Wednesday, February 19 to February 29, 2020: Winter Break Week, Friends, and Leap Year

Back in December, I decided to plan a little "winter getaway" in February. I booked an Airbnb in Sun City West for a week. It was an independent Casita located on the property of a home owner. The location was perfect for visiting friends in Sun City West and in Surprise. It was also a good location to see a spring training game. So, on Wednesday, we dropped the dogs off at Cinder Hills Kennel and headed to Sun City West. We arrived at the Casita.

There, we were greeted by property owner David Fudge. The Casita had a separate entrance, was a comfy size, and had nice amenities and conveniences.

That evening, we went for dinner at Saigon Kitchen. I had a delicious dinner of one of their specialties, Firecracker Shrimp. Tom had a more disappointing Pho Meat Noodle Soup.

The next day, we went to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium about 30 minutes away. Our friends, Roger and Priscilla Lasch, highly recommended it. The entrance fee was $81.00 per person, but the property was vast and the animals numerous. We saw lions, hyenas, giraffes, tigers, hippopotamus, zebras, and flamingos. We were there over five hours. Lots of walking and lots to see!

Later that day, our friends Jack and Sue Hadley, picked us up at our Casita. Jack and Sue have a winter home in Sun City West and a summer home in Sherwood Forest, just outside of Williams.

We went to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant, Nan Jing. Catering to the huge retiree market, they have an early bird menu for diners arriving before 5:00 p.m. Done!

The next morning, I went to Happy Trails RV Resort. Three years ago, friends Linda and Mark Ostiguy bought a winter home there --- a little Casita and a place for their motorhome.

I met Linda and Mark through Thousand Trails and pickleball. Tom and I had dinner with them in Phoenix two years ago --- and we played pickleball with them last year. Linda is a very good pickleball player, but she is always trying to improve her game. So, I spent several hours watching her take a pickleball clinic with Wayne.

That afternoon, we met Jack and Sue for some pickleball at the Sun City West courts. It was fun playing with them!

Friday evening, we played some Rummikub at our Casita. Then, we decided to go dinner at a restaurant in Sun City Grand called Angela's.

This restaurant does not take reservations, so we had some adult beverages in the bar before our table was ready. The food served is "comfort food." I had a wedge salad and a some crispy pork ribs. Tom had the wiener schnitzel. Both were excellent!

Saturday morning, we decided to drive to Wickenburg to attend the Cowgirl Cadillac Horse Sale at Rancho de los Caballeros. It was a rainy day. We stopped at El Ranchero Restaurant for breakfast. We then drove to the muddy sight. Our neighbor, Gus Beatty, had already there. He used to own horses, but was just in attendance for the amusement factor.

There were about fifty horses on display.

With the weather conditions, we did not stay for the 2:00 p.m. auction. But, I did find a link to watch the auction on a streaming site. The most expensive horse was sold for $225,000!!! Another sold for $117,000. The least expensive horse was a pony named Al Capony. It sold for $5,000.

That evening, we dined at the Texas Roadhouse. It was a busy Saturday night, but the wait seemed reasonable. Tom had a rib eye steak cooked Pittsburgh rare. My filet was just cooked rare. Tom had the winner this time. It was still blue in the middle!

Sunday morning, we had arranged to attend Linda Ostiguy's pickleball clinic at Happy Trails. There were just six of us. Last year, Linda bought a ball machine. The pickleballs are placed in the belly of the machine and are thrown out at different distances.

After practicing with the ball machine, called the Lobster, we practiced drills and played some games. Linda's husband, Mark, came out at the conclusion of the clinic and we played pickleball for several more hours. It was a fun morning of good friends and good exercise.

After pickleball, we drove across town to Scottsdale. It took us almost an hour to get to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. One of our Highland Meadows friends is a huge railroad buff. He is a member of Railroad Club there in Scottsdale. This Sunday, his club had a special event from 1:00-5:00 p.m.. Our neighbor, Mike Guinn, met us at the east end of the park. He has two miniature trains housed at this Railroad Park. One of them was available for riding.

