Apricity West 3

October 28, 2022 - Friday

Steak night at the Elks tonight - always plentiful and delicious. 

October 29, 2022 - Saturday

First time this trip to see John (Rich’s cousin) and Eileen in Surprise. It was great to see them and catch up on stuff. We went to the Wolfhound for the guys’ Guinness and a huge amount of Guinness batter fried shrimp and onion rings... 

 

Interesting story came up on my Autio App - Flora Mae Statler named the town Surprise (1938) because “she would be surprised if anything ever came of the town.” She sure would be surprised to see this city today as it is growing leaps and bounds as retirees flock to Sun City Grand (where John and Eileen live) developed by the Del Webb firm! New homes and apartments are springing up where vegetables once grew. Golf, baseball, tennis and pickleball are the big attractions here. In 2010, the city found property records that Flora was the owner before meeting her husband, real estate developer and state legislator, Homer Ludden, who the town believed to be the owner. Initially, the one square mile of land was to be subdivided for inexpensive homes for agricultural workers and held only houses and a gas station.  

Interesting shop on the side of the road headed for Surprise.

October 30, 2022 - Sunday

Shopping at Safeway at 8am. Then laundry and puzzling. I met a new person at the puzzle - Eilee. That’s not a typo - her name is Eileen without the “n.” She has 5 kiddos (3 teens that are with her, plus her Mom) and works at Safeway in the Bakery as a packager. She and her husband sold their house and came down from Minnesota to get out of the cold. She jokes about how her kids tell her every day that she ruined their lives, but here they are here to stay. The school bus picks them up and drops them off from the small school here in Congress. They only have one friend each because the classes are so small. Love meeting people and hearing their stories...

Sunday Ice Cream Social was in the Activity Center this week. First time I’ve seen this facility due to COVID restrictions for the last 2 years. It is a great spot for gatherings…

October 31, 2022 - Monday

Happy Halloween 

Granddaughters, Leanna, Lily and Maci

Line danced and feeling better about my progress each time. Went to the post office today and picked up my new thumb ring to replace the one I had for decades but lost last year. I was sure I would find it in the motorhome or the bug when we unpacked in the Spring. NOT!

November 1, 2022 - Tuesday

Went swimming with Nancy and her daughter, Michelle. She and her husband just got in from Montana several days ago along with 4 horses and 4 dogs. They bought land up the road from here and will be riding and roping in the Wickenberg events. Played ukulele and went for a nice incident free bike ride today, too. This was the first real ride I’ve been on since breaking my fibula last year in Tucson when I hit loose gravel. 

 

I was told that 19 RV's were coming in today - 1st of November - a big month for snowbirds and ropers to arrive. 

 

November 2, 2022 - Wednesday

Good morning sunshine…

Line dancing, then lunch at the Elks Lodge. Then went to the post office to see if my absentee voting ballot had arrived - and it did! I sat right there and filled it out and popped it back in the mail. Congress, AZ (1887, population 1,811 in 2020) was once a gold-mining center for the Congress Mine and then a ghost town. Now it serves as a retirement and bedroom community for nearby Wickenberg. This does not include the hundreds of snowbirds who migrate here. It has a Dollar Store, gas station, post office, Fire & Rescue, 2 restaurants, 1 RV park (North Ranch), several horse ranches, and a ghost town. 

Downtown Congress…there is plenty of surrounding dry brush and sage for Fire & Rescue to watch over, but sadly, there is about one auto accident a day on the highways nearby. They are first responders AND are called if rattlesnakes are spotted. 

Just down the road a few miles is the thriving, ever growing 55+ Wickenberg Ranch with more than 2,800 homes by Trilogy. Only 370 homes remain on the market as of June 2022. 

Granddaughter Leanna informed me that she and her BFF got Student of the Month! Sooooo Proud of Her...

November 3, 2022 - Thursday

Rich goes to the Horseshoe for breakfast (biscuits and gravy) with the guys on Thursday mornings. Joanne and I practiced Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Livin’ On A Prayer and Rolling in the Deep today. Today we did more playing than talking. Afterward, stepped outside into rain and hail! Brrrrr…

 

Miss Ellie (92) played and sang at the jam today. She has a lovely voice - with attitude. 

Very chilly today - normally we are sitting outside most of the time, but Nancy came over to visit in the warmth of the electric heater this evening…