Trout Fishing in Arizona

If you are now one of my Facebook friends, you probably noticed, to your salivary glands' delight, that a preponderance of our posts have to do with food and drink. There are many good restaurants in the Tucson area, and prices are reasonable enough that we can afford to go out frequently.  We also enjoy just getting together with friends late in the afternoon.  But the main reason we have been eating out so much is that we find ourselves away from the house at lunch time, and lunch time is a great time to have a big meal.  Not only is it less expensive than at dinner time, but it's much better for your metabolism to eat during the middle of the day and then lightly in the evening.  Okay, so these are all just good excuses.

Living in the Boston area, and particularly in Acton, we have become used to getting the best of the best, both in vegetables and fish.  We have slaked our thirst for really fresh vegetables, somewhat, with our finding the local organic garden we talked about in the last post.  But finding good, fresh fish has proven to be somewhat elusive.

It's not that the grocery stores don't have a wide variety of fish.  They do. And it's not that we can't get the Atlantic species we're used to; I am a big proponent of eating locally, and I would be very happy with good, fresh Pacific fish. And there's the key word: fresh. the majority of fish found in stores is either frozen, previously frozen, or never frozen, but with the sunken eyes that tell you it came off the boat more than a day or two ago.  The two exceptions are salmon which, whether it's wild or farm raised, I can only enjoy every so often; and trout.  The trout has turned out to be absolutely delicious, and since we have discovered it, we have eaten it about once a week.

(In all of the above I am excluding shrimp, which tends to be frozen and of very good quality whether you live in Boston or Arizona.)

One amusing difference we have found with the trout is that apparently Arizonians, if that is the right term, have much more fragile sensibilities when it comes to knowing the source of their food.  In only one store we have been to so far have we seen the actual whole trout; everywhere else they sell either a filet or a headless, tailless body.

And to be fair to the restaurants, we have found two that seem to be able to get fresh fish and cook it properly: Bluefin and Poca Cosa, the latter being an outstanding Mexican/Sonoran style bistro.

We are now exactly 16 days away from closing on our house, and just under three weeks away from departing for our journey back to Acton.  I'll save being maudlin for a subsequent post, since now we are too busy taking stock of what we need to do before we leave.  We are done with all the shopping that we're going to do now.  We have appointments set up with our contractor for the changes that will be made to the house while we are away.  We have scheduled a temporary forwarding of mail with the post office from our vacation home to our Acton home.  I still have a doctors appointment and a hair appointment. We have a couple of social engagements. We have to move out of our rental villa and into our friend's house for several nights, along with all of the stuff we have bought for the new house which we can't put into the new house until after we close. And we have to sort through all of our clothing and miscellaneous stuff to see what we can ship in order to minimize what we have in the car. Even the car has an appointment at the Volvo dealer; we have put on so many miles it's time for the next regular checkup!


And today is just another wonderful, sunny day here. Bob is out playing golf.  We will both be working on our online courses for a couple of hours later.  And then we're off to a movie this afternoon with a friend, followed by dinner here at the house with some of the fresh vegetables we picked up yesterday.

The Waning of TV

I'm watching the end of this weekend's delayed golf tournament as I'm finishing my breakfast at eight o'clock.  Television in Arizona has been a challenge.  We are three hours behind the East Coast during daylight time, since Arizona doesn't go on daylight time, but the television schedule is central time.  Of course, anything live such as sports events or presidential addresses happen in real time which is then three hours earlier than Eastern time.  The TV in our rental condo is an old-fashioned screen and although there is cable there is no HD nor VCR.  Last night we were able to watch both "The Good Wife" and "The Mentalist" without staying up too late.  Conversely, there have been numerous times we've been out with friends till nine or so, which means that there is nothing on except the 10 o'clock news at nine, which is not really worth watching. Occasionally we pick up reruns of Rachel Maddow.  The result of all this is that we have been watching very little television and to our surprise have not been missing it. I wonder what will happen when we get back to Acton, whether we will feel the need to catch up on the few shows we have missed entirely or whether we will continue watching very selected TV.  It has been easy to adapt to watching practically no TV; I suspect it will be just as easy to adapt to our old habits of watching TV most nights.

Bob is out playing golf again, which gives me the time to blog and to work on my current online course on "global poverty".  He has really been enjoying the ability to play two or three times a week, at low cost and very close.  Yesterday afternoon I went out with him at four o'clock.  He was able to get a tee time as a single, so I was able to ride around in the golf cart and enjoy the beautiful scenery and views of the mountains from the course.

With the close of our new house almost upon us (April 16th) we have been busy buying some of the essentials and are pretty much done at this point.  Online shopping has really been a big help! We'll be meeting with our contractor a couple of times before we leave to go over the details of changes we want made, and we will likely be back here in October for a week or two to actually move in and get things set up before we come back in January.  Our house is small enough that we can get by with a minimal amount of furniture.  We do still have to buy a few patio chairs since we intend to spend a great deal of time outside.

