Phoenix Fire Falconry: October Vacation 2024

Monday, November 4, 2024

October Vacation 2024

Tuesday, October 15

From Wednesday, October 16 to Tuesday, October 29 I was off from work for what is becoming my usual priority vacation. This two weeks was extended by an additional 4 days, 2 before and 2 after, as it falls between my mandatory work weekend. I did not have any extraordinarily exciting things planned for my time off, just spending it with my friends, and enjoying not having to go to work.

I began my down time by finally catching a good picture of the comet gracing our autumn skies. This is Comet C/2023 A3, also called Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. It was in the evening sky at this point, racing away from the sun to leave our solar system, to not return for what was calculated to be about 80,000 years. So, enjoy it while it is here.

On the evening of Tuesday, October 15, as I was taking this comet picture above, my friend Darla arrived from her home in Illinois to spend a week with me. She brought with her a small Ty Dragon, named Cinder, for me to have and to join a group of her friends in a FB page, where we should take pictures of our dragon doing fun things, and share with the group. It is a friend's group like Flat Stanley, only we won't write letters to anyone, just post travel and destination pictures. Darla's Ty Dragon's name is "Darla". She's pink.

Wednesday, October 16

Plans for the first full day with my friend were delayed as I discovered I had a flat tire. Upon taking the wheel off (thank you Rich) there was a large screw imbedded close to the edge. I took it, sporting my donut, to a local repair shop, where they were able to patch it and put it back on. At least this happened on a vacation day, and not a busy work day.

With this slight delay dealt with, Darla and I headed out for our first day's adventures. Having never visited it before, I decided we should go see the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota, which is where the Hormel Foods packing plant is located. On our way we stopped at the Nautical Bowls in Rochester, a "super foods" fad popular right now featuring acai palm berries, and other mashed and frozen exotic fruits, like mango, dragon fruit (pitaya), coconut, spirulina (they call it Blue Majik), chia and cacao (chocolate). It is topped with nut butters and sliced fresh fruits. It makes for a tasty snack/meal, and the guy at the counter helping us was super friendly. He looked like he should be on a beach somewhere, which being in Rochester, is a very long way away from a beach.

My time spent with Darla (the friend) would include lots of pictures of Darla (the dragon) and my dragon Cinder doing various fun things. Like riding the hogs on the statue outside the Spam Museum.

Hey Darla, how many Spam cans tall are you?

Oh, about 19, maybe 20 if you count the hair clip.

I am definitely in the 20 range.

There was an interactive game, mostly designed for kids ~ but hey, adults can have fun too ~ of challenging yourself to pack Spam cans against a timer, to see who is the fastest. I guess training for future factory workers. We packed them with dragons. As a side comment, check out the bean bag like spam replica. It was a soft, mushy bag, resembling the soft mushy ground pork that makes up the Spam product. Kinda gross, really.

That said, I had to buy several cans to take home. They had all the flavors, many which you will seldom see in the store. I picked a few exotic ones to try at future breakfasts or dinners. I myself do not really care that much for Spam, but it is quite loved by many cultures in the world. Here is a good article talking about all that:

Spam Lore

Thursday, October 17

The following day would find us returning very close to where we were on Wednesday. Darla had arranged to meet up with someone in Iowa to acquire several more of her beloved Darla Dragons. They apparently come in a variety of sizes. Our journey would take us to Mason City, so we checked out a few interesting things in the area.

There was a sculpture garden that was kitschy,

and then a Frank Lloyd Wright house, that very much was not. Next to the FLW house was an interpretive building that told the history of the Stockman House and sold souvenirs and such. Darla likes architecture and frequently posts about it on her FB page.

After our tour of "art", both great and small we had dinner at a local spot with a car theme.

Darla also likes classic cars. In fact, she is rather a fan of just about everything from the 60s, and thereabouts.

While at this lunch stop I saw a promotional poster that would encompass what we did afterwards.

I don't really care much about musicians in general, and not specifically any historical ones, but this is something that Darla is quite passionate about. So when on vacation you accommodate your friend who finds these things interesting.

Rather than write the details here, just follow this link:

The Day the Music Died

We did visit the crash site memorial by the road, but did not walk into the field as Darla does not travel far easily. There are plenty of pictures to see what it looks like.

I include the following two pictures borrowed off the Internet. For many years my friend was the front female vocalist for a 60s tribute band in the Chicago area that performed hits from the Hippie Era.

Returning home that night we went to visit and shared dinner with my local friends Fox and Roman.

We had "Hot Pot". Rather than describe it, this video details how it is done. Fox is quite a fan of Eastern cuisine.

How to Hot Pot

I had a tasty beverage. IYKYK!

Friday, October 18

Friday was a quiet day, mostly. Darla and I stayed home. I did host a small cookout for a special friend and her family. No pictures of them. S'OK . . . I remember who it was. Just for this event I had purchased a new porch set. It's late in the sitting outside season, but will be really nice next summer. I also have an umbrella acquired previously, so had Rich go looking on his auction sites and found me an umbrella stand and a cushion storage box.