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 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.

 

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.

February 26 & 27, Arizona 2024

Another stellar day in the American Southwest. Monday was a leisurely day of reading, writing, and grazing through the breakfast buffet that Kevin set out for us. In the afternoon we loaded into the Avalon sedan and headed out for a late lunch with Tom’s cousin, Jan Buckingham and her husband Lauren Ronald at Vivace Restaurant. Jan and Lauren are transplanted Omahans who live in Tucson year-round. Jan is a retired Interior designer and Lauren is a retired attorney, formerly with Kutak Rock in Omaha. The lunch was well presented Italian fare and most delicious. The setting provides a view of the entire valley and downtown Tucson. We then drove to Chicos and Costco to replenish some supplies and find a blouse and slackers to complete a wardrobe for Deb.

We returned in the early evening and enjoyed cocktails and wine around the pool. We dined on leftovers and then settled in for a movie that Tom had recommended: “Leave the World Behind.” The stars were Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha’la, and Kevin Bacon. This was a thriller and a very thought provoking movie that we can recommend to anyone over the age of 13. Lots of foul language and some violence. The ending leaves you wondering. It is available on Netflix.

Tuesday we were up at the crack of dawn (7:00) and again grazed the breakfast bar. After cleaning up and chatting for a while, we left for a late lunch at Harvest Restaurant. We enjoyed a glass of wine, some burgers, a salad and a turkey sandwich. All the food was delicious. Next we traveled to the DeGrazia Art Gallery and toured the art. Ted DeGrazia was a native Tucson artist (1909 - 1982) born to Italian immigrant parents in Morenci, Arizona Territory. He eventually attended University of Arizona earning a Master’s Degree in Art and established the Gallery for living and painting in the 1950’s.

We made a grocery stop and then returned to Oro Valley for martinis and wine around the pool. Tom fired up the jacuzzi spa and when the temperature hit 94ºF, we slipped into our suits, transferred our drinks to plastic glasses, and dipped into the spa for an hours soak and chatter.  Some of us watched “Barbie” while the other two dozed while pretending to watch.  I will let you figure out who the dozers were.

We finally crawled into bed at 10:30, having enjoyed a hospitable day of relaxation, witty repartee, friendship and food.