We continue to meet people here and there, and everyone is very welcoming, since just about everyone has come from somewhere else.  Interestingly, the local phone book has a section listing people by hometown.  There are three other people from Acton here, although I don't recognize any of the names.  Our time is filled with golf; going to the fitness center; going out to eat; visiting various places of interest as we're still learning the area; "slouching" with friends; playing bridge; going to movies; sitting outside for cocktail hour; reading; the occasional trivia contest; and so on.  Next January we will really get into the swing of things and Bob will also join a pickle ball league, while I will probably get involved in a book group or some other club. it's a pretty easy life.

Of course everyone who lives here tends to encourage other people to move here.  What I find quite funny ,and gratifying in an odd sort of way, is the reaction when they find out we're from Boston.  "Oh, I understand why you only want to spend a couple of months a year here.  Why would anybody want to move out of New England, it's such a great place?" Note that there are a preponderance of people here from Washington state (rain) and Minnesota (frigid).

The weather has gotten warmer now and we expect cactus to start blooming in another week or two.  We discovered a local garden that sells "almost organic" vegetables on Saturdays and Wednesday mornings.  Last Saturday we got some gorgeous chard, some unbelievably tender asparagus, and beautiful green onions.  We somehow managed to miss the oyster mushrooms but are hoping to pick up some on Wednesday.

With the warm weather - 75 to 80 during the day, and generally brilliant sunshine - we have to be very careful not to get too much sun although it's so enticing to do so.  We've learned that a little bit at a time is okay, and that hats and sunscreen are our friends.

That's it for now.  My TV for the day is almost over and it looks like Tiger is going to win.

Just Strolling Down the Stravenue

I'm starting this long-overdue entry on the 14th of March (pi day for you mathematicians and scientists, and tomorrow is the Ides for the rest of you).  So much has happened here in the last two weeks!  The rain from a week ago has gone, as has the cooler weather, and you can see the results everywhere you look.  Some of the cacti are getting ready to bloom in a few weeks.  The parched, dry rough on the golf course has started to take on a pale green hue.  It's getting harder and harder to see any snow on the mountains, except for the very top of the tallest ones. Even Mt. Lemmon, which at 9800' boasts the southernmost ski area in the US, has temporarily suspended skiing until they get more snow.

This morning we are sitting out on our back patio enjoying the warm weather.  I'm reading a book, and Bob is intently listening to one of the lectures from his online course on Justice.  This is not justice in the normal sense, but rather in a very broad approach to philosophy, ethics, etc. I would probably be taking it as well, but I'm pretty much tied up with my own course on the economics of global poverty.  These are issues I never studied in college since I was focused so much on the science and math, and it is quite eye-opening.  Foreign aid is rarely the panacea we think it is; poverty is a very complex, local and culturally-specific set of issues.

Bob has been playing a fair amount of golf, as well as taking lessons, and spending time on the driving range. It's really nice that he can do that on a regular basis and not worry so much about the weather cooperating.

One of the interesting parts about this extended vacation is that it doesn't feel so much like a vacation.  Two big contributors to that are that we are renting a "Villa", rather than staying in a hotel; and we have some very good friends here and have met others who make us feel very welcome.  I have found myself saying "it's time to go home" rather than "it's time to go back to the villa or the hotel".  It truly makes a difference.

A few weeks ago we thought it might be interesting to take a look at a few houses here, just for curiosity's sake. We have enjoyed our stay here so much that we know we'll be returning next winter, and we thought a bit of interior sightseeing would help us decide what to rent next year. Our friend Maren is a realtor, so it was very easy to do this without making any sort of commitment.  There are so many different models of house here in Saddlebrooke, and we had only seen a couple by virtue of visiting our friends here.

The more we looked the more we got excited about being here next winter, and Bob kind of tossed around the idea of perhaps buying a house ourselves, so we didn't have to rely on rentals and didn't have to worry about specific dates when we might be able to come out. Well, so that you're not on the edge of your seats, we actually made an offer on a small (2 br) but lovely house.  The offer was accepted after a couple of tos and fros, and we are now in the process of making it happen.  Yesterday was mortgage day and today is inspection day.  If all goes well, we will close on April 16, just before we leave!  This has been almost as surprising to us as it must be to you.  We are very excited about it and looking forward to being here next winter and perhaps for a short time in the summer or fall. But don't worry, we're not ready to move out of New England any time soon.

Attached are just a couple of photos of the outside front and back. The Santa Catalina mountains can be seen from both.







Only in Tucson: We noticed one or two roads with names like "Cherrybell Stra". We found out after asking that "stra" is an abbreviation for "stravenue". So I looked it up in Wikipedia and the answer was so good I have to quote it directly. "A stravenue (portmanteau of street and avenue) is a type of road particular to Tucson, Arizona. The United States Postal Service officially supports the abbreviation STRA for stravenues. A Stravenue runs "diagonally between and intersects a Street and an Avenue."

