February 29, 2008

Happy Leap day! It was a work day really. So by late afternoon David and I had spent most of the day handling the responsibilities that subsidize our lives, we went for a walk down to the fountain of Fountain Hills. We had a snack and a beverage and then walked the mile plus back uphill for a rest before picking up Lance from Sky Harbor (Phoenix’s wonderfully named airport).

We picked up lance at 6:50 pm and he mentioned that we could see a cool event at 7:11 so we drove to a park that stunk like its dumpsters and waited to see an Iridium Flare – the reflection of a satellite moving several miles overhead in the form of a shooting star type celestial body. Unfortunately I was getting my camera out of the car to take a picture of three jerks waiting for a shooting star, so I ended up missing the image during its twenty second transit across the southeast corner of the sky.

So we went to an English pub: The Rose & Crown in historic Phoenix (by the museum) for dinner. The food was good pub food, and the two page menu of bottled beers made it an excellent adventure. Lance went with the chocolate stout from Young’s and I tried a ‘peculiar ale’ but was more impressed with their tap selection of Moylan’s ‘Kilt Lifter’ Scotch Type Ale. If you get a chance, this as an ass-kicking ale that will satisfy both your flavor receptors and your objective of being less stressed out about standing in a stank parking lot looking for a satellite that you never saw. Sometimes the best compliment of a beer is that it is not trying to be more than it is – and this beer is a great ale with a good kick that doesn’t try to hop or season the beer to its own detriment. If you see it on a menu – please check it out.

Pics: a) The fountain from casa afzal (Long Walk!); b) professional photo of the fountain; c) sunset in the valley of the sun, on the way to pickup lance; d) the 80's called, and lance answers the phone.




Things i think about:
Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona: Joseph M. (Joe) Arpaio
Joe’s Description by Harper's magazine 2001: “a loving husband, proud father, idealist, megalomaniac, liar, and bully. His nose is purple, his neck is red, and he has the charm of Archie Bunker."
Stated goal: To have the most populated jail in the country.
Fountain hills fountain – number of pumps: 3
Maximum height of water: 560ft
Number of Iridium satellites originally planned: 77
Atomic number of Iridium: 77
Number of satellites working in array: 66
Number of keys on a piano: 88
Number of days on my trip: 44
Number of days on the ocean blue for Columbus: 40