Sunday, March 29, 2015

Plant comes back to life

When we left for Escapade I soaked the calla lily for an hour and hoped for the best.  When we returned 12 days later this is what we found……ugh……

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It was dry, limp and the leaves were laying down on the table….ugly

So I thought…throw it away, it’s done.  Oh, well, it can’t get any worse, so let me just soak it again and see what happens.  So it went into a sink full of water for a couple of hours and put it back on the table.  Later that night this is what it looked like……those darn leaves started to rise up….

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By the next morning, the plant was back to a full straight up beautiful plant

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Amazing…..happy Palm Sunday….

Remember, you are loved.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Escapade 2015-Tucson

We went to Tucson a couple of days early and stayed out at Snyder Hill BLM Land off of I-10 and I-19. Tony and Pam were already there with the Allgires, Bubars and Glovers on their way.  We all went on the road in 2007 and have seen each other throughout the years.

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This is only the second Escapees RV Club Escapade we have attended.  The first time was in 2007, the first year we were on the road, and we had a lot to learn. This time we came to meet new friends and reacquaint with old ones.

We volunteered to be on the Parking Crew. We arrived three days early and got set up and received our assignments.  Being the desert the mornings were cold.  Luckily I brought my long underwear!

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7 a.m.waiting to work
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Going to assignments
Tina and me
Acting up for the camera

We parked cars Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then we were done! The numbers for this Escapade exceeded  every Escapade since 2006.  There were 851 rigs registered, with another 92 parked in nearby parks.  Walk-ins exceeded 700!!!  This supports the decision to have Escapades in the west….the numbers are in Arizona.  March is the perfect time as it is warm and before folks leave for the summer.

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Before all RVs were parked

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Boondocking area

We attended classes by Nick Russell and Geeks on Tour, along with the evening entertainment.  The large meeting hall was a good venue and the large side screens were very helpful.

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It was so wonderful to have Kay Peterson in attendance.  She is still a witty spitfire….her jokes were real gems!

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We enjoyed a staff dinner at the on-grounds restaurant. We had snacks, complimentary drinks and dinner; very nice.

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We also had a happy hour for Class of 2007 attendees.  Sooo good to see everyone.  Click on photo to enlarge.

2015 Class of 2007 Happy Hour Escapade

Paul Everet RV Sales had an RV show for us on property.  They also hosted a happy hour most days.  This one was held in the Beer Garden. They had snacks, beer, wine and bloody Marys.

Happy Hour Escapade 2015

Molly and Bob Pinner do  a WONDERFUL job as Escapade Directors.  Here they are enjoying a drink after the closing ceremonies.  Their work was  almost done.

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Everything from the outside looked like a very organized, smooth operation, no hitches.  Any bumps were addressed to immediately and any concerns taken care of diplomatically.  The Pinners are a great team and excellent Escapade Directors.

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Escapade ended Thursday night with most folks leaving Friday. We stuck around as the Class of 2007 had a dinner at Hot Rods Bar and Grill on Saturday at nearby Vail. 

 

 

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It was sooo good to see some of the classmates we hadn’t seen since our reunion in 2012, especially Fay and Joe and Marcia.  They looked so good.

 

Besides being a good restaurant and bar……

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it is also a working hot rod and bike garage below that you can watch from the restaurant and they gave our group a tour.

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There were about 50 people from the Class of 2007 and adoptees who attended.  Click image to enlarge.

Hot Rods Grill

It was a good two weeks which we really, really enjoyed.  Next Escapade is in Vermont, July 2016.  Should be a super venue and a great time.

Remember, you are loved.

Monday, March 23, 2015

We’re Still Here

I wanted to let you know we’re still around.  I’m not sure what this blog will become with us wintering in Sun City and summering in Colorado and not traveling like before, but we’ll see how it works out. What do you think?

After being silent for three weeks we are back.  We attended the Escapees RV Club’s annual Escapade in Tucson and were there two weeks.  We volunteered for the parking crew and that was fun but tiring doing three seven-hour days.  We just aren’t use to standing on our feet for that long in a day.

We’ve been back a week now and have done some more decorating and filling out some more needs in the condo.

Currently we are entertaining our friends Heinz and Angela as they spend spring break with us from Alamosa, Colorado.

I’ll download the photos and write up a blog post to catch up on our activities, so stay tuned.

Remember, you are loved.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

More Condo Visitors

Jim’s brother and SIL were in the area two weekends ago and came over to see our condo and have dinner.

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Don has taken us out for dinner numerous times over the years and never let us pick up the tab.  This time we paid him back for once with two inch, choice, rib eye steaks we got from Sprouts.

 

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I laid out a nice table for the occasion

 

 

 

 

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We enjoyed sitting outside on the patio for drinks

 

 

Everyone was happy with dinner

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They took home leftovers
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Jim was a happy camper

When we came to the area back in October we heard from some folks we worked with at amazon.com back in 2009 at Coffeyville, KS.  Joyce and Bill are workamping in El Mirage, just up the road a couple of miles.  So last Wednesday we were finally able to work around their schedule and had them over for happy hour. We had sooo much fun talking about our adventures through the years and the workamping jobs we all had.  We will definitely be seeing them again before we leave for the summer.  Great folks.

DSCN5249 DSCN5250Look at the nice gift Joyce made for us.  And I really need the hot pads and dish clothe.

The next day Edie and Lee came up from Mesa.  We toured them around Sun City and grilled some burgers.  We enjoy these guys so much and five hours just flew by.

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Edie said we were “twinkies” since we were both wearing yellow shirts.

 

 

 

Jim got out the barbecue set we won at the Boomerville C.A.R.E. auction, even donning the apron that was in the box.

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Sunday Carolyn and Roy drove up from Quartzsite to visit. They are another couple we met while working at amazon in Coffeyville, KS. We started telling tales and laughed so hard and loud I’m glad there isn’t anyone on the one side of us for fear we would have disturbed them….but it was fun!!!

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Carolyn and Roy will be working in South Dakota this summer and we plan to meet up when we drive up there to renew our drivers’ licenses this summer.  Thanks for making the trip up to see us.

We have sooo enjoyed entertaining all our friends these last two weeks. It’s been so nice that so many of them are wintering in this area of Arizona.  Now after removing most of our possessions from the RV, it’s time to put things BACK in preparation for our trip to Escapade in Tucson later this week. 

We will leave Sun City Tuesday or Wednesday and stay at Snyder Hill on Ajo Way and San Joaquin Road off I-19 in Tucson. We are part of the parking crew as are many of the Class of 2007.  That way we get to see a lot of our friends as they come in.  We are excited to see friends who are spending winter elsewhere but are coming to Escapade.  It will be a lot of fun!

Remember, you are loved.
Read the story behind this saying HERE

Jan’s Gang Come to Visit

I just call them “Jan’s Gang” – the folks who joined the Moores after Boomerville out to mile marker 99 also known as Roadrunner.  Many of them went on to stay together at North Ranch Escapees RV Park in Congress, AZ. 

They were still around when we moved into our RV and wanted to see our condo, so we invited them all over to take the tour and have some grilled brats.  We invited a few other RV couples in the area to round it out.

The Tuesday after the weekend we moved in “Jan’s Gang” all piled in together and it sure was funny seeing them come down the sidewalk single file, each carrying their chairs and holding a snack.  We all fit in the patio and had a great time talking and eating.

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Even our realtor, Rich came by
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Poncho didn’t know what was happening or where to go
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I couldn’t believe we got 22 people in the condo with room to spare.

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The condo tour went well and everyone seemed to like what we got.

Remember, you are loved.