Back (finally) in our Happy Place - Tucson

 

   Curse you Covid!  It’s been awhile since I have posted here, but Covid be damned we are back in our happy place – Tucson, Arizona – after taking two weeks off (er, 21 months off) to flatten the curve. Remember those days. All we had to do in those early days was to isolate for two weeks and then everything would be good.

   So last year we stayed home because the resort was basically closed to all activities other than walking outside alone. But life must move on, the pandemic will become an endemic and we will just learn to deal and live our lives again.

    This year we are very excited to be able to bring my 96-year-old father with us to Voyager.  My Dad used to travel to Tucson on business and he loves this place. Or at least he loved this place then.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Nice chairs

    We left Lapeer on Tuesday, December 21.  Our neighbors thought I was crazy as they watched me take down all our Christmas decorations 5 days before the big day. But by the time we get home in April I really don’t want to come home to a house decorated for a holiday three months in the rear view mirror.

   Prior to leaving we had an early Christmas with daughter Elin, her partner Justin and our son Tim.

   So with a new security camera system in place and our bags packed we left Lapeer with the temperature at 28 degrees.

   Our first night on the road was spent in Cave City, Kentucky and the hotel was nice, but the hotel’s recommendation for dinner left a little to be desired. The clerk told us that “everyone” loves the Watermill Restaurant. Apparently, we are not “everyone.”

Things 1,2,3

My chair

  For starters, the place had mismatched tables and chairs, which we could live with, but they were out of everything we wanted to eat.  My mouth was watering for fried chicken. Nope, out. Also out of salmon, rib eye steak and
sweet potatoes. We both settled for a chopped steak (hamburger patty). The vinyl chairs had gaping holes in them, but at least they required using plastic gloves for the salad bar. It was an eclectic group of diners including Amish folks and rednecks.

  
The next day we passed through Bowling Green, Kentucky just a week after the massive tornado raced through Kentucky. We could see twisted trees, damaged buildings, trees with sheet metal wrapped around high branches and plenty of tarp covered roofs.

$5 donut place

  
Our first destination was Murfreesboro, Tennessee to spend a couple days with our son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren for an early Christmas. While there we were taken to a beautiful outdoor Christmas light display that was coordinated with music. We also went to a special donut store ($5 per donut) where the donuts were incredible.

Christmas light drive

    We had fun watching the children and grandchildren open their presents, but all too soon it was time to depart.

    Next stop was Louisville, Kentucky and Christmas with my sister and brother-in-law and father. While there we had another Christmas light adventure in a mega cave near Louisville and a great meal out at a 5-star restaurant. It was here on the actual Christmas Day that we celebrated our third Christmas for 2021.

    On Tuesday, December 28, we departed Louisville with Dad aboard and spent the first half of the day driving through rain in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and through St. Louis, Missouri. The rain finally let up after St. Louis and we breezed through Missouri and spent the night in one of the weirdest hotels we have every stayed in.

    I’m not too fussy about hotel rooms, I desire them to be clean and reasonably priced. The Microtel in Joplin was both, but it was like staying in a closet. It was only $60 a night, but next time I’ll pay extra to have a room with a little more room.

   On Wednesday, morning the 29^th we left Joplin and had a nice breakfast at a nearby Cracker Barrel (the Microtel doesn’t offer anything) and then hit the road. As we passed through Oklahoma we saw an antique store with the name “Dead People Stuff.”

Christmas with the kids

    With a destination of Tucumcari, New Mexico we were traveling through Amarillo, Texas the place where my Dad went to boot camp in the Army Air Corps in World War II. With some help from OnStar we located the place where the base was, except it wasn’t there anymore. Acres and acres of empty fields where military buildings once stood greeted us. The roads were still there but all vestiges of the base were gone.

    We talked to a couple guys who worked in a new building on the former base property and they said sometime in the 60s or 70s a Democratic President closed the base in a cost saving move. “We’re a Republican state, so that’s probably the reason,” the man said.

    After the short tour of empty fields we stopped and ate at The Big Texan. It’s a famous place where if you order and eat a 72-ounce steak within one hour you get it for free. Two guys tried but failed while we were eating there.

     Dad with his World War II hat always attracts a lot of attention and people were gracious and thankful for his service.

The Big Texan dinner

    We arrived at a very crowded hotel in Tucumcari, New Mexico and because it was relatively late we all went to bed in our rooms. The hotel had a basic breakfast and after eating the next morning we headed out into a very strong headwind. That wind played havoc with my gas mileage, but we landed at the Twin Arrows Casino and Resort in Flagstaff, Arizona about 3 p.m. on the 30^th.

Dad and the colonel

    The weather forecast for the following morning was ominous. Predictions of 6 to 8 inches of snow in Flagstaff had me rethinking my plans for picking up our stored trailer in the morning. Remember that we hadn’t laid eyes on our trailer in the Flagstaff storage lot since March 2020. I wasn’t sure I would find the trailer with flat tires or other issues so I decided to drop Joan and Dad at the resort and head the 30 minutes to the storage lot and see what I was facing.

