Pino's Pizza al Centro

We are beyond excited. Our neighbors Kim & Tom - our lifesavers out here - took us downtown for dinner Friday night to celebrate Shawn's birthday. We started with drinks at Tom's brother BJ's house, then we all headed to Pino's for dinner. It's crazy - a local place that's only open weekdays from 10-2 and 5 - 8. Lots of good Italian food and quite possibly the BEST pizza I have ever had out west. I am a big fan of our local thin-crust brick oven place, but Pino's had that east coast flavor that is hard to find anywhere else. Haven't had their regular yet, but I'm sure it won't disappoint. Pino took good care of us (Tom & Kim lived nearby before moving to Verrado a few years ago) and we will definitely be back.

(Not Pino's but close...actually thin-crust at a local spot in our village of Castellina in Chianti, Italy, September 2006.)

Hometown Holidays

Verrado always has something special going on, and this past weekend was our Hometown Holidays celebration. The bloodmobile was here all day taking donations, there was a pancake breakfast in the morning, and a vendor gift shopping fair during the day. At night the town square was lit up - palm trees included - and they had all kinds of activities for big and little kids alike including making 

gingerbread houses, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, two snow pits for the big and little kids to enjoy snowball fights (hysterical), a horse-drawn carriage/hayride around the square, the middle school band and chorus performing,  the tree lighting, and, of course, Santa. Vendors had soup, hot chocolate, and other winter favorites, and it was cool enough out to enjoy them. Definitely geared more for families, but a great event even without kids.

A New Career

It is safe to say that NO ONE will guess what I am doing in my new position, but it's an amazing, growing company with great people and valuable work that the employees can really get behind. Check us out. 

East Coast Reunion in the West Valley

Thanks to Facebook I reconnected with a classmate from middle school who moved to Arizona a few years ago. I had seen that she was out here back when I thought we were a couple of years away and reached out, then we got in touch again when we knew we'd be moving out here sooner than planned. Jean and Steve live about as far across the valley from us as possible, but we recently got together with them and other friends of theirs from the west valley at Westgate, the outdoor shopping and entertainment area that was built next to the stadium before the last Superbowl.  We hit Margaritaville and The Brew House and had a great time.

 

   

"Won't you miss the seasons?"

In a word, no.

Long Overdue Update!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. Somehow, from the time I got my job offers until I accepted and started working again, weeks passed.

Where to start? I guess I'll do a few entries starting with some great pics of our camping/off-roading trip in Sedona/Oak Creek/Camp Verde. We met our friends Eric and Kristen for a great weekend at a favorite site and took three separate off-roading trips, the first being the Broken Arrow trail in the red rock country of Sedona. This is where the Pink Jeep Tours go - amazing stuff.

We came down this one - "The Steps". Check out the above link to see what it looks like with a vehicle on it!

"Chicken Point"

Founder's Day 2008

It's been a while...job searching and settling in is keeping us very busy, and we've managed to fit some fun in as well.

Friday night we walked over to Main Street to check things out - Verrado's annual Founder's Day weekend was here and they were setting up in town for the next day's events. Just about everything was ready to go, and they were doing screen and lighting checks. It was pretty quiet with very few people around - less than 24 hours later it would look completely different.

Saturday was incredible - perfect weather and the celebration right in the town square and up Main Street. The festivities started at 2 and included vendor tents with all kinds of food, drink, and things for sale, classic Woodies (following the "beach" theme), and a different band playing every hour up until 8 when The Beach Boys would take the stage. They even set up a "beach" of sand alongside the stage (third pic above). Shawn and I had been kind of bummed since the bands that had played in the past included Train, Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler, The B52s, etc., plus I had seen TBB several times at Great Adventure as a kid, but they put on a great show. Our friends Mary and Val and my goddaughter Julia and her exchange student Mina from Korea joined us, and it was fun to share the experience with Mary being from California and never having seen them before.

The lawn worked on the honors system, so you just showed up earlier in the day, laid your blankets down, and wandered in and out throughout the day. It worked out well for us since we were invited to our neighbors Tom & Kim's place later on in the day. Great wine, friends new and old, and the concert ended a great day. Sunday was the closing event of the weekend - a BBQ lunch in one of the parks - and then we headed off to see friends in the east valley for dinner. The weekend is designed to foster a sense of community, and it really works. We met some new people at the concert who are also new in town who pushed us to join clubs to meet people, and we have our first dinner for one next week. Everyone is so friendly here that it is almost impossible to NOT meet people.

