We’re in Yuma, Arizona

 

February 23, 2014                                                                                                               Lorraine’s report

Howdy folks, time to write our blog, although I don’t know what to write about.  We have enjoyed our time here in Yuma.  It is sunny every day, the weather was in the high 90’s last week and no air conditioner until Monday this week.  Well over two weeks and counting, before we had the air.  And we got our new toilet seat; over three weeks on that.  We don’t know why it takes so long to get things fixed, but oh well. 

We’ve just enjoyed our quiet time together.  After taking that long trip last year, it is nice to just stay put in one place, not doing anything.  

We have enjoyed the Olympics every evening.  It is nice to see that a lot of people have medaled and see the joy they get from seeing our flag being raised for them. 

And I have to say I read my first book since I had that stroke in November 2013.  It was about Ayla and The Clan of the Cave Bear; only a new one that came out, called Shelter’s of Stone.  It was hard, but I stuck it out and I found the book to be enjoyable for me.  Chuck probably read 3 or 4 since I started it, but I liked it none the less.

We were happy to hear our daughter, Susy kept her dog, Dora and didn’t loose her.  What a big loss that would have been for them! 

That’s it for now…Hugs to everyone…

Lorraine

 

2/23/14                                                                                                                                    Chuck’s report

Boy, I can’t think of much to write about this week, we took it easy most days.  We have gotten in the habit of setting outside in the morning and most of the afternoon, staying outside until the sun goes down and it starts to cool off.  That way we haven’t had to run the air conditioners either. 

Monday morning I called the repair place to find out about our air conditioner part.  They said they were just getting ready to call me (yea, right) to let me know the part had JUST come in.   They wanted to make an appointment for them to install it, they would be here at 2:00. 

We made the appointment and just sat around all day, didn’t want to be out in case they happened to want to come by earlier.  Of course, they didn’t come by earlier, in fact, when I called about 3:30 they said he would be here in about 30 minutes.  And of course, it was almost 4:30 when he actually got here then had to make a quick run to Wal-Mart to pick up some hardware he didn’t have with him.  But once again he knew what he was doing and after he was done, everything worked just fine.  Seeing as how we had already paid for the part, the rest of the bill was pretty reasonable. 

Tuesday we sat around most of the morning then made a run to Fry’s grocery store and stopped by KFC for their buffet for our dinner.  While we were there, I got a call from the place that ordered our new toilet seat, it was in.  Only problem, they were just getting ready to close and I wouldn’t have time to pick it up until the next day. 

Wednesday morning Lorraine was cooking breakfast and got a sudden migraine headache.  She took her pills and laid down for awhile and it went away but she didn’t feel like doing much for the rest of the day.  We did make a quick run to pick up the toilet seat and I got that installed with no issues.  We also found a place to buy a lotto ticket for the one that was over $400,000,000; of course had the same result as most people, we didn’t win.  But I’m sure we would have shared with lots of people had we won!

Thursday we ran errands for awhile but first we stopped by to see TJ and Sharon at their place.  Their DIL is down from Washington for two weeks, I’m sure she is enjoying this weather the same as we are.  We wanted to make a trip to the swap meet, those Seahawk tee shirts we got last week then replaced because the applique fell apart in the washing machine, we had the same problem with the replacements and wanted to return them and get our money back. 

I bought a couple pairs of shoes from one of the vendors while we were there plus I brought in some of the paperback books I’ve read in the past month to the book place there.  They offer to exchange books, two of ours for one of theirs, not bad because they have lots to choose from.  They wouldn’t take all the ones we had, if they too many copies of them already they didn’t want more.  But we did manage to get some different ones and got rid of some of the ones we had. 

Friday we just stayed home all day, didn’t even get in the car.  I think both of us managed to finish the books we were reading. 

Saturday we needed to make a dog food run, Misty was almost out.  We try to get her food at Wal-Mart, it’s much cheaper there compared to Petco.  The rest of the day was more chill out, read our book, time.  We both are liking this quiet, down time. 

The weather this week has been really nice once again, a few degrees cooler than last week, only getting to the mid to high 80s vs the low to mid 90s we’ve had over the past week.  Along with that we’ve experienced the lows dropping all the way down to the low 50s.  I’ve even had to run the heat for one cycle in the mornings so it isn’t too cool for Lorraine, what wimps we’ve become.  Lorraine’s sister told her it was snowing back in Washington today, much rather have the 80 degree stuff. 

