Heading out for the weekend to see loved ones found me first in Phoenix, visiting Roger Septoff and Mary Ellen McManus. Arizona is becoming well known for many things, but one I did not know about is king of world conferences/exhibitions. After a walk in the back yard to gather a lemon and some grapefruit for breakfast:
I went with my buddy Roger, a transplanted New Yorker, to the Barrett Jackson car show and auction, evidently the grandaddy of them all. The week-long affair culminates on Saturday with the transfer of title of multi-million dollar one-of-a-kind porsches, old classic corvettes, rolls royces, etc. to mad car collectors from all over the globe. It was fun checking out all of the beautiful cars, some of which had mirrors under their front or rear bumpers so oglers could check out their pristine underbellies. Here I am by a few of the thousands:
As you can see, other high end machines were being hawked. Just above, Carol Merrill is showing you a cigarette boat capable of going 175 mph, with twin turbo 1250 hp motors. Only a quarter of a million for you! After a lovely dinner at home, I’m off to the airport and heading on to Flagstaff, where Lance spent the day skiing with his daughter, Evelyn, who is on the ski patrol at Snowbowl.
Saturday we had a killer breakfast at MartAnne’s, then on to see the Meteor Crater, about 37 miles east of Flagstaff. The meteor is thought to have landed about 50,000 years ago – a 160 foot across lump of primarily nickel and iron – hitting the ground at a speed thought to be about 28,600 mph. The impact caused an explosion which pretty much eliminated much evidence of the meteor other than much smaller lumps of the metal. The largest such remnant is sitting in the museum. I found it hard to believe, but a simulation allowed manipulation of trajectory as well as speed and no matter how you screw around with it, the impact crater pretty much ends up being a circle, as you can see here:
After this adventure, we stopped for a snack, then a rest before going to the Tinderbox Kitchen with Vicky and John, Lance’s ex and her husband. A very enjoyable evening. For some reason, I wasn’t really hungry, and so only ate the large croutons that came with my charred octopus, to soak up all the gin in my cocktail. Well, you know the story. Dinner over, the three of us headed over to Target to pick up a couple of games for playing tomorrow. As soon as (tipsy) Deb walked in, a shreik “I want to ride in the cart” is heard, and I climb on in. Lance is a great sport and wheels me through the aisles like I was on Mr. Toad’s wild ride:
He’d veer toward racks of clothes and at the last minute, cut away. What a sport! I am laughing hysterically and as we get to the toy aisles, I am saying “I want one of these”, etc. Evelyn joins in by stocking me with a giant doll:
a blue feather boa and a pink cowboy hat. Oh my! Some other shoppers laugh and say they wish I had a party size cart for all of us. Well, that wears me out and we head to checkout and home. So much fun!
Sunday is breakfast at our hotel, a hike out in the woods and then over to Mama burger for the requisite cheeseburger to cure the hangover (not as much from the alcohol but from excessive behavior of all kinds!). Back to the hotel, where no one is in the breakfast room, and we’re able to watch the playoffs (we meaning me), enjoy rummikub and lots of coffee before heading to the airport and home. Thanks for a fun time, Evelyn!!