That's the latest news. We're hoping to get away for some camping with our friend Eric up in Sedona this weekend before it gets too cold up there. We'll keep you posted.

Local Yocals Meet National News

Yesterday we headed down to "old town" Buckeye for Heritage Days - a local celebration at the old Eastman Cotton Gin grounds. The town is fundraising and working on getting grants to build Heritage Park, the site of a soon-to-be historical destination focused on education and historical preservation. It was fun to finally just be a local for the day.

Here's the most memorable and first-time experience of it all: an actual tractor pull!! I have never been to one and have never seen so many tractors - probably in total - in my entire life in the Garden State.

Also check out The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer report on Buckeye - the town (from which Verrado is somewhat far-removed but which Shawn and I kind of dig) actually made national television! It's an interesting look forward on the west valley becoming it's own sustainable city vs. a bedroom community for commuters to Phoenix.

Non-Tourist Tourist Outing #2

I haven't updated in a while because there hasn't been much happening - job searching and dog parks aren't the most exciting topics.  Things are definitely progressing there, but today I decided it was time for a mini road-trip to remind us why we are here and surprised Shawn with an afternoon outing to one of our county parks with has a large lake I had read about.

   

Lake Pleasant was gorgeous - less than an hour away on back roads and a total escape. The pictures really don't show the true beauty.  Saguaro cactus and mountains everywhere, several different spots for off-roading, camping, boating, a couple of marinas - everything we could possibly want. We even saw wild burros for the first time. It's hard to believe that it is in our county and part of our "local" parks department - this was no small pond, but big enough for "real" boats with lots of bays which made the sailor in me very happy.

   

It's all happening...

Yesterday we decided to head over to the zoo and get our membership. It's a pretty and relaxing place with a lot going on throughout the year, but it was so strange to be at a true zoo so close to home.  We didn't take any pictures yesterday, but I got these shots of their new baby orangutan last November.

Funny side story - when we got back to the Jeep there was a business card on the windshield from an Assistant Fire Chief in Somerset County, NJ saying what a small world it was. He had seen Shawn's NJ fire plates and it turns out he also has a business in Hillsborough. Shawn left a message for him (the shop was closed for the week) saying it was even smaller - he had been an Assistant Chief in the area as well - and that we had just relocated.

Mayberry/Settling In (??)

I can't believe I haven't posted all week, but it has been absolutely crazy here. I can't stand shopping to begin with, and we've had to do just that almost every day since we arrived. I think we're done for now, and at this point it's just more unpacking, more waiting for furniture, and job searching. We picked up our dog Mija on Monday night, and she is settling in well despite so much change and the fact that our house is not even close to being normal yet.  The cats are handling things well for the most part - just a little hiding and Mija still trying to follow them around on occasion.

The town is just as beautiful as we remembered it, and it really does have a Mayberry/Pleasantville feel to it as much as we joke. It is definitely small-town America - everyone is so nice, the shops are great, and we're finding our way around the neighboring towns with the bigger stores when we need them. There are beautiful hiking trails, walking paths, desert landscape, and amazing sunrises and sunsets. The house is great and being able to walk to town is a bonus.  Once things calm down and we're actually settled, it will be perfect.

Saturday, October 4th - Part 2

After meeting Tom and getting rid of some Black Widow spiders on our patio we took off for the nearest mall so that I could get to the Apple Store (I'm pretty sure someone at the Gallup Days Inn West is enjoying my power adapter). So far we haven't found a nearby indoor shopping mall yet, but from what we hear construction is underway on one in our area. We headed up to Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale passing the new stadium on the way, did find the Apple Store, looked around for more furniture, and headed home. We hadn't had dinner so we decided to stop at the new Westgate complex next to University of Arizona Stadium where this year's Superbowl took place and where the Arizona Cardinals play.

I had heard there was a lot going on there including many restaurants and shops, but I didn't expect what we found. It was an entirely outdoor complex with everything from Margaritaville to Johnny Rocket's, all kinds of other bars, restaurants, and shops with a hotel, movie theater, casino, fountains, bright lights, etc. I felt like I was on vacation in Coconut Grove, Florida or San Diego, and then it started to hit us that we really ARE living in a vacation spot.

That's enough storytelling for now, but you get the idea - lots happening. I have a feeling it will be like this for a while longer.

