In an attempt to stay on East Coast time (not easy), I woke up (alarm required) at 0400 and started teleworking. At about 0700, I took a short break for breakfast at my hotel (Comfort Inn in Surprise). Outside the hotel, it was clear that it had rained overnight (a lot) and I noticed that the temperatures had dropped significantly (70s). After that, I continued teleworking, without interruption, until noon local time. With 90% of my work day (and work week) completed, I made my way west to the State 48 Brewing Company so I could meet up with an old squadron mate from the 1990s, John B. I arrived at about 1220 and, since John was running late, I ordered a flight of beers to try. Each was unique and tasty. Even after my friend arrived, he had a meeting he had to do on the phone so I'd mostly finished my tasters by the time we were really able to visit. It was great to catch up with him on all the many life events that had taken place since we'd last flown together off the USS Enterprise. The food was also good - I enjoyed my lunch (club sandwich). We stayed at the brewery until just after 1430 and then said goodbye so he could return to work and I could drive across Phoenix to visit my cousins. It took me nearly an hour, via AZ-101, I-10 and AZ-202 to reach the town of Chandler, where John, Ann, Duncan and Declan lived. I listened to audiobooks on the way. Since I'd agreed to show up at about 1600, I paused for a short time at the local Walmart building and got in almost two miles of walking during the 45 minutes I was in the store. I learned later that Ann worked there and I'd only missed seeing her because I didn't make a purchase. I was also able to make plans with my other cousins (Ellen and David) for the following day. Finished with some light exercise, I continued south to where my cousins lived and arrived there at 1630. I noticed that the temps had risen by then to the low 90s but the overcast prevented the weather from seeming oppressive. Greeting John, I was able to join him and his dog (Midge) on a walk through the pretty Chandler neighborhood. It was interesting to me to see how much care had gone into engineering good places for the water to flow - there were lots of xeriscaping, culverts and wide, man-made "arroyos" that were intended to deal with inclement weather. John told me the tree selection was also deliberate, with some trees designed to withstand water and others to withstand wind. There were a lot of interesting birds nearby and I enjoyed trying to ID them with my Merlin App. Back at John's home, I enjoyed the nice tour he gave me and then had a good time visiting with his son, Declan (who I'd seen at the funeral). John's other son, Duncan, was at the gym but I was assured that I'd get to see him again before long. I spent the next hour talking and resting and hydrating - by 1800, I was ready to head out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, Kodo Sushi Sake. Our group consisted of John, Duncan, Declan and myself and we had a great dinner (Philadelphia Roll, Sushi Rice and Miso Soup). I found it interesting that the rice was a deep purple - I learned later that this was because it was "black rice", which turns that color as it is cooked. Our conversation was light and relaxed and it was nice to catch up with my cousins. Returning home (1930). I accompanied John, Declan and Midge on a another walk through Citrus Vista Park - it was dark by that point and the temps had dropped into the 80s again. There was definitely a threat of rain in the air and I was glad o reach my 10K step goal in the process - it might be hard tomorrow... Back at John's, we opened a bottle of Texas Rye Whiskey and chatted some more. We were still at it by 2100, when Ann returned home from work. During the next few hours after that, I shared family pictures (mostly from my girls) and we looked through their family's old photo albums - what a great walk down memory lane! John went to bed at about 2230 but the rest of us were still awake at 2345, when I begged to be excused for bed. As I got ready, I realized I'd been awake for almost 20 hours - I definitely could feel the exhaustion... Fortunately, I fell asleep easily and quickly just before midnight. What a great day of visiting!
