Thursday - February 1 - The weather is consistent - sunny and warm. Last week John golfed with a fellow from Oregon and in the course of the conversation it came up that his father-in-law had fought at Vimy Ridge and his wife is trying to find out more about Vimy and her father.

They came over this afternoon and John had done some searching on the web and found some information on her father - i.e. his papers when he signed up etc., so he had a CD for her with some information on it. She also had some information on other relatives who had been at Vimy so John managed to find some info on them also for her. He and Mary spent some time on the computer with John showing her where to find further information and George and I chatted. It was an interesting afternoon and very pleasant. John also cleaned up her computer for her and downloaded an anti-virus program so I think they went away happy.

George & Mary are renting a house from a couple who have an RV in the park, they have never RV’d before but seemed quite impressed with the Airstream and said it is the first RV they have seen that they think they could live in for any length of time. Obviously they have good taste!!

Wednesday - January 31 - The weather was nice today but the wind was a bit cool, still we can’t complain and Dave said he heard it is supposed to be in the 80’s next week.

I talked to my mom this morning and the retirement home where she lives has put everyone in quarantine because of the flu epidemic. I hope she doesn’t get the flu and that the quarantine doesn’t last too long as it wouldn’t be fun having to stay in the room all the time with no one able to visit or being able to go out.

Today we went to Cocopah Casino with Janet & Dave. Wednesdays are 55+ days and you get a coupon book with various coupons. We used the coupon to buy $10 in quarters and then got $5 in tokens. That was my spending money for the afternoon and I managed to amuse myself for a couple of hours on it but didn’t win anything. John put 25 cents in a machine and won about $10 so used that for spending money. Janet put 25 cents in a machine and won $45 and Dave was like me and enjoyed spending his money without winning anything! They had a buffet until 5 p.m. and one of the coupons was for $3 off the buffet so we ate for $4.75 each and it was very good. We also used the coupon for a 50 cent draft beer, so all in all it was a fun afternoon.

We checked out another golf course on the way home but the club house was closed so Dave is going to check it out. The couple behind us said this course has a special in the morning with 9 holes and breakfast or 9 and dine in the afternoon. It is a municipal course and looked quite nice so will see if we can get a tee time.

On the way home we stopped at Wal Mart briefly and that was it for today.

Tuesday - January 30 - We woke up to cloud - it was completely overcast. We went off for golf wearing wind breakers and then the sun came out and it was lovely and warm - sure do like their version of rain and cold!

Enjoyed the golf and played better than last week. This afternoon we had the couple behind us over for a drink around 4 - had a nice visit. That was it for the day, nothing else exciting.

Monday - January 29 – Another beautiful day, I wish this weather would last year round wherever we are – nice and warm but not too hot and no humidity!! I went down for water aerobics this morning and had a good workout which I really enjoyed. When I came back I tidied up after my shower and then we had lunch – real exciting.

This afternoon we went out for a bit and then after we got back I did a load of laundry – by then the day was gone – sure don’t know where the time goes but it does seem to fly by. It is supposed to be cloudy with showers the next two days, we will see. Sure hope we can get the golfing in tomorrow morning!

Sunday – January 28 – Today was warm but mainly overcast. I did some cleaning and got as much ready for dinner as possible before we went golfing and John cleaned the truck, now we have a clean trailer and truck.

We played the par 3 this afternoon with Janet & Dave and I had a good game for a change, then we came back here for dinner. All in all it was a nice day. I talked to Kel this morning but Nan wasn’t home and I didn’t get a chance to call her back so hopefully tomorrow night we will connect as it is too late to call her now.

Saturday – January 27 – We are still enjoying nice weather, sure hope it stays this way. Today was rather quiet, I did some laundry (no waiting today, thank goodness) then we went out for a bit this afternoon. We bought a memory foam for the mattress so it will be interesting to see how that works. Our mattress isn’t too bad but I thought the memory foam should make it just that much more comfortable, sure hope so.

I talked to a few people today, as the weekend is the cheap time to call with our phone plan, but I didn’t talk to Nan & Kel so that is for tomorrow.

Friday – January 26 – The weather is consistent – gorgeous! We left about 10 this morning to drive up to Quartzsite and it was a real busy spot again. We wandered around and checked out a lot of places but in the end I bought a pair of earrings and John bought a socket and extension – real exciting!!

We got back just before 6 and stopped at Fry’s to get some groceries and as usual it was a zoo, but when we went to check out it wasn’t as busy so we managed to get out without having to wait in a long line. They are building a new Wal Mart just down the road so I imagine Fry’s will be a different story next year as I am sure Wal Mart will slow them down a lot.

When we got back I was wiped so laid down for a ½ hour then we got supper ready. We had a late lunch and weren’t real hungry when we got back so a late dinner worked out well. I think it will be off to bed shortly. I have been having problems with my wi-fi going out all the time so John e-mailed the fellow we bought the computer from and he suggested a fix so John did it tonight and it seems to be working okay again – here’s hoping.

Thursday – January 25 – Another beautiful day, I love it that it isn’t even cool until after 8 p.m. or so, up until the last couple of days as soon as the sun started to go down the jackets came out.

John spent the morning polishing the trailer then we headed out shortly after noon to go over to Cocopah and go golfing with Janet & Dave. I definitely didn’t have a good day, should have stayed home and played tiddly winks! We went back to Janet & Dave’s for dinner and the evening which was very enjoyable. I am beat and my bed is looking very good.

Wednesday – January 24 – The weather is consistent, love it. We left about 9 to go to Mexico and get my glasses, they were ready so we were in and out of the store in no time and in line to come back to the States at 10:10 and it was still 45 minutes to get back. I was going to buy a bottle of Kahlua but they don’t sell liquor in Mexico until 11:00 a.m. and we sure weren’t going to hang around waiting for that and watch the line to come back get longer!

This afternoon I went down to do one load of laundry – 3 hours later it was done, what an effort in frustration!! I should have just forgot about it but that would have been too easy, so instead I sat it out. Oh well, I am retired, what else do I have to do!

