Howdy Doo!

Well, my odyssey has begun.  With a bit of a snuffle, but nothing too onerous.  I arrived in Phoenix with sinusitis, so I haven’t been too alert, what with jet lag and pain pills at work on me; but I’m much better today.  I don’t mention any of that in a bid for sympathy, just as an excuse for being slow to write.  It’s been hard work keeping my eyes open and my brain switched on, and, frankly, I haven’t indulged in much hard work… 

The flight from Melbourne to LAX was just fine–no problems getting here.  VAustralia is a terrific airline; I recommend it for travel between the US and Australia.  But toward the end of the flight I began to feel the little signs of sinusitis coming on.  Then there were a few sneezes in the LAX airport, (random people blessed me), and, once I arrived in Phoenix, it was all on.  But nevermind.  There was an excellent supply of chocolate and water waiting for me.  Emphasis on the water.  And, of course, the delight of seeing my dear friend, Kay.

Apart from the drive from the airport to Kay’s home, I haven’t actually been outside.  And, as the car was air conditioned, you could say I’ve been outside for about 12 steps.  Yesterday the temperature was 102F (39C).  I think today is supposed to be cooler, but I’ll probably never know from first hand experience.  There is no humidity, which is a blessing in this temperature, but I’m drinking gallons of water. It’s as dry as a popcorn fart. 

I was surprised by the landscape as we approached and landed in Phoenix.  I’m slightly familiar with Tucson, but the area around Phoenix was, well, different.  There are more, and smaller, mountains close in to the city, and other features that can only be described as looking a lot like giant piles of … poo.  Don’t misunderstand; they aren’t unattractive, in a scatological sort of way.  And they don’t smell, as far as I can tell, but nevertheless, they do look like poo.  Giant piles of petrified plectasaurus poo.  (I just made up plectasaurus to complete the alliteration.)  I hope I’m not offending anyone–especially the good folks of Phoenix, including the City Fathers, who, in many cities, tend to be particularly perturbed by poo, as long-term readers of this blog will recall.  But I have to call ’em as I see ’em.  Basically, they are dark brown blobs, too small to be mountains and too large to be rocks.  South Dakota has its Black Hills, Nebraska has it Sand Hills, and Arizona has its Poo Hills.

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The Poo Hills of Arizona

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Well, I really don’t know anything else worth reporting.   A Blow By Blow Account of My Sinusitus  doesn’t really sound like a winner, and I don’t know much else at this point.  Perhaps later on I could raise one of the blinds slightly and describe what’s outside.                   MM         (AKA   ‘er Indoors)

PS:  I’ll feature the cactus (or cacti, for you purists, given that there are rather a lot of them…) in another post.  I reckon they’re the Muppets of the plant world.  Ya gotta love ’em!