Southwest Driving, Monday, March 2, 2026

Sunday is Dell’s actual birthday, together with the date of the State of Nebraska joining the United States. Dell’s anniversary is arguably the more important, at least to those of us gathered in Anthem, AZ. Most of the morning was taken up by text and phone calls to the Birthday Boy from friends and relatives offering congratulations or expressing amazement that he was still hanging in there! We showered, snacked, and eventually loaded into Dell’s new car for a trip towards Cave Creek and some shopping. Deb found a number of items that were candidates for hauling back to Nebraska, including a tall blue porcelain cat, a large outdoor metal collage depicting a thunderbird symbol, and some smaller pots. Alas, nothing found its way into the car.

At 4:30 we headed to the Kiki Rae’s Restaurant to meet our friends Jan and Frank Hrasky for dinner. Dell picked this as he is very partial to the creamy clam chowder. We started with a cocktail and then placed an order for a cup of the chowder all around. Dell had a chef’s salad; Deb ordered a beet and arugula salad, the Hrasky’s split a huge French dip style sandwich, and Mark picked something called a “loco moco” which turned out to be an excellent hamburger patty over a bowl of white rice, then drizzled with a brown gravy and a fried egg on top. We ended the meal with a “birthday” wedge cake of deep chocolate drenched with chocolate sauce and a huge dollop of whipped cream, stabbed with a gigantic sparkler shooting flames out of the top.  A great tribute to a wonderful guy and ending to a wonderful meal.

On the return trip we were subjected to awesome sunsets, which, for the passengers, took the edge off the Sunday night traffic. We finished the evening with some television and reading. A quiet night in the end.

Monday Morning, we packed our bags and loaded up the RAV 4 for the trip south to Tucson. We left Casa Sennentz by 10:30 and jumped onto the freeway parking lots that surround Phoenix for the 150 mile trip south to Tucson. Although Dell admonished us to be sure and take a bathroom break before leaving, which we heeded, we still needed to stop at a McDonald’s for a rest. While there, since it was the noon hour, we ordered a snack of a Big Mac, fries and a hot fudge sundae for the road.

We arrived in Oro Valley at Tom & Kevin’s home around 1:00 PM for a warm but pleasant afternoon. After such a “hard” drive some of us rested our eyes in a prone position while others tried to keep their eyes open while sitting up. Although Tom & Kevin are now teetotalers, eschewing alcohol, that didn’t stop the Nebraska contingent from its evening dirty martini and scotch on the rocks. Following cocktails, we took a drive to our evening dinner reservation, Trueland Burgers and Greens. Again, lovely, low-key affair. Mark enjoyed a huge burger topped with bacon and a fried egg (a pattern is developing), Deb a classic Burger, Kevin a Buffalo Chicken sandwich and Tom a salad topped with Ahi tuna.

Again, home early for some relaxation. We had determined earlier to watch the movie Hamilton, as Tom & Kevin had never seen it. This started a hilarious attempt by old people to sign into Disney+ on the television. Multiple attempts and we kept getting thrown out for wrong password or fat fingers on the keypad. Deb finally was able to get it up and running by logging in with her passwords from Omaha. Unfortunately, it timed out before the intermission, but the boys are significantly intrigued to try and finish this show at a later date.

We retired around 10:00; an enjoyable and relaxing day with friends, even though the daytime weather had reached 90ºF.

Southwest Driving Trip, Friday, February 27, 2026

Friday, we awoke to a chilly morning, cool, with frost still on the windshield. The LaQuinta Inn breakfast included scrambled eggs, mystery (sausage?) patties and biscuits & gravy, we loaded up and were on the road around 9:30, onto I-40 headed toward Winslow, Arizona. Just a few miles past the Arizona - New Mexico border we stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park; this seeming as good a reason as any for why we remembered to bring our Lifetime U.S. Parks pass and passbook for adding stamps. 

The Petrified Forest National Park is about 340 square miles in the center of the Painted Desert area which encompasses some 7,500 square miles. The National Park itself covers 340 square miles and straddles the I-40. The historic Route 66 once ran through the park and was a major route bringing visitors. Inside the park there is a 26 mile driving loop with pull-outs offering some of the most stunning scenery in the entire southwest U.S. There are two visitor centers and a High Desert Museum. On our visit, there was very little traffic and few visitors. We drove the loop, browsed the visitors centers, utilized the restrooms, and stopped at a picnic area for a lunch on our stash of sandwiches and chips. The weather was perfect, clear, a comfortable 70º F and sunny. We can enthusiastically recommend taking a few hours, at a minimum, to drive the loop if one is in this neighborhood. The area was originally a huge forested area with water and rivers, likened to the Amazon Basin in size and scope. The petrified logs scattered all over the grounds are stunning; only the threat of arrest and prison time kept us from throwing a few logs into the back of the RAV 4 to take home and plant in our own rock garden. When you first drive through the entry and present your park pass, the Ranger tells you to enjoy your visit, then stares you in the eye and says, “Don’t pick up the rocks!” We are law abiding citizens, although the temptation was great. After leaving the park, one of the first things you see is a huge store and yard selling huge pieces of petrified logs. Evidently, petrified logs are not uncommon.

