Five days in Arizona
Here's some traditional cactus at the Desert Botanical Garden in Tempe, seen during my vacation last week...
... and some untraditional cactus in the same place.
I had ice cream at the Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale, a very popular pink-and-white ice cream parlor founded in 1958 and featured in several "Family Circus" panels...
... and soul food at Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe in downtown Phoenix, where payment is on the honor system. I also had a terrific waffle at Matt's Big Breakfast, recommended by reader, um, "breakfast weasel."
And I rode on the Metro, Phoenix's brand-new light rail. If sprawling Phoenix can get light rail, maybe there's hope for us.
The Metro, where the doors are just inches above street level, is more user-friendly than L.A.'s Gold Line, where the doors are higher and the platforms harder to get to. But a better-styled train isn't worth moving to Phoenix for.
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A journalist for more than two decades, David Allen has been writing a column for the Daily Bulletin since 1997 and blogging since 2007.He lives in Claremont.
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You did more in 5 days than I've gotten around to in 10 years of living here -- and good choices all. I can also confirm there is very little worth moving here from Southern California.
[Bob is probably this blog's only Arizona reader (I forget which city) and an Inland Valley native. -- DA]
The tall spiny guy in the first photo is a saguaro, and its blossom is the state flower of Arizona.
The Metro in Phoenix looks like it is ELECTRIC. So it is good for the environment. The Gold Line here in LA is also electric but Metrolink is NOT.
[Yes, the Metro is electric. I don't know what the tradeoff is environmentally between Metrolink being a locomotive but substituting for dozens of automobiles. -- DA]
How was Matt's Big Breakfast? We saw it on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and were wondering.
[Excellent. A small cube-like building that seems like a classic diner, serving breakfast basics with a 21st century flair -- organic milk, farm-raised eggs and other high-quality ingredients. My waffle was fluffy, the bacon meaty. Even the hash browns were top-notch. Highly recommended. -- DA]