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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

34. Desert Storm VIII

DESERT STORM VIII
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Recommended Prerequisite - Read Prattle #27 for the background information on this prattle.
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"Desert Storm" is the code name for the event that I have attend for the last several years in Scottsdale, AZ. The 2011 edition of this annual extravaganza was held this past November for the 8th consecutive year. I'm proud to say that I have attended all 8 of these group outings.


That's 8 in a row... Palmer lives for "streaks"

The intent of this prattle is to simply review the highlights of this year's trip and hopefully find some humor in what took place each day. ..this prattle is really just my rambling stream of consciousness.....in an effort to make the prattle easier to read I have written it in the third person.


Let's see on Thursday we.....

Please note that this prattle is written in the the original "bullet type"  format that I used when I first started writing official "recaps" of selected events of my life. ("throw back" jerseys are in style for professional sports teams so I thought I would write a "throw back" prattle).


I wish I could just dictate my recap to someone


THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS.......Let's meet the starting line up for this year's Desert Storm VIII extravaganza.....

Mike Ripley (a.k.a Rip)
-Home town -  Zumbrota, MN
-Currently lives in Chicago, IL
-Owns a home in Scottsdale, AZ
-Hosts the annual Desert Storm event each year at his Scottsdale home

Rip

Paul Bucher (a.k.a Buch...pronounced Booook)
-Home town -  Zumbrota, MN
-Currently lives in Rochester, MN
-Regular attendee at the yearly Desert Storm festivities


Buch

Steve Hinrichs (a.k.a Stork and/or Squirrel)
-Home town - Zumbrota, MN
-Currently lives in Rogers, MN
-Regular attendee at the yearly Desert Storm festivities

Stork


Paul Peterson (a.k.a Palmer).....that would be me of course
-Guess what?.....you are correct....Home town - Zumbrota, MN
-Currently lives in Maple Grove, MN
-Only guest to have attended all of the Desert Storm outings (does that really surprise you?)

Palmer

Believe it or not this group of guys have been friends since first grade.....that would be a little over 50 years.....but then who's counting. (Palmer does, he keeps track of everything).

Now let's "recap" this year's trip in a "throw back" style.............

Thursday - November 17th
- Palmer has to put on his "Black Box Mask" one more time at the airport...forced to chat with a former co-worker who is actually on the same flight....oh, Palmer is so glad he is retired....no more of that boring "shop talk" to deal with every day....


Soldier Boy....one more time....the mask barely fits

- The woman sitting by Buch on the plane gets "cut off" by the flight attendant...too many of those little bottles of wine for her...she is so embarrassed...says she's a nervous flyer (yeah right)....Buch talks her off the ledge.....she survives the flight thanks to Buch.


I'm a nervous flyer....really....I am


- The official "Welcome Reception" to Scottsdale is held on Rip's patio.....beautiful evening....beer and banter abound.....this group of guys are like your favorite pair old shoes...they may be old and a little worn out but they still are the most comfortable shoes you own....... you wear them every chance you get.



Ahhhh...they are just so darn comfortable


- Buch walks into the patio screen door and knocks it off its track...it certainly looked open to him....Buch's okay...no injuries to report....just embarrassed.....we need Rip's brother Jeff (a semi-regular attendee in past years)....he can fix anything....


When is a door not a door?....when it's ajar


- 21 years ago tonight we were all out in Washington DC attending Buch's wedding....the best wedding that I have ever participated in....(1 of the 16 weddings that I have been in over the years)...nice that Buch could celebrate his anniversary with his buddies on a golf trip to Arizona....I always knew he married the right girl....


21 years?....already?


- Buch's wife, Christel, is out celebrating her anniversary with her friends in Rochester, MN....it's so nice to have an understanding wife...she knows her man Buch won't get into any trouble with these Zumbrota guys....is that a compliment or an insult?.....hmmmmm....not sure on that one.



Do guys our age want to be thought of as boy scouts?


- Christel wants Palmer to join her and Buch on a trip to Mexico in March....something about meeting a woman from Dallas who will also be on the trip.....this gal is a single 47 year old  marathon runner.......hmmmm.....well at least you know she must be in good shape......Palmer may need to learn more about this opportunity.....any pictures available?




