9-29-16

"The Positive Pony" book continues...

9-28-16

I want to post a few more photos from Martin...

And I also want to say "Happy Anniversary!" to Martin & Ruth!!

They are celebrating 32 years!

What a great place to visit for an anniversary (hint, hint, Bob! :-))

I always enjoy Martin's photography.

Mommy & baby bird. So cute!

Thanks again for sharing, Martin. Glad you & Ruth had a wonderful holiday in Canberra!

9-27-16

I heard from Martin today as he was checking in on Adrian & Russell's adventures! :-) The boys flew from AZ to FL yesterday. They'll spend a few days in Orlando & then Adrian & Russel will tour NYC, Oahu (Hawaii), Houston & Las Vegas. They'll return to Phoenix on October 26th for 3 days & then back to Australia.

Martin also sent many beautiful tulip photos he had taken over the weekend. He & Ruth had traveled to Canberra to view the fields of flowers.

Gorgeous!!!

 These photos remind me of our tulip tour in Washington State last year.

Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Martin!!

9-26-16

A replica of the 1st airplane by the Wright Brothers. 1903 was their 1st flight that lasted 11 seconds!

Bob just read the book "Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. Highly recommended by Bob if you are looking for a good read.

After the 1st flight aviation literally took off...rapidly. Within 20 years planes looked like this.

And this.

60 years after that 1st flight came the F4 Super Sonic Fighter. US Airforce painted in Thunderbird colors.

The F14 Tom Cat. Featured in Top Gun.

SR71 Blackbird. The fastest jet in the world capable of Mach 3.5! It flew from NYC to LA in 1 hour & 3 minutes! They retired this aircraft in the mid 90's. Too expensive & no longer needed!

"You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3!" said by Blackbird pilot. :-)

After touring many planes & jets in the Pima Air & Space Museum we took a bus tour through the Aircraft Boneyard. This is a row of P3's.

The Boneyard is where aircraft are retired from service. The boneyard is also used for storage, parts, resale or scrapped.

An F16 being trailered to it's spot in the boneyard.

It was interesting to see thousands of different aircraft lined up...row after row after row. After the tour we were off to Tombstone & OK Corral gunfight. 9/23 was a full day!

9-25-16

Adrian on a mountain bike!!

Bob got Adrian out for his 1st time riding on the dirt.

Russell & I went hiking in South Mountain while they biked.

We could even see them biking from our vantage point. Can you see 3 bikers...Bob, Adrian & James?

Great morning for a little exercise & trying something new. Nice job, Adrian!

9-24-16

College Football. Arizona State University WINS!!

ASU Sun Devils... now 4-0!

Thanks so much to our friend, Weldon for taking us to the ASU vs CAL football game tonight. We got the VIP treatment for sure! Food, drinks, & amazing seats. 

Showing off the trident symbol for the Sun Devils.

We all wore our ASU gear & enjoyed a very exciting game! Weldon is a huge supporter of the ASU Football program & spends a lot of time with the team at their weekly practices. How fun!

Also want to thank Weldon & Sara Beth for having the 4 of us over for lunch before the football game. Grilled hamburgers on the patio of their beautiful home in Fountain Hills was wonderful! It was a great day to visit & catch up with them. We need to do this more often!

9-23-16

In Tombstone with the Earp brothers & Doc Holiday. :-)

Adrian, Bob, Russell & I drove South of Tucson to visit the famous OK Corral in the middle of the "Wildest Town in the West". Tombstone was founded in 1877 & due to the silver mining quickly grew to 7,500 (& probably more like 15,000-20,000). Back in the day there were 100 saloons!

We watched them play out the most famous gun fight...The cowboys vs Doc Holliday, Wyatt, Virgil & Morgan Earp. 3 of the cowboys were killed. Some people say that 1 event kept Tombstone alive. In the 1930's the population dwindled. Today there are 1,500 residents in the Tombstone area.

After the gunfight show the 4 of us took a carriage ride part way through town before we had to stop the tour. That's a funny story...we just couldn't take the slow, rough ride nor the unintelligible audio tour (it sounded like the Peanuts school teacher). :-( 

Had fun taking some shooting practice with paint bullets.

"You called down the thunder? Well, here it is!!" from the Tombstone movie.

Tombstone has a good vibe & we took in some crazy history from that time. Was a good day!

On our drive to Tombstone we stopped to tour the Pima Air & Space Museum. Will post those pics later.

9-22-16

On top of Camelback Mountain!

It was a cloudy start for our Camelback hike today.

The nice rain that followed didn't hinder our efforts though.

Cool cave 1/2 way up gave us a short break from the sprinkles. Great view!

Pushing up the final stretch.

Made it to the top! The view was fogged in. :-/

Made for an epic summit.

Then the rain stopped & the view opened up.

Congratulations Adrian & Russel...you conquered Camelback Mountain!

Saguaro Pic...a must.

Fun day!

PS: After our hike we did some souvenir shopping in Old Town Scottsdale. Lunch at Salty Senorita's was yummy too.