This week completes our last week in Hot Springs Village; we have immensely enjoyed our month here, renewing many old acquaintances and making many new ones.  We have hosted two of our three kids and their families, and good friends, the Simanks.  Many books have been read, and hundreds of golf balls have been hit—some good, some bad.  Several rounds of golf have been played.   Yes, it has been a great month, indeed.

I played golf on Magellan Golf Course Monday, and played fair until it began raining on hole #14, stopping, and starting again shortly thereafter, accompanied by thunder.  It’s truly amazing how superb the maintenance folks keep this and the other courses.  Jim and Jackie Morris came over in the evening for bridge, and neither Jackie nor I had decent hands the entire evening.

Kay and Pam exercised at the Coronado Aquatic Center Tuesday morning, followed by lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  I played golf with Jim Morris on Balboa; Kay and Pam had a great lunch, while Jim and I had a lousy golf game as neither of us hit the ball well.  I sort of expected it as I woke up in the morning with a scratchy throat, and hit pretty inconsistently on the driving range.  We would be remiss if we failed to mention that Pam followed up lunch with a winning evening at the casino at Oaklawn Park.

Wednesday, I hit golf balls early in the morning, and Kay got a hair cut and color.  Our good friends the Simanks arrived at lunch, and after unpacking, we drove to Granada Golf Course overlooking the waterfall, where Kay met us for lunch.  The food was good, though the waitress was a bit on the weird side.  We explored the Village the rest of the afternoon, showing the Simanks our lot, a house being built with a floor plan we like, and most of the lakes and golf courses.  After a brief rest and adult beverages, we had dinner at the Last Chance, our now regular Wednesday evening hangout for dinner.  The food was very good, and the service excellent.

After coffee on Thursday morning, we drove to and walked around the farmers’ market at Grove Park.  The vegetables, baked goods, and other wares sold there are genuine, and sold by genuine farmers.  It is such a pleasure to eat tasty fresh vegetables, and the fried pies are to die for!  Back at the rental house, we ate breakfast before Kay and Sandy headed out for a sightseeing/shopping trip to Hot Springs while John and I caught up on a lot of IT work on iPhones, iPads, and computers.  We all drove back to Hot Springs for dinner at the Salty Oyster Grill for their catfish and “taters and onions.” 

After egg sandwiches for breakfast Friday morning, John and Sandy left for Norfork, and Kay and I drove the short distance to Magellan Golf Course to hit golf balls.  We “chilled” the rest of the day, and both of us took afternoon naps; now, Kay is developing a scratchy throat; time for the Zicam.   With time running out, we scheduled a mid-afternoon tee time for Coronado Golf Course for Saturday afternoon.  The Passes hosted us for adult beverages and pizza and a great visit Friday evening, but we didn’t get to go out on Lake Balboa because of high winds.  However, we always laugh a lot during our visits with them.

With nothing scheduled, we enjoyed a quiet morning Saturday, packed, and loaded the kayaks for the trip home on Sunday after church.  We sure enjoyed our month in Hot Springs Village, and learned a few things regarding our move here in the coming months.  First, we really enjoyed the sunroom, and have added it to a list of our “must haves” in the house we buy or build in the Village, and second, we both really enjoy the social life and amenities available in the Village.  The costs in the Village and surrounding area appear to be 15 to 20% less than in Baxter County, though this was no surprise to us as Baxter County businesses have a captive “audience” and make us pay through the nose for goods and services—shameful!  And finally, a butterfly settled in the oak tree just off the deck and posed for a photograph.  We were able to tee off early at Coronado, and Kay hit like an experienced golfer, particularly on her drives and fairway shots; the short game still eludes her, but she’s working on it!  We got hit by thunder, rain, and then lightening on the 9th hole and took a rain check—actually, a refund—for the back nine, and it continued to rain for most of the rest of the evening, making our decision a good one.

Sunday morning, we finished packing, except for the refrigerated and frozen foods, and attended the 10:10 AM traditional worship service.  The folks at the church have really made us feel welcome.  Afterwards, we packed and loaded the refrigerated and frozen foods, tied the kayaks down front and rear, and left within a few minutes of noon—I drove towards our house and Kay drove to Maumelle for a last visit with Ridge for a few days.  I arrived at the house at 3:30 PM, unpacked, and washed the Expedition, and Kay arrived a few hours later.  It’s always good to return to the place we call home, whether it’s the house or the RV.

This week proved to be our busiest week yet with Kay hosting her book club, two rounds of golf, and hosting Harper and her parents over the weekend.

Monday was our quietest day of the week as we hit a few golf balls and hung out at the rental house, as Kay made preparations (food) for book club.  

