PBX to PHX, Awesome Birthday!

I had a wonderful birthday! Cora and I left the hotel at 5 this morning and got to the airport and were among the last to arrive for the flight. We had to sit separated…by the isle.
It was a lengthy flight. I asked the guy next to me if his daughter could hold my GPS. It is aging and not picking up satellites as quickly as it used to. She needed to hold it near the window so it could pick up the signal…and Cora would not let me turn it on until she made sure it was among the safe and approved electronic devices…it was. Anyway, it tracked our progress to the South Eastern corner of Oregon before it slipped away from the window…last known speed? 517 miles per hour. Altitude? 864 feet…something wrong with its logarithms I think.

We arrived over Arizona and I watched the cloud cover below us loosen and disappear. I am pretty sure I saw the Grand Canyon from 30,000 feet…wow, it is big. Our fellow passengers were having a pretty good flight. Our Flight Attendants even better. They were very funny: “in the event our Southwest Airlines flight becomes a cruise, please use these flotation devices.” “ In the event of an unplanned cabin depressurization use this…and if they were planned, we would have all called in sick today.” They got funnier. “If the cabin depressurizes, and you have a child next to you, please put your mask on first, then your child’s. If you are sitting with two children, put yours on and then choose the one with the most college potential.” They sang us songs about why their airline is best…and faster than a bus. To cap it all, as we pulled up the to the gate, one of them simply said: “Now, get out.” They were at the end of their four day week and heading for home.

We got the car, got misplaced and found our way to Beth’s. Phoenix, by the way, is much easier to navigate than Portland.

We had lunch with Beth and then went off to explore Phoenix. Wow, what a cool town! Well, warm. We found the Zoo, and the Botanical Garden…and Papago Park. Also we located the capitol, where we found the Anchor of the USS Arizona and her signal mast. It was awesome…very touching.

We met Kim and John and Kids! Cora has been corresponding with Kim for several months, so we decided to get together for dinner. They are great people! I had SO much fun! Dinner was great and they did not even seem to mind listening to history! Their daughter Kylee is apparently a fan of history and her classes recently went over WWII. She gave me a run for my money by coming up with obscure facts and questions. I wish my students showed half her interest. I hope we did not bore the rest of the family too much. Cora has been looking for a book for the past week now and could not find it. Kim went out and found it and gave it to her! Cora had brought down two baby blankets for Kim. It was a fun end to a great day.

Cora is asleep...she wanted to blog, but was just too tired to keep her eyes open. Tomorrow is another fun filled day of exploration!

Cactus grow wild here…everywhere! Awesome!

This has been one of the very best birthdays ever. What more could I ask for? I have it all, a great wife, great new friends and wonderful old ones, great relatives and a chance to see something new. Maybe being 34 won't be bad after all. In fact, I welcome it.