Apricity West 2

March 25, 2022, Friday

Today I did 24 laps walking the width of the pool, 12 laps of swimming, and 50 more walking.

 

We stopped at Murphy’s Bar and had a great conversation with Matt, the bartender. Turns out he plays Mandolin and sings, met fiancee on Tinder, moved to Tucson on a whim to help his grandparents get back from Minnesota, pours a good Guinness, and turned me on to Strawberry cider.

Matt the bartender 

KFC dinner with Marilyn. We ate inside as it was too hot to sit out. More great conversations. She started her solo RV journey in 2017 and has been to all states except Alaska and that is happening in 2023. 

 

March 26, 2022, Saturday

Today Shannon, my daughter, was inducted into the Berkshire County Basketball Hall of Fame. Her father, a great athlete himself, had his sights set on organized sports for both of our kids from the time they were born. So proud💕

We ate dinner at T&J’s - Jim’s specialty of flank steak and fettuccini Alfredo accompanied by a delicious salad a la Terri!

I had picked up some blueberries which were quite bitter so Jim doctored them up with guava and orange liqueur over ice cream...

March 27, 2022, Sunday

Our last full day of play with T&J, so we filled it up starting at 9am at the DonutBar where they serve donuts with beer. Jim and his riding buddies visit here after an early morning bike ride. 

On to Hotel Congress with live music in the courtyard. A great duo of bass and guitar entertained us. 

Thunder  Canyon Brewery  

Cool art…

Pueblo Vida Brewery - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - 20 Breweries visited in the 2 months we were here!

20 Breweries!

Back to Borderlands and a pleasant surprise of more live music. Apparently there is a female brewer here - there is a program that sends women to Mexico to learn how to brew. 

A little dance step or two…

On our drive around town, we saw many more murals, including black and white tiles of people which Mike from Harbottles installed. Had crackers, cheese and salami at T&J’s - I gave them the Saguaro Cactus lap-ghan I have been working on. 

Sisters Cindy (Jimmy) and Leslie (Johan) took Mom out in Lee for her 92nd birthday❣️ Don’t they look great?!

March 28, 2022, Monday

Did my swim routine this morning before going to Harbottles. 

 

John Randazzo and another strummer gathered on the office porch for an impromptu jam session. I was invited to join them and they called out the chords as they played. John described this as a Buick mechanic, Ford mechanic, and Chevy mechanic trying to be Mercedes mechanics. 

March 29, 2022, Tuesday  

No swim today - black skies, possible lightning, 55 degrees, small hail pelts. 

 

Got my hair cut by Aysha, Terri’s hairdresser. 

Stopped at Murphy’s for a Guinness and a Strawberry cider. Gabe was the barkeep today - brother to the owner’s wife. He was born and raised in Tucson, went to U of A for business and he and his wife will be opening a coffee shop next door to Murphy’s. His parents came in and have friends visiting from the Adirondacks - small world!

 

Tonight was our final farewell to Terri and Jim. They were able to get out of work early to come over for dinner at TTT Truck Stop next door. It doesn’t seem possible that 2 months have passed and yet, we accomplished so much, visited so many great places, and created so many wonderful memories. We were able to celebrate a new job for Jim which he is very excited about. He is a very gifted artist and graphic designer who is moving upward and onward. Best wishes, Jim!

 

March 31, 2022, Thursday

Started the day off with my last swim/walk in the pool routine. Went for our last pizza, beer, and sour at Harbottles and picked up a four pack of beer for Perry’s birthday in May. When we got home we said goodbye to our neighbor on the left from Quebec and started picking up our table, grill, rug, wheel covers, et al. 

Our neighbor on the right (with 2 empty sites between) came over to introduce himself. After 1/2 hour of discussion we realized that this was the picnic table guy! If you remember from last year here, Lorenzo asked us if we would like a picnic table. We said, Sure and asked, Why us? He said, “You’re my neighbor aren’t you?” And here we are the last day of our stay realizing we were next door neighbors last year. He did offer us a table this year, but we declined as we had our little grill table set up and have chairs with tables on the side. He has been working here part-time for 5 years refurbishing picnic tables. He went over to get Susie, his wife, to meet us. It turns out, she journals every day! When we mentioned that we were moving to the site next to us on the right because of the flowers and concrete pads, they said they were moving into the one right next to that next year. So we will be neighbors again.   

