Skipping through the Orange Grove...

When I was visiting my mom in Arizona, we went on many adventures, but one of the greatest things that we did was pick oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits. My mom lives in a retirement community just outside of Phoenix, and she has many nice neighbors that always say hi when you see them walking past. In my mom's backyard, she has two orange trees, one tangerine tree, and one grapefruit tree, and every morning, it was my job to go out back and pick a couple grapefruits for my breakfast and a bunch of oranges for our fresh squeezed juice.

Now when I go to the store and see oranges on sale for $2.50/lb I can't believe my eyes! I picked a couple of pounds of oranges every morning, and the morning I left, I picked over fifty pounds of oranges so my mom could squeeze and freeze fresh orange juice. It took me about 30 minutes or so to pick that many oranges, so why does it cost so much money to buy them? At $2.50/lb, I picked about $125 worth of oranges in about 30 minutes, and I'm not very skilled at picking either. Do you think we picked all the oranges from the trees? Not even close! I picked less than 10% of the oranges on one tree. I love oranges and will continue to buy them (somewhat reluctantly) at the store, but I will always remember those two oranges trees, the tangerine tree, and the grapefruit tree that sat quietly in the my mom's backyard, providing shade, and a free and tasty breakfast.

Gregg

Four Hours at the Walk-In Clinic And...

I came home after my two week tour of most of the Western United States and my visit to two universities' college of pharmacy programs, and I found a house full of sick girls. Madison had started antibiotics for a double ear infection the Sunday I returned, and Emma has had a cough on and off for almost three weeks. And finally comes Allison. Poor Allison. She was sick the day I returned, and she only got worse as the week went along. She went to work on Monday, slept all day Tuesday and Wednesday, and went back to work on Thursday. She was so sick that she stayed in bed all day Friday and finally decided that she was sick enough to visit a doctor the following day.

Saturday I was working, so Allison had to work up enough energy to take both the girls (both getting over from their own sicknesses) to the walk-in clinic. When they arrived at the walk-in clinic, they were told it would be a two-hour wait. The kids were tired and started arguing, and then Madison started getting nasty. A time-out later and three-and-a-half hours of sitting in the waiting room, Allison and the girls get their own private room and... wait some more. When the doctor walks into the room, he feels her lymph nodes, looks at her swollen uvula, comments about the blisters in her throat, and starts asking questions. Allison answers that her throat hurts, and the doctor interrupts her with this brilliant question, "Have you tried ibuprofen?"

At this point, Allison doesn't answer, but Emma does. Now please remember, Emma is only FIVE YEARS OLD. It may have something to do with her daddy trying to get into pharmacy school or the fact that they've invested four hours of their Saturday to this clinic, but this is how she responded to the doctor: "Ibuprofen?!? She's taken ibuprofen! If ibuprofen was working, do you think we'd be here?!?"

The doctor looked at Emma, then at Allison, wrote the prescription for antibiotics, handed it to Allison, and walked out. I mean, how else can you respond to a five year old implying the question, "How many years of college did it take you to learn how to ask a question like that?"

I love my kids, but sometimes I wish that the mute button on the remote worked when we were out in the community and very clever one liners come booming out of their mouths like they're on stage at open mic night. Allison started her antibiotics and will hopefully be feeling better soon, and if I need to visit the doctor because I can't shake all the germs the girls gave me, I won't be visiting said walk-in clinic with Emma.

Tortilla Flat, AZ

While visiting with my mother in Arizona, we took a short trip out Apache Junction to the Superstition Mountain Range to a small town named Tortilla Flat, Arizona. If you think you come from a small town, think again. Tortilla Flat has a total population of SIX PEOPLE! Yep, I said six. It's a quant little town that includes a gift shop, restaurant, and a convenience store. While waiting for our table, we visited the gift shop where you can find shirts, hats, small treasures, and jewelry, and we stopped by outdoor seating area where there was live country music with freaking hilarious musicians.
There are speakers throughout town (remember, it's only on side of the road and about 100 yards long) to announce to everybody when your table is ready. When you walk into the restaurant, one of the first things that you notice is the unique wallpaper throughout the restaurant on the walls and ceiling. People sign a dollar bill or paper money from their home country, and the staff will staple it on the wall or ceiling.

There are not very many bare spots available for future signed money, and there are signs throughout the restaurant stating that taking money off the wall is stealing and the police will be called if you're caught. We found money from Canada, South Korea, Japan, Germany, and many other countries.

Throughout the restaurant are relics from the past that include a plow, tools, and other equipment used when the town was founded in 1904 as a stage stop. The food we were served was delicious, and the atmosphere makes this town a must see, but the road in is not to be desired. It's curvy and slow, but you do have the opportunity to see a couple of beautiful lakes before and after the town. When driving out to Tortilla Flat, you will pass Canyon Lake which offers many places for picnics or swimming, and after the town is Apache Lake and Roosevelt Lake. The lakes are amazing, and at specific points, cliffs shoot out of the water hundreds of feet straight up.


The town is small but well worth the visit, and my mom and I had an amazing time enjoying the lake, the mountains, and this small town of Tortilla Flat. I am including the town's website which will tell you more about the town and its history: http://www.tortillaflataz.com/index-2.html

Gregg