Sunday -March 30, 2008

Today was another nice day but not as hot as it has been and tonight it sure has cooled down, it actually feels good to be cool for a change.

This morning we headed out to get some groceries and fill up with fuel before heading out tomorrow. We drove up “A” Mountain to Sentinel Park lookout there were some very nice views of Tucson down below. We then found a Fry’s grocery/fuel store and got some groceries and fuelled up for $3.799/gal. which is a really good price down here. Most of the stations are $3.999 and Fry’s was $3.899 and then with their card it was $3.799, gotta like that but we are hoping it will get cheaper as we head home.

I have been following Sandra’s blog for a couple of years now and she has been following ours and we are finally in the same area so Sandra came over for a visit this afternoon, it was nice to meet her in person although I feel I like I know her and Gordon from reading her blog. Gordon has been diagnosed with Valley Fever and was tired this afternoon so we didn’t get to meet him, hopefully next time we are in the same area we will meet up again and get to meet Gordon.

John got the trailer hooked up this afternoon when we got back from shopping and everything is pretty well put away so not too much to do in the morning to get rolling.

Tonight was cold chicken and salads for dinner and now I am going try to get some pictures on my blog, I finally got John’s pictures today so will see what there is to post and they will probably go back a few days.


Desert Trails RV Park


Magic Elixir Show - Old Tucson Studios


Bank Robbery Gun Fight


View From Mt. Lemon


The Needle


Another Nice View From Mt. Lemon


Pretty Cacti Garden Beside Us at Desert Trails RV Park


Pretty Flowers


Pretty Blooms on Cacti


More Pretty Cacti


Great Horned Owl In Nest at Pool


Tucson from A Mountain


Another View from A Mountain

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Saturday - March 29, 2008

Today was another hot day and I had no energy so we just took it easy for the day. I did some cleaning, reading and went for a swim and that was the extent of what I did. John read and went for a bike ride – it was just one of those days!

Friday - March 28, 2008

Today was another hot sunny day, the weather sure has been nice but for me these temperatures are just a bit too hot.

We decided to tour the Desert Museum today, what a wonderful place and so interesting. It was a hot day to do the tour, but we don’t have a lot of time to wait for a cooler day, so off we went – it was so hot (at one time I saw a temperature of 94F) my back was soaked under my purse/backpack and we were so glad we had water and that we could fill up the water bottle at water fountains. But, even with the heat we enjoyed the day and found it a fascinating place – definitely a place we would visit again.


Cave Demo at Park


Prairie Dog


Agave


Cacti


Javeline (Pronounced Havelina)


Saguaro with Interesting Arms (Pronounced Swaro)


Lots of Saguaros


Totem Cacti


First Sprout


Organ Pipe Cacti


Another Agave


Flicker In Agave

We were wiped when we got back so we both had a nice nap then I did laundry – another job done for a bit. We have now finished dinner and John did the dishes so that was nice. Janet and Dave arrived home this week so we called to see how their trip home was, Janet said it was good except for the fact they had a blowout on a trailer tire in Sacremento – not fun. I hope to get this posted and call it a night as I am still drained from all the heat and sun today.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Thursday - March 27, 2008

Wow, one day behind on my diary and I feel like I am a week behind! John managed to get all the upgrades on Ginny’s computer but when it came to doing the Apple Care there were some personal questions so he took it back this morning and told her where it was at and felt she could go from there with it. He said goodbye to them as they were leaving today and wished them a good trip. I wasn’t presentable when they left but had said goodbye last night and we hope to meet up in the spring at home.

Today was another beautiful day so we decided to drive up Mt. Lemon, what a scenic drive and it was so interesting to see the change in vegetation the higher we climbed. We went to Summerville where they are building a lot of new, beautiful, chalets then continued to the top of the mountain and the ski run. We took the T-Bar lift to the top of the ski hill - what a beautiful view. This morning I was kind of mumbling about how hot it was, well, this afternoon we were freezing on the ski lift!! Fortunately we had jackets in the truck so our upper bodies were warm but with both of us having worn shorts today we found our legs quite cool – okay we warmed up quickly when coming back down the mountain and by the time we got back to the bottom we had to turn the a/c on in the truck. Today was our day for getting our snow fix for the year – we saw it and said “thank goodness we didn’t have to deal with this stuff this winter!”.


Looking Out Over Tucson


Saguaros


Ocotillo In Bloom


A Sad Looking Saguaro


Pretty Flowers


The Thimble


A Pretty View


Another Pretty View


Neat Rock Formation


Arizona Snow


Another Neat Rock Formation

We couldn’t believe the number of bikers going up the mountain, sure do give them a lot of credit as it would be a real hard climb. Coming back down there was a fellow on a bike flying down, we couldn’t catch up to him until we reached the bottom! I would be petrified about falling off my bike at that speed as I don’t think it would be a pretty picture if that should happen – they sure have more nerve than I do.

By the time we got home it was time to think about dinner – where does the time go! And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Wednesday - March 26, 2008

Our Trailer at Desert Trails RV Park

Today was another beautiful day so we decided to tour the Old Tucson Studios; www.oldtucson.com, this is a movie studio that was built in 1939 for the movie Arizona and then after WW11 it became a very popular movie set and many movies have been filmed there, mainly westerns. Movie stars from John Wayne to Leonardo DiCaprio have used this studio for their movie setting so there is a lot of history. This studio was also used for filming Gunsmoke and Little House on the Prairie and the mountain you see in the background of my picture of High Chapparal is a familiar sight in many movies.

