Here we are, on the road: 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.