A Trip to Benson, and the Polar Bear Party

Note: The following blog post was written on January 5, but I wasn’t able to publish it. Thanks to fellow blogger Rick Doyle, who resolved an authentification issue on Blogger, I’m now able to publish. Watch for another blog post soon, as Don and I are now in Quartzsite.

January 5, 2016

Yesterday we drove to Benson for Don’s appointment with Dr. Robertson, who recently relocated there from Sierra Vista. We’re happy he’s back in Benson and a lot easier to reach, both physically and by phone. Afterward, we had lunch then stopped by our RV lot at Cochise Terrace to offload Christmas decorations and a few other items for storage in our shed. It was pretty cold and raining off and on, so we didn’t take the time to sort and put things away. One day we’ll have to do that task, but hopefully after the weather warms up.

The first party of the new year for us to celebrate in Benson was the annual Polar Bear Party sponsored by Escapees Chapter 21 and held at the Escapees Saguaro Co-op. “Polar Bears” are really yummy drinks made of vanilla ice cream, crushed ice, and coffee liqueur (or an optional non-alcoholic version), all mixed in a blender. The event is a fund-raiser for the Benson Food Bank, with contributed canned/packaged non-perishable goods as well as cash donations. In addition, a 50/50 ticketed drawing was held to raise more money. All told, about $1,000 was raised during the evening, and everyone seemed to enjoy the fun and food, as heavy hors d’oeuvres were contributed by those attending.

Most of the pictures speak for themselves.

Joe Camel wore his raincoat.

Betty & Lynn had polar bear shirts, and Betty wore polar bear necklace and earrings.

Buffalo Wild Wings in Sierra Vista donated 5,000 chicken wings, along with various sauces plus lots of napkins in support of the event.

Below, the manager drew the winning ticket for the 50/50 drawing.

Susan Williamson claimed the cash prize.

These volunteers were thanked for their efforts to provide a successful fund raising event.

Susan & Bruce Williamson held the winning ticket for the 50/50. They generously donated their winnings back to the funds for the Food Bank.

Don & I really enjoyed seeing a lot of friends, but it was raining and growing darker every minute on our drive back to Tucson. Don did a great job of driving and making it safely through the rain and traffic.