A Brief tale of two cities and two Airports

    Monday morning, probably about the same time that Miguel and Claire were at Miguel's mom's house having breakfast and cutting into the last of the left-over wedding cake, Tom, Tommy and I were on our way from Phoenix back to Columbus.

The real  breakfast of champions, right?  And just for the record, those chocolate cookie straws were filled with chocolate cream.

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Though our planes left at about the same time, Tom and I and Tommy  had to part ways on the hotel shuttle, as Tommy got off at the United terminal while Tom and I traveled on to the US Air terminal. 
    Which is to say that Phoenix Sky Harbor is a big airport, with four rambling terminals.

And a mountain view

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     The size of this airport came  as a surprise to me the first time I flew into it last year.  For some reason I was expecting a western version of Port Columbus. 
    Which is not to denigrate Port Columbus in the least:  It may be a small airport, but, hey, it gets me anywhere I want to go.  And it's easy to get around.  And easy to  park at.  And I spend so much time there that it feels like home.
    I also didn't imagine Phoenix being a whole lot bigger than Columbus.  Turns out it is.
    In fact, I looked it up, and Phoenix is the largest state capitol in the nation and the 6th largest city, with a population of almost a million and a half. 
    I guess it's one of the telling signs of the vastness of Phoenix that when back at the hotel at Wickenburg the day before I met a resident of Phoenix who was singing the praises of the city.
    But when  I asked him what we might do there with a few hours to kill in the afternoon he was
  suddenly at a loss.   It must have been the same as asking a New Yorker what to do with an hour or two in New York City.  What the heck can you do with such a small amount of time in such a big city?
    Whereas if someone asked me what to do with a couple of hours in Columbus I'd have suggested a stroll through German Village or the Short North or the Arena District or one of our parks or Easton Town Center.  Our options are more limited here but everything's relatively close and accessible.  Which gives the impression of there being lots to do in Columbus.
    Anyway, I guess that's the sum total of what I know about Phoenix, since we never did make it into the city, having opted for our sweaty foray into the Hassayampa River Preserve instead.  But we didn't really mind missing Phoenix.  We were just as happy hanging around in the air-conditioning or the pool of our cheap luxury hotel.