Tommy Lasorda & Antars Sports Bistro

We are in Tempe, AZ for a Karate tournament this weekend.  Gerry's grandnephew is participating in a tournament on Saturday and since they made the long drive from their home in Park City, Utah, we decided to meet them halfway.  Not exactly halfway, but close enough.

The team members and their parents all went to dinner at Antar's Sports Bistro near the Arizona State University campus.  I was a little surprised by the choice since the children ranged in age from 4-14, but it worked out fine.  They put us in the back section and we had it all to ourselves for most of the time.  They did serve some big meals there and this steak salad took first place honors.  More than enough for two people & they ordered a pizza, also.  The pizza went into a box and was taken back to the hotel.

The owner stopped by and welcomed us to his place.  He was very friendly and talked to us for a while.  Then he said we could stay for the private party for the former manager of the LA Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda and 30 of the present day Dodger players that were due to arrive at 6:30.  We left around 8:00 pm and no Lasorda.  He must have been held up at another function so we didn't get to see him.  It was a charity affair to raise money for a boys/girls club and they had a silent auction of sports memorobelia and the starting price was higher than I was willing to pay.  They were also raffling off a chance to sit with Lasorda at the head table for $30/chance. 

I managed to watch two basketball games on 2 of the 48 HD TVs they had all over the place.  Oooopppsss, what happened to Duke & Missouri??  I know a certain lady in Tucson that must be crying in her beer.  Of course, I've been crying in my beer.  Neither Maryland, Illinois nor Arizona got into the NCAA tournament.  Now I will have to root for North Carolina State and St. Louis University.  Go Wolfpack and Billikens!

Erin brought Christopher to the dinner and had an enjoyable meal.  The children sat at one table and the adults at another.  That worked out fine for all of us.   You can tell by her smile that she was happy with the arrangement.  

The restaurant was quite large and had indoor and outdoor seating.  Actually, the outdoor section had a roof over it and was in a breezeway.  There were tvs there also and the place was full.  The area around there had numerous restaurants and bars and was a "happening place" as the younger set likes to say.  It was very nice to see everyone out having a great time in the super weather we are having now.

Ear, Nose & Throat day

Gerry had an appointment with the ENT Dr. here in Tucson.  She has a long standing ear problem and has to have it checked every 6 months.  All was well with the checkup today and she is good to go for the next 6 months.

On the way to the Dr. I was driving in the inside lane of a three lane road and a woman decided to switch lanes.  The front of her car was next to my door and she just pulled over and almost ran into me.  I hit the horn hard and she didn't even flinch in her desire to occupy the same space as us.  I had to hit the brakes hard to avoid having her broadside me.  Blowing the horn loud and long didn't phase this nut.  She just waved to me and continued on her way.  It wasn't possible that she didn't see me and she wanted that space.  Now I understand how road rage comes about on the highway.

We stopped by the French Pastry bakery on the way home from the appointment and picked up some bread and goodies for breakfast in the morning.  Ron & Dee put us on to this place and it has destroyed our attempts at a diet.  

Other than the above it was a quiet day here at the park.

Target shooting in the desert

As many of you are aware, guns are a way of life out here in Arizona.  They take their right to bear arms very seriously and let you know about it in the drop of a hat.  I also believe that the right to bear arms is guaranteed under the Constitution and fully support the fight to keep that right.  Enough about politics, but I needed an introduction into my afternoon.

Ron K and I went target shooting in the desert today and had a great time.  There are numerous gun clubs, public shooting ranges and desert shooting areas.  One such area is a few miles from the RV park and Ron wanted to know how to find the place.  We each took a pistol and headed out in the desert to the shooting place.  It is in an ADOT pond that has long since dried up and provides an embankment to shoot into.  It is also on BLM land and perfectly legal to shoot there.

Ron K setting up targets

 When we pulled up to the shooting area there was another person getting ready for some shooting.  He brought trash bags full of cans, plastic bottles and other targets to shoot at.  He also didn't like to be out in the sunshine that much and brought along a beach umbrella to sit under while shooting.  Smart man.

There were literally thousands of spent shells littering the ground at the shooting site.  Everything from .22, .25, 30-30, .226, shotgun shells and everything in between was laying all over the place.  As bad as it looked, it was much cleaner than the last time I was there.  Evidently a group of shooters clean the area fairly often and it didn't look as bad as it sounds. 

Shotgun shells piled up

 We were out shooting for an hour or so and decided it was time for lunch.  Also, the 80+ temp contributed to our leaving the area.  We decided to stop by Montgomery's in Vail, AZ for lunch and enjoyed a nice meal.  Then it was back to the RV park to rest up for the next adventure.

Quilting & Daylight Savings Time

This past weekend most of the nation went on daylight savings time.  Arizona is the only state that does not go on savings time.  Now that doesn't sound like much, but if you get a call from back East at 9am their time, it is 6am out here.  You would be surprised how many calls we get at 6am in the morning.  Oh, the pain.

Gerry is a member of the CCRV Sewing/Quilting club here at the park and they meet every Tuesday at 10am and do their thing.  With some members leaving for colder climates, it was time to get a group picture of the ladies.  We arrived just as they were assembling for a photo and I managed to get one of the group with my camera. 

Gerry is on the far left in blue

They donate quilts to the Linus project and sell chances on a very nice quilt to raise money to buy the materials in the quilts.  This year they have 4 quilts as prizes and the largest quilt is a beautiful green one fit for a bedspread. 

 One of the ladies has a new machine that machine embroideries designs on the the quilts.  She is showing off a pretty quilt with butterflies on the quilt.

Tonight was pizza night at CCRV and around 80 people showed up for dinner.  The pizza guy brings in oven and semi prepared pizzas and bakes them 6 at a time.  It is amazing how fast 6 pizzas can disappear when the hungry crowd shows up.  Gerry and I joined in the festivities and managed to stuff ourselves with pizza.  Now we are paying for it.  Oh, my aching stomach.  I have to get away from these all you can eat pizza parties or learn some self control.  The latter is doubtful since I have learned my lesson after all these years.

Sunizona and the Ranch

Gerry and I visited with Sharon & Al at the ranch where they are staying now and keeping an eye on the place.  They signed on for a month and love it up there.  They have their 5th wheel situated so the can see the Chiricahua Mountains in the distance.  It snowed up there a couple days ago and the mountains are snow capped.

The ranch is near Sunizona, AZ and is somewhat isolated with the nearest large store 45 miles away.  There is a combination gas station, grocery, garage, video, and saddlery store about 7 miles away.  Of course whatever you purchase there has a high price tag, but it is cheaper to buy the few things you need there rather than making the longer drives.  

Does anyone have any idea what this is?  If you lived on a farm, you should know what they are.

We ran across this wooden Indian on the way back from the visit to the ranch.  I thought it was interesting in that the usual wooden Indian is a man, while this one is a woman.  

By the time we got home the moon was peaking over the mountains and was beautiful.  It is hard to get a nice picture of the moon with our cameras, but this one turned out pretty nice.