Getting a feel for the place

Sat - Jan 14

Took a drive out to the Mesa Marketplace - a huge flea market, although not as big as College of the Desert.  It's all under cover and would probably take 3 hours to see everything, assuming you don't stop too long at any of the booths like the Red Dirt T Shirts or the As Seen on TV booth.  We bought a rechargeable LED flashlight because it was cheaper than buying new batteries for the old flashlight.

Went to a dance ine really the ballroom tonight.  Sat at a table with a bunch of Canadians - from Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.  They gave us some good-natured teasing until they learned that Joyce was originally from Manitoba.  The music was good and we got a chance to brush up on our dancing.  Folks here seem to be really into line dancing and couples pattern dancing.

Sun - Jan 15

That "R" word (for rain) is appearing in the weather forecast for the next couple of days and, sure enough, it is sprinkling.  Well, at least we can watch football today.  We checked out the Activities room and found lots of things to do but no Pegs and Jokers.  Also, no water volleyball.  There is a rubber stamp greeting card class on Sat. so Joyce will probably check that out as well as some line dance lessons.

Jim watched some fellows racing their radio controlled cars on the special racetrack here.  They let him try his hand at it and encouraged him to go buy a car.  The cars run about $500 and then they have to buy new tires every week or two at $15 a set.  Joyce encouraged him to just watch.

Fri - Jan 20

We like this RV Park because it is very quiet.  There is no traffic noise and we think everyone here goes to bed about 8 or 9 pm.  Almost all of the evening activities start at 6:00.  A few start at 6:30 and two at 7:00.  This is a bit of a problem for us because we don't usually eat dinner until 6:30.  We wandered into Card Bingo last Wed night and it looked like a lot of fun.  We might try that one as it's one of the 7:00 ones, although we were told to get there at 6:30 if we want to get a table.

Certain days of the week there is a Happy Hour down by the pool or in the ballroom from 3 to 5 pm.  On Fridays it 4 to 6 pm.

We played Bocce Ball yesterday.  The courts are brand new and there was no one there but we found balls and printed instructions in a little carry bag.  Not sure we did it right but it was a really close game and lots of fun.

There is a 6-hole Chip and Putt area near the park entrance.  We tried it out the other day but it's pretty lame.  It's all artificial turf and gravel, so if your chip doesn't make the "green" you land in the gravel.



Mon - Jan 23

Laundry day - Wow, Monday is a popular day for laundry but only $1.25 to wash and $1.25 to dry!  That's pretty reasonable.  Of course, you have to buy a laundry card which costs $3 and requires a $5 bill to purchase.  You must use a $5 bill to buy the card, not a $10 or $20, although the machine will take those denominations once you have a card ???

Sunset view from our patio