Today it wasn’t the time, the dogs, cat, or the alarm that got me out of bed but rather the temperature. I purposely stayed in bed until the outside thermometer function on my Iwatch finally read over 50 degrees. It doesn’t seem like much in the way of warmth, but after dealing with ice and snow for the past few weeks, the dry Arizona weather is a vast improvement. I arrived in Phoenix yesterday, greeted with blue skies, sunshine, and 70 degrees. My wife had flown in a few days earlier for business meetings. We reunited at the Marriott Canyon Villas, our first experience with the Marriott Vacation Club. The only problem is I’m stuck here with nothing but Diet Pepsi.

It will be cloudy for my run this morning but I won’t have to worry about slipping on ice or getting soaked. I was stuck on the boring treadmill for three straight days, preserving my ten-year-plus consecutive day running streak. Tomorrow will mark day 3,700. It may be a bit gray outside here in the desert but at least it’s not raining, as I wait for my wife to get ready. She will walk while I run in loops to avoid getting too far ahead. Once I reach 3.1 miles (5k), I will then walk back to the room with her. For a pleasant change of pace, we did not wake up to dogs begging to go with us.

“50 Degrees of Gray” is a heat wave compared to the Portland slop that we live in this time of year. I have to keep reminding myself that the constant rain and occasional light snow enables everyone to enjoy the spectacular, lush, green summer months ahead. Don’t worry they’ll be here soon. In the meantime, we escape when we can to a sunnier spot. However, with only one of us retired, we’re limited on our time away from home, unlike the “snowbirds” here at the resort who stay for three months or longer. Yesterday, poolside activities included a tequila tasting. They taught us this toast: “arriba (glasses up), abajo (glasses down), al centro (glasses to the front) y adeeentrooo (just gulp it down)!”

Tonight we will dine at Roy’s, one of our restaurant favorites for misoyaki butterfish and famous chocolate souffle. Tomorrow night our Valentine’s dinner will be at Ocean Prime, another “healthy” dose of gourmet calories. This afternoon we’ll walk to a nearby In-N-Out Burger for lunch (they also have Diet Coke – rejoice). Dining out is one of the main reasons for “The Streak.” As I often like to say, “run like a maniac, eat like a pig, then run again.”