If she looks like this, Palmer is on his way to Mexico


- Palmer marches in front of "The Chair of the Unknown Groom"....as he did 21 years ago this night at Buch's wedding......(Palmer was enamored by the guards he saw at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier so he did his best to imitate them at the wedding).



Palmer has mastered the strut


- Palmer "wows" the group with a long story about one of his recent experiences......this story had a little bit of everything....parallel lives....missed opportunities......this story would make a great novel......



Palmer loves to tell a good story

Friday - November 18th

- Wheels up at 6:00 am today...long drive to the golf course...early tee time at Poston Butte Golf Club....funny how easy it is to get up early when you are going to play golf....


Looks like we need to buy more balls before we start


- On the trip to the course a few questions and comments are heard ..."How do we get to this course?"...."I think we are lost"......we proceed to have a classic example of Old vs. New.....Stork's GPS versus Buch and his paper road map....Who will be the winner?....game on!



Stork is high tech and determined to win


Buch is "old school" with his road map

- After some considerable discussion Stork's  "Lady in the box" (GPS) and Buch eventually agree on the correct route to the golf course...we will call this competition a tie....



This is it.... the GPS and road map were both right

- Stork sees his first cotton field on our way to the golf course....he refuses our offer to stop along the road so he can pick his first cotton...this appears to be just the thing a good old farm boy like Stork would want to do seeing he's picked everything else....corn, wheat, beans, soybeans, sun flowers, etc....



How could Stork pass this up?


- Perfect weather....in fact there is no weather....we didn't feel hot...we didn't feel cold.....we felt no sensation at all.......therefore there can't be any weather here, right?.....is this heaven?....it's certainly can't be Iowa....can it?



Please tell us we are not in Iowa

- Tee time snafu....we are not listed on the tee off sheet at the golf course....Rip was ready to "go off" on someone....cooler heads prevailed....we were sent out as the "rabbits" for the day...(we went out ahead of the first group of the day)....lots of pressure....we couldn't play slow.....that was not a good thing for 4 hackers like us....



Rip uses his anger to rip one off the first tee

- We played the front nine in 1 hour and 45 minutes.....now that's moving....maybe we pushed it a little too fast....not sure how we did it.....maybe we should at least take time to putt on the back nine....



Rip keeps up the pace....he doesn't let Stork's ball land


- The "Cart Boy" at the club house was impressed with our fast pace of play and he said..."This obviously isn't your first rodeo".....wow, he actually thinks we are good golfers.....


Yes, we've been in the saddle a few times in our lives

- We asked the "Cart Boy" if we had time to stop for snack before we teed off on hole #10.... the "Cart Boy" responds...."Snack?...you've got time to take a nap".....loved that kid....


We decided to pass on the nap offer

- We finished the round in record time....3 hours and 35 minutes....now that's moving....we had successfully fulfilled our role as the "rabbits" for the day....nobody caught us.....we were heroes to the clubhouse crew.


These guys would be on us if we played slow

- Palmer was assigned to the job which is titled "The Minister of Finance" ... this was a concept started many years ago during these type of group outings...it's sort of like living in Switzerland....in this case each guy gives Palmer a designated amount of money which is pooled into what is called "The Kiitty Money".....


The Kitty appears to be enough money

- Palmer then uses the "Kitty Money" to pay all the restaurant and and bar tabs during the weekend......the only problem with this plan is that Palmer loves to give big tips to all the cute bar tenders and servers that he encounters throughout the weekend.....(he's sucker for any cute gal who will talk to him)...once the "Kitty Money" runs out each member of the group is required to contribute more money to the "Kitty"..


Palmer is a big timer....generous tips for all

- Palmer made an official announcement that he was now in the business of being a "Life Coach"....his services are available to anyone.....let's just say business has been very slow so far....


Hi I'm Palmer and I'm here to help

- Rip's son went to Arizona State University (ASU) and Rip had made some significant donations to ASU over the years......these contributions to the university had given Rip VIP status at ASU.....some of the VIP perks included a guided tour of ASU's football facility /stadium and the opportunity to attend the ASU football team's practice.


Great setting for ASU's football stadium

- In the late afternoon we went to Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) to take the guided tour of the facility and attend the football team's afternoon practice session....a young man named Bob was our tour guide....this guy however provided no added value to the tour...he pretty much mailed it in...his blackberry was much more important to him than us...he couldn't stop looking at it....we of course dubbed him "Blackberry Bob" (BB).


