Our winter 21/22 season is coming to an end. As usual we have been in Casa Grande at Sundance 1.
How very different this winter has been from the last couple of years. The once deserted streets of the resort are packed with people, and lots of new people too as the ones that have been coming for years have stopped coming due to Covid, and new people who want to get way from the Covid lock downs are desperate for new experiences.
The "Good" knight at the Phoenix Renaissance Festival The have a permanent medieval village there.
Our friends Clive and Jean have finally made it back from UK and their truck and trailer was fine after 2 years in storage. They are noticing all the things that have changed in town that we barely register, such as all the new housing developments, the new car plant and businesses that have either sprung up or closed down.
With Clive and Jean at the Hide Out
I had met a gentleman at the radio control field and helped him jump start his car when the battery died. Clive and Jean were talking to one of their neighbors in their campground about an English guy that helped jump start their car. Of course it was Steve from the RC club!
We suddenly had 2 new friends in Steve and Patty and the 6 of us went out to dinner at one of the new restaurants that opened last year, the “Hide Out”, which does really nice steaks and lots of other good stuff, plus a drinkable draft Shiner Bock beer from Texas.
Steve and Patty too at the Hide Out
Radio control airplanes have been my consuming passion the past 2 winters, whether buying, building, flying or crashing them! I have barely lifted a paint brush or a pencil for my artwork and we only gave 1 art class in all that time at the Elks Lodge to raise some funds for their many charities.
A flock (or should it be a squadron?) of RC warbirds
We are getting closer to our trip to Mexico and as the house is rented out we have had to find places to store the stuff we wont take to Mexico but cant put back in the house. Friends have come to the rescue yet again and I have airplane stuff at Bill’s storage locker in one area and camp type stuff, suitcases, the satellite dish and more airplane stuff to go in a trailer in Denis’s place! You realize what great friends you have when they just step up and say “No problem, just bring it over!”
Good times at the Balloons and Bluegrass festival (although it was too windy to fly the balloons. (Thanks Sue for the tickets)
We have been extremely fortunate with our friends down thru the years for which we are eternally grateful. It’s going to be such fun to catch up with everyone in the UK again this year. Better brace yourselves over there it isn’t long now.
Some of our usual crowd for the winter
We have had almost too much fun this winter and apart from the big 50th wedding bash we have been invited here, there and everywhere for dinners out, Super Bowl parties, you name it and we’ve been there for a party!
Darts Club Pot Luck Dinner
Naturally the Elks Lodge has provided much food and entertainment with Barbara and the ladies providing deserts, working on committees, volunteering in the kitchen, at the Flea Market etc, etc. They do an outstanding job. We even took the RV down to the Lodge for New Years Eve, we figured we could party as much as we wanted then just stagger over to the RV and sleep there! No need to drive home!
Inside the Van Gogh interactive exhibition.
One interesting little thing that just popped up was a TV company wanting full time RV’ers and preferably Ex Patriot Brits for a show on UK TV. We sent our name in and they called us back for an initial telephone interview. Who knows, we might be TV stars!
Broken drain pipe, just more RV maintenance.
Meanwhile we are doing our annual taxes, planning for Mexico and the UK, servicing the RV and cars. All the things that signal the start of the next adventure.
See you on the road somewhere!
