Bob and
Spike (with whom we stayed) and Arnold and Dixie. After getting settled in with Bob and
Spike, and going to a small cocktail party at the “Resort” (the snowbird encampment at
which they live), we went out to dinner with an old fraternity brother and his wife – John
and Laura.
Linda had never met either of them, I hadn’t met Laura, and I hadn’t seen John
for 35 years. I was a little nervous that time had changed either him or me, and we wouldn’t
have much to talk about. I didn’t have anything to worry about. Not only did John and I
take up where we left off, but also all four of us got along famously. I have never had a
two-hour dinner go by so quickly. Even though the food was great, I found myself
forgetting to eat because I was having such a good time visiting. Linda felt the same way.
The ride up was yet another beautiful look at some
of Arizona’s varying grandeur. On the way back down, we had lunch on a café deck
overlooking a small lake. The view, the food, and the company was all great. When we got
back to Mesa, we met Spike and Bob’s son Brad, who had come up to Mesa to bring one of
his dogs to a veterinary specialist.
Thursday saw us first having breakfast with my cousin Betsy’s son Andy (since he wasn’t
going to be available in the evening) and then going for another Volkswalk in Tempe. We had
Then we went to dinner with the rest of my cousin Betsy’s family. This included Mark, his
wife Crista, Crista’s parents, Barbara and Zeno. Once again, Linda and I only met Mark once
when he had been in town for a conference several years ago and I hadn’t seen Betsy in 35
years. We had an equally good time as we had on Tuesday night with John and Laura. We
are incredibly lucky to have such people in our lives, even when we fail to keep in touch with
them for all these years!
Friday morning, on the way out of town, we stopped at
Taliesin
West – Frank Lloyd Wright’s western, winter studio. We had a delightful tour there, and
between that and the Ken Burns special on Frank Lloyd Wright, we really felt like we were
starting to know him a little. Now, if we can stop and see his Falling Waters in PA, some of
his work in Oak Park, IL, and Taliesin East in Wisconsin, we will have made a full pilgrimage.
After leaving Taliesin, we headed toward Tucson. At Arnold’s suggestion, we basically
followed Arizona Highway 179 and 77 south. That was another pretty trip. Although we
didn’t stop at the site of Biosphere 2, we did stop at an open
