The last few days have been spent in Festival, Arizona which is on the outskirts of Phoenix and is largely made up of "active-adult" communities. This is also where E.F.'s Mom and grandparents live so we were able to enjoy the life of retiree's if only for a few days and let me tell you; it is fabulous. The feeling of perpetual summer abounds here with warm weather year-round, plenty of activities like photography classes or water aerobics and did I mention the massive salt-water pool that is about the size of a soccer field? This is also a community that prefers travel by golf cart instead of car. In fact, most of the houses have little golf cart garages which I found to be adorable.
I had decided to sleep in one morning and meet-up with Alex and E.F. on the putting green. As I walked over to meet them, I stopped into the snack bar where I purchased a coffee for $1.00. They were playing oldies at the perfect ambient volume. I found Alex chipping away and we both mentioned that we could easily get used to this. It was then that I realized that my brother and I had become adults. We were the ones working through the Summer months and our parents were now the ones on vacation; drinking at noon and taking up the ukulele. Who knows what retirement might look like when it is finally our time to do so but I can say based on this experience I think I'll be ready. I'll leave you with a few photos as well as a bit of dialogue between me and a random older gentlemen that occurred just this morning as I was walking to the pool:
Golf cart man: "Good morning! You're looking a little pale there."
Me: "Good morning! Yeah, I know."
Golf cart man: "Don't worry, it'll come."
I hope so golf cart man, I hope so.
Rollin' Deep with E.F. |
Spring Training |
Cactus in bloom |
I have NO WORDS for how this post makes me feel...Em, I am disturbed beyond belief in my Mission-ish 1-bedroom...hope the rest of the trip leaves me less likely to invest in "Depends"... :D
ReplyDeleteI am in love with this post. Although with all the traveling I do to be with my Camino Love, I have to admit I already feel like a retiree. Only my summer home is on wheels.
ReplyDeleteShhh! Em - the whole "summer vacation thing" is supposed to be a closely guarded old-person secret. E. F.'s parents might just get a midnight call from the "retirement police".
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