Day 1

Airports remind me of Dad. In my life, I have flown more alone than with him, but still being here makes me miss him. Maybe it’s because until last summer, two of the last times I had flown had been with him when he and Mom took G3 to Disney. On the drive to the airport this morning, G3—who loves to fly and who gets really excited before every flight—reminisced about his first flight. He was only four but he claims to remember it well. He talked about how Dad sat up front with the cab driver and conversed with him the entire drive to the airport.

G3 is extra excited this morning because of his new toys. Yesterday, Kati had to drive down to Delaware to take care of some things regarding her Dad’s estate. G3 went along for the ride—he wanted to read and there were less distractions in the car than there would have been at home where he was supposed to be helping us pack so that we can move. While at Kati’s dad’s house, he discovered Beats (wireless headphones), which he has been begging us to get him since he first got a phone. He also came across a selfie stick—another gadget he’s been wanting. Needless to say, the four hour round trip drive paid off immensely.

We are heading to Phoenix for the ATA Taekwondo World Championship. G3 qualified. I did not—I missed by just a few points. G3 will be competing in forms, weapons, and combat.

Our flight was uneventful—except for the fact that G3’s phone refused to connect to United’s entertainment system. This inability to watch a movie put him in a really bad mood. At least he brought Salem’s Lot with him so that he had something to keep him occupied. Stephen King provided some entertainment, as did his selfie stick which he experimented with multiple times despite the cramped space that barely permitted him to extend his arm.

Kati had to tell the boy across the aisle to turn the volume of his phone down. He didn’t have earbuds and seemed to think we wanted to spend the entire flight listening to him play Angry Birds. He looked at Kati confused as if it never occurred to him that he was being rude. Maybe it didn’t. Maybe it’s just that same sense of entitlement I witnessed daily in the classroom this year. He tuned the volume down for a spell but then turned it up again. The second time we asked the stewardess to address the issue. She told him he needed headphones or he needed to mute the phone. Again, he looked confused. The third time he raised the volume, I spoke to him. I am my father’s daughter—I don’t hold back when it comes to rude people. Finally, he put the phone down and fell asleep.

The rental car is proving to be a headache again. We landed nearly two hours ago and we are still waiting for a car. Why? Because Avis ran out of vehicles and they are scrambling to pull them in from other parts of the city. This happened last year. Thrifty made us wait and then they gave us a defective car that gave us trouble the entire time we were here. What’s the deal with Phoenix and not having enough cars to go around? Seriously, if you don’t have enough cars, stop letting people make reservations. It’s that simple. Like a hotel. When it runs out of rooms for a particular night, you can not longer book one.

We finally got a car…a brand new one. A just off the truck, hardly been driven car with a total of 3 miles on the odometer. Three! Even when I have bought new cars they never had so few miles. Wow! I guess they were desperate to meet their demand. Since it was already late, nearly 1–nearly 4 for our body clocks—we were all hungry. None of you will be surprised to learn that we drove directly to Culver’s for cheese curds and chocolate shakes. The three of us can never agree on where or what to eat, unless there is a Culver’s nearby. Lucky for us, there are many of them here in Phoenix.

Oh, and it’s 111 degrees. I don’t care what you have to say about dry versus humid—hot is hot and the sun is scorching.

We checked into the hotel and G3 wanted cool off with a swim in the pool. I’m not sure how cooled off he got since the water was warmer than a bathtub. But it made him happy. What makes Kati happy is wine. So after G3’s swim we drove to Salvador’s Vineyard in Scottsdale to go wine tasting. The wine was okay—none of it tasted like outhouse—but none of it tempted us to buy a bottle either.

Next, we headed to Papago Park to see the Hole in the Rock. Yep, that’s what it’s called.

And that’s exactly what it is—a massive rock formation with a hole in it. Okay, it sounds anticlimactic and boring but the dessert scenery surrounding it was really pretty. And, the rock looked like a sleeping animal, perhaps a dinosaur. The hike from the parking lot to the hole was less than ten minutes. Still, by the time Kati got there she was reduced to a puddle. She completely melted in the heat, declaring—no less than a dozen times—“It’s hot.”

It is hot. The sun has set and I’m sitting by the pool to write. Have you ever sat around a campfire on a warm summer night? A night where it’s too hot for a fire, but since you’re camping you don’t care, you want one anyway. So you sit next to the flames as they bake the air around you and you end up sweating. That’s kind of how it feels right now. Only there’s no peaceful fire and I can’t walk away from the heat—unless I go into the air conditioning. But you all know me, I am not a fan of A/C.

We are staying in room 116 in a Days Inn. I said to G3, “16 is a lucky number. It’s the day your grandfather was born.” At the same time, Kati said, “It’s the day your grandfather died.” My dad was born on 7/16. Kati’s dad died on 6/16. But here’s what I find interesting—do I know anyone who studies numerology?—my dad died on 4/14. Kati’s dad died on 6/16. Kati and I started dating right in the middle on 5/15. What message might those numbers be telling us?