I’ve been looking at our travel plans when we leave here, only hard stop we have is to be back for Katie’s 9th birthday in April.  We’re thinking about going to San Diego and maybe even Santa Barbara too. 

We did find out from Joe and Alice that we can stay on their spare lot in Blaine for the spring, thanks guys.  So our plans are pretty well roughed out until July, boy that’s different than usual.  Most of the time we are trying to figure out where we will be for the rest of the week, here we are making plans 5 months in advance. 

We didn’t take any pictures this week but I did find some to add that are different from our normal ones.  Remember, you can click on any to expand to a larger view if wanted.

Pictures of individual snow flakes, I thought they were nice.  These were displayed on a forum I read. 

   

  

  

  

 

I didn’t realize they were in this shape too.  Looks like they all are six sided though. 

 

 

I hear there can be more than one of these at a time, even enough to measure, wow. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

681

We’re in Yuma, Arizona

 

February 16, 2014                                                                                                                Lorraine’s report

Happy Birthday, Susy!!! Sure hope you have an awesome day, full of fun, friends and love.  Wish we could be there with you!!!

Hello once again from Sharon & TJ’s lot in Yuma, AZ.  Thanks for stopping by.   It has been hot here, and we are still without a front air conditioner.  But we are not complaining, especially with all the snow and cold weather we have been hearing about back up north, and in the rest of the country.  it must be so hard on the rest of the country to endure this hard winter.  Sorry guys!

So this week I called a high school friend from Spokane, WA and told her we were going to my 50 year high school reunion.  It was nice to visit with her, I think it may have been close to 45 to 48/49 years since I heard from her.  I called Marie today, but no one was home.  Hopefully we will get together in Ketchikan for the reunion; it was nice to visit and I look forward to seeing her once again.

What stood out for me this week was my check up for my eye glasses.  Man of man, is getting older hard and it isn’t for the feint of heart.  I found out my glasses changed a bit and I will need new glasses.  I didn’t like what the doctor told me.  My eyes are aging just as I am, and while some of my stuff came from my Dad, some came from my Mom.  Daddy didn’t live until he was old like my mom.  He passed away at 70; mom was 93 and was suffering from macular degeneration, which has shown up for me, and I’m getting migraine’s in my eye as well.   I need to get some supplements that are suppose to help with the degeneration.  Sure hope they will help.

Then Rob and Norma came back into town last Monday evening.  They had business they attended to, and when they finished each day, we met them for lunches or for dinner for a few days.  It was nice to see them again, and will not see them until we return in the spring.   Safe travels you guys!!!

Norma asked me to go with her for a pedicure, so they told us to go to Wal-Mart.  Man oh man did we ever get treated like cattle.  It was awful.  They kept moving us and we ended up sitting on a smallish stool, nothing to rest our legs on, having our toes done.  It was pretty awful!  If you are ever in Yuma, don’t go to the WM by Interstate 8!  N O T Good….

So that is it for me,  hope everyone has a great week.  Until next time..

Hugs,

Lorraine

 

3/16/14                                                                                                                                     Chuck’s report

Today is our daughter Susy’s Birthday.  Happy Birthday Susy, hope you had a good one, sorry we weren’t there to celebrate with you though. 

Another quiet, stay-cation type week for us.  We are keeping pretty close to home, no travel plans in sight for us for the next couple of weeks. 

Sunday after we finished writing our blog, we drove to the swap meet and the rodeo that we thought was in town.  Bad timing on our part, the rodeo was finished by the time we got there, shoot. 

Monday I took Lorraine to the mall, she had some stuff she wanted to pick-up.  We stopped by the casino for some slot play and their special prime rib dinner, pretty good.  I think we both were up on the slots, not much but at least we were on their money.

Tuesday we were pleasantly surprised to hear from Rob and Norma; they had quietly come back to Yuma on Monday evening.   They were dry camping at the casino so agreed to meet them for dinner at the diner we had been to last week. 

Wednesday we once again met them, this time at Wal-Mart where the gals got a pedicure, Rob and I went to a RV dealer to look over some rigs while we waited for them to get finished.  They came by our place to continue our visit, it was warm sitting outside but nobody was complaining. 

