March, 2003
Did March come in like a lion or a lamb?  I guess it depends on what part of the country you are in.  Here in Arizona, March started with a few cloudy days, with temperatures around 60*.  But, by the end of the first week it was bright, sunny and close to 80*.   The reports we got from our kids in Marysville, OH and Frisco, CO had lots of snow in them.   Here in Casa Grande we spent time at the driving range and on the tennis courts and golf course.  On Friday, March 7 we drove with our friends, the Nikitas, to Tucson.  We attended the Beaudry RV Center Annual Mexican Fiesta....complete with free lunch and entertainment and plenty of vendor exhibits and motor homes to visit and a Camping World to browse.  We came home with no new purchases!!!  When we returned to Palm Creek we gathered at Nikita's RV for "happy hour" with a few more friends and neighbors and surprised Mary with a birthday cake.
On Saturday after our morning tennis round-robin, we headed up to Ahwatukee (a southern suburb of Phoenix) and met our old Springfield friends, the Wilsens.  We went to see a movie and then to dinner.  We had a great visit and it was good to catch up on things with them.  (They have a winter place in Sun Lakes.)
Mary played her first 18-hole round of golf on Sunday.  It went pretty well.....only two lost balls on the "back 9" which has plenty of water on every hole.  So, the ladies plan to try again next Sunday.  By Monday, March 10 the afternoon temperatures were close to 85* in the shade.  Thanks to being in the desert, the night-time lows are around 45...so we get a good "swing" during the day.  And, since humidity is only about 30%, we are quite comfortable without any air-conditioning.  Some sections of the park have lost quite a few residents.   Ours seems to be pretty stable, so far, but each day there are rigs heading out.  Its sad to see our new friends leave! Many of those remaining have April 1 expiration stickers in their windows (and we're one of them!)  But, activities seems to still be at full capacity - and there is always someone else collecting the Bingo prizes!
Mary's Happy Birthday Happy Hour
Thursday, March 13 was the final day for Mary's tennis league for this season.  After tennis they gathered for lunch at the home of one of the players.  Those still in the park will play informally for a while.  On Friday, after Mary played at "social tennis" and Tom played in the golf scrambles, we headed to Mesa with our neighbors, the Nichitas.  We looked at a few RVs at "LaMesa RV Center" and took advantage of their free lunch.  Next stop was the giant "Swap Meet."  We took our "walkie-talkies" and all went our own way, gathering together again 2 hours later.  The swap meet is a very large, but covered and clean market.  There was a lot to see, but our purchases were kept to a minimum.   We enjoyed a "happy hour" on Saturday at Nichitas, joined by two other couples from British Columbia.   Mary and the ladies made it to the 9th tee of their Sunday morning golf before the rain and hail arrived.  The rest of Sunday was cloudy, cool, and wet....a good day for reading the paper and taking a nap!  We did get to the ballroom between raindrops on Sunday evening to enjoy the entertainment by "Jenson and Jordan,"  two men who play a multitude of instruments, sing, and do a little comedy.
Monday, March 17 was, of course, St. Patrick's Day.  After playing tennis in the early morning, Mary participated with the tennis folks in the St. Patrick's Day Parade  here in the park.  There was quite a line of decorated golf cars and pick-up trucks winding through the park.  There was Irish Stew and entertainment for lunch and later in the afternoon, our neighbors, the McGraths, hosted a St. Patrick's Happy Hour.  In between events we had some strong winds and rain...and the ugly weather lasted for a couple of days.  But, by the end of the week, we were back to sunshine and cloudless skies.  We were sad to see the Nichitas leave on Thursday.  We'll miss them but plan to cross paths again.  The park is getting more empty by the day with some sections looking totally bare.
The tennis group getting organized for the big parade.
Some of the tennis St. Patrick's Day marchers.
 There was one last "happy hour get-together" of the tennis players on Saturday, March 22, and on Sunday it was our remaining neighbors, and Mary's usual Sunday golf round with the "girls."  On Monday, Tom had his last round of duplicate bridge and Mary finally had a winning night at Bingo (although she had to share the pot with two others.)  Tuesday and Wednesday it was time to get down to work....and we started down our list of "things to do before hitting the road."  Many moving parts were checked, cleaned or lubed.  The screens, windows and mirrors were washed and we had the carpet cleaned.  We had to rearrange the cabinets and storage bins and put everything back in its proper place for travel.  We also managed to squeeze in the last games of tennis and golf and a movie and some shopping on "Tuesday's senior day."  We're ready to roll.
Tom and his bridge partner Don tallying up their winning bid at bridge.
Tom's bridge buddies, Barb and Don from the state of  Washington.
Neighbors and domino players, Jim and Pat McGrath from Minnesota.
Phone calls from our son, Reid, in Colorado told us that about 5 FEET of snow had fallen in the Frisco area.  Quite a contrast to our 85* days here.
And roll we did......leaving Casa Grande around 4pm on Thursday, March 27 and rolling through Lordsburg, NM that night, on to Amarillo on Friday, through Oklahoma City and Tulsa to Joplin, MO on Saturday, through Springfield and St. Louis, IL and Indianapolis on Sunday and on Monday arriving in Marysville, OH around noon.  2000+ miles in 4 1/2 days....whew!!!  We hadn't planned to do it that way, but hearing news that Tom's mother would be needing surgery, we made a "bee-line" for Ohio.  After visiting with the excited granddaughters, we moved on to the Toledo area.