The Adventures of Fric and Frac: Adventure 216: Covered Wagon RV Park/Phoenix, AZ/Post T

Monday, March 2, 2015

Adventure 216: Covered Wagon RV Park/Phoenix, AZ/Post T

In the desert, when it rains, it rains.

One of the reasons we chose the Airstream trailer was because of the vast number of windows, which let in as much natural light as possible. We figured that whenever the weather was poor enough to force us into the trailer, we'd still be able to let in light, while keeping the dismal weather outside. Today, we got to test the hypothesis. Our morning snuggle (A very nice start to the day) was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature's harsh western morning breath. It was blowing hard enough that I had to go out and roll up the awning. I discovered that not only was the wind blowing, but the rain was also coming down (Sideways as it were). Mission accomplished, but the net effect was that our day started at seven instead of nine. We ate our usual fare. I pegged out to beat the Wily Cager, and we hunkered down. The weather station said there would be one hundred percent chance of rain until about five. We don't watch a whole lot of TV in the trailer, but this morning I watched Drums along the Mowhawk, a 1939 classic starring Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert, Ward Bond, and a cast of other notables. Judy watched, too, but only out of one eye because she was using the other one to knit her shawl. About eleven-thirty, Judy announced that she was feeling cramped, so we ventured north to a funky restaurant that Judy's cousin, Russ, told us about called Chino Bandido. This place is a semi-clean, semi-greasy, extremely busy blend of Chinese and Mexican food. It's literally stand in line to order. It's not the best Chinese food you've every eaten, and it's not the best Mexican food you've ever eaten, but it is the most novel approach to culture blending that you can imagine. We ordered a #9, what they call Jerk Fried Rice, which is a very spicy, and includes Jerk Chicken as one meat, which is very spicy, and Red Jade Chicken as the second meat, which is very sweet (And sour). The plate also came with either black beans or refried beans. We chose black. Our order was served to us in less than four minutes. The mix of cultures formed an interesting, if offbeat blend of flavors. We agreed that we wouldn't likely eat there again, but we were glad we did the one time. It is sort of like the Mexican Hot Dog stand we ate at last year in Tucson. The best part of Chino Bandido was that it got us out of the trailer. The weather cleared up just as the weather man said, so we left for class early to check out Encanto Park, a venerable green space in down town Phoenix. It's nice. We plan to go back later this week to ride the tandem around. Right next to the park is a historical housing district (Historical equals expensive). We drove around the blocks and plan to buy a four bedroom, four bath Spanish style with study and large swimming pool that cost $1,000,000 as soon as we can afford it, and that will be as soon as the summer heat in Phoenix reduces to around seventy degrees. Does that mean never, or just not likely? Our last class with our Monday night instructor, John Hagel, was excellent. He's very good at breaking things down. I almost want to send Judy onto Kansas while I stay here for another couple months (Won't happen). To tell the truth, we're anxious to get back on the road. We also spent some time this morning looking at the Google Maps planning the next leg of our trip. It's exciting and excitement makes life good, especially today.