We continued back onto the Interstate towards our short term destination of Winslow, AZ. The goal was to use this stop as a jumping off point to get on the picturesque drive following the Mogollon Rim area, skipping the heavy semi-truck traffic and enjoying the wonderful scenery. We climbed along this two-lane highway, again with light traffic, up to 6,600 feet in altitude, then down through the Coconino National Forest, eventually arriving at Camp Verde and rejoining the I-17 for our final punch down south towards our goal of Anthem Arizona and our friend Dell.

We arrived in Anthem around 4:30 to spend a few days in rest. A primary purpose of this trip was to visit Dell, who we missed last fall; at the time, as we were readying ourselves last fall to leave Tucson and hop the Greyhound to Phoenix, Dell phoned us to say that Karen had collapsed and was being rushed to the hospital. We elected to short circuit our visit and reschedule our flight home. Karen died less than a week later - a loss we are still processing.

The current weekend is also Dell’s birthday, so we are here to visit with our friend, reminisce and to celebrate his 79th! As always, the accommodations are wonderful and on our first night Dell ordered in some of the best pizza we have ever devoured. We enjoyed a cocktail, visited for a bit, watched the news, and then retired for the evening. Next morning, we awoke to WAR! The “supreme leader” of the U.S.via a video at 2:30 AM, announced that we bombed Iran and by the end of the morning it was announced that Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader was killed. 

As the purpose of this blog is not politics, we will try to avoid a lot of comment, although most of our readers well know our views.  Enough on this.  We will continue our visit and try to stick our heads under the southwest sand.

Saturday we spent watching the news until Dell finally convinced us to get off our fat asses and do something so we went to a Rock and Gem Show here in Anthem, hoping someone was selling some largish petrified wood but apparently that is not too popular in hot, rocky areas.  We drove around the Anthem area, which is really quite beautiful and diverse, looking at possible smaller homes for Dell as he loves the area but wants to downsize.  When we returned to his current casa, we sat on the patio enjoying the weather with our cocktails.  Dell then outdid himself with grilled steaks, baked potatoes and salad which he managed to conjure up within 30 minutes!  And it was so good.  And the perfect end to a relaxing day.

Southwest Driving Trip - February 24, 2026

We are on the road again, this time driving to the Southwest to see our Arizona friends. We packed up our trusty RAV 4, kissed Poppy the cat goodbye (while begging her forgiveness in advance) and left home around 10:00 AM on Wednesday morning, having packed up chips, boxes of wine, bottles of soda water, apples, tangerines, and eight home-made  sandwiches. On this trip we are heading south in order to avoid any potential bad weather, down Highway 73-75 towards Nebraska City, then south into Kansas and onward towards Topeka, over to Wichita, dropping south to Tulsa and then to Oklahoma City.  

We reached our first stop around 4:00, after fuel and a lunch break in the car; the Oklahoma City National Monument honoring those whose lives were lost in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which occurred in 1995.

The attack killed 167 people, injured 684 and destroyed more than a third of the building. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. It is one of the most moving memorials we have ever seen. The empty chairs covering the ground where the building was located are a silent  tribute; the sculptural adult and child chairs vividly call to mind those who were working and their children in the attached child care center. There is a water feature that runs continuously between the standing sculptures of the 9:01 gate and the 9:03 gate.

The blast was detonated at 9:02 AM. The 9:01 gate signifies our nation’s innocence, the 9:03 gate signifies the start of our rebuilding. We arrived after the museum closed so were unable to tour the displays, but the memorial grounds themselves are a moving testimonial.

We continued westward on Wednesday, experiencing some of the most vivid sunsets, rivaling those of western Nebraska. We stopped at Clinton, Oklahoma and spent the night at a LaQuinta Inn. Thursday morning we arose, showered and enjoyed a “gourmet” breakfast of a waffle, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and mystery meat sausage.  It filled the hole in our abdomen, if not titillating our taste buds. 

We left Clinton around 9:30 driving west through the Oklahoma panhandle into Texas. Our impression of  Northwest Texas is one of barren ground, continuous Christian billboards, enormous wind turbines arrayed across the landscape and a general barrenness. Many groups of the wind turbines were not operating even though the wind was quite brisk.

We tuned in classical music, set the cruise control to a safe 81 mph, and headed west towards our evening goal of Gallup, New Mexico. At the New Mexico border, we crossed into the Mountain Tme Zone, thereby picking up an hour but our bodies weren’t buying it. Driving through Albuquerque was an experience, a city a little larger in population than Omaha, but spread out over 190 square miles.  Once past Albuquerque, the scenery became a bit more vivid, with the mesas and red rocks glowing in the afternoon sun. Just our side of Gallup, we crossed the continental divide at 7,200 feet elevation and began the downhill slide towards the Pacific basin. 

