SoCal and Arizona November 1 thru 18

June volunteered to watch Cora and Isla while Garrett and Alicia went to Cabo for a PGA event in which Garrett earned a spot. June got a round-trip flight leaving on Halloween morning. I drove down on Sunday, Nov. 2  and spent the 3rd and 4th with them. I slept mainly on the couch.

June and I did a couple of fun things while they were in school. In the evenings we took them to soccer practice, and dinner.

Cora's team was practicing while Isla and I played nearby.

Wed. 5th - I made the 5-hour drive to Surprise on Wednesday, Nov 5. I left fairly early and still had a bit of a road race heading east towards the desert. After about an hour I arrived at Morango Casino for breakfast. I suddenly realized that there had been a wind storm blowing the car from behind.

The pool area from the Casino Cafe. Can't tell that there is a windstorm. Seen one, you've seen them all. Haha!

Almost every afternoon at Mike's condo in Suprise I worked out in the exercise room for a bit, then laid by the pool in the 85 degree weather, swimming laps to cool off. Heaven!!

The pool. The exercise room is through double doors right behind me.

Thurs. 6th - I played pickleball in the morning and locked horns with their best. I played well but hurt my Achilles tendon. I vowed to rest it for the duration of my trip.

Fri. 7th - Encanto Golf Course. Mike, Dennis, Kenny, and Me. Nice public track, about $60 each. At some point Dennis asked if his left heel is coming up. See Dennis's swing

Sat. 8th - Mike's 73rd Birthday. Highlight was Mike, Kenny and Me for dinner (Pizza on Kenny) and 2 hours of Top Golf in Glendale. It was my first time and it was awesome! See one of Mike's shots.

Sun. 9th - Dennis, Mike, Alex, and me at Dove Valley Ranch. Really nice (discounted to $100) round of golf at Dennis' home course. I happened to have played a very good round for me. However, a couple of times I did take advantage of a local rule (created by Dennis and Alex): if a ball goes into the desert you get a free drop on grass.

Later we had dinner with Dennis, Mary, Alex, Sandra, and Oscar. I spent most of the evening outside chatting with Alex and Oscar.

I think this is the 18th hole.

Mon. 10th - June flew home. I hung out around the condo while Mike and Kenny played golf.

Tues. 11th - Veterans Day. Mike and I first drove about 30 minutes north to Anthem, Az. where they had an elaborate ceremony.

Hundreds of people there for this annual event.

The uniformed kids are ROTC Cadets. Notice the holes at the top of the stone pillars.

On 11/11 (Veterans Day), at 11:11am, the sun aligns through the hole to shine perfectly on a plaque at the base of the pillars.

The was Tuesday, ‎November ‎11, ‎2025, ‏‎11:15:46 AM, the best coverage of the morning.

We were going to do a hike up the ridge of nearby Daisy Mountain. However, AllTrails (app) failed to mention that the trailhead is inside a private golf course. We made several valiant attempts from different angles before we finally gave up. Instead we opted to drive out to Lake Pleasant for lunch. Our first choice was Scorpion Grill.

This burro was watching us as we drove into the parking lot and slowly pulled up next to her. She timidly walked up to the passenger window and whispered to Mike...

...Hey, you got a cigarette? So Mike lit one and gave it to her.

Turns out the Scorpion Grill is closed on Tuesdays, so we then drove 15 minutes to Dillons Bayou.

They were wide open, so we requested this nice table right on the railing. The food was delicious! Mike got a bbq pork sandwich with fries. I got the catfish fillet with cole slaw. As we were finishing our meal a few ducks come swimming up very slowly to the rail. The male Mallard looks up at Mike side-eyed and with his Donald Duck voice says...

..."You gonna finish them fries?" I'm pretty sure Mike wasn't quite finished, but he proceeds to toss fries to Mr. and Mrs. Malllard and to the Coots as well! What a guy!

Wed. 12th - Falcon Dunes golf with Mike, Kenny and me.

Thurs. 13th - Since this was the last day that I could possibly play pickleball with Kenny, we agreed to meet on the courts in the morning. He didn't show. But I played a game with June, a woman we met playing ping-pong on a previous trip. She played with another woman and I played with her far less competent husband. We barely pulled out a victory but, again, I hobbled home with my re-injured achilles tendon.

Fri. 14th - Falcon Dunes golf with all four. Really fun and HOT.

Sat. 15th - PopStroke putting with Mike. What a blast this was! We played 3 hotly-contested rounds of 18 holes each. There's 2 different 18-hole courses, corn-hole, and ping-pong, not to mention a full bar.

The was Tuesday, ‎November ‎11, ‎2025, ‏‎11:15:46 AM, the best coverage of the morning. See Mike nearly sink his 4th Hole-in-One!

Sun. 16th - I drove 5 very pleasant hours to Palm Desert to spend the night with Geoff and Sue. I took them to dinner (drinks and small plates) for their birthdays. Very nice!

Mon. 17th - In the morning I drove a couple of hours through San Bernadino, then Pearblossom to Santa Clarita for lunch with Anthony Mugavero and Lauri his wife. I chose this route, even through it takes an extra 30 minutes, because I hate road racing on the I210 for 50 miles at 75 mph in very crowded conditions. On the other hand, I love driving through the desert where traffic is very light, relaxing, and scenic.

Here is where I pulled over to stretch and call Mugavero. We agreed to meet at noon, (in about an hour) at Wood Ranch BBQ in Santa Clarita at the southern end of the Grapevine.

I haven't actually seen Anthony for about 10 years. But we talk on the phone a couple times every year around our birthdays. The traffic is very congested as soon as I get on the I5 and it is also raining. Nevertheless, I make it to the restaurant right on time. I approach the hostess and explain that I'm meeting a couple for lunch and that I would like a table where I can see the front door. She seats me, I order coffee and head to the restroom, looking around to see if they are already there. The place is pretty empty so I figure I would see them. I get back to my booth, constantly checking the door for everyone coming in. Time goes by and I still don't see them. After 30 minutes, I call him. He picks up and immediately asks, "Where are you?"

I respond, "I am at the restaurant! Where are you?!"

He says, "I'm at the restaurant!

I stand up in the aisle with the phone to my ear, scanning the restaurant. I spot an old man sitting about 5 booths behind my booth, staring at me, with a phone to his ear. We both start laughing hysterically. Lauri didn't join him, and even when I spotted him, I didn't recognize him. Apparently he didn't recognize me either. We never figured out who got there first. We talked for 1.5 hours and had a ball.

It was still raining when we left the restaurant and continued to rain all the way over the Grapevine. I stopped at the Quality Inn, Kettleman City for the night. It was nice, modern, and included 'breakfast'. I had driven about 5.5 hours that day.

Tues. 18th - Left for home early after having breakfast. The tule fog was scary for at least an hour. Then it became a very pleasant drive the rest of the way home, except for a 30 minute slog through some roadwork along 580 right after getting off the I5.

Great trip!!