Time Flies When You're Having Fun

We’re still here, still doing stuff!

We’ve had visitors: friends Don and Sharon DelRosario stayed in the park for a week, visited here when they arrived, and we shared a couple of meals out. They’re nice folks, and they will be back after Thanksgiving to stay longer. In the meantime, they are going to Hawaii for the holiday. Don grew up and lived for years in Hawaii and considers himself a native. Both were widowed, and fortunately found each other at an Escapees Club solos group.

Friends from our 2005 Alaska trip visited this week. Bob and Audrey Munroe were running fast from the East Coast to Casa Grande, AZ, and had been delayed by both illness and weather, so they stayed only one night in Benson. At least we got to share a nice dinner with them. We went to the Apple Farm, a neat local family-style restaurant that serves a five-course dinner for $9.99, including dessert. We’ve eaten breakfast and lunch there before, but this was our first dinner, and it was quite satisfying.

We already told you we are on the park’s propane committee. Monday was Suzy’s first day as cashier. The computer system for calculating the selling price for each fill-up is awkward, nearly impossible to explain, but she learned that part well. Next week she’ll go back again, this time with some extra help on the set-up and close-up paperwork, including procedures for depositing the day’s receipts at the park office.

I didn’t do any pumping of propane this time, but learned some of the side jobs that go with it. The guys working there (yes, we’re all guys on the pumping process, no gals) are a jovial bunch and very helpful. Next week I expect I’ll be on the nozzle quite a bit. I haven’t yet had the opportunity to service a motorhome, but with our cold nights here, I expect there’ll be a string of them coming down soon.

We had plans to take some pictures of the propane operation this week, but never got to it. Maybe next week?

For the park’s Thanksgiving dinner we signed up for a table, carefully avoiding the two lines for “co-hosts.” Tuesday morning the dinner chairman cajoled us into signing Suzy up as co-host for our table, and I remained a participant. The chairman explained that our belief that the co-hosts automatically provided the turkey was incorrect (although I suspect a lot of them will do that). Suzy’s job, along with whoever signs up as the other co-host, will be to call a meeting, coordinate the dishes and decorations being volunteered, and talking someone into doing the turkey and/or ham. Most RV’s don’t have a decent-sized oven, so it’ll take someone who has a more permanent set-up here, or understands the roasters the park has available.

Last Saturday the park had a yard sale in two formats: one was the park’s own sale of items donated by members and guests, the other was individual sales on our sites. We chose the individual sale and moved out a pile of stuff we had stored or had stopped using. While we netted a little over $30 and got rid of some stuff, we still had a pile left, that we will either donate to St. Vincent de Paul to simply toss out. Next year, if we’re here for the yard sale, we’ll put in with the larger sale of the park, not sit outside on our lot for five hours; then we can walk away from anything that doesn’t sell.

Last weekend, the Holy Trinity Monastery just south of here had their annual Arts and Crafts Festival. I had signed up to work the parking crew for Sunday afternoon, and Suzy expected to come down and enjoy the festival. She wasn’t feeling great that day, so I did it solo. The job entailed standing in a driveway in the parking area and pointing directions, which wasn’t all that challenging. The problem was, the day turned cold and windy, especially so in the open area of the parking section.

I wish I could tell you I took this picture at the monastery but, no, it was taken by Guy Atchley, anchor on the Tucson ABC affiliate's evening news. He graciously sent it to me when I complimented him on it last year.

Finally, Friday was Fish Fry night here at Saguaro park. Last year it was every Friday; the volunteers got pretty tired of it, and the patronage was falling off. This year it is once a month; last night’s turnout was great. They offer a choice of cod or chicken, French fries or baked potato, plus cole slaw and a roll and butter, all for $5.50. If you’d like dessert, that’s $1 extra. Here’s Molly Bandy serving the dinners. Molly’s husband Howard is one of the cooks in the kitchen (you can just see him in the back, tall with white hair). To really see him, left click the picture. To come back, use your "back" arrow.

Our good friend Nick Russell says he doesn’t like sunrises, says they come too early in the morning for a night owl. So, Nick, if you’re reading this, just skip over these pictures of Benson sunrises this past week!

So once again we’ve had some good times with our extended family as we live … Our Life on Wheels.