We've been lost in America - having such a wonderful time with old friends that we haven't had the opportunity to post. Since we last wrote, we've had two weeks of memories - remembering the past and creating memories for the future.
We flew in from Chicago and were picked up at the airport by our old friend Linda Stuckey, who was my neighbor, excellent friend and soulmate in the Encanto area of Phoenix back in the 70's. She and her husband Larry had been babysitting the Mini while we were in Nepal - and the Mini was lucky enough to share quarters with Larry's cherry 1932 (I think I have the date right) Model A... pictured at left. Larry got this car when in high school (no, we weren't in high school in 1931 - very funny). As he tells it, he asked his dad for a Corvette and got a Model A! But now that Larry has grown up (kinda) he's finished his Model A to perfection. We enjoyed fabulous food at Pizzeria Bianco and at the Stuckey household... I'm so lucky that all my friends are fabulous cooks! There's nothing more fun for me than cooking with Linda...
Then on to Tempe to visit our friends Rob and Roni Melnick. Rob is my former business partner and BFF, (that's Dr. Melnick to you!) who is Executive Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. But to me he's my sweet friend and hiking buddy - married to the incredible Roni, who's also a fabulous cook (how did we get so lucky?). We spent much too short a time - Rob is still working, and working hard - but we spent it hiking, laughing, drinking, laughing, playing board games, laughing, hiking with their sheepdogs, Angel and Cheyenne, laughing... eating great food, drinking great wine. I look at Roni and I see the adorable 20-something that I picked up from the airport the first time she came to visit Rob in Arizona...
Southward we drove to Bisbee, Arizona - a former copper mining town just this side of the Mexican border, often described as "Mayberry on acid". Bisbee is home to Jim Eubanks (that's Dr. Eubanks to you!) my former business partner and BFF - sound familiar? Jim and Sara spent a week introducing us to their friends and helping us to gather information about Bisbee as a potential home... we visited Karchner Caverns (one of the most geologically important caves in the US - discovered by my former UA classmate and friend, the late Randy Tufts), played tennis, went wine-tasting in Patagonia (Arizona wines are pretty damn good - surprised the hell out of us), saw a community production of Urinetown: The Musical(!), enjoyed the Bisbee Breakfast Club, and hiked the amazing mountains and deserts of Cochise County with Jim, Sara and their doggie sons, Lucky Mo, Dylan and Omar. And - surprise, surprise -Sara is an incredible cook!
We're heading to Marin County to housesit for Jerry and Pam while they vacation in sunny Mexico... adios y vaya con dios...
