For the month of February, our home address was Site F5 at Towerpoint Resort in Mesa, Arizona.
Our back yard was not as natural or scenic as the one we had left in Apache Junction, and our neighbors were very closely packed together.
But for one month we became part of a terrific neighborhood community of about 2,000 resident retirees who call this home every winter. Most of the park comprises permanent park model homes along palm tree lined streets, which have taken on the look and feel of a neighborhood. Folks who come down every winter add their own personal touches to the landscape out front. There are RVs here too, but not as many as in other resorts.
 |
| Site F5, Towerpoint Resort |
It gave us great insight into what a majority of snowbirds experiences on an annual basis when they head south to the sun and warmth.
We met snowbirds who have been coming to Towerpoint for as long as 20 years!
 |
| the entrance area during festival week, and the turtles sunning themselves are real |
When we pulled up to register at the office, it reminded me of arriving at an all-inclusive Mexican resort. There is a pond and fountain with outdoor furniture and a large television in the courtyard in front of the office. Beyond that is a larger courtyard that is the social gathering area with its two pools, a hot tub, an outdoor dance floor, band stage, outdoor seating with lounge chairs, and a small pub restaurant with patio dining area.
Leading off from the center courtyard are several buildings with rooms designated for inside recreational activities: a fully equipped gym, 2 ballrooms, yoga room, quilting/sewing/craft room, jewelry, ceramics, painting, woodworking, cards, games, pool tables, dart boards, computer room, library....the list goes on.
There is even a post office with individual mail boxes for the residents. And for the month we were metered for electricity and had curbside trash and recycle collection, making it feel more like a residential neighborhood.
With all the amenities provided within the fenced area, there is no need to leave. And when you do need groceries, Fry's is literally within walking distance while the farmer's market is across the street.
 |
| the pool patio |
 |
| restaurant/bar area |
 |
| the dance floor |
 |
| the inner courtyard |
 |
| tennis is big at Towerpoint |
 |
| pickleball is very popular |
 |
| bocce ball lanes |
 |
| radio controlled off-road race track |
Towerpoint calls itself a 55+ Active Adult Resort. I would agree that this a very active and engaged community, ranging in age from 55 through the late 80's. In fact it is much like an independent living retirement community with the difference that by March many leave to return to their home states. There are a number of residents who continue to live here year-round.
You certainly won't see the grey-haired set sitting on the porch idling the day away. The courts are always filled, the various hobby rooms always busy. My eyes glazed over just trying to read through the list of daily activities and clubs that arrived each morning via email on the Towerpoint Daily Blurb.
Just as an example of one weekday morning's selections, here is a Monday Daily Blurb:
Square Dancing is another big draw to this resort and square dancers come from many different places to dance here weekly. Every Monday night the ballroom dancers twirl around the dance floor to Big Band music. Social dancing to a live band happens every evening outside in the courtyard.
So, if you are bored or find there is nothing to keep you occupied during your winter sojourn in the desert, it's your problem! I found it difficult to choose just one activity from the list. No wonder folks arrive here in September and stay through March - you would need that amount of time to enjoy all the amenities and not feel rushed.
So here is how we remained 55+ and active while at Towerpoint:
We both took a pickleball lesson and played our first ever pickleball game. Even though it will take me several winters to figure out and remember the scoring system, I did enjoy the game and see why it is so popular. Besides, it is a ball that I actually can hit!
Michael took a couple of tennis lessons and played a few games. It's been many years since he played tennis and found that he enjoyed getting back into the game.
 |
| what a serve! |
To keep up with our fitness regimen, we continued our walks/runs. We didn't have a desert back yard like at the Arizonian, but we did explore the aqueduct and flood control canal behind the resort which offered miles of flat surface.
 |
| the aqueduct trail behind the resort |
 |
| it was a surprise to see fish in the water, several of them being huge gold fish |
 |
| the flood control canal below the aqueduct which looks like it has not seen water in years - the orange speck is Michael off on his run |
While Michael took advantage of the gym, I tried the various exercise classes on offer like Core Exercises, Yoga, Tai Chi and a Zumba-like exercise called ReFit. I really enjoyed the Yoga. And I know it was a positive benefit because I always felt better and more limber after each session.
Twice a week I joined the outdoor line dancing group led by Kort. It was a very different experience and a line dancing session I have not yet encountered. Kort used a head mike to call out the dance steps. The session lasted an hour and a half. But instead of teaching or going over dance steps to a particular song then dancing the whole routine from start to finish, he played various selections of songs and for the first 20 minutes all we did was step, touch to the right and step, touch to the left to each song. I can still hear his voice and cadence as I write this... and then all of a sudden he would throw in a step-together-step-touch right and step-together-step-touch left, which we repeated with a few step touches right and left interspersed whenever he called them out. Eventually by the end of the hour and a half, he would have added five or six more steps, calling them out in no particular order. It was strange, it was different, and certainly not what I call line dancing. However, I will say that given the popularity of the sessions, with 80 to 100 folks, mostly women, he certainly has a good method to be able to lead so many using the same simple steps in random patterns. It was more like an exercise session but it works. And I enjoyed his music selections. Though, even today I have the basic step-touch, step-touch imprinted on my brain in his voice!