Tuesday – January 23 – Okay, this weather can stay – it is just beautiful, sunny and warm. Today was golf and as usual it was a lot of fun. There were 46 today and wouldn’t you know it, I drew an Ace and John a Jack so I was the first team off and he was the last – lots of sitting and waiting on both ends! They had 2 teams with 5 to make up the 2 extras rather than doing one with just 2.

We stopped and got propane on the way home and other than that didn’t do too much. We went for a walk around the park late in the afternoon but that was it for the day.

Monday – January 22 – Today was another nice day but still windy and when it was time to go to the pool for exercises it was only about 46F so I didn’t go – wussy again! We decided to leave Mexico until Wednesday so went and got groceries this afternoon as this is the only day until Saturday we don’t have anything happening.

Other than getting the groceries it has been a quiet day and nothing exciting happening. I have started another book – I read 3 last week so I have to either slow down or I will be out looking for more books soon. I haven’t checked out the library here yet but hopefully they will have a good selection.

Sunday – January 21 – Well, today was reality day – I had to accept the fact that the good fairy, Molly Maid or whatever wasn’t going to appear and that I was going to have to do the cleaning myself – bummer!!!! So, guess what I did today – cleaning. John did the bathroom for which I am eternally grateful.

Other than that it was not an exciting day. I threw the entrance way mat outside this morning when I was cleaning then realized tonight I hadn’t brought it in, we had to do a hunt and search for it as it was quite windy today, John finally found it behind the tires!! Other than the fact we have a clean house it was a quiet day. I read another book – that’s 3 books this week, I think that is a record for me. We haven’t decided what we are going to do for sure tomorrow, but I think perhaps we will go back to Mexico and see if my sun glasses are ready.

Saturday – January 20 – Today was a nice sunny day and warm so we really enjoyed it. We went to the Quartzsite RV show today with Janet & Dave, sure were a lot of people there and an enormous tent with all kinds of booths, as well as the usual vendors. When we got there Beaudry RV had their huge tent and were again serving free lunch – hot dogs, potato salad, beans, all kinds of drinks and to die for cookies. We of course had lunch to give us sustenance to shop all afternoon!

It was fun wandering around but on the whole we find the prices at the Yuma market cheaper than at Quartzsite. I did buy a denim Capri set and a really nice, fancy short sleeved top but that was it. We tried to find 3i Communications but couldn’t find their booth, which was disappointing. It was after 6 when we got back so we stopped here so Janet & Dave could get their truck then we all went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. All in all it was a good day but I am beat from all the walking and standing.

Friday – January 19 – Today was partly cloudy, and cool when the sun wasn’t out. It was a quiet day, I did laundry this morning then this afternoon we went to the market for a bit. Other than that it was a day for reading and relaxing.

Thursday – January 18 – Today was another nice day but still kind of cool. We picked Janet & Dave up about 9 and went to Mexico. It was a couple of hours to get our glasses, then it ended up that one of the lenses on my sun glasses broke so now it’s back next week to get them. I also think that one lens on the glasses I got today isn’t right so will have to have that checked next week also.

The line coming back wasn’t as bad as last week then all of a sudden they announced that people with passports were to go to another door – sure made it quick for us when they did that! We went back to Janet & Dave’s for a late lunch and got home shortly after 5. We stopped on the way home and I got an appointment for 6:15 to get my hair cut so went back and got that done – one less thing to worry about doing tomorrow.

I had an e-mail this morning from a couple we know from Can-Am who were leaving Donna Texas on Monday and heading for Arizona. They got to Boerne, which is about 40 miles east of San Antonio, and are storm stayed there with 20 degree temperatures and two days of freezing rain. They have now decided to head back to the Rio Grande area of Texas and pass on Arizona for this year. We are disappointed that we won’t be seeing them but I can’t blame them, the weather in Texas has been really bad this year but I guess the Rio Grande area isn’t as bad as further north. Hopefully the normal Arizona weather will return soon!

Wednesday – January 17 – Today was a beaut day, it was sunny and got up to about 70 and the wind has calmed down again. Hopefully the trend continues! I didn’t go for exercises though as at 9:00 it was still only 39, just couldn’t bring myself to get into my bathing suit and head for the pool when it was that cold, but with any luck Friday will be warmer.

John went and got the work done on the truck this morning and I fiddled, faddled around – did a bit of cleaning but not much. He got back about noon so after lunch I went over to get a couple of things for dinner and stopped to see if I could get my hair cut – boy were they busy, I will have to try again. We asked Bob and Denise, the couple we met at Green Acre, down for a drink this afternoon so had a good visit with them. It turns out they were in Casa Grande at the same time as us, we were just at different parks. They are leaving here on Friday and going to Quartzsite for a week or so, they are meeting up with friends and going to boon dock there. We haven’t tried the boon docking yet, don’t know how anxious I am to do it as it would mean having to go without my daily shower and I know John would be grimacing every time I turned on a tap – is it worth it?

Tuesday – January 16 – Today was another cool day but not as cool and windy as yesterday – hopefully the weather is improving!! When we were heading out this morning to go golfing John turned to go around the block and there was a Winnebago motor home in the overflow area and as we went by I noticed it had Ontario licence plates so we went around the block for another look and it turns out it is the couple who were beside us at Green Acre in Waterloo. We stopped and chatted for a few minutes and will stop tomorrow and have a visit as it was after 6 when we got back today.

The golf was fun and after that we did some shopping so it made for a long day. On the way back John stopped at the Dodge dealer and made an appointment for 9 a.m. tomorrow to have the 24,000 km service done. I think I will pass on that trip and stay home and if I am really ambitious will get some cleaning done, but somehow, it isn’t top priority if I can possibly find something else to do. We stopped at Albertson’s on the other side of town and as we were getting out of the truck a couple went by and asked where we were from – it turns out they are from Seaforth - small world. A lot of Ontario people we meet are from northern Ontario – a fellow today at the golf course was from Thunder Bay but we find there are few southern Ontario people here.

Monday – January 15 – Today was the same weather – cool and windy. I had e-mails from our girls and my sister and it sounds like our weather here wasn’t so bad after all – the schools and universities in K/W were closed, my sister teaches in Paris and didn’t make it to school today and my daughter said their school in Port Perry was open but the buses didn’t run so things were pretty quiet. My other daughter said I had to be kidding if I thought she wouldn’t have to go to work! As long as she made it there and back safely that is the main thing.

