February 22, 2012

Yesterday we met Kent & Margaret Neveu for lunch at Cantina Laredo, our favorite Mexican restaurant here in Scottsdale. After a great lunch we brought them back and showed them around the condo before going out to do some exploring. As full time motor-homers, Kent & Margaret are currently "dry camping" in a mountainous area near Mesa. Yesterday morning their waking up temperature was 33 degrees! They have seen frost several mornings!!

Our first stop was the Cave Creek Recreation Area where we drove through and saw the camping area which was very nice and relatively new. Cost was a bit steep at $25 per day but the campground was full! We spent a few minutes in the welcome center then moved into the area where the hiking trails began. We saw a small group riding horses through one of the trails and were glad to see that the kids had helmets on. After taking a few pictures we drove around a bit more and motored back to Cave Creek and Carefree. Downtown Carefree was like a mini Sedona with lots of shops, many offering art and jewelry of the area.

Next stop was the Pinnacle Peak area where we all relived the time 25 years ago when a trip out to Pinnacle Peak Patio restaurant was a very long drive out of town and there were no developments nearby. Today the restaurant still exists but nestled among resorts, new homes, new roads and new businesses. Progress I suppose! We did not climb the mountain as time was moving toward "bistro time". We took Pima road south to the Local Bistro and had a drink before going back to the condo. We had snacks on the patio into the evening as the temperature was still in the lower 70's. We had a great visit recounting a few episodes from the old days in the animal health business, but the exciting part for me was learning about the Neveu's lifestyle as full time RV'ers! It was great to visit with old friends and get an update on their kids and grandkids. We agreed to meet in Clear Lake this summer and resume our catch-up time.