More From Scottsdale

Another Arizona morning and while it's a cold and clear 28 degrees at home, we're seeing overcast and 43 degrees here in Scottsdale. There was a scant rainfall yesterday, but it was enough to get the TV weathermen excited.

We drove downtown (Phoenix) so that I could complete my race registration, pick up my timing chip and my t-shirt. Even though it was early on the first day of registration, there was a crowd, a large crowd! Traffic around the convention center was a mess and the construction zones for the new light rail system didn't help the traffic situation. After picking up a few items at the Race Expo we were out of there and heading to Glendale to see the new Cabela's superstore. As usual, we just wandered through the store, buying very little but marveling at the excess. And I did discover that there is hope for the Cabela starved citizens of Northern California; there are plans to build a store in Reno...

Since it had been such a long time since our last visit to Scottsdale and the valley, we were amazed at the number of stores and houses that now exist here or are being built. Incredible! On all of my previous (recent) trips to this area I had been focused on the Chandler - Tempe area, to the south, as that was where our office and construction projects had been located. It's been close to 40 years since we last spent a lot of time in this area. In fact, we went by the site of the first building I worked on here, the Broadway store on Camelback... and it still stands! Although it has been renamed "Macy's".

To finish off our day, we went to Flo's and enjoyed a great meal.

Today we will be looking at some art galleries in the area. Then, Sunday is the race and that will be over by noon... Monday's plans now include a visit to the Barrett - Jackson automobile auction. Mike was able to get us tickets for this very private affair, so we will be viewing some of the priciest cars in the world that day. Since the lottery in Arizona is up to a $150 million payout level, I may buy a chance and perhaps we can drive home in style instead of flying.

Sorry about any typo's...I'm used to having Word take care of me and Google Docs makes me depend on my wit and skill. That's not a good thing!