Today was our second all-day excursion looking at furniture. It's been awhile since we've bought any and it's even harder when you're not familiar with the stores in the area. After looking at and sitting on so many pieces of furniture we couldn't remember which was which, we finally bought a couch. Now we have a place to sit. Next step: a bed. After that we'll probably take our time.

We just finished dinner, it's about 7:30 p.m., and I can report that it's a lovely, dry 75 degrees outside. Delightful!

Month's End

February is a short month, but it still counts and we have been here for all of it. It's hard to believe the time has passed by so quickly!

We've been told many times by many people that this February was unseasonably cold, but to us it's felt like heaven. It's difficult to complain about 60-degree days when the sun is shining and it feels so much warmer. We've had a bunch of visitors and have thoroughly enjoyed them all: Bob's sister for a week; a friend from college for just a weekend (overlapping); Gail's sister and brother-in-law for a week; and Richard and Diane, also for just a couple of days. It's been fun showing them around and discovering new things ourselves in the process.

I've noticed a slight change in my speech as our time here has gone on: instead of saying we're going back to "our Villa", I've started saying we're "going home" on our way back from dinner or shopping. Not to worry, friends on the East Coast! We have no intention of moving here, but may well become snowbirds. Since I can no longer participate in skating, skiing, snowshoeing, or any of the other joys of New England in winter, I may as well enjoy the sunshine here. And Bob has taken up golf with a vengeance. He has made it to the driving range at least 3 days a week, is in the middle of a series of 5 lessons, and can play 9 or 18 holes whenever he wants. The closest course is 2 minutes away via golf cart, so it's criminal not to take advantage of it. He played yesterday, and is on the course now as we speak.

Ironically, Bob has been getting less exercise rather than more, partly because we are just enjoying exploring around Tucson and partly because he has not yet found activities to replace either hockey or his gym at Koko.  There is a gym here, also 2 min. away, but he doesn't like it is much as KoKo so it doesn't get as much use.  Bob is looking into winter hockey in Tucson; there does not seem to be very much of it, but it is conceivable he could play occasionally.  He would also like to be riding his bike, which is in Acton.  A very nice Jumbo (Tufts alum) loaned Bob his bike for the duration, but Bob, being the competitor that he is, would prefer to be riding a bike with clipless pedals. All things to think about for next year.

As we drive around we are continuing to amuse ourselves with sights big and small. Today's winner for best street name: Calle sin Nombre
And the two runners-up: Roller Coaster Road, and Ina Road, sometimes misspelled on the street sign as In a Road.

Tomorrow we will be going to our second "First Saturday Sale" at the H.F.Coors Pottery. It's owned by some member of the Coors family, and they make beautiful dishes and serving pieces. On the first Saturday of each month, overruns and better seconds of both their consumer and commercial pieces are available at greatly reduced prices. It's kind of like a refined version of the original Filenes Basement, minus the shoving and undressing in the aisles. Find them at http://www.HFCoors.com  or on FB.

This afternoon will be the first in a while that we've had time to slouch in the sun on the back patio or by the clubhouse pool. We're going to try to fit more of that in this weekend between Coors, craft shows, gym, and golf.

No complaints.

Winter in "The 'Brooke"

With just a few exceptions, it has been unseasonably cold in Saddlebrooke since we have arrived. Of course, it's all a matter of perspective, so for those of us from New England watching the current east coast weather from afar, it seems positively balmy here. I'm delighted, but not at all surprised, that many of my friends back east love the outdoor opportunities that the snow and cold bring: Mary and Marga and Patty skating on the pond (who cleared the snow, by the way?); Mary and Randy going skiing instead of shoveling right away (good call, the snow at the house will wait); Marga and Ed brushing up on their snowshoe technique; Diane and Bill finally getting a chance to cross-country ski after waiting in vain all last winter. Thank you all for posting your exploits on FB! I hope the storm has been kind to you in other dimensions as well, so no significant loss of power, and no snow-related injuries, please!

Although we arrived on a 60-something degree day at the end of January, the daytime temps here have been mostly in the 50s. When the sun is out it's really beautiful and a sweater or sweatshirt suffices. As soon as the sun goes down, the temperature plummets, this past week into the 20s, which is cold even for us. Today begins a string of sunny days in the 60s, which is just perfect for sitting or walking outside. Saddlebrooke sits at about 3500 feet above sea level, so it's always a few degrees cooler than Phoenix, and even a degree or two cooler than downtown Tucson. Because of the altitude the atmosphere is a little thinner, so it's possible to get a tan almost all year 'round, or a burn if you forget the daily sunscreen.

Saddlebrooke is a "dark sky" community, which means no streetlights and only low, downward facing outdoor lighting. Residents are careful to turn off lights in rooms they're not using, to use task lighting when possible, and not to have blazing white lights in the rest of the house. As a result, the night sky is spectacular. There are always constellations and whatever planet happens to be near. I've even managed to see the Milky Way, which I remember seeing all the time when I was growing up and there was little light pollution, and hardly ever since then.

