Mar 14th to 17th - Mesa

Mar 14^th – Thurs

After coffee, we got on our bikes to deliver some party invitations which took a long time as it included visits.  We also made a stop to reserve our site for next season – Sept 9^th to Jan 1st for the $695 fall special and Jan/Feb/March.  We probably won’t arrive that early in Sept but we have the option.

We sat outside and watched golf for a while and then moved inside with the AC on.  We had an early dinner and then headed to the patio at the Ranchos pool to listen to music.  Ernie & Dianne have been playing for several weeks and we have never made it to see them.  Their friend Bill was also playing – he started the weekly session – and today Wayne & Deb (they perform in the courtyard) also joined them for a wonderful evening.

They started playing about 6, had one short break and quit after 9.  Some line dancers arrived after it started so we could follow them in some dances.  I know a lot of the dances but not well enough to get going on my own.  It was Larry’s (of Larry & Suz) birthday so Suz brought brownies with MANY candles which we enjoyed at the break.  We had 12 at our table and 6 more friends at another table when we could not extend our circle.  It was a magical evening with perfect weather, wonderful music and amazing friends.

We went for a nightcap – water for me, believe it or not! – at Ron & Terri’s with Bob & Darlene and Duane & Sue.  We couldn’t stay TOO late as Ron & Bob are golfing in the morning.

Mar 15^th – Fri

We went to the end of the street to Duane & Sue’s site to watch the St Patrick’s Day parade and found that Sue had made pancakes and biscuits – with homemade raspberry jam – for breakfast for anyone who wanted to eat.  We watched the parade go by and then we put our chairs back and went to Ernie & Dianne’s to watch it a second time.  The highlight of the parade was several golf carts decorated as the “Royal Canadian Air Farce”.  The fronts of the carts had large red plastic buckets as the fuselage and operating ceiling fans as propellers.  Small wings & tails were added along with many Canadian flags.

After the parade, we decided to go to a casino.  We stopped on the way for a bad sandwich at Subway.  The casino was quite busy but we found enough machines to eat up our allowances again.  We shopped for a camera before coming home for dinner.  Our current camera suddenly decided to take continuous pictures every time it was turned on.  I did some digging in the manual and online and couldn’t find anything to try so we figured it would be nearly the same price to buy a new camera as getting the old one fixed.

Mar 16^th – Sat

We continued our camera shopping this morning.  We stopped at Target where the model we are leaning towards was $179.  Then we saw the same one at WalMart for $159 but they didn’t have any in stock.  They sent us to Chandler – about 10 miles – to another WalMart where we bought the same Samsung with 18x optical zoom for $129.  We stopped at Fry’s for a few groceries and filled up with diesel.

We had a short time to rest before I made dinner and then we went to a dance.  The band was “Come Back Buddy” who played earlier this year and we had a great time.  The band played for 3 hours without a break which is what they did last time.  It really keeps the momentum of the dance going.

Mar 17^th – Sun

The first of our 4 groups of golfers teed off at 8:30 this morning.  I went to put my golf sandals on when we got to the course and found that one had a broken strap so I had to wear my Dawgs.  I could possibly use that as an excuse for a less than stellar game – but I really didn’t do too badly.  Terry lost his grip on a club once today but his hand is doing well.

We went for lunch again at Red Robin and got home stuffed to the gills at 2:30.  At 3:00 we went to Bob & Peggy’s for a “ND gin bucket tasting” – aka happy hour get together.  As usual, we were with the last group of people to leave about 5:30.

We were sitting outside watching TV in the nice, cool air when Dan & Carol, Ray & Laura and Brenda dropped by so Carol could show the others our bucket light and get a picture for another friend.  They stayed for a quick drink and a demonstration of the buddy burner.  It is so fun to have spontaneous gatherings.