Hiking Home

The West Fork was full and no hiking by 10 AM so we ventured on, and enjoyed th Walnut Canyon trails outside of Flagstaff.  I cannot believemthere were many communities there, living " on the  brink"... 250 +  stairs to,see the dwellings, feeling good after 10 weeks ofmdaily exercise!!!! Weather is good and we enjoyed walking around Flagstaff, dinner and seeing the stone buildings they have saved historically in this very college town

We are both ready to be home...Moab tomorrow!

🎶on the road again. 🎶

Out of WhitmoreLane at 10:30, having said goodbye to Lila & John, some nice goodbye emails. Did the " last " tennis and pickleball dropins and feel I have friends there! Felt a bit detached from golf...ready to pull it all together for opening day at Glenmoor It has been great and we were both ready to go home three days ago

I had ZERO knowledge of Sedona and it is amazing in its redrock formations and" vortexes"

We hiked Cathedral Rock...did not go to the vortex there 🙃And saw the lovely Chapel in the rocks across the road

Ate Amazing Mexican Food at Elotes

Tomorrow : Airport Overlook vortex, a nice hike in the morning.

Ready to Leave

In 48 hours we will drive north!  Down to the " last" tennis/pickleball/golf etc. for the "season". The courts restaurants and nail salons are less populated and the weather has turned CHILLY of all things.     We have looked at all the real estate we are going to look at and met as many new friends as we possibly could.
Played at LEAST 60 rounds of golf between us and the jury is out as to whether or not our games are any better 😬  We have certainly given it our best shot!!!!

Life as it has evolved has changed dramatically over the past 4 months...in some ways it is a little depressing, but we have so many things to feel thankful for that we simply have to try to understand the family turmoil and look at new beginnings.

Im a little sad today 😬  If it will just warm up a little, perhaps I'll be better...i cant believe how weather driven I have become !

One Week to Go!

Sunday took the time to drive to the Desert Botanical Gardens...45 minutes from SCG...as we drove to the parking lots there were unbelievable signs... " Botanical Gardens reservations SOLD OUT FOR TODAY....you kidding me!!!!!! Who needs reservations to visit gardens?!?!?!  Turns out you do if someone has lit up acres and acres with a light show.  When we actually found a parking spot I took it as a good sign and we went to see if we could plead with someone...😰 AND it worked .  This amazing kid let me buy the LAST single ticket and quietly passed me TWO stickers to walk the grounds... I am STILL excited for it!  Besides being a good deal, it was well worth the travel and $. Not really for the blooming of the desert, however, but rather the diversity of cacti!  The flowering cacti in our neighborhood far surpass any there, but the Gardens AND the lights were something to behold ( remind anyone you know going there that it is best to wear closed shoes. .. There was a lot of shaking the sand out of my sandals as we walked...could also use a small flashlite 😁)

The FLOWERS in the neighborhood FAR exceed my expectations .  They just BEG you to stop and photograph them...so I do.

We golfed and dined with a MN couple we met at the Wine Club, very nice folks. We hope to see them next season, maybe they might come through Denver before.

I am trudging on with pickleball in spite of the "gentleman" who scolded me last week for missing balls.  ( you should be in CLINICS, not at drop- in 🙄) I like both of my paddles and hope to get Chrissie/Sean/ kids out to try it with me.  A new friend we met at a birthday party yesterday told us he had lost 35 pounds since  he took it up! Made me feel better because I was wondering if I was winded because of my age or inexperience 🙃
I BELIEVE I have learned a lot more about golf, but I rattle easily and forget the " key" element often. I am planning to go out alone when we return to Denver and just think-not-talk with 4 balls for 9 holes.

I do hope we come back next year, buying renting, whichever works.  I will make more use of the classroom teaching

We arrived at Sun City Grand,  of course, at rush hour...not so bad!  We had driven surounded by snow in 20 degree climes until just PAST Sedona Arizona...did I mention I had PACKED gloves...thinking we we going south OUT of the cold?
Unpacking and groceries  got us to dinner at 9 ish and we were BEAT.  Woke to sunshine views of the golf course...lovely, but still shivering.
Setting up "technology" is an event not to be dismissed as small...and took most of the morning ( i remember the days when " they" said ..." Computers will make our lives so much simpler..." Right.
Visit to the Welcome desk,@ the Visitors center ( with a check) got us a CAM card allowing us entry to everything ... A few minutes of watching pickle ball, commented on by a devotee...didn't convince Tom's interest. He' s not in.

