Yay! Blog! v1.0
Category: Phoenix Trip, 2003

Adam and I didn't win a fortune on the scratch off card I bought in Arizona. Oh well. I'll try again sometime.

Here's the scratchoff card I bought in Arizona. I'll scratch it off later tonight. I stayed home from work today because I don't feel well. I'm real tired from the time change, and I have a headache again. Sheesh. I felt this way the day before my trip, and I started feeling this way yesterday at work. I think there might be something in the air here. I've said before how I rarely ever really feel *good*. I felt good all during my trip. Maybe I need to get out of this town.

I'm home safe with my Lily dog. The Lily dog part is great, but I don't have that sweet feeling of relief that I should have when I come home after being away for a while. I guess that means my vacation was too short. I'll remember that for next time.

Day 6: 11:23 a.m.

I'm at the airport sitting at the Cinnabon drinking some way overpriced bottled water waiting for my flight. I miss internet access (I'll post this when I get back to Austin).

I forgot to mention this earlier... I bought an Arizona Lottery scratch off card yesterday, but I haven't scratched it. I figured with my goofy luck, I'll win something if I'm not there to cash it in. So I'll wait until I get back to Austin and scratch. If I win anything under $10, I'll send it to Adam, and he can keep it. If I win more, I'll split it with him if he'll agree to cash it in and send me half. Even if I win $5,000, I'll give him half. You read it here. If he won't agree to help, I'll just have to come back to Arizona to cash it in.

This time, when I went through airport security, they made me take my shoes off. It feels goofy walking at the airport with no shoes.

On the way to the airport, I stopped at Tempe Beach Park, a golf course, and the gate to Tovrea Castle to take some more pictures.

Buying souvenirs on vacation is always a weird thing. I don't like to wait until the last minute because I'm afraid I'll end up with something crappy. But this time, it was counterproductive. I bought a shot glass and something for my friend the second day. Then the next day, I found a better shot glass, and bought it. Then today at the airport, I found the *perfect* thing for my friend. So waiting until the last minute would have been better. That's okay... I only buy (relatively) cheap things, so it's not that big a deal. My favorite souvenir, though, is my Arizona State Football cap. Woo-Hoo!

Oh... I did a stoopid thing. I packed the keys to my car and house in my suitcase. I sure hope they don't lose it, or I'll be in a heap of trouble.

I think I'll shut this computer down and go in search of last minute photo opportunities.

Day 6: 8:46 a.m.

It's my last morning in the valley of the sun. I don't have time to really do anything, so I went over to Starbucks for some breakfast, and I'm chilling out here in my room until it's time to check out, drop off the rental car, and catch the plane back to Austin. I got a chocolate covered donut. They don't have those at the Starbucks in Austin.

I've really enjoyed being here. Since I rarely go on vacations like this, I get pretty emotional about coming and going. I wonder what it would be like to take vacations like this every year. I wonder if I would get used to it in a way that I wouldn't get as excited about going and be as sad to leave. Maybe I would get as excited about going, but the leaving part wouldn't be so sad because I'd know there was another vacation to look forward to. I just can't afford to do this that much. But that's my own fault because of the choices I make on how to spend my money the rest of the year.

Anyway... I still have the plane ride back to look forward to. And I get to see my puppy dog. I can't wait to give her a big hug.

Day 5: 6:38 p.m.

I got one last walk in around downtown Tempe. I went into Borders Books and Music. I almost bought a book, but decided I already have enough books that I haven't read yet. I wanted to buy a CD, but I didn't see anything appealing. The 2004 calendars are already on sale. I would have gotten a penguin calendar if they had one.

I took a picture of a Budweiser neon light with a Cardinal logo. I hope they do really well this year with Emmitt Smith.

Day 5: 3:38 p.m.

I just checked to see if the maid cleaned my room, and she was in there. So I hauled my laptop down to the bar, and I'm camped out in front of the TV watching the Hokies and drinking a margarita with Chambord. Ooops... I was watching the Hokies, but it's over. Texas is playing New Mexico in 15 minutes, but I'm not sure it's going to be on TV.

