Falcon Field opened in 1941 as a training base for RAF pilots. I’ll bet they hated to leave the sunshine and orange groves, but we know why the chaps were training in the first place, so I imagine their stays were all too short before gruesome festivities of WWII called them away..

When we moved here in 1960, Falcon Field had become a municipal airport of modest ambitions and was also home to a nice park that was dominated by the Falcon Field swimming pool, which I believe was first built during the war to serve the recreation needs of the cadet pilots. As I recall, it was a nice pool and our family used it frequently. It is not there anymore. Shame.

On the opposite corner of Falcon Dr. and McKellips Rd. is an establishment called The Monastery. I do believe drinking goes on there.

In the park today you can see the fireplace that had been a part of the cadet rooms building. Just standing out there with a few plaques on it.

Mostly the park consists of palm tree clusters like this one, some ramadas for picnicking, a children’s playground and public restrooms.

There are quite a few businesses lining Falcon Dr, including a Cessna dealer and Hertz. I have rented a few times from Hertz, but the last time I did they did not have the type of vehicle I had reserved and so they “upgraded” us to a Grand Marquis. I will never forgive them for that.

Helicopter and what I assume is a WWII aircraft of British ancestry.

Falcon Field is also home to the Commemorative Air Force Museum. I did not have the time to take a tour, so we’ll schedule that for another installment. But I did get a few shots around the exterior. This is a close-up of a huge propeller that stands guard near the entrance. It is from a B-29 bomber affectionately christened “Fifi”.

A view from back aways.

Aircraft on a stick and, curiously enough, one of those bits of artillery designed to shoot aircraft out of the sky. What a clever species we are!

From Mesa, AZ. So long and see you later!

And east of Almond Grove. Which, by the way, is not a through street.

I’m thinking this must have at one time been home to a fruit stand. Lots of tree stumps and the building looks like it would have been the place of commerce once upon a time. Now it’s just kind of, well, sitting and waiting for really good wind to knock it over.

Art of Tuscany sells all manner of stone stuff with which to do stone stuff things. But just in case anyone should see the name and think they are anything but All-American, the feather flag should convince them otherwise!

Art of Tuscany shares this sign space with ATF Transmission Shop, Martin’s Auto Repair, Joe’s Auto AC and Herlehy’s Auto Repair. Another sign for Herlehy’s just to the left of this collection assures one that the place is under new ownership and lower prices are in effect.

This is a sidewalk view into the Conquistador Mobile Home Park. Nicely landscaped.

Across the street is the somewhat more modestly attired Sunset Mobile Park.

And then there is the Rio del Oro park. Are you getting the idea that this stretch of McKellips has a lot of mobile homes? True enough.

But it also has apartments.

And over at Almond Grove, you have some larger abodes.

Although the primary election has passed, you can’t go very far without seeing a whole bunch of campaign signs. Some just get the candidates’ names out there, maybe give a qualification or two.

Some think it important to include innocent women and children in their advertisements. One AZ candidate in another congressional district tried this sort of thing posing with his nieces. Or perhaps they were professional models. Or local children promised a pass on the AIMS test if they cooperated. In any case, they weren’t his daughters. The candidate’s name? It escapes me at the moment but I remember it had both a bird and a spelling challenged vice-president association.

These two gentlemen desperately wish to lead the crime fighting struggle in our great state. I trust they have a good grasp of what is legal. Ethical, I’m not so sure.

Moon Valley Nurseries has a nice big presence on the south side of McKellips.

East Valley Mustang

And this part of Mesa also has a prominent water feature…..

No, wait a sec, that’s Oceanside, CA.

There we go.

There aren’t too many places you can go in Mesa without seeing an LDS spire.

One more mobile home park shot. Trust me, you’re getting off easy.

Traveling south on Val Vista Rd. between Southern and Baseline, just past the entrance to the freeway, you can’t miss this tower at the northeast corner of Dana Park. Shops and restaurants dominate this commercial property, although I did see a few other businesses such as a chiropractor, an orthodontist and a couple of offices I wasn’t sure what sort of business was being transacted there.

When the weather is reasonable, which is most of the year around here, there is a whole lot more foot traffic at Dana Park than, say, downtown Mesa. Folks going to restaurants, window shopping the stores, sitting out in front of A.J.’s Fine Foods and dining al fresco at any of the wide variety of restaurants. There are quite a few empty store fronts here, but the overall impression is upbeat and more than a little upscale.

The nice, big Barnes and Noble store is one of our favorite places at Dana Park.

Most of the empty storefronts have posters reminding you of what can be found in either direction.

Lots of fountains and potted plants. I like the patterned drive.

Shakespeare’s Pub and Restaurant is the second British Isles tenant for this location. For the life of me I can’t remember the name of the original place, but it was of the UK variety also. Believe I had a shepherd’s pie there once. I hope Shakespeare’s fare is tastier.

I didn’t find much in the way of hometown Mesa shops. I guess that should be no surprise. Here is Anthropologie. Never been inside one myself and they weren’t open yet when I took these photos (gotta get out before it gets too toasty!). Place looked pretty interesting from the outside. I expect it’s a bit beyond my budget, though.

