Back in Phoenix

It only took me five hours and fifteen minutes to drive from the Los Angeles vicinity to Phoenix, and I only stopped at two gas stations (and my tank was still almost full when I arrived in Phoenix).

As I was leaving the Los Angeles area, there was a dust storm, something I don't think I've ever experienced firsthand. I rolled up the car windows. The trees were dancing and dust and debris was flying at my windshield, and the sky looked sort of foggy in a beigey sort of way. I've read that Tibet has dust storms during a particular time of the year. And then of course there's the Dust Bowl. I went through a great deal of wind and flying debris throughout the trip to Phoenix--it's extremely windy here, at this very moment, and there's a weather advisory out. I mostly kept the car window closed and the air conditioner turned on during today's drive. Besides the wind, there were lots of purty mountains and palm trees.

My brother was at home when I showed up, and I took a shower and changed before we went out and picked up Malcolm (my six-year-old nephew), and we went out to eat at a buffet restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes. Francis had asked me what I wanted for supper, and I said, "Something that involves broccoli and/or cauliflower." Sweet Tomatoes was a good choice--there's a big salad buffet with broccoli and cauliflower, and I also had steamed vegetables that included broccoli and cauliflower. Yum.

I was expecting it to be over a hundred degrees here, and normally it would be about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, but instead it didn't reach a hundred today and is currently 89. When we left the restaurant, it seemed nice out--I'm sure the wind makes it feel cooler, not to mention the sun had begun to set. It's supposed to be 99 on Friday.