We’re in Palm Springs, California

 

February 22, 2015                                                                                                               Lorraine’s report

Hello once again from Thousand Trails, Palm Springs, CA.  The time sure has been flying by for me, not sure where the days go, but they sure are passing quickly. 

So Chuck wrote about our time since we came here.  I just want to add a few things here and there.  It was so nice Dave and Sandy took time out of their winter plans to come and visit us here in Palm Springs.  Thank you both for coming to spend time with us. it means the world to us.   We went to breakfast with them as they were leaving; it is so sad to watch them go.  They went one way and we went the other.  Hopefully, we will catch up with them here soon, somewhere down the road.

Same thing for Tom, Dorothy and Mary.  We loved visiting with you, it’s such a joy to see you all and to see everyone doing well.  We look forward to seeing you on down the road, next time we make it here to Palm Springs.  I look forward to the next time, even though Dorothy is so busy with all she does, it is always wonderful to see them all.  Many thanks to all these good people who just take the time to be there for us!!!  Thank you all…

So this week we will head back to San Jose to help Susy with her operation.  I talked with her and she is sure ready to have the surgery done, healed and her back to her “normal” self.  And of course, I know I always look forward to seeing our granddaughter, Kaitlyn.  She is growing up so fast.  Her next birthday is in April, she will turn 10.  When did this happen? 

So that is it for me. Have a good week everyone.  Hugs to all…

Lorraine

2/22/15                                                                                                                               Chuck’s report

Oops, we missed posting our blog last week, not sure why but it did end up causing a bit of confusion as we changed our plans and headed to Palm Springs instead of going to Lake Havasu as we mentioned in our blog two weeks ago.  Oh well, such is our life, Lorraine likes to say our plans are as firm as jello. 

Two weeks ago we were firmly planted in Yuma, we had extended our stay at Cactus Gardens for another week.  Monday was our last visit to the dentist in Mexico, they removed the temporary crowns and put on the permanent ones, we paid our bill and we are done with dentists.  Sure glad to have all the work done, we don’t have dental insurance and probably would have elected to have the teeth pulled if we had gone to a dentist up here. 

Tuesday we made a grocery store run then met Carl and Brenda for an early dinner at Daybreakers, a diner at the truck stop.  Not bad, food and service were both good and we had another good visit with these two fine folks.

Wednesday we decided to get in one more visit with our friends who were staying at Fortuna, Rob/Norma, Dennis/Barb and Steve/Sandy.  We managed to stay there visiting, with much laughter I might add, until we decided to drive across town to have dinner at the Cracker Barrel.  We were able to get two tables near each other and continued our visit with these fine folks until we finished dinner and said our so longs outside. 

Thursday we got everything put away and ready for travel.  We had discussed going to Lake Havasu City or Bullhead but decided to travel to Palm Springs instead.  Two big reasons for heading here instead were: it’s more a direct route when we head to Susy’s this week and we could make a drive over to see Joe and Alice before they leave and head back up North.  And it’s a 1000 Trails park so we can stay using our membership and it doesn’t cost anything per night, that’s always a good thing too.

We did experience some heavy winds as we headed West from Yuma but after about 50 miles or so it died down and the traveling was better.  We decided to take the route that takes us along the West side of the Sultan Sea, close enough to see the lake but we’ve been there before so we didn’t stop and explore this time.  We got to our park and were surprised to find a spot right along the main road, not often we get to stay in this section.  The road is very wide so it makes it much easier to back into our spot, only issue is we are facing West and the sun gets hot in the afternoon shining in the big front window.  But we just pull the shades in the afternoon and turn on the air conditioners.  Plus we try to lounge around outside in our chairs some everyday to enjoy this great weather we having. 

Friday we drove to Hemet to meet with Joe and Alice at their winter spot, good to see them once again.  Joe remarked that we get to visit more often when we are not in Washington, even when we stay at their extra lot, because one or the other seems to always have something going on almost every day.  We had a good visit, then drove over to a nice Mexican restaurant before we called it a day and headed back to our place.  They were planning on heading home starting on Sunday so it’s good we got one last visit before that.  We did have Misty with us as we knew we would probably be gone quite awhile, as it turned out, we left around 10 and got back around 7, a full day.

Saturday we sort of just stayed near our place until we headed to Desert Hot Springs Elks Lodge for dinner.  This is actually my home lodge, I joined there 7 years ago.  We were to meet Tom, Dorothy and her sister Mary for dinner, they were having a steak dinner and Dorothy called ahead to get us on the list.  Once again we had a good visit and good dinner, a good time.

Sunday morning Lorraine got ready and went to Church here at the campground.  I was going to start the blog but got busy doing other stuff and just plain forgot the blog until she mentioned it to me a few hours later.  Oh well, not a big deal, we’ll just get caught up the next time. 

That afternoon the  Lewis and Clark FMCA Chapter had planned a pot luck get together so Lorraine got our contribution ready.  The invite said things start at 4 so we got there a few minutes early and helped set up the tables.  Usually at one of these type things everyone is there early and the activities get started earlier than posted but this time we were surprised to note that lots of folks got there after 4 so things didn’t really get started until almost 4:30 or so.  But there were about 40 folks there and everyone had a good time, good pot luck and good visits.  Not a bad turnout considering that Lewis and Clark Chapter is actually from Oregon yet 40 folks were down here, plus they have a  bunch staying in Yuma too. 

Monday we drove over to Augustine Casino for old farts day, they give everyone 55 or older $5 in free play plus $2 off their buffet, I think we pay $12 for two buffets.  Of course we tried our luck on the machines too and this time we both took out some money, nice. 

Our good friends Dave and Sandy posted their blog on Monday and we were surprised to find they were back in Los Angeles once again and would be leaving there in a couple of days.  We called them and invited them to stop by and join us here in Palm Springs but they said they already had plans and didn’t plan on heading this way.  Dave said if he had known we were here instead of in Havasu they could have included us in their planning, shoot.  If only we had posted our blog on Sunday they would have know we were here and maybe could have gotten together. 

Tuesday I had an appliance repairman coming by to check out our fridge, it hasn’t be getting cool enough.  Sure enough, it needed two parts, a fan and a temperature sensor.  After he replaced them, it has been working fine once again but I’m not used to having issues with refrigerators, this is the third service call we’ve had on our two year old Samsung.  It is bigger and stays colder than the Norcold that came with the rig but it hasn’t been as reliable as hoped.  Here’s hoping for a long run of it working without any issues.

