Tuesday, March 17, 2009

And a happy St. Patrick’s Day to all you Irish people out there. It was a hot, sunny day here in Yuma, in fact just a little too hot for my liking, but then I think of how cold it could be and I don’t complain – LOL!

We had a great time at Gail & Don’s St. Patrick’s Day party and thank them for inviting us. I think everyone there was Canadian except for Bernie and all of them pretty well from Alberta or Manitoba, we were the only ones from Ontario. We knew most of the people there but did meet a few new ones, always fun. Gail & Don had made corned beef & cabbage with potatoes and there were salads and deserts supplied by the guests, everything was absolutely yummy. They organized a game of Arizona Golf, you try to wrap a pair of golf balls that are on a chain over a stand which has three rungs on it, not as easy as it looks. Diane was the winner of this game and won the pot (everyone put in a quarter to play), way to go Diane! After dinner there was a trivia game, we were divided into two groups and the questions were of course all Irish trivia, lots of fun. John’s side won and they all got a small prize so as you can see Gail & Don went to a lot of work for this party. A very fun time and nice to see all these great people again as we are not in the same park so haven’t seen most of them yet this year.

Sonia, John, Jim & Bernie



Diane (The Winner) Taking a Turn at Arizona Golf



John with Carl & Isobel in the Background



Some of the Folks from Manitoba



We got home in time to watch Jay Leno and veg a bit before hitting the sack.

Jacky asked about the Swiss Chalet chicken we had last night, actually it is chicken on a kaiser with Swiss Chalet dipping sauce, Swiss Chalet is a chain restaurant in Canada specializing in chicken and ribs with their own dipping sauce. It is now possible to buy the sauce in the grocery store, it comes in a packet and you just add water and heat. The only province that I know of that doesn’t have Swiss Chalet is Quebec.

We are meeting up with Gil & Ginny on the way home, we have booked a week at Betty’s in Abbeville, LA and then a week at Gulf Breezes at Gulf Shores, AL so we are looking forward to having some fun with them. We are actually planning on meeting up with them at Kinder, LA where the casino there has a really nice RV park, we have heard about it for years so are looking forward to visiting it for a couple of days.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, March 16, 2009

I haven’t done a posting in a few days as there is nothing exciting to write about and I hate writing about nothing.

The weather continues to be beautiful and the forecast for this week is for sun and highs in the low 90’s, a little too hot for me but I will survive. So far we haven’t had to put on the air conditioning so that is good.

Saturday was the Yuma air show and our neighbours went and said it was a looooong hot day so we are glad we didn’t go. We saw a few fly overs here but basically I guess it all took place to the north of the field. We figured all the roads around here would be a zoo with cars parked along the side and lots of traffic so we were quite content to stay home and veg. I baked some cookies, talked to my sister and enjoyed a swim – a real exciting day but still a nice one.

Sunday we talked to Kel and were glad to hear they enjoyed their trip to Ottawa and tour of the University of Ottawa, they were very impressed with the university and Kel said it is much smaller than Waterloo, where she went; she said you can walk from one end of the campus to another in 12 minutes. There are two different types of student housing so that is the next choice for Derrick – deciding which one he wants to stay in and then applying for it.

Our niece is going to Carleton University in the fall, which is also in Ottawa, so she and my sister left yesterday for their tour of Carleton, hope they will be as happy with Serita’s choice as Kel & family are with Derrick’s.

Saturday night our barbecue propane tank was dry when John turned it on to cook dinner so todays chore was to get that tank refilled so John headed out this morning to do that. He also stopped at Wal Mart and picked up some Irish beer as we have been invited to a St. Patrick’s Day party tomorrow.

This afternoon I went out for a much needed pedicure and to pick up some groceries. When I got back I was really hot so headed off to the pool to cool off and it worked, I felt so refreshed when I got back.

Tonight we had a real Canadian dinner – chicken on a kaiser with Swiss Chalet Sauce and home made french fries cooked in the oven – must say it was real yummy. We really miss our Swiss Chalet fix so this dinner made us real happy.

