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.

Tucson, AZ, Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Twosday the twenty second day of the second month of the twenty second year of the second millennia following the alleged birth of Jesus of Nazareth. As the Europeans write the date - 22/02/2022. We in Tucson decided it should be a day of rest so confined ourselves to Casa Nielsen/Rose for the entire day. 

We started the day with the normal breakfast bar, but Chef Kevin added a cheesy egg scramble which included the remains of Saturday’s chopped pieces of filet and asparagus. We also polished off the remainder of the au gratin potatoes and the small pastry bites. Yogurt and fresh fruit again completed the meal. As it was a late brunch, we skipped the noon meal. 

We lazed around in the afternoon; Deb had some travel work to clean up, Mark worked on reading the novel he had begun on the flight down, Kevin attended to laundry for all of us, and Tom spent an hour or two in his home office, handling correspondence, paying bills, surfing the internet for something? We did spend a few hours waiting for and then watching President Biden’s address on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. None of us hold out any hope that the sanctions announced will deter the Putin Push, but all the effort the administration has put into organizing our Allies into a united front against this international crime is very refreshing.

 It was sunny to partly cloudy today, relatively warm at 65º F, but breezy. We were able to sit on the patio for a bit during cocktail hour, but eventually were pushed back inside. Not, however before we were able to polish off a plate of cream cheese covered by red pepper jelly, a chunk of Muenster cheese and a large collection of crackers as appetizers.

Earlier in the day we had decided on purchased pizza for our evening meal, so Tom headed out for a pair of Rosati’s thin crust pizzas; a large hamburger and mushroom, and a large “everything.” Kevin prepared a quick salad, and we enjoyed every bite, some having more bites than others! We topped this off with some delicious chocolate cookies that Kevin conjured from his pantry.

Afterward, we sat around watching You Tube videos of singer performances, notably Karen Carpenter and then a bunch of Andrea Bocelli videos. We talked and read well into the evening, finally falling into our beds around 10:30 PM. Tomorrow we will pack up and head towards our rendezvous with Dell and Karen midway between Tucson and Phoenix as we launch into the second half of our Arizona Adventure week.