The internet access in the bar is not strong and keeps going out. As soon as I finish my raspberry margarita, I'll head back up to my room. I'm already feeling like taking a nap. Drinking alcohol sounds like a good idea on vacation, but the next thing I know I just want to sleep. What a waste of good vacation time. Pffft.

Day 5: 2:44 p.m.

I just got back from walking around Arizona Mills Outlet Mall and having lunch at Claim Jumper. I don't know what's worse... feeling out of place at Biltmore Fashion Park among the fabulous people, or walking around a giant outlet mall with wall to freakin' wall people. Whew. I like the shopping here on Mill Avenue in Tempe the best.

Claim Jumper Restaurant was great. I sat in the saloon and watched the Virginia Tech/Central Florida game. I had a Widow Maker burger. It was a cheeseburger with bacon, avocado, onion rings (on the burger), lettuce, tomato, and mayo. It came with salted and peppered thin french fries. They were yummy! I got a chocolate cheese pie to go, too.

When I got back, the maid was just finishing the room next to mine. She asked me if I wanted her to come back later. I told her no to please come on in. I've been leaving and coming back ever since I got up hoping they would get the room cleaned so I can finally relax in there. But she skipped my room anyway. Grrrrr. I'm sitting out on a balcony right now watching the planes fly in, listening to MP3s and blogging. How freakin' cool is that??? Wireless internet rocks!

A plane goes by about once every 3 minutes. This must be one of the busiest airports in the U.S. That's one thing I love about Phoenix. As I drove around this week, I saw planes all the time. I love the location of the airport. I see planes in Austin sometimes, but not like around here.

Here are a couple of pictures. The first is my laptop on the balcony where I'm sitting right now. The second is a plane going overhead. This is the life!

Day 5: 10:39 a.m.

This morning, I was going to sleep in, but I think I'm still on Texas time, so I got up shortly after 7:00 a.m. That would be 9:00 a.m. Texas time.

After a shower, I headed over to Starbucks and got an iced grande mocha and a cheese danish. Then I went over to a street corner to try to get on the Mill Avenue webcam. No luck. But I did find some more sculptures and flowers to take pictures of.

I came back to the hotel and agonized over what to do today. Then I went back over to try to get on the webcam. It worked this time!! In the first picture, I'm taking a picture of the webcam. In the second, I'm just standing there smiling at the camera. It's too small to see my smile, but I promise I am!

Day 4: 11:30 p.m.

Why I wanted to come to Tempe, AZ...

I had a friend once who kinda got me interested in The Refreshments and then said something mean to me which I took with me to Seattle where I fell in love with Husky Stadium. I saw the Refreshments a bunch of times after that, forgot about the mean friend, and fell in love with the Refreshments. The Refreshments are from Tempe.

There was another friend who asked me to play in his football pool which got me interested in college football, and I decided to like the Washington Huskies since I already loved their stadium, but they got beat by the Sun Devils who also beat the Nebraska 'Huskers (19-0). I guess I kinda dumped the Huskies for the Sun Devils, but what anti-Nebraska fan wouldn't go with the team who shut out the 'Huskers. Jake Plummer was a great quarterback with the Sun Devils, and they should have won the national championship that year except Ohio State QB Joe Germaine got lucky or something, and the defense couldn't hold, and they lost. The Sun Devils are from Tempe.

I loved Jake Plummer as a quarterback, so when he graduated and moved on to the NFL and started playing with the Cardinals, I became a Cardinal fan, and they play in the same stadium as the Sun Devils (namely Sun Devil Stadium), so I had yet another link to Tempe.

I used to watch golf with my Dad and brother, and I saw Phil Mikelson who I could have sworn was Jake Plummer's brother or uncle or something, but it turns out he's no relation except that he went to school at Arizona State University. In Tempe.