We arrived at our LaQuinta in Gallup around 5:30, secured our room and dined in the room on wine and sandwiches.  We watched the evening news, read for a while and fell into a light slumber around 8:30.  Tomorrow to Phoenix.

Southwest Road Trip, September 27 - October 10, 2025

Saturday, September 27, 2025 we left Omaha on a Southwest flight, scheduled for 9:50 AM takeoff, only 25 minutes late. We were transported to LasVegas for what was to have been a one-stop, non plane change flight en route to Burbank, California. Southwest Airlines had other ideas. After every other passenger was off the plane, we mentioned to the flight attendant that we must be the only people headed to California.  That’s when he said, no, this plane was next headed to El Paso. Whoops! An equipment change that Southwest Airlines neglected to notify.

We hustled off, and luckily, only had to hobble from gate C1 to gate C11, within the same terminal. They were expecting us and allowed us to pre-board, and so we settled in for our 45 minute hop over to Burbank. Deb took an immediate nap, and Mark dozed in and out. Landing in Burbank, we texted Ed for pick-up and then went to baggage claim, fully doubting our bags would have made the change. We were pleasantly surprised when they dropped onto the spinning baggage carousel and we were off to the pick-up point.

A short 20 minute drive and we arrived at Ed & Meg’s new condo in Sherman Oaks on Sylmar Avenue. A 4-storey unit on the corner of the building with a 2-car garage under. We were welcomed by Meg and the newest member of the family, Cooper, the 8-month old Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

We put our luggage into the guest bedroom and settled into the living room for a glass of wine and some talk. Meg left for a work function of about an hour and a half, and Ed prepped hors d’oeuvres for dinner. Ed’s high school chum Matt Rysavy, now a freelance editor in LA, and his girlfriend Kara Harschberger joined us for dinner: a wonderful homemade butternut squash soup, salad greens and chocolate treats as a dessert.

As Deb and Mark had been up since 5:30 Omaha time, they retired early at 9:30 after a full travel day. Mike and Kara stayed on until a little past 11:00 and then headed back home. A long but enjoyable day.

Sunday morning, Mark rolled out at 4:30, showered and went down to drink some coffee, catch up on the latest Orange Felonies being perpetrated on America, and work his morning NYT puzzles. Meg and Cooper eventually joined and went for a morning walk, Ed came down to make more coffee and Deb, after showering and doing battle with Millie the cat, came down for coffee around 9:00.

The schedule for the day was to depart around 10:15 for West Hollywood and Hamburger Mary’s Restaurant for brunch.  Not just any brunch, but a live Drag Queen show with brunch and lunch available. What an experience.  Ed seemed to be a Queen magnet, ending the 2 hour show with three separate lipstick kisses on his forehead and the rest of us running out of $1.00 bills! We finally rolled out of the show around 2:00PM, made a short stop for Salt & Straw Ice Cream for Deb and Meg (excellent) and then home for a nap and rest up before our dinner reservations scheduled for 6:00.

Dinner this evening was at an Italian place, Osteria La Buca. Wonderful food, with some nice cocktails, Negroni, a Succo di Puma (vodka, wild elderberry, lemon) and a nice Pinot Noir wine. Meg and Ed shared an appetizer of melon salad. Dinners included Nero Spaghetti which featured a black homemade spaghetti, clams, squid, shrimp, tomatoes and bread crumbs; spaghetti caccio pepe; and bucatini carbonara; plus and order of bread to sop up all the wonderful sauces. No room left for dessert, however.

Back home, we opened a delicious bottle of California Red wine from the Temecula area and talked bout the next day’s plans.  Some who arose early crept up the stairs for an early 9:00 bedtime, and others struggled upwards a bit later.  A wonderful, food filled Sunday in sunny Southern California.

 

March 1-3, 2024 Phoenix to Burbank

A cool morning in Anthem, and a lazy one at that. Friday, we decided to be slightly more active today. Our intent was to spend some time in the hot tub and then head out for a meal. Unfortunately, the hot tub decided to go on strike. It wouldn‘t heat, nor would the jets stay on for any length of time. Possible diagnosis is either a faulty igniter or pack rats nesting in the system. Either way we are out of luck. We regrouped and decided on a drive to downtown Phoenix for a tour of the Japanese Friendship Garden.

The garden features more than 1,500 tons of hand picked rock, stone footbridges, lanterns and more than 50 varieties of plants. It includes streams, a 12-foot waterfall, and a Koi pond with over 300 Koi fish. One of the main attractions at the Japanese Friendship Garden is the Japanese Tea House. 3.5 total acres with a koi pond that is 5/8 of an acre.The Koi pond holds 550,000 gallons of water and some of the Koi have been in the pond since the opening of the garden in 1996.

