2019 Winter/Spring Highlights leading to our 2019 Summer Vacation

We took off Saturday June 1st to start our 4 month 7000 mile
summer vacation.  We have 5 states we haven't camped in (Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota), so our route will include those plus stops to see our kids in North Carolina, family in Kentucky/Indiana/Michigan, and friends in many other states.

2019 Winter/Spring Highlights

Lest you think we rest on our laurels when we are not in our RV cavorting about the country in the summer months, I thought I would give you a quick update on life since we got home in October. 

In October I was sidelined from golf and pickle ball for a couple of months after I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my back.  Tony continued to play pickleball and even got himself elected to the pickleball club board and is now, and for the next two years, the treasurer.  We jumped back into our regular Tuesday routine of Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner before Euchre with several friends.  I have been pretty lucky at Euchre and since we have been home I have had several first place finishes along with a few second, third and fourth place standings also.  Tony has had a couple of scores in the money also.  We always say we would be hard pressed to find anywhere else to have so much fun for a dollar. 

The Christmas holidays were hectic as usual with trips to Michigan and Indiana.  In January we flew to Florida and met our kids and their friends for a Caribbean Cruise.  One of our stops was Roatan and we got to check out my youngest brother's Turtle Beach Vacation and Dive location.  Check them out on Trip Advisor.  It was beautiful and we were so glad to see his visions becoming reality.  Got to catch up with my aunt near Orlando and Dennis and Janice whom we met on last year's Alaska Trip.

By February it was time to finalize the 2019 summer route and get serious about making the remaining  camping reservations.  Easier said than done given time differences and weather disparities.   A lot of the places we will be this summer were on winter hours or not open at all.  By the end of March we were almost complete and the weather finally got nice enough to ride bikes again; to the clubhouse for exercise classes and pickleball round robins and afternoon Mahjongg games.  I managed to eke out a second place finish in our three table American MJ tournament.  My golf game has been unspeakable this season since I had so much time off.  Golf videos and lessons have not helped but I still have fun playing.  Occasionally we do a couples golf scramble on Sunday afternoons too.  

Viva Las Vegas...In April we hooked the new truck to the repaired RV and headed to Vegas.  Tony handled the learning curve to the built in brake controller and exhaust brakes nicely.  We met Ami and Brian there with some of their friends from Michigan.  It was a fun relaxing week.  Beautiful hotel lobbies, fountains, restaurants and our first Cirque Du Soleil show (KA).  Slot machines, Fremont Street at night, Craps, Swimming and people watching also figured in as entertainment.  There was lots of bare skin from both genders, and unfortunately we watched a guy stealing coins from a fountain but he was gone before security arrived. 

On May 1, our 37th Anniversary, we went to watch the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees thanks to a gift from our RI friends Tony and Carol.  With most of the snowbirds gone and several friends out of town we hit the road one Saturday in May to drive to Mt. Lemmon.  Lots of buzz words can summarize the trip.  Pinal Pioneeer Parkway, Coronado National Forest, Santa Catalina Mountains, Sky Islands Scenic Drive and un-melted snow.  Mt. Lemmon (named after the first woman to summit the peak on her honeymoon in the late 1800's) has 5 climate zones (desert, grassland, rocks, woodlands, forest) in a 6,000 ft climb for a 24 mile drive equals a National Geographic Biodiversity Hotspot, with blooms everywhere (palo verde trees, saguaro, prickly pear and cholla cacti, and wild flowers).  Get the Mt. Lemmon app put together by the University of Arizona.  It is a great narration of geology and science as you make the drive and it is free!  Though we knew UofA has a mirror lab we found out they also have a tree ring lab.  The science of tree rings is called dendrochronology, who knew?  Studying tree rings gives insight to growth history especially during weather extreme years and the stress of fires.  A Mexican lunch at El Charro with Bobbie and David from our Alaska adventure rounded out the day trip to the Tucson area.  Memorial Day weekend we went with Tony and Carol to golf the Arizona Biltmore and take the Happy Hour History Tour.  The AZ Biltmore is listed in our 1000 Places to See in the US and Canada book and has interesting architecture & history.

We have read a couple of books (Baldacci continues to be a favorite),  Tony painted most of the interior door frames, and my lettuces (particularly the arugula) thrived in February and March with the cooler weather we had.  Family visits filled in February and March.  In addition I shopped and we filled a couple of boxes with goodies to send to Tony's army nephews in Baghdad and Dubai.