It didn’t occur to me that a shuttle, as opposed to a flight, could be delayed by there I am outside the Phoenix airport waiting for the delayed shuttle to Tucson. Hope it’s not more than 45 minutes behind schedule although heck, just sitting outside the airport terminal in sunny 70 degrees or so weather is a tonic for this Midwestern snowbird.
I am leaving Phoenix after two days of work meetings. We were lodged at the very nice pointe hilton tapatico resort in north central Phoenix. Nice place with more pools and hot tubs than I could count, easy access to good hiking trails, a lovely mountaintop restaurant with good food and a spectacular view, especially at sunset. The layout is very confusing with lots of stucco two story spa is buildings rambling up a hilly compound.
Didn’t see much beyond our meeting room and the bus taking us to and fro. Did have a good dinner last night at del frisco’s grill near the Biltmore.







I finally got to walk around the renovated downtown library in Des Moines that is now the headquarters for the World Food Prize and was blown away by the restoration/renovation effort. It was always an elegant 19th century building but it got pretty shabby in the mid 1990s when my children visited the library there regularly as Downtown School students. With all its stain glassed windows and murals and wood it always hinted of a previous, more elegant life. Now it’s back to its former glory and well worth a walk around. The restored WPA murals on the bottom floor are particularly interesting, tracing the history do Des Moines from prehistoric era to 1941. And the Howard Buffett photos of people from across the world facing hunger issues is mesmerizing. So visit when
Chef Roy Choi made a big splash on this season’s “Top Chef” by being remarkably candid and foul-mouthed about how much he did not like the food the poor frazzled chefs had cooked up for him. Padma looked aghast. But apparently HIS food is worth a try so maybe we will give it a go when we’re visiting my brother in LA next month. Maybe he’ll prove to me that Korean food is worth all the hype. Our options appear to be Kogi,