The Garden showcases more than 50 varieties of plants including two varieties of bamboo. The designers chose plant species that can withstand the rigors of a desert environment while still reflecting the serenity of a Japanese Garden. 1,500 tons of rock handpicked from quarries in Arizona near Jerome, Superior, Congress and Florence line the stream beds, walking paths, lake shore and main lake waterfall. It is a soothing and relaxing Garden and is designed for contemplation and rest. 

We left the garden and then drove back towards Anthem, arriving at a First Watch restaurant at 1:00 for our noon lunch. We dined on eggs, sausage, hash browns and a sausage and biscuit plate that was as good as ever encountered. We were back at the old homestead by 3:00 and ready for some nap time or some reading time. As cocktail hour proceeded, Dell produced some huge steaks and fired up his grill. Karen prepped a salad and some boiled potatoes and we dined quietly as the sun set over the western mountains.

Saturday morning we cleaned our bodies and packed our bags. We departed Anthem around noon and drove to Cave Creek for our annual meal at The Horny Toad, a notorious burger place that we hit every time we are in the Phoenix area. We arrived at Sky Harbor Airport around three and bid goodbye to our friends and hosts. Another calming few days in the Phoenix area.

We boarded our flight to Burbank at 5:30 and settled in for the quick hop over the mountains and into the LA area. Ed, our eldest son, was there to meet us and we made the 20 minute drive to the apartment where Meg greeted us warmly with a ready cocktail and a home cooked meal in the oven. We petted Addison the dog, and fought off the constant attention from  Millicent the cat. We caught up on life in general and dined on roast lamb, home fried potatoes and a wonderful arugula salad. Relaxed, we chatted into the night, watched the movie “American Fiction” which is up for some Academy awards then falling into our newest and third bed of the trip.

Sunday morning we arose to coffee and some reading time as we perused our Omaha World Herald (not much to read) and our Sunday New York Times.In the early evening, we headed into downtown Hollywood to meet Ed & Meg’s good friends Katie and Wayne at the legendary Musso & Frank Grill. This iconic restaurant was established at this location in 1919 and is dubbed the oldest restaurant in Hollywood. It is famous for its decor, its waiters dressed in their red cats white shirts and black bow ties and its food. Dubbed a “New York style” restaurant, it serves steaks, Welsh Rarebit, Lobster Thermidorian and other old style cuisine. It is famous for its Martinis and has an excellent wine list.   It lived up to its reputation.

We enjoyed the Martinis, and dined on several steaks and  grilled Branzini over rice. Dessert included some cheesecake and a strawberry tort that was enough for two. Many of you have seen Musso & Frank’s as it is featured in many movies and television shows. We remembered it as almost another character in the TV show, “The Kaminsky Method” starring Michael Douglas and Allan Arken. Also it is a frequent feature in the Harry Bosch series. We returned home and fell into bed, with true Hollywood memories. 

Monday morning, we lazed around, read our newspapers and completed our daily puzzles while Ed and Meg worked (both from home.)  At noon, Ed took us to lunch at the “Front Yard” restaurant, a part of the Garland Hotel, just around the corner from Universal Studios. No famous sightings but great food.

We returned and helped Ed pack his bags, as he had to leave at 4:00 to handle his teaching gig as an adjunct professor at Cal State LA, and then on to LAX for a “red eye” flight to New York where he is spending the rest of the week. With Meg, we walked a few blocks to the Idle Hour pub for some wine, burgers, flatbread and fried chicken fingers. A walk back, an attempt (only Deb did not fall asleep) to watch the new TV series “The Regime” with Kate Winslet and then crawled into bed to end the evening.

February 28 & 29, Tucson to Phoenix

Wednesday morning was a bit cloudy but otherwise typical Tucson weather. We picked at the remains of the breakfast bar this morning, made use of our hosts washer and dryer, and packed up our bags. Del and Karen had spent the previous night in a Comfort Inn near Mt. Lemmon here in Tucson after driving down yesterday from Phoenix. They arrived at Potosi Point Drive just before lunch, bringing along the second half of the huge sandwiches they had dined on the night before. Mark and Karen split her muffuletta sandwich and we also finished off some of Kevin’s remaining tortilla and rice dish.

As rain showers started, we said our goodbyes and our heartfelt thanks to Tom, Kevin and Liam the Scotty dog for their wonderful hospitality and headed north to the Phoenix area for the second leg of our annual free-loading sojourn in the Southwest. The rain became heavy for a short distance as we initially headed west but as we turned north on I-10, the rain dissipated and traffic was not too bad. We arrived in Anthem, north of Phoenix around 5:00.

We unpacked the Ford and then enjoyed a cocktail and glass of wine. After calling in our order, Del jumped into his Mustang convertible and drove to a nearby Asian restaurant to pick up our take-out, returning with the warm and satisfying meal in about 20 minutes. We dined, talked, and then sat watching the antics of the talk show hosts on You Tube for a few hours, turning in after another “tough” day as travelers.

