Prescott, AZ

After Craig’s  Zoom call, we headed over to the church parking lot where Mark and Roxanne attend, where we will leave Shorty for one night.  We packed an overnight bag, secured Shorty, and called Mark and Roxanne; we were ready to be picked up. (It is always so nice to see 😁them!!) Back at their place we talked and laughed for a couple of hours before we turned in the the night; to the guest room, our room, when we visit.😉   (They have moved since the last time we saw them. It’s a cute, single level, cozy, two bedroom place; a big change from their hugh six bedroom, four bath, three level home. They have been ready to downsize for years and finally sold it.👏🏽😀

FRIDAY

We woke up this morning to the smell of 🥓 bacon. (BACON! the candy of meat!) Roxanne is a great hostess, although I feel totally comfortable and at home. I sat at the counter to chat, and she poured me a cup of coffee while making 🥓 bacon, eggs🍳 and toast. We talked and laughed while Craig finished getting ready for the day.  Mark was already gone for the day; he had baby sitting duty. (Their son is a fire 🔥 fighter and was sent to CA to help fight the fires and their daughter-in-law had to work. Thank God for gramdparents!!) Mark and Roxanne LOVE their grands and Mark is quite capable of tending to the tottlers while Roxanne spent time with Craig and I.

We didn’t really have any plans for the day other than to catch up and spend time with them. After discussing a few options we decided to go for a hike at Goldstein Lake, after we picked up Shorty and moved him to Jessica’s property for the night. (Since Mark and Roxanne sold their BIG home with acreage we have to make alternate plans for Shorty’s overnight stays.) We got to Jessica’s and parked Shorty on a portion of their driveway by the garage.  Mark and the grands were there.😁

Jessica and Tom

Jessica, (Mark and Roxanne’s daughter) has a BEAUTIFUL home in the hills. The backyard looks like a hotel resort. It has a pool, play area, volleyball court, a trampoline, and a few sitting areas. Absolutely Spectacular! At the side of the house is a chicken coop and vegetable garden. Roxanne showed us that first.😁🥬🍅🍓

We did see Mark and the two grands, in the back yard. Jessica’s three children came outside too. We all sat in the shaded patio for a bit by the koi pond and visited.

Jessica and Tom have a spectacular property and are just the friendliest, unpretentious people. Their three children are sweet, well behaved, well mannered, and well grounded. Truly very kind people. I know Roxanne and Mark are VERY proud of their children and grandchildren.🥰 It was very kind of Jessica and Tom to let Shorty spend the night on their property. Thank you!!😉

GOLDSTEIN LAKE

Goldstein Lake isn’t far from Roxanne or Jessica’s house, we were there in about 15 minutes. (How awesome to live so close to a lake/hiking area!)

Well, we walked around the lake for about and hour and were getting a little hungry.  Roxanne mentioned a new BBQ place in town and asked if we’d like to try it.  🤷🏽‍♀️ Well, ANYONE who knows me, knows I am a carnivore.🥩🥓🍗 BBQ?? You don’t have to ask me twice!!😁 So late afternoon, after our walk around the lake, we hit Lucy Dees BBQ joint. It was tasty! The establishment was very clean, offered inside and outside patio dining, the staff was friendly and prices reasonable.

After we ate lunch we went back to Roxanne and Mark’s to chill. Craig listened to a podcast and Roxanne and I retreated to our rooms. I felt a headache coming on so I opted to close my eyes for a bit.

After a little rest Roxanne and I got up and talked about what to do for the rest of the evening.  Craig decided to stay at the house and watch some TV, the documentary, The Way I See It by Pete Souza was scheduled to come on.  I opted to join Roxanne to watch her granddaughter Malia play flag football. Her team had a game at the local YMCA field.  Malia, Roxanne’s grandaughter is the ONLY girl on her flag football team. GO MALIA!! 🏈 GURL POWER!!  Malia has a great example!😉 Oh, by the way, their team won too!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👍🏽🏈

After Malia’s winning game we congratulated her, chatted briefly with Jessica and went back to Roxanne’s.  We waited for Mark to get home from baby sitting duty so we could go have a late dinner.  We went to the  the Barley Hound. This establishment offered farm to table, healthier choice fare in the back or front patio. It was a cute place with tasty options such as portobello 🍄 mushroom sliders, cauliflower nachos and such. We ordered, talked and laughed. We always have some good laughs with Mark amd Roxanne. They are the sweetest, most genuine people. We are blessed to count them as friends.🥰

We got back to the house, and the documentary, The Way I See It by Pete Souza was playing again! Mr. Souza was the official White House photographer during the Obama era and had captured the day-to-day life of the President. (He served other presidents as well.) This is an excellent documentary. A MUST SEE.👀 We stayed up late and watched it. Craig watched it again.🙃

Saturday

I got up this morning and had a cup of coffee with Roxanne. Again, this morning Mark was up early and gone; on baby sitting duty, again. Roxanne fixed Craig breakfast, I opted out as I was not hungry.

Roxanne had a house she wanted to look at in Williamson Valley, I was curious, so we joined her. When we arrived to the address I noticed that the agent showing the house was Simon Fort, the agent that showed us a home last year on Palamino, in Prescott Valley. (We have kept in touch.) He was as surprised to see us as we were to see him😁. Anyway, the home he was showing was a nice 3 bedroom, two bath home with a nice size lot. Not what Roxanne is looking for. It hit a few of my boxes, but was a pass for us all.

After looking at the home, on the way to pick up shorty, Roxanne took us by the Hot Shots memorial in Prescott. These were the 19 young men who perished in the Yarnell, AZ fire some years ago. 😔

Well, we made it to Jessica’s house and retrieved Shorty. We bid our farewells and hit the Road, via Chino Valley.

Before we leave Arizona and head home, we are stopping at my brother’s house. (I have a key.😉) He is at the last leg of moving from California to Kingman. My cousin Lorenzo helped him pack up his Long Beach house today and they are in route, they should arrive here in Kingman in the wee hours of the morning. (They are unfortunately stuck in traffic.) We will help them unload the moving truck in the morning and then take my cousin back to California and drop him off at home before we head 🏡 home. It is late, I am tired.🥱 Until tomorrow.