When we got there we took a guided tour and learned about the history of the studio and the many actors and actresses who had been on set there. During the day they have a number of live shows so we saw the Miracle Elixir Show (a comedy), The Great Tucson Bank Robbery (terrific acting), Cowgirl Up (a Musical) and a couple of short films – Remembering John Wayne and Where Legends Walked. We also took the train ride around the studio so saw it from the back and toured all the buildings. They had a haunted mine tour which was quite good, all in all an interesting day.

The morning we were leaving Yuma our neighbour told John that when we got here we should buy a Tucson Passport for all the attractions so I went on the internet to check it out and it costs $15 and there are a lot of attractions that are pay one admission and get the second free with the passport. There were also numerous places listed where the passport could be purchased and the studio was one of the places so we bought one yesterday and we saved $3 just on the Old Tucson Studio yesterday so it has already paid for itself.


This Mountain Will Be Seen In Every Movie Filmed Here


One of the Studio Buildings


Another View


Miracle Elixir Show


Scene from Bank Robbery

When we got back Gil came over and asked us over for a drink. He was feeling much better and they are leaving in the morning so one last visit. Ginny has a Mac laptop so asked John if he would mind helping her signing up for the Apple Care so I came back to start dinner while he did that, John turned up shortly with her computer and said there were a lot of upgrades that needed to be done and they would take a couple of hours, at least, to do so he brought it back here.

We had just finished eating when Ginny came to the door with a couple of pieces of pecan fudge pie for us – yummy. At that point her computer was still saying 2 hours left for the upgrades.

It is now 11 p.m., I am dead tired and cannot get on the internet so am going to bed. Last night was one of my no sleep nights, I was still awake at 4 a.m. so am fading fast tonight. Ginny’s computer is still doing the downloads so John will stay up until it’s done (hopefully not a lot longer!). I will have to wait until tomorrow to post this as I can’t get on the internet and I am too tired to spend time trying to get on.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Tuesday -March 25, 2008

This morning we walked over and introduced ourselves to Ginny and Gil and had a nice visit with them for a while.

After that we decided to drive Gate’s Mountain Pass that they had said was really nice and it was a beautiful drive and the scenery is stunning. We can’t believe how green everything is here and there are so many blooms, absolutely gorgeous and our park has all kinds of beautiful gardens with cacti, it is certainly different from Yuma. We are fascinated with the Saguaros and there are so many of them here in the Tuscon area, there is a huge one next door to us and the birds are constantly flying in and out of the holes they have made for nests.


Looking West From Gates Pass


Lots of Saguaros


Another View


These are Pretty to Look At But DO NOT TOUCH!

After driving over the pass we tried to find a Wal Mart and couldn’t find one but did find a Wal Mart Neighbourhood Market which seems to be a new thing, it is groceries, beer, wine and a pharmacy but as I was just looking for groceries it did the trick.

When we got back John started to put up the ExpressVu but it is a job to be finished tomorrow. This evening Gil and Ginny came over for a visit and we really enjoyed their company, unfortunately Gil wasn’t feeling well so he went home early but we enjoyed our visit with Ginny and found all kinds of things to talk about. It is always nice to meet new people and among other things discuss where we have been and where we are going, usually we all pick up some new tips.

It is late so I will wait and post this in the morning, my bed is calling me.

Monday -March 24, 2008

Today was another beautiful, sunny day and quite warm for traveling – thank goodness for A/C in the truck! We got away from Del Pueblo shortly after 10, on the way out we had to stop and pay the final electric bill - $11.52 for 23 day, guess we can handle that, and John wanted a bag of ice to put down the toilet, we have read this is a good way of cleaning it when you are traveling so thought we would try it. We had a good uneventful drive to Tucson, about 415 km and arrived at the park shortly after 3:30.

We had planned on staying at Justin’s Diamond J RV Park but in the last week I have been in e-mail contact with a co-worker of my sister-in-law and they happened to be staying at a park next door and she had e-mailed that they had checked out Justin’s and the sites are bigger but the park they are in has a pool and Wi-Fi, that was enough to change our minds so we are now at Desert Trails RV Park in Tucson. I was having withdrawl symptoms thinking about a week or so without wi-fi and a pool!! John picked a spot with a little park and pond behind us and there is water running into the pond so it is nice to hear the sound of water once again; once we got set up here we went for a refreshing swim and we have wi-fi so I am a happy camper!! Hopefully tomorrow we will meet Gil and Ginny and thank them for telling us about this park.

It is amazing the difference between here and Yuma, Yuma is all desert whereas here there is so much greenery and flowers – like night and day difference. When we were at the pool a couple of people pointed out a Great Horned Owl who had made a nest in a palm tree at the side of the pool and had her babies there. It was quite something to see her just sitting there guarding her young, apparently the male has a nest not far from hers. We couldn’t get a glimpse of the babies – darn, but sure had a good view of mom.