We ate last night at a lovely little bistro with a view of the mountains at sunset. We sipped our before-dinner wine outside, watching the light play off the rocky terrain. Dinner inside was delicious, and we strolled back to the car slowly, just savoring the moment with our good friends and the night sky.

Bob played golf this morning while I sat and chatted with a few ladies over tea. (Next time we'll plan better and have four for tea and bridge!) My sister, Paula, and her husband, Mike, arrive tomorrow to spend a week with us. On our way to the grocery store we stopped at the Western National Parks store, which had a special exhibit of Oaxacan carved wood, rugs, and hand-embroidered blouses. I could not pass up the last, and bought two that are just perfect to wear here. We finished up the afternoon sitting in the sun on our patio, enjoying a little reading, which we've hardly had time for.

Not too bad for the middle of February.

Settling In

I can hardly believe it's been over a week since we moved in! We played bridge with 3 other couples and have enjoyed the sunshine on our small but pleasant back patio.

On Wednesday we drove up to Phoenix to pick up Bob's sister, Aline, and the three of us had lunch at this wonderful little bistro located in a most unlikely industrial park location, just south of the airport and right off the highway. Google research paid off again. There was  a nice variety of sandwiches and salads. The three we had were delicious.

She left yesterday afternoon.  I don't know where that week went either. We saw the Tucson botanical garden, a moderate size space right in the heart of Tucson, and primarily a cactus garden, although they do have a tropical butterfly enclosure which we just barely got into before it closed.  The butterflies were gorgeous, not the usual ones that we see around us.  The enclosure also had hummingbirds flitting about, except for the two who had built nests and were sitting on their eggs.

On Friday, yet another old friend from Tufts arrived.  Bob and I hadn't seen Dick for about 35 years, and once again, with the exception of a lot of gray and white hair, he looked the same to us.  Aline had visited him just a few years ago, so the two of them had a lot to talk about and to catch up on.  In a rather whirlwind weekend, we managed to visit Tubac on the art show weekend and had lunch in Tumacacori at Wisdom's, where they have good Mexican food and great margaritas.  I'm sure we will be going back to both when my sister Paula arrives.

We also visited San Xavier del Bac, the oldest Catholic mission in the US.  It is over 300 years old and has been in continuing service. Originally Jesuit, it is now run by the Franciscans.  It's quite beautiful, with an interesting mix of southwestern architecture influenced by Europe.  In one small alcove of the church there is an effigy of Saint Francis.  The faithful and penitent approach the effigy, lift his head and kiss it, and stroke the cloth that is draped over the body.  On the purple cloth are pinned many "milagros", literally "miracles", that are tiny stamped tin figures of animals, people, or crosses.  When you pin a milagro you are either asking St. Francis to intercede for you or thanking him and God for a prayer that was answered or for your good fortune. We had purchased some  milagros last year at a little shop and brought them with us, so were able to pin our own on the cloth.  

The four of us sat at dinner one night (Dick, Aline, Bob, and me) reminiscing a bit but also just chattering away about things we had seen, the excellent food in front of us, and various small things.  The odd thing about getting together with really old friends, the ones you met in your 20s or perhaps even in your late teens, is that often it doesn't seem odd at all. Perhaps it's because of the intensity of relationships that one forms in college at the same time that one is also just figuring out who and what we are and setting the groundwork for our future thoughts and ideas and philosophies.

It really was a Tufts weekend, as my other roommates Gail and Lisa also came West for the long weekend.  They were here primarily to see the gem show, which is the premier gem and mineral show in the country.  It was funny and a bit confusing to have three Gails at the same time (actually two Gails and a Gale), but wonderful to all get together even briefly.  As people were leaving we actually remembered to take a photo of the Tufts ladies: Barbara, Maren, Gail, Lisa, and Gail.

In a previous post, I believe I had mentioned how disappointed I was in the Mexican food I had had in Arizona last year, and that one of my goals this year was to find a good Mexican restaurant, something beyond good tacos and enchiladas.  Well, we found one.  Bistro Poca Cosa (" little thing") has only a chalkboard menu that changes twice a day, depending upon what is available and what the chef feels like making.  They specialize in Sonoran food and have many excellent choices.  They also have "El Plato" which has three dishes from the menu, chosen for you by the chef.  You do not get a choice.  You do not get to say "I don't like red sauce".  You just get to eat it.  And if more than one of you at the table orders it, your plates will be completely different.  It's a delicious way to try many of the items on the menu.

Today we have no houseguests, but we still have very little time to spare.  I am trying to finish this post right before dinner, having spent time this morning going to the gym and then this afternoon doing a little bit of food shopping.  After dinner we are having people over for bridge and to listen to the State of the Union, which here will start at 7 PM.

