Couch surfing sounds like such a fun game until you try it yourself. I am quiet and private and she is more gregarious and friendly.

I travel to get away. She travels to make new friends everywhere.

“Are you okay with one dog?” she asked.

Shouldn’t be a problem.

There were four.

Check in time was 3:00 pm. With care, we did not arrive until 3:30.

The friendly hostess gave a tour of the house and house rules. Top two shelves in the refrigerator are for guests. Everything else is free game for the family. Brought the cooler in from the car. Meanwhile another guest loaded the two top shelves with fresh produce and ingredients. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It will all be gone tomorrow.”

“The pool?” – One of my traveling companion’s criteria – “ It’s pretty cold this time of year,” cautioned our hostess. “But the patio is a great place to sit in the evening with a glass of wine. Just let me know when you want to use it and I’ll put the dogs in.” Two of the dogs sleep in the kitchen at night. Apparently to guard the coffee and full fridge, right?

My travel companion is no novice to Airbnb. She has travelled around the world and stayed with strangers in Australia and Indonesia, I trusted everything to her. The beds were comfortable. The house, spacious and clean, needs only a bit of touch-up maintenance. The towels are large and fluffy and lovely and there is lots of hot water. I enjoyed a hot shower this morning and stepped out in the hall with one of those lovely towels wrapped round me. I saw my companion do this with success last evening so I followed suit – or unsuit as the case may be. An additional (and unexpected to me) guest sat watching the news on the big screen at the far end of the hall. He politely ducked his head further into his newspaper.

Last night we enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying time at the Phoenix Symphony after wolfing down salads in order to make curtain time. Smart Phone GPS took us on a circuitous jolly-ride on the way home. We arrived before Cinderella time. Unfortunately, the entry code was incorrect. Our hostess had to be roused by phone to let us in. It was raining as we waited at the door. It always rains when I visit Phoenix.

I am a morning person; my traveling companion is not. When she wakes, maybe we’ll take a hike. Unfortunately, due to the shutdown, we’ll not hike in any beautiful National Park. According to my helpful hostess, there are many popular hiking places in Phoenix – mostly paved….