More Fun in Phoenix

Fun can be defined differently by most people. My definition of fun has to do with outdoor sports, travel, and spending time with family and friends. Joanie also has fun in all above but you can also add finding deals on clothing at discount stores into her “fun” category. And now that you can add golf attire to her shopping list it makes for a brand new fun experience for her. I, on the other hand, define “not fun” as watching her look at each and every item on each and every rack and finding exactly what she wants but in the wrong size. No problem though, my “not fun” experience is doubled when she sorts through other sizes just in case her size was put back on the wrong rack. It is so tough being St. Marc and smiling through the whole experience but I am always up for it!

That was Wednesday.

On Thursday we tried out a course that seemed to have a decent rating on GolfNow, Grand Canyon University Golf Club. As my baby girl would say, I would rate it a meh. We were, however, paired up with a great young couple from Utah…Jared and Brenda. Good shots and plenty of bad shots by all…but we still had fun.

Two more days in Phoenix then on to Tubac.

Hiking & Golf (Again)

We decided to take a break on Monday from Joanie’s new addiction (golf) and try out our legs on a hike. We went back to one of our regular hikes and had a nice 4 mile trek, with only a 400’ elevation change, up the Lost Dog Wash Trail to the Taliesin Overlook…beautiful views along with a delicious ham sandwich.

Yesterday it was back to the grind for Joanie as we found a nice course south of town and were matched with a father and son from Maine. The Foothills Golf Club was a challenging course with narrow fairways and fast running greens. No problem for me, I had some of my longest drives ricocheting off the roofs of some big houses…if only I could plan it that way.

To cap off yesterday evening we went to the local casino and enjoyed their Taco Tuesday special. It is so nice of them get us to come in and only charge us $125 per taco (after casino time)…can’t wait to go back!

Reservations for Tubac Resort made starting Sunday…more to come…

On to Phoenix

We spent Saturday driving to Phoenix and setting up at our regular spot near the McDowell Mountains. Typical of any normal drive, or day with Joanie, there is no straight line going anywhere. We took several side trips along the way but when she found out about “the best sandwich and fudge shop” I knew exactly where we were heading. Turns out it was in Florence, a great little city that shares a name with my mother…and what are the chances, today is my mom’s 103 birthday. Happy birthday in heaven mom!

After setting up for our week in Phoenix we decided to drive to Old Scottsdale and eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant…our tradition. I guess it wasn’t everyone’s favorite because after 30+ years they shut down. Guess we’ll have to start a new tradition.

Yesterday…hiking and watching the “boring” Super Bowl at our spot in Fountain Hills. No political messages on my site…but.

“The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love”

Tubac Art Festival…and More Golf

On Thursday we upped our game (and cost) and played at Arizona’s National Golf Course , a beautifully maintained club just northeast of the city. We were paired up with a nice couple from Missouri that had completed their bucket list of playing golf in every state. My goal of losing at least one ball at every course I play is still intact too, we all have our own dreams and setting your expectations low doesn’t hurt!

To finish off a fun week in the area and to make Mrs Fancy Pants happy, we went to the Tubac Festival of the Arts. It is about 45 minutes south of Tucson. There were well over 200 artist booths as well as all the local stores open with all kinds of different media. The town is really cool with old historic buildings as well as brand new structures fitting their cost structure. We spent most time in the booths and older buildings…

On the way out of town we stopped at the Tubac Golf Resort and Spa to check it out. Turns out it is on the Top 25 historic hotels of America most historic golf courses. Turns out part of the movie Tin Cup was filmed here and the pond in the scene where Roy “Tin Cup” keeps hitting it in the water was made for the movie. If time permits, on our way back to Texas we plan to let Little Al take a rest while we stay at the resort…I want a piece of that pond!

Leaving this morning for our annual stop in Phoenix…

Into The Mountains & More Golf

We’ve spent the last couple of days staying pretty busy during the day and doing all we can to get to bed at a reasonable time at night. When I say reasonable, I’m saying we’re doing our best to stay up past 8pm, since we don’t have WiFi or tv we just read and it can make…you…drowsy…

On Tuesday we decided to check out Mount Lemmon, it is the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains. We were told by one of our fellow golfers on Monday about a great cookie shop at the top where cyclists and hikers reward themselves after a tough exertion trekking up the mountain. Anyway…I drove my fat butt and my beautiful wife up and rewarded us both for not driving off the cliff. And dare I say, well rewarded…they were fantastic.