I am tired tonight, don’t know why but I find a day on the road tiring. Today I indexed all the states and provinces with tabs in our new Trailer Life Directory – another job done and a good one to do while traveling but it certainly wasn’t taxing!!

There is no cable TV here so tonight we are using the atenna and tomorrow John will see if he can get ExpressVu set up; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Sunday -March 23, 2008

Happy Easter everyone, hope you all had wonderful Easter dinners and enjoyed your day.

Today was a scorcher, the high I saw was 97F (33C), just a tad too hot for my liking, but there was a nice breeze so it wasn’t uncomfortable and we still haven’t had to resort to turning on the A/C. Today John got the truck packed up and ready to roll in the morning and I got things put away and organized inside, hopefully we are ready to roll but after sitting for so long it is hard to remember what all has to be done. John checked the tire pressure etc. on Friday and amazingly they were still good after sitting in the heat for 4+ months.

We talked to Kel, Mike, my mom and my sister today, as well as our friends Mike and Marg so got caught up on all the news.

I went for my last swim here around 3:30 and the pool was quite busy for a while but I did end up being the only one in for a while so managed to do some lengths. Sure have enjoyed the pool once it warmed up enough to want to go in.

We went to Olive Garden for dinner tonight, we thought we would use the last Christmas GC from Nan & Carl and it would be a nice way to spend our last evening in Yuma. We were surprised that it wasn’t real busy, we only had to wait a couple of minutes for a table, but once we were seated it was a different story. After almost 15 minutes I got a gal’s eye and she asked if we had been looked after so I said no, we had been there about 15 minutes so figured maybe we were invisible. She apologized, said she would look after us and also talk to the manager, then she proceeded to take our order. Within a couple of minutes the manager came and apologized and said we would be looked after; from there the service was wonderful, the food was excellent and when the bill came the amount owing was $0.00!! We thanked the young lady for her wonderful service (also left her a very nice tip) and thanked the manager on the way out and said we would certainly return next year when we come back to Yuma. Needless to say John and I were very impressed and surprised, I don’t think you find this kind of service very often. I know the night we went to Logan’s and the food and service were so terrible all we heard was sighs from the waitress, it goes without saying that we will never go to Logan’s again. We now will be able to look forward to another dinner at an Olive Garden on the way home.

With the satellite dish put away we are watching cable TV tonight, the movie Geronimo is on so I have one eye on that as well as doing this. Now that we are going to be back on the road we will have to get used to not always having wi-fi and probably not cable TV too often and we will only set up the satellite if we are staying more than 2 nights someplace. On the other hand, we are looking forward to seeing and exploring new places on our way home and being “On The Road Again”.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Saturday - March 22, 2008

Today was another hot, sunny day with a high of about 92F (31C); this is a bit too warm for my liking but I won’t complain as I know it is still quite chilly back in Ontario.

Jim & Sonia came over this afternoon so we had a great visit and said goodbye until next year. They have taken an annual site at Desert Paradise but aren’t sure when they will come down, probably late November or early December, whatever, we will be looking forward to meeting up with them again next winter.

John has just gone out for a quick bike ride and then will probably get the bike ready for travelling, hopefully he will be able to do more riding on the way home as he really enjoys it. I was going to go for a swim but it is kind of late, but I will definitely have to go tomorrow as the park we are staying in Tucson doesn’t have a pool.

I talked to my mom and Nan today so am looking forward to talking to Kel tomorrow and hopefully will also be able to touch base with Mike, but he is a hard one to get a hold of.

We hope everyone is enjoying Easter and we were thinking of all our family yesterday when we knew they were having the family Easter dinner, we do miss not being there for those occasions but look forward to seeing everyone when we get home.

Time to think about dinner; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Friday - March 21, 2008

Today was another beautiful day, sure could get used to this but unfortunately it doesn’t stay like this here, it just keeps getting hotter and hotter.

Late this morning we headed out and our first stop was for hair cuts, yes, they weren’t busy so we were in and out fairly quickly - good timing on our part. From there it was off to the mall, nothing exciting there, then we decided to head for Fry’s and check out the diesel price at Barney’s in the Foothills. I picked up some meat and yogurt at Fry’s, diesel at Barney’s was cheaper than any where else in Yuma so we filled up there, made at stop at Sew Masters (no bargains there either) then headed home.

When we got back I decided to kill two birds with one stone, I rounded up the laundry and did that while I was having a very refreshing swim. After that it was time to think about dinner – where does the time go!! And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Thursday - March 20, 2008

Today was a beautiful day and a day of doing a bit of this and that. We headed out of here with the intentions of getting hair cuts, not to be today as they were very busy. I asked and they are open tomorrow so we decided to let the cuts go for another day. It appears that Easter here is maybe Easter Sunday, not a big holiday like in Canada. Our next stop was Cracker Barrel for lunch, we both had the Thursday special which was turkey and dressing – very good and I knew that it would make for a light dinner – gotta love that!

From there we went to Circuit City, John is looking at upgrading the hard drives on our computers but we left empty handed, there is one he wanted to come back and check on the internet before purchasing. From there it was to Superfuels for propane, we passed on fuel as there was a long lineup waiting for it and we saw another station with fuel only $0.02/gallon more so we will wait until Sunday to feed the tank. After that it was off to Time Warner to return the Roadrunner modem and supplies, sure will miss their high speed Internet, but for sure we will get it when we return next winter. After that it was off to Wal Mart to stock up the cupboards and fridge, and by then it was time to head home.