As always, the last few days have been great gifts here in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Today was another beautiful, warm day – lots of sunshine to enjoy. This morning I spent some time trying to figure out our route home but we still aren’t sure what way we are going to go. Because of all the severe tornadoes at that time of year it is always a challenge to figure out the best way to go.

Late this morning we went to Wal Mart to pick up a few groceries and stopped and got our veggies from the Friday morning veggie seller here at the park, she always has nice fresh veggies at a much better price than the grocery store. She didn’t have any asparagus left when we stopped but said she was expecting more in about a half hour so fortunately when we got back from Wal Mart she was well stocked again.

When we got back John decided to go to the market to get a couple of books but I declined to go as I had picked up some books when we were there yesterday. After putting the groceries away I sat out and read for a while then I went for a swim, it is the first time in over a week that I’ve been for a swim so I really enjoyed it.

Tonight is burgers for dinner then a nice quiet evening.

Today our daughter Kelly and family were off to Ottawa as Derrick is starting university at U of Ottawa in the fall and today was the day for touring the university etc. Hope they have a good time and good weather!

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Today was another sunny warm day here in Yuma, perfect weather as it isn’t too hot – high 70’s but it is supposed to get up into the 80’s in the next couple of days.

This morning John went out to see if he could find anybody who could/would fix our heater and didn’t have much luck. Looking at the internet it seems like if it doesn’t work there is no fix for it – sure don’t like that!

This afternoon we went to the market as they have ceramic heaters there, we checked them out but still think the catalytic one is better. John has sent Can-Am an e-mail asking them about fixing it so we will see what they have to say before we make any decisions. While at the market we picked up a few books but that was the extent of our spending.

When we got back we sat out and read and all of a sudden it was time to think about dinner – where does the time go!

Today is the usual quiet evening of either TV or reading.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday/Wednesday, March 10/11, 2009

The weather has been nice – sunny & warm. Tuesday was a pretty quiet day, we really didn’t do anything. We had a visit with a couple down the road who are from Leamington,, ON but basically it was a day of reading and spending time on the computer.

Tuesday night our catalytic heater quit, not good, so we will have to get it checked out.

Today we went out for lunch to the Olive Garden with John and Irma, we all had the soup and salad and it was very good, sure didn’t want a lot for dinner tonight.

When we got back from lunch we sat out and read for a while, then I felt the need for a little nap so came in and had a nap then headed down about 4 to do laundry, I picked a good time as it wasn’t real busy, gotta like that. Certainly there is not a lot happening in our lives, we are just enjoying the nice weather.

As always, the last two days were great gifts of days in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Today was a nice sunny day with temperatures in the mid 70’s – perfect weather as far as I am concerned!
This morning John went down to the office and informed them that we weren’t interested in either of the sites they had suggested we could have instead of this one and said we would like our deposit back – preferably in cash. Cheryl seemed quite surprised to hear we didn’t want one of the alternate sites and said she would have to talk to Donna, the owner, about the refund; John had the distinct impression that this was a new one for them. Anyways, a couple of hours later one of the workers stopped and gave John an envelope, our deposit refunded in cash, so we are happy.

John went out this morning to get fuel and propane so I took advantage of his absence and cleaned the rig and washed the floors so that is a good job done for a couple of days.

Shortly after he came back we went out to Sears and Lowe’s to check out a couple of things and when we got back John and Irma were sitting outside so went over for a little visit and to tell them we had got our deposit back with no hassle. We asked them if they would like to join us for a lunch at Olive Garden so that is what we will do on Wednesday.

Tonight is our usual quiet evening, I have a good book to read and John is keeping one eye on the TV.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Today was a partly overcast day, in fact it was probably more overcast than sunny but the temperature hit the low 70’s so it was quite pleasant.

This morning we got bumped for next year, we had been confirmed for a 3 month stay but apparently someone wants our spot for a seasonal site so we get bumped unless we want to take it as seasonal – no thanks. They have offered us two other sites but neither of them are in the area we want so we will just request our deposit back. We have really been struggling with coming back here next year or doing something different so this has just helped us make up our minds. After 4 years here we have seen and done everything there is to do in Yuma so it is time to move on and explore other places.

