Thanksgiving in St. Louis----Updated 12/28/2006

Just an update on the past week.

We left Apache Junction on Thanksgiving day and flew to St. Louis to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. We were totally surprised that the flying process was so simple after all of the reading we had done about long lines at airport security. We went through security in about 15 minutes. They had table set up just as we entered the security lines demonstrating what was acceptable to bring on board with respect to liquids and gels. They even had bottles of different sizes to show what was good and what was bad.

We arrived in St. Louis about 2:00 pm., rented a car and headed for Harrahs.....there we met Dave and Adena (Barb's brother and sister in law) and Barb's mom. Barb and I had to talk to security in order to convince them to give her mom a card so that she could enter the casino. For those of you not familiar with St. Louis gambling regulations, the only way that a casino can operate is if it is on water and the only way a person can enter the casino is if they have a card indicating that they are over 21.....and this must be a photo ID. Well , Barb's mom, who is 92, and has not driven for a number of years and never in St. Louis, did not have drivers license or any other photo ID. So they did not want to give her a card to enter the casino. All Barb had was her social security and medicare card. What a dilemma! They had to have a special conference with the supervisors and finally decided to let her in for just the evening. So she had her chance to play in the casino..............everyone played the nickel poker machines except me, who played the 1 cent machines...........I am in to big spending. Actually, I play 9 lines at 3 cents each, which means I am betting 27 cents each hand...........and I won $40. Not bad, huh!

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Steakhouse at Harrahs. Food was fair but the evening was great and it was good to visit.

The next day, Friday, Robyn, Scott, Zachary, and Ashley came to the condo, picked me up and we all went to the Arch. Zach and Ashley had never be up...........neither have I, and I still did not go up this time. But they enjoyed it immensely.

From Thanksgiving ...

For the evening we met Barb, Dave, Adena and Barb's mom for dinner at her residence.


We played Uno after dinner and everyone had a great time, especially the kids......that is the big kids.




The rest of the weekend was just busy...........watch Oklahoma football game on Sunday with everyone, ran errands on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for trip to Brussels to visit Susan, Peter, Nicolas and Carolyn.

Later in the week we met my Aunt Edna and my cousins, Jan, Mitch and Allison. Rachel could not make it since she was picking a friend up at the airport. We had a nice dinner here and had a chance to catch up with everyone's activities for the past year.

Our next big event is to pack and get ready for the trip to Belgium.

Love to all of you,
Linda and Barb

So what do we do everyday ?

We cannot believe how busy we have become. Just to give you an idea,......here is what yesterday was like:

6:00 am: Woke up early so we would have time to have coffee, read the paper, check e-mail, and shower.

7:45 am: Linda worked out on the elliptical machine and Barb did stretches in the exercise room.

8:00 am - 9:30 am: We reported to the pickleball court for lessons.

9:30 am: Returned to the Rv to freshen up.

10:00 am - 12:00 pm : Reported to club house for seminar about financial planning and legal stuff like trusts, probate, etc. It was presented by a lawyer and a financial planner and really very interesting. The best part was that Barb and I really are doing the right things in those areas and perhaps, just may need to do a few revisions.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Rested, had lunch.

1:00 pm - 4:30 pm: Went shopping to Walmart and Best Buy for stuff..........you know like groceries, drugs, etc.

5:00 pm: Linda went to drumming practice and Barb went to the Hot Peppers meeting. Our RV park is divided into 5 "neighborhoods" and ours is called the Hot Peppers. Once a month they have a potluck dinner and meeting.

7:00 pm: We finally returned home to discuss our day, watch the news and get ready for bed.

Because today is another busy day beginning with Pickleball at 7:00 am.

Love to all of you.

Nov. 15: Where Have We Been?

As you have noticed, it has been almost three weeks since I have written. And I suppose you wonder why.............. well , I have no excuse except to say we have been busy now that we are not traveling and have gotten into the "seniors" retired mentality.

When we left the Basque, we headed south to Las Cruces, spent 2 days there. We were at a campground that was about a mile from the main downtown section of Las Cruces, so we walked there for an afternoon. Old town is just a square with a bandstand, benches and stadium seating for concerts. They were beginning to decorate for the Day of the Dead that would be starting in a couple of days. They had banners hanging from the light posts. We realized that we would be missing this very unique celebration by just a day. It is a wonderful custom on honoring and remember those family members or others we love who have died. It is a celebration of their life.

Surrounding the square were shops and restuarants. So we wondered through the stores, but bought nothing. Since it was a lovely day, we got some coffee and sat on the square and watched people.

We left Las Cruces heading for our winter destination in Apache Junction. On the way, we detoured about 20 miles off the road to stop for the night at Harrahs.......no surprise there. I played a 2 cent machine and walked away winning $100. Barb had fun at the Texas Hold'em tables, no surprise there, either.

Before reaching Apache Junction, we had to do a yearly maintenance stop at the Freightliner dealer. So we dry camped for two days on their parking lot while they did the oil changes and everything else that goes with the yearly checkup. During the day we had to be gone from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. We went out for breakfast, shopped and then spent the afternoon at the movies. That is a rarity for us! Actually I think the last time we went to a theatre was at last year's check up.

So we arrived at Superstition Mountaln Resort in Apache Junction on October 31 and reunited with many of our friends from last year. It is so nice to return to our new "home" and be greeted so warmly. We have been here two weeks and have immediately become involved in several activities. We are both taking pickleball classes and playing on a regular basis. In addition, Barb is playing poker and learning Euchre. I am taking drumming lessons and Photoshop Classes. Seems like we are busy each day and enjoying. Pickleball requires us to be out and ready by 8:00 am and sometimes at 7:00 am. That is a bit difficult for me to get moving so early but once we start, it is great fun. Can't say we are great but we are improving. Many of the folks here participate in the Senior World Games and Senior Olympics and have earned medals for placing in the top three. So we are being trained by the experts! We are just happy to connect the paddle to the ball and see it go over the net.

Pictures will follow in the next posting...............

Love to all of you.