We went golfing and it was a very LONG course, even with carts it took us almost 5 hours to play 18 holes as there was a lot of travelling between holes. As soon as the sun started to go down it got very cool and with the wind we were downright chilled by the time we got done. We came back here and had a good dinner and a nice evening, John helped Dave get an anti virus program on his computer and Janet and I did the usual – chin wagged!!

We are just watching the news and the overnight low is to be between 26 and 33, far too cold to suit us but again we could be home where it is a lot colder. Hopefully it won’t be too cold for golfing tomorrow – at least it is only 9 holes – I don’t think I could do more than that after today.

Sunday – January 14 – Today was another cool day. I talked to the kids today, as well as a couple of friends and yesterday I talked to my mom and sister so I am all caught up on what’s happening.

I did a load of laundry then we went out for a bit, that was the excitement for today. I think we are getting too settled in here!

Saturday – January 13 – Today was way too COLD – even though it was sunny the high was only 50!! I did some cleaning then this afternoon we went out shopping for a bit – a truly exciting day! I want to try making Margaritas but to me they seem like a hot weather drink – hopefully it will warm up enough to try them in the next few days!

Friday – January 12 – Wow, what a lazy day. It was cool and windy when we woke up so I didn’t go for exercises, then didn’t like myself afterwards! This morning I ordered some cheques and booked a golf game at Coyote Wash in Welton for Monday and this afternoon I did a load of washing, that was it for being productive for the day.

John picked up a couple of Trailer Life Magazines at the Laundromat so we read them and just vegged, not an exciting day at all! There is a new Law & Order on in a bit so we will watch that.

Thursday – January 11 – Today was another beautiful day and a good day to go to Mexico. Talk about a busy place, they sure do have a lot of people going over every day. We had to wait 2 hours in line to get back, actually John and Dave stood in line and Janet and I joined a lot of other people sitting on the curb waiting till they got even with us then we got in line with them. I got my Kahlua for $8.50 for a litre – can’t go wrong at that price. I also bought a 375 ml bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila for $2 and a bottle of Margarita Mix so will try making Margaritas. Janet, Dave and I all bought glasses so we go back next Wednesday or Thursday to pick them up.

We came back and went to Applebees for dinner then had a cup of tea back at Janet & Dave’s before coming home. It has been a long day, I am sure I will sleep well tonight!

The weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse and get colder over night along with wind, somehow I don’t think tomorrow will be a pool day!

Wednesday – January 10 – Today has been overcast and cooler. I really debated about going for water aerobics as it was only about 50 at 9:15 but decided I didn’t want to look like a wuss so I got up my nerve and went. I thought it would be a much smaller group this morning because of the weather – WRONG – there were 25 of us there, guess everyone decided not to look wussy. The water is really nice and warm so it is actually quite nice, it is just the thought of it when it is so cool.

This afternoon I went over to the plaza and got my pedis cured – a much needed job done as I haven’t had them done since Waterloo! After that I went to the grocery store to check out this week’s specials and pick up a few things. A case of water was $2.99 so I got one and will have to get another one before next Monday, eggs were $1/dozen and butter was $2/lb. Sure can’t find those prices at home!! I also got a dozen Buds for $7.99, don’t know how great a deal that was but I think a six pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade which I bought for $5.99 was a good deal. Anyways, that has been my excitement for the day, we are still waiting for our cleaner for the trailer to come – it will probably come tomorrow when we aren’t here!

We hear there was snow in Ontario today, sorry we are missing it, and the weather in the west is unspeakable, sure am glad that we are fortunate enough to be here and enjoying this nice weather. Even though I appear to complain about it when it is cool, I still realize that it is better than at home and am thankful that we can enjoy it.

Tuesday – January 9 – Today was another nice day weather wise and a great day for golfing. There were 30 golfers today and the way they do it is you draw a card and then play with the person who has the other card of the same colour & number. I drew the 2 of diamonds so my partner was Bill who drew the 2 of hearts and we played with the two women who drew the black twos. It was a lot of fun and cheap - $10 each for 9 holes!

In my foursome 3 of us were Canadians and in John’s they were all Canadians. John’s partner was from Fonthill, but most of the other Canadians are from B.C., Alberta or Saskatchewan. For them to come down here is about the same distance as for us to go to Florida but you don’t see a lot from Ontario here as it is so far. We came back and I got the laundry done and the couple behind us, who had told us about the golf, asked us over for a drink. All in all, it has been a nice day.

Monday – January 8 – Another nice day and while I was at water aerobics this morning the people next door came over and apologized for parking in our spot.

There were 23 at water aerobics this morning so a full pool – Betty gave us a good workout and I always feel better after doing them. This afternoon we went out shopping for a bit – nothing too exciting.

Sunday – January 7 – Today was the same weather as yesterday, nice but a cool wind. We met Janet and Dave at the market this afternoon and spent a couple of hours wandering around there, then went back to their place for dinner. We had salmon, chicken, sweet potatoes, salad and veggie – yummy, also lemon pie for desert.

We have been lucky in that there has been no one on our curb side since we got here, but when we got back tonight we found we now have a neighbour and he had parked his truck in our spot. Fortunately it wasn’t late so John went and asked him to move his truck and he was quite indignant as he wanted to park on our side and argued that that was his parking spot. I imagine he will be off to the office first thing in the morning to complain and they can explain to him that you always park your vehicle on the curb side, which only makes sense, but maybe this guy hasn’t done too much camping! Even worse, he is Canadian (but from Manitoba so maybe they don’t park the same way there!).

Today was nice and sunny but there was still a cool wind. This afternoon we went to the Arizona market then to Fry’s to get groceries – a real exciting day. I don’t know where the time goes but it does seem to fly by even though we don’t sound like we are real busy.

Yesterday we picked up a modem and now have internet through a dedicated radio signal rather than the typical wi-fi thing. We are really pleased with it and now don’t have to worry about whether or not we can get logged on to the system in the park or anything else that might be available. We had to pay $50 for the modem this year, and have to return it when we leave, but when we come back next year we don’t have to pay again for the modem, just go in and sign up. It’s funny, some parks have real good wi-fi and even better a lot of them are free, but here in Arizona it seems that there are no free ones and anything the parks here offer are expensive, slow, and sometimes non-existent which is truly frustrating. We are going to take it to Cocopah tomorrow when we go to Janet & Dave’s for dinner to see if it works there, the fellow said it had an 18 mile range so we will see. Dave & Janet signed up for the internet at their park and can never get on it so aren’t too happy.