After he finished up with the repairs, Lorraine had all the bedding and stuff ready to head to the laundry mat.  We have a washer and drier in the rig and usually that’s all we need but this time we needed to do rugs and bedding so needed bigger machines.  We had checked this place out a couple days before and it has some large washers and driers that we knew would work.  A couple hours later everything was clean and back in the car, not too bad.  On the way back we stopped at Del Taco for Taco Tuesday special for our dinner.

We did have a good surprise, Dave called and asked if the invite was still open to come visit us.  I assured him it was and that it shouldn’t be a problem to get them reservations.  I called back to the office and got them set up for two days and let them know they were set up and welcomed.  So they were able to change their plans a bit and see us even though we didn’t post our actual location in our blog as usual.   

Wednesday we made another run to Wal-Mart, Lorraine just needed a couple of items so it was a pretty quick trip.  This time we went to the new one just up the road from us and it wasn’t crowded, in fact, when we checked out we found an empty register just waiting for us, not too common at WM for sure.

Thursday was another sort of quite day, we made a run to Costco to return something then went back to Augustine for their Thursday senior buffet and once again tried our luck on the machines.  I think I was up but Lorraine sad she was down some, bummer. 

Friday Dave and Sandy got here about about 10:30 or so, I had saved them a spot right across the street from us when someone left earlier in the morning.  Once they got to the gate, we met them and guided them to their spot and left to let them set up.  We had made plans to tour the area a bit later so after they got set up we firmed up our plans. 

First we wanted to see Mike and Linda from our RV America group, the one we stay with in Quartzsite.  They are staying here also so it was just a short trip to their place.  They seem to be really glad to see Dave and Sandy, it’s been three years I think they said.  We only stayed for a sort visit, just over an hour I think, before we left them and headed out to tour the area.  Linda has been fighting the flu or a cold so they didn’t want to do much except let her rest so they didn’t go with us.

Frist off, we went to an Oasis just up the way from us that we knew about.  This one has lots of palm trees and they aren’t trimmed with just a few fronds on the top, instead these are allowed to let them bend down and cover the trunk, sort of like a hula skirt.  This Oasis is located right on the San Andres fault line and there is some “fresh” water coming out out of the desert, enough that it is running, even has small fish and tadpoles in some pools.  We spent an hour or so here, may have stayed longer but they close and lock the gate at 5:00 sharp and we didn’t want to be locked in for sure. 

After the Oasis, we just toured the back roads a bit before we headed back and had dinner at Cocos, a diner just up the road from us.  We really enjoyed our day with these good folks, sure glad they could change their plans to be here.  After dinner we came back to our place and they taught us a new card game called “7s”.  Fairly easy game to understand, must have been because I won. 

Saturday Dave, Sandy, Lorraine and I went to the Palm Springs Street Fair.  We have been there already this year but wanted to show it to Dave and Sandy so we made another trip.  The crowds were larger than last time we were there but did start to thin out a bit by the time we left with our few purchases.  We made plans to go to a “all you can eat” lobster buffet for dinner later so wanted to find something lite for lunch.  Therefore we stopped by a burger place for lunch.

We had a couple hours before we headed out once again and spent some of that time with Mike and Linda once again.  Linda was feeling better but still not up to going out so they declined our offer to go with us to the buffet.  We got to the buffet and on the waiting list by 6, they said it would be an hour’s wait.  So we got Dave and Sandy signed up for their player’s card and they both had $10 free play, that didn’t last too long however. 

Shortly after 7 we got to our table, Lorraine and Sandy both wanted the buffet but Dave and I just ordered off the menu, we both had meatloaf.  I know the gals had their fill of lobster and prime rib and even had a small desert.  The meatloaf portion was pretty large so Dave and I didn’t suffer any either.  We got back about 8:00 or so after another good dinner and visit.

The weather this past week has been just outstanding, high 80s or even low 90s for the most part.  Sure glad we have air conditioners in the afternoon.  The lows have only been dropping to the high 50s to so that means shorts and tee shirts all day long.  We have had some clouds a few days but nothing to be concerned about but the forecast is for rain in Los Angeles tonight with some maybe coming over the mountains and getting to us tomorrow.  We have some dark clouds over the mountains today but no rain so far.  And todays high is only forecast to be in the low 70s, a cold snap for us. 

We have had some heavy winds over the past two weeks, when we left Yuma they were getting close to 30 MPH and Saturday we had some in the mid 30+ MPH.  The sand was blowing across the roads bad enough it looked like a snow storm with snow blowing and drifting but of course, the temps were pretty nice. 

Our travel plans are pretty simple, we will leave here on Wednesday and head back to the Elks Lodge near Susy’s.  She is having surgery on Friday and we will be there to help her during her recovery.  Hope everything goes well with her surgery!!!

I know we have some pictures in the camera as I took lots of pictures when we were at the Oasis so I’ll go through them and add some here then get this posted.   

Pictures along our drive from Yuma to Palm Springs. 

  

The wind was blowing hard enough to blow sand across the road, just like snow drifts only lots warmer. 

  

Even had small “white caps” on the irrigation canal.  Not much grows without water as seen on the right. 

  

This is what happens when there is water available in the desert. 

  

  

A palm tree nursery on the left.

  

Sultan Sea in the background.

  

Our site here at Palm Springs 1000 Trails campground, these palm trees are trimmed like most of them are.  

  

Joe and Alice at their place. 

  

Lewis and Clark chapter get together. 

  

  

  

  

Left to right are Lorraine, Sandy, Linda, Mike and Dave.  Sandy and Lorraine at the Oasis we visited. 

  

Pictures from the Coachella Valley Preserve (Oasis).  The palm trees aren’t trimmed so lots of animals and birds live in/under the skirts. 

   

  

   

Here is the water, comes up right at the San Andres Fault line. 

  

  

  

Some of the branches have pretty severe thorns as shown on the left and middle.  Lorraine, Dave and Sandy on the right. 

  

Sandy under one of the trees that form an arch. 

 

Sunset pictures. 