Our guy was addicted to this device

Sorry....wrong Bob

- Rip was supposed to get a special Pat Tillman pin for his recent donation to ASU....Blackberry Bobe didn't have the pin....Blackberry Bob of course blames others for the mix up....Bob says he will give the pin to Rip at the game on Saturday....yeah right.


Rip provided ASU shirts for all of us...now we belong

- Blackberry Bob did give us the opportunity to hear Grey Ruegamer, a former ASU and NFL player provide a combo platter "chalk talk/pep talk" to the other members of this so called VIP group who would be attending practice.


Grey must have played at ASU....there's his picture

- Grey didn't give us much in his little talk....some of his quotes made our group chuckle....."It's going to be knuckle duster"..."Hey, you've got to remeber they are just 18 year old kids"...."The ASU running backs gotta be running downhill at all times"....not exactly a Knute Rockne speech.


Our guy Grey apparently did really play in the NFL

- Grey had an 11 year NFL career.....played for the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots....he has 2 Super Bowl rings (NY and NE)....Palmer needs to find this guy....how often do you get a chance to meet a guy who has won 2 Super Bowl rings???



Palmer decides to hunt down Grey

- Palmer, being the sports rube that he is introduced himself to Grey (even though Palmer had never heard of him).....yes, Palmer is again shameless.


Hi I'm Palmer....tell me your life story in 30 seconds

This would be Grey's first ring with the Giants
...and this would be ring #2 with the Patriots


- Grey tells Palmer that he had many concussions during his playing days ...this was way before concussions became fashionable as they are today....and yes Grey is concerned about it and yes Grey does notice that there are times when he gets confused (but don't we all?).


Palmer's head is bigger than a lineman in the NFL

- We had dinner at the Fish House in Tempe.....sword fish is the special....Buch says sword fish are a dirty fish...bottom feeders......Palmer and Stork still elect to go with the special....Palmer always says.."you gotta order the special.....they never screw up the special".....Buch has a mind of this own and orders the Jambalaya...Palmer just loves saying that word.


The boy scouts plan their big night out on the town

- Kelsey is our server.....she is from Michigan....going to school....says she never wants to grow up.....Palmer volunteered to help her achieve that goal seeing he has managed to do it himself....it appears Palmer's career as a Life Coach is off and running.....Kelsey is his first official client.



Kelsey was excited to have Palmer as her Life Coach


- We walk around an area in Tempe that is called "The District"....lots of shops, bars and restaurants everywhere....great people watching opportunities...can't believe what people wear now....we think everyone has just given up...people don't seem to care how they look....are there no mirrors in these people's houses?


Kabuki is restaurant and another nickname for Buch

- A band called the Desert Dixies are playing on a stage in the court yard of the mall area.....good female singer....very attractive...Palmer don't even think about trying to give her tip



Pretty hard to tip the female singer when she's on stage

- We talked to some college girls from Minnesota.......the big tall girl in the group quit basketball at Winona State and came to ASU to see what college life was like away from basketball....Palmer thinks maybe he should have done that too...then he might not have needed a therapist for all these years....and all that medication.



There is more to life than basketball....really?

- We go into the Cadillac Ranch Bar...get a great table on the balcony rail....we were able to listen to the Desert Dixies playing in the mall court yard below us....very cute server....big tip for her of course....Palmer then announced that the Kitty money is almost gone....how could all that money be gone already?



Oh oh....where did it all go?.....Palmer??...


- Palmer works his magic and convinces the wait staff at the Cadillac Ranch to pose for a picture with him....Palmer has no shame.....very friendly gals....one of the girls grabs Palmer's phone and sends the picture to herself via a text message....I guess everybody wants a picture of Palmer.



Yes, they could be Palmer's daughters.....but they're not!

- We go the Improv in Tempe to see a comedian named Jon Lovitz (Saturday Night Live fame).....it's the late show......table 11 (Palmer loves the number 11)...we were in the front row living the high life.....one catch... we appeared to be the only group of 57 year old guys in the entire place (big surprise huh?).....young crowd....obviously it was date night....not sure we fit in (but do we ever?)...especially in the front row where everyone could see us.