Friday – January 5 – Happy Birthday Carl, hope it was a good one.

Janet & Dave picked us up about 10 this morning to go to Quartzsite. The weather was fine when we left but the wind picked up and by the time we got there it was VERY windy and quite cool. A lot of the vendors had closed because of the wind so it wasn’t as good a day there as we had hoped. We found that if we were in the wrong spot facing the wrong way we would get a face full of dirt – not nice! We will go back again in a few weeks but will make sure it is a calm day when we go. The wind was really blowing around in the desert on the way back, it almost looked like it was foggy, but fortunately there was no blowing dirt across the road so the driving was good.

I had put a pot roast in the slow cooker before we left so it was an easy meal. Janet and Dave left about 8:30 as Dave has a dentist appointment tomorrow morning in Algadones so it will be an early start for them. We decided not to go with them tomorrow but will go over some time in the next week or so as I want to check out the price of new glasses.

Thursday – January 4 – Today was a nice quiet day. We went out shopping for a bit this afternoon and I did a load of laundry – real exciting. We looked into an internet hookup for while we are here and hopefully we can get it going within the next couple of days because anything that we’ve tried here so far is real hit and miss which is totally frustrating.

John got my humming bird feeder hung so now hopefully we can enjoy the humming birds.

Wednesday – January 3 – Today was another nice day. This morning I went down for water aerobics at 9:30, it was only 56 degrees when I went down but the water is nice and warm and after a bit of exercising it felt hot! Betty put us through a good work out which felt good.

This afternoon John and I played a game of golf. We went to a nice par 3 course, which is all we wanted to do for the first time out in ages, and it was okay, my putting ruined my score but I did par one hole so that was encouraging. At the park here they have a mix every Tuesday at this par 3 course so I think we will sign up for next week, might as well jump right in as if we wait for our game to improve we will probably never play! After all the exercise I should sleep well tonight!

Tuesday – January 2 – Today was a nice day but windy again. We did some cleaning and laundry and went out shopping for a bit. We had to get a couple of cement blocks to put under the rear jacks as it really drops off at the back of the trailer. John had been using the leveling blocks until we could get the cement blocks.

Janet & Dave came for dinner and we had a nice evening. They got held up coming over here as there was a motor home on fire on the highway. They showed a picture of it on the news last night and it looked like an old motor home, never the less, it would be heartbreaking to lose your RV like that.

I can’t get an internet connection tonight, hopefully I will be able to get this posted tomorrow.

Monday – January 1 – Well, here it is 2007 – Happy New Year everyone! Today was another nice day, we headed over to Cocopah about 4 and had a great dinner and evening with Janet & Dave. They arrived today and said they would never travel over the holiday season again, apparently the traffic all through California was wicked, lots of accidents and traffic jams.

We went to Red Lobster and had a good dinner, then back to their place for tea and Christmas cake. That was it for our first day of 2007.

Sunday - December 31 – Today was another beautiful sunny day. This morning John cleaned some windows, now we can see out again, and I got organized inside.

This afternoon we went to the Arizona market which is a huge place, we had lunch there then wandered around for a couple of hours. I got a new sweatshirt and the type of dishcloths I wanted – last of the big time spenders! Oh yes, we got another cactus garden as we do enjoy the cacti and Franneca, I promise not to drop this one on you to look after!

After the market we went out to Cocopah to see if Janet & Dave had arrived but they haven’t come in early so guess they won’t arrive until tomorrow. On the way home we stopped at Fry’s for a couple of groceries, now it is time to think about dinner.

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year’s Eve!!! We are going to have shrimp and champagne to bring in the New Year.

Saturday – December 30 – Today was gorgeous, a clear blue sky and it got up to about 70. We arrived in Yuma about 2:30 and were not happy with the site they had given us, it was against a wooden fence with the road and railroad right behind. The site was very short, we would have been against the fence at the back and practically on the road at the front – not good! We made noises about leaving so the woman said they had just had a cancellation but the spot was supposed to be kept for people staying 3 months, but she gave it to us and we are very happy with it.

The people behind us are from Calgary and beside us are from Ohio and they seem very friendly, the woman from Ohio has lymphodema also, she noticed my sleeve right away but says her arm isn’t too bad, I will have to talk to her more about it but at the time we were talking we were also getting parked so not good for a long discussion.

We are hoping Janet and Dave will arrive tomorrow and we can spend New Year’s Eve together, if not then hopefully we can do New Years day dinner. Today was our family dinner at my brother’s and we are sorry we are missing it, I am sure the meal would be wonderful and hopefully everyone enjoyed it.

Friday – December 29 – Today was a quiet day. John went out this morning and got propane then this afternoon we went out and bought a humming bird feeder in the hopes of attracting some humming birds while we are in Yuma. I got all the Christmas decorations put away today and we are now road ready again.

The weather today was cool and partly over cast, we hope it warms up in Yuma.

Thursday – December 28 – I woke up a couple of times during the night to hear rain on the trailer and it rained until about 10 this morning, then the sun came out a bit around noon, but it has been a cool day.

We talked to Janet & Dave last night and they had cleared the mountains in California so hopefully will be in Yuma by the end of the week, we’re looking forward to seeing them again. Janet said the weather has been awful, rain, rain, and more rain.

This afternoon we went into town for a bit, went to Office Max and checked out this week’s specials at Fry’s. They have a good sale on pork loin roasts and ribs, but they hadn’t come in yet so I couldn’t get any. They will have the same sale in Yuma so can get them there.

I have started reading Texas by James Michener, it is 1300+ pages so that should keep me out of trouble, if I can get into it.

Wednesday – December 27 – Today was coolish and overcast, not like the nice sunny days we were so enjoying. Today was a good e-mail day, lots of e-mail which I love. I did some laundry and cleaning then this afternoon we decided to go and get a few groceries.