It's only about 50° here right now, but the sun is so warm that I went out with just a fleece vest.  The sky is still "Arizona blue".

Ridin' Around in my Automobile...

...has a different meaning in Saddlebrooke. We now use the golf cart to get back and forth to the fitness center and clubhouse, as well as to our friends' houses if it's not supposed to be too cold in the evening, as the temperature can and does drop dramatically in the desert. Yesterday it was 38 degrees when we got up and by noon it was 73 and sunny.

We finished looking around our villa to see what was provided, and when I opened one of the cabinets in the laundry room, I screamed! Bob ran over to see what had happened. It was neither a broken bone nor a mouse, but rather a penguin-embossed, stainless-steel ice bucket with bakelite handles. Why the startled reaction? Not only do I have the identical model at home, but so do Pat Pluskal and Sally Heaney! It's a regular source of amusement and discussion when we get together.

Tucson is a sprawling city. Once you get to the north side of the city proper, it seems almost linear in nature, with stores and businesses lined up along main roads. Saddlebrooke  is close to 30 miles from the center of Tucson, and takes about 40-45 minutes to drive in - not unlike the distance between Acton and Boston. One difference, though, is the lack of an east-coast style rush hour.

The villa in which we are staying is everything we could have hoped for in a rental and more. Barbara and Gale and Maren did a great job vetting it for us.We have two bedrooms, living room, dining area, eat-in kitchen, laundry room, and patio with a view of the mountains. Here are a few pictures.

Yesterday we played bridge with another couple, then attended a Superbowl party.

Today was pretty laid back. Our house cleaner (recommended by my friend) arrived at 7:30 a.m., so we decided to have breakfast at the clubhouse. Breakfast for two, including tip, just $14. We ran a few errands, then came back for a light lunch. After lunch, Bob hit some balls at the driving range while I sat on the patio and finished a book. Then we both went to the gym. After changing, at dusk we rode around the golf course in the cart we've rented, looking for wildlife. There were lots of mule deer, and a road runner, but not much else. I'm really hoping to see a javelina in the wild before our stay is over. 

Tomorrow we're playing bridge with a larger group.

On Wednesday, Bob's sister Aline arrives and we'll be site-seeing with her.

It's a tough life, and we're enjoying every sunny minute!

At last, Tucson

Tuesday Morning, January 29th. We are 4 hours away from Tucson and it still seems unreal. We've been traveling for 6 days now, reflecting on the changes in the landscape and people as we make our way to the southwest. It's so easy to say "desert",but there are changes big and small, different microclimates, and different vegetation.

We took a small detour to Hatch, NM, home of the famous Hatch chili peppers.  Before we got there, we had to go through US customs checkpoint, complete with drug sniffing dogs. Hatch is at least 50 miles from the Mexican border, but it is on I-25, a major route north from Mexico into Colorado.

Once we reached Hatch, we saw numerous stands were selling the dried chilies in large strands to be hung, but we decided we didn't really need that many.  It was an interesting little town, though.

On the approach to Tucson, we kept our eyes peeled for saguaro cactus in its natural environment.  We didn't count those saguaros that had been moved as part of a landscaping project.  Saguaros are native to and found only in the Sonoran Desert which includes a portion of southern Arizona and goes down into Mexico.  It wasn't until about 30 miles east of Tucson that we saw these majestic cacti.

We reached our destination - Barbara's and Gale's house - about three in the afternoon, and immediately felt as though we had reached our "other" home. it was uncanny: by five o'clock we had glasses of wine in our hands, had been chatting for two hours straight, Barbara was starting to get dinner ready, and the year between visits disappeared.

Between Tuesday afternoon arrival and Friday morning moving in to our "Villa" we:

• sat around, had wine, had dinner, had more wine (Tuesday)
• went shopping (non-perishable food and wine), sent a fax, Gail had her nails done, hung out, went out for Bob's birthday with Barbara, Gale, and Maren (Wednesday)
• Gail had blood work done (regular monthly), we picked up our mail that had been forwarded, made deviled eggs for the evening's party, and attended the party in our honor(!) held by Barbara and Gail. Got reacquainted with some people we met last year and met a few new ones. (Thursday)
• Got the key to the Villa, moved in all our stuff, got our rental golf cart, went food shopping for real food and a few incidentals, got our cards identifying us as temporary residents of Saddlebrooke, set up the wireless connections, and are scheduled to play bridge later this evening with Barbara and Gale.

Whew! Time for a glass of wine!

Not Just a Hole in the Ground

Carlsbad Caverns were amazing, even for a claustrophobe like me! I don't remember ever being inside a cave before, but this was like nothing I could have imagined.

Unlike the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns were not formed by the force of water running through rock. The hills under which the caverns are formed were originally a limestone reef, the collected bodies of marine sponges and animals, not coral. Previous older deposits of plants and animals underneath this reef created oil and gas deposits that released hydrogen sulfide which, when combined with rainfall and ambient oxygen, formed sulfuric acid. The acid carved large holes in the limestone, and changes over time formed the caverns.