Saturday, October 4th - Part 1

Today was essentials day. After waking up and moving everything from the garage into the house, we took a break and walked up to the local coffee shop, Mokarabia, got a couple of coffees, and sat on a bench on the square taking it all in - the biweekly bookmobile (haven't seen one of those since I was about 7), kids playing in the fountain, clouds rolling in for a possible storm. We toured the Village Health Club, got info on membership, and saw the pools that are included with residency - two nice ones, one for lounging and the other for laps. We met the Millers, a family of six from the area that moved to Verrado in May, and realized that, although we might be living in Mayberry, we are in a very special place.

Off to WalMart - AGAIN - for the items we could no longer live without, but we did stop in a NY style bagel and deli place for lunch first. I have to say I was extremely surprised as I had remembered from living here years ago that decent bagels were nearly impossible to find, and these were really very good.  Then some furniture shopping, a stop at PetSmart for more essentials, Lowe's to check out grills and workbenches, etc. By the time we made it home we were exhausted, but there was still too much to do. We dropped everything off, checked on the cats, and were ready to get going again, but once again got sidetracked with a neighbor.

I was outside of the garage throwing something away when I saw someone up our back alley - more on the "alleys" later - unloading what appeared to be cases of wine from their car. Greg, the neighbor that had moved out, had mentioned there was a nice couple in the wine distribution business up the street. As a wine fan I couldn't help myself and called over to him, "I have to ask...are you the wine guy?" He said, "I sure am!" and came down to introduce himself. I explained that Greg who had just moved out had told us one of our neighbors was in the wine business and I put two and two together when I saw him unloading. He welcomed us to the neighborhood and mentioned it was a perfect day for us with the sunset and rainbow at the same time. I turned around to see a full rainbow - end to end - larger than any I've ever seen in my life stretching across half the sky, but it was impossible to photograph with a normal camera. I said I had to show Shawn, and Tom said, "Go get Shawn, I'll go get a bottle, and I'll see you in a minute." Sure enough, a minute later he had a great bottle of Pinot Noir for me and we talked up about wine, restaurants in the area, pets, etc. We'll definitely be catching up with him and his wife Kim soon.

Just another Verrado day.

Our First Official Day - Friday, October 3rd

This was Friday: Got up around 7:30, packed up the cats and our stuff, loaded the car for the LAST time on our road trip, grabbed coffees from Mary for the road, hit the credit union again, and met our shipping driver, Ben, who had arrived in Phoenix with the Jeep on the 30th. Shawn was happy to have her back and followed me to our new place where we introduced the cats to their new home, had lunch at Grazie (just a short walk to Main Street), met a neighbor, Greg, who was moving out that day, and made plans to meet back later - he'd bring a good bottle of wine that hadn't been packed and we'd swing by the Memphis BBQ place in downtown Buckeye after our errands. We headed to town, set up garbage service, found out our local MVD (like the DMV, MVC, etc.) was closed on Fridays, found a new agent here and transferred our insurance policy, looked into new auto insurance, and headed to another MVD in Avondale. It was extremely packed but very organized, and before we knew it we had new AZ licenses, our Jersey licenses were shredded, and were registered to vote. Back to town to pick up the BBQ and then off to a great dinner with Greg and his friend Keith - our first and Greg's last as residents of Verrado. After that we headed to WalMart just one exit away for the essentials, which at that hour consisted of sheets, blanket, and pillows for our camping air mattress (bed on order and soon on the way). The rest would have to wait.

Are we really here? Thursday, October 2nd

I can't believe it has been three days since our last post, but it has been an absolute whirlwind since we arrived.

We left Gallup at 8:15 am, drove across to Flagstaff then down to Phoenix, gaining our last hour of extra time with the change from mountain to pacific. Thankfully it was the shortest leg of our trip since the cargo carrier on the roof decided it was going to make every kind of noise imaginable the entire time regardless of what we did to adjust it.

We arrived at our friend Mary's in Chandler at 12:20 pm, set up the cats for the day/night, saw Mija, Mary, all of the critters there, my goddaughter Julia and their exchange student Mina, had a quick lunch, stopped at the credit union, and took off for Verrado to meet our realtor and get our keys. Got to Verrado, toured the house with Shawn, emptied the 5x8 U-Haul trailer and cargo carrier into literally half the garage (how DID it all fit?!?!?!), returned the U-Haul to a place in downtown Buckeye - a true western Main Street town - and headed back to Mary's in time for a party where we got a big Arizona welcome from friends new and old.  I swam for about 3 minutes after the party (a bit chilly...but had to do it on principle since it's October!!) and then we crashed hard for the night. Mija was pretty ticked off that she couldn't sleep with us as she usually does, but the cats needed some time to adjust before we threw another change into the mix.