So I always had a dream or urge or whatever to come to Tempe and see The Refreshments play (except that they broke up so the next best thing is Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers), or see the Sun Devils play, or see the Cardinals play. I didn't really have an urge to see Phil Mikelson play. But that's neither here nor there.

Unfortunately, neither the band nor the football teams are playing here this week. It's not that I didn't plan ahead. It's just that this was the best time for me to come. And besides... it gives me an excuse to come back sometime.

Day 4: 8:30 p.m.

Alrighty... the belly is happy, so I need to write down the stuff I did today before it becomes more of a blur. This is a really long entry since I didn't have a chance to post between every little activity.

I set out going east on the Superstition Freeway with the intention of visiting Lost Dutchman State Park and Roosevelt Dam. A *very* surprising thing happened. I passed something that I recognized from a jacket of a Refreshments CD. Kovacs Korner Broasted Chicken. I did a double take, turned the car around, and took a picture of the sign. It really made my day, and the day had just started!

Then I went to the Goldfield Ghost Town. There were two things to do that I could see (besides shop and eat). You can ride the train and take the mine tour. I rode the train. It wasn't exciting. It said it was a 20 minute ride, but it's more like a 2 minute ride with 18 minutes of stopping and listening to a guy talk. It was a little disappointing, so I decided not to do the mine tour. I did learn some things about the mountain near there and about the Lost Dutchman Mine and about the mining town of Goldfield. I also learned that the Saguaro Cactus (the tall cylindrical ones) start to grow their arms when they're about 40 years old. I think they live 300 years, but my memory is shaky on that. After the train ride, I got some strawberry shaved ice, and headed on down the road.

I got to Lost Dutchman State Park, and it was closed. D'oh!

There was a scenic stop to see Weaver's Needle which is another mountain-like formation. I found some animal tracks in the sidewalk there. Three different kinds of animals. And then I found some poop! The tracks were as old as the sidewalk, but the poop was fresh. I got outta there fast (but not after taking pictures of the tracks and poop).

Down the road some more, I found Canyon Lake. Oh my... it was gorgeous. Just after Canyon Lake, though, things started getting tricky driving. There were one lane bridges. Not one lane each way... one lane period! So you had to take turns going across.

The next thing I found was Tortilla Flats. It's a touristy place where you can stop for lunch. Six people live in that town. I got a chicken chimichanga, but I didn't eat too much of it. I didn't have a big appetite. There was a fly in there, and I kept shooing it away. Then a guy at the next table asked me, "You're not sending that fly over here, are you?" He was joking around.

They had dollars stapled to the walls from visitors. I bet they had at least a thousand dollars there. I didn't put a dollar up there, but I left the waitress a good tip, so I think that was nicer or something.

The menu was formatted like a newspaper, and it had information about what you could do around there. It talked about how the road beyond Tortilla Flats is unpaved and steep and kinda scary. I knew that already, and I hadn't decided whether I was going to go that way because I'm a big scaredy cat. But in that menu it said tourists and trucks and vans go that way all the time, so I decided to go ahead and go.

It was scary. Me no like driving on unpaved mountain roads. It might not have been so bad if there were no other cars on the road. Then I could go slow and be more careful. The scariest part is that there were people coming the other way, and there was barely room! And some people were towing boats! There weren't any rails, either, so one false move and you're at the bottom of an extremely scary cliff!! But I tell ya... it was soooo beautiful.

During that scary drive, I saw Apache Lake. There was another scenic turnoff, so I got to rest from all that scary driving. I really think there's no land and water scenery more beautiful than when desert meets water. The mountains were brown and red and yellow and sometimes chartreuse. The water was green and blue. It was breathtaking.

Part of the drive was right next to Apache Lake. Or maybe it was just the Salt River at that point. All these lakes were made by putting dams on the Salt River.

After a lot more scary driving, I finally found pavement and the Roosevelt Dam. It's the largest masonry dam in the U.S. It was a great sight, too.

Right after the dam was a gorgeous blue bridge over Roosevelt Lake.

