January 5 to February 28, 2011 Arizona

We enjoyed three wonderful weeks in Alaska with family and friends and now it was time to to get back to more fun in sunny Arizona. We arrived back at Mesa Regal RV Resort on January 5th and felt like we were back to “our home away from home”. We were able to get a site across from our friends, Harvey and Carol and it were happy to see them again. On Thursday, Bob's brother, Dan and his wife Gail stopped to spend a few days with us before heading to their home in Colorado. Dan was busy working on the startup of his new internet publishing company called Third Chicken. We did manage to talk him into going hiking on Saturday on the First Water Trail by the Lost Dutchman's State Park.





































 It is hard to believe that last week I was snowshoeing on our trails near our lake in Alaska and now we were hiking in the desert. After our hike, we continued down the famous Apache Trail to Tortilla Flat. The road with its many blind turns, steep descents, and sheer drop-offs is not for the faint of heart. However, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Superstition Mountains, canyons and lakes. We took them to the former stagecoach stop, Tortilla Flat Saloon, where saddles are the bar stools and the walls are papered with $1 bills.

On Monday, Gail and I went shopping at Trader Joe’s and to the Desert Botanical Garden. Upon our arrival, we were immediately dazzled by the stunning artwork of renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly called Desert Towers.

 I remember the first time that I saw his work in Seattle and fell in love with his exquisite glass pieces. Gail and I have been know to lie on the floor at the reception area at the Bellagio in Las Vegas to admire his glass “flowers” suspended from the ceiling. Why Bellagio removed the couches is beyond me! He also has an impressive exhibit in Tacoma at the Museum of Glass called the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. It has been years since I have been at the Botanical Garden and was impressed with the trails that exhibit the cactus and diverse succulent plants.

We enjoyed a delicious salad at the Patio Cafe while being entertained by the Gamble's Quail.



That evening the four of us met Jay Kriner, our good friend and our daughter-in-law's Dad, from Alaska for dinner at Waldo's BBQ. We love the ribs and pulled pork!

It was sad to see Dan and Gail pull out the next morning but we knew that we would be seeing them in Florida on March 16th.

On Thursday, we met Jay, Don Moock, and Spence DeVito at Maggiano's in Scottsdale for a delicious dinner and great company. The guys were in town for a week of golf and it was fun to spend the evening together. The next morning, Bob and I went to Usery Mountain Regional Park and hiked the Wind Cave Trail followed by a pot luck at Harvey and Carol Robb's.



















We also met a lot of new friends: John and Linda (Carol's sister) from Ottawa, Henry and Joan from Montana, Ivan and Sandra from Nevada, Gary and Peggy From California. After dinner. We all went to the Friday night dance to hear our favorite band, Road Runner.




















There are so many activities, clubs, and events at Mesa Regal, it is impossible to get bored. Besides the daily Happy Hours at the pool, there is an Manager's Special once a month with free beer. Picture hundreds of retired people dancing, drinking beer (and occasionally tequila shots), and having a good time. There are also comedians and other entertainers throughout the month. The Phoenix area offers so many recreational opportunities. On Saturday, a group of us drove to Saguaro Lake for a picnic and a short hike. At the Marina, we checked on renting a pontoon boat for a later date.

The following day, we explored South Mountain Park and drove up to Buena Vista Lookout. We hiked 4 miles of the National Trail including Fat Man's Pass, a narrow stone channel, also know as Fat Man's Misery and Fat Man's Trap.



















One of our favorite places is the Superstition Mountains. One of the hikes that we enjoyed was the Lost Goldmine Trail on the edge of the Mountains. We also found some interesting hikes along the Bush Highway at the Phon D Sutton Recreation Area.

Later in the week, Bob's brother Denny and his wife Kelly flew into Phoenix to buy more homes to rent out. We went with them to look at houses in the Queen Creek area with our realtor Hope Salas. There are plenty of good deals and we decided to look for one or two ourselves. Before they left, we enjoyed going out to dinner a few times with them. We also were happy to hear that our friends, Rik and Valerie Taylor from Carstairs, Canada were down at their place at TowerPoint RV Resort, next door to Mesa Regal. Although, they were busy settling into their new park model and selling the old one, we were able to get together for dinner. It was great to see them even if it was for a short time.

Harvey and Carol invited us to a block party one hot afternoon. Road Runner was playing and the free beer and wine flowed. We met some new friends, Norm and Bonnie, neighbors of Harvey and Carol on their place on the lake in British Columbia.

On February 11, we went to the Sara McLachlan Concert with Harvey and Carol. She sang like an angel and the other musicians were entertaining as well. It was a fun night with good friends.

