Sunday, February 22, 2009 Lorraine’s Report
Wow, where do the days go? Another week has passed so very quickly. We are still here in Yuma, AZ and my car thermometer said it was 81 degrees on Saturday, and it was sunny and beautiful out. This is February in the desert! I knew there were other parts of the country where the weather wasn’t gray, wet and cold all winter, like in Bellingham. It just took 35 years for us to find where.
Sunday was go see the “Yuma Lights” on Sunday evening. You need a clear, moonless night to see them. Sunday was a cloudy day, but Steve and Sandy were leaving on Monday, so this would be the only day for them to go. The Yuma Lights are not lights, but more like a fog or mist that shows up on a mountain in the middle of the desert. They can’t be explained. We were lucky they showed up that night, but only for a short time. We went with Mike and Linda, who found the way and led us to the place. Also along were TJ and Sharon, Larry and Kathy, Steve and Sandy, and us. . There were hot dogs, three pasta salads and a fruit salad and lemon bars, as well as snack food. I didn’t think we would see them, but the clouds parted, the stars came out and the lights showed up. Sandy said she could smell salt or something when they were there.
Monday was Susy’s birthday and it was hard for me, but TJ and Sharon and Larry and Kathy came to my rescue. We spent the afternoon playing Pegs and Jokers, so the afternoon went by quickly. Thanks guys, I appreciated your kindness.
Monday we were invited to dinner with Mark and Sue and Connie and Manuel, and the owners of the place where they were parked, Ed and La Vaughn’s, and Mike and Linda and Janey and Pete. This would be the last night we would see them all for quite a while. Mark and Sue and Connie and Manny were headed back to their home in Louisiana and Texas on Wednesday, after a quick trip to Mexico to go to the dentist for a cleaning. It was a wonderful potluck with barbeque ribs, Sue’s gumbo and Connie’s beans and rice, and Janey’s wonderful chocolate brownie cake. It was the first time several of us had gumbo. Thank you everyone for a wonderful evening. We were there till late. It’s so hard to say good bye to good friends, knowing you will not be seeing them for a long while. This week we said goodbye to Steve and Sandy, and Connie and Manny, as well as Mike and Linda. We hope to see Mark and Sue again shortly, as they want to go to Alaska with us in the spring.
Tuesday, Chuck had to figure out our schedule for the next couple of months, so I took the car and went shopping. I had lots of little things to look for. I spent several hours by myself trying to complete my “to do” list.
Wednesday Chuck and I went grocery shopping. We stocked up on Albertson’s meat sale and the rest of the stuff at Wal-Mart. In the evenings, we’ve been playing pegs and jokers with TJ and Sharon and Larry and Kathy.
Thursday Chuck and I went shopping for clothing for the wedding where we will be standing up for Richard and Sandy in June. That day TJ and Sharon came home with a new puppy, a cute little ball of fluff named Gidget. She is a bishon frisee and just a bundle of energy. Cocoa has a new playmate now.
That afternoon Joe and Alice came in from Hemet, CA where they said it had been raining for the past two weeks and had been really cold. We had a nice visit and made plans to meet up on Friday when they moved into the lot they rented for a month.
Friday we met up with Joe and Alice and went to the Swap Meet. I finally made it down all the aisles at the meet. We all had a nice time. It has been heating up all week long here and Friday was warm and sunny. We went to dinner with Joe and Alice to Da Boys for spaghetti. TJ and Sharon were invited along, but decided to stay home with the new puppy.
Saturday, Chuck went to a baseball game with Larry and Kathy and TJ. I went to see Slum Dog Millionaire and Sharon stayed home with her new puppy. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and decided I should buy it when it comes out in a few months.
So that was my week. My prayers are with you Lora for you and your family and with you too Sandy and Dave. I hope everyone’s health improves.
Until next week, see you down the road…..Lorraine
Sunday 2/2209 Chuck’s report
Another week has gone by. This was a much quieter one even though we go a lot done. We had some friends leave this week but also had some come in.
On Sunday night, a bunch of us got together and headed out to see the “Yuma Lights”. I can’t explain what they are but will try. Out in the desert there is one hill that has some sort of light show on it. Some say it comes from inside the hill, others say it’s a reflection for car/train/plane, others say it’s a spirit of the mountains, I say I don’t know.
We had to drive on about 6 miles of gravel roads to get there, then go through a small tunnel under the railroad. We got there about 5:00 or so, started a fire and Steve set up the Bar-B-Q for hot dogs. The ladies brought enough food to feed about twice the number of folks that were there so we had plenty. It started to get dark a bit after 6:00 and around 7:15 or so, the lights came out. Compared to last year, they were larger but not as bright or as frequent. A couple of times they moved across L to R then back, other times they just lit up and faded away. They aren’t bright enough to get a picture but interesting just the same. We plan on going out one more time before we leave the area.
Here is the tunnel we had to drive through. It has standing water and you can’t see the ruts that try to throw you into the walls.
Standing around waiting for dark. The hills behind us are where the lights show up. They covered the small hill on the left and about 1/2 of the large one.
Enough food for an army.
Snacks too.
Here is a picture of the hills during one of the light episodes, doesn’t show a thing.
On Monday evening we were invited to dinner where Mark/Sue and Manuel/Connie were staying. They were planning on going to Mexico for some dental work then leaving the next day. Others there included the owners of the place where they were parked, Ed/La Vaughn, their friends Pete/Janey and Mike and Linda (of Quartzsite fame). We had a very good time visiting with our friends and the food was great. The only downer was knowing we wouldn’t see some of them for a while but that didn’t dampen our fun.
The gals at dinner.
The guys at dinner.
Let the BS begin, Mark is in charge here.
On Thursday, Joe and Alice came to town. They over to our lot and we visited with them, got caught up on what’s happened. On Friday, we went to the Yuma market (I call it the swap meet) with them, then went to dinner.
Also on Thursday TJ and Sharon got a new addition to their family, a little puppy they named Gidget. I’m not sure of the spelling but it’s a Bishon Frisee. They already have one about two years old and they are already friends. Our dog, Misty, had her motherly instincts come out with the puppy.
Sharon with the new puppy, she sure is happy.
Another one of Sharon and Gidget.
TJ and the puppy.
Here is Coco, their two year old.
Saturday I went to a winter league baseball game with TJ and his neighbors, Larry/Kathy. Lorraine likes to go to the movie house and I don’t so she took advantage of this time to go see a movie. The local boys lost the game 2 –4 but it was nice anyway. Can’t beat the weather for watching a baseball game, high 70s, sunny with just a little breeze. I can take more of this weather, that’s for sure.
The rest of the week was filled with normal activities. We were able to get in a couple games of Pegs and Jokers with TJ/Sharon and Larry/Kathy. If memory serves correct, the guys are ahead in the win column, ha.
Here is how we like to spend our afternoons. Lorraine and TJ enjoying the weather.
A picture of TJ/Sharon’s rig.
We don’t have a better picture of them but here is Larry and Kathy sitting in front of their house. We are parked just this side of the wall shown here. We have played Pegs and Jokers at their place a couple of time, too.
So another week, another posting. Not sure what this week will bring but were are sure of one thing, we plan on enjoying visiting with our friends and will enjoy the weather. So till next week - - - -
Thanks Chuck
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