On the approach road, many of the cliffs have holes of varying size, carved in the same manner. Because it was fairly early in the morning, there were very few people about, and these stately big-horn sheep felt safe enough to go foraging. We were fascinated watching them. If you blinked for too long you would lose them in the grass - they blend in so well.

Back to claustrophobia: there is none! The "big room" is approximately the size of 6 football fields. At one point, the top-to-floor distance is over 250 feet.

The caverns are filled with a variety of speleothems, which is the collective term for all the stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda-straws, and curtain formations. Another commonly-used word is decorations.

We spent three hours over about 1-1/2 miles gazing and gawking and taking over 100 pictures. The three below are just a small sample and don't begin to do it justice.

After we left the caverns, we went slightly south, around the Guadalupe Mountains, and into a tiny slice of southwest Texas, very close to the Mexican border. Here we found roads that defined straight, going off into that "vanishing point" we all were taught about in art class and never really understood..

Our overall impression of the high desert was one of stark, severe beauty.

Back into New Mexico, we spent the night in Las Cruces.

In the Dust Bowl

Leaving Arlington, TX this morning at 60 degrees felt great!

We always do the "idiot walk" as we leave a hotel room, peering into every corner to make sure we haven't left anything behind. The hallway carpet in this very nice, new Hilton Garden Inn has a pattern that weaves back and forth across the hallway, providing a nice visual reminder in case you've forgotten to check your room.

Driving through West Texas , there is a lot of open space and not much else. We've left the foothills and are back in the flats, the favorite home of the "White 3-Winged Windmill". They do not migrate south for the winter, so they're everywhere! The "Black, 4-bar Linkage Oil Jack" must be on the endangered list here as we've only seen a very few.

78 degrees in Snyder, TX, where we stopped for lunch at a nice little dive (my favorite type of place) called Taqueria Guadalajara. Enchiladas Suizas for me and Tacos al Pastor for Bob. Good, but I'm still on the hunt for the pinnacle of enchiladas Suizas.

We are on an undivided, 2-lane road for the next 198 miles. Speed limit is 75.

There are many fields that look freshly plowed, ready for planting cotton. Cows and oil jacks coexist happily. Moving irrigation pipes create crop circles. A dust devil appears in the distance and just as rapidly disappears. The first tumbleweed of the trip hits the car. The wind picks up and blows a curtain of dust across the road, reminding us that we are driving through part of the "dust bowl" described in the Ken Burns documentary.

There is so much of nothing out here when you compare it to the east coast. The small towns we pass through on I-20 are very linear (everything is right along the highway). Every other business has something to do with oil.

As we approach Carlsbad, our stop for the night, we are able to see the Guadalupe Mountains in the distance. We'll be driving alongside them tomorrow after we leave the caverns.

Tonight we are staying in the best hotel in town, a Hampton Inn, and had dinner at the best restaurant in town, a Chili's.

We are now on Mountain Time, so we can watch The Good Wife and The Mentalist and get to bed early.

Flatland

It's raining again, but it's intermittent and not too heavy, and has the benefit of washing the salt off the car.

About 50 miles east of Little Rock the grass turns green. 

We decide not to detour to Hope, AR, birthplace of Bill Clinton and home of Paul Klipsch (maker of fabulous speakers). We went to the Clinton Presidential library in Little Rock last year.

The landscape has flattened out significantly in the western part of Arkansas and into Texas. I-30 comprises both a high-speed interstate and a local access road, so there is a lot to look at. There are a few large ranches with enormous main houses right out of a movie, but there are also trailer parks and rows of cookie-cutter houses.

There are pawn shops and gun shops everywhere you look, sometimes combined into one business.

As we approach Dallas, we pass a couple of high schools with stadiums that are the equal of, or maybe better than, those of many colleges in the northeast.

Downtown Dallas, at least what we can see from the highway, has a lot of interesting modern architecture, using glass, angles and curves, and sometimes colored elements in the buildings. Dallas's "World Trade Center" (convention center) is the exception: it is a dark grey/brown, hulking cube with no architectural features whatsoever to relieve its monolithic appearance.

The highways here are large, with lots of lanes and proper banking on the curves, which makes for fairly pleasant driving. Still, there are signs to remind everyone of the 3258 traffic fatalities in 2012. I had to look up the rate to get some perspective. Texas has 1.3 fatalities per 100 million miles. Arizona is at 1.8. Montana is the highest in the nation at 2.0. The lowest rate in the nation? Massachusetts, at 0.6. The old joke is that we never get going fast enough to hurt anyone badly before we crash into each other. Still, all of these rates are half of what they were 20 years ago, thanks to seat belts, air bags, energy-absorbing bumpers, and so on.

