Blogs from Phoenix, Arizona, United States, North America - page 8

As I cycled through the quiet streets of my parents' community near Phoenix, Arizona something felt off. I ran through a quick checklist in my mind. Brakes work? Check. Mirror adjusted properly? Check. Using the appropriate gear? Check. Then it hit me. As I gazed across the wide boulevard, the White Tank mountains visible on the horizon, there was nary a person to be seen. It was just me, pedaling solo, alone with my thoughts. Where were all the people? Where was the crush of humanity that ebbed and flowed around me as I wound my way through the streets of Beijing? It was eerie, strange, disconcerting....and wonderful. This would be the first of many lessons learned while adjusting back to life in the USA. It's a curious thing, really, getting reacquainted with the culture of ... read more

We've had a wonderful eight days in this delightful fake summer weather! It sprinkled the first day we were here, but the rest of the time (except for our last day...) has been warm (75 or so) and sunny. We have explored Walter and Cindy's neighborhood (a historic party of Phoenix), had Thanksgiving with Walter's family, climbed a local mountain with my friend Mary, shopped at Goodwill, driven to Tucson where we hiked and took scenic drives, visited Taliesen West and the Phoenix Art Museum, and had dinner with a wonderful family I met while teaching at Ardmore..... Phoenix has many interesting and historic neighborhoods, but it's still too big and spawling for me.... And I can't get accustomed to seeing the holiday decorations and lights in the middle of fake summer! It's just not right.... ... read more

Geo: 33.4479, -112.083... read more

Home at Last! Margie got home in Germany late Tuesday night and we left the following morning. It was great to see Margie with the Arizona tan that we missed by being in a rainy month of Germany. We took the 611 bus to the Hauptbohnof in Bonn and caught the 8:14 ICE high speed train to Frankfurt airport. Our journey home had a pleasant surprise when our tickets for the 10+ hour flight to Los Angeles on Lufthansa was upgraded to Business Class by a very nice ticket agent. When she handed us our boarding passes, she said: "Welcome to Lufthansa Business Class." The seats completely reclined and at 6 ft 6", I don't think I have ever been unable to reach the seat in front of me with my feet before. As we sat ... read more

Well, here it is! Caryn and I are sitting in the Phoenix airport ready for our first flight to Chicago. I will be as honest I am scared. We have our first night in Munich booked, BUT I mean there are just so many things that could go wrong. (Especially since after the hotel we are staying in a tent with up to 98 other people.) It is supposed to be in the 70s and rainy when we get there. Hopefully the people of Munich can handle their water a little better than the state of Arizona and all the roads and land won't be flooded. For those of you not aware of our schedule is: Munich Vienna Frankfurt Copenhagen Brussels Barcelona Madrid Puerto de Santa Maria Paris London (HP) Ireland Scotland London As you ... read more