did contract an infection in my leg which caused the leg to swell up below the knee quite noticeably. I’ve no idea how the leg became infected. It’s the leg I burned severely when I was four and has been a problem off and on my whole life.
That’s about it for the highlights. A summary of our year ordered by date is below:
02/02: Purchased a Mac Air M1 to replace my 10 year old laptop – My this baby can fly
02/09: Started the implant process on 2 teeth. Pulled the teeth and did a bone graft
02/17-20: San Diego with the Neustadt’s. We stayed at a house right on Mission Beach. The highlights were the beach, Sea World, and an evening picnic on the beach watching the sunset
03/29: Lowered our bed because Gwen cannot climb in and get our of the bed without my help
04/19-22: Las Vegas holiday just Gwen and myself. We saw Mystere, a show good for children, which we liked very much. Our most memorable meal was at Carmine’s in Caesar’s forum shops
05/16: Replaced two motors in the attic that opened and closed vents
06/10: Canceled our Viking Baltic cruise because we both had COVID
07/07-10: Erin Olson’s wedding in Troy Ohio. Sara and Paxson traveled with us. A good time was had by all. The highlight besides visiting with family and the wedding was the day we spent at the Air Force Museum
07/13: Posts for the implants installed in my mouth – not fun
08/12: Married to Gwen 50 years – seems like yesterday
08/17-22: Steamboat Springs holiday
08/25: I have hearing aids now
09/08: Queen Elizabeth passed away – the longest reigning English monarch
09/21-26: Sedona and Scottsdale holiday
09/28: The doctor says I have two broken toes, an infection in my leg, and massive swelling in my foot and leg – way too much to be caused by the broken toes. Turns out the infection caused the swelling. After the antibiotics cured the infection the leg and foot returned to normal. The process took three weeks.
10/14: Replaced the HP Ink Jet printer with an Epson Tank printer. The HP still worked but I was tired of spending $100 for new ink cartridges
11/08: Replaced Gwen’s iPad – the old one would not hold a charge anymore and the home button worked intermittently
12/10: Bought a new backpack after all these years with the old one. This backpack is a Tom Bihn that cost way too much $$$ but it is so cool.
Now, time to forget the past and forge into 2023 with both eyes wide open. Themes for this year are fighting Gwen’s PSP and travel.
Motto for the year: “Live everyday like this is your last day and learn like you will live forever”
Feels Like Home by Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes narrates Linda’s memories of her Sonoran Borderlands and her Family. I read the book because I had recently heard Linda suffered from PSP just like my wife, Gwen.
In Summary, most of the book is about Linda’s roots: her family, the Sonoran Borderland, Tucson, food, and of course music.
Family: Frederick Ronstadt, her great-grandfather emigrated from Germany in the 1840s, married Margarita a local girl, and that’s where the story begins. Her grandfather emigrated to Tucson as a young man if you want to call it an emigration. Back then the boarder was porous and people traveled back and forth across the border at will. Her grandfather started a hardware store in Tucson and many of his customers came up from the Mexican side of the border to purchase equipment. Most of her siblings, nieces, and nephews still reside in the Tucson area.
Sonoran Borderlands: The Sonoran Borderlands are an area starting at Tucson and extending south around 250 miles and around 150 miles wide at the widest point. Of course the land is an arid desert. The Indigenous peoples of the region farmed, hunted, foraged, traded, made war, and coped with alternating floods and droughts for millenniums. Then the Spaniards came – it’s a wonder any of them survived. Some of the old ways still exist south of the border but they are disappearing fast
Tucson: Linda was born in Tucson in 1946 and grew up there. She left Tucson at 18 for the bright lights of Los Angeles to further her signing career. Her father owned the hardware store and was a musician They lived slightly outside Tucson on 10 acres, a family of six.
Some of her favorite places were The Arizona Inn where she stays when back home, the Mission Garden, the Canelo Projects, and the 47 Ranch.
Food: The book contains many recipes, in fact the book started out as a recipe book but over time morphed into the recipe, story of here ancestors, story of her family, story of the Sonoran borderlands, story of the border, and story of Tucson. I favorite of mine is Dried Beef Stew | Cazuela De Machaca.