Thursday we leapt out of bed to meet the day (wouldn’t that be a sight to see!) Deb did a little remote travel work, Del puttered around the house cleaning the deck and skimming the pool, and Mark sat on his anatomy reading all day. Deb and Karen checked out restaurants and finally settled on a place the Sennentz team was unfamiliar with - Kiki & Rae’s Seafood Bar in nearby Cave Creek.We arrived a few minutes late for our 6:00 reservation, but were seated promptly on the patio under a  portable gas heater. We enjoyed great clam chowder, deep fried cod sandwiches, scallops on rice medley and shared a bottle of Pinot Noir. A relaxing and delicious  meal.

Arriving back in Anthem we watched part of a movie, read for a awhile and retired around 10:00. A quiet and relaxing day.

Arizona, Monday, March 6, 2023

It is warming up in South Central Arizona. Temperatures up to mid-60’s this Sunday. After a slow start, we loaded up the host’s vehicle and headed to Litchfield Park, some 30 miles to the south and west of our Anthem location. Some comments on Phoenix in general: traffic is heavy at the quietest of times and rush hour is a nightmare. With a metropolitan population of nearly 5 million and all of them impatiently wanting to get some where, driving is a joy. Geographically, Phoenix is the 11th largest, both in population and in area, in the U.S. Unless you are traveling to the neighborhood grocery store, any trip is 10 miles or more. Although they are building a light rail system, commute times between the various areas is an easy 45-60 minutes.

We pointed the vehicle south to Litchfield Park for an Arts and Crafts fair. Our actual destination was Wigwam Resort, one of the oldest and largest Senior living developments in the area.We arrived around noon and the area was crawling with people - mostly old (like us!) We walked in and out and up and down, looking at all the wares and crafts. Food stalls galore with everything from street tacos to barbecues to “fresh” lobster and seafood. Eventually we stopped into a sports bar, The Lazy Palm Sports Grill. We enjoyed a couple of chicken salad sandwiches, some chicken strips and sides of fries and potato salad, washed down with some beer and fruity Prosecco. We enjoyed the various basketball games on the multiple TV sets, and stretched out our stay to watch the finish of the Nebraska-Iowa contest, which Nebraska won! Deb ended up with a new “spring” purse as the only purchase of the day; the afternoon was enjoyable. 

We motored north back to Anthem for cocktails and a soak in the hot spa - our first of this entire trip. We then enjoyed the Sennentz hospitality as Dell grilled a huge side of salmon and Karen prepared a salad and some boiled potatoes. Good food and a quiet evening.

Monday morning we rolled out at our normal time (retirement makes all the days run together.) Without work or kids to schedule, we never know what day of the week it is unless we have a radio, newspaper nearby or television playing. Lounging around during the morning, we visited, read, completed a few work phone calls, and generally acted as if we were on vacation. In the middle afternoon, Dell proposed a drive to get us out of the house and away from the sunny patio. It seems a few of us pale white types were getting a bit over cooked. 

We headed south again, past downtown Phoenix to South Mountain. This is a municipal owned area known as South Mountain Park, the second largest municipal park in the world! We drove up the winding road to the Dobbins Point observation area for a view of the Salt River Valley and the entire Phoenix Metro laid out at our feet. A stunning site. We then drove back through downtown Phoenix noting the tall buildings interspersed with squat, typically southwester structures We passed the Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum, both of which will make interesting day trips on our next visit.

We returned home just at sunset, enjoyed a cocktail and then Dell fired up the grill again. This evening we dined on huge filet mignon and fettuccine Alfredo with some steamed vegetables with cheese sauce, again a most filling meal. We watched a movie, read, and poured ourselves into bed around 11:00.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is our travel day. We will return to Omaha with memories of 4inches of snow, cool to freezing temperatures, sunshine and a soak in the hot tub, and hours upon hours of visiting and eating with good friends. Not bad for a pair of aging freeloaders from the plains. Thanks to both sets of hosts; we never felt uneasy nor intrusive. We will be glad to return if they allow. As always, we will be happy to arrive home to our usual routine of eating, reading, watching TV and starting over again. Thanks.

Arizona 2023, Saturday, March 4, 2023

Friday morning was another bright and sunny day in Tucson. Today is a travel day. We were all packed up prior to breakfast. This morning we dined on fresh fruit, cereal, a bagel and cups of coffee. The previous evening, we had received an invitation from Mark And Kip, our fellow dinner guests, to visit and view their home in a nearby subdivision.  The four of us motored the 15 minutes over to see the most wonderful home we had seen in years. A much larger home than Casa T&K but without the mountain view. A glorious front courtyard complete with a stretch of green Astroturf, lemon trees, and cacti.