We stopped by the park where Shirley & Harry Jacobi (a couple from Green Acres Kincardine) are and Harry had just gone out but Shirley was there so we had a very nice visit. She was surprised to see us as she hadn’t realized we were in the area and Harry came back just as we were ready to leave so had a short visit with him also. It was quite funny as Harry’s daughter Jennifer called while we were there and as I know her Shirley handed me the phone. Jennifer was quite surprised when she heard who it was but we had a nice chat.

After our visit we went and got groceries then came home and guess what, just after we got back it started to rain. The barbecuer got lucky as it wasn’t really raining hard when he was out cooking dinner, but as he said, wouldn’t you know it. It seems to be raining off and on, but somebody said tomorrow is supposed to be quite cool – how special.

Tuesday – December 26 – Today was another beautiful warm sunny day. We were listening to the CBC this morning and found out something new – there is no Boxing Day in the U.S., it is only celebrated in some of the Commonwealth countries. I knew that Christmas in the States is not the occasion it is at home, the big holiday here is Thanksgiving, but hadn’t realized that they didn’t celebrate Boxing Day. Guess we won’t have to worry about the throngs of post Christmas shoppers looking for the sales here like we would at home.

Today we got a storm door for the trailer – when we were at Cape Hatteras in October 2005 a couple of other trailers had plexiglass cut to fit over their screens, effectively giving them a way of leaving the screen door open but keeping out the wind. We thought it was a great idea but just never got around to doing anything about it till today. At Lowes we found the plexiglass and they even cut it to size so now we can open the door and still keep out the cool breeze – wonderful!

Tonight we had leftover turkey etc. for dinner then enjoyed the Highwaymen DVD Nan and family gave us for Christmas. All in all it was another nice day.

Monday – December 25 – And again, a Merry Christmas everyone, hope it was a wonderful day for all. We enjoyed talking to all our family and again thanks all for the Christmas presents, the barbecue we have been enjoying since we left in November and all the candy will surely add some inches to the waistline! We missed everyone but were glad we got to talk to all of you.

Today was a gorgeous day, a clear blue sky and in the low 70’s – perfect weather as far as I am concerned. We didn’t do anything too exciting, sat out and enjoyed the sun this afternoon and read. I picked up a few good books at the library here so am trying to get them finished before we leave. All the parks we have been in have libraries so it isn’t hard to find a good book to read. John wrapped up his copy of Texas by James Michener for me for Christmas so I will have to tackle that before we return to Texas in a couple of months. We are waiting for the turkey to finish then will enjoy our Christmas feast. Again hope everyone had a wonderful day and a great Christmas dinner. Miss you all but it was good talking to you.

Lots of Lights 

Road Lined With Candles 

Some Pretty Christmas Lights 

Sunday – December 24 – Merry Christmas, it was good talking to everyone today and getting caught up. Today was a warm, sunny day – perfect. We went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast and were pleasantly surprised that it was only about a 10 minute wait. After breakfast we stopped at Home Depot, Beall’s and Ace Hardware – real exciting. The stores here weren’t too busy considering tomorrow is Christmas, I expect all the shopping gets done the weekend after Thanksgiving when they have all the sales! We checked out the municipal golf course which looks nice but was quite busy, we will try to get a tee time sometime next week.

We keep taking different routes around Casa Grande and can’t believe the number of new subdivisions being built, it would appear that this place is going to double in population in the next couple of years. I would guess that perhaps a lot of people are coming from the Phoenix or Tucson area as the homes are large family type homes, not small retirement type homes. Most of them have signs saying they start from $200,000 so not cheap either. It is funny, most of the new subdivisions have people standing in front waving signs to the new development, like that would make you go in and check it out!

A lot of people in the park put out candles in paper bags today so tonight we went for a walk to see the lights and it was very pretty. Some people have really decorated their trailers as well as the trees etc. John took some pictures so hopefully they will turn out and I can post a couple. The white bags were much brighter than the brown ones, but all in all it was very pretty.

Saturday – December 23 – This morning was cold and foggy, but about 11 the fog burned off, the sun came out and it turned into a nice day. I did some laundry this morning so am good now till after Christmas. John replaced the opener on the screen door today, now it will be much easier to open and everyone won’t be asking how they get out! He did a few odds and ends and we both just puttered around.

We had thought we could avoid the stores until after Christmas but John needed some screws so we went to Loews and surprisingly it wasn’t busy. They had all their Christmas stuff marked 50% off but there sure wasn’t much left. We came back and did our Christmas picture to send to the kids and family, now hopefully they will send us some pictures of them together for Christmas.

Friday – December 22 – Well, what crappy weather! I thought it was going to get sunny so put out a jar of sun tea, next thing I know it is overcast and then it’s raining, not nice!! We went out this afternoon and got propane and groceries so now we are good till after Christmas. We took a different way back today and saw some nice new subdivisions and found a Safeway grocery store, so now there are lots of options for groceries.

There is a company who will come into the park and fill your propane tank for $31, today we found a RV store and got it filled for $15.90, big difference! We also got a couple of odds and ends we needed, so all in all a good stop.

It was still drizzling when we got back so John had to bbq in the rain – he said it reminded him of home! Wouldn’t you know that last night when it was nice we had pasta for dinner so he didn’t have to bbq – quess I know how to pick them.

Thursday – December 21 – Today was another nice sunny day and warm in the sun but the wind was cool. We had a quiet day, John cleaned the truck and trailer and I went over and found the library. I got a couple of books, then spent the afternoon doing a bit of crocheting and reading. Real exciting!

Wednesday – December 20 – Today was sunny but still cool, only the mid 50’s but it is supposed to get warmer every day. Today I did a major cleaning and John washed the trailer, the little bit of rain we got on Sunday seemed to be filled with dirt and left the trailer filthy. We went out for a bit this afternoon, nothing too exciting.

I stopped at Beall’s outlet, lots of good buys but you need time to poke through stuff and try it on and that is not something that is done with John in tow. I will go in by myself some day and take my time wandering around.

There is an article in the paper today about a neighbourhood in Gilbert (a suburb of Phoenix) and all their Christmas lights. The homes are multi-million dollar colonial-style houses and apparently each year neighbours try to outdo each other. They even have extra electrical boxes to keep up with the surge of power from the displays. We will have to try and get up and find this area, it sounds quite interesting.