I thought after Roosevelt Lake, it would be smooth sailing all the way home. But then I saw a turnoff for Tonto National Monument. I didn't know what it was, but I stopped anyway. They have an indian cliff dwelling that you can hike up to. So the next thing I knew, I was hiking up a mountain. A nice park ranger lady was resting on a bench about 1/4 of the way up. I was already huffing and puffing, so I stopped and sat with her. She said she was supposed to go up to the top, but she was taking it slow because she doesn't do well in the heat. We talked for a little bit, and then I started up again. I'm surprised I made it up to the top. By the time I got up there, I really couldn't have cared less about the dwelling. I just wanted to get back down. It was a beautiful view and all, but I was hot and tired.

When I got back down the mountain, I saw a storm in the distance. It was so cool. I got a picture, so you'll see it in my gallery at some point.

There was one more scenic turnoff I took where I could see another bigger cliff dwelling in the distance. At that point, I saw a rainbow back where that storm was. I took a picture, but the rainbow didn't show up.

Then I headed the 60-70 miles back to my hotel. I went through a tunnel, and got a little creeped out by it until I realized I needed to turn my headlights on. haha The only other thing I saw that was cool was a runaway truck ramp. I hadn't seen one of those since I was in El Paso driving through the mountains there. They have them on steep downgrades for trucks in case their brakes go out. It's a giant gravelly area that slopes upward, so they can steer off into that and they'll stop. It's better than driving off a cliff, for sure.

So after all that, I don't ever want to drive that route again. But I would gladly pay a tour guide who drives it all the time to take me on the route again. I'm sure I missed a lot of beauty because I had to pay attention to the road.

In conclusion, it was a great nerve-wracking, surprising and beautiful day!

Day 4: 7:00 p.m.

[click the picture for a bigger view]
Superstition Mountains and the Apache Trail. As beautiful as it is scary (if you're driving). Am I glad to be back at the hotel. In one piece. More later. Must. Find. Food.

Day 3: 8:43 p.m.

Observations about my hotel:

The room in my hotel where I get ice and overpriced soft drinks smells like when I was a kid and my Dad would be at the kitchen table soldering something (or as he said it, "sawtering"). He was a real do-it-yourselfer.

The water is great. I've been in hotels where the water is so soft it won't rinse off the soap (let alone hair conditioner!).

The soaps, lotion, shampoo and conditioner seem to be fancy good stuff. The soap especially. The shower soap has oats in it.

When I first got here, I asked the valet guy if there was any non-valet parking. He said there was, *if* there were spots available, and he had a doubtful look on his face. I think he was just trying to psych me out, though, because there have been lots of parking spots available everytime. Now tomorrow, the parking lot will probably be full.

Outside in the courtyard and by the pool, there are fireplaces with chairs in front of them. Of course, they're not being used this time of year, but that's pretty cool.

All is well... I have a new hat and sunglasses!

Day 3: 4:08 p.m.

This morning, I headed for the Phoenix Zoo. I got to see the largest rodents in the world called Capybaras. I also saw my favorite... Meerkats! They weren't very active, but they were sooo cute. I wish they were nice, and I could have one for a pet. That reminds me... when I was at the San Diego Zoo a few years ago, a girl was bending over the meerkat wall and letting her long blond hair hang down. A meerkat was playing with her hair. I was afraid it was going to latch on, crawl up and attack her face.

I also saw Lemurs, baboons, an elephant, giraffes, a tiger, and a really cool little fox. I also petted some goats and sheep at the petting zoo. The only air conditioned place I found was the gift shop. I bought a stretchy keyring bracelet. I've been needing one of those.

After the zoo, I decided to drive out to the Biltmore Hotel per a suggestion from my buddy, Jim Reeder. The architecture was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. It really is something. I saw a giant chess set on a lawn. The pool was fabulous, too. I think it's a place for fabulous people. I felt out of place there.

When I drove up to the parking lot, there was a guy sitting under an umbrella. I didn't now if he was checking people in or what, so I stopped and asked if I could park there. He asked, "What are you going to do?" I said, "Walk around the hotel." He put his head in his hands and started shaking his head. I asked, "What?" He smiled and said, "Naw... go on in." hahaha!

