Shifting Gears

Yesterday we traversed the desert from San Diego to Phoenix – a distance of about 350 miles.  The first part of the ride was beautiful – we took a scenic route through the mountains and the sight coming down into Palm Desert was fabulous and the weather was tolerable – a bit hot but still not unbearable.  Then we hit the I-10!  The sign said PHOENIX 256 and I mentally calculated how long it would take as the temp started climbing rapidly.  The desert scenery became very bland and within about 10 minutes I realized it was cooler (and safer) to put on my mesh riding jacket than to have the sun beating down on my arms.

After about an hour we stopped for our first water break and Burl started to tell me how hot it was – I quickly stopped him and told him that ignorance was bliss – wait and tell me when we get to Phoenix!  Turns out it got to 117 and stayed there for most of the ride and he said when we parked the bike in the shade at one stop, it only cooled down 2 degrees.  Naturally the trip took much longer than anticipated because we stopped every hour to get more water and take a break – and I kept my mind off the heat by reading all the way!  The highlight of the trip was crossing into Arizona where gas prices dropped from $4.79 in California to $4.05.

We got to Mike and Annie’s around 4 and couldn’t wait to get into our swim suits and jump into their pool which was the perfect temp to cool us down.  Dr. Mike also had the perfect refreshment – margaritas!  As soon as we were cool I showered so I could hold our darling grandson, Devin, who turned 6 months old yesterday.  We last saw him when he was 6 weeks old so of course he’s much more entertaining than he was in February – such a perfect combination of Annie’s Chinese heritage and Mike’s all-American looks with his dark hair, big brown semi-Asian eyes and engaging smile.

This morning I was up at 6 to walk for an hour while the temp was still <80.  The guys left to play in a golf tournament in Chandler and after Devin naps, Annie and I are heading to Scottsdale Mall for a bit of shopping and girls day out (with Devin in tow of course)!