JACT 2021 Road Trip part 2 of 3 - Snow, Saguaros, Spring Training & Golf

Hello! Thanks for joining us for part 2 of our 3,500-mile road trip we took this year, accompanied by my 70+year-old parents who had never vacationed this way before. Leaving Moab, UT, we pick up here on day 6 of our vacation. Our travel day, March 24th was planned out for about 500 miles & an 8-hour day of driving plus a few stops along the way, including a drive thru the Petrified Forest Natl Park. However, absolutely nothing went the way we had planned for the day!

“If the plan doesn’t work out, change the plan, not the goal!”

Our route took us from Utah thru Colorado, into New Mexico, then Arizona. The weather refused to cooperate & we literally drove thru 5 different snowstorms. It was stressful because even though my husband has been a CDL licensed truck driver, I felt he was hauling us too fast for the road conditions. He gets a little irritated with me asking him to slow down all the time - do all couples go thru this?? LOL... But I couldn’t help it… we passed two tractor-trailer sets flipped over off the side of the road! This fact, along with the road sign saying HWY 666, encouraged me to be persistent! He did great at both driving & compromising which made his wife very happy. Unfortunately, the slower pace added extra hours to the travel day. The four of us unanimously decided to bypass the Ntl Park & just go straight to our destination in Mesa, AZ.

We were all relieved to finally leave the snow behind. As we came out of the mountains, it became a game to announce the temperature as it warmed up one degree at a time. Then mom shared how she had never seen a Saguaro cactus & was eagerly waiting for her first one. I believe we were coming down thru the Tonto Natl Forest when she saw it - one lone cactus standing tall up off the side of the road. She cried out in joy, startling us all, “Gary! Gary! I saw one! Did you see it??” He hadn’t, but soon enough, we were immersed in what seemed a forest. We had the most inspiring end to our drive, with the sun setting on the Sajaros along the Salt River. Sharing that moment with my mom is something I will never forget. As we settled in at the Mesa KOA, I was so thankful that although nothing went as planned, everything turned out pretty damn good.

The following 3 days were all about the boys. It was a bucket list item for both my dad & James to sit out on the lawn in left field at an MLB spring training game. In fact, it was the only way we convinced my dad to come on the road trip anyway, as driving over 3,000 miles never did appeal to him. We all went to Hohokum Field to watch our Mariners play the Oakland A’s on Thur night. It was a restricted attendance with Covid restraints, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves! Yet it was our first public sporting event in over a year, so we were really thankful to be there. The next night, mom stayed at camp to relax with the dogs while the 3 of us traveled to Sloan Park to watch the Cubs vs. the Giants. It was a more extensive complex & some of the top players were getting some time on the field, which was super exciting… especially for my dad!

We were in for an unexpected treat after the ballgame that night. Unknown to us at the time of planning this trip, dad’s cousin Donna & her husband Terry were at their place in Mesa. After seeing we were in town via FB, they invited us over for dinner. They really went all out grilling steaks, sautéing mushrooms, etc., for a delicious meal & we had just an overall fantastic visit together. It was incredibly heartfelt after sheltering at home the last year without any socializing!

On our last day in Mesa, we picked an affordable golf course nearby to get nine holes in for an afternoon tee time. That morning, James & I washed a week’s worth of laundry, relaxed at the pool, then headed to golf with dad. Mom chose to stay at camp & enjoy her alone time. We should have researched the course a little better... but we are just getting back into the sport after years of not playing, & why pay for an expensive club just to hack it all up? LOL

We had a great time at the Apache Creek Golf Club, but I gotta say it was pretty rough. James out golfed us with a 51, dad landed at 55 & I was all over the place with a 76. One of my shots went way left over to the street then rolled right thru an intersection. The following YouTube video ends with our golfing adventure & maybe you will agree when you see the footage that the fairways were indeed challenging!

Click link to watch video!

Arizona life is certainly appealing & we get why so many of our PNW friends snowbird there. It may be that we choose Mesa ourselves for a retirement home base when we eventually go to full-time RV’ing down the road. We left Mesa for CA on March 28th with a one-night stop near Palm Springs. As a parting gift from the desert, we were visited by a single roadrunner at camp. He was a cute little guy & a first for both of my parents. What a joy to see their excitement! Mom followed him around, cocktail in hand, chatting with him, “Beep, Beep!” Please join us again soon for the 3rd & final part of this road trip in our next blog when we visit Yosemite Natl Park, Elk Country RV Park & Coos Bay OR, making our way home. Until then, keep planning your own adventure, then GO DO IT! #JACTventures