MESA REGAL ENTERTAINMENT & GARRETT-JACKSON AUCTION

The third week of January began without too much scheduled. So we looked forward to the entertainment provided here in the park. And since they are not food functions, we get to go to them at no cost since we are workampers. That is one of the pluses of each of us working twelve hours per week. And we enjoy it!! Gary is still teaching his colored pencil drawing class and has fourteen in the class. So it keeps him busy and he is loving it!! On Monday evening we got to see Three Men and a Tenor who we had seen at a Rally in western Ohio a couple years ago. They are very good and funny. A lot of talent and action there. We wondered where they got all of their energy!! I forgot to take our camera, so no pictures this time. From that we went on to the concert on Wednesday evening with Wayne Newton and his orchestra and singers. Many of you say, ewe!! But really it was a pretty good show!! He is quite the showman and a very talented musician!! I could listen to him play the guitar, violin, or piano for the whole show and then some!! But his voice is not what it used to be!! He has a twenty-one piece orchestra but there was only about half of them with him this show. Probably because that would be all that the stage could hold. One of his female singers was fantastic also. We have to sit toward the back since out tickets are free, so the pictures are not so good. The hall is quite large and it was pretty full this night, even after an afternoon show.

Of course, the women had to flock to the stage with their rose after his last song, 'Red Roses for a Blue Lady'.

We did enjoy the evening and continued the rest of the week with our work.

On Saturday we went out to lunch with our new friends that we made at church, Don and Louise. We tried out a restaurant new to us called Wild Berry and had delicious meals and wonderful fellowship. We really enjoyed our visit and our chance to get to know them better. They had been at Mesa Regal before, but chose another park this year. They are from Washington state and can tell us many places to see when we are in Oregon this summer.

Sunday evening we decided to also take in a local show here in the park. It was for the benefit of a home/school for homeless children here in Mesa called Sunshine Acres. We were amazed to here that they do not apply for either state or federal funds to operate. So their benefit functions are very important for them as well as the stores that they operate. We plan to go there and visit and see what it is like and to check out the stores. The daughter of the couple who in 1954 bought the 125 acres and three shacks where this is located, spoke to us this evening. This was their dream and the salvation of many children over the years. Each home on the farm has a couple as "parents" with eight to ten children. They get their academic education as well as their Christian teachings from the Word in this school, in a practical setting to teach them love and respect. It has been very successful.

Their choir who sang for us that evening had a six year old and a fifteen year old, but the rest were ten, eleven and twelve years of age. They were so precious!! This and their history and stories sure captured our hearts. So much so that Gary decided to contact them to see if he could do a graphite pencil art seminar for them. They have responded by inviting him to visit them, which he will do this next week. I do not have the time to go on this first visit, but I do look forward to going another time!!

The rest of the music program that evening was Gloria, the general manager for the Cal-Am Company that Mesa Regal is owned by.

And one of our workampers here in the park, Moe Cole also entertained us on his keyboard. He also entertains twice weekly on the patio by the swimming pool!! So you can see that we are never short on the entertainment!!

Moe has had health problems and had to have a leg removed last year, but he does not let it slow him down!! He is amazing and he and his wife are so pleasant to visit with!!

Gary spent a day while I worked, going to the Barrett-Jackson Auction. Many of you might have seen it broadcast on television. It is huge and runs over many acres!! So Gary says to all of you car enthusiasts, eat our heart out!!

Tune in next week and I will try to catch you up on more of our events!! Hope you are all enjoying your weather as much as we are!!

Bob and Eugenia, we know that you did, as we enjoyed those pictures of Hawaii !!

Bill and Jane, as well as Cathy and Jim, and Bill and Esther, we know that you are in Florida also enjoying fine weather!! Take care all of you and those we failed to mention you are not forgotten.

SOUTHWEST INDIANS, AND ART

The holiday fun did not end on December 31, 2010!! January 5th the Resort had a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre that we attended. It was fun and a great time getting better acquainted with neighbors and friends. While trying to figure out who was the murdered, we had a good time interacting with everyone at out table of twelve. However, only one table figured the correct person as murderer!! The following week we took a day to go into Phoenix to see the Heard Museum of southwest history of the Indians. Our first tour guide was very thorough in explaining the tribes in the early southwest and how they progressed to modern day. She explained how our government provided boarding schools over the country that they had to attend. In addition to being sent away from their families and their way of life, this picture shows how they were forced to make changes that the government required to adapt to a way of life much different from what they knew. They were not even permitted to speak their own language without being punished. They were treated much like servants. The guide also explained the Indian art which really was their way of passing on their own history and stories. They had no dictionary or written language. The dolls were toys made and given to the children as gifts. But they also served the purpose of a teaching tool. Thus history passed on through the generations. The guide also explained the purpose of the styles of clothing and what the designs meant, continuing the portrayal of history. Artists creating western Indian art today do a very good job of depicting history through out their work done in any median. The museum only accepts art that stays true to this history. It was all very interesting and more a history before their battles with the settlers traveling west. It was a day well spent!! We left the museum to travel on west a little in the city of Phoenix to stop for lunch. This is the transit that runs from downtown Mesa to Phoenix and on to Scottsdale. We were fortunate enough to be going through as the transit was running in the opposite direction from us. I almost missed getting a picture of it!! On Saturday of that same week we drove to Carefree, a small community north of Scottsdale, to attend an outdoor Art Show. The scenery on the drive was interesting as well as the art and people at the show!! The art was very good and the artists interesting to talk with!!

What amazed us was that people were buying!! It must have been the location of the show, as it is upscale community.

This was the inside of a mall at Carefree where there was an interesting Consignment Shop that will begin having a monthly auction on the lower floor. It would be interesting to see what kind of prices they bring.

That same week here at our Resort we also had outside entertainment come in. Rich Natole, an impressionist, was the performer following a couple playing a variety of guitar jazz.

The musicians were very good and choreograph their own music!! We thought it was exceptional and we could have listened to them all evening. They were much more impressive than the impressionist!! We have one and sometimes two programs of entertainment weekly for the next couple of months. We are looking forward to much of it. But we do have problems getting clear pictures of the entertainers because our seats are so far back in the auditorium. We are not sure if it is the distance or if it is the camera itself.

We are looking forward to trips to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Tuscon, and into the mountains by train. However, we are hoping that the snow is gone for the trips north from here. We have until March 30th to get it all done!! Stay with us.