Springtime in Arizona

I am a captain for a major national airline. So...I travel. A lot. I like my job, and the travel is OK. It has given me a chance to see just about every metropolitan city in America. Some of these cities have become my favorites.

I love New Orleans. In the French Quarter, you can find about a thousand great restaurants. If you want to get stupid drunk, Bourbon Street is for you. The French Market is always fun. You can ride the streetcar out to their Historic District and see wonderfully restored Victorian homes. What's not to like about San Diego? Wonderful climate, easy-going people, and seafood. Seattle's nice too. A little too hippy-dippy for my tastes, but great restaurants are bountiful. Oh--and have you heard? They make good coffee there! I have enjoyed more entertainment for free on the streets of New York City than I've paid good money for in many venues. [However, on my last trip it was absolutely freezing. Fifteen degrees or so, and winds gusting to 40mph. Brrrr!] Of course, this is just a partial list, but I think you get the idea. There are lots of places that I enjoy travelling to.

However, the place I really like travelling to is--no surprise--home. This is where the people I love live. Contrary to the image of many of those who've never visited Arizona, our deserts are beautiful...especially this year. We finally got a decent rainfall this winter, and the desert flowers are just about in their prime. Our woodlands--yes we have woodlands--are filled with snow. Spring Training is in full swing.

But best of all is my home. Not that the house is all that great, because it's not. It is of late 70's vintage complete with harvest gold counter-tops. We worry every summer whether our heatpumps will last another year. The pool is nice, but takes work to keep up. However, our best asset is that our home sits in the middle of an acre of orange trees. I have 55 trees now in full bloom. The sweetness of the air outside is something I simply cannot describe. Our fruit is now gone (absent one tree), but fresh fruit like I have in my backyard simply cannot be found in a grocery store. I love it here.