Sept 10th – Tues – to Mesa
We
left about 9 on a longer, scenic route through Payson. We didn’t realize that we would immediately
start climbing – from our 3500’ starting elevation – to end up at 7000
feet. The road was great, traffic was
very light and the scenery was lovely.
We did get rain showers but not for too long at a time.
We
stopped at the casino in Payson for breakfast and took advantage of a $2.99
special which was good & quick. This
left us time to check out the slots and Terry kept our losses to a small
amount. The route we chose took us past
Fountain Hills and into the north side of Mesa which is an easy drive.
We
honked at Neil & Robin in a golf cart as we drove in and hugged hello to
several friends as we were checking in.
Del & Marlis escorted us to our site and Terry did a great job of
parking so we were hooked up & set up in no time. As we drove to our site, we saw a Sea Breeze
motor home just down the street and wondered if Dave & Margo were here
until we saw the Connecticut plates and realized it was probably Dave &
Phyllis who went to the Balloon Fiesta with us a couple of years ago. Sure enough, they drove in as we were still
setting up so when we finished we went to their rig for a drink & to catch
up. They went to Alaska this summer and
will be here until the first of March.
We
had been at their place for a while when Terry saw Neil & Robin at our
place so we went back and fixed a drink for Robin & their friend Joe. Dave & Phyllis walked their dog and then
joined us to start meeting people in the park.
Dave
& Phyllis invited us to join them for Chinese food for dinner so we changed
the destination and introduced them to the China City buffet. Luckily it was as good as ever and they were
very pleased with our choice. After dinner
we walked to get some water and then crashed & watched TV.
Sept 11th – Wed
I
went out about 6:30 for a walk this morning and it was quite warm when I
finished at 7. I had a nice chat with
sister Marg. She is going on a little
“repositioning” cruise with 3 friends so it will be fun to catch up with her in
a couple of weeks to see how it went.
We
went to Home Depot then Camping World to see about getting a second AC on our
rig. We stopped at a Montana dealer to
see what they had to offer for an AC and got an appointment with them for 7:30
tomorrow morning. Before heading home we
went to Lowes to get the items that we didn’t find at Home Depot.
Dave
& Phyllis are also dealing with an AC issue but theirs is a unit that won’t
work. They took their motor home in this
morning and we thought they might need a place to hang out since they have a
dog and can’t go shopping while they wait.
So they came over for a while. I
got laundry ready and we made our first of many trips this season to the
laundry room.
We
bought tickets to a steak fry so headed to the ballroom just before 5. There was a band – Reign ‘n Country – and
dinner was good. I was sitting next to
Patti and had a nice visit with her.
Also at our table were Jill & Al and Dave & Phyllis. The music went until 7 so we had a few dances
and were not surprised that we remembered the Electric Slide.
Dave
& Phyllis had left before us and were sitting outside so we joined them for
a nightcap.
Sept 12th – Thurs
We
were up early to pack up and get the 5th wheel in by 7:30. We were a little late as I was on the
computer and there were 14 LONG updates to install when I went to shut down. We unhooked, they wheeled our rig in right
away and they were putting down carpet strips and starting to work before we
even left the lot.
We
went for a good breakfast at the “5 and Diner”.
Then we went shopping to kill time – WalMart, Big Lots, KMart, got the
truck washed and went to DQ for blizzards.
Our rig was now done so we went to pick it up. They had us check it out before pulling in
the slides. We also had them check the problem
with the pilot light in the oven and we were happy that we did as a fitting had
worked loose and the flame was behind the pilot. Sounds a little dangerous but they said it
wasn’t. We were escorted back to our
spot by Del & Marlis again and got set up – again.
We
took the bikes off the rack and cut off the old ratty cover as we bought a new
one. We put a box on the back of my bike
and couldn’t find the right bolt to attach the rear light – another trip to
Home Depot is on the list. Terry pumped
up one tire and we made the first ride to get 2 gallons of water which fit
perfectly on the back of my bike. We joined
Jerry & Becky and Chief & Debbie in the pool and after dinner went to a
room at the clubhouse to play Mexican Train with them.
Sept 13th – Fri
I
went for a walk again this morning while Terry conquered his game on the
computer. After a cup of coffee, I
gathered up my supplies and went outside to clean tables & chairs. This led
to cleaning the underside of the front of the 5th wheel which is no
small job. Now my “walking” clothes were
really sweaty so it was time for a shower and then some waffles for a late
breakfast.
There
was a special at Camping World so we went to the nearer one on Main and of
course they did not have what I wanted so we had to go to the further one to
get 3 covers for the entry steps. We made another stop at Big Lots to get a
couple of insulated glasses with lids for taking a drink wherever we want to in
the park.
We
put the step covers on but not before Terry stabbed his thumb when a spring
with a hook let go. We relaxed in the
cool for a bit before going to listen to music in the courtyard – aka MCY –
from 3 to 5. But it was too hot so it
was moved inside along with the bar and very limited food service – tacos and
nachos with huge bowls of toppings to add.
We didn’t dance to Fall River as we were too busy eating and then
talking to Dave & Phyllis, Chris & Mary and later Neil & Robin.
We watched
TV and had repurposed leftovers for a late dinner.