Mike took us for a ride around the park. Then, Tom and I were each allowed to take the engineer's seat and controls.

Can you say hi! to Engineer Tom 😁😁😁

At the Railroad Park, there were also owners of actual steam engines. Mike explained that steam engines require lots of patience, lots of maintenance, and lots of dedication.

That evening, we went back to our Casita. After freshening up, we went to an Italian Restaurant, Carrabba's Italian Grill. I had never been to this restaurant chain. There are about 250 restaurants, but none in California.

Tom and I shared a delicious pink vodka penne dish and a nice bottle of red wine.

Through Facebook, I checked in on the dogs. Cinder Hills Kennel does a nice job posting photos of their visitors. Jamie and Kelsey looked happy on one of their hikes.

Monday, we had tickets to a Spring Training game at Camelback Ranch. It was day three of Spring Training. We watched the LA Dodgers play the Chicago White Sox.

This was my first Spring Training game ever. Cross that off my bucket list!

We had terrific seats --- to the right of home plate.

It ended up being a tied game, but each team had at least one home run.
At the Seventh Inning Stretch, we shared a hot dog. Hot dogs just taste better at a baseball game.

In attendance at the game were two baseball celebrities --- Tommy Lasorda, age 92, and Maury Wills, age 87.

It was a fun afternoon for the two of us!

After the game, we drove back to Surprise. We had an adult beverage at State Forty Eight Brewery. I never realized that Arizona was the last "lower 48" state to achieve statehood, February 14 of 1912.

We then decided to have dinner back at Sun City Grand's Angela's. The restaurant has a nice view of the golf course.

On Tuesday morning, we once again went to play pickleball at Happy Trails Resort. We had breakfast beforehand at a local Denny's Restaurant. It was very windy that day, so we played for less than two hours. It was fun seeing some old Thousand Trails friends, Dean and Margie Loveland and their cute puppy Lola!

That evening, we had dinner with Sue and Jack Hadley at a Mexican Restaurant, Las Canzuelas. That night, they had their $1 margaritas special. Yummy!!!

The next morning, we packed up the truck and headed back to Williams. But, we first picked up Kelsey and Jamie at Cinder Hills Kennel. They were happy to see us. What good puppies! 💕 It was a lovely way to end our Leap Year day!

Tuesday, February 4 through Tuesday, February 18, 2020: A New Resident, Friends, and Bad Coughs

Tom decided that it was time to become a REAL resident of Arizona. He avoided it for quite awhile, as Arizona is a more expensive state to live in than Tennessee. But, since he bought his son's Subaru --- with Arizona plates --- it made sense to "close the loop." This also allowed Tom to vote in the November presidential election! Go Trump!

The Williams Parks & Recreation commission meeting was held at City Hall. Several pickleball members attended, including Tom and me. It was not very productive. The option of using the former skate park became a non-possibility, as we can only fit one pickleball court there --- and we would only be able to use it when the kids were not using it.

Thursday was reserved with a visit from our friends, Priscilla and Roger Lasch. They left their home in Dewey-Humboldt at around 8:30 am, and arrived in Williams at 10:00 am.

Tom made a special trip to Safeway to purchase some butter cookies to enjoy with a cup of coffee. Roger brought a Grand Canyon photo album from the North Rim's summer of 2006. The four of us, plus Richard, worked at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon that summer. Roger took some great outdoor photos at the canyon. He even had a few people photos from the 4th of July. After about an hour or so, we decided to head over to Bearizona. You know that photo by now!

We did not take the Wild Ride Bus tour. Instead, Tom drove through the wildlife part of the park. Tom and I provided as much narrative as we knew. Unfortunately, many of the animals were in a sleepy mode --- the reindeer, deer, elk, big horn sheep, and big bears. The junior bears and the foxes were animated. We also walked through the gift shop to see the two jaguars. At about 1:00 pm, we left for lunch at the Red Raven. Jon had played pickleball in the morning and joined us for lunch. Jon had not seen Priscilla and Roger since 2010 --- when they were work camping in Alaska.

Once again, it was a fun reunion!