  

Thanks   Chuck

149

We’re in Yuma, Arizona

February 8/2015                                                                                                                       Lorraine’s report

Hello, and once again, thanks for stopping by.  We are still in Yuma, daytime high 88 degrees yesterday.  Such a hard life we are living…

So this week we had dentist appointments with our doctor and we have been visiting with friends.  Imagine going into the dentist, and have him tell you that you needed a root canal.  You have no time to even say no, you just go do it.  That is what happened to me.  We went into Mexico, not knowing what to expect, and being told you need a root canal, done that day.  Well, that is what Dr. Ramos said to me.  He called a specialist, they sent someone over for me, took me over to have it done, and brought me right back after it was done.  By then it was time to quit for the day, so I went home with nothing covering the newly removed root canal tooth.  What an experience. 

The last time the doctor said I needed a root canal, a few years ago here in Mexico, the lady dentist had a hard time, my tooth was dry and she had a hard time with  me.  We were in a circle in her office and another man heard what I had been through, and said when I finished, he was glad what happened to me hadn’t happened to him.  He said he was sorry for all I had been through and wished me well.

Hopefully. root canals aren’t in my future for a while, at least I hope not….  I’m sure glad we are almost through with the dentist.  So my mouth is sore from all the work that has been done.  We are taking anti-inflammatory, antibiotics, pain, and an oral rinse to help it heal.  This was tough!

This week we have visited a lot of our friends.  It has been so very nice to see, meet and greet everyone.  We enjoyed visiting all of them.  One time we went over we saw seen Barb, but not Dennis, Norma, but not Rob for he and Dennis had to take their rig back to Lake Havasu to order parts one day.  We saw Steve/Sandy, and Mark & Sue.  Then one different day, we went back to see the gang at Barbs’; she was having a get together and invited us to stay and eat with all of them.  And we got to visit with their friends, Ed and Linda.  Thank you for inviting us over, it was fun.  And of course, we have seen Brenda & Carl, and they came over here to our place too.  Yesterday we visited with Barb & Ray, and we got to see their new home, their new rig, and we all went to eat.  Something we all like to do.  

Not sure what the week holds for us.  But it will be exciting or not -- whatever…Anyhow, hope you all have a great week…

Hugs to all,

Lorraine

 

2/8/15                                                                                                                                     Chuck’s report

We’ve been busy this week and have managed to spend some time visiting with friends in the area too, a nice week for sure. 

Last Sunday we got ready to watch the Super Bowl and had a good time with just to the two of us.  Lorraine had fixed up lots of snacks and we were “ready for some football”.  I thought the Seahawks looked like they did against the Packers two weeks before, just not in sync for the first part of the game but got things going and it was turning out to be a good game.  I was pretty sure it was a done deal when they were up 10 points late in the third quarter but no, New England came back and scored two touchdowns to go up by 4 points and held Seattle scoreless for the fourth quarter.  But Seattle got the ball back with just over 2 minutes to play and made some good plays including an unbelievable catch at the 5 yard line. 

They were now first and goal with plenty of time of the clock but they did waste a timeout.  First down was a running play, got them to the one yard line.  They were letting the clock run down so when they scored a touchdown it would leave NE with little time remaining.  But wait, they went for a pass play over the middle and it was intercepted, game over.  I was sure they would run the ball again, their running game was looking good but guess the coaches wanted to try an unexpected play vs a running play.  I understand trying a pass at that time and place but would rather have seen it in the corner instead of over the middle when they were all lined up there to stop a probably running play.  Really disappointed but it was a good game, just didn’t turn out the way we were rooting.  A good season for them, hope they can make it back to the big game soon and win it.

Monday we headed over to the GMC dealer, where we bought our car last year, for an oil change.  We were given lifetime oil changes at the dealer so every time we are in town we can bring it in for a free oil change and service.  They got us right in and we while we were waiting we talked to our salesman from last year.  He, of course, wanted us to trade it in but that ain’t happening just yet, ha.  And yes, they did change the oil and rotate the tires and all it cost us was a signature, good deal. 

Later we stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond, Lorraine had a few items she wanted.  Afterward we went over to see Barb, Norma, Steve and Sandy at their park.  Rob and Dennis had taken Rob’s rig to Lake Havasu for maintenance so they weren’t there.  But we had a good visit anyway.  After leaving them, we stopped by Brenda and Carl’s sites for a short visit with them too, they are all in the same park. 

Tuesday we decided to do some exploring in the Foothill area across the freeway from where we are staying.  This is the area where we have stayed at TJ and Sharon’s lot and we wanted to just drive around and see what was for sale or rent.  But before we had gone very far, we decided to find where Mark and Sue were staying.  They were at home so we made an unannounced stop for a nice visit with them.  After that, we drove around the Foothill a bit but didn’t find anything we had to have although we did write down a few phone numbers in case we wanted more info.  The only one we called ended up as a bust anyway so guess we didn’t find what we were looking for, whatever that is.

Wednesday we had dentist appointments in Mexico, Lorraine’s at 2 and mine at 3.  I was waiting outside when the dental assistant escorted me to the room where Lorraine was in the chair.  Seems the dentist had found a cavity under one of her caps and wanted us to decide if it should be pulled or have a root canal and new crown.  After talking over the options and prices, we decided to go with the root canal and crown. 

Last time Lorraine had a root canal down here it was pretty rough for her.  This time I told him we wanted a different dentist and he sent us to the “best in town”.  They set it up so she could go right over and get it done while I was doing my time in the chair.  So off she went to this other office and I went into the chair.

Last week I had my broken tooth prepped for a crown so he removed that temporary crown and installed the finished one.  Then he started prepping a different tooth for a crown, this is the one he found last time that had a large filling and was cracked.  As he was working on it, he found the one in front of it had a large cavity so we went through the deciding process of pulling or root canal/crown for me, damn. 

We made the decision to go with the root canal for me (can’t have Lorraine have all the fun).  We made a schedule for the first visit the next morning for Lorraine to finish up her prep for a new crown on the tooth that just had it’s root drilled out.  Meanwhile, I would go to the other dentist and have a root canal then return for my crown prep.  Don’t think we could have had all this work scheduled this quick back home.

So Thursday morning it was back to Mexico and the dentist.  We were finished by 11:15 then headed back to our rig, both of us sore and tired but glad to have it done.  Just one more visit, we hope, to install the new crowns  and we’re done with them for another year. 