The kitchen had been newly remodeled with new countertops, double ovens and a beautiful gas cooktop. Bedrooms were much larger and, as both men work from home, they were outfitted with full offices, including multiple monitors and music, along with beds and toys for both cats who were lounging in haughty disregard for the visitors. The pool area was wonderful- Mark was enamored with the solar powered Roomba-like skimmer puttering over the surface and Deb was astounded by the outside shower tucked around the corner, which was also accessible from the master bath adjacent. Said master bath included a huge walk-in double shower and boasted a pair of walk-in closets, each seemingly larger than our bedroom back in Omaha. We were suitably impressed with their home - and we walked away with a batch of both regular and Meyer lemons, from their garden trees.

Back home , Tom ordered a large pizza from the neighborhood Rosatti’s Pizza store and went to pick it up just as George and Karen arrived from their 2 1/2 hour drive down from Phoenix. We shoveled in our pizza, Tom and Kevin gave Dell and Karen a tour of their home and we then said our goodbyes before we headed back up the road to Phoenix. We once again offered heartfelt thanks to Kevin and Tom for the gracious and generous hospitality and putting up with our freeloading ways. Another enjoyable, and surprising, winter visit.

The trip north on I-10 was fraught with the normal problems. An accident at about the 70 mile marker forced us off the route and onto smaller roads. We made a a detour around the east side of Phoenix, stopping for a fuel and restroom break at the local Costco store. We arrived in Anthem at the Casa Sennentz around 6:00 and unloaded the vehicle, dragging our luggage into the new sleeping rooms. As March 1 was Dell’s birthday, Mark had brought him his customary gift of a bottle of Single Malt Scotch, this time a bottle of Auchentoshan, an Islay of distinct flavor derived from its maturation in three separate casks, Bourbon, Olorosso and PX Sherry. After sampling this wonderful scotch along with preparation of a dirty martini and a margarita for the ladies, Dell prepared and cooked some hamburgers on the grill while Karen prepared some ham and beans to accompany them. We rolled into bed, well fed and watered.

The next morning we were up and “rarin’ to go.” Deb completed some morning work while Dell and Mark headed off in the Mustang convertible for the CVS store and the local Ace hardware to run some errands. We were each on our own to raid the larder for lunch,: Dell opted for some re-heated pork ribs he found in the refrigerator, Karen sliced up some not too great tomato and layered it over some cottage cheese, Mark sliced up a leftover cold hamburger and covered it in with kosher dill spears and some ranch dressing on bread. Deb had some toast and peanut butter accompanied by a chocolate caramel macadamia nuts treat.

We napped and read in the afternoon before cocktails on the patio. This evening we drove to Cave Creek area to try a new restaurant we had found on Open Table called Ofrenda’s. Deb tried a house special Watermelon Margherita which seemed acceptable as it soon disappeared. The Mexican fare was authentic, and we chose a smothered chicken enchilada, s couple of pates of dinner tacos and a new to us chicken enchilada smothered in Suiza sauce - a cream and lightly spiced tomatillo sauce. We finished up with a shared set of churros with a caramel sweetened dipping sauce. The drive home was uneventful and we arrived by 7:30, ready for a little TV watching, conversation and reading. all were retired at a normal 10:00. No late nights for this batch of septuagenarians. Happy to see our old friends again, we pronounced this a couple of smooth days.

Phoenix, AZ, Saturday February 27, 2022

It is Saturday already and time to pack up and head back to the chilly northern climate zone. Deb pulled up our flight plan after we received a notice of a time change. The flight delay out of Phoenix made our connection in Denver impossible. Although United Airlines was required to book an alternate flight, it appeared there were no other seats, so Deb went to work. She eventually secured two seats on the last flight from Denver to Omaha, arriving at 11:39 PM. Not great but at least avoiding an overnight in the Denver Airport!

We lunched on sandwiches and loaded up Dell’s Silver Ford Taurus for the drive to the Phoenix airport. We arrived at 1:45 PM, plenty of time to clear TSA and head to our gate. During our visit earlier in the week in Tucson to the Tucson Cactus and Koi store, Deb found an Aloe type succulent that she really liked, She paired it with a smart little pot and the staff there planted it up. We had carried it to Phoenix and then put it in a box, surrounded by plastics and settled into Deb’s carry-on bag, one that was really a long handled tote. Mark was nervous that TSA would confiscate the plant and not allow us on the flight. This wasn’t just paranoia; on a previous trip, he had placed his travel canister of Metamucil in his carry-on bag. TSA saw it on x-ray, pulled the canister, even though it was a factory container, albeit opened. They opened it, called a supervisor over and delayed our departure from the TSA spot for a good 30 minutes before confiscating the Metamucil as possible explosive material. I tried to tell them that they would only explode if they consumed the entire can, but they did not appreciate my humor! In any event, we were afraid the plant with its gravel like soil would trip the trigger.

Not a single comment. It flew through the X-ray machine without a whimper. We, with our replacement hip and replacement knee were a bit slower, requiring we enter the “moose” scan to ensure we weren’t  concealing illicit hardware. Takeoff was late, so we were glad we had booked the later flight.

