ANOTHER DAY OF SOCIALIZING, HIKING, AND EATING

Yesterday morning, while Odel was outdoors monitoring Luna's activities in the wild, he heard "Odel!" A couple was approaching, unfamiliar to him.

"You are Odel, aren't you?"
"Yes", he answered, wondering if he should recognize them.
"We read your blog! We knew you were here. We know you, and Scoopy, and there's Luna!"

Margaret and Jeff know us through this blog; we know them (well, their names) because they have recently joined the Boomers. As is usual for Boomers, hugs all around.

Odel was heading off to the golf course, so we mentally examined our busy social calendar and planned a happy hour get-together this afternoon. Off went Odel, off went Jeff and Margaret, and in I went to do whatever the heck it was that occupied my entire afternoon yesterday.

Joy (Rosanna's daughter) and her husband Greg are in Tucson for a short vacation from their medical residencies in Cincinnati. Today's agenda began with a morning hike for Joy, Odel and I.

Tucson is experiencing "warmer than average" temperatures and we've seen real changes. Night time lows, close to freezing when we arrived, have been in the low 50's, with highs in the mid- to upper-80's. Today was a perfect hiking day, overcast and a little breezy.

We chose the Sutherlin trail, which Odel and I had hiked a week ago (I posted the photo of the little frog). Because of the warm weather, snakes are out of hibernation and we have heard several reports of rattlesnake sightings. I was leading, and on alert. :)

The changes in just one warm week were amazing. Trees that were leafless last week are robed in bright, spring-green leaves now. WAY more wildflowers are blooming; much of the trail was bordered by a blanket of tiny yellow flowers - darling in "real life", ho-hum in photos.

This pink flower, Fairy Duster (I think) is plentiful now, and a very short, small variety of lupine is popping up along the path, too. Up at the pool, the ocotillos have buds on their tips, ready to lengthen and open. Spring has arrived in Tucson, at least temporarily.

Being a doctor, Joy was very interested in learning about Odel's proton beam therapy and he was happy to talk about it. I hardly said two words - yet there was no lack of conversation. No worries about rattlesnakes; they were alerted well in advance that we were in the vicinity!

Part Two of our plan was lunch at Sur Real, a new restaurant in an upscale section of Tucson that had been recommended to Joy and Greg. As Joy, Odel and I pulled out of our site at Catalina to head to the restaurant, Greg called - ready to put aside his studies and join us.

Sur Real was beautiful inside. They specialize in Latin American cuisine, and we pored over the extensive and intriguing menu for quite awhile before we made our choices (tacos and enchiladas, way too mundane a description for the meal we experienced).

Odel ordered one of the six speciality margaritas they serve, and it was one of the best I have tasted in ages. Fortunately, it was large, so Odel didn't mind when I took a couple big gulps (dehydrated from the long hike).

The food was outstanding and the service was excellent. Maybe Odel and I can fit in another visit before we leave, but it is always more fun in good company. Thanks, Joy and Greg!

Lucky I helped Odel with the margarita, because he looked like a nap would be welcome as we headed home... but it was 30 minutes until our next social event!

At 4 pm, Margaret arrived with snacks, her own chair, and her own wine glass (a fulltimer for less than 6 months, but she has learned the essentials) - but without Jeff, who was too sick to visit. It is a testiment to how engaging she is that we soon forgot the napping idea.

Margaret and Jeff have been fulltimers (and first-time RV'ers, as were we), for about 6 months, and Margaret had lots of questions - in fact, she had a little list that came out shortly to make sure nothing was forgotten. Our conversation took me right back to those first days, weeks, and months... so many new experiences! So much complexity in your new home! So much to learn! So overwhelming! So exhilarating!

Jeff staggered over long enough to say hello and look pathetic, and I could tell that Margaret wanted to simply download the newly acquired information from her brain to his so she could absorb an equal amount of new information. We parted when it was too dark to continue outdoors, with a plan to visit them down the lane at their campsite on Sunday to revisit some of their questions.

But for now - to bed!

IN ONE END AND OUT THE OTHER

Odel didn't believe me when I told him how much Luna missed him.

Who can look at this photo and believe otherwise?? When he sat on the couch, she jumped right up for petting and attention... when the petting stopped, she just snuggled up to his hand to enjoy his presence. Too cute!

Yesterday was an interesting juxtaposition of two related activities, one sublime, the other far less so. It began with lunch with Sydney and Frank, who were running errands in Tucson. We met at Vivace, one of our favorite Tucson restaurants.

We've met here a couple times in the past, and we all have developed favorites from which we don't deviate. Frank and Odel ordered Fish Soup (maybe it had a more sophisticated name, but I don't remember it...) and they each had a glass of Zinfandel. The wine was poured with a healthy hand - very unusual for a restaurant with a not-inexpensive wine list. Made me wonder if they are feeling a bit of the economic pinch and adding a little more bang for the buck? The absurdly high prices for a single glass of wine in many restaurants has annoyed me for several years - it was nice to see a glass of wine that would actually last you through the end a meal.

Sydney and I are unable to order anything other than the totally, completely incredible Spinach and Cheese Soufflé. This photo can't do it justice.

The souffle is the consistancy of a cloud, a parmesan cloud, something an angel would eat. The sauce is perfectly thickened, perfectly flavored... this is a dish I haven't seen on any other menu, so I CAN'T pass it up when we eat at Vivace. It is definitely in my Top Ten favorite meals.

