A Disney Adventure!

by Pa Rock
World Traveler

I'm off on another trip tomorrow, a fun adventure to Disney World in Florida followed by a cruise to the Bahamas on one of Disney's big boats (probably the S.S. Goofy!). My oldest son, Nick, and his only son, Boone, will be waiting for me at the Port Orleans Resort at Disney World.

This will be my third summer of going somewhere with Boone. Two years ago he and Nick and I rode Amtrak from Topeka to Flagstaff and then drove south in a rented car to Phoenix where we met his new cousin, Sebastian. We also took in Sedona and the Grand Canyon on that trip. Last summer he and his Dad flew to Phoenix and we drove to San Diego where Boone was able to see the ocean for the first time. You only get to see the ocean for the first time once, and Pa Rock was thrilled to be there when his oldest grandson had that experience!

Boone is ten-years-old now and should really enjoy his time in the theme park and at sea. (I once told a friend that a Disney Cruise was my definition of hell, but he assured me that the kids are kept very busy and the old fogies are free to enjoy more leisurely pursuits.) I'm sure that we will all have a blast!

And,yes, I'm going to be on the lookout for pirates. It would be like just like that devious (yet charmingly flamboyant) Captain Jack Sparrow to try something on the high seas!

More to follow...

Thanskgiving Thursday

by Pa Rock
Parade Float

The Macy's had two Thanksgiving Parades today - the traditional one in New York City, and a west coast affair that stretched from San Diego to the center of Arizona. I paraded out to the airport this morning in a heavy rain to get Tim and Erin to their plane, then Nick and I paraded over to Coronado to return Scott's jacket that he had left in my car, and to say good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Files and little Sebastian. Nick and I completed the day by parading back to Goodyear, with the rain following us most of the way. It was so nice to see rain falling across the Sonoran Desert! There was a rainbow over San Diego as we left, and a rainbow over Phoenix as we got back. With omens that good, I had to buy some lottery tickets!

A fellow at a gas station in San Diego told me that he has lived there since 1973, and last night's rain was the heaviest that he has seen in all of that time. There were even tornado warnings for Coronado Island last night. Who knew they had tornado's on the seacoast?

Tonight Nick and I paraded around Goodyear looking for pizza, but to no avail. Even the local grocery store was closed. We finally stumbled across an Arby's that was open and were able to procure sandwiches for our Thanksgiving meal!

Nick will fly out of Sky Harbor early tomorrow, and my life will start to get back to some degree of normality. Tomorrow night I am going to a Phoenix Suns basketball game. They are playing the Miami Heat. I may also go by work for a couple of hours and clear off whatever has piled up on my desk this week - if the shredder is working!

San Diego Monday

by Pa Rock

Nick and I spent a couple of hours today touring the USS Midway, an Aircraft Carrier that is pulling retirement duty as a museum in the San Diego Harbor. The Midway has numerous aircraft that saw service from the Korean War through Desert Storm. The Carnival Cruise Ship Elation was anchored in the neighboring berth. That is the ship that Molly and Scott will take on their honeymoon.

Molly and Scott arrived this afternoon, and Nick and I got to Coronado in time to help them take their luggage to their room. Then we hustled over to the airport and picked up Tim and Erin. So hail, hail, the gang's all here!

Two interesting things happened at the airport. We were in McDonald's waiting on them to butcher a cow and make our sandwiches, when a distinguished looking gentleman wearing a suit and carrying an expensive briefcase walked up to the counter and ordered a hamburger. "Just a hamburger." He told the crew kids. The girl at the counter told him that would be two dollars and four cents. The interesting thing about that encounter is that I can remember when a McDonald's hamburger was fifteen cents! And from the look on the customer's face, he could too!

The other incident of note happened when we accompanied Tim and Erin to the luggage carousel. I saw what appeared to be some litter on the floor. As I looked it over, the litter came into focus as a crumpled up twenty dollar bill. I quickly bent over and snatched it up. After a careful scan of the environs, I determined that no one was stumbling around looking for their money, and, more importantly, there did not appear to be some film crew doing a "candid camera" piece - or a psychology professor doing honesty research. The three alternatives as I saw it were to give the twenty dollar bill to TSA (aka Public Enemy #1), wave it around in the air yelling "Hey, did anyone lose a twenty?", or avoid the public melee by putting it in my pocket. I chose door number three.