An uneventful run to Denver, arriving on time. There were a lot of close connections on this flight, and as we knew we had about three and one-half hours layover, we sat back and let others get off first. Once off the plane, we stopped for a quick pit stop and then headed towards our next flight, expecting to settle into a restaurant for dinner before taking off. Denver was a real cluster, every flight seemed late and every traveler running up and down the concourse trying to get to their soon to be missed flight. Three gates down from our arrival gate, we spotted our original Omaha flight, evidently delayed and not yet boarding. We stepped up to the counter, and the kind gate lady found us two seats together towards the rear of the plane. We took them.

It has been along time since we sat in the “cheap seats” back in the steerage section. We normally book “Economy Plus” for the increased legroom afforded. Back in row 32, it was crowded. When pulling the tray table down, we found that our girth wedged the table in tightly. Not comfortable. However, for an hour and four minutes we could endure most anything. We arrived in Omaha at 9:20 PM, a full two hours before our earlier schedule, although some 2 hours later than our originally booked flights.   

Abigail was there to meet us; we tossed the baggage and the succulent plant in her Prius and hurried home, glad to be back in our own beds and happy to hold our long suffering cat Cleo for comfort. Our house sitters, Darcy and Bud had the place spic and span, nothing was broken or out of place, and the only complaint was from Cleo, who had suffered through the week with her arch-enemies, Norman the Australian Shepherd and Weenie the miniature Dachshund forcing her to hide in the basement and only come up to eat when the dogs were asleep. There was a reason she was glad to see us.

We had a very enjoyable week in Arizona, although it seemed uncharacteristically cool. Since the temperatures dropped to subzero here in Omaha while we were gone, it seemed warm. However, forecast temps for the coming week in Omaha in the upper 60’s to lower 70’s were strange home-coming!

Phoenix, AZ, Friday, February 2022

Today began significantly warmer, 37ºF but still cool enough to require cover for tender plants to avoid any frostbite.In a futile attempt to restrict our caloric intake, we tucked in this morning to a bowl of Cheerios with milk and blueberries, and a banana (which, given its size, must have been raised with steroids!) 

As Fridays in February are a time for Master Gardener training and the Douglas/Sarpy County program is still holding classes under the Zoom model, Mark logged in this morning for a two hour scintillating session on Soils and Turf. As usual, he always picks up something that he found new, or that he had forgotten since the sessions from previous years. For readers who don‘t know, the material you garden in is Soil, not dirt. Dirt is something you wash off your hands or sweep from the floor.

For the noon meal, we finished up the leftover Asian cuisine from the previous night and sliced up the leftover beef filet from Wednesday‘s evening meal for sandwiches. Old people are frugal you know! As we were beginning to suffer from house fever, Dell backed the Ford out of the garage and we went for an afternoon tour.  We journeyed to nearby Cave Creek (a neighboring suburb) for a visit to the Rare Earth Gem Store. This is not your normal rock shop - $60,000 carved onyx bathtubs, six foot tall amethyst geodes on display stands that rotate for a mere $40,000, $10,000 slabs of  four inch thick polished marble for your dining room table, and then for the tourists, bins of shiny polished rocks to take home a a memory of Arizona. Or, if you have a big enough truck to drive you home, whole logs of petrified wood to spread around your lawn as a decoration.

Next stop was the Kiwanis Marketplace - an atypical thrift store of cast-offs. Mark scored a $2.00 hardcover book to read on the flight home. Better than an overpriced paperback James Patterson throwaway from the airport shop! 

We drove along the ridge top overlooking the suburbs of Phoenix, admiring the homes nestled in the hills among the saguaro, and then ended our driving tour at a local Anthem restaurant - Plaza Bonita Family Mexican Restaurant. This is an exceedingly popular local place, with a line extending out the door. We added our name on the list and settled in for a 20 minute wait for our table. We dined on some margaritas, tacos, and huge burritos. Excellent food and excellent company. We wisely did not notify the staff of Deb‘s birthday earlier in the week nor Dell‘s coming 75th birth anniversary on March 1. This decision became easy when an adjoining table was suddenly surrounded by employees who placed a huge ceremonial sombrero on an elderly lady‘s head, sang the Happy Birthday song (with the entire room of diners joining the chorus) and then chanting “Drink, Drink, Drink,“ as she was encouraged to down a shot of tequila. As we had watched her slowly being assisted to her table earlier, due to her apparent age, we were surprised that she was able to get the liquor down. When they offered up a second round, we were convinced against any further discussion with the staff regarding happy events.

Back at Casa Sennentz by 7:30, we settled in for a night of You Tube videos around the television. Again, by 10:30 we were bedded down, pleased with our day and thinking of the coming day of travel. Not once during our Arizona adventure did we stick a toe in the hot tub spas available at both homes, Tucson and Anthem. Our swimming togs stayed high and dry, hidden in our luggage. This of course was for the visual safety of our hosts. You are all welcome!

