HOV Lanes in Phoenix (Monday, July 3rd, 2017)

One of the things we realized this time in Phoenix is that they have great HOV lanes.  They are for cars with 2 or more people only. You can't pay to drive in them with a single person, and you don't have to have any special gadgets to use them.  You just jump into them and drive if you have more than one person in your car.  

The best part about their HOV lanes is that they have shortcut exits to most of the other major highways.  For instance, if you are on the I-10 and need to exit onto the I-60, normally you would have to get out of the HOV lane in order to exit.  But in Phoenix, the HOV lane has a flyover exit that is a shortcut onto the other highway.  It is ingenious!  

They really mess with google maps, because it doesn't know about the shortcuts, but we love them, and eventually google maps catches back up.  It's great!

Diamondbacks vs Rockies (Sunday, July 2nd, 2017)

We enjoyed our coffee on the front porch again this morning as we always do, then started making our plans for the day.  We noticed that the Colorado Rockies were in town to play against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Seeing that we are fans of both, it seemed like the perfect game to go see.

We headed downtown to Chase field.  As usual, there was very little traffic in the downtown area.  The dome was already closed for the game when we got there, so we didn't get to watch them close it this time.  

We parked about four blocks from Chase field, and it cost us $5.  In Denver, parking would cost $15-$20, and it would be a much longer walk than 4 blocks. 

As we were walking from the parking lot to Chase field, there were about 6 semis parked along the street for the WWE.  The girls couldn't resist a picture or two.

Then off to chase field we went!

When we got inside, it was nice and cool.  Perfect weather for a baseball game!

Before the games start, you can walk right down to the field to take pictures and get autographs.  It's a really low key environment.

Right by home plate, there are stairs leading down to an underground restaurant, so we went down and checked it out.  It was pretty cool!

Then back up to the field to see if we could get some pictures before the game.

Ryan Hanigan, the Rockies catcher, giving some quick autographs before warm ups.

Since it is the 4th of July weekend, the Diamondbacks had a military appreciation day, complete with the swearing in of a new army class of enlisted men and women.

And the Rockies were decked out in their 4th of July finest!

  

At the top of the 9th inning, the game was tied, and we were hopeful that the Rockies could break their loosing streak, 

but in the end, the Diamondbacks came back for a win.

When the game was over, we walked over to a nearby restaurant called the Arrogant Butcher to grab a bite to eat.

They had a meat and cheese tray called the Butcher's Platter that was to die for!

With full tummies and heavy hearts, we headed to the airport to drop our youngest daughter off.  It was time for her to head back to work and life.  It is always so hard to send them off after spending time with them.  We already can't wait to see her again.


Our oldest daughter was able to stay one extra day with us, although it didn't seem like much extra time at all.  So we enjoyed it the best we could before he had to say goodbye to her as well. The time with both of the girls just seemed so short, but we feel like we made a lot of great memories in the short time we had.

Heading to Phoenix (Wednesday, June 28th and Thursday, June 29th, 2017)

We really wanted to see the girls over the 4th of July holiday, so our first thought was to head to Colorado for a long weekend.  But as we thought more about it, we thought that it might be fun for the girls to come see us instead.

Since there isn't a commercial airport in Lake Havasu City, it gets a little interesting when people want to come for a short stay.  They can fly into Las Vegas, rent a car and make the 2 1/2 hour drive, or if we need to pick them up, we have to make the 2 1/2 hour drive each was to pick them up and again to drop them back off.  That can get to be a lot of driving for a weekend.

So we decided it would make things a whole lot easier if we drove to Phoenix and stayed at my parents house for a few days.  Then the girls could fly into Sky Harbor which is only about 1/2 an hour from my parents house.

This time of year, when the weather really heats up, dust devils form everywhere.  They are like mini tornadoes, but they really aren't destructive.  They might bend up an awning or easy-up, but other than that, you don't hear of any damage from them.  But I think they are still interesting to watch.  Sometimes they only last for a minute or two, and other times they can really get going.  We saw a lot of them on our trip to Phoenix.

Once we arrived in Phoenix, we took our time getting the house set up.  We typically take all of our own sheets, bath towels, wash clothes, dish rags and dish towels.  That way we don't have to worry about washing my parents before we leave.  We just pack ours up with us and wash it all when we get back home.  It's so much easier.  We switch out my parents sheets for ours, and then just switch them back before we leave.

Once we were settled in, we took some time to enjoy big city life. There isn't a lot of shopping in Lake Havasu City, since it is a fairly small town, so we have to take advantage of outlet stores and Costco when we have the chance.  We each got a new pair of tennis shoes for our work outs (we were way past due), and a few pieces of new clothing at the Tanger outlet mall in Glendale.  

Then off to a produce market that one of the gentlemen in Leisure World told us about.  It called the Superstition Ranch Market.  They have everything, and some of it is very well priced.  Other stuff wasn't a deal at all.  The one thing he told us was not to buy more than we could eat in a few days, because it usually doesn't last very well.

The selection was amazing!  We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to check it out and see what they had.

Our final outing of the day was to look at some model homes that are in the Phoenix area.  We love to look at the outdoor spaces, and just see what is available.  One of the things that drives us crazy about most of the newer communities is that the developers take out bonds to pay for the infrastructure of neighborhood.  It is then paid back by an extra tax imposed on the home owners in that neighborhood.  It makes the taxes in these neighborhoods much higher than it should be.

