Day 11 - Phoenix

We slept in late this morning and woke up to noise coming from the bathroom in the room next to us.  Apparently there was a big problem, one so severe that they had to move us to another room.  Once we got settled into our new room, while Randy went online and bought our tickets for an art show under the stars, I searched online for an Asian restaurant.  I was craving Chinese food.  Luckily for us, there was a large Chinese Cultural Center there in Phoenix just a few miles away.  Based on their website, it looked like a large mall and office complex and there were a couple of restaurants inside.  I felt certain that we could find a good, authentic meal there.

We arrived at the Center right at lunch time and went inside.  The place was very crowded which is usually a sign of good food.  When we ordered, I ordered rice and an entree.  The waiter asked "What soup" ? I replied that I didn't want soup and he said, "It come with meal". I said, "But I don't want any."  He said, "It come with meal. Won Ton or Spicy?"  Feeling that I wouldn't get ANY food if I didn't order the soup, I said, "Spicy".

We waited and remarked about some of the sites we had passed on our way to the restaurant.... a club that advertised "naked women", miles of palm trees, and then there was Bill Johnson's Big Apple Restaurant....

They advertised a 72 oz. FREE steak. The catch is that IF you can eat it all, it's free.  Now that's a lot of steak! His motto is "Let's Eat"... just that simple. What a tacky little place it was, but I'll bet the food was good!

Our food arrived and the waiter placed the soup in front of  me. Randy began eating his and I pushed mine aside. The waiter came back by and put it back in front of me. By now it was becoming funny, this little guy insisting that I eat the soup, so I pushed it away again. I told Randy that I was afraid they were going to come and force feed me the soup that I didn't want before they would allow me to eat my meal. We even joked that the cooks in the kitchen might be so well trained that if they don't serve the soup and have it consumed, it makes the workers grind to a halt, not knowing what the next step is.

The waiter got busy and didn't come back by again.... thank heavens.  

We left and drove into Scottsdale, a Phoenix suburb. They have an arts district and we walked around looking into the windows. They have a Thursday evening Artwalk that would be held that night, so most of the galleries were closed in preparation of their late night. The temperature was pretty warm, but as they say, it is a dry heat.  Dry or not, it is still hot. I had spied an ice cream shop when we parked and we went there for something to cool us down. The Sugar Bowl is an "old school" ice cream shop where you can get more flavors and combinations than you care to imagine. They will make any kind of milkshake you want and as many scoops of ice cream as you can stand. After our one scoop of ice cream, we headed back toward our hotel and strategized how long it would take us to get to the botanical gardens for the art show this evening.  

Our art show tickets were scheduled for 4pm so we had a nap and made sure our camera gizmos were charged up. The artist whose work we would see is Dale Chihuly. Please click on his name back there and you can see how his work is done because it is amazing stuff. We got to the Botanical Gardens and started walking around. The plants were amazing and the show was beautiful.  

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We left the gardens in the moonlight and there was nearly a full moon but tonight it wasn't as splendid as all of the glass we had seen. We headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep because tomorrow we would be heading to Tombstone, AZ.

September 2013, The Year I Turned 29 Again

I had THE MOST WONDERFUL birthday.  We went to Atlanta to see the exhibit at the High Museum.  We took the subway and arrived just after 10:00 am.  School groups and retired groups had already arrived so the exhibit was a little crowded. There were some wonderful paintings in the exhibit.  In college I did an extensive study of the late Renaissance period and was pleased to find some artist's work there that I wasn't familiar with.   There was Salomon van Ruysdael, Jacob van Ruisdael, Pieter Claesz, Carel Fabritius, and Emanuel de Witte.

In addition to seeing "the Mona Lisa of the North" by Vermeer, we also saw a couple of Rembrandts and this little precious....

Not a part of this exhibit but a part of the High's collection, we found these great pieces by Gerhardt Richter...

We had a leisurely lunch and did some people watching on Peachtree Street then walked several blocks to the art store, taking in the beautiful buildings and gorgeous skyline.  We went to Buckhead and had a delicious birthday dinner (Thanks, Don Shula!).  All in all, it was a perfect birthday.

The next day we went to the Georgia Aquarium and to World of Coke.  By the time we got through those we were exhausted.  We relaxed in the afternoon and then had dinner at Mellow Mushroom (you know, they started in Atlanta).  

I continue to be amazed at the courteous drivers in Atlanta. The rush hour traffic is horrendous but people don't get all bent out of shape about it.  I guess they are used to it and allow for the holdup. They will let you move across in front of them and I saw no evidence of any kind of road rage, not even a horn blow! What a civil place!

P.S.  The earring isn't pearl, it's a metallic disc.  

Time Flies

I just can't believe that it has been 2 months since we moved and retired.  The time has truly flown. We were able to squash all of our stuff into the house and garage and there's still room to move! We've settled into our little exercise routine of walking in beautiful Old Salem.  We have taken on chores around the house... I still do the cooking though  :-).  Jhett is all settled in and we've enjoyed being nearer to family.

   

My painter's group didn't work out as I had hoped but I have reconnected with my former co-worker, Wendy (a fabulous doll maker) and we found a paint group that we have joined.  They meet at the local recreation center once a week.   I haven't given up hope of having one closer to home but I guess the timing isn't right just yet.

We are spending time visiting various museums and galleries and I'm loving that.  There are so many within a 2 hour drive. We've been to SECCA, The Mint (both of them), The Bechtler and I hope to get to The Nasher later this month.  It is always exciting to visit these museums and discover artists that you haven't heard of before, or rediscover some that you had forgotten.  Life will continually teach you new things if you're open to it.

Tomory Dodge

Tomory Dodge

Alfred Manessier

Alfred Manessier

Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter

We do not have cable tv or satellite tv... just a little antenna that picks up local channels and we don't miss it.   We have the internet and can get in depth news there if we want it but we don't spend hours and hours in front of the "idiot box" as one Currituck resident used to call it.

We've gotten our library cards, set up borrowing privileges at WFU for Randy, resorted and started selling old books on Amazon,  and we have checked into evening enrichment classes at Salem College for the fall.  Life is easy and unrushed and the pressure of the calender and the clock  is nonexistent.

We are blessed.

Life is good.