Thursday we stopped by and ordered Lorraine’s new glasses from Sears.  They had a two-for-one deal so the price was almost the same as what we would have paid in Mexico and this one included a one year guarantee.  The gal told us that it would include new frames if broken and/or new lenses if scratched, as many times as needed during the year.  She also suggested we stop by any Sears store just before the year was up (making sure the lenses were scratched and the frame bent) and get a new pair after the first year, (sounds like a plan, huh?).

We then met Rob and Norma for a late brunch at the casino where they were staying.   Once again I had their prime rib dinner special, wow, two times in three days.  Rob had the same while the gals tried different dishes, everyone was pretty satisfied as I remember.  Rob and Norma were planning on leaving on Friday we said our “so longs and meet you back in the NW this spring” as we didn’t plan on seeing them before they left the next morning. 

Friday we went to the mall once again, then stopped by the swap meet and the indoor swap meet too.  Lorraine had found some Seahawk Championship tee shirts so we both got one.  However, after she washed then, the applique on both of them sort of shredded, not sure why but we planned on returning them on Sunday, shoot.  She also found a couple of items that we got her for Valentine’s Day present from me (nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?).

Saturday we had a lazy morning and were surprised when TJ and Sharon stopped by, they needed to get a measurement from their house.  We sat around and visited with them for awhile then ordered take out from a Thai place, TJ picked it up and we when to their house to continue our visit.  We ended up visiting for most of the day, a very good day it was too.  We are staying at their lot and they offered us the use of their house here on the lot but we haven’t even been in it more than once.  They both once again offered us the use and encouraged us to take them up this time. 

Today we made a quick run to the swap meet to return/exchange the Seahawk tee shirts but they were only able to exchange mine, they were out of her size.  They told her if the new one had any issues to return them both for a cash refund. 

We are still waiting for the part on our air conditioner, he ordered it a week ago on Thursday and told me it should be here on Friday.  I should have made sure what Friday they meant as it still isn’t here.  We had plans to meet some of the gang in Lake Havasu to watch the fireworks but our roof air conditioner is still in pieces so we can’t drive right now.  I kept getting the “it should be here tomorrow” story from them so didn’t want to put it together enough to travel, hoping one day they would be right.  Here it is, 10 days later and still no front air conditioner.  I’ll call them tomorrow and see what they say, I may have to contact our credit card company and cancel the charges and start over with a different place depending on what they say. 

Boy has the weather been nice, I think I heard it’s about 10 – 15F above normal for this time of the year.  TJ said it’s the warmest he’s seen it since they’ve been coming down for this time of the year.  We have been sitting outside under their patio most afternoons until the sun goes down, waiting for the temperature to drop enough inside the coach.  That’s one thing TJ and Sharon meant when they told us to use their house here, it has air conditioning.  

The daytime highs have been in the low 90s, of course that’s in the shade and today is the first day that was cloudy most of the day.  I try to get outside and read my book in the sun for 1/2 hour or so every morning too, getting a bit of a tan from that.  We aren’t complaining about the temperature, that’s the reason we come down South every year but it would be nice to have both of our air conditioners working when it gets so hot inside the coach in the afternoons.  But it does cool down to the low or mid 60s at night, makes for good sleeping weather with just a fan running. 

We both took some pictures with our phones this week but I can’t figure out how to down load them so I can’t add them to this blog.  We had pictures of Rob and Norma plus TJ and Sharon, I can see them in the phone but just can’t add them here.  But there was a nice sunset tonight and Lorraine got some pictures of it with our camera, I’ll add them here and call it good for this week. 

Sunset from our site on TJ/Sharon’s lot. 

  

  

  

  

  

Thanks   Chuck

 

 

 

601

We’re in Yuma, Arizona

 

February 9, 2014                                                                                                                Lorraine’s report

So Y E A H—The SEAHAWKS Won!!! What a great Team!!  Of course, being so  far away from all the festivities, we missed all the hoopla.  There was nothing on the local TV or anything like it down here.  But I’m glad we won.  We stayed home to watch the game and was it good.  We called my son, Rick and he was home from his job, and he was watching the game.  It was a long time coming for our Seattle Seahawks. 

