Saturday: Our final breakfast with Ed and Jess was bacon and eggs. Then they packed their things and loaded up the van. By noon we were off. First stop: the big Mesa Marketplace Swap Meet. Today was the warmest and sunniest day so far, and the marketplace was packed. Ed and I wandered around the outside aisles and Sue and Jess did their own thing. We’d agreed to meet at the center food court for hotdogs and beer, but it was too noisy and crowded and when we finally met there at 1pm we decided to go somewhere else for lunch. We ended up driving to the Apache Junction Fruit Market first. We loaded up with fresh fruits and vegetables (the Hildebrands were buying supplies for their next week) and then headed all the way to Gilbert for another shopping stop at Trader Joe’s. But first, a quick stop at the Peter Piper Pizza Parlour, a ‘Chuck-E-Cheese’-style restaurant, for lunch.

After Trader Joe’s we drove along Baseline Road all the way past Tempe out to just north of South Mountain, where Ed and Jess are staying for another week, sharing a rented house together with 3 other couples. We made one final shopping stop at a nearby Fry’s grocery store. It was about 4:30 by the time we got to the Legacy Golf Resort where the Hildebrand’s house was. We unloaded their groceries and luggage. The home was very nice; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a great view of the 16th fairway and the South Mountains. We had planned to go for a hike in those mountains, but it was quite warm and probably getting a bit too late for that. We were just having a drink on the patio when one of the other couples who were staying at the house arrived. They joined us for a drink and then left to go out for supper. Ed ordered Chinese food for us. We picked it up and had a last supper together at the house. Then we said our goodbyes and headed back to our place — a 50-minute drive. It had been a very fine week spent together with the Hildebrands; but it was also good to have our house back to ourselves. We poured a glass of wine and watched some crappy TV. By 10pm we were tired and went to bed.