Thursday, April 9th

We awoke to a nice sunny day.  Pat & Gene were here shortly after 8 and I guess I woke Char & Phil with getting my bike out to join the guys.  It was great weather for a ride and we made about 4 miles as everyone had commitments.  It was a packing day for the Smith family who's spring break vacation came to a close.  It was a day of rest after the lengthy travel day on Wednesday.  Breakfast was eggs & toast on the patio.  Well it really was part of the breezeway, but it was nice in the shade.
  After it was time for water aerobics, but the lady with the tape or CD was not able to be there.  There were a half dozen and they just improvised, with each person contributing input on what they should do next.  I guess it was pretty funny, as Marg said it was her most fun session.  Charlene was quite pleased with herself as she was able to call all the ladies by name.  Katie knew their names as well as those of their spouse and dog.  They still ran it for about an hour.
  While they were gone, I got the Rhino out of the trailer and washed it up.  It was covered in dust from our last time in the desert and it was a fine powder that got all over everything.  When the gals got back we went for a few rides.  First I took Char & Katie out , driving partway with Katie in the back.  Char drove the rest of the trip and we pretty much went out around the area where we ride our bikes.  It was a novelty for her running it on the city streets, but she did a fine job.  After we got back I went out with Phil who drove right from the start.
  When we wound up I put it back in the trailer.  Our parking room around here is at a premium, so we can't leave stuff laying about.  Marg had committed to take Katie to the dollar store a while back, so the gals left for that.  They also stopped in at a Hobby Lobby and that was a big hit.  The store specializes in design stuff and DIY materials.  Between the two they seemed to be excited about the stuff they picked up.  While they were gone, Phil & I played 1/15 8 ball.  It requires a bit of a change in strategy you typically use in 8 ball, but he fared much better than the prior day with having a second chance to try different strategies.
  After that it was cocktail hour and we had a tin or two.  Then it was on to Sweet Tomato for supper.  It was a new place for all of us and we enjoyed many parts of it.  The most controversial for me were the beets on the salad bar table.  The coconut buns were wonderful as was the chocolate lava cake. 
  When we got back we played a couple of games of cards: golf & kings down.  Katie & grandma were the big winners.  We forgot to take the card score book from home, so can't record them except in our memories.
  We left for Sky Harbour airport around 9PM and although the traffic was light on the 202, it was pretty heavy at the airport.  We managed to get them to the right area in plenty of time and they were homeward bound.  It was tough to say goodbye, as always, but we sure enjoyed our time together.