Jon Lovitz

- Three other comedians opened the show.... which we later called "Bug Eyed Steve", "The Big Irish Guy" and "The Little Pot Head"....pretty good humor from these guys.....two very attractive young ladies sat right next to me.....a very nice bonus to the evening's entertainment....(too bad they were with their boyfriends).



Our group was this close to the stage....nice

- The comedian we called "Bug Eyed Steve" and Palmer appeared to have led parallel lives.....Steve was a former teacher and he was the only person in his group of friends who was still single.....when Steve's married friends say they barely get any sex anymore Steve's response to them is.... "barely sounds pretty good to me" (Palmer agrees).


Bug-eyed Steve was good...if you could overlook his eyes

-Jon Lovitz was outstanding....non-stop laughter....no race, religion or gender was off limits for him...let's just say his humor was "edgy"...as Jon says..."the key to life is liquor and laughter"...


Saturday - November 19th
-Legacy was the name of the golf course we will be playing today....another perfect day....we must be in the land of Oz....we never did find the wizard though....


Legacy Golf Club.....looks too nice for our group of hackers

- On the drive to the golf course Palmer acted as Rip's personal secretary when he sent an email to Blackberry Bob on behalf of Rip.....the message stated that Rip wanted that special pin delivered to him at the ASU football game tonight.....something told us that we probably wouldn't be seeing our boy Blackberry Bob at the game....


Mr. Ripley.....I sent the email per your request

- Another tee time snafu....booking tee times on-line didn't seem to be working for us......the guy in the club house says....."Are you guys the Hedley group?....it's listed under the name Hedley but it is your tee time.......HUH?.....how does that work?...something about how on-line tee time requests show up in the clubhouse at the golf course.



Palmer wants this guy's job as the starter 

- The song Itchycoo Park is being played over the speakers in the golf course court yard....as the song lyrics  go...."It's all too beautiful"....and it was....another perfect day.....how long had it been since we heard that old song?...can't say we had ever heard music being played outside at a golf course


Palmer was rocking to the music

- The woman on the practice range puts in a "Tiger Woods day".....she hit balls for over 5 hours......Palmer says she is a "crier"....meaning that if she smiled at him he would start to cry.....she appears to be the perfect woman for Palmer....once catch...she has no interest in him.


If she would have done this...Palmer would have married her

- We meet one of the golf course rangers out on the course.....we asked him how he was doing.....his answer..."How do you think I am?...I'm on a golf course on beautiful day"....I have to remember that line when I start my career as golf course ranger.


Our group received a lesson on being content with life

- This ranger also owns a business that traps gophers at golf courses and in people's yards....says he gets $25 for each gopher he catches.....he has some big time customers....WOW... Stork only got 25 cents for a gopher when he trapped them back on the farm in Zumbrota.


A guy can make a living doing this Arizona?

- Palmer has a golf club snafu out on the back nine...he left two clubs at the previous green....how absent minded can he be?.....retired for only 2 months and already he was losing it.......assisted living is not far away....


Palmer would lose his head if it wasn't attached

- Skylynne (a.k.a. Sky) is working at the outside bar at golf course...she is a young attractive gal from Nebraska.....oh oh....she smiled at Palmer.....the Kitty is going to take a big hit here....Sky's "fun fact" was that her elbows were double jointed....she provides a demonstration....OH MY.....Palmer can't even look...at her elbows that is


OH MY!!!


Palmer finally found a caddie.....Sky met all his qualifications

- We had lunch on a very nice veranda at the golf course.....Sky provided us excellent service...needless to say Sky was rewarded handsomely for her fine work.....maybe Palmer shouldn't have been in charge of handling the Kitty money....the money seemed to be disappearing rather quickly.



The boy scouts were living large in Arizona

- We regroup at Rip's ranch...Palmer has to keep his streak alive....must get his daily work out in....that makes it 975 days in a row...(see Prattle 10 for more details - "Streaks...Streaks....Streaks")



Palmer's mentally ill....he has to get that darn run in

- We checked out a new bar called the "Spanish Fly" (formerly named "Drift)....very nice layout...no people there however...high priced drinks as well......the ads for this place said the servers wore bikinis...there were  none to found there.....false advertising???..our server was a guy in jeans and a t-shirt....big disappointment.



