Life is a Kaleidoscope, Part III

The saga of traveling across the country to Los Angeles with ocean and palm trees to desert in the Southwest found us checking out of the resort in Chandler, Arizona to go up the road aways to nearby Phoenix.  We had another grand plan for the next two days.  A great friend I had met in Japan, who had taught in Kagoshima on the JET Program when I was there, had invited us to stay at his place for a couple of days.

Wei came and picked us up at the hotel at check out time and our adventure started immediately.  We told him we were looking for roadrunners as we pulled away and headed north.  He was taking us to lunch where we would meet up with Takami, who lived on the other side of Phoenix.  Takami had also  taught on the JET Program in a small town on the east coast called Shibushi.  Wei had taught right in the city of Kagoshima and we had all met at seminars held by the program for assistant teachers.   

Takami and I learned quickly of Wei's generosity back there in Kagoshima.  He had taken us to show us his city apartment, and I can still see him reaching up high on a shelf where he kept his treasures, and bringing down Reese's cups to share with us.  Whether his mother had sent them in a care package or he had brought them back with him from a trip to the States, it was like giving us his coins of gold.  And thus our 20 year friendship had begun.  Wei and Takami still get together a few times a year and they have each been East to visit with us at various times over the years.  Now we finally had the chance to see in their hometown.

Lunch was a special treat as they wanted us to try the "Fry Bread House".  A favorite treat for both of them and a must try for visitors to the area, it is recommended by Native Indians and run by Native Indians.  Fry bread is authentic Native Indian food and in Arizona it is often topped with Mexican style chili fixings or taco fillings.  We all ordered slightly different versions of the large, puffed pancake looking round bread.  Fry bread is not sweet,  the texture is  crispy around the edges and the middle is similar to toast but more dense and moist.  Our orders were  topped with beef and or chorizo and lots of seasoning in a bit of sauce with cheese on the top.  They were large, delicious and filling.   The Fry House is a very casual restaurant, not a bit fancy, the kind of place where you know good food is the reason residents come back again and again, and visitors make a beeline for it.

It had been years since we had all been together and we caught up on our latest events, work, recent travels and summer plans.  A featured topic was the roadrunner and we were told not to expect them in the city, which we had surmised, although Takami said when she grew up on the outskirts of the city she used to see them all the time.  While we were at it, we planned our next day's events, a major tourist stop at the Botanical Garden in Phoenix in the morning, before the heat became too intense.  We said goodbye to Takami at the restaurant and went to unpack at Wei's house.

We were only there for a little while before his little family of quails visited the backyard.  They were Gambel's quails and their lovely colors of brown, gray ,black and cream were all visible with the binocs.  It was a wonderful sight, a new bird sighting and they became my favorites of the new birds I had seen on the trip.  Since we had had a heavy lunch, we agreed to to a soup and salad buffet nearby.  After checking up on the email and news on the computer, we opted for an early to bed, early to rise strategy.  Tomorrow's schedule would require an early start to beat the heat.

Morning came and we were ready for our adventure at the Botanical Gardens, water bottles, hats, sunscreen, the works, (camera, bird book and binocs, too)!  Besides meeting Takami and making the tour with our friends, the added bonus to our visit at this time was that a major work of hand-blown glass had been installed throughout the main trail by artist Dale Chihuly.  We were all looking forward to what would lie ahead. 

We paid for our admission, about $20.00 per person, and browsed through our brochures with a map of several trails.  We wandered through at a slow pace, trying to take in everything including the art, taking photos, and occasionally wandering down side trails.  Of course, my husband and I were impressed by the cactus, the hummingbirds and very small ground squirrels we saw in many of the bushes.  But we were all pleased with the colors, shapes and sizes of the glass installation.  It was fabulous.

Takami with Toshiro and me in front of the first sculpture.

 At one point near some brush my husband yelled "Roadrunner!"  Although I looked as quickly as I possibly could, I saw only the tail as he ran off into the brush.  I didn't hear a sound, not even a "meep, meep."  But he had surely left as quickly as the cartoon portrayed him. Wei and Takami
hadn' t even see him, and we found out that although Wei had lived many years in Phoenix, he had never seen one.  Toshiro's quick use of the camera yielded only a bush!  Elusive, yes, but the roadrunner existed; we had seen him with our own eyes.

We were only about a third of the way through at that point and it was already starting to get warm.  That is when we decided to do the main trail only and not go off on the many side trails the garden had to offer.   We mainly followed the Desert Loop Trail which I read is only about 1/3 mile long.  If I hadn't looked it up, I would have guessed a mile.

Dale Chihuly, your glass balloons are amazing!

We stopped for many photos, enjoyed a red dragon fly on the tip of a red rod of glass in the midst of some cactus though none of our cameras were powerful enough to capture it.  I hope it stays in my kaleidoscope of memories and comes back often.  The photos that follow display some of the beauty of our morning.  It was impossible to pick one favorite.

 

 We took a good two hours, sat a few times, used the restrooms and stopped for a cold tea and a snack where there were some tables and shaded bench areas.  The garden with the Chihuly art installation did not disappoint.  We had randomly struck the right timing to catch the exhibit while we were visiting and we were all happy to have shared it together.

One of many varieties of cactus at the garden.

Takami, Toshiro and Wei - break time!

 We enjoyed cooling off in the car and proceeded to lunch, a great Vietnamese restaurant featuring some delicious PHO (noodle type soup with meat of choice and Thai basil, bean sprouts and lime.)  The restaurant also featured bubble milk tea, also called boba tea, and although I had heard about it, I had not tried it.  I thought the creamy tea was delicious, probably because it was too sweet.  I didn't care for the large pearls of tapioca in it, although Takami really liked them.  I believe these bubble teas are, or were, the rage in Asia.

Lunch was fun, but a little sad, as our time to share with Takami had to end.  We said farewell to her, and went back to Wei's house where we had a brief dip in the pool.  It was hot and we were tired;  a nap sounded like a good idea.

Wei found some free time to get his bag packed.  He had actually volunteered to be our guide and driver for the next two days to head north to stay one night in Sedona, Arizona and then head on to the final destination Flagstaff, Arizona.  There were no volunteers for cooking! For dinner, we all agreed, KFC it would be - easy, inexpensive, and tasty.  We took advantage of being home based and washed our clothes before heading into the final, fun-filled days ahead of our vacation.

Stay tuned for the next adventures in Kaleidoscope, Part IV.