The big draw for us ladies at Towerpoint is the quilt room with..... its very own longarm quilting machine. Now THAT was a new and unique experience for me! The same evening we arrived at Towerpoint, there was a Quilt Guild meeting to which Alpine friend Lori Gailey invited me. Judging by the packed room, quilting is a popular pastime at the resort. There are classes and clubs, like the embroidery club. I signed up for the longarm class right away. During our stay, I completed a baby quilt for a high school friend who will be a first time grandma in a few months, and for the first time ever, I completed the quilting on a longarm machine. There is a lot to learn, more to consider, and it requires a surprising amount of time to complete the set-up process correctly. For my design I chose a loopy pantograph. You follow the little red laser light to stitch out the design. I'm most grateful that my "buddy" (a rule and requirement to use this machine) was there to help me along every step of the way. I came away with a new respect for professional longarm quilters. I am sure it becomes a lot easier with practice and knowledge, but they do deserve every penny they charge...and it's not inexpensive to have quilts professionally quilted. From start to finish, my small quilt took 4 hours. A queen or king quilt takes a lot longer.  |
| focus and concentration required |
 |
| ta-daah.... a finished baby quilt with the help of my longarm buddy Anna |
 |
| from design wall |
 |
| to the longarm |
 |
| to final product at the quilt show |
The quilting room is open 24/7. There are cubbies where you can store your equipment and supplies for the duration of your stay. Most ladies do. Since my stay was short, I chose to sew at home and used the tables in the quilt room to cut, the design wall to lay out my flannel blocks, and the ironing stations to press.
 |
| cutting mats, irons, ironing stations, templates, rulers, and tape measures are all there for your use |
Frequent trips down F street to the quilt room gave me an opportunity to meet many of the ladies, see what they were working on, and kick start that muse of mine back into activity! I also had the opportunity to go with a group of ladies to a Moda representative who sells the Moda line of fabrics and other notions out of her home. Three trips later I have more "material" for projects on the road. Hopefully I have not exceeded the weight limit. My theory is that since I have completed several projects in the past weeks, and have donated the leftover flannels from the flannel ABC quilt I completed while at Towerpoint, the new Moda stock simply filled the void left by the old stock.
 |
| flannel quilt finally about to be completed |
 |
| using the design wall to lay out my ABC blocks |
 |
| working on kokopeli placemats - bought the fabric a year ago in Yuma |
 |
| glad to have this bag finally completed - bought the pattern waaaay back during the Betabel Rally almost two years ago |
Towerpoint hosted its Festival 2018 weekend with a real parade during our stay. The activity level at the resort ramped up several notches that week, celebrating Canada Day then USA Day and finally the resort parade on Saturday.
Our street, F street, hosted a block Happy Hour. There are many Canadians who call Towerpoint their winter home, and since Festival 2018 was a "Hands Across The Border" patriotic theme, F street created a peace arch float like the one at the Blaine border crossing. It was amazing.
Michael paraded with the Hiking Club and their amazing float, a mountain.
 |
| our neighbor Melvin across the street from us with his grand daughter visiting for the weekend |
 |
| another F street grandma with her grandson visiting for the weekend |
 |
| Michael taking a photo of me taking a photo of him with his hiking club |
 |
| it took a while but then I got it... a green pickle mascot for the pickleball club |
 |
| tennis drill team |
 |
| the RC Car club |
 |
| we toured several of the park models including this one |
 |
| park model with patio and Arizona Room |
 |
| park model with enclosed Arizona Room as an extra bedroom |
After the parade, we browsed the craft displays and the Quilt Show. It gave us a good look at what folks do in their spare time and an appreciation for interests and the creativity of many folks. The combined talent is quite impressive.
Socializing is paramount at Towerpoint. We enjoyed several happy hours at the pool patio with Alpine friends, the Gaileys, and met their friends also staying at the resort. Our next door neighbor hosted a hamburger dinner one evening. Another time, the Alpine NoWACA group gathered at the resort for a pizza dinner, giving us one more opportunity to mingle with our Alpine friends from up north.
We socialized outside the resort too. SoCal Alpine friends, the Hobdens, live in Mesa. We went to dinner with them at the Mesa Elks Lodge a couple of times on Queen of Hearts nights.
House chores still need to be done despite the myriad distractions that beckon which are much more fun. That darned washing machine leak still needed to be addressed. Amazon delivered the new hoses and the hardest part was once again, inching the machine out of its tight space to reach the faucets. Michael also added a drain pan under the machine to protect the floor in case of further leaks. Cross fingers but so far so good, I have done a couple of loads since then while keeping an eagle eye on the drain pan and it has remained dry. Perhaps the old hoses were the culprit.
He fixed the generator switch, an important fix because we plan to boondock in the desert after we leave Towerpoint and will be depending on it. The generator needs to run periodically to exercise it and keep it lubricated and my bus driver is always good about such things. The last time he ran the generator a few weeks ago it would not shut off with either of the switches inside.
Mr Fix-it also replaced a couple of cabinet door struts where the rivets broke off.
He replaced our old cracked air-conditioner covers that were at risk of shearing off in the wind, as happened to Alpine friends a couple of months ago in Texas.
He set up our new Mi-Fi device. We finally gave in and took advantage of the FMCA deal with Verizon. We will test the device more fully wherever there is weak WiFi at RV parks, or lack of coverage in remote locations. So far, our 'Tower of Power' WiFi booster is working well with Towerpoint's WiFi.
As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun. Fun is what we did indeed have for a full month. Fun is what Towerpoint is all about, as several inspirational sayings reminded us when the day's Blurb arrived in our In-Box.
Another saying reminds us that all good things come to an end. It's the 28th of February today, and tomorrow we head off again. We will be heading further west, starting our journey back to California and then Washington. But first we will boondock in the desert for 12 days, somewhere between Bouse and Quartzsite. Our Escapees boondocker's club is gathering there and we plan to hook up with them and give real boondocking a try.