These gals did not serve us...who do we complain to?

- We called Rip's brother Jeff and he committed to attend the festivities next year (Jeff had been a semi-regular attendee over the years)...  Jeff gives Palmer an interview over the phone for a job with Jeff's home remodeling company named Ripley Built.....Jeff is concerned about the skeletons  that may be in Palmer's closet......and well he should be...


Palmer's closet is filled with "hang ups"...not skeletons

- Jeff and Palmer decided that they will film episodes for their home improvement show next year during this annual outing in Arizona....Palmer will play the role of the bumbling guy who can't fix anything around the house and Jeff will be the guy who shows him how to get it done.....(Palmer won't even have to act).


Palmer and Jeff will make people forget these guys

-Palmer's story from Thursday night is discussed in more detail and the cast for the movie version of this story was set....Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Aniston and Kevin James will star in this movie......Rip says he will write the screen play and direct the movie...



Rip has already developed three endings to the movie


- Off to the ASU football game...7:30 pm kick off....Rip sells the 3 extra tickets he had to a scalper for face value....the scalper turned around right in front of us and sold 2 of these tickets to another guy for double the price he paid to Rip.....Goodness!!!....we were really exposed as rookies in the ticket scalping business...



We were so out of our league

- ASU loses to Arizona 31-27....it's black out night...everyone in the crowd wears black...kind of an eerie look....wild game.....went down to the last play from the 10 yard line......ASU's pass for the winning TD in the end zone fell incomplete.....(no surprise....the team Palmer wants to win always loses)


Maybe they should have called a running play 

- Palmer just loves the pomp and pageantry of college football...and the cute gals in the dance line who were right in front of us all night...it's true what they say about the women at ASU...they are gorgeous...


How can you not love this?....

...or this....


.....or THIS?..... Palmer's favorite....(not his daughter)


- The game lasts 3 hours and 45 minutes...it's ridicuous how long college football games last now....we also had to stand for most of the game....Palmer wanted to count his time standing at the game as one of his daily workouts.


When did fans start standing for the entire game?

- We had a very angry fan in front of us at the game...he made it very clear that he hated ASU coach Dennis Erickson..... he couldn't stop complaining about him....one thing he keep saying was..."he's got too many players" ...we never figured out what he meant by that....we just enjoyed listening to him..


You gotta love the passion of an angry sports fan


- The woman sitting in front of us at the game had no interest in watching the game.....we couldn't figure out how she could just sit there when everyone was standing up around her?....she couldn't see a thing.....she is either the greatest wife ever...or the dumbest.



You can't see this woman....she's sitting behind all these people

- No sign of Blackberry Bob....no pin of course....Rip did not take this snub lightly....Blackberry Bob's boss will be getting an earful from Rip next week....I'd love to hear that conversation.



Blackberry Bob is incompetent and I want my pin


Sunday - November 20th
- We played at Legend Trail golf course today....located in beautiful Cave Creek, AZ...another great day....there is obviously no weather here.....it's always the same.....what do weatherman do here anyway?



Legend Trail Golf Club....we didn't buy enough golf  balls


Why do they even have these guys on TV in Arizona?

- Again we had same confusion with the name listed for our tee time....this time we proactively ask if we are listed as the Hedley group or the Ripley group...the Starter at the course says "Ripley, believe it or not"...nice answer.


We did nothing that will ever be in this book

- Stork and Rip do a scene right out of a 3 Stooges movie when they try to get a bottle of sun tan lotion out of Rip's golf bag....should have had it on film.....slapstick at its best....



Rip was Moe and Stork was Curly

- The starters at the first tee are both amused and worried after watching the Stork and Rip show.....they had to be thinking...."these guys are going to be playing on our course?"...."we need to keep an eye on them"


This picture was posted on the ranger's golf carts

- One of the starters on the first tee had an artificial leg and he was wearing a large sheriff badge.....not your typical looking starter at an expensive golf course.....we never figured out what the badge was all about....we couldn't decide if he was he Barney or Andy?


A badge?...what kind of course is this?

Were we in Mayberry?

- Rebecka the cart girl out on the golf course has one of the most surprising "fun facts" ever.....she told us that she once flashed her breasts to a foursome on the golf course for $400....OH MY!...WHAT?.....she scolds Palmer and tells tells him to calm down after he over reacts to her story...our group of course didn't even make her an offer....Christel Bucher was right....these Zumbrota guys are totally harmless...or  very stupid.


