Going postal

My 92-year-old mother is, at times, inundated with postcards ... but not from me. The daughter and granddaughter of her very good friend who died many years ago, never fail to send my mother postcards whenever they travel ... and they travel a lot. The mother and daughter also compete, to see if they can upstage each other. That's a tough act to follow. I don't try and compete with them (I've seen those beautiful cards), but it does shame me into sending some. It appears to be easier said than done though, at least in Arizona.

Photo by lacarabeis at pixabay
(Creative Commons License)

A snowbird saga update ...

By the end of today, we will have travelled 6000 miles on this adventure. After almost 12 weeks on the road (and sea), here are my reflections:

• I do like Phoenix, because it's so clean, and pretty, and well laid-out for driving
• I so want to call it "Pleasantville" here, as most people in the neighbourhood wave, smile, and say hello ... even when they're in their cars!
• In fact, there's not much I don't like about Arizona
• I've learned that when the road is marked as "a scenic drive", chances are it will be curvy, winding roads, which I don't particularly like.
• I miss face-to-face time with our friends ... and FaceTime doesn't count! Although I consider myself a loner, I value the friendships I have where I can count on someone to listen - whether it's about good, bad, or nothing in particular. I also miss being there for my friends in return.
• I miss our chiropractor, who keeps our aches and pains in check, and who is always there when we call on him for help, even at a distance.
• I DO NOT miss the cold and snowy weather in Canada!

Great weather for a hike

This afternoon we hiked part of the Apache Wash Trail, one of the areas of the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve. In 1998, the city of Phoenix first mapped out two areas of Phoenix where the lands were least damaged by development (one to the north and the other to the south), and then planned recreational areas to both protect and highlight the desert terrain. 

Sign at the entrance to the park

What a hail of a difference!

Yesterday was yet another first for us on this adventure ... our first day of rain in the Phoenix area. Not bad, considering we've been here since early December! So we've had one day of rain in Phoenix, one in Tucson, and one in Mexico. A great record, I'd say.

Today we had another first ... two consecutive days of rain in the Phoenix area. Not only that, but hail too! This was our view today, in contrast to our homeowners who are in Canada and sent us a photo of blue skies and sunshine and said they were in short sleeves. I offered to do a house swap but no bite!

A puzzling day

Today Greg and I went to the Adobe Mountain Desert Railroad Park. We decided against a ride on the miniature train and instead visited the museum curated by the Arizona Model Railroading Society. Two old-timers were happy to tell us tales about the various model railroad collections, and showed their sense of pride in their involvement. One man boasted that a steam locomotive even had real coal, directly from Wales. He was impressed when I told him that I am Welsh, and that my grandfather had worked in the Welsh coal mines. 

Notice the curator's last name ... Oyler ... Oiler?

Borrowing the title from Pink Floyd ... Is anybody out there?

The opening line of this blog two days ago was, "Tomorrow is the first day of spring". Today I was outside in the warm sunshine, mesmerized by the beautiful bird song all around me, when it suddenly struck me that we're still in February, not March! I then went on to wonder whether my readers were just polite, or whether no one is actually reading what I'm writing!

More beautiful "spring" colours

A day for reflection

Sorry, but no tidbits of travel news today. I will add in a photo taken in the neighbourhood today, when we walked with "our" poodle, Fanci.

The joy of spring colours

Tomorrow is the first day of spring. Our first stay in Peoria was mid-December, almost nine weeks ago. When we returned here two days ago, the change in the colour of the landscape was noticeable, as even the desert scrub looked so much greener.

The past two days I've marvelled at the beautiful colours, as so many shrubs and trees are in bloom. Today we drove in the Glendale area and the landscaping of the streets was amazing, with so many beautiful blooms of every colour. This city certainly reflects its civic pride. Sorry, no photos of that area though today.

This is in our neighbourhood. The blooms are hard to see in the photo, but they were beautiful

Happy New Year!

Back "home" in Peoria

Today was payback for the teasing I've done about the weather. With Sedona being further north, and at an elevation of 4500 ft, we woke to 30 F temperature this morning. That's chilly to us now, after the warmer Phoenix temperatures. When we left Sedona around midday today it was 53 F, and by the time we arrived in Peoria (Phoenix) less than two hours later it was 76 F. I'm happier in the warmer temperatures, so I'm glad to be back.

This photo is of a postcard ... so cute!

President's Day in Sedona

We've repeatedly been told that we should visit Sedona while we're in the area. So, today we played tourist and headed off to Sedona, which is about an hour or two north of Phoenix. The highway  weaved around mountains, oftentimes on 75 mph roads. Although not my favourite type of driving, the scenery was pretty.

We passed through the Prescott National Forest. For a forest, it certainly didn't have many trees!

Man's best friend

It seems as though the majority of our time this winter will be spent in the Greater Phoenix area. Our current house sit is in the North Mountain area. Our December one was in Peoria, with the lovely poodle, Fanci. Later we'll move to North Scottsdale, yet another Phoenix neighbourhood, to spend time with our new friend, Harley.