This morning was pretty quiet then this afternoon we went to Hastings Books, Fry’s & Wal Mart. John didn’t get the book he was looking for but at Wal Mart he did find his shorts on sale so he is now all set for summer. We stopped for a little visit with Brenda & Steve when we got back as John wanted to thank Steve for some information he had e-mailed to John.

When we got home John & Irma, our neighbours, were just heading out for a bike ride so we told them we had got bumped, everyone seems to be worried about this happening if they haven’t signed up for at least 5 months. We ended chatting for a while and they gave us a brochure for a park near San Diego that they had checked out last week and thought it was quite nice – something to think about for a month next winter.

Steve C. left a comment on our blog asking if they had a solar water heating system on their roof. The picture is of the house below Ron & Nancy’s but yes, it is a solar water heating system and we’re not positive but it could be for heating their pool.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Today was a nice day but a bit cooler, I don’t really mind as I do not like temperatures in the high 80’s and 90’s, I just can’t function in that kind of heat.

This morning was spent trying to get caught up on my blog and the pictures we took, I managed to get the pictures done and post Wednesday’s blog, the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. I also talked to Kelly and Pat but there was no answer at Nan’s so will try her tomorrow.

This afternoon we went to Wal Mart and Fry’s as the larder was kind of empty so we are now good to go for a bit. John saw the shorts he likes on sale at Wal Mart but they didn’t have his size so I guess checking out another one will be something to do tomorrow.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Today was a bit overcast and quite cool and windy. It was time to say goodbye to Ron & Nancy and thank them for an absolutely wonderful visit, one we will always remember. A lot of pictures were taken before we departed to help remember this visit and we left with the hope that we can get together again next year and hopefully do some sightseeing in and around San Diego.

Ron & Nancy on their back patio



Nancy, Ron & I



John, Ron & I



Part of their backyard



View from their backyard



The drive down the mountain from their place was beautiful and the homes are spectacular. They live above the Lawrence Welk Resort so I got a picture of that for my sister and also some pictures of the view they have.





The Lawrence Welk Resort



We took the long way home and went back to Desert Hot Springs to check out some RV parks for next year. We didn’t find anything that we liked other than the one that Jim & Linda are in and the problem with that park is that the streets are very narrow so it could be a challenge to get into and out of a spot without doing some damage to the trailer. We will have to think on this one for a while. It was also very windy there and somehow I think that is probably normal when you see all the windmills in the area and we aren’t big fans of a lot of wind.

The mountains around Desert Hot Springs were pretty with the clouds just sitting above them and the shadows.







We were well past the Salton Sea when the wind finally died down and the temperatures rose to the mid 60’s. When we got back we stopped at Ronnie’s and got a pizza, it is the first time we’ve tried a pizza from there and the pizza was good but it is definitely a take out spot rather than eat in.

By the time we got home and ate and unloaded the truck we were finished for the day.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the partly cloudy and cool south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Today was a nice day and Nancy made us a yummy breakfast of bacon and eggs. We chatted until about noon when we went out so they could show us around Escondido.

View from their backyard



Ron & John in Ron's den




We toured around there, a pretty place down in the valley, then drove through the countryside and ended up at the casino. John and I signed up at the casino and with signing up we got a coupon for a free buffet dinner – a $27 meal. Nancy had a coupon for herself and she managed to get one for Ron (Nancy goes to the casino about once a week with her girlfriends and then gets the coupon in the mail). We all played the machines for a bit but nobody had much luck and Ron got in line about 2:30 for the buffet (which started at 4). I went to spell him off and we talked for a bit then John came to spell me off so Ron went to sit down and John & I stood in line, then Nancy came to spell us off. For about the last half hour John & Nancy stood in line while Ron & I sat at a table near the line and talked.

The buffet was really good – had lobster and crab claws as well as lots of other seafood and then the usual buffet goodies – none of us came away hungry!

We went back to their place and spent the rest of the evening doing what – talking. We also had a little slide show on John’s computer of our kids, grandchildren, and my brothers & sister etc. and they showed us pictures of their trip to Banff last September for Ron’s niece’s wedding.

As always, today was another great gift of a day, and a very special day with Ron & Nancy and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

We left here about 9:00 a.m. to go to Escondido, CA to visit my cousin Ron & his wife Nancy. We last saw Ron & Nancy briefly16 years ago at his mother’s funeral and heaven only knows when before that so there were a lot of years to get caught up on.