Many recipe – in fact the book started out as a recipe book but over time morphed to include the story of here ancestors, story of her family, story of the Sonoran borderlands, story of the border, and story of Tucson
Music: Linda’s father besides being a successful businessman was a musician who led his own group. Prior to her father she comes from a long linage of musicians. Her grandfather, Fred, started Tucson’s first civic band comprised of two dozen musicians. They toured all over Arizona and even into California.
When Linda left home in search of her calling she traveled with an old Martin Guitar first purchased by her grandfather and later her father. She used it until recently when she could no longer make music she passed it along to her nephew, Petie
I enjoyed the book and recommend it. It’s not one of those books you read from cover to cover in one setting. I found myself reading a chapter and then thinking about it and my own past for a few days until I had sorted things out in my mind and was ready to move on.
Now I’m planning on traveling to Tucson the later part of March to visit some of her old haunts.
A Natural History of North American Trees by Donald Peattle is an unfinished condominium of the trees of North America. I’d recommend it for anyone who loves trees.
This book has a different format than other books about trees I have read. The others typically give the physically characteristics, how to grow it, where it can be grown, know problems, etc. This tree tome, however, in many case documents who discovered the tree, how it is used by the lumber industry, rates its hardness, and even incudes antidotal stories about the tree.
The first edition was published in 1950. It’s gone through several editions since then. The original was published as two volumes which have since been combined into one. Although not stated I believe the author planned to document all the trees in North America but for reasons not documented he did not complete. For example he mentions Live Oaks but did not include a section on that stately tree.
The book book does not have a “plot” or a narrative threading from cover to cover. Rather, each short paragraph documents a different tree species. Therefore the book is probably most useful as a reference to research particular tree species instead of reading cover to cover.
Below are a few examples of items I found interesting in the book:
Many believe Redwoods and Sequoias are the same tree species but they are wrong. The giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum is the longest living and largest of all the tree species. It has a very limited range in a couple small areas of California. The [General Sherman ](The General Sherman Tree – Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (U.S. National Park Service) is considered the largest of all trees by volume standing 275 tall and over 36 feet in diameter at the base. The Coast Redwood Sequoia Semppervirens is the tallest of all the trees with Hyperioncurrently believed to be the tallest at 380 feet..
The Magnolia is another very interesting tree. It’s one of the older trees in the Planet predating even bees. The flowers may have developed to entice beetles to pollinate the trees. Fossils of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnolia Family have been dated to be 95 million years old
The Quaking or TremblingAspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America. It has survived better from the saw of the lumberman much better than other trees in part because the fibers are too short for making paper.
Mr Beattie includes the Canoe CedarThuja plicata . That term is no longer in use these 72 odd year later. The common term in use today is the Western redcedar. The original name came about because the Northwest Indians used the tree to make canoes. By the way Lewis and Clark also made canoes from this tree after they crossed the Continental Divide. The canoes were up to 65 ft in length and could hold 30 people. The Indians also used the Western redcedar for totem poles.
The White Ash is one of the most used trees in North. America because of its white wood and its hardness (second only to Hickory in North America). Most young boys are familiar with white ash because all baseball bats are white ash. Among Darwin and others the white ash is considered the highest evolutionary scale of trees.
Finally, here’s a typical vingette (one of hundreds): In olden times in Kentucky homemade soap was stirred with a sassafras stick to make a good quality soap
Just to get away for a few days we flew to Phoenix and drove to Sedona for a couple days and then back to Scottsdale for a couple more days before flying home.
I caught up on my rest. We dined at some great restaurants. We hiked a little . Sedona is one of the most scenic areas in the USA; therefore, our eyes were drenched in some of the most brilliant sites imaginable.