Kay exercised Tuesday morning, now a regular routine on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with other ladies at the Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church.  I played golf with what’s becoming a regular foursome, including Jim Morris, Fred Douglas, and Bill; we played DeSoto Golf Course, the first to be built in the Village and just refurbished last year.  The greens were lightning fast, and it was difficult to make a putt; to date, it is my least favorite of the courses at Hot Springs Village.  Jim and I ate at a great Mexican restaurant in the Village, with the coldest beer around.  While we played golf, drank, and dined, the book club ladies went to Oaklawn Race Track in Hot Springs, and tried their luck at the casino.

Kay hosted book club Wednesday, with the ladies arriving around 11 AM.  They dined on quiche, grape salad, corn dip, broccoli salad, Harry and David’s onion dip, tortilla rolls and salsa, fresh fruit, ice cream frozen dessert, chased down with Mimosas.  It was a great time to exit stage left, hit a few golf balls, and join others in the foursome to play Balboa.  Another course I haven’t played, it proved to be a well groomed course, but requires one to stay in the “short grass” to make a good score; I had a fair game, certainly better than some shot the last few weeks.

Karyn, Kay’s daughter, received a major award at the Little Rock District, US Army Corps of Engineers annual Engineer Day picnic in central Arkansas on Thursday.  Kay traveled there to honor Karyn as she received Project Manager of the Year award, while I remained behind for yet another golf lesson.  Today’s lesson was about keeping the right shoulder down through impact, and rotating the body toward the target after impact—two small, but essential  elements in improving ball contact.  As for the lessons as a whole, it is a slow process, but improvement is being made week by week.  One of the most difficult things is remembering that the ball doesn’t go quite as far (and the body doesn’t flex near as much) when hit by a person in their mid-60s compared to a person in their 40s or even 50s.  We chilled Thursday evening.

After receiving confirmation of a visit from our youngest grand baby and her parents, Kay and I drove to Walmart Friday morning for a few groceries and gasoline.  The Walmart store is across the Village a couple of miles outside the West Gate (the original main entrance).  Harper, Jenny, and Brian arrived late Friday evening, and we visited a bit before retiring for the evening.  Harper is recovering from tonsillitis and Jenny is still fighting this viral malady.

We were all up pretty early Saturday morning, but Jenny was definitely sleep deprived.  Brian, Harper, Kay, and I spent a good portion of the morning riding around various parts of the Village while Jenny napped.  Of course, Harper fell asleep, and slept almost the entire time we were riding.  Back at the rental house, we all loaded up in the Expedition in our swimsuits, and drove to Balboa Beach for a couple of hours of lake and beach time.  We all had a good time, throwing a Frisbee, and just lounging about in the lake.  The sound of thunder signaled time to depart, and we just beat the light rain that began to fall.  After the rain, we drove to the Family Area where Harper, Jenny, and Brian enjoyed playing on the slides and climbing areas.  Harper is a real climber, and knows no fear.  She has tremendous upper body strength, and is quite fast, and will escape your grasp before you know it, though we could tell she still didn’t feel well, despite a pleasant attitude and healthy appetite.  Back at the rental, Jenny and Brian went for a long walk, Kay entertained Harper, and I prepared dinner.  Afterwards, we all collapsed on the sofa and love seat, falling asleep about 9 PM—no last man standing in this crowd.

After breakfast Sunday, Jenny and Brian packed their car, and we all went for a ride around Hot Springs, driving down Bath House Row, and checking out the locations of Mid-America Museum and Magic Springs Amusement Park.  They departed for Memphis upon our return, Kay went shopping in Benton/Bryant with a girlfriend, and I washed clothes, cleaned house, and hit a bunch of golf balls—my best practice yet.  We watched television a short while in the evening before I cried “uncle” and went to bed—I sure am sleeping a lot!

Our visit with Ridge and parents continued Sunday, so we opted to play hooky from church and Sunday school, a rarity for us.  In our spring cleaning endeavor, Karyn helped immensely by pulling items off the top shelf of the pantry, and she and Kay packed up out-of-date items.  We have even begun checking “use by date” labels in stores and it’s amazing how many of the items are already out of day, particularly at small country stores, and at convenient stores.  Taking advantage of the weather, we drove to Norfork Lake, uncovered the pontoon, and enjoyed some time on a sandbar and then on the lake where Ridge went to sleep.  He woke up after only a short while, a bit cranky from all the excitement and lack of a long nap, so his folks loaded up and drove home.  We had anticipated their staying until Monday, and cancelled a get together with Frank and Diane, RVing friends from northwest Arkansas.  Hopefully, they understand and forgive us.  After a week away from the house, and company over the weekend, we collapsed and watched television for the rest of the evening, going to bed early!