The weekend came in with a roar of a coughing lion! I caught a bad bug --- I think from a gentleman on the eastbound Southwest Chief. He sat in front of me and coughed all Sunday night. I nestled on our living room couch for two days. At night, the cough did not give me sleep relief. Monday afternoon, at a strong recommendation from Tom, I went to the Urgent Care Clinic at North Country Healthcare.

I was a sick puppy. Dr. Tom Myers was on duty. He evaluated my chest breathing and suggested that I get an x-ray of my chest. He prescribed a "Z pack" packet of pills and some heavy duty cough medicine.

It was lovely how quickly these remedies did their magic. By the end of day two, I was feeling a lot better. Unfortunately, it was now Tom's turn. Saturday morning, I drove Tom to the Urgent Care facility.

He was prescribed the similar dose of "Z pack" medicines and cough syrup.

I made an appointment for Kelsey and Jamie at the Williams Veterinary Clinic. Kelsey needs her usual anal gland treatment and Jamie was due an updated bordetella vaccine.

Tuesday morning, I was still not ready to play pickleball. But, I did feel like meeting the Highland Meadows ladies for lunch at Anna's Place.

Tom's cough is not really getting better, so he went back to the Urgent Care facility. The medical professionals there decided that perhaps he has bronchitis. So, they changed up his medicine to steroids and an inhaler. It seemed a better plan.

Tuesday, January 21 through Monday, February 3, 2020: Life at Home and LA Terranea Spa Weekend

On one of my daily walks with Kelsey and Jamie, I noticed that a vacation rental in our neighborhood had trash piled up in the canister --- overflowing and scattered on the sidewalk.

I took a picture and later emailed it to a gentleman at Williams City Hall. Dan then gets in touch with the homeowners to get things like this fixed. I was amazed at how prompt he was in responding to my email!

Tuesday morning, I played the usual two hours of pickleball. Tom and I drove separately, as I was meeting the Highland Meadows ladies for lunch. This time, it was Pine Country Restaurant.

Tom's son Jon was talking to us about the Spanish meal called Paella. Paella is a favorite of mine! Jon asked if the spice saffron was really necessary --- as our Safeway does not carry it. I told him that saffron was a signature taste for the meal.  I suggested that I could order saffron strings and Italian Arborio rice with Amazon Prime. It would be delivered in two days.

So, on Thursday, Jon and I made the Paella. We added mussel meat, shrimp, chorizo, and fire roasted tomatoes.

We sat down to enjoy the meal, but I had to first take a photo of the final product.

Friday, Tom and I drove to Flagstaff. Tom decided to establish his residency in Arizona. So, we drove to the Department of Motor Vehicles. I walked across the street to my optometrist appointment. There, I ran into Lisa D'arpa. In 2005, Lisa and I worked together at Zion Lodge. I was the dining room manager and she was one of the bartenders. Lisa is also married to one of my former managers, Jeff D'Arpa.

Jeff, Lisa, and their two daughters live in Flagstaff. Jeff is the Xanterra Regional Manager for the Williams' Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and Tusayan's Grand Hotel. It is hard to believe that their oldest daughter, Lily, is 15 years old. I remember when Lisa was carrying her! Their other daughter, Shasta, is nine years old.

After my optometry appointment, Tom and I went to a sporting goods store, Peace Surplus. Both of us want to buy new hiking boots. We had no luck there, and I had to go to my second appointment --- with my chiropractor, Brent Moseng. By the time I was finished with the chiropractor, it was almost 2:00pm. Tom and I were both hungry. So, off we went to Brandy's Restaurant and Bakery.

I had a Brandy's chicken salad sandwich, and Tom had a Jersey cheese steak sandwich with an order of fries. All was delicious!

Fortified again, we drove over to the sporting goods co-op, REI. There, we found hiking boots for me and hiking shoes for Tom.

On Saturday, the dogs and I drove to Kaibab Lake. I was surprised that there was still a lot of snow there. So, we cut that walk short. Later, Tom dropped me and the dogs at "the north 40" area of Highland Meadows. There, I saw my first Trump yard sign.