We took the scenic route to their place, which is north of San Diego, and what a beautiful drive and gorgeous scenery. Once past the desert areas in the southeastern part of California the countryside turns into very mountainous, green, absolutely gorgeous countryside.

These were taken on our drive to Escondido:











Now here's a sign I never dreamt we would see in southern California





We arrived at their place about 2:30 p.m. and the visiting began, what a lot to talk about and get caught up on. They have a fabulous home on the top of a mountain looking west to the ocean, which is about 20 miles away, and on a clear day you can see the ocean and the outline of Catalina Island. This is their retirement home and Nancy designed it and what an absolutely wonderful job she did, there are a lot of things in their home that I would never have dreamt of, it is certainly a place to be proud of and enjoy.

They made John and I feel very welcome and Nancy had made me a lovely “blankie” which I know I will really enjoy and think of her when I use it.

Nancy made a lovely dinner and we certainly didn’t run out of things to talk about. Ron and I found it very interesting listening to each other’s recollections of our childhood, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. and we both learned new things about our family.

As always, today was another great gift of a day, and a very special day getting to know Ron & Nancy and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Today was cooler and overcast, I must say I didn’t mind the cooler temps as I really don’t like the hot days, they just drain me.

This morning I did some cleaning and just fiddled around then around 1:00 I headed to the Laundromat, it was busy but I didn’t have to wait for machines so I was happy.

I read while the laundry was doing then came home and sat outside and finished my book – a real exciting day, but relaxing.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the not so sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Today was a real scorcher of a day, a good day for taking it easy which is exactly what we did.

We went out after lunch and got our haircuts then came back & sat in the shade reading. I went to the pool about 3:30 for a swim and felt much cooler and more refreshed after that.

Today was our 47th wedding anniversary, how John has put up with me for all those years I will never know but he has been a wonderful, kind, supportive loving husband. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner – yummy!! There are no, or very few, Olive Gardens left in Canada so we do enjoy them down here.

It is after 9 p.m. and the temperature is still in the 70’s, quite a change from the usual cool evenings, although tonight the weather forecast is for cooler temperatures in the next few days.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, March 1, 2998

I slept really good last night so today was a much better day. Again, it was a hot and sunny day here in Yuma.

This morning I spent on the computer doing my month end stuff so that is now done for another month.

We got an e-mail from our grandson Derrick today telling us that he has been accepted to the University of Ottawa for the fall and will be taking history – congratulations Derrick, we are very proud of you. Our niece Serita has been accepted at Carleton for the fall (we are also very proud of her) so they will both be in Ottawa – neat. We are proud of the two of them and wish them both good luck in this new chapter of their lives. Both of their mothers are proud of them but are sad at the thought of their children heading off to university, they will get over it and it is time for their offspring to spread their wings and fly on their own.

This afternoon we sat outside and read until it was time to go golfing, we had a tee time for 4:05 and were delighted to find out that today was the first day of Twilight fees - $7 after 4 p.m. so our golf was all of $14 – sure do like that!! We played with a couple of very nice guys from Wyoming; neither John nor I had stellar games, very disappointing but at least we got our exercise lol.

We wanted to try a pizza from Ronnie’s after golfing but when we got there it was closed on Sundays – bummer!! Second choice was coming home and doing burgers, they were good but I would rather have had the pizza, oh well, life isn’t always about getting everything you want!!

Tonight is the usual – either TV or a book.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The weather here is consistent, hot and sunny.

This morning I fiddled and faddled about and talked to my sister Pat and my friend Janet. John went down to Steve’s to see what he had done to his system to improve the batteries etc. so after I got off the phone I walked down and had a visit with Brenda.

This afternoon John wanted to go to Sears so off we went. We didn’t find anything exciting and John didn’t find what he wanted so we came home after a quick stop at Staples and the Salvation Army store.

I haven’t slept well the last couple of nights, both nights I was up during the night for a couple of hours, so this afternoon it caught up with me and I was exhausted, so when we came home from Sears I went in for a nap instead of going for a swim – bad me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go to the pool instead of heading into the bed – lol!

