While driving around in Mesa we have noticed that some of the street lights look a lot like the alienspace craft from the 1953 “War of the Worlds” movie. What do you think? Are they just waiting to zap us?
So far, we have seen Mountain View Drive, Mountain View Estates, Mountain View School, golf course, salon, auto repair, swap meet, you name it, and they are scattered all over – some in Mesa, some in Gold Canyon and Apache Junction but, basically, you can see the Superstition Mountains from just about anywhere out here. They just seem to pop right up out of the desert. So really almost any place out in the desert has a “mountain view.”
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| Superstition Mountains |
Joyce was going to sweep the leaves off the patio one day but she procrastinated and then the wind came up and did it for her. She loves it when a plan comes together!
We played shuffleboard last Monday with the group from the park – about 20 -24 people. We have played at the indoor pavilion in Hemet but playing outdoors is a whole different game. They use cornmeal instead of wax on the court and they make sure to sweep it up afterward to discourage birds. Joyce’s team was ahead until the last frame when she landed in the “kitchen” which is worth minus 10 points!
We had tried to play one day last week, just the two of us, but it was very windy and, when the cornmeal gets blown off the court, the pucks don’t slide. They just come to a screeching stop halfway down the court.
Sun – Jan 29
Joyce’s cousins, Randy and Karen Wersch from Kamloops BC. came over for the day. They are staying in a park model in Florence, about 30 miles away. Was nice to see some familiar faces and we had a nice time catching up. Randy was recuperating from a table tennis tournament in Tucson so we didn’t get a pickleball lesson. Maybe next time.
Wed – Feb 1
Took a short drive yesterday to the Olive Mill in Queen Creek. We took the tour and learned a lot about olives and making olive oil.
• Olive trees are evergreen
• Olives come in lots of different colors
• It takes about 40 pounds of olives to make one gallon of olive oil
• Black olives in a can are not “ripe” olives
The mill has a nice little restaurant and store where you can buy dozens of different flavors of olive oil, including chocolate and bacon!
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| Our tour guide showing us how the olives are "raked" from the tree with a special tool. |
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| The "grinder" machine which crushes the olives. |
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| Vats of olive oil waiting to be bottled. |
Thurs - Feb 2
The other Jim West stopped by a few days ago for a visit and invited us to go to lunch with him and his wife as well as his cousin, Sue West Dennis, and her husband, Rich. Sue is a genealogy nut, like Joyce, and has traced their West line back to England n the 1400's! We had a great lunch at Paradise Bakery in the San Tan Village Shopping Center and Joyce and Sue compared notes and exchanged info. There didn't seem to be any obvious links but...
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Two Jim Wests L to R: Jim West, Jim West, Rich Dennis, Sue West Dennis, Joyce West, Linda West To add to the confusion there is still another Jim West in the Mesa area with the exact same birthday who gets his prescriptions filled at Costco also! Joyce's cousin, Bill Wersch, and his wife, Mary Ann, arrived at Gold Canyon RV and Golf Resort right next door to ours. They came over for Happy Hour and a short tour of the park. Was great to see family again and hear more about their Alaska RV trip. Weather is getting really nice. Creeping up into the 70's most days with lots of sun. Love it! |
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