The Road Goes on Forever
Logistics
Flights
9/21: Flight 417 – 10:25AM – 10:50AM
9/26: Flight 569 – 11:05AM – 3:40PM
Hotels
September 21-23 at Wyndham Sedona
September 24-25 at Home 2 Salt River
Restaurants
True Food Kitchen Scottsdale for lunch
Cucina Rustic in Oak Creek for dinner
The Hudson in Sedona for lunch and dinner. Make reservations as early as you can
Mesa Grill for lunch at the Sedona Airport
Beckett’s Table in Phoenix for dinner
Portillo’s in Scottsdale for when you miss Chicago Italian Beef
Grassroots Kitchen & Tap in ScottsdaleRestaurants not good
Golden Goose in Sedona – Been there forever – reminded me of eating back home in Alexis
Olive & ivy – very good restaurant but nothing on the menu that Gwen can eat
Activities
Mainly eating and hiking
Montezuma’s Castle – although not as good as our last visit. Some flooding tore up the area along the river which was the prettiest part of the park
Oak Creek Canyon
Jerome
Desert Botanical Garden
TL;DR
Sep 21, 2022 at 9:08 AM: Yesterday was the Training Class at Myers Park. Went well. We used Camtasia to the the whole screen to record the video. I’m going the produce the movie on vacation.
The night before Training Class which would be the evening of the 19th Gwen was very restless and non-coherent. We went to bed late because based on her behavior I did not think she would sleep anyway so best to keep her up for a bit.
Shortly after we did go to bed I must have been asleep she called out to me to take her watch off. I stubbed my toes really bad in fact I think I broke at lest one and the entire foot is sore. Then before I could get to Gwen to take her watch off I fell against the bed “foot board” and hit my thigh pretty bad. The day before that I had banged my left shin against the “foot board” and cut it. It now appears to have an infection and is very sore also. So I have a bad left foot, sore left shin, and sore right thigh. And we are traveling to Sedona to go hiking. What a mess.
Stayed at Mike & Sara’s last night. Had a good time. Gwen slept like a log. She seems to be in a predictable cycle – one night can’t sleep & the next night sleeps like a log.
Sitting at the Airpot in Terminal B waiting on our flight to Phoenix
The flight was on time and the ride was smooth. No passengers hit the flight attendants. Our rental car is a Nissan Kick which is a nice little car.
Phoenix and the trip up to Sedona is cloudy, cool, and with little light drizzle.
We ate lunch at True Food Kitchen in Scottsdale. – a great and healthy lunch spot.
We made a slight detour and stopped off at Montezuma’s Castle on the drive to Sedona. Its a cool, in the Summer, and shady place to spend some time. The ancient Indians constructed a pueblo 3/4 the way up a sheer Clift there.
Dinner was at the Cucina Rustica in Oak Creek Village. The food and ambience was outstanding. On our next trip I’ll pack a pair of long pants just for restaurants just like this one.
Sep 22, 2022 at 10:47 PM: Gwen had a bad day today. Lots of pain in her shoulders.l
This morning we ate breakfast in the Wyndham. Then we took a walk on the Sunset Park Trail which is near the condo.
We had lunch at The Hudson. I think it Gwen’s favorite restaurant – at least for lunch. The views there are most excellent “dude”. We’ve never eaten there for dinner because like Eote you need to book 2 months in advance when the reservations open.
View from The Hudson
After lunch we drove up to the top of Oak Creek Canyon . Its usually a very scenic and leisurely drive up to the top of the Colorado Plateau. Not this day. First, the rains came with a vengeance . After the rain subsided we came upon a traffic light – red of course. A sign above the traffic light said the light will change within 15 minutes. I believe we waited 14 minutes before it changed. Turns out the road up the escarpment was a one lane road for maybe two miles. We drove to the top, admired the view, and then drove back down to Sedona stopping at the traffic signal again.
Flowers at Oak Creek Canyon Lookout
We ate dinner in the condo. – leftovers
Sep 23, 2022 at 10:58 AM: We slept in until 5AM. Breakfast in the condo again – bread from the Eatery we brought with us from Dallas.
In the morning we drove to Jerome and took some photos. I scored a Indian Scout Sign in a souvenir shop. The only Indian Scout I will ever own.
We ate lunch at the Mesa Grill. It’s not fancy but both of us loved our meals.
After lunch we just drove around the hills taking photos.
Dinner was at the Golden Goose. I think its been in the same location before there was a Sedona. The servers all must have worked their 25 years. This place would fit right in Monmouth Illinois like a glove. Gwen liked her pork chop. I had the meatloaf and would not order it again. If you ever eat there don’t get the calamari. As for us we will find a different restaurant
Sep 24, 2022 at 8:40 AM: Gwen had another bad night sleeping last night. That’s at least two nights in a row. Hopefully she will sleep better
Breakfast in the Wyndham and then drove to Scottsdale.