On the way to the Biltmore, I saw something that made me say, "Yay!!" The Cheesecake Factory!! I stopped there for a late lunch. I don't think we have one of those in Austin, but I read about it in Kevin and Merrin's blogs. And I think Peppermint Tina has recommended a dish there. The Chicken Madeira sounded familiar, so that's what I got. I hope that's it. It was so awesome. I also got a white chocolate raspberry latte. Ummyummy!! I got Oreo Cheesecake to go, too. I'm eating that now.

A kinda bad thing happened as I was walking out of The Cheesecake Factory... one of the lenses from my sunglasses fell out. That's not an uncommon occurence, but this time the little screw fell out, too, so I couldn't mend it. I don't have my little glasses screwdriver with me, either. Boo Hoo. The good news (I thought) was that I was already in a shopping center. The bad news was that it was the Biltmore Fashion Park where the fabulous (and rich) people shop. So I didn't buy new ones yet. The good news is that at that time the sun was overhead, so driving wasn't that much of a problem sans sunglasses.

I saw a Sunglass Hut somewhere around my hotel, so I'll be headed out shortly to procure replacement shades.

Day 3: 10:08 a.m.

I woke up a few times last night and felt very nervous and sick to my stomach. Luckily, I was able to get back to sleep quickly. I felt the same way the night before. I wonder if I'm suppressing something that's making me nervous. I feel okay during the day.

I decided to go out for breakfast, so I found a Denny's not too far from the hotel. I was craving French Toast. It wasn't as good as what I was craving, but that's okay. My belly is full, and I'm ready for today's activities.

I bought sunscreen because with all the outside walking I've done in the last couple of days, I've started to develop a slight burn. I'll be out in the sun some more today. It's a good thing I'm used to the heat from living in Texas all my life.

Driving back from breakfast, I stopped and took a couple of pictures of houses and their yards. I'd like to drive around some more. Maybe on Sunday. I also took a picture of some red mountains in the distance. That's the thing I remember loving the most when I flew into Phoenix for stopovers before... the red mountains. And the golf courses. It's so cool to see red mountains and green golf courses.

Day 2: 8:18 p.m.

I just got back from dinner at The Blue Agave. I am soooo stuffed. I had the Chimichanga filled with filet mignon. I also had an El Toro margarita. It had El Tesoro Tequila, Cointreau and the great raspberry liqueur, Chambord. I don't drink much because it just makes me sleepy, but I love the taste of a good raspberry margarita.

Tonight at dusk, I saw a big fluffy white cloud peaking over the other side of the hotel (across the courtyard from my room). I didn't see any other clouds in the sky, and that cloud kept flashing with lightning inside it. Sometimes I could see the forks of light. It was gorgeous. At one point, a plane flew by it, and I wondered what the people must be thinking as they looked out their window and saw that big cloud full of lightning flashes. I bet some were scared and some were filled with awe.

On the way back from the restaurant, I saw Mars in the sky.

I surfed around the ASU site this evening and found out the art called "Man's Wisdom Subdues the Aggressive Forces of Nature" is a painting inside of a building. Boo. That's why I couldn't find it. The other two things I couldn't find are big outside sculptures. I don't understand why I didn't see them. Maybe I was delirious from the heat.

I took a shower earlier, and found that I had sand on me! It was like I had gone to the beach! This desert business is strange. I've been to El Paso before, but I don't remember having sand on me.

'kay... I need to decide what to do tomorrow, and get some rest.

Day 2: 5:40 p.m.

I finally wore myself out. Dang... I walked all over the ASU campus. One thing I noticed a lot of that didn't happen when I was in college was cell phone talking. I guess college kids have a lot to talk about. So much that they can't walk from one class to the other without calling their friends.