I find it fascinating that the Greater Phoenix area, with a current population of 4.3 million, covers 2,000 miles, one quarter of the size of my birth country, Wales, which has a population of just 3 million people. One of the things that impresses us about Phoenix is its great infrastructure, including the link roads around the city. We really do like it here!

Our homeowners, Val and Kathi, in Mexico

Hug the ones you love!

Every day I check the Niagara Falls newspaper online. This morning the temperature there was -21 C (-6 F). Maybe that explains the existence of Canadian snowbirds? I came across a video of 47-year-old Will Gadd, ice-climbing the Falls just two weeks ago. (If you're reading this in an automatically generated email, you will need to view it on the blog site to see the video, but I think it's worth it, so go to ru2cold.blogspot.ca)

The pool boy story continues ...

A few days ago I commented that the pool boy (Greg) wore too many clothes. The air temperature most days this week has been in the low 80s, but the unheated pool's temperature is of course far lower than that. Greg announced this afternoon that it had finally reached 65 degrees ... and so he jumped in!

This wasn't the look on his face when he first jumped in!

Paws for thought!

Remembering that I'm the sheep lady, the scene this morning was, like the Mastercard commercial, just priceless! I'll leave you to your own imagination as to what Zena might be saying here. I'll add my thoughts below the photos.

Oh, oh ... is the crazy sheep lady here?

In the grand scheme of things - kids and dogs, that is!

I recently mentioned that we've been on the road for two months. For those who've been following this blog from the start, you may remember that in the December 8th post I introduced you to our newest grandchild, and first granddaughter, Soleil (pronounced "so-lay" - it's French for the sun). Here's Greg the day before we left, when she was just two days old.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Similar to cartoons (or maybe Playboy magazines?), today will be mostly pictures and very few words.

The adventure continues ...

So far on this journey, we have:

• been away 2 months
• travelled 5455 miles (8728 kms)
• visited 12 U.S. states, as well as Mexico
• spent 29 nights at housesits to date
• done 3 house and pet sits (counting the current one)
• 2 more booked in Phoenix

... and have seen more cactus than we could possibly count!

Citrus picking is exhausting work!

In the Niagara Falls area we have many fruit crops, but given the cooler climate, none of them are citrus fruits. Here at our current home in Phoenix, we have:

A ruby red grapefruit tree 

A navel (I think!) orange tree

It's like talking to a 2-year-old ... but why, but why, but Why?

Today we travelled back from Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona, which is about a 4-hr drive.

Immigration and Border Patrol

As Canadians, we compared the border crossing to what we're used to at the Niagara Falls Canada/United States border.

When we crossed into Mexico a week ago, we kept slowing down as we approached border officials, waiting for someone to question us. No one did. They simply glanced over and then looked away. It was a non-event. Why no one questioned our entry was puzzling to us.

Soaking up the sea air in Mexico

Today is our last full day in Cholla Bay, as we travel to Phoenix tomorrow. We'll start a 10-day house and pet sit for the owners of this Mexican home. As much as we've enjoyed our time here, I'm looking forward to being back in the Phoenix area.

We went into Puerto Peñasco this morning and had a late breakfast at the Kaffee Haus, a great little European restaurant that has great reviews on TripAdvisor. Once again, TripAdvisor came through for us.

The view from the port - La Cholla behind the hill on the left,
the condo high-rises on the right, and fishing boats in between.

What do Cholla Bay (Mexico) and Whitmore Bay (Wales) have in common?

I was born and raised in the coastal town of Barry, Wales, so I'm no stranger to watching the effects of the tide. Here's a photo of one of Barry's beaches at low tide, and you'll see by the colour change of the sand that the tide covers quite a distance.

Yes, those dots are people, and this beach goes out even further than this photo shows

The familiar rumbling sound reminded us of a Canadian snowplow!

Snowplows are a common sight in winter in Canada, but not here in Mexico. When we heard a familiar rumbling sound on the street today, we had to go check it out. Turns out it was a road grader, levelling out our sandy street. After the grader went by we were left with sandbanks at the end of the driveway, similar to the snowbanks we get from the snowplows. A little touch of home ... but much warmer here (around 70ºF today)!

Will Puerto Peñasco be the next Mexican cruise terminal?

The six-mile stretch between Cholla Bay and the original old port town of Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco) is being in-filled by a bank of high-rise condominiums, as I understand aimed at the Arizonan and Californian tourism and second-home market. The high-rise condo sector is in stark contrast to the sleepy-town feel of Cholla Bay.

Part of the condo area, which has a beautiful golden-sand beachfront

We're ready for more sunshine and blue skies!

Remember yesterday's view?

Well, this was taken this morning, exactly 24 hours later. I didn't adjust the colour at all. What a difference sunshine makes!

Compare this to yesterday's photo