After getting the groceries put away I headed for the pool and had a nice swim. By the time I got back it was time to think about fixing something light to eat – we ended up with some soup and crackers and cheese. Now it is a bit of TV and reading and I feel like I will be looking at the bed very shortly; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Wednesday - March 19, 2008

The nice weather continues to be really nice with a high of about 27C today, nothing to sneeze at. We started to get ready to go on the road on Monday, today John started cleaning out the back of the truck and I got my crystals packed away until next winter, probably. I did some cleaning, getting a start on getting all spick and span before we head out.

Monday we are going to go to Tucson and are going to stay at Justin’s Diamond J RV, we want to visit the Desert Museum as well as a couple of other places in Tucson so we aren’t sure how long we will be there. That is the joy of this life, you go where you want when you want, so our trip home is not written in stone, we know where all we want to go but have no deadlines.

I went for a nice swim this afternoon and had a few enjoyable chats with people in the pool, everyone is getting ready to head for home and it is surprising home many of them have now decided to leave their RVs here until they return next fall – sign of the times with the increased fuel prices. The fellow next door said they are leaving on Friday, they have bought a park model in Casa Grande so are heading for there to move in then will go home and try to sell their RV and truck, they have an older big 5th wheel and a real heavy duty truck so we think selling the combo might be a bit of a challenge.

Nothing else new, just another nice day; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Tuesday -March 18, 2008

Our weather is now back to 25+ and sunny – nice. My mother had her cataract operation this morning and sounded quite chipper when I talked to her this afternoon so I am relieved that all went well with it.

Today was the final golf scramble of the season, the attendance was down with just 31 of us today but, as usual, a good time was had by all. I played with a lady from Kirkland Lake (and we think we have a long drive here!) and neither of us could putt today, we had lots of balls rim the cup or go right over but we sure did have a hard time getting that little sucker to fall in – oh well there are just some days like that! The rest of my game was good so I was happy, just wish the putting was better.

I didn’t sleep well last night so when we got back I laid down for a while and snoozed then went outside and read for a while, very laid back and lazy.

Nothing else new, just another nice day; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Monday -March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patty’s day everyone, hope you enjoyed green beer; John had his Guiness to celebrate (YUK!). The weather is improving, it was quite windy this morning but it died down this afternoon and got up to about 22C so very pleasant.

This afternoon we went out and did a bit of shopping and that was our excitement for the day.

Late yesterday we saw some commotion on the road behind us and then the ambulance and fire truck arrived and the ambulance left with its siren going – not good. When John was barbecuing tonight the fellow behind us came over to chat and said the man in the trailer across the road from them had a heart attack and died on the way to the hospital – how sad.

Nothing else new, just another quiet day; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Sunday -March 16, 2008

Today was a cool, partly cloudy day – what a change from last week, but it still beats snow! We hit a high of 64F (17C) today so not great but at least the wind died down this afternoon so it really wasn’t too bad. We actually turned on the furnace for a short time this morning to warm the trailer up, not nice. We are just watching the news and there was a big pileup on I-40 near Flagstaff today due to snow, wow sure glad we are no where near there.

I decided to go out and do a bit of shopping today so went to Mervyn’s and Kohl’s, I picked up a couple of things but nothing exciting. I did buy new beach towels as the ones we are using have to be really old, I think I bought them in Florida close to 20 years ago, wow, guess it really is time for new ones.

Tonight John was able to barbecue the ribs we were going to do last night and they were very good and somehow there were a lot less dishes to do tonight – bonus!

Nothing else new, just another quiet day; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Saturday - March 15, 2008

Today was another quiet day, we had nothing planned and did nothing. It was warm and sunny this morning but the wind came up this afternoon and it turned very WINDY again, boy am I getting tired of this wind!!

I sat out for a bit this afternoon reading but it was really windy, then started to cool down, so I retreated inside. We were going to barbecue tonight but decided to do an inside dinner with the wind, probably a good move.

We didn’t reach any high, warm temperatures this afternoon and tonight we need the heater on – what a difference from the last week. Oh well, it is supposed to warm up again starting Monday.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Friday - March 14, 2008

Today was another beautiful, hot, sunny day and it was a very quiet day for us. John went out for a while to pick up some more insulation for the windows and I took advantage of his absence to do some cleaning.

No sooner had I finished the cleaning than the wind came up quite strong and guess what – everything feels gritty again – YCK!! I read for a while and was just getting ready to head for the pool when John arrived back home, he wasn’t interested in a swim so I went by myself and got cooled off. When I was ready to head back I checked the laundry room and there was only one lady doing laundry – yahoo, rush home and get the laundry gathered up and over there while it is quiet! It turned out I had the place to myself, I sat outside reading while the laundry was doing and John turned up just as it was done to help with the folding.

I took salmon out of the freezer this morning as it wasn’t windy so John thought it would be easy to barbecue it, but then this afternoon it looked like we would have to cook it inside but fortunately the wind died down enough that he could barbecue if after all, the barbecue only blew out 3 times while he was cooking the salmon.

