Florence, AZ - Oct 13, 2010 - May 7, 2011
We eagerly arrived at our Arizona home on October 13, 2010. This was the first time we had a stationary home to return to for over six years, so we were quite excited. During our six months of travel, several pieces of furniture and decorative items were delivered and received by our trusty home watchers, Bill and Clark. Also during our absence, the landscaping was completed and we were anxious to see the outcome.
Happily, everything was in good order and, after inspecting for scorpions (YIKES! thankfully there were none), we were able to move into our home and resume our life in our new community with ease. It was early in the season so many of our neighbors had not yet returned, but we reacquainted ourselves with those who were there and set out to meet many more.
Our seven months in Florence was spent completing our house decor, acquiring a golf cart, hiking, golfing, socializing and playing pickleball. If you are unfamiliar with it, pickleball is a cross between ping-pong and tennis, played on a slightly smaller tennis court. It is popular in many retirement areas around the country. From what we have gleaned at various emergency rooms and urgent care facilities in the region, it is an extremely injury prone sport. Within a short time our names were added to the injury roster. Bill gained some very impressive scars on his knees and some lovely patterned bruises, but was able to continue the sport after a few weeks off. Susan simply developed tennis elbow which took her out for the season.
During our stay, Bill played golf 3-4 times a week at our home course (Poston Butte) and shaved about 10 strokes off his handicap. Susan joined the hiking club finding fellowship, and a few cactus spines, on the beautiful desert mountain trails.
In January, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a hot air balloon excursion near Deer Valley, on the northern edge of the Phoenix metro area. Since the scheduled ascension was at sunrise, we took the Beast out of storage and stayed near Deer Valley for a couple of nights. We enjoyed the region and our activities included hiking in Cave Creek and exploring Scottsdale.
In early March, Linda, Susan's sister, came for a ten-day visit from Denver. During her stay we attended the Three Dog Night Concert at Encanterra, an upscale golf community just north of us, traveled to Scottsdale for the Annual Art Festival and wandered the meandering paths of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
On March 24th Susan flew up to Sacramento for her annual Bodega Bay adventure with "The Usual Suspects" and to spend a couple of days with Claire. Two days after her return, Roelina, a fellow "Suspect", flew down for a five-day visit. Susan and Roelina drove down to Tubac, an art community about 20 miles north of the border, stopping at the Titan Missile Museum along the way.
By late April it was getting warm and time to start thinking about hitting the road. We had a vague plan to spend the season in the Rockies, but in early May the snow was still too deep to head directly to the high country. We decided to spend the early season in northern Arizona and New Mexico. We made reservation for an RV park in Montrose, Colorado for the month of July and planned to just wander until then. By May the temperature gauge was hitting the 90s, so on the 7th we locked up the house, hitched up the car, bade adios to our neighbors and headed north. Destination: Sedona.