Tuesday – December 19 – Today was laundry day so I got that done this morning, it cost $5.00 to wash and dry 3 loads, I can’t complain about that. It was nice this morning but clouded over this afternoon and cooled off.

We did a bit of shopping this afternoon and Fry’s had some good deals, so now my freezer is like the proverbial turkey – stuffed! Now, for everyone’s laugh for the day – I was asked for I.D. at Wal-Mart when checking out with some wine and beer!!!! I think the poor cashier needs her eyes checked but I walked out of there like I was walking on a cloud! John was not impressed. That was it for the day, we came back and had wings, Caesar salad and garlic bread for dinner – decadent.

Monday – December 18 – Today was a nice day, mostly sunny but a bit on the cool side still. We went for our free coffee and donut at 9 this morning and I was amazed, the room was packed! They have coffee & donuts every Monday morning (except for Christmas & New Years) and they make the weeks announcements at this time. We sat with a couple from B.C. and it turns out she has a sister living in Orangeville! This is a very friendly park, everyone speaks to you, I think it is the friendliest park we have ever been in. Most of the people here are seasonal and I think most of them have been coming for quite a long time, this is the 14^th year for the couple from B.C.

After coffee we headed up to Phoenix and went to Ikea, Camping World, Best Buy and had lunch. I finally found a footstool at Ikea that is not too large so am looking forward to being able to get my feet up again when I am reading or watching TV!

What a busy place Phoenix and the surrounding cities are, and so large, we came back through the country and it was a nice drive and not as busy as the interstate. We saw lots of cotton fields and lots of saguaros which I find so fascinating as each one is a different shape. We saw some bales of cotton in the fields but most of it has been taken off to the gin for processing. All in all it was a very pleasant day.

Saturday we bought a Santa and a candy cane that light up for the two windows that don’t open (the one by the dinette and the one by the door) so we have at least a bit of Christmas decoration. We also have Grandmas little ceramic Christmas tree on the dinette table, and the Swarovski snowman on the window sill, but unfortunately it is hard to find places to put decorations in here. We also have a couple of sparkly stars hanging but that is about it for decorations. Oh well, better than nothing and we can walk around the park and enjoy everyone else’s decorations!

Sunday – December 17 – Today was overcast and it actually sprinkled a few time, a lady told John this morning that this is the first rain in 65 days, and the little bit we got wouldn’t do a lot of good. It was cool today but is supposed to warm up again by mid week.

We had a quiet day, I read and John worked on an article to send Derrick re his great, great grandfather’s service during WW1. Derrick is going to Vimy in April and has to do a project on someone who fought during the first world war.

Saturday – December 16 – We had a good drive to Casa Grande but lots of traffic through Tucson. We heard on the news the other night that as of June 2007 they are closing all the I-10 exits through Tucson while they widen the highway and this will take 4 YEARS!! It sounds crazy but apparently to do the construction without closing the interchanges would take 10 years so they decided to bite the bullet and do it the quick? way

We are at Val Vista Winter Resort and it is very nice, when we arrived we got a large package in a folder with all kinds of information, name tags which they request you wear when walking around or going to activities and a coupon for free coffee and donuts on Monday morning.

After we got set up we went into town and had lunch at Pizza Hut then toured around a bit. Casa Grande is a lot larger than we thought, and very spread out, but it seems like a nice place. Hopefully we will enjoy our two weeks here. The evening news says there is a cold storm blowing into the valley – just our luck as today was so beautiful, sunny and in the high 70’s and at 10:00 p.m. it is still in the 60’s!

And More Rock Formations 

China Boy 

More of the Rock Formations 

Looking Across to Meadows 

Rock Formations 

House at Faraway Ranch 

Cochise Stronghold 

Sunset at Cochise Terrace 

Friday – December 15 – Today was absolutely beautiful, sunny and warm. We decided to drive over to the Wilcox area as we didn’t do that when we were here in January. We took the Dragoon Road, then picked up a scenic route which circled around to Wilcox. We stopped at Cochise Stronghold where the Apache Indians, led by Cochise, fought the U.S. soldiers for over 20 years in the mid to late 1800’s. It is very rugged country and I sure wouldn’t want to be tracking through it fighting Indians!

We then went to Chiricahua National Monument, Land of Standing Up Rocks, which is a National Park and it was spectacular. First we stopped at Faraway Ranch where Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson settled in 1888. By the 1920’s their daughter Lillian and her husband Ed Riggs had turned the homestead into a guest ranch which ran from the 1920’s to 1973, at which time it was turned into a National Monument. Unfortunately, the house was closed today but I was able to peek into a few windows and it looked very nice and comfortable.

After visiting the house when we went to get back into the truck there were tons of bees swarming the truck so John got in and I walked around to the other end of the parking area to get picked up. Poor John, a couple got into the truck with him and one crawled up his pant leg and stung him - but he got it back and it won’t be stinging anyone else!!

From there we went to the Visitor’s Centre, then did an 8 mile drive to the top of the mountain, Massai Point, to see the rock formations – absolutely breathtaking. The rock formations are unbelievable, and so many different shapes, it is hard to believe that they continue to stand piled up on top of each other like they are. At Massai Point there is 360 degree view of Rhyolite Canyon, surrounding mountain peaks and adjacent valleys.

We then came back through Wilcox, which we weren’t impressed with, and picked up I-10 to Benson where stopped for fuel and some groceries. We came into Benson one way and went out another and lo and behold isn’t there now a Wal Mart Super Centre in Benson. It was a great day!

Thursday – December 14 – Well, on the road again! We had a good drive to Benson, not a lot of traffic and what there was was mainly trucks or RV’s. The weather here is much nicer than Benson, right now at 10:10 p.m. it is 57 and that was the high in Deming a couple of days!

After we got set up this afternoon we went for a walk and there is a motorhome here that was here in January but at that time we never saw anyone around. This afternoon they were sitting out so we chatted with them for a few minutes – they are from Port Elgin and are thinking of buying a house in Kincardine in the new seniors subdivision going in right behind Green Acres – small world!!

