Wok N Roll with us...Bob and Teri Along with Atlas and Kalani: Mesa, AZ December 2014

We spent five months with Mesa, AZ being our base and the time just flew by. Bob rode his bike with friends most days and Teri did various classes including exercise, water volley ball, stained glass and jewelry making. Teri especially got into doing various stained glass projects and also some glass fusion. We both played Pickle ball and also enjoyed Country Line Dancing. We were so busy our blog has really suffered. We will share a few highlights with pictures and we will try to get things caught up soon.

Sunrise and sunsets in Arizona are beautiful and we were treated to many. Hiking with the hiking club took us to many new places with lots of desert flora to take in. We were busy everyday at the park and at times we almost looked forward to the weekends being a bit slower. While staying here we took off from here on various adventures.

One such adventure, we attended the 55th Escapade RV Rally. This is a five day rally focused on the RV way of life. The event was attended by about 2000 people from all over the country and Canada. The rally included five days packed with meeting new friends, listening to informative speakers and enjoying evening entertainment including talented comedians and also a mentalist. Following the Escapade we joined an Escapees 'HOP' (Head Out Program) that toured Mescal Movie set and Tombstone, Arizona.

The Mescal Movie set was a treat to see as it is seldom open to the public. Several Westerns and TV shows have been filmed here including: Quick and the Dead; Oklahoma, McClintock; The Young Riders; Tombstone; Little House on the Prairie; and Jose Wales. Our tour guide was Frank Brown who was a very fun 'Old Timer'. Frank was great and to better experience this wonderful guide, please read the following:Interview with Frank Brown

Next up was Tombstone, AZ. The Bird Cage Theatre opened in Tombstone, AZ on December 25, 1881 and got its name from the 14 cages suspended from the ceiling that had drapes that could be pulled around while prostitutes entertained their clients. The theatre operated continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, never closing for eight years. In 1882 the New York Times reported the Bird Cage to be 'the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin street and the Barbary Coast.' Within the walls of this Bird Cage Theatre individuals such as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo drank and gambled. Over 140 bullet holes are embedded in the walls and over 26 lives were taken within.

Also while in Tombstone we attended an reenactment of the OK Coral shoot out as well as visited the actual gunfight location. More on that famous gunfight can be read at: OK Coral Shootout History

Before leaving Mesa, March was packed with many activities.

Visits and dinners with new friends Bill and Shirley.
Bill and Sharon Brown (good friends from Palmdale, CA) came from CA and joined us for a cookout and a wonderful afternoon visit. We so look forward to when we meet up with them again.
Teri made a second trip to Santa Barbara to visit with her Mom who is in Hospice Care.
We made a trip together to Oahu to visit Teri's brother and wife, the Big Island and then Teri went to Molokai for a week to visit with her good friend Barbara Osha. (Hawaii we will post separately).
Upon returning from Hawaii Teri flew up to Bellingham, WA for 3 days to visit with childhood friend Carolyn Hunt and her parents, Jim and Arline, who are very notably Teri's second family. They are so special to Teri. Teri spent many vacations with them growing up and having these days with them was so special. While there Teri also got to try her hand at clamming again, which was fun. Teri flew back to Mesa, AZ out of Seattle where she got to share a wonderful visit and dinner with our youngest son, Garrett. Back in Mesa, AZ and we are preparing to get back to traveling the country once again.