Lunch at Portillo’s. My Italian Beef was excellent.
Tried to check in at the Home2. Been waiting 3 hours now. Just setting in the Lobby watching football games.
In parallel Gwen wanted me to go to an Urgent Care because of my leg swelling. I did and they basically told me they did not know what was wrong and I should go to the local ER in case I had blood clots. Talked it over with Gwen and decided to wait until we are home and go see our family doctor.
Dinner was at Beckett’s Table. We first visited this restaurant on our first visit to Phoenix and liked it so much we have gone back on every trip here. We were not disappointed on this visit either. I had the Green Chili Stew.
Sep 25, 2022 at 3:51 PM: Gwen had yet another bad night and so did I. My problem was the bed. It was as hard as a rock. Many hotels have extra firm beds and I don’t know why.
Breakfast was in the hotel as is normal for us on this trip. The bread from the Eatery really paid off. We did have to buy a bread knife here in Scottsdale because the room did not have one. However, the price of the knife was less than a McDonald’s breakfast for us.
After breakfast we visited the Desert Botanical Garden.
For lunch we drove 5 minutes down the road to Grassroots Kitchen & Tap. I was surprised the server gave us their regular menu. Apparently they don’t have a weekend brunch. Good news for us. Grassroots is definitely a “go back to” establishment. The food was most excellent dude.
We spent the afternoon watching NFL games in the hotel.
Dinner was at Olive & Ivy. Although it’s a great restaurant there is nothing on their menu Gwen can eat so it’s out for us from now on.
Sep 26, 2022 at 8:42 AM: Up at 5 so we could make our flight. Sitting at the airport now waiting for the flight to board.
Home 2 thoughts: The bed was a good height for Gwen but the hotel has shown a lot of wear and tear with no obvious attempt to keep it in tip top shape. We had to wait over an hour after they promised us we could have our room until it was actually ready. Maybe because of the location but the hotel is a madhouse of families with teenage noisy youths.
Summary: We like Home 2 hotels because of the bed but would not stay at this particular location again
The Underland by Robert MacFaland was not the kind of book I thought. I had developed an interest in Geology the past several years. The book as advertised at least in my mind to be about what’s below the ground. Perfect I thought. Well, it was in a way. The first chapter started out interesting enough about cave pictographs by early humans with some descriptions of the stone the pictographs were drawn on. But over the the next few chapters the focus shifted to the environmental damage we were subjecting the Earth to. The word antrhopocene appeared more and more frequently as the pages wore on.
Finally the story culminated in a visit to the just completed Finish nuclear waste storage facility constructed 430 meters underground in bedrock named “Onkalo” meaning cave or pit in Finish.
From the depths of a Greenland glacier to the Paris underground to Norwegian caves this book is part travel, part nature, and part environmental. A great read!
Howdy, Several years ago – 2017 to be exact – I paused posting to WordPress and started my own domain’s blog to gain creating website experience. I gave up my website several months ago because my provider (Machighway) was bought out by another company. After numerous problems with their service I gave up the website.
For now I am posting to WordPress again. Sometime in the future I will re-start my website but until then I will utilize this service.
I may publish the last five years on this facility. I have not decided yet. If I can figure out an easy way to do so I’ll press forward with the plan.
We planned a short vacation to Napa Valley and Monterey this July (11-16) in order to escape the Texas heat. Things did not work out as planned. Texas was experiencing a cooler than normal July because the high pressure system that normally dominates our weather in the summer moved west and was hovering over, you guessed it, Northern California.
Napa was hot reaching or coming close to 90 every day. On top of that the most severe drought in many a year had blanketed most of the western U.S. Not only were conditions for forest fires extremely high but most of California was under severe water restrictions. Although on the surface Napa is the premier wine producing valley in the USA under the surface they are hurting. Most of the 2020 vintage was dumped down the drain because the 2020 wildfires in he area induced a Smokey taste in the wine produced that year from local grapes. This year the drought is affecting the grapes.
