Spring 2023

Early in the spring, Mike mentioned that he was going to Surprise on April 2. He said that myself and June were welcome to join him there. I asked the siblings if anyone would want to join us and got no interest. So I was planning to go. June also booked a VRBO in Newport Beach for the second week in April.

Around March 10, Mike said that his tenants in Surprise were planning to vacate around the 15th, and it would be empty until April 2, and we could use starting then. June agreed to join me there until she flew to LA to be with her kids on April 2 (before the VRBO).

That spring was unusually wet, which led to a 'Superbloom' of wildflowers in the desert. We hiked several times and witnessed it like we have never seen before. In particular, the Sonoran Preserve was so nice that we returned there with Mary.

See the wildflower pics. Click to turn on the music.

14th - We got up early, had little / no breakfast, and drove to Palm Desert to meet Geoff and Sue for a late breakfast at Wilmas. While there, June received her scheduled call from Dr. Kramer, her wrist surgeon, that everything looked good from the X-rays. YAY! We then drove the long trek to Surprise.  We got into Mike's place and had dinner at an upscale Charcuterie nearby which was pretty good.

That evening at 8:45 we heard loud explosions outside.

In the sky were beautiful fireworks being launched at the nearby Surprise Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.

15th - It rained, so we went grocery shopping for all the essentials. As we were parked in front of the condo, June got an unexpected call from Dr. Kramer, saying that after hearing her complain about pain in her left wrist, he went back and looked at the X-rays again with a colleague. They concluded that a screw has loosened and could possibly be impinging on her wrist joint, which would account for the pain. He suggested that another surgery to remove at least one screw would be needed. As June riddled him with questions, he suggested that he have his colleague call her and answer her questions.

Later that day as it cleared up, we went to the pool and checked out the exercise room. We had spaghetti for dinner.

16th - I played pickleball for about 1.5 hrs. at the round-robin nearby.

June talked to Dr. Paci, the hand specialist. In the end, June and I were convinced that she would have to figure out a way to get a CatScan of her left wrist and get it to Dr. Paci. After that, she  would probably have to get home soon afterwards for the inevitable surgery of some of the hardware removal. We spent a lot of time researching self-pay CatScans, how to get the results sent to Dr. Paci, and flights home.

We went to the exercise room and pool. We ate at the restaurant in 'The Village' which is what the residents at Sun Village call it. I loved the Roast Beef special. June hated the Filet medallions. 

Fri. 17th -St. Paddy's day. June managed to make an appointment for another call to Dr. Paci at 4:30pm. I played pickleball again and met a lot of new people. Lots of FUN! June started a routine of walking a loop around a few blocks here. We grilled burgers.

At about 6:00pm June called the orthopedic office to find out what happened to the call. Dr. Paci was still in surgery and would call before leaving for the week. When she did, she conceded that if June were very careful with her left wrist, it would probably be OK to wait until we returned from our trip on April 15. YAY!!

Sat.18th - We drove to Lake Pleasant and hiked the Wild Burro trail. We actually did see 3 wild burros!

Lake Pleasant from the Wild Burro trail

After almost every hike on this trip, we stopped at Starbucks for a coffee / tea, then hit the pool afterwards.

Tues 21st - Drizzled almost all day, so we returned the borrowed bag (for June) from the golf course. We filled our big water jugs in the exercise room, and took a long walk around the houses across the main road in the Village. We strolled into the hallway near the exercise room and started playing ping pong. We noticed 3 others nearby unpacking their ping pong paddles, so we invited them to play. There is a HUGE number of ping pong players here. They invited us to play the following day at 10am. I was planning to play pickleball instead.

Wed 22nd - It was pouring rain early in the morning which continued until about 1:00pm. So I went to the rec center and played a little ping pong. June went walking. There had to be 25 people there playing on 3 tables, so I left when the wait got too long. We drove up to White Tank regional park and hiked to the waterfalls. There was so much water we couldn't get to the waterfalls. Weird!

Thurs 23rd - We hiked at the Sonoran Preserve. The wildflowers were almost overwhelming. We each took over 25 pictures. See the desert flower pics. Click to turn on the music.

Fri. 24th -  We went to a 1:00 game at Surprise stadium with Dennis and Mary. We got there about 1:15 and the Royals had already scored 3 runs. That turned out to be the only runs in the game. We came back to the condo, then went to State 48 for dinner.

Giants vs Royals

Sat 25th - We drove to Peoria to hike the Vietnam Memorial Trail. It was pretty short, but very nice.

This memorial at the top of a small hill

Sun. 26th - I played golf with Dennis, Alex, and his friend Andrew at Coldwater Golf Course in Goodyear. It was pretty expensive for the course. I had a good front 9, but then started drinking with Dennis and I fell apart. Had an 38 / 43 for 81.

