Tucson — Part 2
What has become normal on this trip is that I take my time getting up and around. On this day I wanted to see if I could find some old friends that I hadn't seen for many years. I had used a web tool to find the whereabouts of an old Navy buddy and a good friend from my high school days. I had traced them both to the area near Phoenix. The phone numbers for my friends resulted in a message saying that the phone numbers were no longer in use. Knowing that this has become somewhat common as people disconnect their land-line phones and use cell phones exclusively I decided to go to the addresses listed for my friends.

These searches would be helped with my new GPS receiver. Again I asked Martie to drive because she was familiar with the area and I would be able to take pictures in a safer way than if I was driving and taking photos at the same time.

The first target of my search was a friend named Jim. He and I had joined the U.S. Navy on the same day and ended up at the Anacostia Naval Receiving Station next to Washington D.C. on the same day. We became good friends which worked out nicely because we both were heading to Electronics Technician Class "A" School at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. The last time I saw Jim was in Japan in 1963.

The second target of my search was an old neighborhood buddy and a guy I went to high school with for one year. He helped me in a search that would ultimately lead to the girl who became my high school sweetheart and my bride. Then my high school girl friend and I would double date with my buddy and his girl friend. My buddy's name is Bob and that last time I saw him was for about 30 minutes in 1972 when my little family visited our families in our hometown.

So now I was about to find out just how effective my web searches were. Our route would begin on I-10 as we headed for Mesa, Arizona to find Jim. Along our route I saw an imposing building that I thought might be an old church or mission. However, as it turned out, the building is a large medical facility — the Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.

The Mercy Gilbert Medical Center

Martie followed the instructions of the GPS receiver as it directed us toward the address for where I thought Jim might live. As we got closer to our destination the neighborhood was a very nice place indeed. As Martie pulled up in front of the house that matched the address I found on the Web, I was wondering just what to expect.

I knocked on the door and a man whom I did not recognized opened the door. It was obvious that he didn't recognize me either. So I said that I wanted to talk to Jim and he said that he was the person I was looking for. Then I told him who I was and this began a very fun and interesting visit. Jim and I had adventures in Washington D.C. that the details of which only the two of us would remember.

I found it strange to hear Jim voice his memories about the things we did and the places we visited. It felt strange because what we discussed had lived only in my mind as memories for 47 years or more. It was almost as if Jim was able to see the memories inside my head. I really enjoyed going down memory lane with Jim. He had known my late-wife and so this visit also allowed me to tell Jim about her passing away.

Martie would later tell me that she found it very entertaining to eavesdrop on the conversation of two old sailors. When it came time for Martie and I to leave I asked her to take a picture of Jim and me. When we stood just outside the front door waiting for Martie to click off a shot Jim said, "Maury you're still taller than me," which made me laugh.

Jim and Maury — Two old friends together after 47 years — Photo by Martie

Jim and Maury at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in the winter of 1961/62

After saying Goodbye to Jim it was felt that we still had enough time to see if the address I had for my friend Bob would be as accurate as Jim's address. With the new destination entered in the GPS receiver we were on our way. The GPS took us to the entrance of a gated community. We waited for someone who had a gate entry key and followed them into the community.

At first it looked very much like a mobile home park. However, the houses were single-family structures, the smallest of which appeared to be one bedroom houses. As Martie drove around I had two numbers for the internal address for Bob. As it turned out there seemed to be no sense to the numbering system. We finally went to the clubhouse to see if we could find help for my search. While driving around I saw a little farm tractor that had been made of either beer cans or soft-drink cans. The tractor was being used as a yard decoration.

One nice thing about being retired is that a person can make things like this tractor

A woman at the clubhouse showed me, on a map, where the first house number was located. We went there and I knocked on the door. An older woman came to the door and when queried she said that she didn't know my friend. So back to the clubhouse we went. The sun had set and it was beginning to get dark. At the clubhouse the woman, I talked to the first time, went to a phone directory to look up my friend's name. The number in the book agreed with the second number I found in my online search.

I went to the house and knocked on the door. When the door opened I recognized my old buddy Bob. I introduced myself which resulted in another verbal trip down memory lane for me. The first thing Bob said to me was, "Maury ... you're just ... BIG." The last time Bob saw me I was built like a beanpole. I noticed immediately that Bob had an artificial leg in place of his left leg. He told me that he had lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2000.

