Quick Trips

May 2, 2018: Dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Mesa. Left-to-right:

Mark, Steve, Karla, Gabby, Addison, Mary, and Jake. Photo by Dylan.

I don't like quick trips to the Valley. Sometimes they are necessary for brief matters, when you don't want to spend money on a hotel room or sleep on a relative's couch or miss two days of work, but I really prefer to spend at least one night in town when possible. Not that it's a major trip, like traveling out of state. It's only a three-hour drive, but it can seem ridiculous to drive three hours, stay for an hour or two to complete your business, and then turn around and drive three more hours back home. I don't like it.

Mark and I have been doing a lot of quick trips these past few months, especially for dealing with the house we've inherited and the legal issues involved with evicting the people living in it. I can't justify spending all that time on the road and all that money on gas, just to take an hour or two to eat lunch and file papers in court (or whatever else), and then turn around and drive back home.

So we look for things to do while we're in town, things to stretch out the time (and stretch our legs) before getting back in the car for another three hours of sitting. In the old days, we would always stop to visit my sister, Karla, for a few hours. Back then, she was a stay-at-home mom, but now that she's a working lady, she doesn't get home before we're back on the highway, so we rarely do that anymore.

Dylan, Mark, and Jake head into Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

Earlier this month, though, we were given the opportunity for a family visit via Arizona's big "Red for Ed" teacher walkout. Karla's school (where she's the executive secretary) closed down for about six school days. Not a great thing for lost instruction time and lost support-staff pay, but a nice chance to see my sister while she was briefly a "woman of leisure."

We began our get-together as soon as we got into town, around 12:45. Karla met us for lunch at Chick-fil-A, where we enjoyed the delicious salads and a fun chat. Karla bragged that she'd ordered nice weather for our visit, and it was very nice for early May in the Valley, since a cold front had moved in. I think the day's high temperature topped out around 78 degrees. Perfect!

From Chick-fil-A, Karla had an appointment to go to and we had to go see if our "tenants" were still in our house (they were), being the day after the eviction notice stated they needed to be out. However, by a little after 4:00, we were together again at Karla's house to continue our visit.

Karla and her husband Steve enjoy peanuts at Texas Roadhouse.

Karla's husband Steve, a trucker, got home a little earlier than expected, so we were all able to go out to eat together at Texas Roadhouse. I'd never eaten there before, but I really enjoyed it. Good food, fun atmosphere, great company. And plenty of low-carb options so I didn't need to feel guilty about my meal.

Another family group shot, this time with Dylan in it. Photo by Jake.

Originally, this was going to be one of those dreaded quick trips. We'd planned to meet Karla for lunch and have a brief visit, and that was to be the end of it. However, our plans changed when Dylan called to ask about joining us so he and Jake could enjoy a short visit with some of Jake's family. I was happy to change my plans, but we quickly realized this would turn it into a two-day trip instead, so I booked a hotel room for overnight.

I stayed low-carb for the whole day! Grilled shrimp and steak, with

green beans, broccoli, carrots. My dinner rolls went to Mark & Dylan.

After an amazing evening of dining and visiting with Steve, Karla, Gabrielle, and Addison, we all shared hugs and said our goodbyes. Then we headed to our hotel for the night.

The next day, Wednesday, we stopped by West Mesa Justice Court to file my complaint for the eviction before spending the afternoon visiting with Jake's side of the family. After a nice lunch at Golden Corral, it was time to make that drive back home to the White Mountains. Two days are so much nicer than one.

Mark and I visited this Bass Pro Shop in Mesa.

We returned to Mesa just five days later, to appear in court on the eviction complaint. This time, it truly was a one-day jaunt. We had to leave home really early, at 6 a.m. We drove through Payson, stopped at a Carl's Jr in Mesa for a bathroom break, and arrived at court by 9:00. Our appearance was scheduled for 9:30, but it was closer to 10:00 when we went before the judge. We walked out at 10:30. 

Now what? Three hours in the car again? Not so fast! I asked Mark what he thought we should do. He recommended the mall. Which mall? Fiesta Mall? I had to remind him that it's closed. Not closed for renovation, but closed forever. Then how about Arizona Mills mall, about 20 minutes away? Maybe.

"Welcome fishermen, hunters, and other liars."

Meanwhile, since we'd eaten a quick breakfast of deviled eggs at 5:45 a.m., we drove to a nearby El Pollo Loco for an early lunch at 11:00. This place just happened to be on a street called "Bass Pro Drive." While we were eating our grilled chicken, Mark suggested, "Why don't we go to Bass Pro Shop instead?"

Inside the Bass Pro Shop, looking toward the main entrance.

