It was an easy trip to Phoenix, we’re on I10 once again. A different place this year. An RV Park called Desert’s Edge. Completely on the other side of town from last year. I thought I had really messed up our plans by going so far out. We touched base with an old friend and customer from the 80’s,  James Yeager? He  has lived out here for about 25 years. Thank goodness we spent the next 3 days riding with him and getting comfortable on the roads here.

Out on the road again and James takes us another direction. The Bougainvilleas are beautiful here.  Back home we get seasonal bougainvilleas,  Here they have hedges! The rains in the fall have bushes, trees and cactus blooming every where.

This is awesome. We are having such a great time riding in a new area. Here we are riding on the roads. The bike lanes are great and the drivers are really nice. Today we rode to an area called Peoria and they have fancy manholes too.

Jim wanted to catch up with Kathy Culp who was part of his groups of friends growing up in Nappanee. He remembers her most when they were 11 to 13 years old. She moved to Phoenix with her husband in 1984. Growing up she worked in the family business, Fred’s flowers. She and her husband eventually opened a Fred’s Flowers in Phoenix.  Stopping at the store, we picked her up for lunch. She is so tiny, I had fun with that. Not many people do I get to be taller than.  Listening to all the stories reminds me that Jim grew up in a Norman Rockwell town. It makes my heart smile.

Heading over to cousin Pam’s home we make plans to go to dinner with her and other cousins at PoPo’s the next evening. Catching up with Pam is one of my favorite things to do.

Just a short ride for the day and catching  up on some housekeeping. It’s Friday evening and we are headed to PoPo’s. It has been around since 1964. Going all the way across town it proved to be well worth the trip.Everyone’s here and catching up with Cousin Ronnie and his wife, Theresa made for lively stories. We are looking forward to seeing them this summer in Indiana for the Hoyt Family Reunion.

We have additions to the ride today. Our neighbor in the park, Josh. He is one big guy. I called him the wall. He was great to draft behind. Robin, Jame’s wife has joined us as well. She is adorable and rides really well. Then there is Curt, he is a riding buddy of James. He led the way and made sure we didn’t make a wrong turn and generally rode us in the dust.

Tonight we are off to dinner with Robin and James. We picked them up at their house and got to meet Eddie! He is 8 years old and is one busy pup. His food dish is a Tupperware bowl. He carries it around with food in it. Drops it and proceeds to eat. Funny dog.  I thought at first they had taught him how to pass out hors d’oeuvres.

Our last night in town we had to get a family photo of Josh and his family. I took all these photos as they tried to get it together for the picture. The 4 Pit Bulls are Knox, Roxy, Pebbles,and Violet. When you first meet them they get your attention. All 4 will just wiggle right up to you.They are so sweet. Marley, Stevie(Josh’s wife), Josh, Lilly and Madison make up the Conklin family. It was fun to get to know them. They will be off to San Diego for summer vacation. Have fun gang!

Tomorrow we head to Palm Desert California. This will be the farthest we have traveled west in our fifth wheel. Ready to move on.