Almost Valentines Day

Another day of clear blue skies and sunshine with daytime highs in the mid 70's. It's like July in Seattle except for the fact that the sun goes down around 5:00. Here we are approaching the middle of February already. Some of the Mariners have arrived and begun workouts in Peoria, and Spring Training baseball is only 3 weeks away. And it's only 3 weeks until Ron and Diane escape the winter in Tulsa for 10 days of warmth in Arizona. At this point we are 3 months into our escape.
Golf has dominated the past couple of weeks. I've been playing 3-4 times a week, and Joyce has played about half that lately. Strange game. Just when you think that you see some improvement and consistency,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Back to reality! Overall, the improvement is there, it's just hard to recognize it sometimes.
Today (Sunday) we are going to see Neil Sedaka at one of the local casino's. Not too many performers left that we're interested in seeing, so when one does come along, we try to go. We're anticipating a performance similar to the Paul Anka concert we saw a couple of years ago.
We've missed the Thursday hike the past 2 weeks because of golf conflicts. I (we?) intend to get back into the hiking routine this week. And with that should come more pictures to share on the next blog episode. So until next time, bundle up and stay dry.................Ernie

Catching Up At The End Of January

Clayton, Our Leader. He always gets us back.

Somewhere out in the wilderness

Moses Lake'rs Mike and Joyce (a.k.a. "the other one" or "Sr.")

A couple of shady characters, Ernie & Joyce (a.k.a. Jr.) at "Al's Place" (speakeasy)

We're getting bad at updating the blog, as this life is becoming "normal" and maybe not quite as new and exciting as in years past. Not that we're getting bored with it, but just more used to it. So, all of the new things (friends, golf, hiking, off roading, socializing, etc.) are now becoming a regular part of our lives, so we don't feel the need to blog as often. But, we will try to make an effort to update on a weekly basis.
The past couple of weeks have found us hiking the back country on Thursdays, golfing a couple times a week, taking the occasional drive, and socializing. Joyce will be joining the Ladies golf group on Wednesday (tomorrow), and I will be playing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. That may be overdoing it, but we'll see. We went to a very rustic golf course on Sunday with a couple from Nampa, Idaho who are also newcomers to the game, and had a great time.
Last night there was a 1930's themed cocktail hour and dinner in the park hall. We had a good time, and got into the spirit by dressing for the time period. The park is divided into 4 sections, with each being responsible for providing entertainment, hosting the weekly meetings, etc. for one month. Our quadrant has the month of March, and we're getting organized for our main event which is going to be a Southern BBQ. I kind of volunteered to be in charge, and cook ribs and chicken. We anticipate serving about 125 people, so it will be a challenge!!
Our White Sulfur Springs, Montana friends ( Tary & Wayne ) arrived in Apache Junction over the weekend, and will be staying nearby until the 1st of March. They're coming for dinner this afternoon, and we'll be doing salmon on the grill.
It's only a month until the Spring Training Baseball games start again, and we have tickets for 3 games. Ron and Diane (friends from Tulsa) will be out for 10 days, begining on the 3rd of March, and we'll be taking in a couple games then. The baseball is great, but there are so many other things to do! I had planned to get a non resident fishing license this winter and get into that a little, but I haven't even been over to the Big 5 store yet. ( this is not whining )
The weather has been great, with temperatures in the 70's. Soon we should be hitting the 80's with overnight lows around 50. I think that we've had a little rain once or twice in January. So until next time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Stay Dry, Ernie

Back In The Desert Again

The "home away from home" with new window coverings

Stock tank for cattle and wildlife

Old abandoned gold mine

The starting point for the hike

Taking a break along the trail

We got back to Apache Junction on the 30th of December just in time for a 70th birthday party for our Moses Lake friend Mike. We didn't get back to the RV park until well after dark. All survived in our absence.

Monday January 1st found me on the golf course for another humility lesson. Just when you think things are going well, reality jumps up to knock you back down. The good thing is that "there's nowhere to go but up!!" Tuesday we had sun screens installed on the motorhome, and Wednesday I went with the 4 wheeling group for the day into some old Arizona gold mining country. It was hot and dusty, and no gold laying around on the ground. Thursday we went for a 6 mile hike into the back country with the hiking group. We were all glad that we didn't go any farther than that. Thursday night was my first ever win at the Hand and Foot (card game) tournament. Friday found me back on the golf course with the golf group. There was improvement over Monday's outing.

Saturday we took a drive to Winkleman, Arizona to check on Georsetti's Grocery. We had gone there last March, and were curious if they were still operating. They are celebrating their 100th anniversary. The store was started by the grandparent's of the current operators, and hasn't changed much. Pretty cool.

