Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Saguaro Lake

On Sunday we took a drive to Saguaro Lake, approximately 30 miles from Mesa. The lake is one of four reservoirs on the Salt River formed by the Stewart Mountain Dam. The lake is part of the Tonto National Forest and there are a variety of services such as a marina, day camping and overnight camping facilities accessible by land or by boat. We took a 90-minute paddleboat cruise on the Desert Bell. The tour included sightings of blue herons, turkey vultures, ducks and other birds, interesting rock formations and of course many varieties of cacti including the saguaro cactus. We also saw hikers, kayakers, fishermen, water-skiers and pleasure boaters during our tour.



Saturday, February 21, 2009

Lazing by the Pool

The last few days the temperatures have been climbing and Senor Ping and I have been taking advantage of the numerous pools and hot tubs in the park. There are lots of pool chairs but you have to time your arrival and departure so that you get a chair with full sun. Usually by 3:30 the crowds have thinned out as everyone is on their way home for Happy Hour.

Exercising in Mesa


This RV Park offers a variety of water exercise programs starting with deep-water aerobics at 6:15 AM to Guys and Gals water exercises at 11:00. I believe there are 7 different sessions offered between the 3 pools. I chose one of the sessions offered at the indoor pool because it has still been chilly in the morning. The class is offered daily at 9:00 AM (although the instructor told me they actually start at 8:53 AM). The activity level is similar to that of the class offered in Eatonia during July and August with a few more participants. The first day I attended there were 30 of us in the pool. We break half way through for an opportunity for everyone to introduce themselves and have a short visit. The class ends with everyone singing “AMEN” as they “jog” around the pool. Everyone is very friendly and after attending the class for 4 days I have met many women from across Canada and the U.S. and recognized a few of them at other park functions.

On Friday morning I decided to stay for the “water robics” class held immediately after the class I have been attending. Hilda, who I think did her basic training under Hitler, led this class. First, she told me I would not be able to stay if there were over 18 people in the pool because that was her limit. Her reason being that I had already been to a class already and I wasn’t to take up space from someone else. Hmmmm, if I had gotten out of the pool and then back in who would know the difference?? She also told me her class is the only class with music. Fortunately, there were only 10 participants so I was allowed to take part.

Hilda started the class by telling us that her first rule was for us to keep our mouths shut, second there are no breaks and we will be working for the full hour. She alternated between demonstrating the activity in the pool and walking along the deck shouting out orders and clapping her hands to speed us up. Maybe she was a swimming instructor to Mark Phelps before she retired. We alternated between upper and lower body exercises and finished with a good stretch. If this was my first session of basic training I think I successfully completed it. There was 1 woman that left the pool about 20 minutes into the start of the class and never returned but I didn’t hear the ambulance arrive so I assume she was okay. Overall it was a great workout. Will I return to that class?? You bet!

Monday, February 16, 2009

A Month in Mesa

Senor Ping and I had a short drive yesterday to Mesa, Arizona. We will be calling the Val Vista Village our home for the next month. We chose this park on the recommendation of some friends from home. The park is very clean and well laid out. There are outdoor and indoor pools and hot tubs, too many activities to mention, and the laundry and showers are just across the street from us. Senor Ping is looking forward to playing guitar with some friends here in the park and I am looking forward to reading and relaxing. This morning I took a stroll over to the main building and there is a trade show in progress. There was a fruits and vegetable stall and everything looked fresh and very reasonably priced. I think I'll make my way back and pick up some fruit for lunch.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Arrived in Yuma

Senor Ping and I have arrived safely in Yuma. We had a great trip down this year. We left home on Monday morning and had clear skies and roads all the way to Pocatello. We were able to make much better time since we were not hauling the 5th wheel. The next day we made it to Mesquite by early afternoon. There was some snow through Salt Lake City but we were following the road crew so it really didn't slow us down. On Wednesday we headed to Laughlin for a couple free nights at the Edgewater Hotel. Abbey spent the time at the Rising Star Kennel and seemed to be quite happy when we picked her up. We had an easy drive to Yuma on Friday, passing by the huge motorhomes parked in the desert near Quartzite. There didn't appear to be as many "boondockers" this year as we have seen in the past but they may have all packed up and headed home by the time we passed through.

Today we spent the day visiting with friends. This morning we had coffee with 2 couples we met last winter. They aren't staying in the park this year so we were anxious to see the park model and lot they had rented. It looks like they have lots of room for Happy Hour. It was great to see them and catch up on the news. We also had a visit with Pat from Calgary. She was our neighbor last year and also looked after Abbey while we went to San Diego. If we head back this way we will stop by and perhaps she and Doug can play a few tunes on guitar together. Our last stop was to see our friends from home: Bonnie and Jerry and Trudy and Glen. We had a great time catching up on news from home and visiting over a few cocktails.

Tomorrow morning we are packing up and heading to Mesa. We decided it was time to see another part of Arizona so we are planning to find a park and stay for a month. We are looking forward to seeing some more friends and checking out the area golf courses. We'll keep you posted on our travels.

Dearly Beloved

Sorry I waited until Valentine's Day to post some pictures of our Dinner Theatre but our internet service has been very poor and it was impossible to post any pictures. It's hard to believe that it was only a week ago, hope everyone has recovered and ready for next year.


Thursday, February 05, 2009

It's Show Time!

The big day has finally arrived. After 5 months of planning and hundreds of hours of rehearsing, the annual Dinner Theatre is ready to go. The catering committee has been working hard each day this week doing food preparation for the 600+ dinners they will be serving. The bar has been stocked (not to say it won't need to be restocked) with the fixings for "possom milk paralyzers", "vittles and varment vodka, "remember the alamo rum" and other delightful beverages. Over 100 volunteers have been contacted and are ready to work their shifts in the kitchen, serving drinks or taking tickets. The tables are set, even though some of the cast thought a couple of us (not mentioning any names) were getting a bit too fussy when we wanted all the things on the table to be just so. The window display is complete (and yes, that wedding dress is mine and believe it or not I really was that small 26 years ago!!!) The guitars are tuned and we had a little taste of the songs the Becker boys will be singing and I know everyone will be impressed. Most important, the cast and crew are ready to entertain the audiences each night with another very funny production.
For those of you that will be coming to the dinner theatre, I hope you will enjoy the show. If you are reading this from miles away stay tuned. I will be posting some photos later this weekend!!