Tennessee

It's still cold as we leave Hagerstown, MD, for Knoxville, just about 14 degrees, and it snowed about 3/4" last night.  The road looks clear, and I have seen a couple of plows/sanders, but we haven't gone more than 5 miles before we see the first accident . Others are announced on the radio. Lets hope conditions improve.

We will be following I-81 for a couple hundred miles in Tennessee. Right now we are about 20 miles west of the blue ridge mountains, which are bathed in the early morning sunlight, with puffy clouds as a backdrop. Well be driving alongside them for a long time. Very pretty.

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Friday was a "teid" day (diet spelled backwards). There should be fewer of these once we are in our own place and we can at least control what we eat part of the time.  I'm not so naive as to think we won't eat out or drink too much. As I'm reminded by my Facebook friends, a lot of our trips and activities seem to revolve around food, and today is no exception!

We started the day with the usual, complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn, where they had surprisingly good biscuits and gravy. Gail gobbled these up.

Lunch was in Nashville at a Mexican restaurant with the odd name of "Chuys", oddly in the shadow of The Grand Ole Opry. This was our second time here - the first being last year on our way back. I had chicken enchiladas with green chiles from Hatch, NM, the chile pepper capital of the southwest. Bob had the southwestern enchilada, made with blue corn tortillas. Did I mention that they make their own delicious tortillas? And that the decor includes faux Diego Rivera murals, beautiful Mexican tile work  and artificial palm trees? Odd name and place, but nothing odd about the food.

We reached Memphis, and had a little time before dinner, so we made a very brief tour of the STAX Museum of American Soul Music. Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones (and the MGs), James Brown, Otis Redding, Bobbie Bland, Ike and Tina Turner, and many others all had their start there.

After a suitable interval so we'd be hungry again, we met Dan Lewis, old friend of Gail's from HP, at Neely's Interstate Barbecue, also in Memphis. It is owned by the uncle of Patrick and Gina Neely, of Food Network fame. This humble restaurant has been named as the best barbecue in Memphis. We agree. After a lot of catching up, we drove over the border into Arkansas for the night.

I'm Sorry, We Just Ran Out

Northeast states are so small , except for Maine, of course, that it seems one is making great progress : Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland - all in one day!

Today: Maryland, West Virginia (just a corner), Virginia, Tennessee.

Tomorrow: Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. And about 50 miles into Arkansas. It turns out that Tennessee is a very long state when you traverse it NE to SW.

I can't wait till we reach Texas.

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When I was growing up I dreaded going out to eat with my family. No matter where we went, it seemed that (a) they were out of whatever I ordered, having just served the very last to the table next door; or (b) they brought the wrong dish; or (c) my dinner came last, often a full 5 or 10 minutes after everyone else was served. After a while it became a family joke, although my sense of humor has never been at its best when I'm hungry. This scene in all its variations continued even after I was married, although less and less frequently, and by the time I was about 30 had stopped.

Fast forward about 30 years. Two nights ago (the night before we left) we had dinner at Not Your Average Joe's, where I ordered a yummy-sounding flounder special. Yup - they were just out of it, and it was only 6 p.m.! I reminded Bob about my dining curse, but he assured me it was only a fluke. (Groan) Yesterday was uneventful. 

Tonight we went to a steak place in Knoxville, where we both ordered Beefeater martinis, Bob's with olives, mine with onions. And for all you purists out there, I know that a martini with onions is really called a Gibson, but having tried to order that once or twice, it only serves to confuse the waitperson, so I choose my battles. A few minutes later she comes back to let us know that they have just run out of Beefeater, and would Bombay Sapphire be ok? Yes, of course, although in all honesty we both prefer Beefeater. 

Another few minutes go by and she returns with the martinis, Bob's with 3 big, beautiful olives, and mine....naked. She told us they had just run out of onions! To their credit, the manager was on his way to the store to buy more, and in a few minutes the onions appeared. Not only was the price of the martini taken off the bill, but the manager came over later to apologize himself. Very nicely handled. 

We'll see what happens the rest of the trip.

Arranca!*

We're on our way!  It’s 9 degrees outside with bright blue skies, and we are comfortable inside our 70 degree car.

There's always a feeling of excitement when we leave for a vacation, whether it’s a night in New York or a week in Louisville. Starting a drive across the country adds an element of uncertainty and anticipation. On previous trips we have always found the odd and unexpected; they are everywhere if you look for them. We're starting on familiar, well-traveled roads. Bob says he can anticipate every curve. To me, there is still a special feeling because I know they will be taking us to some new places.

We’re in Pennsylvania now, and regrettably, the weather is no warmer. The temperature has not climbed above 20, and there is a brisk wind, making it feel even colder. I’m sure there is no sympathy from the New England crowd! I think we'll have to wait a couple more days.

