Week One - Settling In
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2009
1
6
54
Trip End
Apr 20, 2010
Fortuna Foothills, Arizona
Saturday, January 9, 2010
We continue to do housekeeping and run errands with many side trips along the way. Too often it includes a restaurant stop and one of the highlights has been the Casino Breakfast buffet. We try to balance these treats with long morning walks and lots of fresh produce!
Our morning walks give us some insight into the 'culture' of the area. The yard art and landscaping of the houses along the streets is intriguing. Some gardens are formal desert-scape with colored stone and few plants, others exhibit an effort to bring some green into area. Most have a collection of yard art with either a recycling or an Arizona/Mexican theme. Metal work and pottery items and figures are everywhere. We walk between 2 and 4 miles a day - measured by the number of times we walk to Foothills Blvd and back, winding our way up and down the streets.
In addition to the usual real estate signs we frequently find RVs, 5th Wheels, dune buggies and even a sail boat and an airplane offered for sale. This gives us lots of scope for observation. We are impressed with the fact that for the most part the lots are well maintained and the area gives an impression of care and pride.
Some of our trips take us through the market garden areas, one of the main industries in the area. Field after field of produce is in varying stages of maturity and are meticulously maintained. The local produce is great and can be bought very reasonably.
We've checked out some of the local markets and they are great fun. So far we have not gone too far afield. I think we will take a while to recover from the number of miles we have traveled over the past few months.