I finished the walking tour of ASU where I was looking for art. The map I have is like a treasure map in that it shows where there are sculptures and whatnot. Towards the end, when I was really starting to get tired, I couldn't find the sculptures. Three in a row I couldn't find. One was called "The Fragment." I can kinda understand why I might not be able to see it, it being a fragment and all. But the other two were called "Blue Vase" and "Man's Wisdom Subdues the Aggressive Forces of Nature." I really wanted to see that last one! People who saw me looking for it probably thought I'd lost something. Like my mind.

There's one more thing that I didn't go find because it was so far from everything else. It's called "Three Benches." I saw a lot of benches on my walk, though, so unless I can see it from the street if I drive by, I probably won't go see those benches.

Speaking of benches, there's a bus stop I walked by and the bench looked like it was right out of "The Flintstones." I'll have a picture of that at some point.

Oh... I saw a girl and she had "What Boyfriend?" on her shirt. She was real pretty, too. I'd be afraid to have that on my shirt because it might attract all the crazies. I wondered if she might really have a boyfriend and that t-shirt was a slap in his face. Dang!

I'm really not sure what to do tonight. I need to rest for a while, for sure. I'd kinda like to have a nice dinner. Oh... I'm not going to that acoustic happy hour. I'm too tired and too chicken. BEKAW!

Day 2: 3:00 p.m.

I did a kinda dumb thing. I walked over to the art museum on the ASU campus (which is about 6 blocks away), but I didn't take my walking tour map with me. So after I finished looking at the exhibits, I had to come back to the hotel to get the map. And to make things worse, when I got back to the hotel, housekeeping was in my room, so I waited until they were finished. No biggie. I'll get my map and walk back to ASU in a little bit.

I saw the Mill Avenue Webcam when I was walking to the museum! It saves all the pictures for every minute over the last 24 hours, so I might be able to find myself. But gosh... I don't want to sit here and look. I want to get back out there and take pictures. I'll walk by it again, though, and make note of the exact time this time. If you see a girl in a sleeveless blue shirt and black shorts, that might be me. hehehehehe

Okay... I went to the art museum, and I figured out something about myself. I don't much like paintings and drawings. They had some Andy Warhol stuff, and it really didn't keep my attention. I like sculpture, though! I must yearn for 3D or something. I saw a ceramic sculpture called "Knight in a Bucket" that I loved. It was as if it were a bucket with part of one side ripped out. Inside was a moonlight scene with an indian rowing a boat. It was in blue and green tones. Beautiful.

I couldn't find the "Gizmos and Gadgets" exhibit and being an extreme introvert, I didn't want to ask. I did ask for a map, and went to every exhibit room, but no gizmos and no gadgets.

I sat for a while watching an exhibit called "Chains and Videos" by Philippe Bradshaw. Ugh. There were green and purple chains hung from the ceiling against one wall. Parts of the chains were silver and the silver parts made the Mona Lisa. Then there was a projector projecting a video in the lower right corner. I didn't watch all of it, but what I saw was a nekked girl sitting and eating something. Chips maybe. It was hard to see her because it was projecting through the chains. I wasn't sure if she was nekked until later. Guys kept walking in and out of the shot. Not like they were acting, but like they were set guys getting in the shot. One guy had on a kilt with no shirt or jacket. The kilt guy went over to the girl with some pliers, I think, and started working on something at her shoulders and neck. Turns out, she had a shirt of chains on. He took them off her. Then she put on her dress. I might have liked this piece of art if it had animals instead of a nekked girl.

After the museum, I started walking back to the hotel and stopped in Campus Corner #2. I bought some obligatory souvenirs. I decided a long time ago that I would collect shot glasses from places I go. They're usually the cheapest thing. I was going to buy some ASU sweatpants, but none of them had pockets. Why don't they put pockets in sweatpants anymore? They did back in the 80's when sweatpants were "in."

I also went into a store called Hippie Gypsy. But it turned out to be a head shop, and the incense smelled icky, so I left in a hurry.

I'm trying to get up the nerve to go to a bar down the street this evening for an acoustic happy hour. If I knew I could find a place to sit by myself and not feel self conscious, I'd be fine. I'll probably chicken out. Okay... back to the walking tour of ASU...