I can’t resist shots with parked bikes, so there was no way I was passing this one by. Sweet Age is the shop. I’m not sure if they are local or not.

The European Wax Center is offering a special for first time guests, but from what I understand of the Brazilian procedure they are advertising, you’d think they would pay a person more than $19.50 to subject themselves to it. Of course I could be misunderstanding the sign. They could mean that the special price applies to Brazilian customers only. I’m thinking that might be a limited clientele base here in Mesa.

Pei Wei is one of our go-to restaurants. Good food, usually quite quick, and non-scary prices.

Girly Girlz has a sign in one of the unoccupied windows at the other end of the center indicating they are “around the corner”. It was actually quite a hike.

Dana Park has these public service Anti-Drug signs distributed liberally around the property, although I thought the slogan was “Speed Kills”. In any case, Sauce is another restaurant we have tried. I like their prosciutto and melon pizza.

Well, I finally made it back out. All of five hours of sleep after a nice long day yesterday, the fellow on the radio telling me about a heat advisory for the day and extending into the weekend, and it just seemed like a good time to wander around in the sun for a bit.

The intersection of Stapley and Main used to be the province of one of Mesa’s more recognizable citizens. Robert Disbrow, better known as Diz-Z to Mesans, used to work all four corners with his own brand of preaching and choreography. Diz-Z passed away earlier this year and online pages have sprung up as places where people can share their own personal Diz-Z stories, post photo and generally remember Mr. Disbrow. Here is a link to one at Living Times.  One of the regrets I have is not capturing Diz-Z for Mesa 2010.

Just west of the corner is Bosa Donuts. For many years it was a Dunkin Donuts and then combination Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins Ice Cream. We used to get ice cream birthday cakes there. I haven’t tried the Bosa Donuts, what with being on a largely no-fried dough diet lately.

It’s a shame, but a lot of things have been closed or cut back in Arizona lately. Heck, who needs mass transit? Drive your damn car!

Sorry about that.

Back to Main Street.

Speaking of cars. Here’s a place on Main to keep yours clean.

China China Restaurant

Big Johnson’s Big Apple. This restaurant has been on Main for quite a few years. Used to be if you wanted to eat at The Big Apple, you had to go all the way into Phoenix to their 38th St and Van Buren location. But no more. If you hanker for what they call “Arizona Cookin’ Done Right” all you have to do is mosey on down to 950 E. Main for, as they put it on their website, “incredibly healthy portions of good ol’ down-home cooking, you’ll walk out with a full belly knowing you got the best bang for your buck, Real Food for Real People –” And yes, I do think the word they were searching for is “generous” or maybe “obscenely huge”, not “healthy”.

Across the street from Bill Johnson’s is an eating establishment that has seen better times.

And one next door too.

I guess not enough people came through that door with their bellies full of sopes and quesadillas.And for those of you who are wondering what a sope is, here is the ever reliable Wikipedia link to explain it all.

Miguel’s Beauty Salon has a festive air. But no website.

Interesting combination of businesses share this corner.

No easily locatable website for any of ‘em.

Tacos el Grullo still seems to be thriving.

But once again, no website. What’s the matter with these folks?

Village Auto Electric

No, that won’t take you to their website, because I couldn’t find one. It will take you to Google Maps link with some nice reviews from customers. The one that caught my eye was from the fellow who wrote not once, but twice, that he was “overly impressed”. Hey, they’ve got to be good, right?

And what thriving business center doesn’t need its own center of finance? Forget the BofA on the corner. I give you Pioneer Pawn, where “We Will Treat You Right”. Once again (this is getting to be a theme) no website, but on the Google Maps page the one review gives Pioneer Pawn kudos as “the best place to have a firearm shipped.”

And here is the reason I pulled over on this short stretch of Main. Matta’s first opened on Main Street back in December 1953 and moved to this location across the street five years later. So that means they were there a good two years before my family moved to Arizona. Now they operate restaurants at the Riverview complex  and in east Mesa on Higley Road. But the Main Street location closed it’s door this past January.

Sorry it has been such a long dry spell between entries here. I’ll try to do better. In the meantime, don’t forget that you can sponsor Mesa 2010 with the simple and mutually beneficial act of purchasing a copy of Boomerang. Visit Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Boomerang’s Home on the Web to get the paperback. The ebook version is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Sony, Kobo, and Apple. You need to have an iPad or iPhone to access Apple’s bookstore.

Crismon’s Flowers.

Kimberly Jarman Photography

Mystic Paper

Shirtail

The Underground

Linton Milano Music

Passey Bond

Contagious Clothing (their blog)

Mango’s Mexican Cafe

Nunthaporn’s Thai Cuisine

Until recently this was an Albertson’s grocery store. Soon to be a fitness center.

Northeast corner of Stapley and University

The rather majestic Battalion HQ for Mesa Fire Dept. Corner of Mesa Drive and First Street.

Mesa Public Library Main Branch, on First Street.