Now that we have had a good dinner it is time for a quiet evening of TV and reading; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Thursday - March 13, 2008

Today started out cloudy but by about 10 it had cleared off and was another beautiful day. I sat out and read for a while this afternoon and it was nice under the awning as there was a lovely breeze.

We left about 2 this afternoon and went to the market, I picked up a few books so I have something to read on the way home and John got some foil to put in the trailer windows this summer when it is sitting in storage.

A couple we had met briefly our first winter here, and have gotten to know on the two trips to Mexico we have gone on, had invited us over for a drink this afternoon. Two years ago they bought a park model trailer in a park near where we were the first two years here, it is an older park and the lots are huge. They have a nice park model with a huge Arizona room and porch and this year Don put in a cement driveway with a roof over it and awnings on the side, and it was a perfect cool place to sit and visit. At the back they have two very large storage sheds and the whole back is done in interlocking brick and they have a really nice area with a large table with a propane heater in the middle and four very comfortable looking chairs, Gail said they spend a lot of evenings out there. While we were there their neighbours arrived, they are from Cold Lake Alberta the same as Gail and Don and just bought the place next door this year, they aren’t retired yet so have flown in for a three week holiday. We have invited the four of them to come over to our place for drinks and a visit on Monday afternoon as Gail flies home on Thursday. Don is retired military and comes down at the end of October till early April, Gail is still working (a nurse) so comes down for a couple of months each winter. She enjoys her job so isn’t ready to retire yet, she says maybe a couple more years.

When we left Gail & Don’s we went to a pizza place in the Foothills Plaza where we know the pizza is good, a yummy dinner.

Tonight is another quiet evening of reading and TV; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Wednesday - March 12, 2008

Today was a quiet but nice day in Yuma, the sun was shining and the temperatures were warm, what more could we ask for.

This afternoon Lynn, a gal from Perth, came over to see how we had gone back through Texas last year. We ended up visiting for about 2 hours, although we did show her the route we took last year. They are hading to Alpine as a launching point for visiting Big Bend National Park then heading north from there so I don’t think the route we took will do them any good as we headed east but kept south as much as we could.

After Lynn left we went to Sew Masters to check out an awning for the end of the large front awning on the trailer, it will cost about $45 for what we want but it wouldn’t be ready until we are ready to leave so we decided to wait and look into this next year when we get back here.

From there we did a quick stop at Wal Mart where John bought a California duster for the trailer, it is supposed to be really good for getting the dust off so we will see.

By the time we got home it was too late for a swim so I sat out and read a bit and then it was time to think about dinner. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Tuesday -March 11, 2008

Today was another beautiful day here in Yuma, sure wish we could send some of this wonderful weather home.

Last night was one of my sleepless nights, I was still awake at 3 a.m. so when it was time to get up this morning I wasn’t exactly springing out of bed. I decided to pass on golf and just loaf and try to wake up so John went golfing and I didn’t do a heck of a lot.

This afternoon I went for a walk and stopped and checked out the library here at the park, I picked up a couple of books but I’m not sure I will really like them. I was just ready to head off to the pool when John arrived home, he had stopped at Fry’s and picked up some groceries so I got them put away and then headed off for my swim. John said he was going to go for a bike ride but when I got home 2 hours later he said he had just woken up, he had had a nice nap! He then went for a bike ride and I sat out and read, all in all a very restful day.

I called my friend Julee this morning and had a good visit with her, it’s always nice to talk to friends at home. I tried to call Margie also but no answer, will have to try again, with this 3 hour time difference it is very difficult to make calls home at a good time for both us and the people we are calling.

Tonight is a quiet evening of reading and TV; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Monday -March 10, 2008

Today was another perfect day for weather here in Yuma; sure do love it!

Earlier today Mike next door was out playing a musical instrument so John went over to talk to him. We often hear him sitting out playing and weren’t sure what instrument it was but it turns out he makes flutes and that is what he has been playing. I went over and he showed us a couple he has made, they are absolutely beautiful and it is nice to listen to him play. He is a native Indian and apparently he played in a band for a number of years and still plays in bands a bit, he showed us a picture taken last year when he was playing in Phoenix and he was dressed in a beautiful native costume. He also plays harmonica among other musical instruments – a very talented man. He said he is losing the nerves in his hands from Agent Orange during Vietnam so making the flutes is not only something he likes to do but is therapy for his hands as he does a lot of hand sanding on them.

Last night we realized Dave had left his hat here so we returned it to him as we were going to run out and do a few things today anyways. After we dropped his hat off, and said goodbye again, we went to get fuel – wow, it was $3.609 a gallon at the cheapest place in Yuma but I guess this is still cheaper than Canada and one saving grace is that it has been about a month since we last had to get fuel. After filling up we went to the mall and I wandered around Target for a bit (didn’t spend any money though) then we stopped at Wal Mart and picked up a few items.

When we got back I went for a swim and John went for his bike ride. By then it was time to think about dinner, left overs, and now we are looking forward to a quiet evening; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Sunday -March 9, 2008

I hate to be repetitive but today was another gorgeous, sunny day with temperatures in the low 80’s (F) – sure can’t beat that for a nice day. This morning I did some cleaning etc. then got as much ready for dinner as I could, Janet & Dave were coming for dinner and it is so much easier if everything is ready before company arrives, then I can enjoy visiting.