I was really glad to see Bob; he is the person who drove me to the place where I first set eyes on Kay. That was a trip that was a life changing event for me as Kay became my high school sweetheart, my wife and the love of my life.

Again I had a fun visit with the same strange feeling that Bob could see my thoughts inside my head. There are memories of things Bob and I did, many years ago, that only he and I would remember. Most of our mutual memories ended when I joined the Navy in 1961. So most of what we talked about were memories that were older than 48 years. I'm still amazed that I was able to find my two friends after so many years.

After leaving Bob's place Martie and I looked for a place to eat. We ended up at a place called "Uncle Bear's Grill and Bar." It seems as if Uncle Bear is the name of a dog — a black lab mix — and as a result of that, the restaurant had a doggy motif. It was very apparent that this place was a favorite of young families as well as senior citizens.

The menu offers good ol' American food. A fun thing here is that some food items are served in dog dishes. Another thing that I've always liked is that each table had a small bucket of peanuts that when eaten the shells are thrown on the floor. This was a fun place to eat our evening meal.

From the restaurant we headed back to home where again I retired to my motorhome and turned on my computer to check my email and to get my trip notes updated before going to bed.

After getting around this would be another day to see if I can find a guy from my past. I asked Martie to drive me to a place in Phoenix where I had traced a man named Wilbur. He and I had attended Wichita North High together. The GPS receiver was loaded with the address where I was hoping to find Wilbur. This trip would be longer than the one taken the day before. Again with Martie driving I was able to take photos along the way.

One thing I got used to quickly here is the large quantity of two types of plants — the saguaro cacti and palm trees. They are everywhere, along the highways, in front of businesses and in people's yards. Another plant that I saw a lot of is a shrub with red flowers — I don't know the name of the plant.

This is a very common landscape in Arizona

Upon arriving at the last address I had for Wilbur, the neighborhood looked like a working-class neighborhood rather than where retired people live. When nobody came to the door I figured that everyone was at work and any kids would be in school. So I will have to try again on a future trip. I feel very good that I was able to find two out of three of my friends from my past. If Wilbur sees this story I hope he contacts me.

Because we were nearby where Martie's son lives she drove over to his place. On the way we needed to find a place that had a restroom. Also we hadn't eaten lunch so we looked for a place to eat figuring that we could use the restrooms there. As Martie drove along I would read the signs of places to eat located in shopping centers. There was no response from Martie as we were riding along until I saw a Starbucks coffee shop. Before I could say anything Martie also saw the Starbucks store.

Suddenly Martie hit the brakes hard and made a very sharp, right-turn into the parking lot. I was very glad that I was wearing my seatbelt because as the car turned hard-right my body was trying to continue in the direction of the street. Once in the parking lot we both began laughing very hard at what had just happened. It seems that Martie really likes Starbucks coffee.

I do like the many palm-tree lined streets in Arizona

There is one item on the Starbucks menu that my son got me hooked on years ago and that is the mocha-frappuccino. I don't have them very often, but when I do I order the smallest one with whipped cream on top. Because we hadn't eaten lunch and it was too soon for dinner we both got a drink and a cookie. it was very good. This stop was also very restful as we chose to sit in big easy-chairs while consuming our Starbucks goodies.

As I was getting close to the end of my drink I wasn't having much success at get the last part of the drink to come through a drinking-straw. So I tipped my cup up to let the last part of my drink slide slowly into my mouth. Well, that was the plan anyway. What happened is the last part of my drink — which was mostly whipped cream — was moving toward my mouth ever so slowly. So, I tipped the cup up a little and suddenly everything came rushing down onto my face. When I pulled the cup away I had a white mustache like those seen in old milk commercials on TV. Martie laughed at what she saw and took my camera to get a photo so I can relive my moment of embarrassment.

I'm ready for my milk commercial contract — Photo by Martie

After a nice rest it was time to continue on to the home of Martie's son. The GPS receiver did very well. Martie's son lives in Glendale and as Martie followed the GPS directions, we passed all of the exits for Glendale, however, by following the GPS instructions we were guided right to the house where Martie's son lives. Next to the driveway was an obligatory saguaro that was old enough to have a few arms sprouted. It was fun meeting Martie's son and his friends.

