Thoughts on Our Stay at Mesa Regal RV Resort

This is our first stay at a large as in very large RV Resort.  We decided to give it a whirl here in Mesa since we have heard good things about these places.  I remember the term "snowbirds" back in the early 1970's when I went to school at Arizona State in nearby Tempe.  Now I are one.

Sunday was a good day to arrive, there was almost no traffic and no waiting at check-in.  It was easy place to find but we noted the parking spot for check-in is fairly tight.

After a few moments and no issues, we were escorted over to our site by a guy in a golf cart.  I told him that he didn't need to stay, Pam and I could back it in fine.

And we did - no issues.

At first glance it seems really tight, but our 2007 Allegro Bus turns well and I went slow.  With Pam giving large animated hand signals, we backed in, straightened it up and were done. We had a big concrete slab for the car and our 'common area' to host friends and guests if we wanted to.

We maneuvered the Roadrunner into place, adjusted so the door opened next to the grapefruit tree.
And were all set in a few minutes.

There's a lot to like about this place.  First and foremost -- the people!  This has to be one of the friendliest RV parks we have visited.  Three people came over and said 'hi - welcome!' within the first hour.  That was nice.

Our second day here, a lady stopped by with a "Welcome Package".  It had a bottle of wine, two glasses and some other goodies in it.  We were quite impressed!

And though the place is very large with 2000+ sites, it really is enjoyable.  We have a lot of amenities and they have organized things well.  For example,
- near the office, we have our own Post Office with a PO Box.  And UPS delivers right to our site.

- there is a large common area near the front pool where folks can gather each morning for coffee and gab/socializing

- dog owners are in another area of the park, so we seldom see or hear them.  When we go on walks in the evening, the dogs that are out are very well behaved and we have yet to hear any barking
- we are intermingled with the old and new units, as well as the park models, 5th wheels and motor homes
- our own separate trash and recycle bins that are emptied weekly and every other week.

- we are mixed with the folks that are here for a few weeks or a few months and we 'feel' part of the community
- the two pools are good sized and we are half way between both.

- large number of pickle ball and bocce ball courts

- large laundry with 24 washers and the same number of dryers
- clubs and groups of lots of hobbies:  tap dancing, piano playing, silver jewelry, quilting, sewing, computer clubs, etc

- a large fitness center
- lots of pool tables

- poker room and card tables

- gift shop
- complete woodworking shop

- golf driving range (into a net)
- tiki bar at the pool with happy hour starting at 3 PM
- full time maintenance crew who keeps the grounds and trees well manicured

- folks who take pride in there places with lots of flowers and some fountains

The list goes on and on.  If you get bored at this place it is not for the lack of things to do.

One thing I thought was a great idea was the block party our 10th street had.  They apparently have one every month.  We signed up and it was a nice way to meet people.
I met Vince and we partnered for the bean bag toss tournament.

We all grabbed some shade and got ready to play and enjoyed the ups and downs of each match.  Then Vince and I got to play our first match. We smoked our opponents 15-0 in the first game and vaulted to the top of the bracket.  Unfortunately after that, we sat out most of the afternoon and cooled off considerable.  Then we got ousted in a quick 10-15 game and that was it for us.

The highlight of the get-together was the potluck at the hosts campsite.

He and his wife have been coming here for 19 years.  We grabbed some food and sat down, ate and got to meet a nice couple from Ohio.  Ray and Luellen are workampers here and are in their second season.  And then everyone stood up and introduced themselves, gave a little background on where they were from and we got an idea of who they were.  It was very nice.

All in all, we really liked this large and up-to-now foreign snowbird resort.  It has a lot of amenities and to our surprise--full of very friendly folks.  Folks from all over, half of our neighbors are from different parts of Canada.

We would take another shot at staying at a place like this is the future as we look for winter time month+ stays.  Some of the drawbacks or down side items would be:
- does not have the 'it factor' for camping
- surprisingly slow internet connections
- streets ok and well maintained but are narrow and somewhat tight

We'll be here another day and then off to Catalina State Park north of Tucson.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...