Once I was ready I picked up my book and headed for my lawn chair and enjoyed a couple of hours of reading, I had to keep moving around as it was too hot to sit in the sun so kept searching out the shade.

We had a great visit with Janet & Dave and it was sad to say goodbye as they are heading for home (Qualicum Beach, B.C.) on Wednesday. They aren’t sure if they will be heading east this summer with the price of diesel fuel so they have booked two months back here in Yuma for next winter so hopefully we will see them one place or the other.


Janet said she was talking to her sister this morning and the flowers are coming up at home – sure can’t say that for Ontario!!! My brother and our daughter Nancy sent me pictures of the snow at home and I can’t believe how much there is, hopefully there won’t be a quick melt or the flooding will be tremendous. Our daughter Kelly and her family had problems with their well running dry last summer so on the positive side of this winter they should have lots of water this summer.

It is almost bedtime, we will watch the news then head for bed; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Saturday - March 8, 2008

Today was another beautiful sunny, warm day – sure can’t say the same for Ontario where they again got hammered with snow and wind. I guess some day it will stop snowing there and spring will arrive and I am sure everyone there can hardly wait for that to happen. Tonight daylight saving time starts but Arizona doesn’t do daylight saving time so we will be three hours behind Ontario, what a pain when it comes to calling home.

There is a swap meet here every Thursday to Sunday so we decided to check it out today – what a waste of time that was, it was pretty well all junk and the vendors were pretty well all Hispanic as well as a lot of the people there. They sure don’t present any sort of competition to the market! I bought some asparagus and that was the extent of my spending.

When we got back I picked up my book and sat out enjoying the warmth for the rest of the afternoon. I was going to go for a swim but got so into my book that I never did make it over for a swim!

John did the truck today so we are now all nice and sparkly again, hopefully we won’t get a huge wind to get everything dusty again! And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Friday - March 7, 2008

Today was another gorgeous day here in the sunny south, certainly different from what Ontario experienced today – guess where we would rather be!!

John was out early this morning to start polishing the trailer and he did the whole trailer today, bet he has a sore arm tonight, but it sure does look nice again.

I wasn’t nearly as ambitious, I did a bit of this and a bit of that this morning then headed out to Wal Mart to get a much needed pedicure. I felt like I was walking on air when I came out of there – what a wonderful feeling. I picked up a few groceries while I was there before heading home so it wasn’t a totally selfish trip.

About 3:30 I headed off to the pool for a cool down and it felt really good. I chatted with a lady from Saskatchewan for quite a while and then some people came in the pool and said about how this was so much nicer than home, turns out they are from Simcoe, ON. We all had a good chat and we all agreed we would far rather be here in the sun and warmth than at home suffering through ANOTHER snow storm.

After the pool I came back and rounded up the laundry and headed over to the Laundromat, there was no one there when I got there but by the time I finished all the machines were in use so I picked a good time to do it. It is one of the jobs I dread doing but once I get started it isn’t so bad.

By the time I got home and got the laundry put away it was time for a late dinner, oh well what else is new!! I picked up a good book at the card room while I was doing laundry so guess that is what I will do tonight – read. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Thursday - March 6, 2008

Well, another nice sunny day with a high of about 75F, perfect weather! John headed out first thing this morning to wash the trailer so that kept him out of trouble for the whole morning, meanwhile I just did a bit of this and a bit of that but nothing special.

This afternoon we golfed at Ironwood with Janet & Dave and I had a reasonably good game, had a couple of bad holes but on the whole it wasn’t too bad but poor John couldn’t do anything right. I told him I think he probably wore himself out this morning washing the trailer and was tired for golfing – sounds like a good excuse! We went to Applebee’s for dinner and have just got home.

Boy, watching the weather and all the storms all over the place (Ontario is expecting another dump this weekend) makes us so thankful we are here where the weather is so nice, we just hope all these storms clear up for when we are ready to start heading north.

A quiet evening is in the offing, a bit of TV and my book if there is nothing interesting on the boob tube. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Wednesday - March 5, 2008

Today was a nice day with a high of about 70F and a bit of cloud, not as hot and sunny as we’ve had but still nice. They were forecasting high winds for this afternoon but thankfully that didn’t happen as with winds come blowing dust.

John was off first thing for his appointment with Mr. Dodge and 6 hours later got home, turns out the front brakes and rotors had to be done so it was a fairly expensive day but I guess we have to have brakes!!

I did some cleaning, went for a walk, stopped and paid the electric bill and then sat outside and read for a long time, not an exciting day but a nice one. Being down here for the winter is like being retired and living at home, every day doesn’t have to be busy and go go like on a holiday, it is just a much more pleasant place to spend the winter. When we leave here we will again be busy touring different places on the way home.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Tuesday -March 4, 2008

Today was a nice warm sunny day, a good day for golfing. My game was a bit better than two weeks ago but there still is room for lots of improvement, oh well there are only two weeks left in the scramble for this season, hopefully next year I will do better.

On the way home we made a quick stop at Fry’s so I could get my yogurt, I really like the Kroger’s brand and had finished the last one I had on hand this morning so it was time for a refill. When we got home I sat out and read for a while then it was time for dinner – sure don’t know where the days go but they do seem to fly by! We had picked up a cooked chicken at Fry’s so had that with salads for dinner – easy to make and good.

