ADIOS AMIGOS PARTY

Every year at the end of the season, the park provides a party for everyone. It consists of a free Mexican dinner, a band, and some fun. They have two lines, one inside and one outside, so things move along pretty smoothly. Karen and Willie Brown are here for a week, so we went together. Here's part of the crowd.



There was a lot of dancing of all types, especially line dancing.



We've been warned at the last two meetings that there would be a "wet zone" and anyone with water of any type was to stay in that area, so if you stayed out of the zone, you wouldn't get wet. This came from Beth, the gal who runs the place, and Jean, the activity director. Well, they had a zone with no one in it-but the water fights were everywhere else. The two worst offenders were Beth and Jean. Here's Jean fighting with one of the men.

The puddles are from water balloons and some even used wastebaskets of water. All in good fun. Here our leaders are dancing, Beth's in blue and tan and Jean's two to the right in blue.

Since the park is cheaper, people are friendlier and younger, and we have more fun-it looks like Browns are going to come here next year. We've already signed up and our new friends have picked out a place for us in their neighborhood. We're not ready to settle down yet, but a couple months in good weather in winter, is a good plan.

SAN TAN FLAT

Pat and Kathy wanted to share one of their favorite restaurants with us, so we went to San Tan Flat. The food was delicious and the price was reasonable. It's a cool place!

You can eat inside or outside.



Here's my flat iron steak.

If you look closely, you'll see many grills around the tables. On the menu they list a bag of marshmallows for $2.99, so Don got a bag. He sure looked sheepish when he had 12 marshmallows in a baggie.

It was probably our imagination, but boy were they good! So, we proved we're gullible, and Fitz bought another bag! Here's Kathy toasting a few.

The menu also listed s'mores kits for $7.99-we were too chicken to see how many you get in that bag. Regardless of the marshmallow price-it was a great experience!

CUBS VS ROCKIES

On Tuesday, we went up to Fitzgerald's in Chandler, and drove over to Mesa, to Hohokam Park, to watch the Cubs beat the Rockies. It was a good game and we had beautiful weather. It was my own fault that I got a bit of sunburn. This park is one of the older ones, but it kind of fits the Cubs!

View from our lawn seat. They had a record breaking crowd.

Final score-Cubs 9 Rockies 8. Sure hope our Cubbies can keep hitting!

DERBY PARTY CONTINUED

Aren't our horses cute?

Our table.

The other racing fans.

It was a great idea! Thanks again for inviting us!

FIRST ANNUAL DERBY PARTY

Saturday afternoon, we were invited to a derby party with 14 other couples, by Sue and Allen Hanson and Marilyn and Don Karsten. We were asked to dress as though we were attending a derby. It was pretty hot, so a lot of people wore shorts with their hats. We divided into three groups and played a horse race board game. We paid a dollar for two rolls of pennies, then paid for horses that scratched, and won if you had the winners numbers. They also had a Canadian guy who was the "pit bull", who whacked people who didn't pay or behave correctly, and also rewarded winners. It was a hoot! It was amazing how excited everyone got-but fun!! We all took appetizers and of course they were delicious! Even the hats were fun! A second annual derby party gets our votes!
Here's a picture of our hats.

Our pretty party givers-Marilyn in black and Sue in aqua and purple.

How do you like this guys outfit?

Sue's adding a tie to Don's outfit with some difficulty.

Our "pit bull".

Food, glorious food!

DILLON'S WITH WHITES

On Friday, we went up to Surprise to see Kathy and Jerry before they head back to Iowa. We ended up going to Dillon's overlooking the golf course for catfish. The food was delicious-it was a nice evening. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures.

LUNCH IN FLORENCE

Since we were hot and hungry, we drove in to Florence for food and air conditioning, and found another one of those Larry Wilson type places. The sandwiches were good and they had one apple fritter left which Kathy couldn't pass up. It was delicious!

ANOTHER PUZZLE

Can you find the monk in this picture?

MONASTERY FLOWERS

Just a few pretty flowers.

MORE MONASTERY

This is how it looks beyond the grounds they have developed.

Another chapel.



A monk working by the parking lot.

The cemetery lies beyond the parking lot.

This is the unfinished chapel.

It was a very interesting experience.

THE GREEK MONASTERY

On Thursday morning, we met Fitzgeralds at the Greek Monastery, nine miles south of Florence. It's out in the barren desert in the middle of nowhere. Someone referred to it as an oasis, and that's pretty appropriate. The monastery was started in 1996 by 6 monks, and today there are 40. Their days and nights are filled with prayer, work, and some rest periods. There are five finished chapels and one almost finished up on a hill. There are also other buildings consisting of living quarters, a dining room and offices. In between and all around are gazebos, fountains, crosses, trees, bushes and flowers. Everyone who enters, has to be clothed appropriately. Men have to wear long pants, long sleeved shirts and covered feet. Women have to wear long skirts, long sleeved shirts that are modest, scarves tied under your chin and socks and flat shoes. If you don't have what you need, they give it to you to wear.It was 86 degrees by the time we left, and we were hot. The tour starts after a monk serves you a welcoming cookie.

Ain't we cute!!

Onward to the main chapel.

After the first chapel, they give you a map, and you're on your own. All five churches are basically the same,as far as icons, chandeliers and chairs around the sides, but some have wood, some marble and they're different sizes. This is the next one.

Sitting and standing in the chairs inappropriately-women sit on one side and men on the other.