Driving along routes 80 and 81 the road is frequently sandwiched between the hilltops it was carved from. There are picturesque waterfalls of ice on both sides, but alas, no place to stop and take a picture. The Delaware River was full of small ice floes, making patterns as they drifted by. It would be great if cars came equipped with a remote-controlled, outside-mounted camera that could capture these scenes!

Pennsylvania has some great place names. How would you like to live in (and spell) Hecksherville? I wonder whether there is any gas in the rock under Frackville? And how about Shamokin – do you remember the Allan Sherman song about it?

We passed by one of the Bell and Evans chicken farms near Fredericksburg, PA, on our way to a coffee shop in Hershey to meet another old friend from Tufts, Helen Delano. We spent a very pleasant hour catching up.

Even though I grew up near Philadelphia, about 90 miles from Hershey, I’d never been there before. The park is closed this time of year, but it was impressive just to drive by it and catch a glimpse of a few of the 11 roller coasters that it boasts. The town itself is small but very attractive, built around the chocolate factory and amusement park. The aforementioned coffee shop is on W. Chocolate Ave, near Cocoa Street. The streetlights in the center of town are shaped like Hershey kisses, some wrapped and some unwrapped.  

We reached today’s destination of Hagerstown, MD. Tomorrow: Tennessee!

*And, they're off!

End of Term

Don't let anyone tell you that you will be bored in retirement. We have more to do than there are hours in the day to do it. Hockey, gym three times a week (two different ones of course), shopping, book group, movies, poker group, errands, bridge group, theater, getting together with friends, concerts, travel, gardening, condo board - our calendar looks and feels like a project plan!

Something was missing this fall. I still had a little time on my hands since I no longer do the cooking, etc., so I decided to go to school! There was a newspaper article about MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and edX, a consortium of several schools, including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley, who were trying this out. Why not? I had always enjoyed school; it was free, so no real pressure; and I picked a course I thought I had sufficient background in to be an enjoyable refresher: Biostatistics for Public Health and Epidemiology.

A warning before you read on: I became addicted! 

OK, you've been warned. PH207X (I'll use the course number instead of its long name above) was taught over 12 weeks as a series of videos by two professors from Harvard's graduate school of Public Health. They coordinated videos on biostatistics and epidemiology. Each week there was a homework assignment, and we had use of statistics software called Stata.

The prerequisites for PH207X were "merely" a sound knowledge of algebra. Estimated time was 10 hours a week. No problem! I own a vintage math degree containing two full semesters of statistics (like new, hardly ever used). 

You can probably guess the rest of the story, but since this is a blog I will continue. Weeks 1 and 2 were a breeze, and I was congratulating myself already on how well I was doing. Beginning with week 3, the tempo with which the material was presented increased, and I realized I would also need to dredge up those study skills I had stored in the basement. Fortunately I had the box clearly labelled: Taking Notes & Reviewing.

Over the course of the 12 weeks I managed to fill an entire 3-ring binder with notes, tutorial examples, and homework problems and solutions. I was astounded by how rigorous the course was, and I guess I'm more competitive than I thought, since I took up the challenge. 

What made the course even more interesting was the discussion board, on which I had the opportunity to read and exchange ideas with some of the 37,000 students taking the course. (Yes, 37,000). It was fascinating to read about the ongoing projects that some folks had, especially in India and Africa. What was most remarkable is that from time to time one of the professors would respond to a post. I was impressed.

I took the final two days ago with great trepidation. What if those study skills I had stored were past their freshness date? Turned out that they aged pretty well. I passed, and I am thrilled! I can't wait to find out some course statistics, such as how many of the 37,000 took the final, and how many of

those passed.  

But now I'm in withdrawal for a few weeks until Spring.

For the Spring term I have registered for a course from MIT edX called The Economics of Global Poverty. I have persuaded Bob and my friend Gale in AZ to take a course called Justice, which discusses the important social, philosophical, and political issues of today.

Does that make me a pusher as well as a user?

Here is the link to Spring classes: https://www.edx.org/courses  

Why This Blog and Title

Last year's blog of our trip cross-country and through the Southwest was fun to write, and I have read it several times since, reliving the trip and smiling each time. I am so glad that I did it for Bob and me. Many of my friends and relatives were kind enough to tell me that they, too, enjoyed reading it. A few, remarkably, even admitted to waiting eagerly for each installment.

Still, I did not intend to blog about our trip to Arizona this year. What more could I possibly add? After all, the distance between here and Tucson has not changed, so far as we know. I am not a science-denier, but my knowledge of meteorological history and climatologic trends is alarmingly slim, so the best I'll be able to do is report on the weather of the day, information you can easily get from Accuweather. Our itinerary does not currently include detours for roadside oddities, although it's possible the odd one may pop up. 

Despite having heard our plans for a sedate and uneventful time away, several of the aforementioned friends and relatives gently twisted my arm - it didn't take much - and asked if I would blog about our experiences again. How could I not acquiesce?

Which brings us here: it's the second time around, and I have only a few inklings about what may appear. I hope you enjoy them.