So my tooth was fixed and the bruise from my dentist is almost gone.  And it doesn’t hurt…Thank God.  I was afraid it would hurt since he worked on it a lot, there was hardly any tooth left.  But it has worked out for me.

Well, I’m still waiting for the third thing to go wrong with the rig.  This last week the toilet cover broke, cost $72  to order a new toilet cover.  Then the air conditioner broke and has to have a new part, Chuck’s taking care of it.  So not sure what the third thing is, but????  Maybe nothing?

This next week is Susy’s birthday.  She will be 21 with 18 anniversaries next Sunday. I can’t tell you how much we wish her a “Happy Birthday”.  She is still my heart and I wish her all the best things in life.  Wish we could be together, but she knows we will go shopping and do the whole “Mommy” thing when we get back to see her and Kaitlyn.  It will be fun!!!

So not too much else happening here.  Thanks for stopping by and see you next week…Happy Hearts Day everyone!!!  Enjoy the time you have with your loved ones.  Too soon it will pass.  Hugs to all,

Lorraine

 

2/9/2014                                                                                                                               Chuck’s report

This should be a fairly short blog this week as we’ve pretty much just taken it easy.  Some of our friends moved on to Laughlin, NV. on Monday, we are still thinking of meeting them near Lake Havasu City to watch the fireworks show later this week.  Hope they are dong great up there.

Last Sunday was Super Bowl Day, I sort of watched football pregame shows until the afternoon when the game actually started, almost overwhelming all the stuff they covered and reported.  By the time the game started, Lorraine had fixed up some snacks for us and we were ready to watch the Seahawks win their first Championship.  She also fried up some chicken and made a potatoes salad for our dinner too, it was good.  

As most of you probably know, the Seahawks did win the game in a blowout.  I was hoping they would win but never expected to see them win in the fashion they did, offense, defense and special teams all overpowered the Denver Broncos.  Even though the game was “over” when they ran back the second half opening kickoff for a touchdown, we continued to watch.  I was even impressed by the crowd noise in the stadium, seems the 12th man was in New York for this game.  Lorraine told me there was over 750,000 people in the parade in Seattle on Wednesday, that’s more than the total number of people who live in Seattle, I think.  Anyway, I can’t say it was a good game but if it had to be one-sided blowout I’m glad it went Seattle’s way.  Now to see what happens during the offseason, hope they can keep the team together with free agency and salary cap restrictions the league has in place. 

Monday we drove over to see Rob/Norma, Steve/Sandy and Allen/Rita before they met up with Mark/Sue and headed up to their planned campground in Bullhead City but they left before we got there, shoot.  Mark called later that afternoon to let us know they had made the trip with no issues but the campground did have a problem with their reservations.  They checked out what was available and decided to drive over to Laughlin and stay at the Riverside Casino RV park for the week instead. 

So we went to the casino instead, Lorraine had another winning trip while I lost my money.  We then stopped by Fry’s grocery store and Al’s RV.  Later we had leftover fried chicken for dinner, it was still good. 

Tuesday we decided to try to get some prices on glass frames, lenses and exams here in the Yuma area to compare to what we would find in Mexico.  We drove to Lenscrafters, only to find they closed up last year.  We got prices from Wal-Mart and Sears however so at least we had someplace to start when we did go to Mexico.  We were there last week but didn’t do much except for getting Lorraine's dental work.  I did go to a couple of places to get some preliminary pricing but nothing firm, it looked like we could get her glasses for about half of what it would cost here in the states.

Wednesday was Lorraine’s dental follow-up in Mexico, at 10:30.  We got there a bit early, hoping to get in-out quicker but the dentist was behind schedule and she didn’t get in to see him until almost 11:30.  It took about 45 minutes for them to remove the temporary bridge she had put on the week before, fit and install the new, permanent bridge.  She was also schedule for a cleaning so they did that for her too.  While I was waiting, I checked out a couple of glass places and a dentist for me to get my teeth cleaned.  

After she was finished, we checked prices with the glass places and found by the time we got everything she wanted on the lenses, it was about the same price as what Sears had quoted us so we told them we would get her glasses here instead.  Although they were disappointed, they didn’t offer a better discount, told us their prices were pretty firm.  Oh well, it was worth a try and we know if she has a problem, any Sears place can help her. 