Goodnight from San Diego.

Report from the Road

by Pa Rock
Over-the-Road Journalist

Nick and I arrived in San Diego in the early afternoon. It was a good drive. I took the wheel from Goodyear to Yuma, and he brought us the rest of the way.

There still are not many trucks on the road, even with the lower gas prices. We did see several trains carrying truck cargo containers stacked two-high. Putting several hundred containers on a train is undoubtedly much cheaper that putting several hundred trucks on the road. So, long-story-short, the trucking industry may have suffered a permanent blow from the last national gas-gouging.

The trucks may still be scarce on the interstate highways, but the RV's and Fifth Wheels are back clogging the roads and sucking up that cheap gas. Those old farts better enjoy it while they can because the age of affordable gas is almost history!

We drove by numerous snowbird villages, RV parks in some of the most God-awful desert settings. Senior citizens inhabit these sad outposts every winter as they seek refuge from the Midwestern winters. Today we could see them sitting out in their lawn chairs, half-hidden in the mesquite and sage brush, forty miles from the nearest shopping, and looking utterly forlorn. We did see one old fellow walking his dog out along the edge of the highway, and I don't know who appeared to be sadder, the man or his best friend tugging at the end of the leash. The weather was beautiful, but if it were me, I would rather be home in Missouri shovelling snow than trying to relax in the desert while being constantly on the lookout for scorpions, Gila monsters, and rattlesnakes.

Speaking of varmints, a shiny white Lexus passed us today bearing a "Palin" bumper sticker! That's pretty scary - you betcha it is!

Our room at the Navy Lodge is wonderful, lots of space and even has a small kitchen. Nick commented tonight about how polite the gate guards are. I asked one of the ladies at the desk tonight about the best way to visit Tiajuana some evening. Her pained facial expression said it all. "We shouldn't go in the evening?" I surmised. "Oh, please don't!" she said. She advised being very careful even if we went in the daytime. Then she added that passports were now required. I forgot mine, and Nick doesn't have one, so maybe we can make it south of the border on our next trip out here.

And speaking of forgetting things, I forgot the new camera that I bought for Molly's wedding. That's kind of a tradition with me - I always manage to forget something. I guess it's an age thing! I even left the battery for the new camera plugged in at my apartment, and had to call the manager and have her go unplug it. I am going to New York in January with a wonderful lady - the camera will make its traveling debut then! But for now, a couple of disposables will have to do.

Goodnight from San Diego!

Heading West

by Pa Rock
Busy Dad

My oldest son, Nick Macy, arrived in Phoenix this afternoon, and tomorrow morning he and I are heading out to San Diego, a drive across the desert of slightly more than five hours. I am looking forward to getting out of Phoenix for a few days. We made the same trip in August, and it was really nice because Nick did all of the driving.

We are going to San Diego for my daughter's wedding. Molly and Scott Files are tying the knot on the beach at Coronado next Wednesday. It will be one of those rare times when all of my kids are together. We are all hoping that the weather will cooperate. but I bought a couple of golf umbrellas today - just in case. I received some strange looks from the check-out lady in Target, probably because it never rains in Arizona.

My youngest son, Tim, is flying into San Diego on Monday with his fiancee, Erin Pater. Tim and Erin and Nick and I will all be staying at the Guest Lodge at the Naval Base - one of the benefits of working for the military. The lodge is convenient to all of the places where we will be going, and the price is nice, too.

This will be my third trip to San Diego this year. I am getting way too accustomed to the drive. It is a beautiful city with a wonderful Mediterranean climate. Maybe I need to think seriously about moving there!

Back in the Heat

by Pa Rock

Our traveling show arrived back in Goodyear, AZ, late this afternoon. It was an uneventful trip home. We stopped a few places and took pictures of the amazing mountains of round rocks that Interstate 8 passes through between El Centro and San Diego. We also took pictures of the energy windmills that line the last ridge of hills before the highway begins its long descent into San Diego.

