Landing... In Carefree (Part 1)

Carefree is not a state of mind in this instance.  Carefree is a place in Arizona.  It is way way up north just before you get to nowhere if you're driving to Sedona and points further upstate.  It is true desert with saguaro (still can't pronounce that correctly), coyotes, and those poisonous creepy things as big as crabs (I forgot what they're called - oh -scorpions!).   And some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  There must be something about the air in the evening in that part of Arizona because every night the colors of the sky, the mountains, and the sun setting are like a purely colored work of art (something I plan to do a pastel painting of now).

I know Arizona.  My daughter went to college and then grad school at ASU in Tempe (pronounced Tempeeeeee if you live there).  I had the pleasure of being there every August for years to help my baby get ready for the coming school year.  HOT!  And I don't care how "dry" the heat is it is still unbearably hot.  I've run into an awful lot of not-so-bright people out there.  I call them "fried eggs" because the sun must have affected them.  Like handymen - never on time - friendly enough - but will talk and talk and talk - and they're not even being paid by the hour - no wonder they're never on time.  We had an incident one August where we had all sorts of utility workers digging up the front yard to repair some underground pipes.  One gentleman was assigned to "watch" the front and he did.... all afternoon.... in late August mind you when the temperatures reach 110 and above.  He sat on the gravel, without a book, a pad of paper or something to write with,  a radio, an iPod, a phone ----- anything ----- for hours!  Does not that make for a fried egg?

However eight or maybe ten months of the year if not tolerable are beautiful!  The air is glorious.  The sky is magnificent and it's amazing how many colors you find in a desert.  And if you ever have the privilege of being there in early May the scent of orange blossoms almost whisper to you sweetly from time to time.  Everyone looks healthy and tanned with beautiful teeth (must be the hard water).  Well there are also the ones with their butts lifted, boobs enhanced, lips puffed and the like... Can you imagine a woman my age wearing white pants with thongs underneath that you can't help but notice? NOT a pretty sight to me anyway.

And way up north past the concentrations of high-end shopping centers, restaurants, "planned" golf communities, highways and boulevards is Carefree and Cave Creek and the real NORTH Scottsdale.  Just about at the foothills.  And I love it there.  Unfortunately my husband does not.  He believes only lizards could survive there.  Actually, artists, cowboys, some rednecks, many wealthy retirees, and plain old folk live up there.  I have friends who live at "the "Boulders."  One must say that with the chin a bit raised and the eyes a bit lowered to appreciate the exclusivity of this beautiful resort.  There are many "resorts" up there.  Some not so exclusive but none-the-less beautiful.

So as luck would have it, just as I'm about to arrange for the trip to Savannah, I get a response from one of the many on-line-by-owner vacation spots in Arizona.  And the place (a villa in a resort) is in Carefree!  The agent politely told me the rental fee was $$$$ for one week in January plus the cleaning fee.  That's why I didn't think I had a chance of finding a place I could afford up there this time of year!  I politely emailed back and conceded that although their place was beautiful and this was prime snowbird vacation time and I appreciated it was well worth the price -- it was more than I was willing to pay.  Wouldn't you know I received an answer soon after from the agent.  She asked what I thought would be a reasonable price?

Now I am not a negotiator.  I never was comfortable haggling back and forth.  My husband does it all the time.  Some cultures expect it.  But for me it's awkward.  I never know how to start it much less end it.  Well this time I did!  I figured I had nothing to loose.  And that has to come from maturity -- the "hey, just go for it" must be because at my age why not?

After doing some homework:  making sure it indeed was a nice place; checking the availability (they had three weeks in January open); and, figuring out the best flight prices, and checking the "things to do" in the area I sent my rather audacious but respectful response. And this is what I wrote (see next episode):