Stil jetlagged, I woke several times during the night, and finally got up at 6. Luckily the resort‘s coffee shop opened then, too, and I brought cappuccinos to the room. We had a very nice breakfast in the main restaurant, Core; modern room with tons of windows looking out into the mountains. Sue had her first dip in the pool, sharing it with one other lap swimmer. I played with my camera, which I’m just getting to know, while Sue swam.
Sue had discovered that the pants she had with her had a tear, so we headed out to try to find something…and were 0. We found an outlet mall with a lousy selection (although I did supplement my flimsy Maui Jim’s with a sturdy pair of Oakley’s) and then a mall with mostly closed stores. So we hightailed it back to meet my family.
Mary L. and Connie are my first cousins; we share a grandfather, but not a grandmother. Our mothers were exceptionally close for half-sisters.
They had driven down with their husbands Mike and Paul to spend the day with us. Mary and Mike spend the winters in Arizona, so far in a RV trailer, but, starting next year, in a condo purchased by their daughter for them!
We had a very good lunch at Turquesa, the Latin Grill in the pool complex; my tacos (swordfish, chicken tinga, carne asada) were delicious, and I had my first Arizona craft beer, a Citrazona.
We spent the whole afternoon in conversation with them; it got a little long for Sue (and presumably for Mike and Paul) as we tried to reconstruct our family history. But it was a great visit and we hope to see them next year.
After a siesta we booked a table at Ignite, the resort‘s restaurant on the terrace looking into the mountains. The food was pretty mediocre (Sue had salmon, I had gorditas), but the worst was yet to come: an email from my buddy Ralph: „Are you close?“ I had mixed up the dates for our dinner with him, and he and a friend were at our table at a restaurant downtown. I wrote right back (no cell number for him), and checked my phone frantically…but no answer.
We took a walk and headed for our room, and, when we went to sleep, still no word. I had to assume that he was furious, and I was terribly upset with myself.