Mar 21, 2013 - Desert Botanical Garden

Today we went to Desert Botanical Garden. Fortunately, the desert flowers were all in bloom. I think the cacti are going to bloom in another week or two. Broke down and took Jeanne to the Casino after. First time since we've been down here. Just for that, she won! We're moving to Mesa for our final five weeks on the weekend, seems hard to beleve we've been here for eight weeks already. Golfing (again) tomorrow right here at the resort. They have a deal where you tee off after 4 and it only costs $20 each, plus you get a steak dinner! Saves...

Mar 11, 2013 - Lately....in Phoenix

Sunday, we got tickets to the Canada-USA WBC ballgame. It started out great, but unfortunately was not to be. Took Jeanne out to Red Lobster on the way home to drown our sorrows in Lobster Fest. Got home to find out that my Oilers finally won a game...against Chicago, no less. Monday, it was back to the grind. Driving range at 0900, short game lessons at 10. Teeing off at 1600. The weather has been terrible...for Phoenix. Cold and rainy. But today its sunny and heading for 80. Seven more weeks to go.

Mar 6, 2013 - Scottsdale, AZ

Saturday, February 23, 2013 Today we went to breakfast at Soul Café in Scottsdale. The pancakes are as big as a regular sized plate and possibly even bigger. They look really good but we did not order them. I ordered chilaquiles with eggs. Lowell got the eggs from my order with his biscuits and gravy. My dish was fried corn tortillas (regular tortilla chips) topped with green pork chili (tomatillos sauce with hominy and very tender pieces of pork) cheddar jack cheese, and topped with queso fresco, cilantro, and tomatoes. It was excellent....

Mar 2, 2013 - Phebruary in Phoenix

We've had a super two weeks with our best friends Bob and Rena visiting. We went to the race track, where, of course, I won and nobody else did! Bwahaha! Then we went to the ball game where some lady tripped and spilled wine all over everyone (except me!) Bwahaha! We drove up to Montezuma's Castle, which is a group of cliffside dwellings...sorry, nothing funny happened there. Seriously though, we had a great time between the activities mentioned and several rounds of golf, interspersed with trips to the pool armed with nothing but fuzzy...

Feb 27, 2013 - California Friends

Tom's brother ,Jim , introduced us to Jack, Joyce, Dennis and Pat when we were in our early twenties. After college, everyone went their separate ways and ended up living and working all over the country. In the spring of 2009, as Tom and I were exploring the west coast, we reconnected with the two couples. Two years ago Jack and Joyce vacationed in Scottsdale and we met for lunch. This year Dennis and Pat accompanied them so it was a bigger "reunion". We met at the Village Tavern - food is always tasty and the conversation was lively to...

Oct 27, 2012 - Spooktacular Glows at the Salt River Fields - Scottsdale, AZ

SPOOKTACULAR The Big Top Balloon Team participated in the 2nd Annual Spooktacular held at the Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, AZ the last weekend in October. Salt River Fields is the beautiful spring training facilities of the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks by the Talking Stick Resort. Spooktacular was a two day event with glows on Friday and Saturday night. Twenty balloons from Arizona and the Big Top from Colorado participated in this giant "Trick or Treat"! Over 20,000 children of all ages dressed in costume and Trick or...

Jul 24, 2012 - Grand Canyon, Here We Come

July 23, 2012 Grand Canyon, Here We Come! Grandpa Dale and I cruised into Scottsdale after a quick stop @ Wal Mart, only to find our 3 granddaughters waiting on the curb with their packed luggage. (OK, so we were a little tardy). Zadie (Yiddish for Grandpa) and Grandma Esther sent us off at least 5 pounds heavier after all the wonderful cuisine! Starbucks got our business this morning (after all, we are on vacation) and we struck out for Flagstaff, AZ and the Grand Canyon! Stuart says it’s his second chance at facing his fear of heights...

Jul 22, 2012 - Homeward Bound

Tomorrrow morning we leave Scottsdale, AZ. We have enjoyed our time in our host home with Esther and Allen Lover and our time in OUR home in an RV park on our Passport America club plan. We are anxious to see the family again as we strike out to the Grand Canyon. A storm blew dust through like a scene from Encounters of the Third Kind. It rolled in upon us, changing day to night. The only thing visible was the red dot of the sun (Dale's comment). Stuart and Jolie rolled in, too, giving us a ride to dinner and "The Dark Knight Rises"....

Jul 19, 2012 - On the Road again...

On July 13, the Williams family met up with us in Kerrville, TX but not before meeting the Davis family to deliver our precious "babies", Charlie Girl and Rex. Rex joined us at the end of June. We thought Charlie Girl could use a playmate. He's half Pekinese and half Chihuahua. He's half the size of Charlie Girl but twice the spirit! He keeps us chuckling! That night we discovered our RV slide-out had lost a screw (OK, so we really do have a screw loose!) and it moving out at an angle. Our son, Stuart, discovered the problem and by God's...

Jul 8, 2012 - Hot Scottsdale

We made the drive from Show Low to Scottsdale through Payson. From Payson on to Scottsdale was very desolate. No gas, no food, no houses. Just lots of large cactus. You come out of the desert right into town, no suburbs. It is very HOT here, 107 was the high today. My generous brother Mike and his wife Terri, gave us a free package he won of 2 free nights at the Marriott and a machine gun adventure at a local gun club. We found a place to park our RV at West World which is a horse event park owned by the city of Scottsdale. During off times...

Mar 26, 2012 - 7th Inning Stretch

Spring training has always had an appeal to me since I was a kid. The hope of a new season, rookie players trying their best, experienced players working hard, managers looking at every player and every game trying to select the right mix, and the media offering us just a glimpse of the activity. Well, this weekend (3/24/12)Nancy and I got our first taste of spring training. So much hope in the air, so many fans sporting their teams colors, the party atmosphere, and a small stadium that added to the feeling that you were just lucky to be...

Mar 10, 2012 - Talking Stick Baseball Road Trip or Fiasco!

Saturday - Salt River Park in Scottsdale( home of the Arizona Diamondbacks) to See Seatle vs AZ at 7 pm. The afternoon game would be way too hot. Besides there are fireworks at night. We did some chores in the morning, then we planned how to resolve all the worlds problems in the afternoon. About 4 pm we drove to Scottsdale to eat at the Soup and Salad place(Sweet Tomatoe). I did not think i would bet that full. Every kind of vegetables was available, some pasta, and Deserts! All for one(1) price of $10.99 Then we drove across the street...