Dad and the B-17

   On the off chance the trailer was towable I decided to fill up the Tahoe at a gas station near the storage lot. Once at the storage lot I found the trailer in good shape, all tires inflated and made the decision to off load the luggage in the Tahoe and put it in the trailer.

Me on a hike

   When I arrived back at the casino I met Joan and Dad at the sports bar and had dinner. Then I got to watch Michigan State pull out a come-from-behind victory over Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl.

    Hooking up the trailer early turned out to be one of my better decisions, as it was snowing hard in the morning and hooking up would have been a real mess. Having the trailer hooked up and ready to go we missed the brunt of the storm and after driving down the mountain about 2,000-feet the snow disappeared and the driving was smooth all the way to Tucson.

I've learned over the years that the trailer tows better and the Tahoe runs better if I balance the loads between the two. The temperatures were cold, but not as cold as they would be in the morning so I removed the tire covers, put the battery on the trailer, and hooked the unit up to the Tahoe. All this took a little over an hour and I was frozen by the time I was done.

Dad and a C-47

    We arrived into the Voyager Resort in the early afternoon. It was a beautiful 69 degrees, nearly 36 degrees warmer than when we left Flagstaff. After checking Dad into his hotel room (he’s staying a month here) we got help setting up our trailer on our usual spot. Miraculously our 14-year-old trailer was in good working condition and everything (gas, electric, slide outs, hot water, etc. all worked to perfection).

   After dinner at the new restaurant at the Voyager, Dad went to bed and we went to the New Year’s Eve Dance at the resort.

    The next day, New Year’s Day, we had breakfast at the restaurant and went grocery shopping but then came back and spent the day watching the football marathon that is New Year’s Day.

    On Sunday, after we all attended chuch at the resort, we took a little drive with Dad to show him the resort and watched some NFL football.

The Eagle has landed

    Still recovering and catching up from our long driving trip Monday was laundry dad and then we took Dad downtown for Meet Me at Maynard’s. The weather was a little chilly, but we took Dad to one of our favorite restaurants.

    While Joan started her water classes, Dad and I drove to a car wash and got the Tahoe cleaned on Tuesday. We drove around a little and then returned to the resort for the weekly pot luck dinner.

    On Wednesday, I took Dad to the Pima Air and Space Museum, which was half the reason for his trip here as he has been eager to visit for many years. We spent several wonderful hours and then returned home for dinner in the trailer followed by the Wednesday night concert at the Voyager. Dad enjoyed “The Starlets” a group of women singers who relived the girl group hits of the 50s and 60s. “Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, sugar at suppertime, be my little sugar and love me all the time.”  Lots of great songs.

   On Thursday, after my Men’s Bible Study, Dad and I headed back to the Air and Space Museum to continue our touring there. I was excited to learn that a man I have heard talk there before in the B-17 building was still giving talks under the plane. The man was a B-17 pilot in World War II and he and Dad spent a wonderful 40 minutes swapping stories under the iconic airplane. The pilot will turn 99 in March, Dad will turn 97 the same month.

    Following that Dad and I took the tram tour around the outdoor airplane exhibits. We still have unfinished business at the museum so we will return and finish two of the buildings we haven’t toured yet. We again had dinner in the trailer and I led my first Thursday night Bible study here.

   On Friday morning Dad and I ventured off campus to do a little shopping (I needed a new sewer hose for the trailer) and Dad needed some stuff as well. I gave him a tour of the Tucson International Airport and then we returned to base and had lunch. Later we headed out to the movie theater and saw “American Underdog” the movie about the life of Kurt and Brenda Warner. Kurt was the quarterback who defied the odds and became a great NFL star.

    Saturday morning brought a free donut at the Voyager ballroom and then Dad and I read our books on the patio until it was lunch time. After lunch we took Dad for a riding tour of Saguaro East National Park followed by a T-bone steak dinner at the trailer.

    Finally to bring you completely up-to-date, we went to church on Sunday here at the resort and then watched NFL football all afternoon. We also did laundry. More fun to come.

Mileage out from Lapeer: 82360

Time out: 9:08 a.m.

Mileage in Cave City: 82871

Time in: 5:02 p.m. (Central)

Mileage out Cave City: 82362

Time out: 8:31 a.m.

Mileage in Murfreesboro, Tenn: 82997

Time in: 10:51 a.m.

Time out (Dec. 24): 8:57 a.m.

Mileage out: 82997

Time in (Louisville -ET): 1:25 p.m.

Mileage in: 83216

Mileage out (Louisville – Dec. 28): 83439

Time out: 8:36 a.m.

Mileage in (Joplin, MO): 83988

Time in (CT): 4:06 p.m.

Mileage out: 83988

Time out: 7:25 a.m.

Mileage in (Tucumcari, NM): 84606

Time in (MT): 6:08 p.m.

Mileage out: 84606

Time out: 8:02 a.m.

Mileage in (Flagstaff): 85077

Time in: 3:01 p.m.

Mileage out: 85154

Time out: 7:59 a.m.

Mileage in: 85443

Time in: 12:51 p.m.