Now we are " short-timers". Two Weeks remaining!!!

 The most difficult thing here is to keep track of all the possibilities, tee time requests, classes you might want to take, drop in times for sports, plays we might attend, dances pretty often...all the while putting the word. Out that we need a rental for next season.

It seemed frantic for awhile and then it seemed to fall into place, enjoy the Muellers, the Coxs the Truttmans. We have been working out every day and i feel so good at that that i wonder why I don't do that in Denver...so I shall when we go back. We are cutting down on club membership so we will both be going to the Y instead of Monaco and I will do the Longmont  Tri on June 5...have begun swimming here

As if a switch was flipped, the air was awash with the scent of orange blossoms two weeks ago. Trees are leafing out, bouganvilla are intense colors and blossoms and even some cactus are flowering. Sunday we went to White Tank park for a pot luck picnic and a hike with the Minnesota Interest group, an easy hike, the first time tho that we have gone there.  I thought we would hike and bike more than we have, but we really have focused on GOLF...and my tennis with a little bit of pickleball thrown in with the dance classes 😊

This has shown me that we can continue to do many of these activities in Denver...it just won't be as simple to find and get to them all organized in a geographic zone.  It really has been good for us ( especially me) to be out of my comfort zone.  With Tom totally unscheduled for medecine it actually does make everything look so different. And with all the "kids" totally at odds with each other...THAT part of the world ALSO looks different.  God bless the little children, i am looking foreword to doing stuff with them!!!!!

This is the first time ( in FIVE WEEKS) that I have just sat down to be quiet and muse about all of this. The Muellers ore coming over to say goodby...circumstances changed and they need to go home early..." Things" change in a heartbeat in our age group 😬

Turning Point!

We have been here THREE weeks...signing up, meeting,  golfing, tennising, pickleballing and working out every day.  We were invited to one happy hour , ( you stay and talk...not out to dinner after...) I have had tea with a new tennis friend when it was too cold to,play tennis ...interestingly , she lives in Highlands Ranch... Bledsoes have visited and return on Super Bowl Sunday
We enjoyed golfing with several couples

I have spent a lot of time trying to understand why I have been reluctant to want to be here...but, yesterday, i finally realized that we have been active and ' moving' since we got here, doing things we would NOT be doing in Denver...dance classes, genealogy class, three different golf venues ( for me...more, even for Tom). Tennis and pickleball, new friends...and I told Tom last night that I LIKE it here...tho I Will  be happier next week when I am not not constantly wishing to be warmer

I still worry a lot about the "kids" angrily at home, and am happy Colleen is enjoying living at our home...and Nala & Grayson are so happy to have her lap there!!!!!

Getting to know ...

Went to the Black & White Ball last night ... Our neighbors suggested we'd like it...12 piece orchestra playing Benny Goodman  type music...the Sun City Dance Club's annual big deal.  People were in tuxes and flashy dresses...current and retro!  I was very happy I at least thought to bring a long dress 😁  We had a good time...if you dance in the middle of the floor noone cares that you dont know the foxtrot...we stayed away for the Tango 😏 Met two new couples There were LOTS of dancers who knew what they were doing. We decided to go to the dance lessons on Tuesday afternoons...

Friday night we enjyed a 29 yr old musician/singer who could play keyboard, sing and play an antique trumpet...seemingly at the same time. He was excellent
Events end at 9:30 here
Enjoyed Chili and wings here today with two couples to encourage the Broncos into the Super Bowl. Everyone enjoyed that they squeeked it out!