Our front air conditioner has been making some rubbing noises, something I’ve repaired before so I sort of knew what I needed to do.  If it was like last time, I needed to get up on the roof, take things apart and raise the squirrel cage fan to stop the rubbing, at least I hoped it was the same as last time I had this issue. 

Just after we got back from the dentist and before I got started, Carl and Brenda happened to drive by looking for us.  I had just finished walking Misty and they spotted me walking back to our rig so they came in for a visit.  It was pretty warm inside with only one air conditioner running and Carl offered to help so we tackled the repair. 

It was hot up there, temperature was probably about 80, but once we got everything apart it was obvious that all we had to do was move the fan back up the shaft and put everything back together.  It sure is easier to do this with two people, I didn’t have to hold things out of the way and try to remove the screws/bolts by myself.  Things went pretty smooth and soon enough we had both air conditioners running once again.  Thanks for your help Carl, sure appreciate it!

After we finished up, cleaned up and rested for a bit, we headed out for an early dinner.  We ended up at Cracker Barrel and yes, Lorraine did order the breakfast “Uncle Hershel’s” as usual.  Brenda also ordered a breakfast while Carl and I had a regular dinner meal, meat loaf and hamburger steak.  We sure had a good visit but both of us were tried after our dentist visit so it was a quiet evening with nothing much going on after they left us. 

Friday we called Norma to see if we could stop by for a visit with them again and they said sure, come on over.  They had plans to have some Canadian friends over later so we only planned to stay for an hour.  Let’s see, by now Rob/Norma, Dennis/Barb, Steve/Sandy and Mark/Sue were all there at this park and were all getting together with the other friends and they invited us to stay for dinner if we wanted.  We agreed even though we didn’t have anything to add to the pot but everyone said it didn’t matter, we should stay.

After Ed/Linda showed up everyone had a good visit and dinner.  All the gals had brought something for the table and there was plenty to go around, glad we stayed and really enjoyed ourselves.  Thanks everyone. 

We been experiencing some heavy frost buildup inside our freezer so yesterday morning I decided to defrost it before we got on with our day.  After I got the food out I could see where the ice maker, which is inside the freezer of course, has been letting water leak into the bucket and some had even made it to the bottom of the freezer itself and created a big ice chunk.  So it took awhile longer to get all the ice and frost cleaned up than what I’d originally expected.

Everything was going just great until I plugged it back in, it didn’t have any display showing on the “eyebrow” control except for one flashing light.  I tried all the normal things, unplugging it again, pushing different buttons to reset it, even when so far as to find a manual online to see if it had any advice but no luck there.  So I ended up calling Samsung’s help line for assistance. 

I was pleased that it only took a few different menu options until I got to talk to a real person who spoke good English and was in the States somewhere.  I could tell she was reading from a troubleshooting guide whenever she offered suggestions but whatever, at least we could try different things than what I had been doing. 

After about the fourth attempt, she suggested it was in “display mode”, this is what it should be set when on the display floor, the lights work but it doesn’t attempt to cool.  She had me push two buttons at the same time (I had already attempted this on my own) and hold them down for ~ 5 seconds.  Still no luck so I went outside and unplugged/plugged back in the thing again and when I came back in it was working.  Still not sure what the issue was but after trying the different fixes it is now working, yea. 

We had made plans to meet our friends Ray and Barb at their house on the other side of Yuma at noon and would have made it on time except for the fridge not turning on.  Lorraine called and let them know we would head out ASAP but would not be there by noon for sure.  I think it was about 12:45 when we got to their house.

They welcomed us into their house, showed us around inside and out.  I didn’t know they had a swimming pool plus they’ve done a lot of work cleaning up the front and back yards too, looks really good.  They also showed us their new motorhome, nice and they are getting it ready for travel.  Seems they are getting really set up, a home here, one in Washington and a nice motorhome for their travels, sweet. They’ve sure firmed up their retirement lifestyle to what they want, we still haven’t decided what, where or when for us. 

We hopped in their car and headed out for lunch, we went to  a place called Yummy Yummy Chinese, a small place inside a strip mall a little ways from their place.  They said they had about 20 items for $5 and sure enough, there it was on the menu.  We all ordered #4, rice, either white or fried, almond chicken and sweet/sour chicken.  The portions were large too, we all had two plates in front of us.  And best of all, it was tasty too.  Not a bad choice for sure.

Later we returned to their house and continued our visit until it was time for us to head back to our place.  We had a good time, thanks for carving time out of your busy schedules for us. 

And when we got back to our place and checked the freezer, everything was good and cold although the fridge isn’t as cold as normal.  May need to have that looked at when we get back to Susy’s place later this month but it’s good for now. 

The weather this week has been really nice, it’s getting into the low/mid 80s almost everyday now and only dropping to the low/mid 50s at night.  I think we could really become used to these temperatures plus the humidity has been low too. Ah, this is one of the reasons we like heading South for the winter.

I’ve been neglecting trying to firm up our travel plans, still not sure where we will go after here.  We signed up for a second week at this park, our time is up on Thursday.  We are thinking of heading over to Fortuna for three days then we’ll go up to Bullhead City or Laughlin for a week.  We had been trying to work in a visit with Dave and Sandy at their place but don’t look like we will make it due to timing of the dentist visits.  Sure glad we had the short visit with you two in Quartzsite a couple weeks ago. 

I know Lorraine didn’t take too many pictures with our camera this week but once again, I’ll probably find a few to add here then get this posted. 

Another nice sunset one evening. 

  

 

Carl and I working on the air conditioner.  Oops, caught me laying down on the job on the right. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

979

We’re in Yuma, Arizona

 

February 1, 2015                                                                                                                   Lorraine’s report

Hello everyone….Go Seahawks….What a great day here for the game.  All this week, we have seen the “12” man all over town.  There are enough Seahawks around for us to make a big, loud “Go Seahawks” during the game and after. 

So another week has passed.  It was kind of a quiet week after the our big adventure with the “towing of the rig” last week.  So glad it was taken care of.  We have started cleaning out the rig, spring cleaning….Sometimes it’s hard to know what to keep and what to throw away.  Oh well, whatever.

So one day we went to see American Sniper.  What an intense movie!   I can not believe the sacrifice some men go through to serve their country.  And that Michael Moore, calling the guy a coward.  Man, he had never served our country, so they never knew what sacrifice, hardships and loneliness a person endures while the person is away serving our country.  It’s pathetic!!!