Not being in a hurry to get home, we made a couple other excursions along the way. We pulled into a little cafe, gift shop, and date grove called Dateland, where Boone had a date shake that he really liked. (I had tried one on my previous trip and found it to be far too sweet, even for me!) We also stopped at a gift shop in Gila Bend, where the old timer that runs the place (think Desert Pete) gives out cold bottled water free to everyone who stops in to peruse his wares. It's the desert, he says, and people need plenty of water! Gila Bend is just across the border from Ajo, Mexico, and he gets his art work and assorted merchandize directly from the Mexican artisans in the Ajo area. The man has a nice shop with very reasonably priced items. I bought my second piece of horsehair pottery there today, and Nick made a few purchases as well. The clever businessman ended our transactions by giving us our change in John Quincy Adams dollars!

Tonight Nick and Boone are swimming in one of the pools at my apartment complex, and I am contemplating unpacking. They are leaving tomorrow at 5 a.m., and I already miss them. This long weekend has not nearly been long enough!

San Diego Saturday

by Pa Rock

The three amigos walked from our hotel to the harbor today where we toured several ships and the stolen Russian submarine that I wrote about back in May. Actually, Nick and Boone toured the sub, and I stayed topside where I watched a big sea gull make a valiant effort to paint the submarine! We also did a tour of the harbor on a small boat where we were able to sail under the bow of the USS Midway and get up close and personal with an America's Cup yacht that was slumming through the harbor. One of the highlights of the harbor tour was buzzing an old sea lion who was sunning on a buoy. The same sea lion (or his identical cousin) was sunning on the same buoy when I took the same cruise last May. BTW, our vessel was piloted by a fine fellow whose name was Captain Jack!

Child Abuse Department: There are works of art, some quite large, and performance artists all along the harbor. I was watching a mime who was painted silver and was doing a moving statue shtick. Nick and Boone walked up as the guy was standing still, and Nick, who realized what was going on, said. "Hey Boone, look at the statue. Why don't you go up and touch it. The mime played along right up until Boone reached out to touch him, and they he wheeled toward Boone. I think that my poor grandson jumped three feet! And his cruel daddy laughed most of the way back to the hotel!

This afternoon we went back to Mission Beach. I had a wonderful time watching Nick and Boone play in the surf. There are one-point-three-million people in San Diego, and most of them spent this afternoon at Mission Beach. Highlights included watching a four hundred pound woman being buried in the sand by a group of children. (I hope they remembered to dig her up before they left!) There was also an old geezer, older than me, wearing a tee shirt that said "Life is a Mountain." As if the challenge posed by his tee shirt wasn't bad enough, he stood around doing karate poses. After about fifteen minutes of striking silly stances, a young guy ran up to him, did a flying leap right at the guy, and kicked his feet above the guy's head. That ended the karate exhibit! And then there were the people who left their sack lunch on their beach towels and went off to play in the water. I watched a sea gull nearly wear himself out trying to rip their lunch sack open! Nature rules!

Life is a beach! There is really no excuse not to live near one!

On the Road to San Diego

by Pa Rock

Nick, Boone, and I left Goodyear just before daylight and made it to San Diego around noon. It was a nice trip out because Nick drove the entire way. I was able to sit back and enjoy the scenery!

A couple of over-the-road observations: It is 340 miles from Goodyear to San Diego, with most of the trip being on US 8, a major, four-lane interstate. In what should be a busy time for tourists, we saw only two RV's. Two! And truck traffic is down very noticeably. It was easy to see where the truck traffic is going. Between Gila Bend, AZ, and El Centro, CA, we saw six long trains double-stacked with cargo containers. America is doing its shipping on the rails!

We also went through three border patrol checkpoints. At one they asked us where we were coming from and waved us through, and at the other two they just waved us through. (We had cautioned Boone not to start speaking Spanish if we were pulled over!) A long stretch of US 8 runs along the border with Mexico. We saw numerous Border Patrol vehicles on patrol and occasional guard towers looking off toward the Mexican sand dunes.

Our room wasn't ready when we got to the hotel, so we took off to Mission Beach and spent time wading in the surf. It was Boone's first view of the ocean. He wants to go back tomorrow. Mission Beach has lots of shops and an amusement park, so there is plenty to do. Tonight we are headed to the Gas Lamp District.

Our hotel is the Downtown Holiday Inn, and we are on the 11th floor with a fantastic view of the city. There will be lots to see and do before our departure on Monday morning.

Family Trip

My son, Nick, and his son, Boone, are visiting from West Plains, MO. Tomorrow morning we are driving across the desert and mountains to San Diego, CA, where Boone will see the ocean for the first time. We will also be spending a day at the San Diego Zoo. And sometime during the long weekend we will catch up with my aunt, Mary Day Macy King, who has lived in or around San Diego since the end of World War II.