After zigzagging that residential area, the dogs and I stopped at nearby county park, Cataract Lake, for a photo opportunity.

Pickleball play continues to provide fun and great exercise. A new couple, Gary and Darcy, are new to the sport and they have picked up the game at an awesome speed. They have a home here in Williams and a home in Minnesota.

My sister Carrie recently found great pickleball play in Mission Viejo, California. It is fairly near her home in Coto de Caza. So, Carrie, her husband Brent, Brent's brother Greg, and Greg's wife Fiona all played pickleball together on Saturday.

Monday morning, we woke up to a surprise snow. It was only an inch or so.

I walked the dogs in the neighborhood and took a picture of Mt. Humphreys. I never get tired of that beautiful peak and the San Francisco mountains.

In the afternoon, Tom had an appointment to have Safelite Auto Glass repair his windshield. The manager made a special drive to Williams!

Tuesday, I wrote some emails to Operation Amped, the nonprofit organization that is going to have a Tribute surfboard made in honor of my brother John. John's favorite color was blue. We thought it best to have an emblem of his favorite surfing spot --- Venice Beach.

The actual design and shaping will come later.

I had a massage appointment with Natanya Tuesday afternoon. It is always fun seeing this whiteboard!

Wednesday I had an appointment with Daniel Knight, a very skilled nurse practitioner at the Williams North Country Clinic. I needed some prescriptions updated and a referral for an annual mammogram.

Thursday was my appointment to have my nails filled. The Vietnamese couple, Jennifer and Will, do a nice job for me.

Friday was a travel day to Los Angeles for me. I decided to book the Southwest Chef from Flagstaff to Los Angeles Union Station. It was time for the annual Terrenea Spa Weekend with the Organization of Women Executives. Tom took me to Flagstaff. We ended up having dinner at Sakura Restaurant at the Double Tree. We sat at the sushi bar.

We tried two other sushi restaurants, but it was a busy Friday night. Tom dropped me off at the Amtrak train station at about 8:30 pm. The Southwest Chief was already an hour late. The train came at about 10:38 pm.

The train never made up for the one hour delay. So, we pulled into Union Station a little after 9:00 am. I then took the Gold Line Metro train to South Pasadena. It was an easy commute. Honoria picked me up at the Mission Street Metro station and we drove to Palos Verdes.

The Spa Weekend had already begun for most of the OWE ladies. We had lunch by the spa pool. I then had a pedicure.

Cocktail hour and dinner began at 6:00 pm. It was fun seeing some of the old friends. It is hard to believe that I left Los Angeles almost 17 years ago! The obligatory photo of me, Kathy Sage, and Honoria was definitely in order!

Over the years, we three couples had several rendezvous meetups. Kathy and her husband David live in Rancho Santa Fe. Honoria's husband, Richard, has a home in nearby Rancho Bernardo.

Terrenea Resort was built on the footprint of the old Marineland of the Pacific, a oceanarium and tourist attraction on the Palos Verdes Penninsula coast. It is a lovely setting.

Honoria and I did some shopping Sunday morning --- after a lovely Spa Weekend buffet breakfast in a suite on the 6th floor.

A pair of sterling earrings begged me to take them home. Always room for earrings!

After returning to Honoria's home in San Marino, we freshened up and went shopping in Pasadena. A sale item at Chico's was another acquisition 😃😃😃 It was going to be the perfect jacket for the train ride later. After shopping, I picked up my luggage at Honoria's home, and Honoria drove me to the Gold Metro Station.

It was an easy commute to Union Station. That afternoon was the 2020 Super Bowl LIV game. I was routing for the Kansas City Chiefs. My favorite Traxx Bar at Union Station had the game on the television.

I had to head to the Southwest Chief train after the half-time show. The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs were tied, 10-10. Later that evening, I found out the the Chiefs won. Yeah!

Due to high winds, the Southwest Chief was two hours late arriving in Flagstaff. Fortunately, I had pre-paid for an Amtrak shuttle from Flagstaff to the Holiday Inn Express in Williams. I was their only rider!

Tom picked me up at the Holiday Inn Express. It was the end of a nice "gals only" weekend!