One day we went into Mexico with Brenda & Carl.  Chuck and I both have work that needs to be done with our doctor, Dr. Ramos.  We have been going to see him since we went on the road-2007.  It was nice to see they are doing okay, looks like his business is growing.  So happy for him and his staff.

One day we were busy so Chuck said we should go and eat, we had been busy all day.  We went down to a café, but there was a long line, so we headed over to Kentucky Fried Chicken.  We got in and who do we find, but Barb/Dennis, Rob/Norma and Steve/Sandy.  They had gotten in some time during the last week from Quartzsite, AZ.  Well, we ended up sitting at the table with Steve/Sandy, everyone was happy to see each other.  Talk about being in a small world.  Who knew when we left that we would run into them at the KFC for dinner. Pretty Amazing. 

So I just made us up some snack food for the game.  I do miss being with my sister, Thelma back home.  She is having a big Super Bowl party for Carl’s birthday party.  He always gets his party on Super Bowl Sunday.  Lucky him.  All the family gets together and has a big, fun filled time for his party.  So much food, it’s hard to taste it all with everyone bringing lots.

So now we just have to wait until the dentist  finishes up our appointments with the dentist.  Then who knows.  Chuck want to go back to Lake Havasu/Bullhead City.  And then we head back to be with Susy for her surgery.

So that is it for me.  Hope everyone has a good week.  Go Seahawks….

Hugs,

Lorraine 

 

2/1/15                                                                                                                                       Chuck’s report

It’s Super Bowl Sunday so most folks can figure out what I’m doing today, GO HAWKS!  We have decided to stay at our place and watch the game, that way I can hear/see it better and yell whenever I want to.  One good thing about the game being played in Arizona is we sure see lots of Seahawks fans around so maybe there will be a “12th Man” effect inside the stadium and help out the Seahawks.  Game starts in about 5 hours and by then Lorraine will have some snacks and stuff ready too, game day, yea.

Let’s see, last week we were towed or actually carried on a low boy trailer, into Yuma and they found our problem was a broken heater hose.  It was repaired and we were on our way to our planned stop at Yuma Lakes RV Park.  So far everything has been ok with the repair and no problems, we stopped before the engine temperature got hot so that wasn’t a big concern but you never know.  I washed most of the antifreeze off the coach and we’ve ran the car through a car wash but both still have that distinct smell so I’ve checked things out pretty carefully to make sure there isn’t another leak somewhere. 

Last Monday we made a run to Wal-Mart then sort of did honey-dos around the coach, there’s always something that needs to be fixed/repaired, just like in a sticks and brick house. 

Tuesday was our appointment with our dentist in Mexico.  We asked Brenda and Carl if they wanted to ride along and go to Mexico with us and they said yes.  Around noon we got in the car and headed over to the parking lot just this side of the border at Algodones.  We parked the car and waked into Mexico, once again there is no check point or anything, you go through a turnstile and you're in Mexico.  One thing that has changed over the years is there are more soldiers or guards carrying guns but they don’t seem to be stopping or bothering anyone but just the same, it shows heighten security over past years. 

Everyone knows about the issues of American citizens going into Mexico but Algodones is a small town that caters to the tourist trade.  The town is full of dentists, eye glass places, pharmacies, liquor stores, restaurants and of course the normal sidewalk dealers along the way.  But the town only exists for this, no big business or the like and I haven’t heard of anyone having issues there like in some of the big towns along the border.  Plus the tourists outnumber the rest of the folks in town and I’ve heard that lots of the owners and workers here live in the Yuma area.  So bottom line, we don’t feel unsafe going into Algodones.  

Anyway, Lorraine had her appointment before mine so I found a barber and got a $5 haircut before my turn in the chair.  Lorraine had her exam and yearly cleaning and he found two caps that he recommended be replaced.  Then it was my turn.  I had a broken tooth and wanted him to repair it plus get my yearly cleaning as well.  He did a quick check of the broken tooth and said I needed to have a cap so he did the prep work and fitted me with a temporary cap and will install the final one on our next visit.  He didn’t have time to do the cleaning so will do that next time too.  But I did have him do a quick exam to see if there were any other obvious problems and he found a large filling that was cracked and suggested doing another cap next time, shoot.  So on our visit this week we both will be prepped for new caps and will have to make one more appointment to have the final work done.  That next appointment will determine how long we stay in the Yuma area before moving on. 

Carl and Brenda walked around town while they were waiting for us to finish our dental work then we got in line to return to the US.  Now this is a lot different than going into Mexico for sure.  First off all, there is a line to get to the border, this time we were in line for just under an hour.  Then you have to show your passport and talk to a border patrol guy and declare what your trip was for and what you may have brought back.  I guess I don’t understand why the long wait as most of the folks sure don’t appear to be either illegal or carrying illegal drugs with them, most are going across for dental work and medicines and probably don’t pose much danger to our country. 

Later that evening we went over to Mike and Linda’s coach, along with Brenda and Carl, and had a good visit.  We were all staying in the same park but both Carl and Brenda were leaving the next day and we were leaving on Thursday. 

Wednesday we saw Carl and Brenda off, they are headed to the other side of town to a RV park we’ve stayed at before, Fortuna De Oro.  Later Lorraine and I headed to town to see the movie “American Sniper”.  We both enjoyed this very moving movie and I must admit I said a few bad word about Michael Moore afterwards.  He is the one who called snipers cowards, wonder just what he did during his service to our country – Oh, that’s right, he never served! 

After we got back, Lorraine made fried chicken and hot potato salad for our dinner, yum.

Thursday morning we got ready for travel and headed out to our planned stay here at Cactus Gardens RV Park.  This one is part of our membership with 1000 Trails/Encore and they have a special for a week’s stay.  Once we got checked in and set up, Lorraine started doing some spring cleaning and cleaned out some drawers in the back.  I found a few things to keep me busy as well and before we knew it, it was dark and time to eat once again. 

Friday we got busy around the place again, I removed all the caulking from the shower door and prepped it for replacement.  Lorraine finished up with laundry, good to go for a few more days.  We also took advantage of the weather to spend some time outside in our chairs, reading a book was my excuse but mostly just enjoying the 75F temperature and lots of sunshine. 