Our group is the middle four guys in the front row


We didn't even offer Rebecka any beads

- Palmer eventually wins Rebecka over with our fun fact....she is impressed that our group has know each other since 1st grade....she won't however pose for a picture.......her reason?... "I have no make up on today".....(she looked awfully good to us)


Oh come on Rebecka.....just a quick picture....

- A woman in the clubhouse that we ended up calling "Happy Sue" waits on Rip and Palmer after the first nine holes.....we had never met someone so happy and cheerful in our entire life...what does she know that we don't know?



She was either on something or onto something


- The golf course ranger with the badge has two good responses when we tell him that we are playing okay...."Your noses are growing"....."Is your golf bag getting lighter?"




Lesson #1 - Never lie to a ranger on a golf course

- The ranger went on to tell us about the legend of of "Johnny Long Knocker" who is playing right in front of us.....he is a local guy who apparently can really hit a golf ball a long ways....the ranger went on and on about this local phemom....we just fell in love with the nickname.


Apparently nobody hits a golf  ball like Johnny


- Off to Carefree, AZ for lunch....park at the corner of "Easy Street" and "Ho Hum"...what a great address....99 Easy Street.



Palmer finally found the place where he wants to live

- We have lunch at a place that appears to have become a Chicago Bear bar in downtown Carefree...fans are watching their Bears take on the Chargers....just doesn't seem right...watching a football game in Carefree. AZ....there is should be some kind of law against it in peaceful place like this....



This is just so wrong


- Lauren our server at the bar provides us with another great "fun fact"....she is related to England's royal family.....how about that?...she didn't appear to be pulling our leg because she provided too much detail....does that "fun fact" top the Flash for $400?.....I'll still take the Flash for $400 as my top "fun fact" of the weekend.


We were now just a little bit closer to the Queen


- Palmer decides that he will not be joining Buch and Christel in Mexico because he found out that the murder rate in Afghanistan is lower than it is in Mexico....Palmer figures it's not worth getting killed just to meet a single woman.


Palmer will take quiet Maple Grove over machine guns

- Palmer tells another story about his recent trip to Seattle.....met a gal name Roberta who is now his life coach....hopefully she can fix all his problems.....Palmer's current therapist has obviously failed miserably.


Roberta gave Palmer some good advice in Seattle

- Palmer shares some old stories from his Twin Valley days.....story titles are "The hex"...."The backseat of the Superintendent's car"....."The bike ride".....these stories provided some good laughs.....(the details of these stories will be given upon request)....the statute of limitations on these incidents are finally over and the stories could now be told.



Let me tell you another story....

- We go on a nice long walk in the big park area near Rip's place.....see practice fields of the San Francisco Giants baseball team...watch the sun set.....I think I could live here.....Palmer says..."Rip, how many times can I come and visit you in the coming year?"


Palmer's bags will now always be packed and ready to go

- Palmer wants to prove that Roberta in Seattle is for real.....he sends Roberta an email and she responds within the hour.....it's good to know Palmer has a life coach that he can count on....




Roberta will be good for Palmer....he needs lots of help

- Off to the "Flaming Fork" restaurant for the closing ceremonies.....lots of family talk....the married guys need some news to tell their wives when they ask...."So what's new with__________?"(fill in the blank - Rip, Buch, Stork, Palmer)


The Desert Storm flame is extinguished again

- On the ride home Stork and Buch went into a fit a laughter when reviewing Palmer's Twin Valley stories......Buch is in tears....Stork snorted like a pig.....laughter is truly the best medicine...


There's nothing like a good laughing jag


Monday - November 21st

-Up and out early....8:00 am flight back to Minneapolis....always sad to see Desert Storm end!!!


So sad.....

- It's over for another year....if the local hometown newspaper in Zumbrota was going do a story on this year's Desert Storm outing they would simply say.."a fine time was had by all"......


We had more fun once....but we can't remember when

- When we arrived in Scottsdale on Thursday we were "juvenated" and "discombobulated".... when we left we were "rejuvenated" and "combobulated".. our fun bags were definitely full.



No, these didn't fit in the plane's overhead bins

- Time to start planning for next year....