Since Sunday was suppose to be in the high 80's and it was Harvey's birthday, 12 of us rented a pontoon boat and cruised the lake for the day, stopping for a picnic to celebrate Harvey's birthday. It was a perfect day and we all loved being on the water.




















Before we left for Florida, we made one more Manager's Special and a block party/pot luck with Road Runner playing. It started at 5 pm and by 9 pm, there were over a hundred people dancing in the street. By the Friday night dance, we were all moving a little slower and it seemed that the tempo of Road Runner was slower, as well. On February 28, we said our good-byes, made reservations for next January and took off for Tuscon.



















Our former neighbors and good friends, John and Betty Bea moved from Kenai, Alaska to Tuscon this past fall and we were excited to see them. We were welcomed into their gorgeous new home. Bob drooled over the two double garages that could hold 6 vehicles and a nice shop area.

They showed us around the area where they grew up and took us out to a delicious Mexican dinner at a local restaurant. The next day, we drove a few miles away to Saguaro National Park.

We took the 8 mile scenic drive through the giant saguaro cactus, some of the largest and oldest cacti in the US. Some live for 150 years, towering 150 feet and weighing more than 16,000 lbs.

We stopped along the way for a 4 mile hike on the Loma Verde Trail. After another enjoyable evening with the Beas, we headed to bed early since we wanted to be on the road by 6 am. Only 2,200 miles to go to get to Fort Myers, Florida!

December 13-January 5, 2011 Alaska

 We were so excited to be on our way home for the holidays. Jeremy and Lalanya picked us up at the airport and it was so good to see their smiling faces. As we walked into their house, we immediately got into the holiday spirit when we saw their lovely decorations and smelled the fragrance of the Christmas tree. It was special to spend some time with Jeremy and Lalanya. We also got our Christmas shopping done in two days before heading down to the Peninsula.

It was good to be home! We spent the next day shopping for groceries and getting our tree. It was slim pickings but we did find a nice full one.

Our first night home, Eric and Holly came to dinner and it was wonderful to have them back in Alaska, after living in Colorado for three years. We had lots of fun catching up and enjoying time with them while we were home.

 I had to restrain myself from taking out all of the Christmas decorations since in three short weeks it would all have to be put away. Once the tree was up and the presents wrapped, it was time to see family and friends. Christmas eve came quickly and we spent the evening with Bob's brother, Denny and his wife, Kelly. We awoke to a white Christmas morning and relaxed until the Eric, Holly, Jeremy and Lalanya arrived for brunch.

We then opened our gifts. Bob and I thanked everyone and expressed that the best present was having us all together. Just then, Lalanya jumped up and said that there was one last present and that we had to open them at the same time. We were shocked to see two little bibs that said “I love Grandma” and “I love Grandpa”, some booties, and a picture of a sonogram that said, Merry Christmas Grandma and Grandpa! I cannot express the sheer surprise and exhilaration that we felt as our tears of joy fell and we hugged Mom and Dad-to-be! It was our favorite present to be sure.

It was time to call Mom and Dad in NY to see if they had opened their gift, announcing the news that they were going to have their first great grand-baby.

That evening we had our traditional Christmas dinner of King Crab and shrimp. It was delicious, as usual. We were happy that Justin, Randi Marie(our adopted daughter), Rylan, new baby Colbie and Lalanya's Mom could join us, also. Unfortunately, Lance was back on the North Slope working.


















A few years ago,the boys started a new tradition of watching old videos of their childhood. Eric found one that we had not remembered seeing for many years. It was of Jeremy doing a PeeWee Herman impersonation in his underwear. We were all laughing so hard, we did not hear Den, Kelly, Corey, Kevin, Chelsea, Chelsea's sister, Alaina, and Lori and Johnny Bea come in. Before long, we were all stuffed into our TV room roaring at the antics of Jeremy and Eric. Enough for movies, it was time for another tradition, our annual card game.

 There were so many of us, the guys sat at one table playing Texas Holdem' and the women played “21” at the other. Jeremy was the big winner at Texas Holdem' and Alaina won at our table. It was a perfect and memorable Christmas.

After Christmas, the weather warmed up and I was able to do some cross-country skiing around the lake and on our trails. It was fun to be out playing in the fresh snow.

 We celebrated a quiet New Years eve at home and we spent New Years Day with Jay, Marta, Eric and Holly.



On January 3, Eric drove us up to Anchorage and Jeremy met us at Kriner's Diner for lunch. On January 4th, Jeremy and Lalanya took us out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. The next day we left for Phoenix. It was hard to say good-bye and leave Alaska, but the sun and new adventures were beckoning.