Well, my first day, Tuesday, with the grandladies golf was less than sterling...the ladies were nice ( i did get scolded once for " not being ready to hit" ...when actually, I had driven ahead of her  to hit and apologized to HER).  I was cold, hit erratically and was grateful to be finished!!!!.  Then I didn't play great tennis Wednesday ( glad it was not my rating day !)   Today I played better golf with Tom and took a lesson with Cassidy..." Keep my wrists cocked as long as I can and TURN my hips to let my arms swing in front and around".  We are signed up for an event Saturday evening and will go to music in the plaza tomorrow...organizing golf for the next two weeks

One Week into it...e

To WHOMEVER i speak now, I begin with..." We are brand new here and I need a little help..." They always smile and...help: registering onto the info website, tickets to a show, pickleball club joining.  If one figures out the pertinent websites, one could be "busy" 24/7... The computerclub lady warned me about that!!!
Had a "cactus practice" group golf lesson this morning..Tom enjoyed a Rotary meeting...i asked around for help from all my new friends and we went to a show that I might have dismissed as " honky tonk"...and it was fabulous!  Called Honky tonk piano, it reminded me of Micky Poage in Vail: incredible talent, only 29 yrs old, knew his audience and played for it ( not tooo old)
Tomorrow we golf , have a social event in the evening...Sunday, the Bronco game

Not much to photograph from here...there is a lot of flat .. and monochromatic houses...Tom had to point out to me that there are 4 different shades of cream/tan/yellowish tan/???  If it rains next week we will dash out of town to see if we see a desert bloom!

Overwhelmed & Underequipped

...That was a bit how I described myself in motherhood... But this is even more confusing:  with countless websites and clubs to know about, " bookmarks" to organize and airfares to find to bring the "kids" down to visit... i feel like I am constantly re- grouping...AND we have been grocery shopping nearly every day...whew!  I am finally feeling better about the weathwr..i.e. Not checking the weather app every 30 seconds...but I wore leggings and a warm jacket for tennis today...thinking tomorrow Afternoon golf will be warmer. Did i ever mention that I don't even OWN sleeved golf or tennis shirts????
I emailed the golf " chief" (again) this evening with a quesrion I KNOW she has already answered...and she responded that she can't wait to meet me: i am hysterical... I think thats a good thing...she sounded like it was good. :  ). At least OK
Tennis this morning was fun, the first three women I played with were from...Colorado.  I played pretty well ( thank goodness) but all newcomers have to be rated by the pro...I like that since I think I am better than my rating...I might be humbled.
I feel like I am " out of my element". And that will be ok..what is rather bizarre, tho is that occasionally I feel like I am in a time "warp". Everyone here is our age.  This truly came home when we looked to buy lunch near the pro shop...the seller in the snack bar was not a college kid, but a gray haired person like me!  Unsettling

Who knew?  Apparently all the church going Catholics have moved to Arizona...Definitely a crowd of gray hair in a VERY large church
Spent the rest of the AM and early afternoon joining Sam's Club ( i didn't KNOW you could purchase a 4 pound box of cereal 🙄 ) and looking for some decorative  items for the house..hmmm,
Guided the Broncos to victory and another week of comparisons of quarterbacks and speculations about age and potential retirements...

We have golf  and tennis scheduled, many interesting " clubs" to join, lunch with a Denver friend tomorrow...I seriously miss family...
It IS getting warmer...very slowly...I will play tennis in the morning...temp in the low 40s?.😐

It has been SOOO cold in Phoenix.  The sky is blue, the golf was better than average ( for me) but I do not even OWN sleeved golf shirts and I am wearing fleece and jackets...it will be 42 degrees  when we play a couples event  in 9 hours...i will be wearing a turtleneck and a cashmere sweater.
( and a jacket and maybe more...)
We DID play golf today with a very nice guy from Omaha  ( yes) and he called after to invite us to meet for dinner with he and his wife...that's what its all about...fun evening with really good mexican food.   I'll play tennis on Monday...pretty busy around here, hardly time for naps...maybe we will rest tomorrow night 👍🏻 soon i will discover how to access CURRENT photos to include here...

14 hours... " On the road again..."

14 hours traveling...including 2 1/2'hours at the ONLY Apple store in New Mexico (Albuquerque) found us in Grants New Mexico , tired and pretty darn hungry.  The mexican restaurant we vetted out on yelp....apparently didn't make it , or it is closed on Tuesdays...so the tilapia at Denny' was good.
Having said that:  we were in awe of the incredible beauty  and the VAST open lands in the south of Colorado. Grants in the dark is a humble town...Tom said it is apparantly very pretty here...we'll see it in the morning

I cannot find the linkto add photos here... But i will get better

Traveling to Arizona Winter 2016