Feb 26 - Spring Training, the Body Exhibit, Grand Canyon and more...

Last week was extremely busy.  John managed to get in another day at Spring Training, this time w/the San Diego Padres while I stayed back at the RV and did some work.

On Tuesday I attended my second weaving class.  There really is a whole lot to this set up.  It takes time and precision because if you get the weft threads loaded wrong through the treadles your final product comes out wrong.  I've read you can make corrections, but our instructor is trying to ensure we get our first project right.  I did a better job this night than the other and was the first one to get my project completely loaded.  Next Tuesday we'll load our shuttles so we can begin weaving the warp threads.  Only two classes left so the weaving will take less time than the set up.

We also had company this week.  Daughter Tonia, grandson Gabriel and Tonia's boyfriend Rick showed up and we were able to spend some time with them. First trip was to the Arizona Science Museum to see The Body Exhibit, The Brain.  This is the one with the human bodies and parts on exhibit.  It was really fascinating to see all the musculature, nerves, and other body parts up close.  It really opens your eyes.  They had healthy bodies, pregnant ones, diseased ones etc.  If you've never taken an anatomy class this would be a close second.  You can't help but wonder at the people who volunteered their bodies for this as a means to help the rest of us learn.

That night John and I took off for the Flagstaff (and to the snow) to spend the night.  The Grand Canyon train leaves at 9:30am from Williams, AZ which is 30 minutes away.  Tonia, Gabriel & Rick drove up that morning and met us there for the 2.5 hour train ride.

The train ride was fun, you get to see lots of open space and pretty scenery, and a few cattle and other animals.  Once you arrive at the train station you can see the Grand Canyon from the hotel and shops there, and then you can take buses around to various scenic outlooks.

  It was a cloudy day so the colors in the canyon were all a little muted, but it's still amazing.  If I remember right the Canyon is about 10 miles wide, 277 miles long and 1-2 miles deep.  It really looks like something that happened as a result of an earthquake instead of something that happened over millions of years; the striations in the rocks are amazing and show the various time periods.

We had a good ride back, then a 3 hour drive back to Phoenix.  Overall a long day, but very worthwhile.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the trip.  John and I would like to go back sometime and either take the mule trip to the bottom, or the hike.  The kids were interested in rafting the Colorado through the Canyon; that might be fun too. 


On their last day we ended up wandering around some shops and restaurants by the stadium.  The plan was to have dinner, but we found a great outdoor spot and had cocktails and appetizers.  After that John and I decided to go the movies while they headed back to the hotel.

It was really great to see them, and we appreciate them making the effort to come visit us in Phoenix.  They head home today and we'll go back to our "normal" days.  We are joining Ingried & Jack tomorrow at Nascar which is something new for us.  Should be a lot of fun if the rain will hold off.   

One bit of good news - my last day at IBM has been determined - it will be March 28th.  There were some head count reductions and I had raised my hand - better me than someone who needs the job and wants to work longer.  Because it's a formal program I'll receive a buy-out and then transition to retirement.  All in all it works out great for me and for IBM.  Until then I'll be working part days and handling small special projects that my team needs done.  I'm happy to do that since IBM has been so good to me over the years and then again now when I'm leaving.  It'll be sad to leave everyone, but I'll see my closest friends again I'm sure.