 

Marilyn stopped over to say goodbye and we gave her a 4" x 6” picture. We will probably see her in Deming for a few days. Safe travels to all. 

We had a brand new A-Frame popup pull into the site on our right (New Mexico plates) and they were having trouble with the water - first time out in it. Rich helped him figure it out and, as always, he asked where we were from. When we said Berkshire County, he asked  where. Turns out he was born in Pittsfield, six brothers, Schnopps (spelling?) is the name. Small world...

Apricity West 2

March 18, 2022, Friday

Running out of time to complete our mission - 20 Breweries in Tucson! So today we hit 4 bringing us to 17. We are counting Tap Houses in this tally:

 

Crooked Tooth

Tap & Bottle

Bawker Cider House - Jim decided to find a cider house since I don’t like beer. Couldn’t believe it when I saw Mango Foxtrot on the board - I really liked it when at Borderlands. Though they make their own cider at Bawker, they also collaborate with other breweries. We learned the difference between brewing beer (grains, hops, water) vs. cider (fruit, yeast, juice).

Colorful restrooms

A lesson in cider making

Dillinger Brewery 

March 19, 2022, Saturday

Horseback riding for Jim and Rich today. Terri and I had good intentions of exploring the grounds, but ended up sitting on a sun drenched bench chatting...

Not this one 

The boys had a great ride (walk) and then dismounted with ease and grace - Ha! Rubbery legs and sore butts. One of the hands told us that they have "168 horses - 120 lbs. of hay on the intake, 130 lbs. of shoveling on the output. If only they could do that with nickels!"

On to an early lunch at El Charro East at the foothills of the Catalinas. 

Followed by drinks at the beautiful Arizona Inn established in 1930 for the rich and famous to enjoy.

We settled in and watched the 2010 version of True Grit which was awesome. Our bellies were so full that we did not have dinner.

 

March 20, 2022, Sunday

Had a relaxing day at Terri and Jim’s - doing art, playing ukuleles, and eating our corned beef boiled dinner, at last...

 

March 21, 2022, Monday

Just a chill day today - more art, crocheting, practicing instruments. 

 

March 22, 2022, Tuesday  

Back to Harbottles today and this time I tried a Hallgregor Longpants, a Raspberry/Basil Sour - light, slightly sweet. We learned a lot about our fellow customers today. Mike in his late 60’s is retired, but at one time had an army of workers who developed and installed tile structures on bridges, in wine cellars, etc. They traveled around the country and world doing commission work for the likes of Gene Hackman. He is doing smaller jobs now, creating in his workshop and installing on site. The owner of Harbottles, another Mike, creates all of his labels, logos and advertising. He told us about his favorite Mexican restaurant which is in the general area, Mi Nidito. Go early. The outside of the building doesn’t look like much. Hmmm...

 

March 23, 2022, Wednesday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM❣️

We arrived at 11:30 to a full parking lot. One person pulled out which allowed us to park within reason. As we entered the door, there was already a waiting line and we were told it would be 40 minutes! Well, that made it all the more intriguing. So we ordered Margaritas from the check-in person - no room for a bar. I mentioned to a woman in line, Michelle, how amazed I was that so many people ate lunch as early as this. She went on to tell me that her parents met here, were married here, and were meeting them here today. As always people talk about where they are from and she was from S. Portland, Maine on Little Sebago Lake! Her parents winter in Phoenix so she and her husband were here visiting after their road trip to the Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon. Wow! The Bickford camp, built by my great-grandfather, Arthur Hawkes, is on Panther Pond which runs into Sebago Lake. When her parents arrived, he wanted to know what lake we were on - Panther Pond. As a boy, he was a boy scout and knew every inch of Panther Pond from boating and fishing. I told him that Grandpa took us out fishing for bass and bullhead when we were kids - and that he drew around the fish on newspaper before he cleaned it to show the size. These cutouts hung on our wall for many years and I think there is but one left hanging. 

There are four children in their family, one boy and three girls; two live nearby and two across the country. The parents are putting it in a Trust to protect it after they are gone, just as our Dad did. 

 

We only waited about 25 minutes, and our delicious food was served within 15 minutes. There are 14 people toiling in the kitchen which must be very small. There are about 6 Mexican restaurants within a few blocks, but this one is booming. Some of the murals around were done by Mike (from Harbottles). It’s a great feeling to have your doors open at 11am and have a waiting line at 11:30... 

