Tucson, AZ - Jan. 15 - Mar. 14, 2009

We arrived at Rincon Country East RV Resort in Tucson on January 15, 2009, and once we got wedged in, missing the palms and the eight-foot cactus, we loved the place.  This is our third stay in Tucson and Rincon is our favorite locale so far.  The folks are friendly, the sites are adequate, and the amenities are quite nice, including the best bocce ball courts we have ever seen.  In addition to the bocce ball courts, there are tennis and pickle ball courts, horseshoes, a very nice billiard room, pool and spa, cards, ceramics and crafts rooms, library, ballroom, and more.  Also, there are plenty of walking, jogging and biking opportunities in the area.

Our first two weeks in Tucson were devoted to flipping, flopping, wavering, and dithering about buying our dream home in Tucson Estates at the foot of the Tucson Mountains.  Bill found the house advertised on the Internet when we were in Yuma and it had consumed our thoughts ever since.

During our first week we drove by the house a few times, took pictures, walked the streets, met the neighbors, and stopped by the clubhouse and chatted with some very enthusiastic residents.  We decided we had best get a realtor so we could do a walk through before we were arrested for casing the place.  Once inside we found the interior, patio and views were even better than depicted on the Internet.  We made an offer.  The offer was rejected.  Unfortunately, the sellers were not in a position to negotiate.  We knew owning a house would change our traveling lifestyle, so we were both relieved and disappointed.  I guess we will remain invested in 'wheel estate'.

When we weren't being totally house obsessed we met some of our neighbors, including Susan and Lynn from Ontario, Canada and Marsha and Roy from Carson City, Nevada.  We joined with Susan and Lynn to attend the Dillinger Days Festival, which celebrates the 1934 arrest of the most wanted man in America.  The Festival, held at the historic Congress Hotel, included an action-packed reenactment of the events that led to the arrest of the Dillinger gang, including a shoot-out and a fire at the Hotel.  It was fun, funny and totally over the top.

We also attended the Beowulf Alley Theater in the Arts District to see 'Dinner With Friends'.  Shortly after the play began we realized we had seen the movie based on the play, but fortunately we didn't remember the details so were entertained as the character's secrets were revealed.

On January 31 we said goodbye to Susan and Lynn as they moved north to Phoenix, and we headed to Park City, Utah (see our Park City Journal) for a much anticipated ski vacation.  We plan to visit them in Ontario next summer.

We returned from Park City on February 12th and resumed our kicked-back Tucson lifestyle.  It is hard to remember it's winter when the temperatures are running in the high 70s to low 90s - even south Florida was colder than Tucson this year.  A fellow from Newfoundland pulled in behind us - stayed two days then moved on because he couldn't handle the heat.

The remainder of our Tucson stay was spent checking out some of the attractions we had missed on earlier visits, such as the Tucson Art Museum; the lovely Botanical Gardens; the somewhat derelict, but still interesting Biosphere II; the Old Tucson Studios - the sight of numerous western movies and the series High Chaparral; and the Titan Missile Museum which reminded us of our Cold War fears (Remember MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction?).  We also enjoyed three beautiful hikes in Catalina State Park, Sabino Canyon and the Rincon Mountains, biked the Rialito River Bike Path and explored our neighborhood.

Much of our time was spent enjoying our neighbors, cocktails on the patio, and a few dinners with Marsha and Roy.  We tried our skills on an actual bocce ball court and discovered the ball rolls much faster than on overgrown, bumpy lawns and the game requires much more finesse.  We played pickle ball and modestly improved our skills on the billiard tables.

We continued our home upgrades by installing a three-tiered shoe rack in our closet.  We can now acquire a new pair of shoes without having to toss an old pair.  We also created space by selling several items we no longer use.

The big change was in our entertainment and communications system.  For four years we used a HughesNet tripod satellite system for our Internet access, with an attachment that allowed us to get television service using the same satellite dish.  We (read Bill) were tired of it, plus it was time to move up to high definition TV.  While in Tucson we had an automatic Motosat TV dish system installed on our roof (it is getting a bit crowded up there), and purchased a Verizon Air Card and router for our Internet service.  So no more setting up, breaking down and storing the tripod system and dish - just push a button and Viola!  Done.  We will sell the old system while in Apache Junction.

On March 15th we start our trek north.  Our first stop is Florence, AZ to visit Claudia and George whom we met last summer in Sutherlin, Oregon.  Additionally, our friends Allen and Sheri are coming down from Sacramento to visit and catch a few SF Giants spring training games.  We will then move on to Apache Junction (Phoenix area) and Susan will fly back to Sacramento for her annual Bodega Bay adventure with the "Usual Suspects" women.

Life is good.