A leaky meltdown, trinket shopping and some nifty dance moves

See, we get clouds too

Back in the resort we resumed our “normal” activities on Wednesday. Joan got up and went to her water aerobics and I headed to the gym for a workout.

After cleaning up from my workout I headed back to the wood carver shop and almost finished carving my eagle. I still have to carve some words into the board and then I’ll stain it and finish it. I’m learning as I go and getting lots of help from the folks who have been doing it for a while.

Around noon Joan and I headed over to the “Vendor Fair” which is a collection of folks trying to sell old folks stuff they need.  Things like pre-arranged funerals, Viagra info, hospice care, sky ambulance services, casino bus trips, RV supplies, property sales, that kind of thing. We collected a few free pens, some pads of paper and a chip clip, but our funeral arrangements remain unplanned and we’ll roll the dice on the air ambulance ride.

An RV spot we have our eye on

The afternoon was kind of quiet, but we had tickets for the Wednesday night concert which was a Simon and Garfunkel tribute group. They were a lot of fun and while the voices were good the musicians were outstanding. We have seen some great musicians at the concerts here.

I would list all the songs we heard, but just think of every big Simon and Garfunkel hit and you’ve pretty much got the play list.

We both slept in on Thursday (sleeping in for me is 6:45 a.m.) and I got up and showered and then headed to my Men’s Bible study. It was a great study and I’ve made some really good friends among the men who also attend.

A photo of the horse drawn trolley we didn't use in Tubac

After Bible study I headed back to the wood carving shop and completed the eagle portion of my project. I am still trying to come up with the proper font for the words on my “eagle” board.

I carried the laundry over to the resort Laundromat (one of two in the resort) so Joan could get our travel duds washed up. Believe me I offer to help, but just like shopping she seems to appreciate more my absence than my help. Being a “mule” is what I am best at.

After lunch and Joan’s soap opera we headed to the store to pick up some groceries and a movie for tonight. We picked up “Red 2” a Bruce Willis thriller than we have both been wishing to see.

Joan made one of my favorite dinners – Taco Salad – and we enjoyed a quiet night at home with a movie.

Ants made of metal and rocks - only $10 each

On Friday Joan and I went our separate ways for exercise, she to water aerobics and me to the gym. Then I checked on hotel rates for my cousin who is planning a visit here in March. We had a leisurely day around the trailer and looked at an RV property here that is for sale.

We walked around the park together and took a short drive to return the movie to the “Red Box.” I talked to my Dad on the phone and a friend in East Lansing. All was going well until Joan noticed a leak coming from the water heater compartment on the outside of the trailer.

Plumbing is my very worst nightmare. It is my emotional Kryptonite. Simple, I thought, just tighten the leaky plug and I’m done. Except like every plumbing job I ever do, I created a worst problem when by tightening the plug I somehow caused it to spring an even bigger leak.

Eventually, I had to shut off the water, pull the plug and then drive into the teeth of the Tucson rush hour to find an RV parts supply house to replace the plug that I broke. Trust me, I was not in a good mood and like every other plumbing project I have ever taken on, ended up apologizing to Joan for losing my temper in my attempts to fix the unfixable.

Some of the Tubac crowd and vendors

The new plug seems to be holding so except for a large muddy pool outside our trailer there is little evidence left of the plumbing disaster.

Joan made a great pork roast for dinner and we tried out the new microwave potato cooker I bought in Vegas. Part of it worked, but some of the potato never really got cooked so we have a little more work to do on the “As Seen on TV” microwave potato cooker. It works really well on stale bread, however.

After dinner, Joan talked to her sister Diane and then we headed to tonight’s resort concert “Boomerama Blast” a Sedona-based group that played dozens of hits from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

A forest of metal flowers and art

The group was fun, humorous, but most of all very talented. The play list is also too long to list here, but all good songs that most of you over 30 would recognize.

I started Saturday with a workout at the fitness center and then Joan and I got cleaned up for a trip to nearby Tubac, an historic town just about 20 miles north of the border with Mexico.

Tubac was hosting its annual arts and crafts festival and we and half of Arizona descended with us on the little town today. We systematically walked up and down the three streets of downtown Tubac visiting all the booths and regular shops in the town.

A Saguaro cactus from old golf clubs

Joan picked up a few trinkets and gifts for family and friends. It was also a great test for Joan’s new knee which is giving her more and more freedom as time goes on.

It always amazes me to see the unusual and wonderful artwork created by folks. Metal art, which is one of my favorites, was everywhere and if I had room in the trailer for it I would have bought up a lot more than we did. Actually we bought very little.

There were beautiful photographs, watercolors, oil paintings, leather goods, jewelry, feather paintings and many other wonderful works of art.

The shops, which are always there, also were open and we visited most of those as well. We spent more than four hours there. There was a furniture store that among other pricey items sported a mesquite dining room table for $15,000, each chair that goes with it costs $1,100.

As Joan told the woman working in the store, we’ll be back if we ever hit the lottery.

Rock, paper, scissors sculpture - just $24,000

On the way home I drove Joan through Madera Canyon so she could see the trailhead to Mt. Wrightson, the long hike I took last year and again a little over a week ago.

After that we drove back toward Tucson and had dinner at Texas Roadhouse restaurant. We got hit up for two boxes of Girl Scout cookies on the way out of the restaurant by two young girls, but we agreed to eat just two a day. I’ll keep you posted on how that works out. It’s always hard to say “no” to a young girl looking up at you in a cute uniform asking you to buy cookies. One of the better marketing efforts in the country.

After we got home we decided that as tired as we were, we wanted to go to the Albert Galli dance in the ballroom Saturday night. We’ve heard a lot about Mr. Galli and wanted to see him. Again we tested Joan’s knee with a number of slow and fast dances and it continues to work well.

A young couple – well around here we’re actually among the youngest people here at 66 and 65 – was at the dance tonight. I would guess they were in their 30s and likely here visiting Mom and Dad, or perhaps even Grandpa and Grandma.

New snow on the trail I took last week

I could only imagine that they thought they had accidentally arrived at “Oldworld” and were surrounded by grandpas and grandmas. But they seemed to have a good time. “Oldworld” is a lot like “Disneyworld” or some other place where everyone seems to have a good time out of context with the real world.

Around here there is always something to do, a place to visit or a fun activity to attend. I can only imagine what the young couple was thinking when they saw all of us old folks acting out on the dance floor.

Joan learned a new dance tonight, something called the Raggae Cowboy, or the Cuban Shuffle, or something silly like that. She is learning all these new dances to be ready for her niece’s wedding in June. I want to see her do the worm. Getting her up off the floor after doing the worm could take a few people.

We left the dance a little early (about 9:30 p.m.) because frankly we were tired.

Sunday was a quiet day with just church and watching golf.