We did have a great time and hope the valley recovers quickly. Such a treasure; It would be a tragedy if it were destroyed.
Monterey, unlike Napa, was seemingly unaffected by either the drought or the heat wave. The highest the thermometer reached while we were there was 61.
Mt St. Helena
Food
I did not list all the establishments we visited, only the ones I recommend:
The Fish Market – Several locations in the Bay area
Calistoga Inn and Brewery – great brews and eclectic menu
Calistoga Roastery – Coffee shop in aging storefront on Main Street Calistoga
Sarafornia Cafe – Calistoga – Good place for breakfast although Gwen will not return because of food restrictions
Sams Social Club – Calistoga – In a newer resort in Calistoga. Great breakfast and lunch.
The Market – St. Helena – Best meal we had in Napa – Dined on sidewalk a foot from the owner’s Yukon
The Bench at Pebble Beach – Lunch on the patio overlooking the 18th green at Pebble Beach
Enzo Ristorante Italiano – Carmel – super small but outstanding Italian fare and
Activities
Some activities we enjoyed:
Napa
Petrified Forest
Wine tasing
Redwood Trail
Walking around Calistoga
Petrified Forest
Monterey
17 mile drive around Pebble Beach
Walking along the Monterey waterfront and watching seals
Drive down highway 1 to Big Sur
Hotels
Napa – Bergson in Calistoga – thumbs up
Monterey – Marriott in Monterey – thumbs up
Duration
5 nights – Sunday, July 11 to Friday, July 16 2021
Sunday – fly to SFO; drive to Napa
Monday – at Napa
Tuesday – at Napa
Wednesday – Drive to Monterey
Thursday – Monterey
Friday – drive to SFO ; flight home
Flights
07/11 – DFW to SFO Flight 2798 8:35AM to 10:19AM
07/16 – SFO to DFW Flight 2802 3:22PM to 9:08PM
Bixby Bridge
TL;DR
Jul 11, 2021 at 11:30 AM: On flight Rower One San Francisco. We left DFW about an hour late at 9:30AM. Storms rolled through DFW last night which caused havoc with flight schedules.
Jul 11, 2021 at 4:09 PM: We’ve arrived at The Bergson in Calistoga, our home for the next three nights. After picking up the rental we ate lunch at The Fish Market in San Mateo. Then we drove up here. I’m ready to rest for a bit.
Later in the evening we strolled around town and had dinner at the Callisotga Inn and Brewery. Food was excellent. We sat in the bar so we could watch the NBA finals. Bad choice, the game was not close.
Jul 12, 2021 at 10:39 AM: Breakfast this morning was coffee and bagels at the Calistoga Roastery. I would be a regular if I lived here.
Visited the Petrified Forest this morning. It’s just a short drive from Calistoga. It’s private and therefore they charge an admission – $11.00 for seniors. The walk through the forest is around a mile and a very easy walk. We enjoyed our visit there.
Jul 12, 2021 at 7:57 PM:
Lunch: Palisades in Calistoga was not what I expected although it was good. After walking in you order from a counter sort of like Rosa’s. Forgetting what I expected. If you are in your early 20s and on a fairly limited budget it’s an excellent choice for a good wholesome meal for a reasonable price. If I were not married to Gwen Palisades would be my expensive, splurge mask on the trip.
In the afternoon we drove down the Silverado Trail to Yountville and explored the towns back to Calistoga by automobile.
Dinner was Brasswood Bar + Kitchen. The meal was delicious but the service was poor. They sat us in an area served by the bartender. About the time we sat down a large group or groups ordered a number of complicated to make drinks. 20 minutes later I was asking the hostess to move us when he finished and took our order. The rest of the evening including the food was excellent.
Jul 13, 2021 at 5:41 PM: Breakfast this morning at Sarafornia Cafe. Mine was good but something did not agree with Gwen’s stomach.
Then we hiked the Redwood Trail in the local state park. Much longer walk than yesterday. Most of that area had a forest fire a year ago. Most of the redwoods had black trunks quite high but were still okay. They have extra thick bark that protects them from forest fires. However many of the younger trees had died. The ground cover had started to grow back but the drought has killed most of the ground cover off and the area is ripe for another forest fire.