Phoenix, AZ, Thursday, February 24, 2022

Our first full day in Phoenix and we awoke to the potential beginnings of WW III. By the time we had rolled out of bed and started the coffee, Trump’s hero, Putin had delivered his false speech and launched his 120,000 troops into Ukraine. We spent the morning, glued to the television, learning of the coming horrors of the Ukrainian public and the reaction around the world. 

The morning here was very cool; the overnight low was 31 and there was some frost on uncovered plants. After watching the news all morning, we broke for lunch of sandwiches and chips. We turned the video feed back on to hear President Biden’s message to the nation regarding the invasion, and listened to a bit of the press conference. Becoming somewhat depressed, we turned off the feed and repaired to the warming outside for some reading time or napping. At cocktail hour we started a small fire in the outdoor kiva and enjoyed a cocktail.

Our daughter Darcy was today scheduled to testify at the Nebraska Legislature against the proposed Abortion ban bill # 933. Although the hearing was to be six hours of testimony, the crowd was so large that they ran out of time just before her turn at the microphone. As all testimony had to be submitted in writing, she did get her testimony entered and it will be a part of the record. We were so proud of her activism in this important area.

We finished the afternoon by adjourning to the television for the latest update from PBS Newshour, again hearing of all the goings on in Europe. We made a decision to dine this evening on Asian cuisine so called in our order the the neighborhood restaurant. Dell and Mark drove to pick it up, returned and we all enjoyed the result.

We ended the evening  with another 3 hour binge of the Jack Reacher series, finishing the entire season. Into bed by 10:45 for another lazy vacation day. Maybe we will leave the house tomorrow for some adventure, or maybe not!

Tucson to Phoenix Arizona, Wednesday, February 23, 2022

We arise this morning to a cool, cloudy and blustery day in Tucson. Well rested, we breakfast on the remains of last night’s pizza, some fruit and yogurt and the ever present coffee. By 10:00 we are saying goodbye to the pink painted Santa Catalina mountain scenery.

Shortly we are all packed and we load into the white, smooth riding Avalon and head north along I-10 towards Casa Grande and our luncheon appointment. The winds were howling crosswise against the car and the semi-trailers were swaying as they stormed past our vehicle. Tom, our designated driver, held steady and the rain held off. We arrived right on time in Casa Grande and located our destination, Creative Cafe, reputedly the best restaurant in Casa Grande.

The Creative Cafe has an interesting story; according to its menu, it was founded in 1987 and provides work and learning opportunities for mentally and physically disabled adults. This was quickly apparent when we had been seated: we were approached by a young lady, obviously disabled and so thin she would have fallen over if she ventured outside in the winds we encountered on the way to the restaurant. She ably attended to our drink requests. On the other side of our table, an attentive young Down syndrome man was quick with refills, napkins and an apron filled with straws to hand out.

Our Phoenix connection friends were only 30 minutes behind schedule, although with a ready set of excuses; it was raining heavily on the way south, the traffic along the I-10 corridor was horrific, and most importantly, neither had remembered their cellphones with the name of the restaurant they were headed towards, nor any method of contacting us to receive directions. Even if they had located a pay phone(?) they wouldn’t have had the foggiest idea of our phone numbers as that information too was stored in these devilishly ubiquitous electronic devices. It was miraculous that they were able to find us at all.

Once the six of us were gathered around our table, introductions were made (our two sets of hosts had not met previously) we ordered our sandwiches and then launched into conversation. The Nebraskans, four of them desert transplants and the two of us freeloading visitors, quickly found commonality, shared background, politics, and interests. The sandwiches we had ordered were excellent and the single lunch hour stretched to two. By the time we were ready to transfer the luggage from one car trunk to another, it was pouring rain.  At least the rain was able to hide the tears as we offered heartfelt thanks and said our goodbyes to our Tucson hosts. Tom and Kevin headed back south in the rain and we headed north with Dell and Karen to our next few days of adventure. The rain finally stopped some 20 miles south of Phoenix and we coasted into Anthem, after a stop at Costco to load up on wine and soda water, now in the sunshine.

It has been two years since we were here in Phoenix; during the pandemic, we had cancelled plans in 2021 for a southern excursion. Many changes around the Sennentz homestead, new plantings, dirty Mesquite tree removal, but the pool and hot tub spa were still beckoning. We loaded our bags into our designated bedroom and settled in for some talk and rest.

Suddenly, we heard a strange noise and looked out the window. Hail was pouring down, splashing in the pool, bouncing on the patio deck and piling up! A strange phenomenon in the desert. The temperature was dropping and Dell went out with sheets and blankets to throw some protection over the more tender plants in anticipation of a predicted overnight frost.

Dell threw some steaks on the barbecue, Karen prepared some Yukon Gold potatoes and steamed broccoli, and we had a leisurely dinner. We settled in to watch the PBS Newshour, then fell into binge watching a Jack Reacher television series. After three episodes, we finally called a halt and trundled off to bed at a reasonable 10:30 PM. Sleep was quick and deep.