Sydney and Frank had brought a birthday present for Odel - a selection from Trader Joe's of his favorite snacks and cookies. I took several photos of the gift opening and smiles, but one or another of the participants would have killed me if I posted them - eyes rolling, mouths agape, body parts captured in unfortunate poses - all the worst of spontaneous photography! The opening of presents netted Odel a (presumably) free Tiramisu for dessert though. It was a great lunch.

When Odel came home from Memphis, we had been at Catalina State Park, without a sewer hookup, for a week. When we don't have a sewer connection, I prefer to fill our 100 gallon fresh water tank and run off that (rather than a water hose) so I have some idea how much water has run through to our waste tanks. Yesterday morning, we had about 20 gallons left, which means our tanks are approaching full.

Since we have paid for another week here, we needed to make room in our holding tanks. Before we did that, I wanted to do a few water intensive tasks: some cooking, and a sinkful of hand washing.

I started the morning by making a double batch of Salsa Veracruzana, a Mexican/Spanish tomato-y sauce that is great with fish, shrimp and chicken. It freezes well, so I like to make a big batch at one time.

After lunch, I made a batch of Larry Sorenson's Pea Salad (when I contacted him to see if he would mind if I posted the popular recipe here, he confessed that it was his grandmother's recipe: Larry Sorenson's Grandmother's Pea Salad). I don't know what makes it so appealing, but I love this salad - and all the ingredients are either likely to be on hand or are simple to find. It is a good substitute for potato salad, a bit less starchy. By the way, the LeSueur brand peas (don't substitute) are not imports - they are from Le Sueur, Minnesota, the original home of Green Giant (which I learned when I googled and swiped this photo off the internet). Is it naive to think the peas where actually grown in the USA?

Once the cooking dishes were washed, there was still water left, so I did my handwashing. When I pulled the plug on the rinse water, it drained ever-so-slowly, slower, slower, slower... then, a loud gurgle, gurgle, gurgle came from the bathroom sink as an air bubble was forced from the gray water tank via a high point. Still no water in the bottom of the shower (the low point), but it was close enough for us... we battened down the moveables, closed up the slides, brought in the awnings, took down the sun screens, and wallowed on down to the dump station to relieve ourselves of accumulated wastes. I'm sure you all would enjoy an illustrative photo, but I was busy cleaning the toilet while Odel did the dumping - sorry, my bad!

That is one element of RV living that isn't readily apparent to beginners... the close and intimate relationship you develop with the "background" realities of modern life. RV'ers have a good idea of how much energy their appliances use, of how much water is needed for a shower or to wash dishes or clothing - and the understanding that what comes in needs to go out again. I thought about the luscious taste and texture of the souffle on my tongue as we dumped the black and gray water tanks, and laughed about how one day could present so clearly the two sides of the subsistance equation.

ODEL COMES HOME TONIGHT - WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

My last blog post was written Wednesday, the day before Odel left for Memphis. I had big plans for the four days he would be gone. Since I haven't posted anything to the blog during that time, you might think I was busy, busy, busy, huh?

After I dropped Odel off at the airport at 7 am on Thursday, I came straight home, fell out on the bed, and took an hour-long nap. That pretty much set the tone for my time alone!

I spent a lot of time enjoying our huge, rather private site at Catalina State Park, sitting outside reading a long, complicated, odd book. I chaperoned Luna on her many, many excursions the out-of-doors, particularly her explorations near the edge of our "yard", where the tall, dry grasses hide potential dangers. I put the new electric awning out every afternoon, and brought it back in again a dusk - being able to do this alone was worth every cent we spent on that awning!

Odel called yesterday morning to describe the scene he saw looking out his window: 5 inches of snow on the ground! Memphis was unfortunate enough to be included in the record-breaking snowstorm that moved across the eastern states over the past few days. The last time measurable snow fell in Memphis was in 1984!

Here in Tucson, we have been experiencing higher-than-average warmth - and record-breaking heat for this date is forecast today: 91 degrees. Catalina State Park, north of Tucson and nestled up to high mountains, stays several degrees cooler than the heat sink of Tucson, but I am glad we have 50 amps of power here to run the AC's.

Our friends Jeanie and Ray were here at Catalina when we arrived, and have stayed until today. After a couple lazy days of doing "not much", I walked over to their loop on Saturday morning and invited them to go for a hike. Ray had plans, so Jeanie and I set off together. New wildflowers are opening every day, and the loop we hiked affords good views of the arid mountains, the greening washes, and closeup views of saguaros, ocotillos, palo verde...

Jeanie invited me to drop by for happy hour that afternoon. When I did, I was invited to stay for dinner planned and prepared by Ray: grilled skewers of shrimp, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. We ate outdoors in the perfect evening weather, then I stopped at Loop B's fabulous shower house on the way home for a long hot shower - a fine, fine day.

Yesterday morning, Ray joined us on our loop hike, then I motivated myself to tackle an ongoing problem: a slow leak in one of the Jeep's tires. Fill the tire with 34 pounds of air one day - it will have 25 pounds of air the next.

I fired up the motorhome to run our on-board air compressor, hauled out the air hose and pumped up the tire. Big O tires is just a couple of miles away, so off I went - only to discover that they are closed on Sunday! Sheesh. Then, off to Safeway for grub, and another session with my book and Luna in the afternoon shade.

This last photo shows what a year of hiking does to a pair of boots. I bought new Ariat boots at High Lonesome Feed when we were at Rosanna's. My old pair, though dusty and worn, is still in great exterior shape - but the cushy insoles have been completely smashed. They are retired with honors.

The sun is coming up, Luna is sitting by the door crying loudly to be let out, and I need to deal with the tire. The day begins.