This is our first blog post, so a little background. We are Diane Persson and Daniel Johnson, of Houston, Texas. Married in 1976, we retired in 2010 to move on to the next stage of life -- this blog is to share our experiences. We left Houston on a two-month road trip in May 2010 to see the country and visit family and friends. This first post was from Phoenix, and since the blog puts most recent at the top the picture below is from Phoenix, and below from El Paso and on the bottom our dog Fritz in the Texas wildflowers. Fritz perches in the back of our PT Cruiser -- we're a one-car family again for the first time in decades.

As this is our first road trip following retirement, we were surprised to learn Frank Lloyd Wright was the most productive in the last third of his life. When he died at age 91 he had a couple hundred designs commissioned. We may use him as a role model for our next third. Outside of Scottsdale we visited Talliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and architectural school. His philosophy was that if you enjoy the luxuries then the necessities will take care of themselves.

The 1840 mission sports handcarved beams and brackets supporting an adobe roof. Nuestra Senora del Socorro Mission outside of El Paso is the oldest continuing parish in the U.S. In the foreground are two especially unique grave sites, one matching the color of the sky and the other decorated with plastic poinsettias and tinseled garland. Fritz makes his debut amidst the wildflowers and burrs of West Texas. From his perch in the backseat he watches the miles role on and is somewhat uncertain this is will be a fun road trip.