Lunched at Sam’s Social Club in the Indian Springs Resort on the east end of town. Gwen liked the tea so much she wants to go back for breakfast.
Took a scenic drive this afternoon and bought a book at the local bookstore, Copperfield Books.
We dined at The Market in St. Helena. It’s a farm to table restaurant whatever that means. In any case it was very good. The best we’ve had here in Napa.
Jul 14, 2021 at 3:46 PM: Breakfast this morning was back at Sam’s because Gwen loved their iced tea.
After that we checked out of the hotel and drove to the Monterey Marriott with a side trip back at The Fish Market in San Mateo for lunch. It’s 59 in Monterey at 4PM.
Checked in the Monterey Marriott. Much color here – 55 degrees. Dinner at Domenico’s on the wharf. Good but I’d try somewhere else next time. Seafood in Monterey should be brilliant.
Jul 15, 2021 at 9:37 AM: Breakfast at the hotel. Very good. Of course they have a buffet but we ordered off the menu.
57 this morning. Heat wave for Monterey.
Drove the 17 Mile Drive on a partly foggy day. Still a wonderful experience.
Then lunch at The Bench at the Lodge at Pebble Beach overlooking the 18th green.
After lunch we wandered aimlessly around Carmel for awhile before driving to Big Sur on Highway 1.
Before dinner we walked along the Monterey Waterfront. We dined at Enzo Ristorante Italiano. Superb!!!
Jul 16, 2021 at 4:00PM:
We had a restless night at the Marriott before breakfast at McDonalds and Starbucks. First I walked 1/2 mile to the McDonalds for Gwen’s Iced Tea and an orange juice. Took them back to the hotel and then a block to Starbucks for coffee and bagels.
Before leaving Monterey I called The Fish Market for lunch reservations but they were booked solid. Oh woe is me; I was counting on another great meal at the best seafood restaurant in the Cosmos.
Checked out of the Marriott and drove to San Mateo for lunch at Mendocino Farms for lunch before heading to SFO for the flight home.
We decided to travel to Phoenix after we were notified our Baltic Cruise was delayed another year and like everyone else we were weary of staying at home. Therefore, we planned a trip to Phoenix on short notice.
In Scottsdale we found a new Wyndham property for our base – Orange Tree Resort . It’s not new; the place is showing some age. I think Wyndham took over a Shell Travel Club resort. I was amazed how cool the unit stayed even in 111 degree temperatures. I would stay there again especially since I don’t have to lay out cash for the condo.
We also traveled up to Flagstaff one day and night just to cool off. The morning we left Flagstaff the temperature was 45 degrees. That afternoon the Phoenix temperature hit topped out at . That’s a 66 degree change. The elevation change between Phoenix and Flagstaff is 5,900 feet.
Overall, its great to get away from home from time to time. We had a great trip but I don’t recommend Phoenix in July for most people. February or March is much more pleasant.
Hotels
Phoenix: Orange Tree Resort
Flagstaff: Hilton Garden Inn
Flights
AA first class
June 10 DFW to Phoenix: Flight 520 @ 9:05AM
Jume 14 Phoenix to DFW: Flight 1169 @ 1:25PM
Restaurants
Places we dined I would recommend:
The Parlor Pizzarea – Phoenix for lunch
Sakura – Flagstaff for dinner
Keegan’s – Phoenix for lunch
Becket’s Table – Phoenix for dinner
Portillo’s – Phoenix for lunch – Chicago chain that has reached Phoenix
Activities
As with restaurants, these are activities I’d recommend to a friend.
Musical Instrument Museum
Butterfly Wonderland
OdySea Aquarium]
Timeline
Jun 10, 2021 at 11:08 AM: Stayed at Sara’s last night and flew to Phoenix this morning first class on a large plane. Seating was the best in the US
Now at The Parlor Pizzarea. They serve Half Acre Pale Ale. It is magnificent. Will look for it at home.
5:14 PM: After lunch we did the Musical Instrument Museum. It divided into 2 main sections.
Instruments and music for different parts of the World. Pretty much covered everywhere and included countries I did not know existed.
The Artists of some significance centered basically in the USA. For example no Bach but included Bernstein.
