H

ome with Allen & Barbara

 

May 2-6, June 26-30, July 12-17, 2003





USA flag


Allen and Barbara
Allen and Barbara

About seven years ago Gerry's brother, Allen, and his wife, Barbara, figuratively jumped out of the refrigerator into the frying pan. They abandoned their long time home city of Omaha, Nebraska, where they met, to go to Tucson, at the invitation of Allen's employer. They thus gave up extremely cold winters and very hot summers for just plain chilly winters and extremely hot summers. Early this year, as if Tucson wasn't hot enough for them, they moved to Phoenix. Little did they know, or we when we came to visit, that records for high temperature would be broken during our visit. Altogether we spent close to three weeks with them in Phoenix, spending a week on our first visit, a little less than a week on our second visit, and a week on our third visit enjoying their lovely house that they have just moved into in Phoenix, the pool that goes with the house, and the weather that goes with Phoenix.

Allen's Pride and Joy
Allen's Pride and Joy
Allen and Barbara
Cooling Off Period

Our first trip had long been planned as Phoenix was directly on our route from northern Mexico to southern California. It was early May and the weather was very nice. It was warm enough to take the cover off their backyard pool once or twice and take a dip, but not too hot to go out and about. In fact it was perfect weather for taking Allen's Miyata for a spin. We took the opportunity to get to know another of Gerry's cousins (yes, they are almost numberless) as well as to catch up on all of Allen and Barbara's news and that of their children and granddaughter.

Barbara & Allen
Barbara & Allen
Cousins Dave & Belle Kazen
Cousins Dave & Belle Kazen

Our second visit was planned during the first, as we had already decided we would go to San Francisco and Yosemite and it seemed natural to return to Mexico via Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix once again. By the time we got back around our circle it was late June and Phoenix, and Allen and Barbara's pool was much warmer. So warm in fact that even Barbara would venture in. A special pleasure for them both is a pre-dinner soak in the pool (it's almost warm enough to be a jacuzzi). It washes off the dust of the day, relaxes tired muscles, and cools the body down making it easier to sleep.

Allen at a doctors office complex
Allen at a doctors office complex

Our third trip was not at all planned. During trip number two, taking advantage of the fact that we had a bona fide address that we could use, we sent away Gerry's computer to be fixed. Since we knew in advance that it would be in the shop for at least a week and probably ten days, we jumped at the chance to go off to Indian country. We came back in the second week of July and so our third trip began with a celebration of Allen and Barbara's 33rd wedding anniversary.

Barbara's Office
Barbara's Office
Barbara at Work
Barbara at Work

During the various stays we saw the Heard museum, a very extensive collection of American Indian artifacts collected by Mr. Heard and probably the best museum of its kind in the United States. We visited the Deer Valley Petroglyphs on a very hot afternoon when we were very glad of the new-fangled technology called "misting". Because the Arizona climate is so dry, adding a little moisture to the air makes you feel much cooler. Many restaurants, shopping malls, and so on provide misters in shaded outside seating areas to keep the customers comfortable. Deer Valley Petroglyph center, went one better. Every so often on their nature trail, they provided shelters from the sun that were equipped with misters.

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat
Relaxation Therapy - Reading Encarta
Relaxation Therapy - Reading Encarta
Relaxation Therapy - Playing Spider
Relaxation Therapy - Playing Spider
Relaxation Therapy - crocheting
Relaxation Therapy - crocheting

It was also in Phoenix that we equipped our car with anti-sun devices. Stick-on screens for the back door windows and sunshades for the windshield and the back window to keep the temperature in the car down when the car is parked in the sun. We have been heartily glad of them especially as unlike most southerners our car windows are not tinted. It was here also that we found the time to put together our California web pages.

And last but not least we spent lots of time just indulging in family time. We played cards, and scrabble, and trivial pursuit. We looked at family photos and caught up on lots of family news. We cooked lots at home, which was a joy for us who eat most of our meals in restaurants. Allen and Barbara introduced us to Omaha corn-fed beef steaks, grilled to perfection on the BBQ and accompanied by fresh corn on the cob and baked potatoes. If it sounds ordinary to you folks who BBQ all summer long, believe us it tasted wonderful to us.

Barbara
Barbara
Allen
Allen



August 24, 2003