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The Family Tree
Thought for the Month The SunTree Traveler NOTE: Due to situations beyond the control of this club and its members, all of the events for April and May had to be rescheduled. Be sure to check the list of events and make or adjust your reservations/preparations to participate accordingly. We regret that this had to occur and hope that it is not too inconvenient for you.
We returned last week from Eden Bay. Travel connections were some of the smoothest we have ever experienced. We were met at the airport by transportation to the resort and were treated to beer and pop for the ride which takes 1.5 hours. Reception at the resort is by the manager, Patricia, an extremely helpful and gracious lady. All baggage was taken to our room and Pat gave us a tour of the facility. The resort lies in a secluded valley with its own beach area surrounded by some rugged and beautiful shoreline. Having been closed for a number of years, it has now only been opened for two years and the facilities, rooms, dining area, pools, bar, etc are in superb condition. The staff is extremely helpful and courteous. Of note were the activities director and her husband, Peggy and Mike, who just made any idle time active (if you desired). Right now booking of seven days will include one day free (pay for six) and I don’t know how long this will last but also included a 15% discount. It is all-inclusive and food and drinks were quality and plentiful. The only unfortunate part was that it was windier than normal and that made evenings and early morning a bit cool. Further, the wind direction caused the ocean to be rough and as such snorkeling, whale watching, scuba were not available. But we had a great time anyway going things we had never done before, water aerobics, water volleyball, petanque, and karaoke--as busy as you want to be. We did take a island tour which was quite enjoyable but unfortunately the Dominican Republic is a very poor country. It reminded us of many of the small villages when we lived in Bolivia. The people are friendly and speak Spanish. The staff all spoke English as well. All in all, we would consider returning and recommend it to anyone. We met people from Ohio, California, Austria, Canada, Venezuela, and Indiana.
The SunTree "Green Weekend" in Alamogordo. There was a good turnout for our annual (close to) 17 March event in Alamogordo. As is usual, there was a three-way tie for the favorite aspect of the event. They were (in no particular order):
Most of us kept wandering between the three in an attempt to make a decision between the three. The dogs in attendance (the four-legged kind) seemed to favor the food over the other two, but the humans had a difficult time. Green was the color of the day as usual. The food included salads, green chile dishes, corned beef (not green, but the cabbage was) and deserts.
Avoiding the Tax Man in Arizona: New Month’s Eve at Faywood Hot Springs We are planning a camping trip over the weekend of the new month’s eve (30 April – 1 May) at one of the SunTree’s favorite places, Faywood Hot Springs. We are planning our usual Saturday evening potluck meal and lots of soaking in the pools. We are aware that there is another group planning to be at Faywood at the same time and our planning will have to include minimizing conflicts of facility usage. With that information, we should be able to have yet one more nice weekend at Faywood. Be sure to call early to reserve your cabin or camping spot.
Jupiter is the star of the April sky (pretty good for a non-star!) This month, Venus, normally the big showoff of the evening sky, has gone into seclusion in some dark corner on the other side of the Sun. It just happens that Venus has gone into this funk at the same time that Jupiter has planned a brilliant appearance in the evening sky. Nobody will probably even notice that Venus is sulking. Jupiter has planned this well by rising right at sunset and remaining in the sky all through the dark hours. By midnight, it will be high in the southern sky accepting all of the admiration that Venus is normally used to. Do not ignore Saturn, though. Saturn is still hanging out with those Gemini twins (Castor and his brighter brother Pollux). They have moved a little farther toward the west this month with Saturn still bright and hanging closer to Pollux, just to the south of him. The moon will horn in on this act on Income Tax day, 15 April when it makes its nightly run wedged in between Castor and Pollux. What a ham! As Jupiter is rising in the east, Saturn and his two buddies are high in the sky. They remain there until about 2 AM when the bars close. As they set, Jupiter is still high in the early morning sky. Mars is hanging out in the morning sky this month. It will get brighter as the month goes on. If you are up before sunrise on the fourth, you can see Mars next to the crescent moon. Mercury has been awarded the title of Morning “Star” this month, but I really think that is was out of pity, because you really cannot see him very well. There will be two eclipses this month, though we can only see the lunar one in the SunTree homeland. If you plan on being in Central America or in the southern Pacific on 8 April, you might want to be prepared for watching the solar eclipse. If not, then wait around for the Lunar eclipse which can be seen throughout the western United States on 24 April if you are willing to get up before dawn to see it. [Hint: if you do not want to get up early, but want to see this lunar eclipse, get a plane ticket to Australia or New Zealand where you can watch this eclipse in the evening hours] By the way, do not forget to rewire your clock for Daylight Savings Time on 3 April! © 2004 SunTree Travel Club - Site updated Summer 2008 |
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We had some of he SunTree family visit the recently re-opened 
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