Kicking Back at the Scottsdale Trailer Corral - January 2008

Our home for the last couple of months has been the Scottsdale Trailer Corral located in the heart of downtown Scottsdale. We discovered it by accident when we still lived in the valley and it’s a little gem – probably no more than thirty spaces. It’s kind of tight quarters, but we have a little spot of grass, citrus trees, and hummingbirds that make regular stops at the feeders. Plus we’re within striking distance of all the Scottsdale amenities – overpriced shopping, swanky and not-so-swanky restaurants, golf courses, and so on. . . We even had a front row seat to watch some of the 7,000+ runners in the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon go past our park.

In addition to the winter visitors here, there are a few long term residents, including our eccentric next door neighbor who lives in an ancient mobile home. We hear his TV set going full blast whenever he’s home, punctuated by long strings of invective directed at his poor cat. We’ve spoken to him a few times but never get more than a surly nod in return. Late one night, Ez couldn’t sleep and went outside to finish his cigar. He was startled by a tirade of blue language – “Get the #?#! out of that garbage you #&!$ cat!” – and turned to see our portly neighbor standing buck naked in his living room! Never a dull moment at the Scottsdale Trailer Corral!

We’re both getting in more golf while were back in the “land of a 1000 golf courses.” Ez has hooked back up with his weekly men’s league and I’ve joined a nine-hole ladies group that plays on Thursday mornings. We also try to get to the driving range periodically or play a round together. I’d like to say that my game has improved dramatically, but that would be a lie. It’s fun to get out and enjoy the sunshine and the good company though.

Our holidays this year were marked by a change from tradition. Instead of celebrating in sunny Phoenix as we have for over 20 years, we flew to Portland, Oregon to spend two weeks with our daughter, her husband, and their new adopted daughter Nola. Our other daughter and her boyfriend also joined us there for a busy, fun-filled Christmas. We all complained about the rainy, gloomy weather - until the day it turned to snow and for the first time in ages we enjoyed a white Christmas! (See the photo below.) Of course, the best part was getting acquainted with Nola, an active, confident 21-month-old who kept all of us running in circles. Anyone with kids will remember the joy of watching them the first Christmas they learn to open gifts – sheer pandemonium! Nola is a delight and she enjoyed all the attention she got from her adoring family, but my sympathies are with her parents who were left to undo the after effects of all of our doting. We arrived back in Phoenix on New Years Eve, just in time to unload our bags, mix up a toddy, and crawl into bed to watch Dick Clark ring in the New Year.

A major item on our list for 2008 is to begin serious planning for the new home we will build in nearby Tonto Verde, a golf community about 40 minutes north of Phoenix. We’ve talked and dreamed and fiddled with a floor plan for years now, but since arriving back in the valley we’ve spent lots of time visiting model homes and design centers, researching on the internet, and pouring over magazines. I’ve started to fill an accordion file with clippings and brochures and we spent seven hours (!!) at the local home and garden show. This week we took a big step – we turned that basic floor plan over to a designer who will convert it to actual blueprints! We’ll be working with the designer to make changes and finalize the plan before we leave on our next adventure. Right now we’re talking about leaving in early March for Yuma, San Diego and points north. Stay tuned. . Details to follow. . .