We are staying at a park called Cochise Terrace and it is really nice, large lots and where we are we have a beautiful view of the mountains, what more could we ask for. I turned on the furnace a while ago and it is still working so that is good, it isn’t supposed to be nearly as cold at night here as it was in Deming so it isn’t as important to have it working but it is always nice in the morning to warm the trailer up quickly.

Wednesday – December 13 – Today was a quiet day, we had to stick around for UPS to deliver the strut so I did laundry and cleaning. The part arrived about noon so John got it installed and now we are good to go tomorrow morning, not sad to leave here as it is too cold during the night!

Later this afternoon we went out for a bit, got fuel, etc. then came back. As soon as the sun goes down it gets really cold so hopefully we will get away from this tomorrow. At least the furnace is working again so we had some heat during the night last night, I was thankful as for some reason my electric blanket didn’t want to work. I fooled around with it a bit this morning and it then turned it on and after 2 hours it was still working fine so hopefully whatever was wrong is fixed and it will work tonight.

I had lots of e-mail today so was happy as I always like e-mails. I got an e-mail from Medipac in reply to the one I sent them yesterday and they are mailing out our refund, always good news to hear that you are going to get money back, it should have been mailed out a few weeks ago but apparently got overlooked!

Tuesday - December 12 – Today was another nice, sunny day but cool. During the night it went down to 24, our hose was frozen solid this morning so tonight it comes off as it is supposed to be about that again tonight.

Today we drove up to Silver City which is about 60 miles north of Deming. There isn’t a lot between here and there but when you get up around Silver City there are a number of small mining towns, all Phelps Dodge Mining towns. We were going to take a scenic loop around and back but when we got to Palo Alto and saw the signs that the next 18 miles were steep slopes, sharp curves and no lines on the road we decided to pass – chicken eh!

We had an e-mail from Andy about the furnace and John went out and did what he suggested and the furnace worked – wonderful. There is definitely a problem but as long as it keeps working until we can get it looked at that will be great. Hopefully it will work during the night and then we won’t have to worry about the plumbing freezing. We sure hope the strut comes tomorrow so we can head out of here on Thursday and hopefully Benson will be a bit warmer.

Monday – December 11 – Happy Anniversary Nan & Carl! Sorry I forgot to wish you a happy anniversary when I talked to you yesterday.

John called Andy this morning and guess what, he had never heard of this happening with the hitch – figures, we pave the way! Andy said we should stay put till it’s fixed, which we had figured, so John called Hensley and they are shipping out the part. The part costs $12.95 and shipping would be $22 for Wednesday delivery and $45 for Tuesday delivery so we opted for Wednesday.

John went out this morning and walked 3-4 miles looking for the missing strut but it wasn’t to be found, guess he got his exercise if nothing else!! After the phone calls etc. we went out and got fuel, went to the Post Office for stamps (that was a long line up) and mailed some Christmas cards then went to Wal-Mart. We both got our hair cut there then picked up some groceries, that was it for our exciting day.

Today at the post office a couple of women in front of me were talking and the one was saying that if you live outside the city limits of any town you can join the county library system. They mail you a brochure with a listing of books you can get, then you fill it out with the books you want to read and send it back. The books arrive by mail, no charge, in a canvas bag and when you are done you return them. There is a card with the persons mailing address on one side and the county library’s address on the other side and you just flip the card to return the books. Neat!

I forgot to mention that yesterday we crossed into Mountain Time so we are now 2 hours behind home, makes it a bit more difficult for calling mom as I have to watch when her meal times are.

I finally got the internet here so managed to update my blog and also get caught up on some e-mail. Still more to do but I have run out of steam for today.

Sunday – December 10 – Today was a gorgeous day, sunny skies and warm temperatures. We drove from Fort Stockton, Texas to Deming, NM. It was a nice drive, lots of desert but some beautiful mountains keep the scenery interesting. We were debating stopping in either El Paso or Las Cruces but neither of them inspired us enough to stop, so we kept going. Interstate 10 was quite quiet yesterday and today until where we hit the junction of I-20, then we picked up more traffic. Mostly truck traffic, but not too bad, we’ve been in worse.

Once we turned northwest towards El Paso there were all kinds of farming operations along the Rio Grande River valley, don’t know what they were growing but it looked like quite a prosperous farming area.

We arrived at the park in Deming where we are going to stay overnight and when we got out we saw that we had lost the struts on the Hensley, not good!! This will require a call to Can-Am tomorrow morning and we will probably have to stay here until we can get it fixed. The joys of RVing!!!

Saturday – December 9 – We left New Braunfels this morning as we are totally fed up with the wi-fi situation and we want to try to find someplace warmer. It was sunny for about the first hour then clouded over, the temperature never got past 49 until about 20 minutes west of Fort Stockton then it climbed up to 60 and got sunny again.

Boy, how different this part of Texas is, miles and miles of nothing, but the scenery is nice, lots of mesas to break the monotony and lots of hill climbing. We passed a couple of very large wind farms not far from Fort Stockton, there were 100’s of windmills, all of them going. We also saw lots of oil rigs drilling for oil, but little else. The towns are few and far between in this part of Texas. There were a number of dead deer along the side of the highway, even one with a real rack of antlers, and we also saw a small deer just grazing along the side of the highway.

We are staying at the Fort Stockton KOA, it is very reasonable -$20 for the night but no wi-fi. We did get logged on at one of the rest areas but it was very slow, I did manage to download my e-mail but that was all. Enjoyed your e-mail Pat. I don’t know when I will get a chance to post my blog again and I still haven’t had enough time to put up some pictures or to send any e-mails. Oh well, one of these days.

The KOA has the Road Runner restaurant and their specialty is ribs so we went over for dinner - $7.95 for ribs, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggie, coffee or iced tea and dessert. It was really good and you sure can’t beat the price!! They also have a good sounding breakfast special but we decided to try the dinner.

I talked to mom tonight but there was no answer at either of the girls so they must all be out for the evening, will try again tomorrow.

Friday – December 8 - Boy, another drop in temperature overnight. It was 34 when I got up this morning and the high reached 44 – we are not impressed!!