With the end of our visit it was time to head for home. We returned on about the same route in a reverse direction. Traffic on I-10 was getting heavy due to the evening commute time starting. As we got closer to Tucson there was a scene on the right side of the highway where a cluster of RV's were located out in the desert in a little valley. It reminded me of trips I've taken in the past where I've seen all kinds of rigs set up for long term stays in the warmer weather of winter in Arizona.

It looks as if there is a flock of snowbirds roosting in the distance

Before going home we found a place to have dinner. Once we got home my usual routine took place with me retiring to my motorhome to check my email and surf the Web for a while. It had been a good day even if I wasn't able to make contact with Wilbur.

Today was supposed to be my last day in Tucson, so I thought it would be nice to just take it easy. Martie discovered that there were two more people in the area that are from the Venture Outers RV Club. Martie decided that she wanted to have another dinner with everyone who was at the dinner she had on Monday evening with the addition of the two people Martie learned were in Tucson.

During this day Martie had a man come over to demolish one side of the wall that supported one side of the gate in front of the Martie's Haven parking area. This would make it a lot easier for me to get out of my campsite. Later Martie was going to have a new gate built that would be much wider thus making it easier to get in and out of the campsitein the future. For future reference for anyone planning to park here, be sure to pay attention to the mail-box across the street as you back your RV into place next to Martie's house.

Now it will be much easier to get out of this campsite

Martie decided to have salmon fillets for dinner so we went to the store to buy enough for the crowd that would be coming in the late afternoon. With a shopping cart full of groceries we checked out and made it back to the house. Martie set everything up so it would be easier to prepare dinner when company arrived.

Guests began arriving around 4 o'clock with several pulling up in front of Martie's house very close together. It was good to see our friends again. I especially like the hello hugs I get from the women which is a custom of our RV club. There would be ten for dinner and just as I predicted people jumped in to help Martie with the preparation of the food. Harry was in charge of grilling the salmon with his brown sugar recipe.

As food was being prepared there was a lot of conversations going on all around the house. I roamed around getting into some conversations and at other times I took advantage of the situation to get some photos of our Tucson RV group. Cathie was showing Harry where she planned to go on her way home. She and her friend Helen were on a geocache hunt for new conquests.

A planned route to capture new geocaches

Then I saw a delightful sight in the form of Marian and Ray sitting in a porch slider-swing while holding hands. This brought forth fond memories of my dear departed wife and how we still held hands like that often, right up until she had to leave this life. Ray and Marian are living the long life that my wife and I had planned. I took a picture of the two of them that I enjoy every time I look at the photo.

Together for decades and still very much in love

I went out to the grill to see how Harry was progressing with the salmon he was cooking. Harry coated each fillet with a layer of brown sugar. The grill was then closed so that the heat would surround the fish to cook it without the need to flip the fillets over. Harry's technique worked very well. The salmon was moist and delicious.

Harry doing his magic at the grill

Shortly after Harry finished grilling the salmon he came in and told us a story about how he visited an area where he strung a barbed wire fence back in 1948. While he was in the area he found an old piece of the wire that he had installed so long ago. It was fun to see the actual piece of the barbed wire still attached to a short length of saguaro skeleton material.

A fun story goes with this small piece of barbed wire

Tina preparing to blow out the candle on her birthday cake

When it was time to eat, we all sat down in the dinning room. Everything turned out to be quite scrumptious. With ten seated at the table there were ample opportunities for good conversation. It felt so very nice to be with so many of my friends so far from home.

After dinner we all celebrated Tina's birthday and enjoyed her birthday cake for dessert. Then as before there were a lot of opportunities for visiting. Harry showed off a neat little device that is used to measure temperatures from a remote location. Many in our group had fun playing with the device which shoots a laser beam to the place where the temperature is read remotely. The remote temperature reader appealed to my desire for high tech gadgets. I knew that I just had to have one.

When the evening came to an end, we all said our goodbyes. Then I retired to my motorhome to check my email box before going to bed. While working with my computer I watched TV. It had been a very good day; a good day indeed.

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