Travel Log 5: December 5, 2008 - Are We In Mesa, or An Old Folks' Home?

On November 25, we left Lake Pleasant and headed into Mesa, Arizona.  We celebrated the American Thanksgiving on November 27. We had our own little turkey dinner. It was a pleasure to have the oven going as it poured with rain that day and the next. 

 

We’ve done a bit of sightseeing. We went to Scottsdale one day. It certainly is a lovely suburb – very ‘old money’ wealthy with every street and building immaculately maintained. There is a canal running through the area so we had a nice outdoor lunch at a lovely restaurant along the water. 

 

Mesa itself is the land of RV park after RV park. We have read that it is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. for snowbirds. We are staying at the Mesa Spirit RV Resort. Nice pools and clubhouse, and our RV site itself is one of the largest we’ve seen complete with a little lemon tree. The resort is very clean, and really big! We’ve been lost twice just within the resort’s walls. Seriously, if we can’t find our way around our own RV park, how will we navigate Mexico?  Here, there's always an old fella on a golf cart happy to direct us out of the park.  I don't think we'll have that luxury in Mexico!  

 

There is no shortage of (dare I say?) really “old” retirees here. It is a forced exercise in confronting one’s mortality.  Mesa is like a the biggest old folks' home ever.   Yesterday, someone actually called me “kid”, as in “how you doing today, kid?”

 

We plan to leave Mesa in the next few days and head towards California’s San Diego area. Before heading to Mexico, we will need a bit of time to get organized as different insurance is required for travelling in Mex, etc. Southern California seems like a good jumping off point for us. Our plan has been to spend about a month in California before going to Mex, however we are re-thinking that with regard to the US/Canadian exchange rate of late. We may try to get into Mexico sooner.

 

We are all fine and healthy. Bailey is starting to act more like herself and get into a routine, although, she is still happiest in her kennel in the truck. I’m sure being in her kennel is confirmation for her that she will not be left behind!