May your weekend be as wonderful as mine!

Pa Rock

Happy Birthday, Nick! (July 24, 1973)

Yes, my eldest child turned 35 yesterday. Nicholas Karl Macy was born on Okinawa in 1973 at the U.S. Army Hospital at Camp Kue, and he spent his first two months of life on that tiny island. If I wind up with the time and the resources, one of my greatest hopes is to be able to take Nick and his son, Boone, back to Okinawa so that he can see where he entered the world.

Nick and Boone are coming to Arizona next Thursday, and Friday I am whisking them off to a long weekend in San Diego where Boone will experience the ocean for the first time, and we all will spend one day at a world class zoo! Someday I'm going to start taking Sebastian on holiday also!

So, Nick, happy birthday - one day late. I love you and I remain very proud of you!

Dad

Aunt Mary and Her Girls

by Pa Rock
Poor Relation

When I called my Aunt Mary a few weeks ago to tell her that I was driving out to San Diego, almost the first words out of her mouth were, "You have to see the girls while you are here." The "girls," my cousins Janet and Linda, are native Californians that I hadn't seen in half a century.

The last time that I was in San Diego was in June of 1958. I can remember the month because Janet celebrated her 10th birthday while were were there. I remember our combined families going to a pizza parlor (pizza was new to me at the time) where we watched pizza artisans toss and twirl their dough in the air. Janet and I were getting ready to go into 5th grade, and Linda, I believe, was probably in junior high or starting to high school. Their father, my Uncle Wayne Macy, had died of leukemia the previous year.

That trip was the last time that I had seen Linda. She had gone on to become a very successful teacher with daughters and grandchildren. Janet came to Noel the following summer, 1959, and I had not seen her since then. So my trip to San Diego was going to allow for some major catching up!

We planned on meeting at a certain restaurant in Old Town on the Saturday preceding Mother's Day. I got there early and staked out the restaurant that was unfortunately closed for remodeling. Linda was the first of her group to arrive. I had planned on being with my friend Andy, but she had gone off with some of her friends on another adventure, so I was a single for the day. Linda and I walked past each other a couple of times. I had an inkling that she might be one of my cousins, but wasn't forward enough to ask. She, of course, was looking for a couple.

Then I watched as this blond lady joined several others near the restaurant, and immediately recognized Aunt Mary, whom I have seen several times over the years. She was accompanied by Janet and Janet's husband, Michael. They were a warm and happy group - just what you would expect with family!

We had a very nice lunch at another Mexican restaurant and compressed fifty years into a couple of hours. I talked about my children and passed around a few pictures, and learned about their families. Michael has been a professional musician, and he and Janet are talking seriously about moving to the Ozarks at some future time and living in the Branson vicinity.

My lasting impression of that brief meeting was that Aunt Mary had raised two wonderful girls. Although I only knew my Uncle Wayne briefly, I know that he would have been very proud to see how well they turned out. Now that I know my California relatives better, I plan on visiting again. You can't do better than family!

The High Cost of Life

by Pa Rock
Kibbitzer

I just returned from a mini-vacation to San Diego. The last time that I was there, I was ten-years-old. It's still a beautiful place, but the times they are a changin'!

The price of a first class stamp went to 42 cents today. The last time that I was in San Diego, the cost of mailing a first class letter had just jumped from three cents to four cents, and people were talking about what an outrage that was!

Also, fifty years ago you could buy gasoline any place for 29 cents a gallon - or less. Today it is selling for over four dollars a gallon in San Diego. I managed to hold my breath and coast into Arizona this afternoon where the gas was a steal at only $3.75 a gallon! I was able to fill my tank for a mere $50.75! When I bought that little car it would barely hold $20.00!

I realized during this short trip that the price of gas is having a major impact on travel and tourism. I make that statement based on the lack of recreational vehicles that were in evidence on the roads that I travelled. My round trip to the coast was approximately 700 miles along a major interstate highway. During all of those miles, I saw less than a dozen RV's! I predict that the high cost of gasoline is going to make the sub prime mortgage racket look like small potatoes by the time it filters out across our already ravaged economy.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find another oil man to serve as President!

Obama '08!