Jun 11, 2021 at 7:32 AM: Tried to go to Switch in Phoenix for a late dinner at 7:30 but they were not taking anymore diners. So we went back to The Parlor where we had lunch and shared a pizza.
Gwen had a “restless” night and finally got up at 4 to read. Me thinks she over did it yesterday.
Today we drove to Flagstaff to catch some cool weather and hike. It’s 2 hours North of Phoenix and sits at 7,000 feet. We did the Mars Hill hike, and dined at Sakura, a Hibachi grill we’ve been a couple time before and loved it. Just as. Good this time
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, a good hotel if your ever in Flagstaff. Unfortunately there was a party going on in the next room. I finally knocked on their door at 12:30 and told them to quiet down. Wish I had done that at 10:30.
Jun 12, 2021 at 4:39 PM
Woke up this morning before 6. Therefore we packed up, picked up a coffee and an iced tea, and drove to Phoenix. The temperature was 46 when we left Flagstaff and 93 when we drove into Phoenix 2 hours later. The temperature as I write is 108.
Breakfast was crackers and peanut butter in the condo.
On our way to the Diamondback/Angel game we stopped at Keegan’s for lunch. Reminded me of the Houston’s restaurant in DFW.
The Diamondback game was okay. I’m spoiled with the new Ranger ballpark.
Dinner was at an old favorite – Becket’s Table. Their menu is small but always delicious and the presentation on the plate is always something to look forward to.
Jun 13, 2021 at 10:20 PM: Slept in this morning until 7. Then we had breakfast at Panera’s.
Our activity today was The Butterfly Wonderland and OdySea Aquarium. The butterfly conservatory was excellent. First they showed a film about Monarchs. Then we entered the conservatory with thousands of butterflies. We stayed there a very long time and marveled at the rainbows of butterflies. The aquarium was okay but not world class. I’d put in the same category as the Dallas Aquarium.
For lunch we discovered a Portillo’s In Scottsdale – a little bit of Chicago in the desert.
We spent the afternoon holed up in the condo because of the 111 degree heat.
Dinner at Olive & Ivy, one of our favorite restaurants in the area.
Jun 14, 2021 at 9:41 AM: Breakfast at Butterfield’s Pancakes. Headed for the airport and flight home. Escaping just as the heatwave gets real dangerous
Just put the Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin down 30 years after reading it for the first time. A short but brilliant work of Science Fiction. She always weaves a masterful tail utilizing a sparse word count creating relatively short but spellbinding books.
As the book commences George Orr, our reluctant hero, is stung out on a cocktail of drugs trying to suppress his dreams because when he dreams effective dreams the World Changes – like goes from mass overcrowding to sparsely populated.
The book, written in 1971, is set in the near future Portland, at a time when Food Wars are in full swing because of over population, mass hunger, and climate change. Clearly Ms. LeGuin was ahead of her time. As an aside this is what draws many of us to Science Fiction that peep into the possible future which often times becomes reality.
At first George’s dreams cause small changes like a different apartment or job. However after he is appended by the drug police and sent to Dr. Haber for evaluation. The good doctor is a sleep specialist has has been developing a machine, The Augmentor to force a person into REM Sleep. The doctor soon realizes George’s dreams change the World. At first in a small way. For example a photo of Mt. Hood disappears off the doctor’s office wall. Soon however the doctor has has George dream larger transformations – like eliminating the overpopulation problem by causing 6 Billion humans to never be born. The doctors dilemma is he can only suggest changes to George and then George implements the change via a dream in his own weird way
Time marches on in our tale and Dr. Haber induces more and more significant modifications to the World and its inhabitants via George’s effective dreams. As the wheel of time turns George becomes more and more reluctant to aid in the doctor’s utopian vision.
As the book nears its climax the moon is inhabitated by Aliens whom soon land on the Earth causing the armies of the World to slaughter millions of their own citizens in a attempt to fight the Aliens which by the way are peace loving souls without any weapons.
The book ends with George working for an Alien in a kitchen store after he has been cured of effective dreaming by the doctor who is now locked up in a looney bin after trying to effective dream himself with the help of his machine.
Posted by molson46 
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