But we did find a few really nice outdoor spaces.  We better start saving.  These would be really fun to have.

Behind the door is a bathroom for the pool.  What a great outdoor area!

Now back to the homestead to get ready for our girls to come.  We are so excited!

A Visit to Leisure World (Wednesday and Thursday, April 5th and 6th, 2017)

We're heading to Denver to see our youngest daughter, but decided it would be nice to stop in Mesa and see my parents first.  We usually fly out of McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas, but this time we booked our flights out of Sky Harbor in Phoenix instead.  The drive is a little bit farther than Vegas, but that gave us a few relaxing days with my parents before we left.

We always enjoy a walk around Leisure World.  The ponds are so relaxing, and we enjoy the grass, something we don't often see in Lake Havasu City.

After enjoying a leisurely afternoon, my parents suggested that we head to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner. It's one that my parents really like, and of course, we like it too.

We always order curries, my parents order more from the chinese menu with sweet and sour chicken and kung pow chicken.  They were all very good.

When we had finished our dinner, my parents suggested a couple of things for our evening entertainment.  One of them was a free concert, put on by the Ahwatukee Foothills City Band.  It was held in the courtyard at Recreation Center One, right there in Leisure World, so we had about a one minute commute.  Not bad!  Steve and I love live music of all kinds, so this sounded like a great option.

Some of my parents friends joined us for the concert. 

It was a gorgeous night.  The perfect temperature.

After the concert, my parents friends invited us over for ice cream. A treat we don't often have, so that was great!

The next morning, we spent some more time just enjoying the proximity of Leisure World.  It is right in the heart of Mesa, so no matter which gate you leave from, it is surrounded by restaurants and shops in all directions.  We spent the morning shopping, and bought my mom and new swimsuit and cover up for her birthday and Mother's Day. That was fun, because it's not something she would likely go shopping for on her own.  We didn't think there was a chance in the world that we'd find one, but we did, and it was so cute on her!

After a nice leisurely afternoon, my parents went back to the house to get ready for a show they had tickets to in the evening, so we just lounged around Leisure World and enjoyed all that it has to offer.

This duck was enjoying a little spring shower.

We enjoyed spending a little time by the pool before leaving for the airport to catch our flight to Denver.

It was so nice spending time with my parents, meeting some of their friends and seeing all of the fun stuff they do to stay entertained.  Thanks for letting us invade you!

Let's Play Ball, Phoenix (July 20, 2015)

It's our 30th anniversary today and Steve's official first day of no work. We got up early and went to the admin building here at Leisure world to try and take care of an insurance issue. We couldn't do anything until the computer lab opens at 10:00, so we went back and had a little coffee and gluten free banana bread for breakfast and waited for our youngest daughter to wake up then went to Recreation Center 2 for some swimming exercise and hot tub. 

Leisure World has two recreation facilities with swimming pools, so you always have a choice.  When the computer lab opened up we went back to Recreation Center 1 (where the computer lab is) to use their printer. We sat by the pool and filled out our paperwork (rough life) then went back to the admin building to fax it over. We had our leftover Thai food for lunch and still have more leftovers. 

Tonight we are going to go to a Diamondbacks baseball game in downtown Phoenix so we left after lunch so we would have time to explore downtown Phoenix before the game. As we got off the highway and approached downtown Phoenix, we were surprised at how small the downtown area was. We started looking around for an area with shops, little restaurants, etc. There are a lot of hotels, and some university buildings, as well as Chase Field and US Airways field but not much else. It appears they are trying to revitalize the downtown Phoenix area by making it a college town. There are a lot of Arizona State University (ASU) buildings going into the downtown area and they are currently building a new ASU law school there. But since it is summer, there are no students and the streets are deserted. There are a few small restaurants in the area, but not much else. So our idea of walking around the downtown area didn't work out very well.

It is mid day in downtown Phoenix and not a sole in sight.  People must hibernate during the heat of the day.

Chase field is a stadium with a retracting roof, and when we first came into downtown it was open. The stadium has real grass, so they have to leave it open to give the grass sunlight. But by the time we entered the stadium at 5:00, the roof was closed, and the stadium was nice and cool. 

You can see that the stadium roof is open as we approach

But closer to game time, they closed it and cooled it off inside.

The temperature outside today is about 108, so the air conditioning is a huge relief. At Coors Field in Colorado, there is always that chance that we will be either baking in the sun, or sitting in rain, but here at Chase Field, it is incredibly pleasant. We walked around the main floor concourse, to see what kinds of food they had for dinner. We had done our research ahead of time, and knew that they had a gluten free stand that sold GF hot dogs and nachos as well as snacks. We really enjoyed just walking around and talking to all of the nice people on the concourse. The most interesting thing we saw in the stadium was a Mountain Side fitness facility. You could look in through the windows and see people working out as we were walking around the stadium. They also have a beautiful pool and hot tub that you can reserve to watch the game if you want. 

Hot tub and swimming pool overlooking the field inside Chase Stadium

We finally decided on some yummy looking hamburgers, and our daughter had loaded nachos for dinner. We found our seats and enjoyed our dinner. 

During the 4th inning, our row of seats all won lottery tickets from the Arizona lottery, so that was a really fun bonus, and we had our moment of fame on the mega-tron. 

Sorry it's blurry, but our moment of fame on the Mega-Tron.

We ended the evening with the Diamondbacks beating the Miami Marlins 3-1. What a great way to end our night!