Author: Rudy

After a quick breakfast and a check on the internet to see what the kids’ flight status was, I was off to the Palm Springs Airport just in time to welcome Tim and Alex and Max at 9:16 this morning. Everybody was happy. Max had slept through the big flight and Tim and Alex were glad for that. Tim collected the luggage and we got in the van and headed for ‘home’. Got everyone settled into their new place and then Sue made an eleven o’clock lunch. Great! That is exactly the right time for lunch! Especially for the kids, who’d gotten up at 3am for the ride to the Winnipeg airport.
After lunch Sue and I left to go look at a house for possible March rental up in Sun City. Alex had a nap. So did Max. The house was large and very nice, but under-furnished. Our agent, Michelle, said she’d keep looking. On the way back I called Brian and Val Funk — a morning email from Brian and a phone call had informed me that they were on the road to Palm Springs from where they are staying in San Diego — a convention on the weekend. So now I called them and we arranged to meet at our house for a drink. They arrived at our gate just a few minutes after I did. So we all sat outside on the patio and had drinks and visited. Alex awoke too, and so did Max. After they left we sat around and visited and played with Max. In fact, Sue and Alex took Max to the pool but that apparently was not to his liking and they returned almost immediately. Sue put Max down for a nap that turned into a major snooze. Supper was barbecued salmon and rice — very nice, as usual. We watched the Daily Show followed by The Shark Tank. That’s when Max finally woke up. So now we could catch up on lost time — and we had a great visit with Max. The kids were tired and went to bed a little after 9pm. Max stayed up a bit longer, but by 10:30 he too was asleep again. I watched a bit of TV after Sue went to bed. And that’s how Day One of Tim and Alex and Max’s visit to Palm Springs went.

Woke up at 6:00 — Sue asking ‘what’s that noise coming from your computer?’ Then just before 7:00 I hear it again. Must be my calendar alerting me to someone’s birthday or something like that. I get out of bed. Check the computer. No, it’s a missed call from Alex. I skype her: what’s up? She needs to know our address in order for them to select their  seats for tomorrow’s flight.

Today is our last day before our children arrive for a visit. That meant that Sue worked hard all morning, washing the sheets and cleaning the room for our guests. I put together a homemade ‘crib’ and assembled the jolly jumper we bought yesterday.

Breakfast was fresh mangos and yoghurt. The fruit here is so good. So was our morning coffee. Michelle, our real estate agent who is looking for a place for us for March, called. Has she got a deal for us! Suggests we go check out the neighbourhood up in Sun City. Okay, we’ll do that.

So shortly after lunch we got in the van and headed up to Sun City. Very impressive complex. Lovely clubhouse, and beautiful golf course. Well we’ll get back to her on that.

We had a 2:00 tee time at Palm Desert Golf Course, so we hurried down to the course. Got there half an hour early — but got on to the tees right away. Bonus. And the course was so nice. Wide fairways. Long holes. And no one behind us. And not too long waits for the foursome ahead of us. And I played so well. (I only wish I could have played like this when we golfed Mountain Brook with Driedgers on the weekend — this is more like my game these days.) Mostly good straight tee shots. Pretty good putting. We actually managed to finish all 18 holes — although it was getting dark at 5:30 and we had to hurry a bit. My final score was 50 on the front, 51 on the back nine. I didn’t break 100, but this is as close as I’ve gotten this year. And we had a lot of fun.

After golf we stopped at the Albertson’s corner. Sue shopped some more groceries while I took the flash drive to the print shop and printed out all of Sue’s February statements. Then home for supper. Sue whipped up a roasted chicken with asparagus and tomatoes. We watched the Daily Show and Colbert at 7, then our Redbox DVD, “Jeff Who Lives at Home”. Enjoyed the movie. Then a bit more TV while listening to the dishwasher. And then to bed. Gotta get up and out to the airport tomorrow morning.

After breakfast we cleaned up the house a bit. Vacuumed. Getting ready for our visitors. In the afternoon Sue went to sit at the pool for a couple of hours. She read her book on the Kindle. I worked on the computer — made a page for the SMC Echoes newsletter. At around 5pm we went shopping. First groceries. Then to Walmart to buy baby supplies — diapers, etc. Yep, getting ready for visitors. We got home at 7 and had supper. Then we watched an HBO movie, “Five Year Engagement”, starring Emily Blunt. It was on my ‘to rent’ list, so I was surprised and pleased to see it on HBO. The story is good, the actress is cute, and the soundtrack is AWESOME! Van Morrison’s songs are the main feature of the Five Year Engagement Soundtrack; quite a few of his songs are in the movie. And any movie that has Van Morrison songs is a good movie, no matter what the plot is. After the movie we watched Charlie Rose. Then off to bed.

