I can't believe a month has flown by at the lovely Hacienda Solano Trailer Park! But I have grown to appreciate it more than my initial impressions, thanks to my great neighbors in the neighborhood, the close bike trails, the great location near family/shops/rental car, and a cheap laundry facility! I also took the plunge to rent a car here...and enrolled Sara in daycare for several days, so it was much easier to have some freedom. First I was able to attend a Food Tour in Old Town Scottsdale with Aunt Janet - that was fun to learn the history of Scottsdale while walking between 5 different restaurants where we sampled small plates of their specialities. Rusty Spur Saloon was first restaurant, serving Hatch Chile Slider Burgers (Hatch chiles are native to Arizona) - loved them!! Second was AZ 88, a contemporary, small plate bar known for their martinis (and my fave, the bathrooms!! - see picture). Next was Malee Thai Restaurant where we had coconut soup and egg roll and choice of beer or wine - soup and beer were excellent! Next on to Cowboy Ciao where they are known for the Stetson salad - reminds me of the bean dip except with spinach/arugula/dried crunchy corn with I think blue cheese dressing - all chopped fine, loved it!! And, finally, 3 hours later, we finished at a bakery that served cookies using mesquite flour, Mexican cocoa with spicy heat, and other southwestern flavors. My other field trips included a morning hike on South Mountain with Sara - unfortunately, I didn't get as early of a start as I should have, Sara was about to die of heat by 10am, and I slipped and twisted my left foot and knee, so we were both whooped by 11am! Then I finished the drive to the top of South Mountain, and had lunch at the top viewpoint where you can see all of Phoenix (the fifth largest city in US they tell me!). From there, on to South Mountain Farms - a working farm, couple restaurants, and outdoor picnic area under big shade trees - had a great ginger lemonade there!
On Thursdays, I took up yoga at the Mountain Shadows Resort - saw it on the Arizona morning show, which described a free yoga class on the lawn of the resort, facing Camelback mountain, at sunset every Thursday!! Sounded heavenly, even though I'd never done yoga and didn't really think I'd like it . But sounded like a place Sara could hang out on the lawn, and I liked the idea of the scenery and exercise. Next, upon advice of my yogi friends, I gathered the rubber backed mat from RV (which was trashed immediately after class due to the stinky smell of the rubber - real yoga mat purchased by second class!), my bike shorts and shirt, plus shower flip flops to make my first yoga appearance! When I arrived, I worried because I had to cut through the lobby to get to the courtyard, and I was trying to keep Sara low-profile - but the desk clerks and lobby manager came out from behind desks, out of offices, and made such a fuss over Sara that I was shocked! One guy was showing me pics of his Weim from his cell phone, while the desk clerks had asked if they could walk her around while I was in class - of course!! The class was beautiful against the sunset on Camelback Mountain, until I saw the desk clerks walking Sara across the golf course for a playful romp! By the time class was over, they had a dog bed in the lobby and had taken pics of Sara sitting on the leather benches at sunset - unbelievable! So, of course, I had to go back to yoga every Thursday thereafter since Sara couldn't miss this fun, and "her people" were looking for her each week, and even the valet parkers called out, "Bye, Sara" as we left! I considered getting her a room at the resort instead of investing in doggie daycare!! I also went to a community play in Gilbert with Aunt Janet . Gilbert is a charming old time Western town, and the theater was creatively arranged in the round, which was entertaining just in the presentation coming from all directions of the theater. My neighbor, Ed, was a great help in watching Sara while I did a few bike rides along the canal trails of the area. If I got an early start, I could easily ride 10-20 miles before it got really hot. And then Ed's "wine time" in the evening helped wind down the day! I did survive a record setting heat day for May in Phoenix - 107 degrees. Found that extreme heat outside heated my water intake so hot, that I could barely wash my hands from the "cold" water output since it had been cooking in the hose before coming into RV! Also, Sara showed me that she can't even step on the pavement by noon because the pavement burns her paws! We learned to do long morning walks, and found a neighborhood 2 blocks away that had real grass for Sara, not to mention all the dog parks we explored in the evening. Another pleasant meeting at the RV park, were my neighbors from Vermont, who were also in town to visit relatives, but always had good tips on RV maintenance or the sites of Phoenix . They recommended the Frank Lloyd Wright house, Taliesin West, which I did thoroughly enjoy. But most of all, a good friendship over morning coffee, was a great start to the day. And, I hope to see their mountain top in Vermont some day! Unfortunately, they lost one of their sweet cockapoo dogs to heart disease while in Phoenix - Sara will be forever grateful for their gift of leftover "sedatives" since she is worse than ever with her separation anxiety - now she even wants to get in the bathroom with me, and we all know this bathroom does not have extra space for her! Another day, we explored Schnepf Farms - a large farm of "you pick" peaches and apricots in season now, a large general store with preserves/salsas/honey made on the farm, and a restaurant of farm to table specialties. Fun, and dog friendly!! The RV repairs never happened because I was so disgusted with customer No-service at Camping World (said they'd give me an estimate within 2 days, but still getting promises to get back to me after 10 days), and RV Renovators who gave me a timely estimate, but could not find the time to talk to me when I called to accept their offer, despite 3 phone calls and promises they would call back - NOT!) . I then called Thor, the manufacturer out of Elkhardt, IN - found them very responsive, and have made an appointment to get the work done there on July 10 at the birthplace of my Axis!
I loved my time in Phoenix, found it so easy to drive around with their grid of streets, loved the neighborhoods and flowering plants, water features and ponds (especially Aunt Janet and Uncle Jack's soothing back porch after Aunt Janet's homemade Eggplant Parmesan!!), and then the time spent with Debbie - MS has taken it's toll on her so we spent afternoons in her room, eating my personal fave, peanut buster parfaits with chocolate soft serve while watching movies and remembering funny stories from the past! And, of course, loved having all my favorite stores (Costco, Trader Joe's, and Walmart) around every corner! On the 14th, I met Ed at the Hacienda's pool for "adult beverage" and a final Phoenix sunset! Unfortunately, I also acquired 2 more remembrances in the form of bug bites/welts on both arms - just hope they are not scorpion or spider bites because they are swollen red and hard, and I feel feverish sick - time for a loading dose of Benadryl! Time to get on the road again - Jenn and Linda are flying out to meet me, but won't be here til June 6, so have decided to add Yosemite, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, and Joshua Tree National Parks to my agenda.