DAY ONE

I awoke without the alarm at 315am (it was set for 330am)

A cup and a half of coffee, two slices of toast, a shower, and a little computer. On the road for the six o'clock flight at 445am.

Parked on the far side of the free parking lot, near the exit sign. No problems checking in, and on the Internet No Problem. Plane off the ground right at six, but no luck with wifi on the plane. I found out later that although American offers wifi, it costs. On the flight from Dallas to Phoenix I could access the Internet for a chance to pay five bucks for thirty minutes or $26 for a day pass.  

On both flights I read  DR. ZHIVAGO, and spent a significant amount of wasted time trying to get online.

Touch down in Dallas at 805 am; right on time. Dallas is on the same time as Springfield. The gate for the Phoenix flight was announced right before we exited the flight, and I hit the restroom, and boarded the train. I would still be walking had I not caught that train. About a 20 minute wait, and no luck with the Internet. It seemed that I was connected, but Nada.

Got into Phoenix right at 10am; but we lost two hours. In flight TV and possibly a movie but I was reading the Russian novel and trying to get online. Numerous cell phones on the plane had provided hot spot access, but they were all encrypted. I had a better chance of getting a free steak dinner and a Heineken on an American flight than Free Wifi. What was I thinking?

Sky Harbour is smart for having all of the car rental agencies in one building, so you only have to wait for one bus. I only waited about ten minutes and was astounded that I got a beautiful Toyota for only fifteen bucks a day!!

Took Rt. 17 North to Greenway and found the motel easily. One of their emails said that check in was 3pm, and I was several hours early, but they signed me up on the spot. I set up the charging cords and set out for Elsie's House. Got turned around and finally came back to the motel and got instructions from the front desk. Straight west on Greenway to 43rd, take a right and Paradise Lane is just before you hit Bell Road.

The street numbers rise from east to west. The motel is about 30th st., Elsie's at 43rd, LA Fitness at 55th, and his house on Pineaire was about at 91st.

When I got there he was asleep in the front room with another woman who made him look like a Rhodes scholar. I showed him the shots on the tablet, but I don't think he was cognizant of what was going on. He began muttering about McDonalds and taking a ride.  Rosie said that I was capable of taking him, so off we went. It really went much better than I expected. He doesn't need the wheelchair, just the walker and he was fairly polite and didn't lose his temper. The McDonalds was south on 43rd to Thunderbird and Rosied gave me his menu (she wrote it down). But, when we got to the the store and I told him what I would order for him, he said he wouldn't eat all of that. So I just got the McNuggets and a salad, but once he had gotten about half done with these items, he asked where were the cookies and sundae.

Surprising how expensive that small order came to be. A side salad, six McNuggets, a dollar cheese burger, two cookies, and a sundae was ten bucks. All receipts are saved, and compensation is in order. I was surprised at how well he got around, and when we got home, he seemed to fall asleep. I talked to Rosie for a bit, and told them I would be back late morning tomorrow.

245pm up to Bell Rd and east to about 21st to the Walmart Superstore. Prices are quite a bit higher than Springfield.  A Natty Pack is four dollars higher! Paper towels, paper plates, salad dressing, beer, slices of cheese, cheese puffs, corn tortillas, one bottle of Sunny D, and two large bags of salad came to $38. This won't nearly last the week, but I saved so much on the car rental, I'll still get in way, way under budget.

Back to the room, and the TV would not turn on. Down to the desk and exchanged wands...okey dokey.

Writing the blog, sipping the Buds, and looking forward to a dip in the pool and whirlpool.