Had our last breakfast in Gold Canyon with Dave and Marylou. Then we packed up our bikes, clubs, luggage, and headed west for Palm Desert. We stopped for fuel and lunch at Quartzite, just before the California border — gas is 50 cents cheaper in Arizona. We got to Palm Desert at around 1:30. Instead of going home, we decided to go downtown and see about a condo or home rental for March. Our first stop was a realty office not far from our place — and we were very encouraged after meeting with an agent. Our chances are much better now than they would have been a few months ago — she suggested that there may be homeowners who don’t have someone booked, or have a cancellation, and will be happy to rent it out now. We drove down a few blocks and checked with another country club — only to find the opposite situation — all booked, very expensive, not very optimistic about our chances. Oh well, we’ll see.

We went home and unpacked. It was hot in Palm Springs. Time for a cold beer. At 4:30 we headed to Cathedral City, to the cheap theatre, to see the movie “The Sessions”, for which Helen Hunt is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Good movie!

After the movie we stopped at a small Chinese restaurant and ordered take-out. We went home and had supper. Then some TV, including an HBO documentary.

Cloudy morning. We slept till 8. Then Dave and Marylou and Sue and I got on our bikes and pedalled down to Bashas to pick up a copy of the New York Times. Then on to the Walgreen’s coffee shop for breakfast and coffee. Cycled back to the house and sat down to enjoy CBS Sunday Morning, followed by the last day of the Phoenix Open on TV. Mickelson hung onto his lead and won. Then we switched it to the Superbowl, which started just after 4pm.

Dave made a pot of chilli and Marylou baked a cake. We had snacks and watched as the Ravens surprised the Forty-niners in the first half. After the Beyonce half-time show San Francisco kicked off the second half only to have the kick returned for another Raven touchdown. Then the lights went out in the New Orleans Superdome. For nearly half an hour! And when they finally came back on and the game resumed, the momentum was with San Francisco. But in the end (yes, the end — in the final 90 seconds, actually) the Forty-niners came up just a little short and lost the game. Disappointment for Rudy. The others in our Superbowl Party said ‘I told you so’. We had supper and then watched one of Dave’s PVR’d movies, a western with Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner. Not too bad. Went to bed just before midnight. A good day. It’s been a very fun time here in Arizona. Tomorrow right after breakfast we go back ‘home’ to Palm Desert.

Slept well. Woke up to a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Had a leisurely morning, watching golf on TV — the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Mickelson, who yesterday just missed shooting a 59, continues to keep the pressure on, and the 16th hole is surely getting a bit out of control. MaryLou and Sue went for a nearly 2-hour walk. When they got back we had leftover pizza for lunch.

Then off we were to the Mountain Brook Golf Course for our 1:00 tee time. The weather was a warm 75 degrees. The course was busy. My game was more like ‘the old game’ than what I thought it should be. But it was a fun day, and it brought back a lot of very fond memories for me. We finished our 18 holes by around 5:30, with the sun just setting.

Got some great photos of the patio at Dave and Mary Lou’s — with the spine of Dinosaur jutting out against the sunset, and the familiar side of Superstition Mountain reflecting it. Dave barbecued steaks for supper. After a full afternoon of outdoor activity we were famished, and supper was delicious. After supper we settled in front of the TV and watched the highlights of today’s action at the Phoenix Open. Then we watched one of Dave’s PVR’d movies — Kinky Boots. Not enough kinky to keep all of us awake right till the end. The evening ended with a bit of basketball on TV, and then up to the room to write my journal and go to sleep. Photos are coming later.

This morning after breakfast we started packing. I loaded our bikes and golf clubs into the van, Sue sorted clothes and packed our suitcase. We’re off to Gold Canyon for the weekend. It’s a 4.5 hour drive. We left our place at 10. Just down Country Club to Interstate 10. Then straight east to Phoenix. We drove through the desert, traffic busy in both directions, mountains on either side. It was an easy drive. We crossed into Arizona around lunch time. Stopped to fill up gas because it’s $3.25 instead of $3.79 as soon as you cross the border from California.

It didn’t seem like a very long drive — and once we got into western Phoenix it actually felt like we were ‘home’. We stopped at ‘our’ Basha’s grocery store to pick up some beer. Then up around the back end of Gold Canyon, through the gates, and there we were at the home Dave and Marylou have rented for the winter. It’s a very nice house, and the view is spectacular. We had happy hour on the back patio, in the shade of Dinosaur Mountain, with Superstition Mountain reflecting the pink rays of the setting sun. Gorgeous. We decided on pizza for supper, so I assembled my bike and Dave and I cycled off along the golf cart path on the Sidewinder course, to the pizza restaurant. Order pizzas and then cycled to the coffee shop at the Walgreens corner while we waited for them. The tricky part was bungee-cording 2 pizzas to the bike rack and then cycling them back to the house along that same golf cart path — in total darkness. But the stars guided our way and the coyotes kept a respectable distance. Marylou had made a salad. After supper we watched a Mumford and Sons concert on TV. Visited until nearly midnight. Now it’s bedtime — looking forward to bacon and eggs tomorrow morning, and golf in the afternoon.

