Arizona - arrival 2013

Hello from Luminosa near Tucson, our home away from home in the sunny, warm, desert.  We arrived Denver on time this morning about 0630 but found out our flight did not leave at 0845 but at 1015 am, however, after we boarded the Canadair jet to fly from Denver to Phoenix, the pilot advised that the airplane had a scratch on it that may need attention.  So we waited almost an hour past our departure time for maintenance to take a look at the scratch and to approve the pilot to take off.  We had made lunch plans with our friends, Darlene Ward Kiteley, Ursula Huber and Connie McDanel.  These three ladies did not know each other but they all live within 10 or so miles of each other in and around Sun City West, AZ.  The plans were made to meet at Rosies Italian Cafe which was an excellent choice after we finally got there.  When we parked the Kia rental car we could not get the key out of the ignition so I went into the restaurant, met everyone including Darlene's husband and Connie had driven a Kia and came out and showed us how to get the key out of the ignition.  What in the world is the reason for locking the key in the ignition especially when the car is stopped and in park?
The food was excellent and the service was great and we even met Rosie, the owner and cook.  I had portabello ravioli which came with a salad and two honey buns which were delicious.  Others had sandwiches and pizza and a large salad which looked delicious and the prices were not bad at all.
I want to tell you a little bit about our lunch buddies.  Darlene grew up in the neighborhood living across the street from us in Troy, OH.  She was in college when I started high school so we only knew each other in passing.  She did not run the neighborhood with the rest of us.  I found her on Facebook a few years ago and last year was the first time we met again after close to 45 years or so.  She met with us in Phoenix along with two of my classmates who live in the Phoenix area.  It was so nice to catch up with her.  We met Ursula on a small boat wildlife cruise in Prince William Sound in Alaska two summers ago and found out she lives in Sun City West in the winter and works at Portage Glacier in the summer in Alaska.  She is a wonderful friend and she truly enjoys life.  Connie has been a friend for 5 years and she and her husband, Michael, are colleagues in our Young Living essential oil business organization.  They are both wonderful leaders and teachers and, in fact, Connie was a teacher and Michael was a pilot in the Air Force.  They both retired to share wellness, purpose and abundance with others.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and now there are new friends who will continue to enjoy friendships.
We left Phoenix about 230 or so driving 106 miles south to Tucson where we purchased groceries at Whole Foods Market.  Finally made it to Luminosa about 7pm or so.  We are all unpacked for the next two weeks.
Here are photos of me and Darlene and her husband and me and Ursula.  Photos of us and Connie will be taken the end of next week when we drive to Phoenix and stay with Connie and Michael prior to leaving AZ.