Day 2: 1:00 p.m.

Mission Accomplished! I think I've mentioned before that I want to visit every state capitol building in the U.S. and take a picture. Today I'm one capitol closer to that goal. The Arizona state capitol building is a museum now. They do the state business stuff in other buildings surrounding the capitol. There are four floors with different types of exhibits on each floor.

The top floor was an Uncle Sam exhibit. On the third floor, they had the coolest exhibit, I thought. It was the Navajo Code Talkers. I also saw the old House of Representatives chamber on that floor. Compared to Texas, it's s-m-a-l-l! The second floor wasn't all that memorable except for several really pretty paintings on the walls. They had a blue tint to them. There were also some (how do I put this) mentally challenged kids sitting in the hallway. I'm sure they weren't part of the exhibits... they were just visiting. They were cool. One of them said, "Hi!" when I walked by. Then I took a picture, and the flash got them all excited. They all started saying, "She took a picture!!!"

The bottom floor had some stuff about the U.S.S. Arizona. Now I want to go to Hawaii to see that. Okay... I already wanted to go to Hawaii, but still.

There's a park where they have lots of monuments in front of the capitol. I took a bunch of pictures, so one of these days, they'll be posted. There was a man sitting at one of the monuments for a long time. I wonder if that monument had special meaning for him. I wanted to read it to see what it was about, but I didn't feel like intruding.

There was a monument of the Ten Commandments. I wonder if someone will make a fuss, and they will have to remove it. I hope not.

After the capitol, I drove into downtown. I saw a weird looking pavilion thing and stopped to take a picture. I got real lucky. I only had a nickel for the parking meter, but the person before me left 24 minutes paid for. Whew! I took a picture of America West Arena and Bank One Ballpark, too. Man... I hate how those places mostly have commercial names. Blech.

When I left the parking meter (with time to spare for the next person), I couldn't get over in the correct lane fast enough, so I decided to just go straight on the street I was on to see where it led me. I didn't see anything spectacular, but it's so cool to see what other cities look like. They have mostly the same stores and restaurants and stuff, but there are subtle differences. Like the cactus and palm trees that line the sidewalks. You don't see much of that in Austin, TX.

I also found a Boston Market and has some grub.

My rental car is doing a weird thing now. When I turn it off, the radio stays on. So I have to turn the radio off separate. It wasn't doing that yesterday. Phooey.

I'm off again to get some cultural enrichment! Later!

Day 2: 8:41 a.m.

Breakfast this morning consisted of eggs, bacon and match stick potatoes. I call them shoestring potatoes. My belly is happy, and I'm about ready to start out for the day. I'm a little nervous to drive a strange car in a strange city. But I have a mission... the main purpose for my trip, so to speak. More on that later.

Sleeping was elusive last night. I think it's because my body is still on Texas time. I don't feel bad, though.

The hair dryer in my room didn't work this morning, so engineering came and installed a new one. It's a powerful little thing!

'kay... I'll be back later to fill you in on all my sightseeing for today!

Day 1, 8:00 p.m.

I'm getting so sleepy. My watch says 8:00 p.m., but my body clock says 10:00. That's my bedtime, normally. I think I'll crawl into that big fluffy bed and read a while. Big plans for tomorrow!

I forgot to mention... as we were making our descent into Phoenix, we went through the most beautiful bank of clouds. I've flown through clouds before, but never this way. We weren't flying directly through them. We were in a break in the clouds, but the clouds were over and under us. There were tunnels into the clouds. I wish I could speak poetically because then I could paint a picture with words so you could feel the way I felt. I felt like I was in a fairy land.

I just noticed something... there's a full length mirror directly across from the toilet. If I don't close the door, I can watch myself pee. Oh joy.

I'm wondering... why are the trashcans in hotel rooms always so durn small?

Day 1, 6:30 p.m.