John has an appointment for the truck with Mr. Dodge tomorrow at 8 a.m. – time for an oil change, tire rotation etc. I am hoping to get some cleaning done while he is gone, get the rest of the dust that came in on Sunday cleaned up.

We are just watching the Rick Mercer Report, then this Hour Has 22 Minutes is on next, not a real exciting night for TV. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Monday -March 3, 2008

Thankfully the wind died down overnight and today was a bright, sunny day although it was a bit cooler than it has been – only a high of 71F but we are NOT complaining. It wasn’t hot enough for me to get excited about a swim so I passed for today.

On Saturday John stopped on his way home from the gun show to take some pictures of the flowers growing in the dessert but when he went to download them he had the wrong setting on the camera and they didn’t turn out so today he wanted to go and take some more. I wanted to go to Wal Mart and pick up a few groceries and we needed to fill the barbecue propane tank so off we went this afternoon to do all these chores; when we got to where John wanted to take the pictures of the flowers and he pulled out his camera there was a fair bit of muttering – turns out the battery was at home charging!! Someone was NOT a happy camper but fortunately my camera was in the truck so he used it to take some pictures.









When we got home I put the groceries away then sat out and read for a while, then went for a walk and stopped to check the mail as I figured the hydro bill would be there – sure enough it was and it was a real biggy - $15.85 for the month of February.

Dinner is now over, the dishes are done and it is time for a relaxing evening; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Sunday -March 2, 2008

Okay, today was NOT a nice day, the wind howled and blew all day long – sure could do without that. I opened a couple of windows a bit in the living room and all of a sudden my mouse wouldn’t move – the table was covered in dust!! Needless to say I wasn’t impressed after all the time I spent cleaning yesterday, I could feel grit and dust everywhere so started cleaning it up again but there is no point in getting too carried away as it is supposed to be windy until tomorrow night – how lovely!! It was not a day for being outdoors as all you do is breathe in dust so we had a quiet day indoors, I laid down on the bed this afternoon to read and was rocked by the wind.

We have never seen the wind this bad here in Yuma and hope that we don’t get too many more days like this but Mike, our neighbour, said last night that March is usually windy here – how nice.

Today is our 46th wedding anniversary so tonight we went to Red Lobster for dinner – we decided to splurge and both had lobster tail and shrimp – very yummy!

My sister and niece are leaving on Thursday for a cruise so I called her when we got home to wish them a happy holiday – I am sure they are looking forward to some sun and warmth after the winter they have had. It is now time for a bit of TV or reading; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Saturday - March 1, 2008

Wow, the 1st of March already, where does the time go! Today was another beautiful, warm, sunny day – perfect weather.

This morning was quiet and relaxing then John left about 12:30 to pick up Jim to go to the Gun Show. I had figured while he was gone would be a good time to do a major cleaning – real exciting but it has to be done, so that is how I spent about 2-1/2 hours; now our little house on wheels looks real clean and nice again.

After I finished the cleaning I read for a bit then about four o’clock I headed over to the pool and enjoyed a nice swim. I timed it just right as I had the pool pretty well to myself and just as I got out about 6 people headed in, this is the smaller pool in the park so it can look busy real fast. It is a kidney shaped pool and is a good swim back and forth down the middle if no one is there so I always try to get there when I can spend the time swimming back and forth. A gentleman from Alberta came in and we chatted for a bit, we have talked a few other times when we are both there at the same time. I came back about five and was surprised to see John wasn’t home yet but he arrived back just as I was going out to hang up my bathing suit and towel. He enjoyed the show and said Jim enjoyed it and stopped and talked to a lot of the dealers, hence they were there for a long time.

Tonight is a quiet evening of reading and TV; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Friday - February 29, 2008

Today was another beautiful day with sunny, warm temperatures. We had a very quiet day, nothing much happening this morning and this afternoon John went for his bike ride and I went for a nice swim.

After my swim I did the laundry then came home and it was time to make dinner. There was a real pretty sunset tonight – seems to be a lot of those in this part of the world and we really enjoy seeing them!



Tonight is TV and reading, as I say not a very exciting day but an enjoyable one; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Thursday - February 28, 2008

Wow, another nice day here in Yuma, I think the weather has finally changed for the better – certainly not what you can say for the weather in Ontario where they are experiencing record breaking cold temperatures. Sure hope it warms up for our return on the 1st of May!!

Today was a fairly quiet day, this afternoon we went to the market and picked up a couple of things, what a busy place it was, then went and got a few groceries.
When we got back I had a little nap then sat outside and read for a while – real exciting.

Tonight we talked to John’s brother, who had sent us an interesting DVD with lots of old family pictures on it, so a thank you was in order. We also talked to our son who is a hard person to get a hold of but we lucked out tonight and had a good chat with him also, then it was time to get dinner going. Tonight will be a quiet evening of TV or reading; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Wednesday - February 27, 2008

Today was another beautiful day, sunny and hot. Today was the park’s luncheon and fashion show so I had asked Janet to join me for it, the lunch was good – salad with lots of chunks of chicken, croissants and cookies. The fashion show was okay but most of the clothes were “old ladies clothes” – there was only one outfit that we liked that didn’t look like an old lady outfit, but it was a nice time all the same. After the lunch and show Janet and I went for a walk around the park, came back and visited for a while then she left and I got busy catching up on my blog.

