Christmas Eve As a Fulltimer

Casa Grande, AZ                   (Please click on pics to enlarge)

This is our first true Christmas eve after becoming fulltimers.  (We don't count last year as we were still in the area of our "previous life" due to still working until the end of last December).

There are many differences between this year and years past, but we are certainly not wanting for friends and activities. 

Even our cat Willie seems to be pretty content laying beside our Christmas tree on the dash of our motorhome.  He loves to play (meaning swat) the ornamental presents which surround the tree.

A lot of folks in the park have gone home for Christmas, or many have family members visiting, but for the rest of us who are fulltimers, we are having a great time. 

One couple, who has been coming to Palm Creek for years, has an annual tradition of organizing a pre-Christmas "block party" dinner in one of the rooms at the club house. We had just barely met them, but they very graciously asked us to attend.  They provided the entrée and everyone brought a side or dessert to share. There were approximately 70 people in attendance this year.

Prior to dinner our host asked everyone to stand and give their names and to tell where they were from.  It was interesting to listen to the wide diversity of areas where people reside.  The largest number were from Canada, but the US was represented from as far away as FL and PA.  There was even a couple visiting from Scotland.

We had a wonderful time visiting and getting to know people we had just met.  Our table was made up of Alan and Brenda (Washington State) and Ken and Jill (British Columbia). They are immediately across the street from our rig and strangely enough we all three arrived in the park at exactly the same time back in early November. Both couples are RVers and I think this just gives everyone a common bond to strike up a conversation and friendship.

Just prior to eating, our host asked a few gentleman in the crowd to come forward.  No one else had any idea what was to come, but it certainly was amusing.  Please take a look at the short video below to see what I mean.

Another activity which brought the immediate community together was the construction and placing of luminaries on the streets.  The group gathered around 4 PM today under the guise of constructing the luminaries, but I think a bit of "happy hour" was the driving force as well.

Here's a picture of the luminaries before the sun set.

After darkness fell and the luminaries were lit, a true feeling of the holiday season was definitely in order.  Our rig is on the right side in this picture.

The night sky is clear and temps are in the high-40s as I write this blog.  It really is very beautiful in this part of the country at night.





We would like to wish all of our readers of our blog a very Happy Holiday Season and the best of wishes for a New Year.  Please be safe in your travels during this time of the year as it can be a bit maddening for those having to travel.  Fortunately, we are settled in for the winter and very happy in our "winter home".

Thanks for stopping by once again to take a look!