The first thing on my sightseeing list is Arizona State University. It's right down the street from my hotel. I have a map of the campus that shows where I can find artwork, so I started hunting for them. I found 4 of them before I decided I needed to get some food. I found a Quiznos Subs and got a big ol' sammich.

The Tempe City hall building is right across the street. It's like an inverted pyramid.

Oh... I'm totally off my diet now... this brownie with white and milk chocolate chips is scrumptious.

Day 1, 4:00 p.m.

When the plane landed, I found myself in Phoenix, Arizona! Woo-Hoo! I got my rental car. It's a blue chevy cavalier which is like a mix between my current car (blue honda civic) and my prior car (green pontiac sunfire). I'm amazed how much the cavaliers look like the sunfires on the inside now.

I had no trouble finding my hotel in Tempe despite the fact that I didn't print out a map, and I've never been to Phoenix before. I kinda had a feel for where it was compared to Sky Harbor airport from all the research I was doing when I was figuring out things to do here. It was still a little scary driving in a strange place, though.

I'm a little disappointed in my hotel room. It's a nice room, but I took a chance and paid for "Run of the House" which means they have to give me the best room they have available, but I couldn't reserve anything. It's cheaper than reserving the best room, but there's no guarantee. Anyway... all the good rooms were booked up at least one day during my stay, so I got a standard room. Oh well... it's still nice.

After I unpacked, I set up my laptop. Get this... they have wireless internet access right here in my room!! I thought I'd need dialup, and choked when I saw that a local call costs $1.00. Nope... just plug it in and PLAY!!

I better get going... I don't want to spend all my sightseeing time sitting at the computer!

Day 1: 2:30 p.m.

I'm on the plane! The take off was pretty smooth. The coolest part... I saw my house from the air! Some of the houses on my street look like they have blue roofs. Right now, all I see is green and brown land. We've got another 1.5 hours before we land. I'm not having trouble going off my diet now. I just ate some peanuts, and I've got some Ritz Air Crisps for later. I'm drinking a Coke, too. This is the first caffeine I've had in over 6 weeks. I hope I don't start bouncing off the walls.

I don't think I'll keep the computer out too much longer. I can't open it all the way, so the angle of the screen makes it hard to see. I sure hope the guy in front of me doesn't lean back!

Oh... no one sat in my row on my side of the plane, so I have again avoided social interaction with strangers. Woo-Hoo!

One of the flight attendents looks like Lynn Kretsky (sp?) from "24." I didn't realize that same actress was in the movie Kalifornia until just recently. I remember seeing that movie and not liking her very much. But I like her in "24." I think I didn't like her in Kalifornia because it was weird to see David Duchovney with anyone except Gillian Anderson.

This caffeine is making me need to pee. I sure hope I can hold it. I really hate using airplane lavatories.

Day 1: noon

Here I sit in the Barbara Jordan terminal of the Austin-Bergstrom Airport. I've been here quite a while I got here way way WAY early, as I was very nervous about going through security. Not that I thought they would strip search me or anything... I just haven't gone through security since they tightened things up and I was nervous I would do something stupid. I got through it fine, though.

I'm having some lunch right now. My flight doesn't leave for another hour and forty five minutes. I'm having a hard time going off my diet, though. I got a chicken caeser salad and a bottle of water. If there had been a Starbucks here, I would have gotten an iced mocha, but Starbucks lost a sale. I hope they don't go out of business.

I always feel like half kid/half adult whenever I go to the airport to fly somewhere. I'm all giddy and excited because flying simply rocks. But I also feel very adult because it's not like your average kid can pick up and go flying somewhere. And I feel all important sitting here typing on my laptop. I wonder what people think I'm doing.

The book I brought is Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn. It's an epic fantasy... three books in the series. I'm almost to page 50, and I think I'm going to love it.

The bathrooms here are really clean. And they have artsy tiles with painted pictures of guitars and cactuses. And the toilets flush by themselves and the water runs from the faucet just by putting your hands under them. Ah... this is the life.

Is it wrong to put ranch dressing on a caesar salad instead of caesar dressing?