Phoenix Vacation
Day 1 - March 1, 2017

6am. WAY too early for the alarm to go off for someone that routinely gets up at the crack of noon everyday. I work the late shift and usually go to bed about 1am. Ugh.

I left work early yesterday so I could get home and get some packing done preparing for my journey to Phoenix. I haven't been to Phoenix in a long time, and I'm really looking forward to this trip. My dear friend Patti and her husband Trevor are allowing me to stay at their home, which is very appreciated. In allowing me to stay with them, Patti's son volunteered to relinquish his bedroom for a few days, and he'll stay with his dad. He will be thanked!

Patti contacted me a couple of months ago saying that her good friend Craig had written a new opera called "Riders of the Purple Sage" based on the famous novel of the same name, and they are debuting it this Friday with the Phoenix Opera. What a wonderful treat!

I said goodbye to Lawrence, Desiree and Toby, and hurried to Hobby Airport for my 9am flight. It's foggy this morning, but I'm thankful the forecasted storms are nowhere to be seen. I got to the airport in plenty of time, and security was quick and easy. I grabbed a banana nut muffin and orange juice at the coffee shop and proceeded to Gate 50 for my Southwest Airlines flight to Phoenix, with a brief stop in El Paso along the way. Once aboard the plane, I noticed something unusual. The plane was only about one-third full! This is a first. Every Southwest flight I've ever been on has always been packed. Not this one, and it's nice to have an entire row to myself! I guess El Paso and Phoenix are not popular destinations on a Wednesday. I also guess it would be inappropriate to stretch out across three seats for a needed nap. No pillow. No blankey. I'll just recline my seat and annoy the guy behind me.

It was a very smooth flight into El Paso and only bumpy as we descended near the mountains. Desert winds and mountains always make it rough. A brief change of passengers, except for the four of us continuing on to Phoenix, and we'll soon be on our way. Hey look....even fewer people on this flight! Maybe 30 people? Nice, but I'm still not going to lay out across the seats.

We arrived in Phoenix 45 minutes early, and all 30 of us were very glad to be here, mostly because the plane was incredibly cold. It was like a meat locker in there! The warm Arizona sun felt good as we stepped outside, even though it was 68 degrees. Low humidity was a refreshing change, and it only felt chilly in shaded areas. By the time I got off the plane and got to baggage claim, the bags arrived less than five minutes later. 30 people at a large baggage claim carousel meant no pushing or shoving, just a quick grab and we were all outta there in record time.

A few minutes later Patti picked my up in her Hyundai and we ended up circling the airport a couple of times trying to decide which way to go for lunch. It was humorous. We ended up going into Scottsdale and having lunch at a great pizza joint. We sat inside as the patio was in the shade, thereby chilly. After lunch we walked around and did some shopping, eventually driving north making a big loop around the area. About one hundred miles later, we arrived at her house. If you've never been to Arizona, the yards don't have grass. They have wildflowers, rock and sand. Lawnmowers are not prevalent in the desert.

At 6pm, Patti had to leave and attend church services since it's Ash Wednesday. I stayed at the house and relaxed, updated this entry, and napped. It's been a long day. She and her husband Trevor will both be home around 8:30pm, and dinner plans will be considered at that time.

So, it's been a great day, I'm happy to be here, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we drive about two hours north to Sedona, Arizona, where I hear it's beautiful, and cold, since it's about 5000 feet higher in elevation than Phoenix. I promised Patti I wouldn't google pictures of Sedona...she wants it to be a surprise. I have a feeling I'll be taking a lot of pictures tomorrow. Goodnight!