Phoenix bound - Volume 5

Today it is overcast, raining and has a bite in the air. I woke up this morning and discovered I had no breakfast food left, nor did I have any water bottles remaining in the fridge. This posed a problem. I recalled that there was a small strip mall down the road a ways so I put on my tennies and sweatshirt, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out to explore. I did find the strip mall, but I didn't realize that it would be nearly about 3/4 of a mile down the road. I had quite a jaunt. Luckily there was a McDonald's down that way also, so I stopped and had a quick breakfast. Yummm. The natives in my stomach are happily satiated from eggs, ham, and OJ. Before heading back, I stopped at Walgreens to buy a few bottles of water and some granola bars, since my stash had been depleted. (I always keep a granola bar in my purse for low blood sugar emergencies.) I think I am set for the remainder of my vacation. Of course, that's only until tomorrow morning. Hee hee.

No matter how much my legs may be protesting, I'm glad I took the walk. It was amazing being able to smell the rich scents of the foliage in the rain-drenched air. I couldn't place some of the scents at first, but then I realized it was a wet evergreen smell. There are lots of evergreens here. There are also many varieties of cactus, giant aloe plants, palm trees, and fruit trees. There are some non-native plants and trees, which I've seen around. They seem to grow okay, but I don't know what they look like in the summer months. I wonder if it gets too hot for them. *ponders* As I walked along, I was walking beside long sections of stucco walls. I could see the tips of tall cacti above the ledge and the fruit trees bearing their bounty of oranges and grapefruit would hang over the ledge. I was tempted to take a picture, but with the rain, I knew it would turn out. The most common foliage I've seen are hedge bushes that remind me of my tropical plant at home. The leaves are very straight, narrow and almost elliptical in nature, but with points at each end. I've seen several geraniums around, most of which are blooming. There are blooming bushes around the apartment complex and I even saw a blooming tree, but it looked very much out of context. I haven't seen any others like it, so it must not be native.

There is something else a bit different about Phoenix. I have yet to see a single building whose entrance is directly off of the street. Here, you pull into the parking area and generally the main entrance is from the parking area and that is usually in what I would refer to as the "back" of the building. I was very confused when I went to Blimpies last week. I may have mentioned it, but I'll mention it again. In order to go into Blimpies, I had to follow a stone pathway over a small footbridge, through a courtyard between two buildings and around to the "back". There was the parking lot and there was the entrance to the store. That takes some getting used to. In Iowa, most of the parking is on the street and all entrances are directly off of the sidewalk and facing the street.