We're settled in at our Phoenix house sit

Thanks to the help of the internet, we stayed overnight at the Majestic Mountain Inn which was a hidden gem at a modest price. Payton is a contrast to the many other locations we've travelled so far in that its population is increasing and it's modern and upscale. Our journey south to Phoenix was marked on the map as a scenic route, and took us through an amazing landscape, with huge majestic mountains and breathtaking vistas. As we neared Phoenix, everywhere became very flat. Now at our house sit in Peoria, northwest in the greater Phoenix area, the landscape is again very flat, with mountains rising in the distance all around. It's quite beautiful.

Yesterday afternoon we visited the Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona in Mesa, which is part of the greater Phoenix Metropolitan area. Greg said this was his reward for driving most of the journey here, as he LOVES this type of thing. We both enjoyed touring the museum as it was unusual in that it allowed you to get up close to many of the exhibits.

Our first docent met with us and gave us a great introduction to the exhibits, and later a female docent explained the involvement of women as pilots in World War II, where they were vowed to secrecy for 35 years about their participation in the war. There are 500 volunteers at this base who pay $250 for what they speak of as the privilege of being a part of keeping this history alive. Impressive.

At the airforce base museum we were able to find a home for our first sheep on this journey. They were collecting toys for children for Christmas, and so we donated Pig, who we hope will find a happy home. 

The homeowners at our house sit took us out to dinner last night, which gave us time to get to know them a little. We also settled in with their poodle, Fanci, who has an adorable temperament. Fanci took us for a long walk this morning and has us trained. We are privileged to be spending time in a beautiful home in the warm Phoenix sunshine. The locals here say it's so cold today (high 50s in the shade), but compared to what we'd get back home, this is lovely. When it's no jacket required, in our eyes, we're happy!