Final Night on the Road - Gallup, New Mexico

After a last meal with Shawn's brother Mike before leaving Castle Rock, we were back on the road at around 11 am. Today, although an average-length leg of the trip, was a little more nerve-wracking then the rest. Coming through the mountains of both Colorado and New Mexico tested the Jeep more than ever, but she pulled through and we arrived in Gallup at about 8:15 pm. More delivery food and soda, but calmer cats now that they had a few days of vacation before traveling.

I didn't really take any good photos during our visit, but I did catch one blurry shot of Shawn and Mike enjoying the firepit (NOT the cause of the fire) over the weekend.

Tomorrow is it - an early start should see us crossing the border into home territory before 9 am. We'll head across the edge of the Painted Desert, through Winslow to Flagstaff, then it's a straight shot to Phoenix. We still can't believe it is all finally happening.

In other news from the road...

...the cats seem to be having difficulty settling in (yeah, right) and after almost 7 years with Shawn I finally got to have one of his homemade soups. I've heard about them for years, and Joey said he tasted one once in a deli, but I guess it was worth the wait for us. Sunday night's dinner was PotatoLeek and - for those who have been following my road-food-woes - gorgeous ribeye steaks, grilled portabello mushrooms with a balsamic glaze, corn, fresh bread, and red wine. Finally a real meal - the first since our breakfast in Columbus.

The weather is gorgeous today - sunny, blue skies, mid-60s to mid-70s - so we're thinking of going for a hike and walking around town before we start getting ready for our early morning departure. One more night of fun then back on the road. Tomorrow night we'll be in New Mexico, and Thursday we arrive in our new home state.

A Surprise Visit

Our uneventful (just how we like it) road trip found a bit of excitement Monday morning...

Long story short, we wake up hearing footsteps upstairs in the kitchen, the doorbell, and other noises that would lead you to believe it was the start of another workday for everyone but us. Wrong! Things quiet down and a little while later I head upstairs...to complete darkness except for flashing red and blue lights all over the living room. It's 3:20 AM, and I look out the front window to see a fire engine across the front of the house, two police vehicles, firefighters all over the cul-de-sac and driveway, and a hose running from the engine to my right, between us and the house next door.

I called down to Shawn, telling him that I think there is a fire next door, he comes up to see what's happening, then his brother Mike comes down and clears up the confusion.

Turns out mulch in the yard caught fire in the middle of the night, and Mike got a call from a neighbor across the street letting him know that his fence was on fire. As he was hosing it down, Castle Rock FD showed up to finish the job, and everyone went back to bed. Hopefully that will be it for our road trip excitement.

We Made It! Vacation Stopover in CO

After almost 1900 miles across 9 states we finally pulled in to Castle Rock, Colorado at about 8:00 mountain time last night. It was nice to know we would finally be able to relax with family and have some "normal" meals for a few days until we resume our push on Wednesday morning.

Thanks to everyone for all of the encouraging calls, texts, and e-mails - it's made it fun for us to know we're not alone on the journey!!

For those who have asked about the "setup", this is it: everything we own (including cats) in three compact units:

It really has all gone very smoothly, although the Jeep was begging us for mercy when we finally parked here - it seems like such a flat trip, but from the western side of Kansas (the longest state in the universe, by the way, outranking Pennsylvania and Nebraska for us) across the eastern side of Colorado, you are slowly but steadily climbing. She and the cats are definitely thankful for a break from our recent daily routine.

More to follow...

Day 2 - Columbus, OH to Columbia, MO

The one thing that has stayed on track all week was our plan to see Raj, an old friend who left NJ years ago. After our less-than exciting

dinner last night, it was wonderful to catch 

up over a good old-fashioned Bob Evans breakfast. It always amazes me how fast time passes, and, although so much changes, it is so easy to reconnect with people. Hopefully it won't be another 5 or 6 years!

Although our dinner plans with my oldest friend Colleen (since we were 3!!! She left Long Valley when we were 7) didn't work out, it turned out she was off from work today and just happened to be home about to leave for a weekend trip. Since it was literally five minutes off our scheduled route, we were able to stop in and see her as well as her husband Adam and son Jonas. Talk about time and change - I saw him last summer and he was a baby. Now he's walking, talking, and can make just about any animal sound you throw at him. Amazing....and only a year and a half old.