After that, we walked over to the place I had picked out to have my teeth cleaned and we could get right in.  Less than 1/2 hour later I was finished, I had a good cleaning and the exam didn’t turn up any problems either, yea.  We then went over to the restaurant near the border crossing and had a good meal and a margarita each too.  By then the lineup at the border was petty long, we waiting in line for almost an hour to get back home. 

We have been having problems with our front air conditioner this week so I got up on the roof and removed the shroud covers to see what I could find.  I found the motor didn’t turn although it did attempt to start but then seized up.   I removed the top fan and tried to turn it by hand but found the motor wouldn’t turn even by hand.  I figured it had a frozen bearing and needed a new motor so called a mobile repair shop to come out and see what they could do.  The appointment was for Wednesday afternoon and when he got here we removed the motor and found there was a “squirrel cage” type fan on the back side.  This fan had broken and parts were keeping it from turning.  We checked and the motor ran just fine when the broken fan was not connected.  Aha ha, even I could figure out the problem now, all I needed was a new squirrel cage fan for this type air conditioner and model.  Only problem, nobody in town had any in stock.  I was pretty sure I could order one from Tiffin but the repair guy said he would check his sources and see if he could find one too.  As it turned out, he found a supplier for them and I ordered two, one for each air conditioners even though the other one hadn’t given us any problems yet.  They are just plastic and I’ve heard of other folks having problems with these so I figure it would be a good idea to have one in reserve in case the other one decides to break. 

Thursday was a “chill out” day, we just stayed home and didn’t do much.  I did work with the repair guy on ordering the part but that was about it.  We got caught up on a few things, sat around in the sun for awhile and just enjoyed having a quiet day together. 

Friday was another day for running errands and doing some shopping.  Over the past 6 years Lorraine has printed up 500 business cards and we’ve run out of the paper to print up more.  We found that Staples can print up some for us on the same type paper, we like the ones with the American flag on them, and have them ready the same (or next) day.  So we went by and ordered up some new cards for us.  Lorraine also wanted to do some Valentines day shopping and get a couple of cards too.  Later we decided to try the diner across the street from Cracker Barrel for dinner.  We found they have good food and plenty of it, recommend this place, I’m sure we will be back too. 

Saturday was another chill out day, we just stayed home all day once again.  I’m starting to like these kind of days for sure.  And I’m making a dent in the books I have stacked up, ready to read when I get time. 

The weather this week has once again been really nice.  It’s been getting into the 70’s almost everyday and the night time temps are staying warmer too.  We’ve had a couple of days with light winds, otherwise its been really nice.  The forecast for the upcoming week is for the daytime temps to be in the 80s and the night time temps to be in the 60s, Wow. 

Our travel plans are pretty simple, we will stay here until the middle of March, with a short trip to Lake Havasu to see the fireworks this week.  By March, we expect the high temps will be into the 90s, about time to move on.  But as they say in Arizona, “at least it’s a dry heat”. 

We didn’t take any pictures this week so this will be the end of my portion, like I said, it was be short because we don’t do much. 

Thanks   Chuck 

511

 

We’re in Yuma, Arizona

 

February 2, 2014                                                                                                                Lorraine’s report

So another week has come and gone, and now I’m recovering from the work-over by my dentist.  He pulled a tooth last year that was infected.  I had to wait for the infected tooth to heal and that is what needed work.  We went into Mexico, Algadones in fact for my dentist, Dr. Ramos, to work once again on my tooth.  We decided on putting in a permanent bridge.  So, off came two caps, one from each side of the tooth.  This was hard for the doctor. Dr. Ramos had to call in a younger person to pull off the caps, he was shaking so hard, I thought he might pull out the tooth.  But the younger doctor managed to get it out and finished off the work up.  Now I have a bruised cheek, and the tooth is still pretty sore, but it doesn’t hurt. 

So, before Christmas we were in that accident where I had whip lash, then I caught that nasty cold that is finally exiting my body, and now my jaw.  I’m certainly glad this is almost over!

Not too much else is happening here right now.  Been getting ready for the Seahawks game.  Go Hawks!!!!!

Hugs,

Lorraine

2/2/14                                                                                                                                   Chuck’s report

It’s been a pretty quiet week for us, that’s one of the reasons we are here.  That plus the weather!  And of course, we can’t/won’t forget friends who are in the area too.