After catching up on local, regional, and national events, we arose Monday morning to clean house, particularly since someone might possibly come to look at it!  And then, it was off to the driving range where I hit golf balls; I’m so frustrated that the thought of giving up the game entirely has surfaced.  Since I am not fishing the Norfork or White Rivers these days, the days get pretty long, and it’s a real struggle finding things interesting to do.  Consequently, the patio, porch, and deck get cleaned every morning.  And today, we hung the pontoon cover over the upper deck railing and washed it. 

Kay and I both got haircuts today, Tuesday, and ran several errands in Mountain Home.  I traded cars with her and had the chips in the Honda windshield repaired at Mountain Home Glass; we highly recommend them for any of one’s glass work.  In switching cars, I forgot part of my golf paraphernalia, and returned home while Kay spent most of the day in Mountain Home.  Bored, I drove back into town, picked up a copy of a blood panel from last Friday, and hit golf balls again, faring a bit better, though there were still enough bad hits to be frustrating. 

Our weather has been wet of late, and rain is forecast every day this week, putting a damper on outdoor activities, and we’re not seeing many birds or butterflies.  We are still slowly cleaning out excess stuff, room by room, as we don’t want to pay to move stuff we don’t want or need now or later. With extra time on hand, I have begun making popping bugs again, returning back to my first love of fly tying, in anticipation of fishing for bluegills and bass in the many lakes at Hot Springs Village.  We took down family photos today, Wednesday, and filled and spot painted nail holes, and making a a few small drywall repairs.

A few more repairs and spot painting were done Thursday, and the house looks great for showing.  In addition to cleaning out excess and preparing for our month stay in Hot Springs Village, Kay has been using the down time to read, and has finished a couple of books this week.  I downloaded all the photo cards not yet downloaded, and processed a few photos, including this one of a hummingbird trying to knock a butterfly off its feeder, taken several days ago.  The butterfly hung in there and continued sipping the sweet nectar.  With a couple dozen popping bugs ready for painting, I painted several a florescent chartreuse and others a baby blue, a color that really works for bluegill and smallmouth bass alike (a trick I learned from Harry Murray, a one of the nation’s most notable smallmouth fly fishers).  Over the course of the last couple of weeks, Kay has been working to resolve problems with an Amazon order for a couple of lamps.  The first set arrived about 3 weeks ago, and one of the bases was irregular and one of the shades had a broken strut.  They were supposed to have held the replacement set for shipping this week, but attempted to deliver last week while we were out of town, and since we were not here to receive them, they were sent back.  After a couple of calls, another set was delivered this week and looked even worse than the original set.  Here’s Kay’s review.

“I ordered one set of these lamps and when they arrived, the bases were dented, defective, shoddy workmanship and one of the shades had broken splines. I sent pictures of the defects and another set were delivered to me. Both of the bases were off set and positioned incorrectly. I am amazed at the lack of quality control at Uttermost. I am so sad because the lamps would have looked beautiful in my great room. But, I am not about to pay almost $500 for lamps that are shoddy and ill made. The company that I ordered these lamps from via the Amazon marketplace was wonderful to work with; positive, understanding, good communicators and anxious to satisfy me. They are homeandliving.com and I can recommend them wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, my experience with the Uttermost company has been tainted by this whole ordeal. I’m still looking for new lamps but I won’t be looking in their direction again.”

We took advantage of a break in the rain early Friday morning to put the clean cover back on the pontoon.  Back at the house, I installed kayak racks on the Expedition, and Kay trimmed shrubs and weeded.  We drove into Mountain Home where she took care of some business and I hit golf balls—better than the last few days, and back to where I was before getting new clubs.  I think the new ones are going to work just fine, and the distance is a bit longer than the old clubs.  If I can only get the slight fade to go away…  Back at home, I applied the final coating, epoxy, on the popping bugs to give them a great durable finish, and took a wonderful nap while Kay read.  The evening was spent packing—in getting the fly tying materials ready, I discovered that I have more rubber legs for popping bugs than most fly shops, no kidding!

More rain was forecast for today (Saturday), however, we started packing the cars early, beginning with loading the kayaks.  Gosh, the Expedition is tall, and we had to use a two-step stool to get them in their racks and tied down.  The SUV was wet from having set outside in all the rain because with the racks, it’s too high to get in the garage.  We’re taking both cars, and because the Expedition is larger, it will carry the bulk of items.  In anticipation of visits from Harper and Ridge, we are taking  the Pack-n-Play and car seat, which along with PFDs and paddles, and other grown-up toys, take up a good portion of the rear of the Expedition.  As with most other trips we take with high anticipation, we were packed and ready to go by noon, and nothing to do in the afternoon.  Guess that’s why the old Army adage, “hurry up and wait” originated!