Scottsdale Pima Inn

... try and dress like the local people. It will be warm there. I'm glad for that as here in Arizona in the desert no less we have had a lot of rain today and a lot of snow in the North. It is just hard to beleive the weather here. Every so often a siginal comes on the TV with a notice of the weather.

... story of how Melissa and her boyfriend were named Homecoming King and Queen of their high school here in Mesa.

Melissa stood up and did her Miss America wave to everyone with this great Daisy smile--
I mean... think Daisy with a red cowboy hat and jeans and you have this girl.

Made me tear up, dang it.

Oh, and when we walked in they gave us each a little gift--me a bright blue boa and Bob a western tie. Oh yea, we were cute. You don't ...

... you know--or FISHERs for crying out loud. It's needed downstream for golf courses n' stuff. Important stuff. Oh, don't get me started.

But that's Roosevelt lake--more of that on another day.

Anytime I'm by water I'm happy, but today, with my toes in the riffles, I'm truly in heaven. I haven't sprung for an Arizona fishing license since we're only here two months, but today just watching the fly fishermen was enough.

It truly is another world down by the water.

Here are some basics facts about Ethiopia:
- Located in Northeast Africa; it shares borders with Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Kenya and Djibouti.
- It is the tenth largest country in Africa - about twice the size of Texas.
- Climate varies by region, from temperate highlands to hot lowland desert.
- Geography is very diverse. Ethiopia has altitudes that span the lowest point in Africa in the Danakil Desert, where Luci, and the more ...

Happy Thanksgiving from the Alvrez's in Phoenix, Arizona. Only a quick trip to the grocery store with Janine & the kids today, otherwise a cruisy day at home. Bruce deep fried a turkey – yes, that's right, he put this huge bird into a deep frier – but it was really, really yummy and not at all oily as you would think. Thanksgiving Dinner was lovely thanks to the Olivers and what a delicious spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes ...

... of fries, 1 soda & 1 milkshake. Not to worry. On the road again we had been seeing billboard signs since just out of El Paso advertising 'The Thing' at exit 322 on the Arizona Interstate, with hints that it could be an extraterrestrial and some spooky eyes in picture also...
Of course us being us, we just had to go there and pay out $3.50 entry for all of us to go and see ...

... had been. I had deleted a program I had downloaded and it just compromised the computer! Nothing much for rest of day but Charlies sister Jane is home from their cruise-we can tell by the amount of email junk we are receiving! March 20-Up early and Wayne, Ro and CharlieG met us here, then on to Steve and Jaynes where we joined up with them, and Paul and son in law. Off to a trail called Elvis (all shook up-Maybe??) This was only about 5 miles long and fairly good ...

... the way home we stopped to see JR and Nancy - they had been out on their ATVs and Nancy has slipped on loose rocks and tore her leg muscles and tendons up. She is moving slowly and will be feeling worse in the next couple of days! Home to snack on all our leftovers for supper. Dec 8th Monday-It rained last night- all was wet this morning; I thought I had heard rain, but dismissed it during the night! But now we do have sunshine and blue sky. Charlie and Wayne came ...

... this is not the place (prices get jacked up). We found Panajachel to have significantly lower prices for the exact same products. *Tikal- This was our first stop on our "Ruta de Maya", and ended up being one of our favorite sites. There are several imposing pyramids surrounding a well intact plaza. The best part is you can climb up them for breath taking views above the rainforest canopy. Belize- We spent our entire week in Belize on the island Caye Caulker, where their motto ...

... 50 bucks, face was 44 each so do the math. Wish I could tell you more after that except it was like the coldest night in the history of San Diego (which means 50 degrees), I was drunk, Christina was drunk, and the Horns lost. We ate some food and ended up crashing at about 10. Dec 31 We drove home. All in all a good weekend (actually a Mon-Weds), a nice little trip and not a bad drive. My next entry in here will likely be from Bangkok, Christina and I leave on Monday. Graham