March, 2004
We "marched" right through the month of March.....where does the time
go? Where did the winter go? We reported at the end of February that
we'd had a cool winter, with a fair amount of rain in February. March
started out about the same. But, then one day it was 55 and the next it
was 90, and that's where it has stayed for the rest of the month. I guess
we got what we asked for! We adjusted pretty well, though, and learned to
pace our activities and pack more water into our bags as we headed out to golf
and tennis, especially. You've heard the expression "But, its a dry
heat." Well, it really is! Our humidity ranges from 5% to
30%.....making the heat more bearable.
Early in
the month several groups of friends passed through Casa Grande and we enjoyed
catching up on each others activities and news. It was the third time this
winter we have crossed paths with Dick and Nancy Maxwell, former
Michigan-O-Bounder members who spent most of the winter in the
southwest. We'd met Beth Floan at the FMCA National Convention in
Buffalo, NY last July. She is a single lady who travels full time in her
RV, and this time she had two other ladies in a second RV travelling with
her. They had started in Florida in January and were making their way to
San Diego and after an ocean cruise would be heading east again. We'll
probably see Beth again at a rally in May in Michigan. It was great to
hear all about the ladies travels, especially Mardi Gras in
Galveston.
Ann,
Marian and Beth, the three lady travelers.
With
the weather finally improving, we enjoyed outdoor "happy hours" most days.
After dark we turned to games. One night we enjoyed dinner and
Triominoes with Ted and Darlene Knowles from Idaho. One afternoon we drove
with Nichitas and McGoverns down to Tucson to attend the Beaudry RV Mexican
Fiesta. We had a fun free lunch and toured all the new RVs for sale.
And one day the neighborhood ladies made a shopping and lunch trip into
Phoenix.
Darlene and Ted Knowles trying to beat us at Triominoes.
Enjoying lunch at the Mexican Fiesta with the McGoverns and the
Nichitas.
We
made a trip into the Phoenix suburb of Chandler on March 13 to attend the annual
Ostrich Festival...a "big deal" held each year to celebrate the memory of the
once thriving business of raising ostrich in the area. Today's ostriches
are imported by a commercial exotic animal handler, but they put on a good
show....boy can an ostrich run fast!
To read more about our adventures in March, please click on
"Forward" above.
page 1
The two of us "split up" on March 14. Tom flew to Clackamas, OR,
and Mary flew to Pharr, TX, returning on Friday night, the 19th. In
Oregon, Tom was part of a Federal Head Start Program Review. He had trained for
this work in February and found it interesting and worthwhile. It went
well and he's received positive feed-back on his performance with the
team. Meanwhile, in Texas, Mary was visiting with her mother and
step-father and participating in the many activities at their park. She
also went to lunch and a visit to the Santa Ana National Wildlife
Refuge with Harold and Mary Morgan, friends and former Bounder owners from
our M-O-B days in Michigan.
Mary's
mother and step-father, Fran and Edith Metz at the airport in Harlingen,
TX
Mary
and Harold Morgan at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in the Rio Grande Valley of
Texas.
A
chariot racer and his ostrich at the Chandler Ostrich festival.
We both returned to Sky Harbor in Phoenix at nearly the same time on
Friday night, made the trip back to Palm Creek, started laundry, got in a
morning tennis game on Saturday and then went back to Sky Harbor to pick up our
son, Reid, who arrived for a week visit. He immediately adjusted to the
routine at the park, and by the end of the next week had decided that the life
of constant decisions over tee times and tennis dates would be a life he could
handle. He sampled a bit of most of our activities, participating with
"the old folks" at tennis, golf and water volleyball and enjoying happy hours,
the pool and hot tub and even the outdoor movie. We tried not to keep score
of who won the most rounds of golf or tennis games. We took a trip to
the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument as our cultural outing of the week. But,
too soon, he traded the 95* temperatures for snow and was headed back to
Colorado and his job at the newspaper. We did miss having Reid's
girlfriend, Kim, come with him, but she has just started a new job at the same
newspaper and had also planned another trip at nearly the same
time.
March, 2004
page 2
Tom
and Reid
Reid
trying his hand at Beanbag Baseball at a neighborhood "happy
hour"............
......and at water volleyball. (That's him serving, while Tom and other
teammates watch.)
When
Reid returned to Colorado early on Saturday, March 27, we had only a few days
left at Palm Creek. You could tell that "the end was near" as everybody
was packing up outdoor furniture and equipment and reorganizing their storage
bins, removing sun screens and washing windows, checking tires and
batteries and getting ready to hit the road. Mary had her last round of
Sunday golf with the ladies and a string of "just one more time" tennis
games. Tom and his partner, Don, tried to amaze their opponents at
bridge and Tom's golf group came in second at his last "scrambles."
As a going away present, the park management threw a "party in the park" on the
29th and about 800 people enjoyed a BBQ/buffet and live music and
dancing on a gorgeous warm evening. We all made the rounds giving
hugs and wishing safe travels and fun summers to all.
The
last Sunday golf group....Cathy, Pat, Mary, Bev G, Bev M. and LaVon...at
the 19th hole.
Party
in the Park with the Nichitas and the McGoverns.
So,
with mixed feelings of sadness at leaving friends and fun activities....and
excitement for our travel adventures for the next several months, we leave Palm
Creek behind once again. On April 1 we'll be heading
east.
To read more about our adventures in March, please click on "Back"
above.