Using the Golf Now app we found a golf course about 30 minutes south of the city to play at on Wednesday. Unlike the course Monday, this setup was much tighter and not quite as enjoyable. The homeowners will certainly remember yours truly as I left a few remembrances of my play on their clay tile roofs.

Tomorrow…more golf then rest on Friday.

Living on Tucson Time

The best thing about staying in a RV Resort without cable or WiFi is that you get to read a lot, reconnect with your traveling partner (she seems really nice), and you go to sleep early and wake up early. You also get to experience some of the longest days ever, when you wake up at 4am it seems like getting to noon takes a lifetime.

On Sunday we decided to check out the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show…we thought it would be great to see who’s driving up all the RV park pricing. And rocks they have. Big rock, small rocks, rocks that you have to keep in water, rocks that were dinosaurs, every kind of rock you can imagine.

Most importantly, though, we found a booth selling turquoise jewelry. The vendor actually mines it, cuts it, and makes it into jewelry. Since I’m a sucker for a great story and since it turns out we’re a “turquoise family” and I’m late to the party I had to buy a ring. I mean who doesn’t need a ring they may never wear?!

Yesterday we played golf at Silverbell Golf Course and were matched up with 2 snowbirds escaping the cold also. We always get to hear interesting stories from people on our journeys and one of these fellows had one. Randy is an average looking 60+ year old, dressed well, spoke well and a pretty good golfer. Turns out he lived full time in his pickup truck with a camper shell that he said had all he needed…AC, generator, fridge, etc. He said he parks at truck stops and showers at Planet Fitness and according to him can do or go anywhere he wants because he doesn’t have to take care of anyone or report to anyone. I told him I could go or do anything Joanie told me too so…whatever!

Today…into the mountains for hikes then back home so we can get to bed by 8.

Better late than never…

We decided to leave for our annual “find the warmth” tour heading west on Sunday after a quick stop in Dallas. Turns out Mother Nature and Richardson ISD disagreed and delayed our actual departure until Thursday. Not a bad thing…we got to hang out with a nice couple and probably the 2 sweetest girls in the world. (Translation…our son, daughter in law, and 2 sweetest granddaughters)

By the time we left, all of the ice and snow had melted so our drive was pretty uneventful other than rough I20 roads near Midland-Odessa and mega traffic in El Paso. Along the way we stopped in Van Horn and ate at the best restaurant in town. As it turned out, that was sandwiches we made ourselves in the Hampton hotel room. Right…not many options.

We bypassed our planned stay in Las Cruces because it didn’t meet our minimum temperature requirement of 70 degrees…try harder LC!

We are staying at a nice RV Resort (are there really RV resorts) in Tucson for the week while we allow all the drunks in Phoenix and the Phoenix Open to depart at the end of the week. Turns out this “resort” doesn’t have good internet or cable…welcome to the 70’s Marc & Joan.

Last night Joanie decided it was such nice weather that we would leave the windows open. FYI…80 degrees during the day does not equal warm weather at nights in the desert. Marco froze.

More…to…come…

Cold in NM…and TX.

We left Albuquerque on Friday and worked our way back east to wrap up our annual “chase the winter warm weather” tour. As a reminder of what month it is, NM woke us up with a 24 degree temperature and a frozen water hose. Our plan was to stay one more day to play golf but I really don’t play well in the cold…or the rain…or the wind…or the heat…whatever, we headed home.

Just like all of our trips back, we splurged and stayed overnight at one of the finest hotels that Wichita Falls has to offer. Turns out that the Hampton we booked had just opened and we were able to stay overnight in a brand new room with a brand new bed. It was not as nice as staying in Little Al but still pretty nice.

Made it to Dallas on Saturday and back to Austin on Sunday…come on warmer weather!

Albuquerque & Santa Fe

Since the weather to the east is in the middle of a cold front we decided to divert to Albuquerque for a few days while Texas thaws out. Little Al is so confused, when we adopted him we had the idea of chasing cooler weathers during the summer…now we’re chasing warmer weather during the winter.

We arrived in Albuquerque last night and took the opportunity to wipe out the local casino, Isleta Resort and Casino. Turns out the Native Americans disagreed and sent us home with nothing but grins on our faces and penny’s in our pockets. Next time…there’s always a next time.

Today we drove to Santa Fe looking for different ways for Joan to find good deals. Weather was nice, food was good and Joanie was good…I don’t have to go back to work, yet.

Ready for Texas but not ready for cold weather…guess we’ll stay another day.