Then we went back to the Arizona Swap Meet, I wanted to trade in some of my paperbacks at a book store there.  Lorraine also wanted to get a shirt from one of the vendors there too.  We did happen to see Sharon there and met TJ’s sister and BIL who were with her but never did see TJ. 

Later we headed out for dinner, we were going to a diner up a couple of exits but when we got there we saw a large crowd waiting to get in so we went with plan B, KFC buffet.  They have a nice buffet here, all the different kinds of chicken, salads, fruits, rolls and even desert.  Plus they are partnered with A and W so we had their root beer.  We walked in the door and were surprised to see our Canadian friends Dennis and Barb standing in line.  Even more surprised when we saw Rob and Norma and Steve and Sandy just in front of them.  They had two empty seats at their table so we sat with them and had a nice visit with all, lots of laughter and good natured ribbing along with the buffet.  They are all staying at Fortuna also so we hope to make a trip over there to see them at their place this week. 

After we got back, I finished caulking the shower door, wanted to make sure it had enough time to dry, figured overnight should do it. 

Saturday morning we just chilled out for awhile until I suggested we go for a drive or something.  When I asked Lorraine what she wanted to do, she reminded me that we hadn’t been to the Cocoaph Casino this trip.  I told her we were doing just fine without it but guess where we ended up?  Yep, happy wife, happy life, as they say.  We stopped by Penny’s Diner on the way back and once again had a good meal there although we were surprised how empty it was this time.  But the food was good as usual and it was nice to have a quiet atmosphere while we ate.  Later we watched a DVD movie I picked up from Wal-Mart called “Killing Season”.  I have not heard anything about this movie and it was in the $5 bin but we both thought it was a good one, John Travolta and Robert DeNiro were the main actors and they both were good.  Way better than one we watched a couple weeks ago called “Boyhood” and it was highly advertised but was a big bust for us. 

The weather has been ok the past week, we’ve had a couple cloudy days with a bit of drizzle one night.  But for the last three days it been really nice, highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.  We do have the heater on at night but both air conditioners running during the day.  Ah, Arizona weather in the winter, hard to beat it.  We’ve talked about going to South Texas for one winter just to compare but just haven’t made it so far. 

Our travel plans for after here are not very firm yet either, depends on our dentist visits as to when we leave.  But we are planning on heading North a bit, Lake Havasu or even Bullhead City for a couple of weeks.  We’ve been there before but this time we plan on checking our some places to live when we decide to get off the road, whenever that may be. 

Guess I’ll see what pictures Lorraine has taken this week and pick some to add here.  Oops, just checked and most of the pictures she has taken were with her phone instead of the Nikon so don’t have many to add.  I’m still having issues downloading pictures from her phone to my computer so that’s why I don’t add some of them too. 

Just a couple sunset pictures. 

  

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

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We’re in Yuma, Arizona

 

January 26, 2015                                                                                                                  Lorraine’s report

Hello, and thanks for stopping by.  What a week it has been.  Whew…what we have survived in all our travels in this motor home.  Quartzsite was once more fun, loved seeing and catching up with all the people that showed up.  Many thanks to all our Q friends for just being “you.”

So we left Q, on our way to Yuma, when  Chuck smelled antifreeze, and the coach was starting to heat up.  He pulled over and was on the phone right away.  He arranged all the tow truck stuff.  There was a long wait for the tow truck driver to show up.  From 10:30 until 3:15.  Maybe you can imagine what it felt like to sit and wait, hoping everything was okay with the rig. 

And when the tow truck driver finally came from east of Yuma, another wait to load it up on the “low boy” trailer. The low boy was barely big enough for him to put the rig it; looked like 3 inches on each side.  It was hard for me to watch the driver pull out.  And the driver was going the speed limit-70 mph.  Way to fast for me.  With the wind blowing that day, the truck driver could feel how it was doing, so he slowed down.  The rig bounced up and down, and every which way.  When we stopped, the driver asked how I did with watching it being towed.  Chuck had told him I closed my eyes, but I told him I prayed it would make it into the shop the entire way. I don’t know what that bill was, so grateful we didn’t have to pay for it.

Thank goodness the people at Rush Truck Stop were so kind and got us in so we didn’t have to spend another night.  That road was on a major through fare for all the truck drivers,  working for other companies, so it was very much traveled.  Chuck slept very little that night.  I took a sleeping pill and pretty much “passed out”.

So after surviving that crisis, we made it on into Yuma Lakes, where Linda/Mike and Brenda & Carl were parked.  But on the second night here, there was noise that kept on all night long.  It was a loud, cannon type noise that went off every minute or two the entire night.  Another long night with nothing to stop it.  They said they used the noise to keep the wild boars and such out of the fields.  Some one forgot to turn it off, I think. 

In spite of all of this, we still like to do what we are doing.  Don’t know when or where we will be finished with RVing. 

So yesterday was Ashley’s birthday, and the 29th is Carl’s.  Want to wish each of them a nice birthday.  Hope they have an awesome day… Hugs to all.

Until next time,

Lorraine

 

1/26/15                                                                                                                                   Chuck’s report

Last week at this time we were having a good time in Quartzsite, spending time with all the folks there.  Sunday morning our friends from Minnesota, Dave and Sandy, were traveling through on their way to Los Angeles and stopped by for a quick visit.  The last time we saw them was back in Minnesota early summer last year.  Although another year has pasted by, they both seem to be younger, don’t know how they do that but whatever, it looks like it works for them.  Thanks for stopping by, even for a short time. 

Later I set up the outside television so we could watch the Seahawks game.  Green Bay was visiting Seattle with the winner heading to the Super Bowl.  I must admit, I lost hope for them to win in the third quarter even though Green Bay was only up 9 points.  Seattle was playing as poor as I’ve seen them play in the past few years, nothing they did seem to work except for a fake field goal for their only score. 

But with about 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Seattle turned it up a notch and everything they needed fell into place like writing a script.  They scored, recovered an onside kick and then scored an unbelievable two point conversation for a three point lead.  Green Bay marched downfield and scored a field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime.  The rules for overtime state both teams get one possession unless the first team scores a touch down or gives up a safety on their first possession.  Seattle won the coin toss and elected to receive the kick off to start the overtime, a few minutes later they scored a touchdown to end the game.  A most improbable win considering the way they played for the first 3 1/2 quarters but they won and go on to play in the Super Bowl again this year. 

