Austin was terrific, and we partied right up to 12 hours before we left town. We really miss Sarah, but let me tell you, we don't miss the juniper pollen - the reaction to which is commonly called 'cedar fever' in central Texas. It struck with a vengeance, and just about felled me. It was so bad that I'm contemplating getting re-tested for allergic sensitivities. It's been 25 years since I was 'tested', and I took shots for about 3 years.
We've spent about eight months living with other people's furniture, dishes and beds. The New York duplex was fine - we were never there, and I didn't cook a single meal. The New Hampshire ski chalet was better than it appeared at first glance, but having a kitchen where you can stand in the center and touch every wall leaves something to be desired. The Austin condo was just awful. From the too soft beds, to the horribly uncomfortable furniture, this place was miserable to live in. Staying in it for 10 weeks was downright trying. HOWEVER, that said, the location was fabulous. If I only had to stay in it for 2 weeks, I'd do it again to be so close to Sarah. We did take our 40" flat screen everywhere - and used it in both New Hampshire and Austin. Since we didn't take our furniture, we spent an entire day at our storage unit completely unloading and reloading our trailer before we could take off.
Two interesting things happened on the way out to Arizona - one good and one bad. The bad news first: We were tooling down the interstate between Fort Worth and Odessa when we heard a loud BANG. I just happened to glance out the side mirror to see the bizarre sight of one of our bikes BOUNCING down the interstate as we continued to speed along. It turns out that Drake forgot to tie the bikes down to the trays the bikes sit in on top of the car. We had so much happening as we were trying to leave Austin that it just slipped his mind. We got from Austin to Hurst just fine, but there were high winds as we headed toward Odessa. Of course, the bike was destroyed - I should say MY bike was destroyed. We were so fortunate that there wasn't another car or truck behind us. I'm sure a bouncing bike coming at you on the Interstate would cause a definite panic if not a busted windshield or an outright wreck.
The good news is that I got to pick up some more rocks at the Rockhound State Park outside of Deming, New Mexico. This is a small state park in the middle of nowhere. You get to go walk around in the desert that was the site of a series of volcanic explosions millions of years ago. What's left is a hodgepodge of different types of rocks. Many of them are fused together in interesting combinations. Now, understand, these rocks weren't as good as the ones I got at the Ruggles Mine in New Hampshire, but the Rockhound State Park only wanted $5 for the privilege of picking up rocks. That's a pretty good price for 15 pounds of rocks. Drake was just thrilled, utterly thrilled. (NOT)
Since we got to Arizona, we have been shopping for my favorite item to purchase: a house. We have decided to buy a condo in Sun City, Arizona - the first mecca of retirees. In 1960 Del Webb, a savvy builder, hatched the scheme of creating a contained community for old people. He built houses, recreation centers, tennis courts, ball fields, and multiple golf courses. He restricted purchase of the houses to people over 55. This idea proved wildly popular, and expanded over a 10 year period of building into three phases. He also built similar developments across the country. The housing real estate prices in Arizona have plummeted by as much as 50% in value over the past 3 years. We realized that if we wanted to winter with Drake's mother, it now made economic sense to buy something for virtually the same price that we could rent something for 3 or 4 months. Plus, there was the added incentive of Spring Training each March.
We've been house hunting for about three days, and today are at the final stages of getting the contract signed by the Seller of the house we picked. We bought a really cute doll house (1348 square feet) with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and it's own orange tree. It's spitting distance from the newest recreation center in Sun City - that means large heated pool, gigantic exercise facility, walking track, and the Maricopa County library branch. It's very close to Drake's mother's house. The down side? The address: Drake is fuming over the street name: West Corte del Sol Este - yes, a 5 word street name - in Spanish no less. Translation for you non-Southwest readers - Court of the Sun, East. The street is actually a cul de sac, with a green belt at the end of it. On the other side of the green belt is the continuation of the street called, wait for it, West Corte del Sol Oeste (Court of the Sun, West). Fortunately, we don't get much snail mail. This has all been so exciting. Assuming the Seller signs the contract tonight, we just have to get through the inspection on Thursday morning.
In the middle of all the house hunting, I got a new bicycle - well, new to me. It's a 1978 Schwinn Collegiate which has THREE gears and coaster brakes. It looks brand new - shiny blue frame and silver chrome fenders. It even has it's own rear view mirror. I'm deliriously happy with it. It only lacks those wonderful streamers you can put at the ends of the handlebars. Hopefully, I won't be confused by gears I don't understand, and my feet can once more stop the bicycle. This should greatly reduce the bike crash factor for me.
Once we get closed and settled, I'll take some house pix for you faithful readers. Expect us back in Texas in April to pick up the contents of our storage unit. In the meantime, we are Drake's mom's house waiting for our closing. You can reach me by snail mail at: 9606-A West Mountainview Road, Peoria, AZ 85345.