Last Sunday we had dinner at the casino, it was good enough that we decided to do the same on Monday.  We ran a couple of errand and while we were on the West side of town, decided to head over for dinner.  So far I’m about even and Lorraine has only lost a few dollars there and the specials are good. 

Tuesday Lorraine had an appointment for her hair dresser and I drove her over.  I got a hair cut while I was waiting too.  Lorraine was pleased with the job the gal did for her, it looks good.  On the way home, we passed a KFC and they have a buffet there so we decided to try it for dinner.  I think we’ve tried their buffet once before someplace, this one was better I thought.  They had a pretty good salad bar to go with chicken, mashed potatoes and even two deserts.  They were pretty good on refilling the trays but we did have to ask once and they weren’t even busy.  But except for that, we were pretty well satisfied with their buffet and will probably go to another one someday. 

Some of our friends who were at Quartzsite with us came in on Tuesday also.  They are staying at a campground a couple of miles from us.  I heard they also went to KFC for dinner that evening too but after we were home I think. 

Wednesday morning I contacted Jim and Annie, friends of ours who we haven’t seen for a couple of years, not since we stopped by to visit them at their summer place at the lake in South Dakota.  Jim has been fighting a cough for the last couple of weeks but they said they would come by and see us.  After that call, Rob called and asked what we were doing and I invited them to come over and visit with us and meet Jim and Annie.  We told him to bring Steve and Sandy along too, the more the merrier. 

We had a very good visit with everyone, much laughter too.  In fact, we all continued our visit when we drove over to a local restaurant for lunch.  After lunch, everyone sort of went their separate ways, we headed to Sears to check prices for new glasses for Lorraine.  We knew we were going to Mexico and wanted to see what the savings were there compared to here.  After that, we stopped by to see Jim and Annie at their rig, even though he was still coughing.  We only stayed for awhile but it was sure good seeing them again. 

Thursday Lorraine had her appointment with her dentist in Mexico at 2:00.  Rob and Norma had appointments at the same dentist to so we made arrangements to meet them, Steve/Sandy and Mark for lunch before the dentist’s visits.  Of course, when in Mexico we had to have Mexican food.  I think everyone had at least one margarita or beer too, I guess that should almost go with out saying, huh. 

Once into Mexico, the hawkers start calling to everyone, trying them to go to the dentists who have offices right at the border.  In fact, our dentist used to have an office there before he built a new place a couple of blocks down the way.  Along the way there are lots of places where we can buy medicines, vitamins and supplements, mostly less than half the price we pay here.  There are also lots of places to get glasses, once again they give the exam, measure and make the glasses for less than here, plus most of the time the glasses are ready in 2 or 3 hours.  While you are waiting, there are plenty of restaurants.  And of course there are lots of liquor stores stores too, once again, some of the alcohol is way less than half price compared to here. 

And last but certainly not least, you have to walk through LOTS of shop and sidewalk vendors where they are selling all kinds of stuff; “almost free for you today” is heard from most of them.  They have everything from cheap jewelry to hand painted mailboxes and everything in-between.   You have to learn pretty quick to just say no, shake your head and continue walking.  If you stop or show the slightest interest in something, they are quick to notice and then comes the hard sell.  They don’t take NO very easy after that but still we managed to get out without buying anything (this time). 

We then walked over to the dentist and just like back here, they were busy and Lorraine and Norma had to wait.  They got in about 20 minutes late and we had a discussion with the dentist.  He had pulled a tooth last year and we wanted to see what he suggested to fill the space.  We knew about implants and partials but didn’t know which route would be the best for her.  He checked her out and suggested a permanent bridge be built and installed.  This was less than half the price for an implant and less invasive too so we discussed all the alternatives and agreed to go with the bridge idea. 

He had to remove caps from the tooth on either side and didn’t like the way they were prepped so he re-prepped (is that a real word"?) them which meant drilling and reshaping them.  Although he is probably the best dentist we’ve been to when it comes to the “shot”, Lorraine was getting tired and sore before he and another dentist finished with the drilling.

Rob and Norma actually got in to see their dentist before Lorraine.  Rob had three teeth filled and Norma just had a cleaning.  I spent some time visiting with Steve and Sandy and Norma once she was done while going in to check on Lorraine's progress often. She was in “the chair” for almost 1 1/2 hours what with all the drilling and fitting and such.  Rob finished up before us so he and Norma left with Steve and Sandy to head back to their place.  