That evening New England won their game against Indianapolis, sort of a blow out.  So the Super Bowl game coming up this Sunday will be Seattle against New England, my prediction at the first of the year.  Here’s hoping Seattle can get one more win this season and win back to back Super Bowls. 

Sunday night was also “hat” night at our nightly get together.  All the folks who have been camping with our group before are supposed to wear their Quartzsite hats and any people there for the first time are introduced and welcomed into the group.  This year there was only one new couple, Ronnie and Kathie from Texas, nice folks who said they enjoyed themselves and will probably return next year. 

Monday morning I had an appointment for a mobile tech to service our Hydro Hot diesel burner.  This system supplies heat for our hot water and can be used to heat the coach using small, radiator type exchangers when needed.  But because it burns diesel, the yearly service requires changing out the fuel nozzle and filter and cleaning the soot form the burn chamber.  The tech is the same one that did repairs on our system when we were in Las Vegas back in early Nov. so this time all we needed was the annual service, everything else seems to be working fine.

Later we headed over to the “big tent” for the first time this year.  This is a tent they set up each year for RV week and have vendors in and around it to attract all the RVers in the area.  The tent opens on Saturday but we try to wait until after the weekend so the crowds might be down a bit but it’s still pretty crowded.  After all, there are over 100,000 rigs parked in and around Quartzsite for RV week according to reports. 

We returned to our rig after walking most of the vendor row and Lorraine got our contribution ready for the evening gathering.  We got a call from our friends Jim and Annie, letting us know they were at one of the RV dealers and asked if we wanted to come over for a visit,  so of course we did.

Jim and Annie were in the process of purchasing a new rig so we got to see it and had a good visit with them.  We met these fine folks back in San Diego when Lorraine was having issues with her liver and have made it a point to see them whenever we are anywhere near them.  I am still so grateful to them for helping me when Lorraine was in the hospital the first time I met them and they’ve been just as nice to us every time since, good people!

We made it back to our gathering a bit late but still had a good visit before it got cool and we headed to our rig. 

Tuesday morning we picked up Richard and Patsy and drove into Blythe, California.  I had to order some parts for our coach and didn’t want to fight the crowds at the Post Office in Quartzsite so had them shipped to Blythe.  Richard had to make a Post Office and Fed Ex stop and the gals wanted to stop by a grocery store too. 

After we got back, Lorraine and I walked over to the Big Tent again, we wanted to finish our tour of all the vendor areas.  We knew our friends from Canada were in the area somewhere so I called and found they were at the Big Tent too so we made arrangements to meet with them.  It was good to see Dennis/Barb, Rob/Norma and Steve/Sandy even though it was a short visit. 

Later we drove over to see Jim and Annie again, this time we brought lunch for them but they had to do some paperwork for their new rig and had to leave so we told them we would see them later that afternoon after they got back.  After they got back, we drove over to see them and had our lunch for dinner and wished them well as they transferred all their stuff from the old motor home to the new one.  I would have volunteered to help move their stuff but we were leaving the next day, bummer. 

Tonight was our last night with the group at Quartzsite so we stayed a bit longer at the gathering and had a great time. 

Wednesday we got everything ready for travel, pulled out and hooked up our tow car.   We went by and said our “so longs” to the folks who were left and headed out for Yuma, about 70 miles South.  We got about 30 miles or so when I began to smell engine antifreeze and noticed the engine temperature start to rise so we found a wide spot and pulled over.  Sure enough, we had antifreeze all over the back of the coach and all over the car, shoot. 

I called our roadside service and discussed the issue with them and they suggested it would probably be best if they sent a tow truck and towed us to a service center in Yuma.  They also called the service center and arranged for us to get service when we got there or as soon as possible.  The tow truck was coming from a small town to the East of Yuma and would take almost an hour to get to us.

We pulled over somewhere around 10:30 and the tow truck showed up at 3:15, 45 minutes later we were loaded on the truck.  I called our friends who would be traveling down the road later past and let them know we were OK and they didn’t need to stop as we were just waiting for the truck.  I didn’t get in touch with Gerald and Pat and as they drove by us, he saw it was us and started to stop but I waved him on.  Sorry I didn’t contact you before you went through but thanks for starting to stop and help.  If we had needed help, any of these folks would have stopped I’m sure.  I also called Richard who was still in Quartzsite and had recently been towed and asked him for advice and he offered to drive down to help if needed.  A big thanks to all these fine folks, glad we didn’t need help but really nice to know it was there if needed!!

The roadside service wanted to send a big tow truck and I requested they send one with a trailer big enough to put us on it vs using the normal hook type but they said they had already ordered the tow truck.  They did, however, give us the phone number of the towing company so I called them and explained our situation, told them how big (40”) and heavy (36,000#) we are so they sent the trailer (called a low boy) instead.  I know lots of folks who have been towed using the normal hook type trucks and suffered damage to their rigs so we were happy to have the trailer instead. 

This being the first time I’ve ever been towed (except with a rope and a buddy) I was interested in the process.  His trailer tips and he puts some lumber down to help keep us from dragging the rear end as the front was pulled up.  He asked me to stay in the rig and steer (with the engine off and no power steering of course) as needed to keep it straight.  There was about 3” of room on either side of the tires but he really seem to know what he was doing so we got on with no problems.  Like I said, I’ve never been towed but I thought he was really good at this. 

Once we got loaded on the trailer, he pulled to a more level spot and measured the height of the coach, didn’t need to run into a low overpass along the way for sure.  He decided to make a bit longer trip to avoid one possible low spot and away we went, we were following in our car.  I was surprised to see how much the coach bounced on the trailer plus he was driving 70 mph.  There are lots of dips and uneven road surfaces along this route and soon we noticed he slowed to to below 60 mph, a good idea we thought and the coach seem to ride more stable at a lower speed. 

We turned off to go to the service center while he continued on the longer route.  We were at the service desk when he pulled in and started to unhook the rig.  The service writer said they might be able to get to us on Thursday but more than likely it would be Friday before they could fit us in their schedule.  I went out to help unload the rig and once again had to get inside to steer as needed and once we were almost off the trailer, I had to start the coach and drive off the last little bit as it wasn’t just coasting down.  At the end, the driver came out with the paperwork and all we had to do was sign, the charges were all being paid by our roadside assistance service.  I don’t know what it cost but it probably was in the $700 – $1000 range, glad we didn’t have to pay for that. 