We drove up to Fredericksburg then Boerne (pronounced Burnee) and back to New Braunfels – a drive through the hill country. It was pretty but there was very little sun to brighten the day. We had lunch at Fredericksburg which is a pretty little town, much like Bayfield with all the exclusive shops, if you like antiques you would love it! We run into a couple of spots of sleet, fortunately the temperature was in the 40’s so the roads were fine but it was a bit depressing.

When we got back we stopped at a local motel and I downloaded a couple of days diary onto my blog as we still have no internet here, even though they have my money! I have tried to talk to the people who run this park but they also don’t return my calls. Since this is a Good Sam Park I will be contacting Good Sam when we again get internet and ask them to help me with this problem as I am really ticked with the whole business. We are leaving here tomorrow and heading west, hopefully into warmer weather.

Thursday – December 7 – Today was WINDY!! I did some laundry, we puttzed around but didn’t do anything too much. It was very overcast all day, not an exciting day.

Island on Riverwalk Where Approx. 200 Weddings/Year Take Place 

Vine Covered Bridge over River 

Riverwalk Theatre (Seats are on Other Side of the River) 

Riverwalk Tour Boat 

Christmas Tree in Front of Our Trailer 

Christmas Tree at River Walk 

Mission San Jose 

Dead Man'O War on Beach at Padre Island 

Wednesday – December 6 – We headed back into San Antonio again this morning, the weather was a bit overcast but warm, by mid day the sun was out and it was quite warm and nice.

We got the trolley tour and took it to the Market, then got off and wandered around for a while. We had lunch there which was very good but the stores were a disappointment – either very pricey or just junk – T-shirts, hats etc. The Yuma market is far better!!! We then went back and did a long walk along the river walk, it is very pretty and was quite quiet and peaceful. We were really glad that we had done the night cruise with the lights as it was much prettier than the daytime one would have been. We wanted to get out of San Antonio before the traffic got really bad so headed out about 3:30, as it was we hit a real slow down for about 3 miles but it turned out there was an accident on the frontage road and every one was stopping to gawk as as soon as we got past there it was normal again.

The roads here in large Texas cities are interesting – there is the main highway with controlled access then there are frontage roads on either side which are one way roads (I-35 is a north/south highway so the frontage roads are northbound on the east side and southbound on the west side of the interstate). This means that you have to know where you are going on the frontage roads (shopping, gas, restaurants etc.) or you will have to go to the next intersection, do a U-turn and come back. It’s really not bad as long as you know which side of the highway you want to be on!

Tuesday – December 5 – Today was a nice day and reasonably warm, not hot mind you but warm. We headed into San Antonio this morning, boy what a large busy city!

We parked at the River Centre Mall then found the Visitor’s Centre and got tickets for a trolley tour, we got the one where we could get off and on at any spot all day, plus it is good for a second day. We got off at the Mission San Jose which is the nicest of the 5 missions and has been restored more than the others. There was a film at the Visitor’s Centre at the mission which was quite interesting then we walked around the mission. We got back on the trolley and did the rest of the tour without getting off, now we know where we will get off and visit tomorrow. After that we had lunch then went to the Alamo which is right across the street from the Visitor’s Centre. We then went to the Imax Theatre at the River Centre and saw Alamo, the Price of Freedom.

By this time it was dark and that was when we wanted to do the River tour. It is a half hour tour and was absolutely beautiful with all the Christmas lights. The guide said it takes 2 months to put up the lights, and they are up from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year’s day, then it takes 3 months to take them down. Wow!! It was a beautiful tour and the lights are just stunning.

San Antonio is the 7^th largest city in the U.S., which we hadn’t realized, and man is it big and lots of traffic. We are glad we are staying outside of the city.

Still no internet so I can’t download my blog or pictures tonight, there is a Rest Area a few miles down the highway towards San Antonio so tomorrow I will take my computer and we can’t stop there and use the wi-fi.

Monday – December 4 – The duvet was nice and warm last night so that was good. It was in the low 30’s when we got up, I thought it was supposed to be warm down here!! I don’t care if it isn’t really hot, but warm would be nice.

John used his new ladder to get the roof of the trailer clean, he said it was totally black so he was happy to get that done. We went out shopping for a bit but nothing really exciting today.

Sunday – December 3 – Still no internet, am I ticked!! Today was cold and cloudy, John couldn’t get out and try out his new ladder to wash the trailer so you know it was cold when he doesn’t do that.

We did some cleaning and puttered around then went out this afternoon and bought a new duvet – sure hope it is warm as John wasn’t sure if it would be warm enough and I don’t want to hear that it isn’t. Not too exciting a day but we did enjoy talking to all the kids.

Saturday – December 2 – Today was overcast and cool, the high on the truck thermometer was 61 for a quick moment, but most of the time it was between 57 and 59. Actually, today was a good driving day with being overcast and cool. We drove to New Braunfels which is north of San Antonio and are staying at the Hill Country RV Resort, we have paid for a week and will see what happens from there. Both the lady at the office when I checked in and the man next door have said Sunday is a bad to go into San Antonio so we will wait till Monday to start exploring S.A.

Today after we got set up we went into New Braunfels to Camping World and Wal Mart to pick up a few things, John is finally happy – he got his 6’ ladder at Camping World so now should be able to reach the roof of the trailer to clean it. He can also wash the trailer here so guess what tomorrow will be unless it is pouring rain! Guess the ladder will be his Christmas present!

When we got to our camp site here there is a huge pole (like a Maypole) with rope lights coming off it and sure enough when we were coming back from shopping we could see this huge Christmas Tree of lights from many blocks away – guess what – it is the tree right outside of our door. Actually it is quite pretty, maybe it will get me in the Christmas spirit!!

I don’t know how many people have said to us what “a mighty purty rig that is!” We have to agree with them and tell them how much we like it. Today we got it from 2 people in this park, makes us happy that we have an Airstream!!

My big beef is that I have signed on for internet here (paid for it) and now can’t log on. We have sent them an e-mail but so far no response – GRRRR!!!!, so don’t know if I will be able to post my blog tonight.

We talked to Mike & Marg tonight and they are back at the park in Ruskin where they were last winter, guess Mike’s pool buddies were glad to see him back. I am sure they will enjoy the winter there and for sure this week their Florida weather is better than what we have. Oh well, as long as I don’t see snow or freezing rain I won’t complain.