Mon 27th - We hiked 2.5 miles at Sunrise Mountain Preserve. The big surprise there was the Ocatillo trees were blooming.

We went out for dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse very close by.

Tues 28th - Headed north to Sedona, Az. Spent the day hiking the Scorpion/Pyramid trail (very nice), then had lunch at Picasso Italian (gluten-free).  Seeing that we were near the Soldiers Pass area, I started looking at the new bus system. The area now has NO parking at the trailhead; you either walk a couple miles there from the new parking area, or take a shuttle which is very infrequent. SUCKS!! So we walked a little way towards the trailhead and back to the car. On the way out of the area, we saw three wild boar crossing the street. I took off to get a picture but didn't find them. Then we drove back toward the Bell Mtn area which was so overcrowded on the way in that we couldn't park. We did a 2 mile hike there, then we headed home around dusk. See the Sedona pics

Wed 29th - I played pball, then we went grocery shopping. Hung out by the pool and weight room. Putted for a bit in the evening.

Thurs 30th - Cold and windy. I played pball, we had bfast at Peter's cafe, then hung out by the pool. We had dinner at Dennis & Mary's. Talked with Mike; he invited Sarah's friend Howie to stay there for a week starting next Tues. He would arrive a day after Mike.

Fri 31st - Hiking with Mary back to Sonoran Preserve. This is when we saw a Rattle Snake near the trailhead. Flowers

Sat April 1st - Did our usual routine at the condo. June getting ready to leave.

Sun 2nd - I woke up early to drive June to the airport for a 10am flight to SoCal, then pick up Mike arriving at 11:15. I parked in Zone A, paying little attention to the 'Area 5'. I walked June's suitcase in, lifted it onto the checkin window, said goodbye, then looked for a place to eat. I gave soon and left the airport to get something to eat. Then came time to find the car. It took me awhile to realize there were 2 'Zone A' locations; one it Area 4 and another in Area 5. UGH!!

I tried to find a place to eat near the airport and soon gave up and went to Jack-in-the-box. I managed to find a car wash with a free vacuum. Eventually I found a nice place to park and wait for the call that Mike's plane landed. When I was at the agreed upon door at 'Departures AND Arrivals' we realized that there are two sides of the terminal. He could see me through the windows and it was a fairly quick pickup.

Later, Mike, Dennis, Kenny, and myself played Falcon Dunes, the more exclusive course at Luke AFB only for military and vets. We had a very late 3:45 tee time so we didn't finish. We went back to the condo and had burgers, potato salad, and beers afterwards.

Falcon Dunes

Mon 3rd - I returned to my usual routine of pball in the morning. Later, I mostly watched Mike tackle the leaky ice maker connection under the kitchen sink. He is a professional handyman and has the skills to prove it. We had dinner somewhere that night - can't remember.

Tues 4th - Mike drove to the airport to pickup Howie. I didn't see them until later that night. Howie slept on the couch.

Wed 5th - They headed to some expensive golf course in the area. I chose the cheaper, and still very nice Falcon Dunes. Got lots of pics of the planes flying overhead. Howie again slept on the couch. That day Kenny offered me his spare bedroom.

Thurs 6th - I did the usual pball, then moved my stuff to Kenny's. Hung out with him, walked to his RV, then went to Trivia that night and joined his team. It was a lot of fun!

Fri 7th - I again went to Falcon Dunes, and Kenny joined me at the last minute. He played one of his best rounds ever! We had a beer afterwards and watched a crazy roadrunner trying to get in the cafe. But when I opened the door for him, he took off, so what are you gonna do?

Roadrunner trying to get in

Later that day Mike, Howie, and myself, met Dennis and Mary at a very nice Mexican restaurant off the 101 and Bell.

I called June that evening and she told me that Garrett was playing in a tournament that weekend. I decided that it was time for me to leave the desert.

Sat 8th - Took off for the Newport Beach Marriot Resort. I stopped a couple of times, but the most memorable was at the Chiriaco Summit just east of the Coachella Valley. I took a nice walk up into the hills. Reminded me of my time with Bernie, just walking into the desert.

Didn't bring my good camera, but use your imagination. San Gorgonio Mountain in the distance

I arrived later that afternoon, met them all at the pool, and proceeded to almost drown Cora. Then we had pizza and roasted marshmallows.

Sun 9th - Easter Sunday!

Lots of fanfare at the resort.

Garrett left for work and we had brunch at True Food at Fashion Island. June and I were there until the following Friday, and this was the only day the sun came out.

Mon 10th - Took a shuttle to Crystal Cove State Beach. Walked and played with the kids, then had lunch at the little cafe there on the beach. Very good! They left that evening.

Crystal Cove Beach

Tues 11th - June and I walked North on the State Beach.

Wed 12th - More hiking.

Thurs 13th - More hiking.

Fri 14th - Drove home.