I’m a little behind so I better post a weekend update. Saturday we headed out on the Spyder to a house on McDowell east of Power Road. Our destination was the location for a surprise 50th birthday party for our friend Mike. Donna and I met Mike and his wife Kim a couple of years ago here in Mesa. They’re originally from Idaho but were living here at the time and were contemplating life on the road. We talked several times at Lucky Lou’s about our experience and the preparations they should make.

They’re full-timers now in their fifth wheel RV. Mike Hall sent me the address for their party at a house owned by Wayne and Carolyn – I can’t remember their last name. We showed up at 4pm and were directed to park out back. Wayne’s house is in an unincorporated area in the desert of northeast Mesa where most of the homes are upscale with large lots. There were several cars already parked behind his place. We met our hosts and found our friends and were introduced to several others before Mike Hall arrived with the man of the hour – the other Mike.

Once the party got started, I saw a few of the guys going with Wayne to his garage. I thought this might be interesting and I followed. His garage is more like a shop with a milling machine, tools neatly arranged on the walls and in tool cabinets and some nice machinery. I wish I had taken more pictures. First up we checked out his ’63 Chevy Nova. This is a serious drag racing car. It’ll turn times under 8.90 and is street legal! He drives it on the street regularly.

’63 Nova in Wayne’s garage

540 cubic inches making 850 HP on gasoline

This bottle will add another 300 HP

Nitrous Oxide bottle, fuel cell and battery in the trunk

The workmanship on this car is absolutely impeccable. I spent about an hour getting to know Wayne and discovering this man’s mechanical genius and fabricating ability. He was considered one of the top 50 custom motorcycle builders in the country a couple of decades ago. In 2001, he traded a custom Harley he built for Kenny Bernstein’s original Budweiser King NHRA funny car from the ’70s. He completely restored the car. He had photos of he and his wife with Kenny Bernstein at a vintage drag meet. He put the car up for sale at the Barrett-Jackson auction with a reserve of $700,000. He showed me a photo of him onstage with the car with the bid screen in the background. The top bid was $675,000 and he turned it down! He said it was a mistake. He sold the car eventually to a collector who remained anonymous – everything was done through lawyers and he was told it would go into a private collection and he wasn’t likely to ever see the car again.

He owned a few shops over the years and was active in racing and also sponsored many racers. He built a bike for Bonneville and recorded a top speed of 196 mph on the Salt Flats – not in a streamliner but on an open bike! He also modified the pump on a jet dragster and increased its performance by more than a 10th of a second. He’s a Barney Navarro/Art Arfons renaissance man! I could talk with this guy for days and not be bored.

We left the party fairly early. I had a few beers over a couple of hours but didn’t want to push my luck on the Spyder. Donna brought fresh squeezed grapefruit juice that she spiked with Deep Eddy vodka. We each had a plate of sloppy Joes and fixings before we headed home.

Sunday and Monday were mostly consumed by pickleball. I’m so hooked on this game. I play for hours, then I need a few hours of rest and relaxation to recover. While I played pickleball Sunday, Donna went for a bike ride. I spent the rest of the day reading a book, then we went to Sprouts for groceries.

Monday morning we both played pickleball in the drop-in session from 8 to 10am, then I played in the round robin until 11:30am. Donna had a dental appointment in the afternoon so I drove her there on the Spyder. While she was at the dentist I made a quick run to Costco for bottled water, then I stopped at the Mesa Buckhorn Elks lodge. I applied for membership there over two weeks ago. My check for the $50 application fee had cleared, but I hadn’t heard from them. It was good thing I checked in because it seems something is awry. I should hear from them in the next day or two and we may have to extend our stay to complete our membership. We want to become members because many Elks Lodges across the country accommodate RVs at very low rates.

After picking Donna up at the dental office and learning she didn’t need a root canal after all, I stopped at my favorite watering hole – Red, White and Brew. I saw a familiar face I hadn’t seen for a while. Tom showed up – I wrote about him and his silver bullets in this post. It turned out he was having a cheater day. He set an intention to lose weight and eat healthier back in December, so he wasn’t a Red, White and Brew regular anymore. We enjoyed conversation for 45 minutes or so – it was great to catch up with him again.

Me, I’m still enjoying my brews. I’m telling myself that all of the pickleball activity offsets it. I get well over 10,000 steps in most days. I picked up an assortment of craft brewed IPA the other day. Four different IPAs from four states – all have a different approach and all are very good ales.

Hop Knot – Arizona, Stone – California, O’dells – Colorado, Fresh Squeezed – Oregon

My days of pickleball mornings and relaxing afternoons will come to an end. I’ll still hit the courts in the morning but I have a growing things-to-do list. Parcels should start arriving this afternoon and I’ll need to get to work on the trailer and Spyder so we’re in shape to continue our nomadic travels.