One month in the books, two to go

A beautiful Arizona sunset Jan. 30

    Time really flies. Here it is February 1 and we have one month in the books for our winter 2020 trip to Arizona. It has been a fun and eventful month and we look forward to more fun and events in February and March.

   All our usual activities continue, Joan’s voluntary service at the health clinic, my frequent trips to the ballroom to set up chairs and tables for various events and concerts here at Voyager. Bible studies, chapel service, Tuesday potlucks and just the general fun continues.

Hay ride

   After coming here for 10 years we don’t do as much sightseeing as we used to but we found a cotton farm tour up near Casa Grande that we hadn’t done and headed up there on January 15. Caywood Farms is located near Eloy, Arizona, about an hour from Tucson.

    The tour included music, a slide show, a hay ride and a cotton-picking experience in a real life cotton field. Trust me after trying to pick cotton this is not a profession or job I would have ever considered for long term work.

   We learned a great deal about cotton that we did not know including how it is graded and how the farmer gets paid for the product.  For years we have passed large bales of cotton in fields along I-10 and now we know that they are about 15,000 pounds each and are processed at a nearby gin.

cotton picker

   It was a great day and a fun experience. We got home in time to catch “Uptown” show in the Voyager Ballroom. Lots of Motown, Stevie Wonder, and other musical stars from our time and just watching the performers dance and sing left me exhausted. A very high energy show.

   On Friday, January 17, we went to the dinner show in the ballroom and Brad Fitch, a wonderful John Denver tribute artist, entertained the crowd for more than an hour after dinner. Another winning show. Dinner was pretty good too.

    The next night we attended the Retro Rockets Dance, again in the Voyager Ballroom. They are the most popular dance group that comes here and the ballroom was packed. The dance floor was crowded but the music was great. We danced the night away.

  Our friend Bob and Karen joined us for church here at the Voyager and then we went for breakfast at the Voyager grill after church. We have really enjoyed having Bob and Karen here with us and look forward to their return next year hopefully for two months instead of one.  More on them in a second.

50 MMM pins

   Joan and I attended the monthly birthday party celebration for the hikers and bikers group at Barry and Darcel’s house in the Cove section of Voyager.

    Monday, January 20 was Martin Luther King Day, but also the day Joan and I received our 50^th pin at Meet Me at Maynard’s.  During our walk we met up with Dave and Deb from the Voyager and went out to dinner with them after the pin ceremony. We ate again at Elliott’s.

    My hiking has been slowed by a left knee problem I am having, but I am currently seeing an orthopedic doctor to figure out just what has gone wrong. I have gone on a number of hikes, but I’m taking it just a little easier than usual. Bob and I did the Phone Line Trail this past week and had a good time. That’s about a 7-mile hike.

    I once took a small group of friends on this hike and because of my misunderstanding the escape trails off of the Phone Line Trail ended up getting my wife and two of our friends kind of upset with me. Since that day, I have been much clearer about where one can bail off the trail if you are tired.

Bob on Phone Line hike

    Bob and I did the entire trail from Tram Stop 9 all the way back to the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center so no issues encountered on this day.

    On Wednesday, January 22 we attended “Tapestry” which was the Wednesday night concert at the Voyager. It was the music of Carole King. So far all the shows have been sold out (including the Spouse Whisperer – a comedian) who we say on Wednesday, January 29. We have seen him before, but at my age I forgot most of his jokes so the show was pretty much new to me.

   Joan attended a lecture on bees and other pollinating bugs in the Catalina Room on Thursday January 23 (I was hiking with Bob).

   On Friday, January 24 we met the former superintendent that Karen, Joan and I once worked for at Lapeer Community Schools at a wonderful restaurant in Tucson. The restaurant is called “Culinary Dropout” and it was full to capacity, but because we had reservations we had no wait.

     We returned to the park with enough time to attend most of the Dance with Delores group in the ballroom and the next night we attended the Reminiscence Dance in the Ballroom. As you can see we do a lot of dancing here.

Carillo-Garwood hike

   On Thursday, January 30 I attended two lectures, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning lecture was on “Wild Mustangs of the West” which was a film about the management of wild horses in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. The afternoon lecture was on a the nearby Tumacacori Mission near Tubac. Joan joined me for the afternoon lecture. After that we went shopping and then had a good bye dinner with Karen and Bob at the Voyager Grill. Unfortunately they left early on Jan. 31.

    Friday morning I had a doctor’s appointment at Tucson Orthopedic Center to find out what I have done to my left knee. The pain is keeping me from having a good night’s sleep. X-rays show some arthritis issues, but more likely I have done something to my meniscus which may require some minor surgery or at least a cortisone shot so I can resume my more aggressive hiking without constant pain.

   I’m waiting on an MRI appointment which will give my doctor a better idea of what I have done to my knee. I’ll keep you all posted.  We have another Short Notice Band dance on Saturday night and then the Super Bowl on Sunday. More on what happens then later.