Now we're up to date again, so "stay tuned for next week's adventure"..........Ernie

Almost Christmas

We've been home one week today. It's been very busy with the finishing up of shopping, visiting, parties, etc. Last Saturday was Dick and Linda's annual event that was quite spectacular as usual. We even stayed up into the early morning hours for that one. We don't do that too much anymore.
In 2 days Kristin will be up from Austin for 5 or 6 days. That will add a new wrinkle to the works. But she did promise to help me with the batch of Bock Beer that I brewed back in October just before we left. It's pretty good if I do say so myself!
Saturday is when things really get busy. Our daily schedule is as follows; Saturday we're at Keith and Sheilas, Sunday we're having our Christmas Day open house, Monday we're at Josh and Brynn's, Tuesday we're at Keith and Sheila's again, Wednesday and Thursday is prepare to head south, and Friday we're back on the plane to Phoenix. PHEW!! Hopefully the weather warms up a little more down south for our return, and hopefully the weather stays dry here until we leave. Surprisingly there has been very little rain this month, and none of the other four letter word, snow. This has been the driest December on record. Something's bound to happen. I'll be making a visit to the driving range Thursday morning to attempt to hit a few.
We don't have any pictures to add this time, but we'll make up for it with lots of Christmas pictures next time. Merry Christmas to all.
Ernie

Disneyland in December

Disneyland Entrance

Walt Disney and the Mouse statue in front of the castle

Woody

Us at the Haunted House

Mickey's Galore

Last Tuesday we took a drive to Anaheim California to spend a couple of nights and visit Disneyland. We checked in to our Worldmark condo in the afternoon, then checked out the local area and had dinner at the Cheescake Factory. Tuesday morning we headed over to Disneyland. The park is all decked out for Christmas, and was really pretty. We had anticipated small crowds. Wrong!! We thought with the schools still in session that it wouldn't be too crowded. Wrong!! I've never seen so many strollers in one place. But, after the Christmas parade at 5:30, the crowds thinned out. We were there from 9:00 a.m. until about 9:00 p.m. with about a 1 hour break in the afternoon to go back to the condo to change to warmer clothes for the evening. We rode several rides, watched the fireworks show, and checked out a lot of shops.
Thursday afternoon we returned to Apache Junction. Our Seattle friends, Ron and Jan came down on Tuesday for a week. We will be on the same flight to Seattle on Tuesday the 13th. We've been hanging out together the past few days. But, in a couple of days it will be back home for a busy 17 days.
Today we had a Barbecue (ribs) for 10 at our site. We decided to get together with the other Washington people in our section of the park. We had a good time, and probably ate too much. Tomorrow will be one last round of golf for me until next year. Hopefully the weather will hold up, as the forecast is for showers. It should be in the mid 60's, so a rain shower or two shouldn't be a deterrent.
Until next time, stay dry,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ernie

December Again (or) HO, HO, HO

Once again December is upon us. And, the way the weather has been the past few days, it feels like December. Daytime highs have been struggling to make it to 60, with nighttime lows dipping down to the mid 30's. According to the local weather people, this would almost be considered an "Arctic Blast." We've even had a shower or two to prepare us for our return on the 13th. Last Thursday's hike was even cancelled due to the threat of rain. The weather hasn't put a damper on my golfing "attempts" though. That's a whole story in itself. It's up and down like a yo yo. I'll be spending more time at the driving range!
Last Tuesday we met our friends Joe and Lindy for dinner in Mesa. We went to an Irish Pub called The Harp. The food was very good, and the restaurant wasn't very busy, so all of us (even me) could hear each other. We will be getting together again in January for barbecued ribs at our place.
We will be taking a 2 day journey to Anaheim on Tuesday for a Disneyland visit. We've never been there without kids, and were able to book our Worldmark timeshare. It's about 350 miles from here, so no big deal. We've been there during the Christmas season before, and it's a great time to go. Mid week before Christmas break, the park shouldn't be crowded, and the weather forecast calls for sunny skies with temperatures in the mid 60's. We'll be back on Thursday.
That catches us up again, and next weeks edition will have some pictures. (We haven't taken any this week.)
I'm about half way on my "wax the motorhome project", and will have it completed before we head north on the 13th.......Ernie

Thanksgiving 2011

Us

Petroglyphs

Ditto

More Petroglyphs

The view back down to the valley

Popular Hiking Destination

Thanksgiving was a little different for us this year, as this was the first time we weren't home with family. We started our day with a short hike in the Superstition Mountains to some ancient Indian petroglyphs. It was about a 4 mile round trip hike. On the way back out we encountered a Tarantula crossing the trail. He / She was about the diameter of a soda can. We thought that we got a couple of good pictures, but when we downloaded the pictures, there were none of the spider. The camera battery had died. So now we will be on the lookout for Tarantulas on our Thursday hikes. This was the first time we had seen one. Later that day we had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at the community hall. The food was excellent, and we didn't have to do any of the work!!

Wednesday was a golf day for me. That went well, and I managed to shoot a 99 for 18 holes. So I've got the "break a hundred" out of the way. I played 9 holes today with the group from the park and shot a respectable 44 on a par 32. Joyce spent the majority of the day today at a holiday bazaar with a couple other ladies.

Tomorrow morning we have somebody coming in to measure for sunscreens for the windshield and front windows of the motor home. I started waxing the exterior a couple days ago, and will continue that over the weekend. And, I've been informed that the interior needs to be cleaned tomorrow also. That only takes a couple of hours, so there will still be time for relaxing in the sun. Temperatures have pretty much been in the 70's and are projected to stay that way for the next week. It's going to feel pretty cold when we get back home on the 13th of December.

Until next time, stay warm and dry,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ernie