Matt's Big Breakfast

Dave and Paige are fans of a television show called "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on the Food network. Every restaurant that has been featured on the show is programmed in to Dave's Garmin GPS unit. Yesterday we had breakfast in downtown Phoenix at Matt's Big Breakfast http://www.mattsbigbreakfast.com/ . While the breakfast is big, the building is not. When we arrived there were quite a few people standing in line outside the door. It took a while for a table large enough for the five of us to open up. All of the food is fresh, free range, chemical free, etc. The restaurant does not have a freezer. The orange juice comes with pulp and seeds, the coffee is free trade. The very busy wait staff is friendly and used to the requests to take pictures of people stuffing their faces. A local news channel was there talking to supporters of the basketball teams that are in town. They didn't talk to us - we were too busy eating and laughing.

10 things

So, Frank did an interesting blog entry of ten things that he has done and I probably haven't. He's right. I can't do the splits or backwards somersaults or been a master diver but I'll try for ten of my own.
1. Marched down Colby Avenue carrying a peace sign in 1968. I was at the lead and on the front page of the Herald.
2. Had my nose broken five times and only once on purpose (and it hurt the most).
3. Raised a blind calf.
4. Moved from Norfolk, VA to Charleston, SC in an old Charlie Chips truck.
5. Had two tool bags fall three decks on a ship and land on my head (I had my hard hat on - I'm alive to tell about it).
6. Rebuilt an Austin Mini Estate wagon and sold it for 3 times what I paid for it.
7. Rebuilt a 1968 Chevy pickup and hope to sell it for 1/3 of what I invested in it.
8. Won a state rec league softball championship in seven games.
9. Helped coach my daughter's cross country team (I can't run).
10. Played Santa for my son's photo club at a fund raiser for 3 years (Ho, Ho, Humbug).
11. Had the opportunity to be the father of two great kids.
12. Sold my house and and moved in to a Minnie Winnie and hit the road (to be continued).

View from the Top

Dave, Bill and I rode our motorcycles to the lookout point on South Mountain. Most roads in the Phoenix area are flat, straight and 45 mph so the trip to the mountains was unremarkable with the exception of the beautiful weather (high 80s and not a cloud in sight). The view from the top was obscured by a combination of smog, dust from the fields being worked and smoke from the remnants of the Southern Road fire (about 300 acres) that was recently contained.

No problems to report. I finally found the LP gas fill valve gasket that I need. Now if I should ever decide to cook something on my range top, it will be possible and I could run the heater if it got cold. Chances of either are slim to none.

Pace yourself

I guess this is real retirement. No where to be, no chores, no schedule. My rush to get down here is a distant memory. Days are spent avoiding sweating. Evenings are spent eating pupus and enjoying good company. Happy hour starts - whenever. I have a sandal tan on my feet and am learning to wear a hat whenever I step out into the sunshine. I am thinning the crop of oranges in the tree outside my door. I did laundry yesterday. The laundry room is adjacent to the pool. This should be a requirement for all public laundries. No better way to pass the time it takes to refresh one's wardrobe. I brought too many clothes. This may not be true when I reach colder climes.

Oh yeah - nothing broke today. I even ran the air conditioner for a few minutes to make sure it worked.

We will be having a seperation party this week. Two couples are headed north (one flying, one driving). Dave, Paige and I will be heading east on the 3rd for New Mexico. I should call Chris and Don and tell them I'm coming. Dave and Paige are staying in Las Cruces and drinking pistachio wine. I wonder if it turns your lips purple.

Diversion

My lovely, intelligent and all around good kid niece Ronnie tagged me with this meme thing and I must respond. I think its like a chain letter and I must respond or face dire circumstances. Luckily for most of my friends, they don't have blogs, so I don't have three folks to tag with this task, so it will die with me.

A-Available? Yes, but not looking.
B-Best friend: Most intimate: Carolyn, RV repairs and riding: Dave
C-Cake or Pie? Pie! Especially fresh homemade warm blackberry pie a la mode!
D-Drink of choice: Different drinks for different occasions: whole milk with my pie, diet Pepsi most times and Knob Creek bourbon when called for.
E-Essential thing used everyday: I'll stick to the inanimate - this laptop. It's how I know what is happening in my world and yours.
F-Favorite color: Bright. Yellow.
G-Gummi bears or worms: Cinnamon bears.
H-Hometown: Most of my life was spent in Bremerton, but home was Lake Stevens.
I-Indulgence: I indulge myself in whatever appeals to my inner child at the time.
J-January or February: January - new year, new opportunities.
K-Kids and names: Young adults Erica and Thom.
L-Life: Better all the time.
M-Marriage date: Yesterday's news.
N-Number of siblings: Five - 3 older sisters and 2 older brothers.
O-Oranges or apples: Oranges from the tree outside my RV door.
P-Phobias: Snakes.
Q-Quote: "He who hesitates is lost."
R-Reason to smile: See "K" and "B".
S-Season: Spring and the start of baseball, golf, riding weather.
T-Tag three people: It ends here with me.
U-Unknown fact about me: I doubt that there is anything that my friends and family don't know. Strangers don't need to know.
V-Vegetable you don't like: Since tomatoes are a fruit, spinach, Brussels sprouts.
W-Worst habit: Brutal honesty at times that causes pain.
X-X-rays you have had: Teeth, nose, neck.
Y-Your favorite food: Pulled pork covered in coleslaw.
Z-Zodiac: Aries - what that means in the bigger picture is beyond me.

Another bit o' trouble

More than one person has given me the advice that RV ownership is akin to boat ownership. The old joke about boat ownership being the same as throwing money in to a hole in the sea seems to apply. Buying a used anything is bound to include buying the previous owner's problems. Well my latest problem involves the awning on the Minnie. As I was rolling it up last night, one section of the aft arm jammed itself into the other part and applied too much pressure to the bracket mounted at the roof line. It is now apparent that this area has been leaking for some time because the added pressure on this section of rotted plywood roofing led to the failure of the connection. My roof now has an eight inch tear in the fiberglass and a few screws have pulled out. This gave the crowd of guys something to discuss and I think we've come up with a plan to sandwich some reinforcement plates over the offending section and allow the mounting of the awning to the motor home once again. Dave is a bit disappointed that we won't be making it strong enough to act as a tow point, but I'm certain he will ensure that the final product is adequate. Again, I am thankful for my friends.

Vulture Gold Mine

Went for a ride with Dave and Bill today to visit an old gold mine - Vulture Mine - northeast of here. Topped off with good barbecue at Memphis Barbecue in Buckeye.

Winter may be over down here, temps are supposed to be in the 80's all week.