Sunny Arizona

In line for the Brewers' spring game

This month we are staying at the Leaf Verde Resort in Buckeye AZ just on the west edge of the Phoenix metro area. The weather has been very warm and sunny. We have had a couple scattered cloudy days and just a tiny bit of rain but the temps have been above average by about 10 degrees all month. These warm sunny days with cool nights suit us just fine. I will say it is getting a bit warm for these northern folk and we look forward to heading north at the end of the month. There are lots of fun places on deck for next month too!

John, Janie,Evelyn and Kevin

Love this photo of Kevin and Evelyn

This month has been a very laid back pace. We’ve been to 2  Milwaukee Brewer spring training games with Kevin and Evelyn. What a great way to spend a day. We have tickets to one more game next Saturday. It’s great to be able to spend some time with them. We also have tickets to a Coyote NHL game on the 30th that they are joining us for. Always wanted to see a NHL game so I can’t wait. With our tickets to the Spring Training games we were able to get $10 off each NHL ticket not a bad deal considering we only paid $8 for lawn seats.

We also went to 2 RV shows this month. The first one was put on by the Le Mesa dealership at the University of Arizona’s arena. They carry the Lifestyle 5th wheels that we have been considering for the future. Went thru 4  different rigs and it was good to get a real look at them. However, that night I just couldn’t sleep. Seeing the prices of these rigs just gave me an anxiety attack. I talked with John in the morning and though we are still looking and considering a new rig I think we may stay in ours longer and do a little remodeling and then in a few years look again and maybe even look for a used rig. Besides the cost I am concerned with the size.  We are pretty short as full time rigs go at 30-32 feet but these new Lifestyles are around 40 feet. That makes finding spaces in  the settings we like a little more challenging. I do want a larger kitchen some day but I have found ways to make this one work so I am ok with it for now. Looking is always fun but we have decided to slow down and not be in a hurry for that next rig. Just this week we went to a show that had the Mobile Suites that were also on our radar but nothing there really excited us, except for a couple toy-haulers. John still mulls the advantage of having something that would give us space for grandkids and maybe a Harley (I think deep inside he still wants one). So who knows when and what we will do.

John is showing off the truck to Bill and Char

Friends of ours, Bill and Char are also in the area. They had plans to FT but Char has had some health issues so they recently bought a lock and leave property in Maricopa but are staying in the RV right now. We met up at Tim Finnegans bar and restaurant for a great visit. They are also Excel owners, in fact with the same size and layout that we have. We enjoyed our visit and hope to get together with them one more time before we go. 

Our Excel here at Leaf Verde

Speaking of Excel, sad news broke this week that Excel closed its doors. Seems they were never quite able to recover after the recession. They tried to find a buyer but when that didn’t happen the decision was made to close. We had an feeling something was up. John ordered some replacement switches for the slides and the parts person who he left a message for called back at 8 pm one night. When John said he didn’t think they worked that late, she said she had a day job and just came in at night now. That sounded a bit strange and I think a sign of what was coming. We are sad to see this happen. We have been happy with our rig and felt they produced a high quality product. It was still on the radar for our next rig. Guess we have a collectors item now.

We really have kind of kicked back into easy living here. We take our walks and exercise a little and even have been learning to play pickle ball. Though John pulled something in his leg so that off the agenda now. For me I have had plenty of time for knitting which always makes me happy.  Last fall I started on the first ever sweater for me. I have done several baby sweaters but this is a much bigger project. I started and stopped a few times and decided to rip back and do the Craftsy Class teaching the sweater. This month I knew I needed to get moving and finish it. Once I really got going I enjoyed it and all that I learned. Yesterday I sewed the buttons on and I now can say it is completely finished. Yipee!!! I see more sweaters in my future. :)

Not bad for this first one & great for cool evenings.

I hope spring has arrived for all of you, I know for many of our friends and family it has been a long hard winter. From sunny Arizona...

Happy Trails................................