Next day I couldn't find anyone to take me out to the crowd;
so I rode the bus and the light rail (a pretty snazzy train,
but a pity there's only one line) to Phoenix Municipal
Stadium, where I saw the Royals get whupped by the Athletics
7-2. TW1 called me an hour into the game; it was already the
middle of the 4th, 2-0 Oakland. He said he might be able to
make it by 7th inning stretch. Shortly thereafter, they put
it away with a big inning capped by a 3-run triple by Travis
Buck. Nonetheless, TW1 didn't get there until the end of the
7th (by this time, though, the parking attendants had quit
charging, the ticket sellers weren't selling, and the ticket
takers didn't care). Attendance a pathetic 3183. Beer a
pathetic selection. I tasted the Pyramid apricot ale but
wasn't thrilled, so I went to the VFW booth, where Kona
Longboard was being offered, by far the best thing at the
stadium.

Stopped off at Four Peaks for a pitcher of Hop Knot, sided
with beer-battered bacon and pretzels.

For dinner: we swung by the grocery at the Chinese
Cultural Center, where I picked up an assortment of
shellfish. We had steamed ark shells and gambas al ajillo
with an appetizer of fried shrimp shells; with this the
Barefoot Pinot Gris, aka one of the best $5 wines around,
went nicely. Apricot and apple, bright, a little sweet on
the finish. After which TW1 grilled Prime ribeyes from
Costco I think, with which the Justin Justification 06,
aka one of the best $40 wines around, went well. I asked
for my steak to be put on the grill partially frozen, so
it came out perfectly blue rare but seared outside. Most
enjoyable. The wine: black fruits, earthy, a slight herbal
quality. Mostly Cab Franc. As good as Isosceles, I think,
but perhaps a little cheaper.

Sesame mochi from the Soft Indicator Food Co. (Taipei) were
somewhat stiff and stale, and the peanut filling was very
stiff and stale.

We finished with the rest of the Inniskillin, which had lost
some of its effervescence and some of its depth but was
still impressive.

Next day I dithered about going to the airport early for
US1546, which was showing seats in F, vs. hanging around and
taking my scheduled 1550, which was zeroed out. TW1 was
watching upgrade availability for me like a hawk, and he called
to say that the seat had opened up, so I got the Gold desk
to give it to me. (Turns out, actually, that I would have
likely gotten one anyhow, as they ended up pulling up
someone from the back to fill a seat in row 3 and gave the
one next to me to a disappointed volunteer.)

Took the 70 bus to the rental car facility and the shuttle
from there, easy as 3.14159. It must have been quite a good
fly day, as the customer service counter had nothing to do.
The people there seemed relieved to have a customer and were
kind of tickled when I asked where the best place to eat was
- one of the agents steered me to the "high A" pier, where
there was a better assortment of fast food than at the "low
A" pier, where, she informed me (looking at me) that all
there was was American food. I trucked on over to high A
and had a machaca burrito at Blue Burrito. It was actually
pretty decent, the pot-roast meat quite flavorful and
oniony, the burrito fixings fresh. A cup of quite spicy
salsa on the side. Oh, yes, the cheese refused to melt -
later I found from the Website that it's lowfat.

You know what's annoying? All the desperate people pursuing
you down the corridor flogging the US Airways credit card.

Got to the low-A club in time to ascertain that the drink
special was a $5 Mimosa made with J. Roget. Boulder Canyon
chips, lots of cookies (I had a chocolate one), salty
crunchy junk. US Air no longer blocks the airport wi-fi.

US1550 PHX CLT 1454 2134 321 1A

The disappointed volunteer next to me turned out to be an
interesting utopian leftist of some kind with a refreshing
take on middle east politics. Would that I believed with
him that communication among Israelis and Palestinians
through Internet chat rooms is going to produce peace in
our time. Otherwise: a pleasant and industrious FA, an
unpleasant and quite bumpy flight.

My first Glenlivet didn't seem to be a Glenlivet, either
that or the quality control has gone way down. Refills
were back to normal.

Lunch: fettuccine alfredo with sun-dried tomatoes and salmon
- a most unsavory odor wafted in from the galley, and I was
regretting my choice, but when the food came, it was
actually not unpalatable, the pasta thick but characterful,
the sauce okay, the fish not as rotten as it smelled. A
pretty fresh green salad accompanied. The other choice was a
turkey-cheese sandwich sided with pasta salad. My seatmate
ate every scrap of his, so it was probably okay, either that
or his several Tanqueray and tonics steeled him to the task.

Underdone chocolate-chip cookie, cold and doughy in the
middle. The gesture was appreciated, though.

More turbulence. Thank goodness for the Chardonnay, which
was an unoaked cheapie whose name I didn't recognize.

1774 CLT PVD 2209 2355 319 1A

We loaded up a hair late and landed a hair late. I slept
from takeoff to touchdown and was so out that the FA
remarked, as I left, that I must be working way too hard.

My buddy Rosie was there to pick me up.
==
TW1 had strongly recommended La Laiterie in Providence, and I
was amused by the peculiarity of an Arizona boy recommending
a Rhode Island restaurant, but also I do respect his palate,
so we decided to go. Got there at about 6:30 on a weekday,
and there was space at the bar or at the little counter
overlooking the street. We chose the latter as more quiet.
There are four seats: one was empty, the second occupied by
Ellen, a woman of close to my age; we started talking.
Turns out she haunts some of the same places I used to (in
the Boston area, not in Providence); we had a pleasant chat.
I took her wine recommendation and had the Terredora di
Paolo Falanghina 07, a bright and tropical-fruity though
quite flinty wine. Rosie had L'Ecole 41 Chenin Blanc 06,
which I thought overwhelming with honey and jasmine. Started
with a dish of fried chicken skin, 4 pieces each about the
size of a dollar bill, $4. Delicious, though the malt
vinegar aioli was a bit of a muchness. We took Ellen's next
recommendation and had "our baked cheesemonger's mac n'
cheese with a molten center & a golden, crusty top $11" -
this was a pound of extremely rich food, quite tasty but on
the salty side. Following this, the "seared naturally-raised
chicken livers, crunchy onion rings & pan jus with bacon
$12" - a sizable portion of livers that were delicious and
tender but done a shade or two more than I would do myself,
topped with lots of lardons of excellent bacon and a potent
deglacage: on the side three giant onion rings, fried crisp
in a fragile batter. Very nice. I had a glass of The Crusher
Petite Sirah 07, which was a riot of brambles and vanilla
on the nose, strong blackberries and dark-roast coffee
with a touch of herbs and mint on the palate. This carried
over to our dessert, kahlua brownie with homemade Bailey's
ice cream. A lot of coffee flavors going on complemented the
chocolate nicely.