Old Friends

Paul P. here again, with help from Gayle....Today was an easy day, with most of our morning spent chowing brunch with Paul's college roommate Martin, wife Suzanne, and Gayle's nephew Kris.  The food at Eggington's in Mesa was fabulous and it was really nice catching up on the latest news.  There's something about old friends that you just can't replace with new ones.  They remember things about you that you've forgotten and likewise you remember things that they probably have forgotten.  I still remember Martin telling me about the time a rude driver cut him off as he was walking across a street in Urbana and since he always wore steel toed boots, he gave the car a good swift kick to the rear fender as it went by, leaving a large dent.  The driver stopped to see what happened and jumped out, ready for a fight.  But Marty just shook his fist at the guy and he raced off.  ANYWAY, Gayle also had a great visit with her nephew Kris, whom she hadn't seen in ten years.  He's working two jobs, now has a house of his own, and is managing well.  Unfortunately we totally spaced out taking pictures of our meeting :-(.
As Paul C. mentioned in his blog, Craig has dropped off of the ride.  We'll miss him, so here's the last picture Gayle took of Craig riding with Paul C.

As Dana mentioned, we had a little time to burn before lunch yesterday.  Paul C. used the time to catch a nap.

And as we came into Phoenix, the sun was low on the horizon and the local rock outcroppings were quite impressive. 

Riding along on a bike lets you see stuff that most folks in cars just blast by.  I'm especially amused by the yard art that people create.  Here were a  bulldozer and a tractor, complete with logo's, made out of beer cans!

And this evening's sunset was fabulous.  No need to explain - the picture tells it all.