I loved that idea. I wasn't feeling in the mood to wander a mall, but I love Bass Pro Shops. To me, they're like a mini Las Vegas. That's probably because I don't gamble when I'm in Vegas, but I love to see the themes of various casinos (including often-free exhibits), from ancient Rome at Caesars Palace to the canals and gondolas at the Venetian. At Bass Pro Shops, it's the idyllic world of the great outdoors. So that's what we did for the next hour and a half. We even bought Mark a couple of new Bass Pro tee-shirts.

Loved this tableau. That's a mannequin, not a real angler.

I'm no hunter or fisherman. I don't think I could kill any living creature (except insects and arachnids who invade my home turf). On the other hand, I greatly admire outdoors-men (and outdoors-women) for their skills. And, while I may not kill my own meat, I'm always happy to eat some venison stew or elk steak! As long as the rules of the hunt are respected (including the limits that keep our wildlife in balance) and the kill is used for food and not sport alone, I support the right to hunt. I'm not freaked out by guns or by taxidermy.

Mark's favorite was the boat sales. He's a fisherman through and through.

If I were to buy a boat, I'd choose this $70,000 luxury model.

Mark liked it, too. He even made motor sounds while pretending to drive!

One of two elevators going to the second story at bass Pro Shop.

A beautiful aquarium was nestled under the elevator.

Will I get in trouble for showing firearms on my blog?

A shooting arcade on the second floor.

Getting close to this bull elk reminded me how huge these beasts are.

Mark and I were almost trampled by a running herd in the early 1990s

while in the forest near home, searching for the perfect Christmas tree!

The view from Bass Pro's second floor. I see the fudge shop below,

but I managed to walk away without even asking for a free sample!

From there, we went to the Walmart across the street to purchase an ice-free ice chest (it plugs into the car to chill). I'd been looking for one since last summer, but they always seemed to be sold out (even at the Bass Pro Shop). I was so happy to find one, and then we used it to keep our water bottles and my leftover chicken chilled on the drive home.

Mark finds Riverview Lake almost unrecognizable these days.

Next, we stopped by Riverview Park. We'd passed by the park on our way to El Pollo Loco earlier, and now Mark suggested we go back to check it out. It's a place with a lot of history for us, although it's been so modernized that now it's barely recognizable. There's even a big Sheraton Hotel on the property, across from the lake.

East end of the lake.

I first came to know Riverview Park when we moved to Mesa from California in 1980. My brothers played baseball there, although they mostly called it "Sewer-view Park," due to the stench from a nearby wastewater reclamation plant when the wind blew the wrong direction.

Center of the lake.

When Mark and I were dating, and then newlyweds, we used to go to Riverview Park for picnicking and fishing. It required a special urban fishing license, but it was close to home and therefore more convenient than driving out to a real lake, such as Canyon Lake or Saguaro Lake. Most of the time we went in the evening, after the sun went down. There wasn't enough shade for me then, and there's not enough shade for me now! (Which is why I prefer our mountain lakes, surrounded by forest.)

West end of the lake.

This park was where I first realized I was never going to be a fisherman. I'd go along with a big blanket and a book, thinking it would be a romantic way for us to be together, even if I wasn't fishing, but that quickly got old. Mark can sit still for literally hours when he's fishing, and he loves it. All I'd get was a headache, a sunburn, and boredom! Eventually, I'd just say, "Have fun fishing. See you when you get home!"

Mark walks past the path curling around to a pavilion on the hilltop.

If it had been after sundown, I'd have enjoyed walking to the top.

The lake at Riverview was quite different back in those times. It may have been man-made (not sure), but it was a real body of water surrounded by a real dirt beach. Now it's just a cement pond, although a maintenance man there told Mark they'd recently stocked it with 6,000 lbs of catfish.

Ducks on the water, hoping we had food to share. Sorry!

By the time we got to the park, it was approaching 1:00 and the temperature was rising, nearing 90 degrees. Last week's cold front had moved on. For Mark, this was fine. He took off to walk around the entire, rather large park. I opted to sit on a bench under the sparse shade of a palm tree and enjoy the quiet and the view. An occasional hiker would walk past and there was a group of schoolchildren having an activity on the other side of the lake, but it was mostly quiet and still. I like that. It's relaxing, even in the heat.

My not-so-shady shade tree.

We stayed at Riverview for about 45 minutes. By the time Mark finished his walking tour and rejoined me, we'd been in Mesa for almost five hours, so we decided it was time to get on the road. We stopped by Mark's lawyer's office in Apache Junction on our way out, so we continued on the route home through Globe even though we knew we'd encounter some serious roadwork. Which is why we'd traveled through Payson in the morning. Can't be late for court!

The view from our stop for roadwork on the trip home.

In true Hobbit style, we stopped for "second lunch" at Carl's Jr. in Globe at 3:00. Despite a lengthy wait for the expected roadwork, we were home by 5:00. Hopefully, that will be our final quick-trip for a very long time!