We were pulling out of Quartzsite on Saturday the 5^th so we HAD to go to Silly Al’s one last time for pizza Friday night. As usual we parked across the street and walked over to SA. On the walk back this historical marker caught my eye and I thought I would share. Always like these.

We hooked up and pulled out of Quartzsite and drove the 100+ miles to Scottsdale, AZ for a week of spring training. Nothing all that exciting on the trip. We pulled into the RV park in Scottsdale and where immediately under impressed. I was emailed the site number and map of the park and we were left alone to find our site. No one in the office during the weekend. Hmmm. Well we found it but the number on the spot could be read as a 50, site number we were assigned, or 60. All I could say was we had full hook ups for the first time in two months and could use all the water and electric we wanted to. Yahoo!!   We needed the air-conditioning while we were there. The park was in Scottsdale and close to the Giants ball park. The park and the neighborhood were not bad but not good. Decided not to put out our satellite dish. But other than that it served its purpose.

We planned to see three games while there but decided to pick up another game. Enjoyed the venue and seeing the games. I always wanted to be at the park two hours before game time to see batting practice. Always found this fun. Vicki not so much but she was a good sport about it. The Giants only won one game of the four and I know win-loss in spring training is not that important but I was concerned their starting pitchers where roughed up. Here as some pictures..

 

When we arrived in Scottsdale on Saturday Vicki decided we needed sushi so we went to this restaurant and enjoyed our sushi dinner.

Our first game we attended was with the Dodgers on Sunday and we went to US Eggs for breakfast and I liked these two wall decorations.

We also drove around the greater Phoenix area to look for camping areas in future years. We are thinking of purchasing spring training season tickets and staying a month in the area next year.   Two season ticket would not be that much more expensive than what we paid for four games. Also a month in an RV park is usually fairly reasonable vs 4 weekly stays at different parks. We will see.

Our last game was on Friday the 11^th and after the game we went to eat dinner at Oregano’s. This is an upscale local chain pizza joint. Good pizza. As we were finishing up a couple in their early 20s came in.  They were the first arrival of a larger group seated next to us. Then another young lady game in and as they were introducing themselves she said she was from West Chester. Hmmm, what West Chester, there are many. Then the other young gal said she was from Lancaster and pronounced it correctly for being from PA. I looked over and said I am sorry for easeo dropping but we are from Lancaster also. Well… not that sorry, I had some beer in me so I was not my usually reserved self. Then I asked what school she went to. Her answer was Manheim Township, my high school. Small world thing. As it turns out her boyfriend, Christian Binford, pitches for the Kansas City Royals and is currently assigned to their Triple A team and is down for spring training. He was drafted out of Mercersburg Academy in 2011. He is a great “kid” to talk too. Unfortunately the rest of their group was showing up so I told him good luck with his career and we took off. I hope to follow him in the next few years. Competition is very tough at this level and I hope he makes it to the show.

Saturday we got hooked up very early for our trip to Tucson. The RV Park, Gilbert Ray County Park, does not take reservation and I wanted to show up by 10 am. We have friends that recommended this county park and it is in a very nice setting and in good location.

Old Town Tucson is right next door to our campground and we toured this on Sunday.   Now if you are a Westerner Movie Enthusiasts like we are this is a must see. This town has been used for over 100 different westerns from 1940 to present.   John Wayne made pictures here along with Michael Landon. We got a real kick seeing this place. Now they had their sappy gun fights but the streets and building are really neat to see. Unfortunately about 20+ years ago an arson fire hit the town an over 50% of the town was burned down. A good bit has been rebuilt but much was lost including most of the wardrobes used in movies. Here are some pictures.

Some of the movies filmed here:

 

Then we went to the Horse Soldiers Museum. Not that big a museum but was interesting to me. Here are a few pictures.

On Monday we took a trip down to Tombstone, AZ to see the OK Corral. We had fun but not something I need to do again. Here are some pictures of our day.

On Tuesday Vicki went back to work and I settled in to do my normal camp chores. But wait! On Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings the campground offers hikes through the desert explaining about the desert plants and animals. Since I don’t know beans about the desert I took both of these hikes. Both hikes were led by very knowledgeable volunteers and I really enjoyed. Unfortunately I suffer from CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff). Here are some pictures I found interesting.

 

On Wednesday I went over to the Pima Air Museum. It was an interesting day. I am guessing they had 50 planes inside and over 100 planes outside. Here are some pictures of planes I have connection to or are fond of.

A California Golf buddy flew this in Vietnam.  He was shot down by a surface to air missile.  Luckily he was rescued but spent a year in the hospital due to an back injury he received upon ejection.

I think this is one of the coolest looking prop plane.  I just wish I could remember it’s name.

So then we have St. Patrick’s Day. Man there must be many many Irishmen in Tucson! We got together with 5 other full timers to go out. There were supposed to be 2 more other couples but they could not make it. We got to the restaurant at 5:20 we had over an hour wait to be seated. No problem. With full timers we always have things to talk about, where we have been, where we are going, what problems we have ran into. We had a great time. I even got a free beer due to a mistake. Yahoo!! Life is good with corn beef and cabbage and a free beer!

 

We will be leaving Gilbert Ray on Saturday. They have a strict seven day limit here. I fully understand this rule. It is a great campground and should be visited by as many people as possible. Moving to a private campground about half hour down the road. We like the area with great weather. What’s not to like.

A parting comment:

“I am so busy doing nothing…that the idea of doing anything – which as you know, always leads to something – cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.” Jerry Seinfeld

Yep, that’s me.