Seeing more old friends

We managed to connect with one of our three "Bob and Marti" couples while they were in the Mesa area.  Marti is an old friend and Bob is more of a new friend.  It was nice to have an opportunity to get to know him better.

Marti suggested we go on a hike and so we met at the Nature Center at Usery Mountain Park and started our ascent.  She's like a mountain goat and I was soon falling behind.

The view at the top was spectacular and she explained that the Phoenix sign was used to guide airplanes back in the Good Ole Days before GPS.

Going up wasn't so bad, but down really had me worried about my knee.  There's a lot of loose rock and even though I knew my hiking boots had a good grip, it was the twisting and turning of the knee joints that had me worried.  I added a lot of extra time to the excursion because I was going so slow.

We came back to the RV to show them our digs and meet the cats before heading over to the Little Mesa Cafe for some lunch.  Bob took a spin on Left Brain's bike to test drive it as he's looking for a new bike.

When I mentioned the induction cooking I had to give a brief demo of how that worked by boiling some water...one of my best cooking techniques.  Bob likes to cook and I can see him getting into induction cooking in the future.

During lunch we learned they had just started to learn Pickleball, so we took them over to the courts for a short lesson.  Remember, we are still in jeans and hiking boots, so there wasn't a lot of running involved and it was a short game, but hopefully it gave them a start as to the rules and how to keep score.

Then we did a walk about the facility to show them the diverse activities that Carriage Manor offers.  

When we returned to the inside of the RV we were greeted by socks strewn about the interior....from the front door to the scene of the crime.

Apparently I had not closed the drawer tightly and Gracie had a little field day.  I was just glad that she didn't repeat an earlier performance involving crawling behind the drawer and getting stuck.  It seems she remembered not to do that part.  Having a nanny cam would be interesting to watch what it is that they do when we're gone.

Then it was time for Bob and Marti to head back to their place as they are preparing to leave the next day.  We look forward to seeing them again back in the Midwest when we return to Wisconsin.  But not until Wisconsin is fit for habitation and much warmer than it is currently.

Long Live the Queen of Friends