UP UP and AWAY!!!

What a FUNtastic adventure!!  Thank you to John Ross of FUNtastic Ballooning for a wonderful ride in his hot air balloon!  OH MY GOSH!!!  It was awesome!!!

 
We met at the ballfield at sunup this morning.

 
John and crew soon had the craft assembled and ready for flight.

 
AND AWAY WE WENT!!!

 
That's Don down there taking a video for me.

 
and Avis took a picture as we passed over head.

 
Pickleball Courts

 

 
Softball Field

 
Golf course

 
Lawn Bowling

 
The RC car field and the RC airfield

 
Main complex and the pool

 
Tennis courts, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and the woodshop

 
Mowers at work on the green

 
What a BEAUTIFUL sight!!

 

 

 
Winds were very light and variable so we just seemed to hang up there in the sky to enjoy the view.  A very very gentle breeze finally took us over near Casa Grande mountain where we landed out in an open field.

 
The crew met us with the truck to pack up.

 
This was a wonderful adventure!  I highly recommend it to everyone!!  Be sure to come up to Palm Park this Friday night to see 6 or 7 of these big balloons.  Rides will be available on the weekend.....although I just heard they are all sold out.  Saturday launching will take place from the ballfield and the 18th fairway.  

We are so fortunate to have John staying here in our resort so you can schedule a ride with him some time.  920-858-3168
Check at the Activities Office for more information.

I took a LOT of photos and posted them up on my Picasa Web Album.    See my launch video at:  Balloon Ride with John Ross

View 143 photos at:  Aerial Photos

Rainy Days

I found myself to be a nosy neighbor the other day so walked across the street to see what Helen was doing.  How clever!  She is painting wine bottles and then sprinkling them with fancy glitter as the first step in making pretty centerpieces for the tennis club Cancer Awareness tournament.  No need for you to save bottles for her as there are many many many empty bottles available in this park!  :)


I went to the show called "Harvest of the Desert" Friday night.  Thank you, Dave, for an excellent presentation!  Dave is a Native American naturalist and told the many uses of our desert plants and the biology that makes them useful.  He has the talent to intersperse enough humor to keep us well entertained.

BEWARE!!  Another nasty virus is circulating in the cyberworld.  You may have heard about it on TV the other day.  If you get a popup from the FBI or the police that claim they've tracked you to illegal websites and request a fine....just ignore.  Do NOT continue.  It may even take over your webcam and show a photo of you as you are at your computer.  Be assured this is indeed a virus and is not law enforcement.  

RAIN!  Again.  Our desert loves the rain and we've certainly received a LOT of it this last week.  The sad news is that it prohibits our outdoor play time but we should have some beautiful desert flowers come spring time.  I hope you're around to see the desert poppies at Picacho Peak  later this season.

 

 

The iPad Users Group met again this Sunday in the Ocotillo Room.  Thank you, Mary, for giving an interesting presentation on Evernote.

Mark your calendar for early tomorrow morning about 7:30 am.  John Ross from "FUN"tastic Ballooning will be launching his hot air balloon from the ballfield......AND.....if all goes as planned, I will be his passenger!  My camera will be fully charged and ready for some aerial photos.  I'm excited!  I warned John that any additional passengers had better be short skinny people or we'll never get off the ground!  :)

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Received some cute emails this week to share with you:

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

POLICE
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked.
'It sure is,' I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do? 

DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.'
'And why not, darling?'
'You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.' 

BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out.
'What have you got there, dear?'
With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!' 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

It's a Duck Race!

Today was the first annual

 LIONS CLUB RUBBER DUCKIE RACE!

Congratulations to our local members of the Lions Club who sponsored this event to raise funds for Gabrielle's Angels.  Gabrielle's Angels is a pet therapy program for abused, neglected, and at risk children.

The gang in the blue shirts are volunteers from Kohls Department Store who agreed to come help capture the ducks after their adventurous trip down the waterway of Palm Creek.  Kohls donated $500 in addition to the volunteers who came on their own time to help with the event.

There were some GREAT prizes including a free RV or park model wash from Squeaky Clean, $100 worth of pet training sessions from Pet Smart, a free manicure from Penneys, plus much more.  

Thank you to Bill Murr for narrating and taking video of the event.  Click on the links to watch the beginning and the end of the race.

Beginning of the Race

Across the Finish Line!

Over 300 ducks entered the event and we believe all 300 were captured before they escaped into the Palm Creek lakes.  

The Lions Club will be sponsoring another Duck Race in March but next month in February, they're conducting a "Minute to Win It" contest.  Watch for details.

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RC Fun

We have so many fun opportunities here at our beautiful resort!  I looked at the Activities schedule for this week and decided to MAKE time to go over and watch the Remote Control cars on Wednesday afternoon.      The track we have here would be any kid's dream come true......and our big kids staying here enjoy it too.  The track is laid out with hills and turns for the  cars and a nice set of work tables and a viewing stand for us "kids" who come to watch or race.

 

 

 

 
The cars become airborn when they race over a hill.  Most of the time they land wheels down and just keep on traveling.....but sometimes they don't.  Accidents can happen. 

These are rather pricey toys but what else do we want to do with all that money except have fun.
Some of these cars travel up to 70 miles per hour!

 

 
I'm assuming that just one car is never enough.  Like all hobbiests, you start small and just keep adding to the list as you go along.  A tool kit is definitely a needed accessory.

Thank you to Ron Johnson (aka Popkorn),  Larry Barnhart  & Dennis Talbert for a fun afternoon and for sharing information about their hobby.

 
Watch this YouTube video of the day's race!
RC Cars at Palm Creek

 That was a fun fun afternoon.  I started the morning by heading over to the Ocotillo Room to hear a presentation by Dr. Seipel who is an Orthopedic Surgeon that specializes in knee replacements.  Unfortunately, I've had a couple accidents that make me a prime target as one of his future patients so I was anxious to hear the latest news about the procedure.  I thought it was great that he took the time from a very busy schedule to come here as a speaker.  I learned a lot and he left behind some informative brochures (plus bagels and coffee!).  I like the way Ann in Activities schedules speakers with topics of concern to us Seniors.  Thank you, Ann.

Later I ran into Ken Reese who is working on constructing a new bulletin board for the Pickleball courts.  Wow!  That's quite a project.  

We had some very unexpected light rain this morning that dampened our fun at the pickleball courts but I did learn more about the bulletin board already in place.  Look at the nice shades that can be pulled to help protect the documents posted on that board.  Lots of time and effort were put into this.

Joyce Staffen was tutoring me to become a referee for pickleball.  Thank you, Joyce, for having patience with an eager student.

Another note of interest................I noticed two more holes are now dug out for placement of new homes in the new section.  I reckon you'll get more photos like this as the season and growth progresses.

I didn't take any photos from the Wednesday night show, but want to take a moment to praise the entertainer -- Kenny Miller -- for his performance.  Wow.  That guy can really sing! and he sang MANY popular famous songs of yesteryear.  Very nice!  I would go back to see him for a return performance next year.

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David Letterman's Top Ten Reasons Why Golf Is Better Than Sex......

#10... A below par performance is considered damn good.

#09.... You can stop in the middle and have a cheeseburger and a couple of beers.

#08... It's much easier to find the sweet spot.

#07... Foursomes are encouraged.

#06... You can still make money doing it as a senior.

#05.... Three times a day is possible.

#04... Your partner doesn't hire a lawyer if you play with someone else.

#03... If you live in Florida, you can do it almost every day.

#02... You don't have to cuddle with your partner when you're finished. 

And the NUMBER ONE reason why golf is better than sex...

#01... When your equipment gets old you can replace it!