3/1 thru 4/2 - March in Mesa (again)

This was our third March spent in Mesa and we still haven't gotten tired of temperatures in the 80's and sunshine every day.  We stayed at the same park as last year, Good Life RV Resort but this year we didn't work camp so we paid for our site.  It all worked out since Marty had some photo work in the area and that covered a nice portion of our fees.

It was nice to be back at Good Life, we've made some friends there and it was fun to see them and catch up.  

Regenia and Mary enjoying the Monday morning bike ride

Since we weren't working we had lots of time for playing.  We joined the bike club on their Monday morning bike rides, Marty played at the Open Mike on Tuesdays  and I took card-making classes on Friday mornings.  We also walked the 1.3 mile perimeter of the park at least once a day (when it wasn't too hot).  Marty often used the music room in the evenings to practice his guitar.

You have to play B-I-N-G-O when the pot is up to $5000.00

One of my card-making class creations

  

Hi Sarah!  Look who we're having dinner with

We also got in some visiting with family and friends.  We surprised our niece Sarah (back in Chicago) with a picture of us having dinner with her boyfriend, Milad (he's in dental school here in Mesa).  In the middle of the month we had a visit from friends we met at our first Habitat for Humanity build back when we started this journey.  We had a great time catching up with them! At the end of the month we had lots of visitors from Chicago.  Sue, Jeanne and Jim, and Joe and Roseanne all came down for spring training.  My cousin Dave and his wife Beth were also here checking out the area since Dave has accepted a job move to Phoenix.  They've already bought a house here and once they sell their house up north they'll even have furniture in it.

Marty, Mary, Ricky, and Art (our H4H friends from Canada)

Our Chicago family came over for a cook-out

Dave and Beth's new home in Phoenix

A backyard swimming pool is very important in Arizona!

Of course March in Mesa means spring training and this year we went to two games and they won both!  It's going to be an exciting year on the North Side this year and I can't wait to be back in Chicago for some October baseball.

What are you doing to me?  Where's my prize?? 

You can't beat fun at the ballpark (especially when they win)!

Matt Szczur connecting for one of the Cubs many homeruns - Cubs Win!!!

Cubs Game Day 2 - Cubs won 10-0 over the Rockies - Go Cubs!!

The Mesa area has a lot of opportunities to explore nature and on our very last day there we decided to take a hike at the Usery Mountain Regional Park.  Not just any hike but the most difficult one there! We hiked the Wind Cave Trail which was only 1 1/2 miles (one way) with an 800' elevation climb and boulders and rocks to climb over.  How bad could it be when there is a 92 year old man at the beginning of the trail telling us he's done it many times (just not recently).  It was beautiful at the top and I hit 16,000 steps on my fit bit and 75 flights of stair so I guess it was worth it. 

Seriously?  How bad can it be? 

I think I can, I think I can.......

Still smiling and we're almost at the top!

We left Mesa on Friday, April 1st with our friend, Flat Stanley.   We made one last stop in Arizona to visit London Bridge in Lake Havasu.  This is the actual London Bridge from England which was bought by a very wealthy American and it is quite the tourist attraction and has really put this town on the map.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_%28Lake_Havasu_City%29

That's it for this post, we will spend the month of April traveling northwest back up to Forks, Washington where we will spend the summer volunteering again at the Forks Timber Museum.