They took about 4 impressions, the first was for the temporary bridge, the others were for the lab to make the new bridge.  We made an appointment to have it installed on Wednesday which means another trip to Mexico for us.  When we go down there, we drive to the border crossing where there is a large parking lot on the US side.  They charge $6 to park and then we walk across.  It isn’t anything like the border crossing into Canada, here we just walk through a turnstile and we’re in.  

But the return back to the US is usually a wait, sometimes it takes hours to get back across.  The first year we were here I think we waited for over three hours in line to get back but since then they have changed the border crossing and now have 4 border agents instead of just two so things go much faster.  In fact, we were about half way through the line when Lorraine noticed that Rob’s truck was at the front of the parking lot picking up everyone.  About 15 minutes later, we were through and back on the US side, less than 1/2 hour wait this time.  We’ve heard that if you get there early and leave before the liquor stores open at 10 that there is no wait to return, go figure. 

Most, or at least lots, of the folks in line have two or three bags, one for prescription medicines and the other with  liquor.  And a good number of them are carrying items from the vendors too, plaster frogs, turtles and the like plus shirts, wallets, purses and whatever.  We’ve heard the town almost closes down, a lot of them cross over and live in the US after their working day is over. 

Friday morning we headed out to see Mark/Sue, Rob/Norma, Steve/Sandy and Alan/Rita.  They were already on their way to the outdoor market so we drove over there to see them.  We had been there just a couple of days earlier so we didn’t spent too much time, mostly just long enough to say HI and have a short visit.  Also, Lorraine’s jaw was sore so I tried to help take her mind off it by taking her to the nearby casino.  I think it worked, she had fun and came away with a bit of their money on top of it, yea. 

Saturday morning we once again headed over to see the folks at their park, by now Mark and Sue had moved over to a private lot with their friend.  We waiting until Mark and Sue came by and then we headed out to another park, The Palms, where our friends Jag and Bev were staying.  They had a classic car show, a live band and hamburgers and drinks.  When we got there, Jag had already staked out a table just across the swimming pool from the band and we all sat around and visited with plenty of BS (from the other side of the table of course) happening too.  We decided to finally go look at the cars so that sort of broke up the gathering as most everyone had to hit the head and wanted to see the cars too.  We didn’t need anything else for dinner, the hamburger we had there was plenty.  So we wished everyone our best and returned to our place.  Rob and Norma went with us in our car so we dropped them off then came back to get Misty out for a walk and feed her. 

Today most of the aforementioned folks are gathering at Ed and Lavonne’s place where Mark and Sue are staying.  There will be a large group gathered to watch the Super Bowl.  We are invited to go over to but will stay home and watch the game here, that way I can yell at the TV if I need too.  Mark/Sue, Steve/Sandy Rob/Norma and Alan/Rita will be leaving Monday morning, they are going to spend a week in Bullhead City, just a few miles from Laughlin, NV.  They are then going to Lake Havasu City to watch the Winter Fireworks show in the area.  This is where the firework manufactures show off their wares to brokers and city managers who buy the large fireworks for their 4th of July celebrations.  We are thinking about meeting them there, another few days of dry camping on BLM land in the area but more on that as time goes on. 

If we do go to Lake Havasu, we plan on returning back here to TJ and Sharon’s lot where we are staying now for the rest of the winter.  Then we are thinking about going to San Diego for two weeks or so before heading up to the Bay area for our grand daughter's birthday in April. 

Once again, I must say the weather has been really great.  We have had some mid-range winds a couple of days which made it feel cooler plus the high temperatures have dropped about 10F too, not enough to make me wear long pants but close.  We have had to turn on the heat a couple of nights but it warms up quickly when the sun comes up.  We have managed to not run the air conditioners, instead we run the ceiling fans and leave the door opened.  It does get a bit warm with the sun hitting our dark colored coach but Lorraine likes it. 

I know we didn’t take too many pictures this week so I’ll add a few here and get this posted now. 

Sunset pictures.

  

  

  

Sunset from the lot where we are parked. 

  

 

Our coach on our friend’s lot.  This is the studio house they built. 

 

Another sunset. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

 

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