The Adventures of Fric and Frac: Adventure 220: Covered Wagon RV Park/Phoenix, AZ/Post X

And black leather interior, too!

The tattoo on her arm read: "First, I will madly love your naked soul." The she in question was our waitress tonight at the St Francis Cafe, where we enjoyed a delightful dinner with Russ and Kathy Isaac. But let me stay with the girl for a moment. She was an upbeat dishwater blond in her late twenties. She wore several silver rings, but none appeared to be a wedding band. Besides the phrase which was horizontally tatted to the underside of her ulna just behind her left wrist (She had to pronate her arm to show it to me, which she willingly did, clearly proud of the mark), she had a ringlet of birds circling her other wrist. No other tattoos were visible. At sixty-three, much of my idealism has been tempered with the ravages of age, the disillusionment of capitulated leadership, the realities of pragmatism, and the fear of failure--the failure of my generation's ideals to make any real difference. It gives me great hope to see another human- a young vibrant, expressive human- have the passion to print permanently a mantra worth living. These days, honesty is a commodity in short supply. Everybody, it seems plays some sort of angle. Trust is even more difficult. Everyone who isn't lying outright is rationalizing. Imagine back (Yes, you can) to those days when you wore your heart on your sleeve, spoke your mind freely, and accepted life at its "face value" (You know, Peace out, right arm, and all that). I'm not sure if this young woman can find a love that is nakedly true, impeccably honest, or completely trustworthy, but I absolutely love the fact that she is willing to try. As far as her current job goes, she was an excellent representative for the St. Francis mystique. Rated the number two restaurant in Phoenix on TenBest.com, the cafe is trendy in the sense that is uses locally grown products, bakes its own bread, prepares its menu with pride, caters to people across the spectrum, and offers itself in an honest, unpretentious way. Its ambience manages to be upscale while welcoming folks dressed in T-shirts. We had eaten here once before at lunch with Jim and Rita Valentine, so Judy and I wanted to eat dinner as a fancy send off from Phoenix, and what better venue to see Russ and Kathy one last time before we leave. I was a little surprised that the menu was the same as we saw at lunch, but the whole evening was excellent, though I did have to acquiesce to Russ's insistence that he and Kathy pick up the tab. It was a very nice addition to our Phoenix experience. The rest of our day was maintenance. We did the wash and cleaned the trailer. Judy got a haircut and a pedi-mani. I got one last massage, and for fun we walked around the Encanto historical neighborhood before we met the Isaac's for dinner. What could be better than walking hand in hand with your true love in the soft afternoon sunlight. I mean, seriously, life is good, especially today.

Hot Rod of the day: Two door Lincoln Imperial. Way cool!

We ate breakfast at this hot coffee spot on third and Roosevelt. It's right next to the hair salon.

A breakfast burrito, a steaming latte, and a win. Quite tasty.

A cherry pin-wheel for a post haircut sweet treat. Just us trying to catch the skinnies.

Two more reasons we don't have dog(s). These growly guys were banging themselves against the glass, barking like angry traffic cops. Their masters, sadly, were away.