We were positioned at the end of the lot so we were able to drop our jacks and put out our slides.  We headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner then headed back.  The road alongside us was a busy thoroughfare for a lot of the large trucks heading to the vegetable processing area down the road.  These trucks ran until after midnight and they were noisy so we didn’t get our best sleep, what with wondering about the repairs and all the noise. 

Next morning I was at the service desk about 5 minutes after they opened but the service writer I had been working with was on the phone.  The other service writer asked if he could help so I told him our story and he got a repair tech right then and told him to check us out and get us back on the road ASAP, wow. 

The service writer, tech and I walked out to the rig and I showed/explained our problem.  The tech crawled under the rig and thought he could see a busted hose but couldn’t reach it without going through the floor in the coach.  So I opened the access hole and could see it was a busted heater hose, yea, nothing real major to fix. 

We got stuff put away and pulled in the slides then raised the jacks, ready to drive over to the repair stall.  The tech drove it over and started repairs, said it would probably take two hours.  I asked them to do some routine service and change out the large air filter for the engine while we were there so it took a bit over two hours.  We went out for breakfast and made a stop at a RV supply store then came back and waited for them to finish. 

We were sure glad it was nothing more than a busted heater hose that caused us to lose all the antifreeze but of course it was almost inaccessible so he had to work both from inside the coach as well as crawling under, better him than me I said. 

After all the repairs were done we went back to the service writer to see how much it would cost.  Lorraine was standing next to him watching and while talking/laughing with him saw that he lowered the price while we there.  Guess it helps to be nice to the service writers, he lowered the hourly repair rate from $135/hr. to ONLY $90/hr. plus knocked off a couple items on the list as well.  Still a healthy bill but it could have been worse for sure. 

We were finished up by 1:30 then drove over to our planned campground, Yuma Lakes.  Alright, only inconvenienced two days and back to a more normal life.  While we were setting up we saw Carl, Brenda and Mike/Linda who were at Quartzsite with us and got here on time the day before while we were at the service center. 

Friday morning I pulled our reverse osmosis filter elements and had them checked at the place we bought them years ago.  They flushed and checked them and said they are still about 80% so no need to do a big day long back flush on them.  I purchased a couple of the other filters we use and drove back to our place.  

Later we headed out to visit the Arizona Marketplace, a big swap meet with lots of vendors.  This is a big draw for the RVers who come to Yuma and we usually go at least once every year.  Shortly after we got there I got a call from Richard, he and Patsy had driven down for the day and we met up with them at the swap meet.  After walking the different isles and seeing everything we wanted, we had a late lunch/early dinner with them before they drove back to Quartzsite.  Good to see you two, hope everything works out ok at your service in Phoenix this week. 

After we got back to our rig, Brenda and Carl stopped by for a visit.  We thought about watching a movie or playing games but just had a good, quiet visit, nice. 

Saturday Lorraine and Brenda took off on a shopping trip, I had a couple items I needed to work on and was trying to get one of our vent fans to work when Carl stopped by to help.  After checking everything I could with my limited electrical ability with no luck I decided to wait and tackle it another day.  Carl and I walked to the office to check on dinner that night (nothing here) then walked back to our rigs.  I was surprised to see that fan was running when we got back, I must have “fixed” it while moving wires and such.

After the gals got back from shopping, we decided to head over to one of the casinos for some slot play and have dinner.  We ended up at at the Q and we all had their Saturday night prime rib dinner special.  Lorraine was the only winner at the slots but everyone enjoyed the dinner and we had a good visit while eating too. 

Normally we write and publish our blog on Sunday but I sort of forgot to do that yesterday morning.  It was about noon when I called our friends who now live here, TJ and Sharon and suggested we drive to their house for a visit.  They were home and told us to come on over.  I’ve known TJ for years, used to work with him at the refinery back in Washington in fact.  We were surprised when a mutual friend invited them to our rig to watch the Super Bowl a few years back.  They have a lot here that supported two coaches and we’ve stayed at their lot while here three different years.  They have since bought and moved into a house but still own their lot and told us we could stay there if we wanted again this year.  Thanks for the offer but unless something happens and we need to be here longer than expected, we don’t think we will take you up on your kind offer this year. 

After our nice visit with them, we stopped for dinner at the Golden Coral buffet.  I don’t know if we’ve been to one of these before but it was a pretty good dinner, they had cooked to order steak at one station along with the normal salads and other foods and of course, the desert station too.  I think we both got our fill while there for sure.

The weather has been really nice this past week once again, highs into the mid 70s and lows dropping to the high 40s, not bad for January.  But it started raining last night, supposed to clear out today and get nice again this afternoon with only cloudy skies forecast for the next few days.  I think we can take that.  I have an icon on my laptop that shows temperature and weather conditions and have one for Kenai, Alaska, one for San Jose and one for Bellingham, Wash.  Boy does it rain often in Bellingham, ha. 

We still don’t have our travel plans set yet.  We can only stay here for a week using our RPI membership and may need to stay for a few more days after our time is up on Thursday.  We have a coupon good for three free days at a campground on the other side of town and may go there if needed, we’ll see.  After that, we are thinking of heading to Lake Havasu or Bullhead City for most of the month of February but nothing set up yet. 

I’ll add some pictures now and get this posted, Lorraine took a bunch of the rig being towed so I’m sure I’ll pick out some and add them here too. 

Dave and Sandy stopped by for a quick visit.  Ronnie and Kathie from Texas, the newbies at Quartzsite this year. 

  

The sunset one evening.  Lorraine and I standing in front of our coach. 

  

Another gathering of the folks at Quartzsite. 

  

Another evening sunset. 

  

  

One of the two fire pits set up most nights. 

  

Getting the coach on the trailer.  I’m trying to get out without a ladder on the right. 

  

All ready for travel.

  

  

On the road on the left, starting to unload on the right. 

  

  

Back on firm ground once again and no damage from the tow, yea. 

  

Some of the fields of vegetables grown here around Yuma.

  

  

  

Another evening sunset, this one from our site here at Yuma Lakes campground. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

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