The sneezing and
coughing started before we even took off.
On the fight from Mexico to Phoenix we experienced the dreaded sick
person seated directly behind us.
You know, the one where you try to hold your breath every time they
cough until you’re blue in the face, hoping not to catch the bug. Well … we were not successful.
Our nearly two weeks
in Phoenix is drawing to an end.
While it has been a good stay, it could have been much better if the
Mexican bug had not run its course through our condo residents. Deborah had it the first few days but
managed to sleep it off in a hurry.
Kathy only had it for only a few hours and willed herself not to be
sick. When it came to the men folk
of course the results were different.
Men are affected much greater than women when it comes to colds. I was first up with long bouts of
coughing and hacking from postnasal drips. Mike soon followed.
While all the symptoms were not enough to keep anyone in bed or even
from doing things, they did take the edge off the activities themselves. Most importantly, the colds seem to
reduce our wine and beer intake and have left us with an excessive budgetary
surplus of condo booze.
We have managed to
accomplish many of our recreational goals. We have golfed and ridden our bikes but reading books and
lying by the pool replaced hiking and tennis. Most of our meals were taken in but we enjoyed some good
Italian meals in our neighbourhood and a great feast of Barbeque at Bobby Q’s in
nearby Glendale. We also managed a
Canucks hockey game to witness a shootout loss to the lowly Coyotes.
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BBQ Meat Fest at Bobby Q's. |
Lets start with the
hockey game. The rink was about an
hours drive from the condo in rush hour traffic. The Gila River Arena (naming rights held by Gila River
Indian Community) is located in Glendale.
Things have changed greatly since our last visit about 10 years
ago. What were then open fields
are now hotels, casinos, restaurants and shopping centers. And of course, next door is the
University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinal NFL football team.
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The 50/50 Draw Generated a $15,000+ Win for Somebody Else |
The game itself was a
dull affair for the most part.
Canuck star and captain, Sedin was quoted after as being the worst game
he had played in the last ten years.
For us, the experience had value in itself and for the Canucks to tie the
game in the last minute and provided us with overtime and a shootout made the
evening worthwhile. An added bonus
was reconnecting with an old friend.
Deborah and I were walking the concourse when I heard a familiar voice
in the crowd. I turned to Deborah
and said I think I had just heard Bill Cousineau’s voice (a rugby teammate I
played with 30 years ago in Kamloops).
We walked through the crowd and sure enough there was Bill and his wife
Linda. They live in Mesa four
months of the year and we agreed to get in touch when we find ourselves back in
Canada). Small World.
We have enjoyed two
golf outings. As usual with golf
the game giveth and taketh away.
For me the first game at Paradise Valley was fabulous. I had enough shots to believe I had it all
figured out. Many booming straight
drives over two hundred yards and some soft touches around the green. I started to believe all my imaginary
practice rounds played all winter in my head were having a very positive
effect. Our second game at Augusta
Ranch crushed any such thoughts. I
couldn’t drive a ball very far and it went anywhere but where I aimed. Mike scored the best and the ladies had
some very good shots. Maybe
another day.
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I Had My Best Shot with this Rotweiler Screaming at Me From a Few Feet Away |
Despite the cold
symptoms, we managed some great bicycle rides. Phoenix is a great bicycle-riding city. Paved cycle paths are pervasive along
the many canals and through the “washes” providing seemingly endless choices of
rides without the hassle of city traffic.
My first ride was solo
and was a quick 90-minute ride out parallel to highway 51 to the north end of
the city. It was paved all the way
with bridges taking you across all the busy intersections. I started slow but managed about 29 km
an hour for the rest of the ride.
Best of all, no flats!
Our second ride was
from the condo, through Dreamy Draw (separating the Phoenix Mountain Preserve)
and on to the Scottsdale Canal system.
We packed a lunch and stopped half way on a golf course lake and enjoyed
our sandwiches watching duffers’ pound their second shots into the lake
protecting the green. A nearby
condo owner added to our lunch by providing us with fresh oranges from his
backyard tree. We arrived home
with tender ends but 46 + km in the bank.
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The Cycling Cafe Along the Way. |
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Downtown Scottsdale |
Our third ride was
epic (by our standards). We headed
south from the condo toward Tempe.
This area has large, designated “washes”. The washes act as runoff drainage for those times the desert
is inundated with rain. While
there are signs not to enter the “wash” when flooding occurs, for the most part
these are great recreational areas.
Sports fields, golf courses, tennis courts, and of course concrete cycle
paths complete with water and restrooms stations are strategically placed through
out. We rode 30 km on the Indian
Band Wash to Tempe and the grounds of Arizona State University (home of the Sun
Devils). We enjoyed our lunch on
the shores of Tempe Town Lake. It
is more a widening of a canal than a lake but we enjoyed watching the various paddleboards
and kayakers enjoying their afternoons on the water. With our butts guiding our choice of route home we cut off a
few km on the return but still ended our day with a satisfying 55 km ride.
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Riding the Wash |
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Never Lost - Just Checking |
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Diamond Back in Bike Lane - Has Seen Better Days! |
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Peaked Between Fence at SF Giants Training |
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Lunch on the Lake |
With our colds are in
their final innings, we look forward to our next stop in Palm Springs to
reunite with old friends and enjoy some more golf and possibly a ride or two.