I went for a nice swim about 4 and had the pool to myself which I really enjoy. I came back and John and I sat outside for a while and made a couple of phone calls, we talked to my mom and also to our friends Mike & Marg. By the time we got off the phone it was time to think about dinner – where does the day go!

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Tuesday -February 26, 2008

Wow, are we lucky as today is another beautiful, warm, sunny day. This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, I had a Belgian Waffle and John had French Toast, which is something neither of us have had in ages and they were very good. Our luggage was to be ready for pick up from our rooms at 10, so everyone was ready to go by 10:15, and that is after some shopping had occurred. I bought a pretty white front zip hoody, haven’t had a hoody for years so decided something different was in order.


View of Pool and Pier from Our Hotel Room


Beach Cabanas

Joe took us a couple of miles down the road to a fishing village so we could buy shrimp to take home. Fox Studios have a location right beside the fishing village and the drive in from the highway is about 1 mile all along side a cement fence with broken bottles on the top – pretty! After we got our shrimp Joe had to back out the entire way as there was no place to turn the bus around – now there is one good bus driver!


Walking Up From the Beach at the Fishing Village

We took the same route home, through Tijuana and San Diego, fortunately there is a bus lane to go through customs so we didn’t have to wait in the huge car lineup. We had to take our luggage and anything we bought through customs but we all breezed through and were quickly on our way again. We stopped at the same plaza in Alpine for lunch (they must get some sort of deal there!), stopped at a rest area just before El Centro and arrived back at Desert Paradise about 5 p.m. We had left our truck at Jim & Sonia’s and were just ready to leave when Ida, who is across the road from them, came over and asked us all over to her place for a drink. We had a drink and visit and headed out arriving home about 6:30.

After unpacking we decided to cook a few shrimp for dinner so had shrimp and cheese and crackers. Tonight is catching up time and again I think it will be an early evening as we are both tired – how can you get so weary from doing nothing but sitting on a bus all day! And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.

Monday -February 25, 2008

Today is a bright, warm, sunny day – we are all happy to see the nice weather. We went to a little restaurant near the hotel for breakfast, the food was okay but the service was very slow.


Looking Out At the Surf From Our Room

We boarded the bus at 10:30 for our trip to La Bufadora, which is a natural oceanic formation in which water is forced into a tiny blowhole and spouts up into the air, sometimes as high as 100 feet; there are only 3 of these formations in the world. The height of the spout depends on the surf and today the surf is huge and there are small craft warnings out so La Bufadora should be good.

There are two roads in the Baja, there is a toll road from Tijuana to Ensenada and there is an alternate route through the mountains, we took the alternate route and what beautiful scenery, unfortunately I couldn’t get any pictures. At Ensenada we picked up the road to La Bufadora, altogether it was about 85 miles from our hotel and an interesting, pretty drive. At La Bufadora Joe parked the bus and then we had to walk about 1km to the overlook for the blowhole. Of course, being typical Mexico all the street vendors were out trying to sell their wares. It had been a long morning and everyone was looking for a restroom but guess what – the one at the outlook cost $0.50 to use and what a rip it was – one cubicle had the door lying on the floor and another one had no toilet seat – and we had to pay for this!!!!

La Bufadora was wonderful, it would shoot up about once a minute with one or two little spouts then a huge one. At one point there was a Mexican family on one of the lower lookouts and they got soaked by one of the spouts, a few from the bus got damp but fortunately no one from our bus got soaked. After seeing the spout we worked our way back through all the vendors and stopped at a restaurant for lunch then I stopped and bought a couple of postcards and John got a new hat for $5.


John & La Bufadora


La Bufadora

From there we took the scenic route to L.A. Cetto Winery where we had a tour of the winery then did some wine tasting, we tasted four wines, 2 white, 1 Champagne and a red – all quite good. John and I bought a bottle of red Zinfandel and a bottle of white Zinfandel, we didn’t taste the white but I really like it so we decided to try it as those who tasted it said it was very good. Joe then took us around the winery to an area where the owner entertains guests, there is a huge covered patio and a bull ring, all with a beautiful view of the vine yards and mountains in the background.


Lots of Wine!


Bull Ring with Vine Yards and Mountains in Background

We arrived back at the hotel about 6:30 after a very enjoyable day. Again Don & Gail asked the same group down for a drink then we walked uptown a couple of blocks to La Nesta for dinner. Joe had recommended this restaurant as being very good, and it was and also had beautiful décor. After having had both a large breakfast and lunch (at least by John and I’s standards) we weren’t starving so ended up ordering two seafood platters and sharing them with Jim & Sonia. Both platters had shrimp, calamari and a piece of fish but one was broiled and one fried so we just divided everything in four, the platters each came with soup and salad and the soup was bean so John had that and I had the salad, worked out perfectly. John & Jim also shared an appetizer of venison liver and onions – yuk!!

We arrived back at our room about 10:30, very ready for a good night’s sleep; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to the mystery of tomorrow.