      

After that it was straight to Missouri, driving through Indianapolis and St. Louis. Pizza Hut dinner delivered is a lot more enjoyable than hunted-down vending machine food. The critters seemed to be getting the routine and settled in fairly well.

Tomorrow is our final push to Castle Rock, CO where we'll stay with Shawn's brothers Michael and Joey for a few days of vacation before our final push for.....sounds weird.....home.

Hotel Dining - Night #1 on the Road

We finally did it - left our cottage in New Jersey forever and made it to Columbus, Ohio for our first night on the road! Unfortunately delays kept us from dinner with friends, but we'll see another friend who left NJ years ago, Raj, for breakfast tomorrow before heading to Kansas for night number 2.

The upside is that there is a lot around our hotel and that we got a room about as far away from the lobby as possible which made setting up our feline camp quite simple. Breakfast will be at Bob Evans across the street which couldn't be easier, and the room is spacious, clean, and comfortable even though it is a "pet friendly" hotel.  The downside? Wendy's (or anywhere else for that matter) is NOT open until 1:00 AM like those in NJ, and dinner consisted of light popcorn, TGIFriday's Cheddar and Sour Cream Potato Skins Snack Chips, Doritos, and A&W root beer. Mmmmm...nutritious AND delicious!

Our New Addition

When we first met Mija (mee-ha) in March of 2006, she was a three-month old pup who was rescued from the streets of Mexico by a young couple who couldn't afford to keep her.  They took her to the dog park in our friend Mary's town of Chandler hoping to find her a home. Shawn and I were out visiting at the time but up in northern Arizona for a few days when Mary saw her and immediately took her to the vet for medical care. She called to let us know we would be coming back to a new - but very sick - pup, and when we returned, she had a fever of 106 and had to be isolated from the other pets as she got well. She stayed with Shawn and I that night, and we really didn't think we would ever see her again.

When I returned to Mary's for another visit over a year later in July of 2007, I couldn't believe it was the same animal! She was happy, healthy, playful, and extremely smart with lots of energy, and is so friendly and pretty that she really gets (or should I say demands?) attention wherever she goes. She followed me - and then Shawn that November - everywhere and quickly attached herself to us, seeming to become our dog. Mary agreed and has been her "foster mom" since then, waiting for us to add her to our family when we relocate. It's been a long wait for all of us but the time is almost here.

Verrado

A few years ago we discovered an amazing place in the West Valley of the Phoenix area. The city has lots of well-known suburbs like Scottsdale and Tempe, home of Arizona State, but the west side is largely undeveloped when compared to the east.  The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale was built and became the new home of the Arizona Cardinals and this year's Superbowl, but not much has been heard about the West Valley beyond that. Many new communities are popping up out there, but Verrado was the one for us.

Just 25 miles west of downtown Phoenix and nestled in the foothills of the White Tank Mountains and the nearly 30,000 acre White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Verrado's theme is small-town America - homes with front porches, a large percentage with garages behind the homes, and every home built within two blocks of a neighborhood park.  It has a traditional main street with a market, pharmacy, bank, coffee shop, restaurant, wine bar, smoothie shop, etc. within walking distance of many homes.  We were fortunate enough to find a place just two blocks away from downtown as well as the health club and pool and just another block or two down from the Raven Golf Club and Verrado Grille (another restaurant). There are almost 40 different clubs of every kind to keep people active and involved, and festivals and other events are a monthly occurrence, including the annual Founder's Day and Experia celebrations with major bands headlining.

Check out the Verrado site for more pictures and info.

It's all finally falling into place!

Well, this is it.  The lease is signed, house is rented, address change is submitted, mail in AZ is on hold, U-Haul trailer is rented, Wrangler is scheduled for shipping...you get the idea.  We leave New Jersey for our cross-country journey (cats in tow with dog waiting on the other side!) on September 23rd. 

The plan is to stay night one in Columbus where we'll have dinner with my oldest (not age, years) friend Colleen and maybe meet our new landlord, one night in Kansas City, and then we'll relax in Colorado for a long weekend with Shawn's brothers Michael and Joey before one more night on the road near the border of New Mexico and Arizona.  We officially make Arizona our home on October 1st.

I figured I'd give the blog thing a shot since it's the easiest way to keep everyone up to date as we settle in to our new life.  Stay tuned for the latest...

Check out more shots here.