 

March 24, 2022,  Thursday

Found out that the heater in the pool is working, so went for a long walk/swim this morning. 24 laps walking across 4’ width, 12 laps of swimming the length, 12 laps walking across the width again. Ah, it felt soooo good to move!

Harbottles again for pizza and a sour for me. They are getting very busy with the offering of food…

Apricity West 2

 March 12, 2022, Saturday

Another great dinner at T&J’s - huge pork chops marinated in beer and spices, garlic broccoli, and Healthy Harvest Blend mixture from Trader Joe’s. 

March 13, 2022, Sunday

Appetizers at our place for dinner hit the spot. We sat outside in the shade of an oleander bush. T&J came over and Marilyn (traveling alone with Casita) joined us. We found that there were several things we had in common. She has a degree in culinary arts (as does Rich) from Oregon State (where Jim went to college). She owned and managed restaurants (like Rich; journals daily as do Jim and I (blog); walks 3 miles twice a day and loves to bike ride; checks her Fitbit regularly to stay on track; knits socks; was a math teacher; has two sons, one of which flies cargo planes… That is what we learned about her so far and there is much more to find out - quite an interesting person. This is what I love about camping - meeting people from all over the country and learning their story. 

March 14, 2022, Monday

Finally, they figured out the food program at Harbottles and it was worth the wait. We had a delicious meat lovers pizza, but they also have pretzels, handmade chips, and more. Rich picked up their anniversary glass.

Afterwards we went to Safeway (our first trip into a grocery store since we have been in Tucson - we use Instacart) and then Goodwill where we donated a pair of crutches and a never-used immobilizer brace. Yay! 

 

March 15, 2022, Tuesday

Laundry day at Terri and Jim’s while they worked. Rich went to a local barber while I waited in their beautiful courtyard amongst fluttering hummingbirds and skittering lizards. Video in the body of this email…

Went to El Molinito Mexican restaurant for an early lunch. No dinner tonight.

It was 2 weeks ago today that I had my spill so have not walked any distance to speak of yet. Today with the temperature being 80, I pulled my bathing suit out and it still fit - praise God. Lacquered up with sunscreen and went across the way to the small pool where I was alone for a spell. It felt so good to just walk back and forth in the 4-foot deep section dozens of times. I found out later why no one else was in the pool - the heater was broken! Don’t forget in the desert the nights get cold. Although it felt cold, I must be used to cold New England water. 

 

We sat in the shade for a while with a cocktail in hand when we could hear the strains of a guitar across from us. John Randazzo is a Classical Contemproary guitar player whom we had met at the beef stew dinner a while back. He has a CD out called Bella Voce on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes. There is a short clip of video in the body of this email. We sat with him a while and chatted and listened, even sang along to House of the Rising Sun. He handed Rich his guitar to hold while he went to get his business card, “Don’t drop it! It’s a $5500 guitar and can’t be replaced!” Ugh!

Video in the body of this email…

A new neighbor from Iowa pulled in next to us today - Dave. He was a teacher who retired at 55 with his wife, Cynthia, and they are full-time campers now. An avid bicyclist, he chose this RV park because of the bike trail nearby. Yes, we warned him about loose gravel on the road to the bike path! His wife will be here soon as she is visiting their son in Rockport, CT. Their daughter is in Germany with her new young family and they visit there often.

Ready for any ride… Cynthia arrived. 

March 16, 2022, Wednesday

Lily has a large clump of matted hair on the top of her chest. We are trying to clip out a little at a time - me with plastic gloves and a face mask.

This is a section off of Interstate 10 that we drive by frequently. I am amazed at all of the new homes under construction and then there is another plot of land that is all leveled with piping going in. 

My line dance teacher from North Ranch emails new dances to me. They had their teacher appreciation party recently and this is the crew I danced with. Miss them and the activity so much.

March 17, 2022, Thursday 

Had a nice visit with Marilyn today. We are glad she fits us into her detailed schedule and stops over when she sees us outside. It is always a lively conversation covering numerous topics of interest. 

 

Allergies have settled down with Claritin and Benadryl. If I do have symptoms, I chew a homeopathic pill. Leg is feeling great… arm scab has mostly fallen off, but is itching like crazy. Thankfully, that is the worst of it now.