Sun, Nov 6, 2016
Carol and I arrived in Casa Grande, AZ earlier this week and are settling into a routine. Our plan is to stay here through January and enjoy the warm winter weather. Then we’re off to our big Baja adventure 🙂
We are in Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort and if there has ever been a master planned RV park, this is it. There are over 2,000 lots neatly laid out around the golf course and various amenities. Here’s our site and you can see that we’re pretty much encircled by mini-homes.
Over the years, about half of the lots have been converted to homes that average about 1,000 sqft although the newer ones are larger. They newer ones sell for over $100,000 but some are available for as little as $30k and the owner is also on the hook for the annual lease. Most of the owners we’ve spoken to started in an RV and ultimately made the leap into a house. Hope this doesn’t hold true for us 😦
We’re impressed with the resort management as it’s very neat and tidy without any sign of deferred maintenance. We don’t always like the rules especially the one that all residents are required to wear their name badges at all times. Really?
We’ve started to take advantage of the amenities and it’s a long list: golf, swimming, aqua jogging, tennis, lawn bowling, water volleyball, softball, exercise classes, fitness center, dog parks, an incredible wood shop, book club, photo club, 18 shuffleboard courts, 10 horseshoe pits, etc. Where to start?
The big deal at Palm Creek is pickleball, a mash-up of tennis and ping pong. In fact, Palm Creek is hosting the National Championships and I’m one of the staff photographers. Here are a few shots from yesterday’s opening matches.
Now a comment about Casa Grande. It’s easy to see why so many snowbirds are here and it’s money. This place is cheap, cheap, cheap. Just look at the restaurants: Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel, Popeye’s, Golden Corral, IHOP, Denny’s, Chili’s, the list goes on. You’d be hard pressed to find cheaper calories. And they’re all on the main drag just down the road. We’ve yet to find a place comparable to even an ave Marin restaurant.
There’s a lot to like at Palm Creek but we do miss Marin and our friends. There’s just no substitute.
DC Airstream 