I love surprises!

Feb. 20 – 27, 2007

Wow, this past week featured visiting with family and friends in the Phoenix area – and a huge surprise! Don’t ever underestimate the Ed and Helen Anderson offspring.

But, first I’ll back up to where my last blog entry left off – heading to the Florence/Coolidge (Arizona) Elks Lodge. Thankfully there were a few RV spaces not taken by a Good Sam club and I successfully backed Jeremiah and got set up. The weather was ideal – sunny and in the high 60s. This is an overnight stop for me.


Wednesday (Feb. 21) was a short driving day – just about 40 miles to Apache Junction. My hope was to stay two nights at Sierra del Saguaro RV Resort (a snowbird park) where my Minnesota cousin Gloria winters, and fortunately they had some spaces – narrow ones. This would challenge my back-up skills.

A survey of the space showed a tall palm tree right in front of a raised concrete slab that was intended as a patio. On the other side where my hook-ups are was the sewer drain that had a concrete block protecting it. It was quite narrow between the slab and the sewer and I had to back up.

Now if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you’ll recall that I backed into a mailbox in Kansas on my first Midwestern trip, and Jeremiah has some dings as a result. Could I miss the palm tree and squeeze into the small space?

Thanks to the advice of my friend Jesse, I got out my six orange traffic cones and lined them up in a curve from the sewer to the street – these would be my guides. I’d keep track of the tree using my right side mirror. Amazingly I managed to get into the space on the first try!!! These photos show the tight fit.



Wednesday evening was the monthly potluck at the RV park and afterward we played Progressive Rummy with two other cousins – Alton and Marcella (also from Minnesota).

Friday’s park outing was to Organ Stop Pizza for lunch. Besides delicious buffet-style pizza and salad, the restaurant features a huge, fancy organ that is played by a man who never smiled – just looked bored and unhappy.



My sister Margy (lives in Tempe) called to tell me: “you are strongly encouraged to be here on Friday morning.” She wouldn’t say why. Puzzled and curious, I changed plans to leave Apache Junction on Thursday afternoon, driving to my brother Ed’s home in Tempe. Jeremiah just fits in his driveway. Still no one would tell me anything about what to expect on Friday morning. All I knew was to be ready by 8 a.m.

The surprise? My sister Linda had flown down from Reno to spend the weekend! What a treat! And before the weekend was over, my Prescott Valley sisters – Elaine and Susan – were also there. And before the weekend was over, I had also visited with an aunt, a nephew and three nieces.

On Sunday afternoon I packed up and drove about 40 miles to Goodyear to visit my high school friend Rita who lives in the Estrella Mountain foothills. And on Monday we met two other friends for lunch: Sylvia and Marion. I’m having such a good time reconnecting – after 50 years – with some high school friends.



This morning (Tuesday) I continued west, ending at Mayflower County Park just north of Blythe, California. I’ll be here two nights.