I slept in this morning again. After our morning fruit (grapefruit and banana salad by Sue) we watched some golfers from our kitchen for a while. I saw what was quite probably a golf pro who was giving a lesson to 4 old ladies hit his ball from the tee blocks right to the front fringe of the green — at least 250 yards. I hadn’t seen anyone do that before. Later I watched a couple of old-timers dribble their shots off the tee, and a few others whack their drives into the porches of the houses lining the 13th hole. And that’s how we entertain ourselves here in Chaparral Country Club.
At around 11 we got on our bikes and went for a nice long ride — about 30kms, but with some stops along the way. We were looking for some options for renting a place here for March. We ended up at the Visitor’s Center in Rancho Mirage. Got some leaflets.
Back home we had lunch and then Sue headed out to pool for the afternoon. I worked on some more web projects. Didn’t read at all today. We had an early supper and then went out to see a movie. I couldn’t find the theatre at first, so our 4 minute ride to the cinema included at least 4 major U-turns and we almost cancelled the deal. But eventually we found the shopping complex at The River in Rancho Mirage. We parked our car in the one remaining parking spot and ran to the ticket office. Got in just in time — to see 30 minutes of movie previews in this huge theatre with a huge gorgeous screen — and 3 people besides Sue and me waiting for the movie to begin! Yeah, it was empty. The whole complex seemed empty, although the parking lot was packed. Maybe the restaurants were busy; but not the theatre and not any of the ‘fashion’ stores we ran by on our way to the theatre.
We saw “Rust and Bone” — a french “best foreign film” nominee — with subtitles. It was over 2 hours long, and the story was completely captivating. We both really liked it.
Back at home we had some ice cream, watched a bit of late night TV, and then went to bed. Tomorrow we plan to leave here around 10, heading to Phoenix for Superbowl Weekend.

Sue was ‘Suzie-homemaker’ this morning. She cleaned all the big mirrored-doors on the closets, and all the windows. Then she baked another batch of cookies. I worked on a website and listened to old Neil Young albums. Alex skyped us — from Toronto, where she and Max have gone for a 4 day ‘retreat’ while Tim attends a trade show there. Max’s first plane ride was ‘perfect’.
After lunch Sue went to the pool to read. Then we hopped into the van for the 2-mile ride down to Shadow Mountain Golf Club. We’d gone there once before and liked it. It was a very nice afternoon. Our golf was a lot of fun too, although we had to wait for the groups ahead of us at nearly every hole. We skipped a couple of holes at the end because it was getting dark and cooling off, and instead of waiting at the tee blocks we could golf the last 4 holes without waiting. Sue wasn’t that pleased with her game, but that’s how golf is.
After golf we idled around the east end of town a bit, before coming back home for supper. Sue made one of her favourites, beans. No movie rental tonight, so we tried watching a movie on HBO. It wasn’t very good, and neither was the ‘best superbowl commercials’ show we switched to instead. Finally, at 9pm, we watched Frontline on PBS — all about funerals and funeral homes in North America. Followed several stories of death, including one couple’s final days with their 2-year-old child. A very interesting and well-done show.
Sue was off to bed early — and I sat and worked on my website until around 1:00 — and forgot to right my journal until now, next morning.

Breakfast — a treat today! Scrambled eggs. The golfing ladies were out in full force today, decked out in glittery getup, driving their pimped-out mini Cadillac golf carts, and duffing their drives off in all directions.
Read more of my book today. Sue made lunch at around twelve and then went out to sit and read at the pool. Then at around 3 we headed out for a walk. Sue wanted to walk to Bristol Farms, an ‘organic’ grocery store. It’s about 2 miles from our place. After browsing around in the aisles for a bit we went across the street to Starbucks for an afternoon coffee. Then to the Redbox at Albertson’s to return my DVD and pick up my next movie. Then back home. It was cool, especially as the sun was setting, but we sure noticed that the days are longer now than they were when we arrived here a month ago. And as long as we were walking we weren’t cold. Back home we had a little happy hour. Then Sue made spaghetti leftovers for supper. Watched our movie — Searching for Sugar Man, an Oscar-nominated documentary about the forgotten ’70’s folksinger, Rodriguez. Pretty good. Watched a PBS special about Henry Ford after that, and then off to bed. Got a tee time booked for tomorrow afternoon. Here are today’s photos: