Escapade Rally in Tucson

Another big gathering of RVers - this one is for the Escapees RV club. A great group and a lot of our friends here.
We were busy. We had two day-long classes before the rally even started. Hands-on Android and Hands-on iPhone/iPad. Hands-on is absolutely the best way to learn, but teaching a group is always a challenge. We had helpers ... that really helped!
Thanks to Barb Westerfield, Judy Reinheimer, and David Cross who helped in our Android class. And Chris Dunphy and Cherie Ve Ard who helped in our Apple class.

We also try to participate in some of the social and fun activities. One of the first evenings we went to the happy hour hosted by Technomadia to announce, welcome, cheer on, the birth of the Xscapers division of Escapees. This is for the younger, non-retired, still working, group of RVers that is definitely on the rise these days.

And, once it got dark enough, Cherie treated us all to a 'fire dance.' Wow. Here's a little video that Jim took. https://youtu.be/d-kLo0W1oJ4




Then came seminars, we gave two each day for 4 days, and we had really big crowds. The Escapees always prints our handouts for us. They made 75 for each session. Our smallest seminar was 150 (Blogger) and the largest was 424 (Google Maps)!  All our handouts are available to download from our website. Look at the More... menu and you'll see Seminar Handouts listed.

Two Rallies down and one more to go ... FMCA in Pomona coming up!

Here's an aerial video Jim took of the rally grounds.

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Pretty Picacho Peak

We had a few days free in between The Rally in Phoenix, and the Escapade rally in Tucson and we had made reservations at Picacho Peak State park for that time. We figured we would need some peace, quiet and beauty after the hectic time we just finished. Picacho Peak didn't disappoint! My only concern was whether there would be good Internet connection since we did still have work to do in preparation for the Escapade.

So when we saw a facebook post by our friends Chris and Cherie of Technomadia.com that they were staying at Picacho Peak we asked for an Internet report. YAY! they said that both Verizon and AT&T were strong there. So, we breathed a sigh of relief and headed down the road.  In the rain!
We had resesrved a nice pull-thru spot so getting parked was no big deal even in the rain.

We woke up to a dense fog the first morning. It made for some really cool photo ops!

Then, I couldn't resist playing with that photo a bit with Picasa's editing tools and pretending to be Van Gogh! Here's the PicasaGeeks.com article I wrote about how to do this:

But, once the fog cleared, there were even more photo ops! And, we even found a few hours to go for a hike with Chris and Cherie too.

And then came the moonrise! I even grabbed my good camera and the big lens for this one. I was extra thrilled when I focused on a Saguaro and saw a bird perched at the top!

I was so engrossed in the rising moon, I hadn't even noticed the setting sun in the other direction! Luckily I had to turn around to go back to the RV and caught what has to be my favorite iconic desert sunset shot.

Lots more pictures on our web album for March.

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Good Sam Rally at Phoenix International Raceway

We knew we would be busy, but this rally exceeded all expectations. We gave 4 different seminars and each was scheduled twice. People like that because there are so many activities vying for your attention at a rally, they can't always get to the sessions they want - this gave them two opportunities. Our past experience has been that we have much smaller audiences the second time a topic is scheduled, but that didn't happen here. We had standing room only for every seminar except the Facebook ones.

We taught our Picasa seminar twice and every time we we end by making a collage and uploading it to our web albums. That gives me something to post here! We saw lots of new faces, but sure loved seeing the familiar ones as well. Bill and Kris Osborne, and Steve and Karen Fischer were welcomed smiling faces in the front row!

By the end of the rally, we gained 144 new members for Geeks on Tour! We were happy and EXHAUSTED.
And, somehow during that week, I found time to put together our monthly newsletter too.

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Geek Week at Palm Creek

I just love how that all rhymes!
Sue Hepler is the one who made this all happen. I sure wish we could have her come with us everywhere we go! She could be our 'advance-person' promoter, and documenter!  Thanks so much Sue!
Check out this post Sue made in her PalmCreekUpdate.blogspot.com blog:

We hold class, even when we're out to dinner!  Here we are having fun with Sue and Don and Panorama mode on their phones.

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Visiting Mom in Florida

I haven't seen Mom since our Florida visit in October, and it's going to be a few more months till we're back there again, so I figured it was time for a visit. With her Alzheimer's I'm afraid if I go too long, she'll forget who I am. Actually, I suppose she'll forget - or not - whether I see her every day, or not for a year. But, I need to see her and give her a hug. So, Jim dropped me off at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix while he stayed with the RV at Leaf Verde RV park on the west side of town.

The first thing that struck me is how much I enjoy seeing blue water and green landscape! The Arizona Sonoran desert is interesting, but I gotta say, I like Florida better. I'm a water baby, I love the ocean.

I had a really nice visit with Mom. She recognized me instantly from across the room as soon as I walked in! That felt good. I got there right at the end of her lunch time, gave her a big hug and sat down at the table with her for a few minutes till she was finished. Then we got up and went out in the courtyard for a little walk and she asked, "So are we going to eat something? I haven't eaten anything all day." I've been dealing with this disease of hers for over 6 years now and I still am flabbergasted by what it's done to her.
She's physically healthy though, and she truly seems to be happy. The assisted living facility she is in now is just the right size for her. Small enough that there are always eyes on her, but big enough that she can feel somewhat independent. And, it's so great that she has the beautiful courtyard to go for walks without leaving the facility.
A few days later, it worked out that she was with me and Dee when we needed to go back to the townhouse and pick up something. We decided to see if Mom recognized anything about the place where she lived for over 20 years.
Nope. Nada. Blank. Once inside, she did look around and said, "This is such a nice place!" "Is this your place" she asked me. "No," I said, "It's Dee's."
Yikes.
But, look at that smile on her face - both at the dining table in the facility with her new buddy, Carol - and out in the park.

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