Tonight we watched some TV and I was in bed early as I was still really tired – hopefully tomorrow I will be back to my normal self. I find this heat really hard to take so that could be part of my problem.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Today was another hot, sunny day here in Yuma, a wonderful day.

We didn’t do a lot this morning, spent time catching up on e-mails, news etc. on the computer. We headed out about noon and went to the Brown Bag Burger for lunch – they have really good burgers and again we split a 10 oz burger with fries and a drink.

From there we did a quick trip into Wal Mart and got some bread and buns and I got a bathing suit which I needed badly as I hate wearing my really good one in the pool with all the chlorine. After Wal Mart we stopped at the market where I picked up a couple of books and got John and new t-shirt and myself a new top as well as a bag to take to the pool.

When we got back I was boiling so quickly changed into my new suit and headed for the pool where I stayed until I felt like a prune! Dinner is now over and we are looking forward to a quiet evening of reading or TV.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Today was a repeat of yesterday, another quiet day here in sunny, warm Yuma.

This morning I did a major cleaning then after lunch headed out to my lawn chair, book in hand, and sat out reading all afternoon. When I finished my book I looked at my watch and it was 4:45, too late for a swim so I went for a long walk instead.

I have been having trouble getting on the internet the last couple of nights so this will have to wait until tomorrow to be posted.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Today was another beautiful, hot day with temperatures in the mid 80’s, it was a quiet, uneventful day for us.

This morning I spent mainly on the computer posting John’s pictures from our trip into California and catching up on e-mail, although I still have a couple more to do. I did laundry late this morning then came home and sat outside reading for a while and about 3:30 went for a swim; what a great relaxing day it was but there is really nothing to write about in my blog.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

More Pictures of Hearst Castle and Our Drive Along the Ocean

John just gave me some of his pictures from our trip into California so I will post them now. There are pictures of the coastline, Hearst Castle and Solvang.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

We enjoyed another gorgeous warm day here in the sunny south. We sat outside with our coffee for a while this morning then headed out to see about getting the oil changed on the truck and to pick up some groceries.

Wal Mart couldn’t do the oil change for about an hour and a half so we just picked up some groceries and then went to Fry’s to finish the grocery shopping. It was about 2 when we got home so John decided to head back to Wal Mart for the oil change and also to get fuel – diesel was $1.739 today, sure do like that!!

I put the groceries away and then chatted with John and Irma, our neighbours, for a bit, they had just returned from a week in the Tucson area. Around 3:30 I headed down to the pool, it was a lot busier than yesterday so kind of hard to swim with so many people just hanging around chatting. I talked to a couple of women from B. C. for quite a while then ended up walking back with Maureen as she is only a street over from us. John arrived home just as I got back from the pool – good timing.

One of the couples here was having a Mardi Gras party tonight, they have a corner lot and had at least 50 chairs set up around the lot and had a huge Mardi Gras poster covering the whole side of the trailer and the food smelled so good. A few drinks later everyone was parading around the park, I think a good time was had by all but I bet there will be some sore heads in the morning.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Today was a beautiful warm day here in Yuma, when I checked the weather this morning it called for an overcast, cloudy day but by late morning the sun was out and it stayed out the rest of the day with highs in the mid 80’s.

I spent this morning getting my blog and pictures posted for the past 5 days and catching up on the blogs I read as well as e-mails and news. This afternoon I sat outside and enjoyed the warm weather reading and went for a nice swim – life is great! John washed the truck and dusted off the trailer so we are all nice and clean looking again. Obviously it was a quiet, unexciting day but nonetheless enjoyable.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

It rained overnight and this morning we woke up to very overcast skies, cool temperatures (50F) and a light drizzle. This is the weather forecast for the next week in this area so it makes it easier to say goodbye to this beautiful part of California!

We had an 800+ km drive ahead of us so we were on the road about 9 and had a bit of drizzle all morning but it never poured rain so that was good. We took Highway 41 east to 46 that took us to Hwy 99 south of Bakersfield. Highway 41 was very scenic but a slow drive as it was a very hilly, twisty and turny road, it would have been really pretty if the sun were shining.

Highway 46 was pretty flat and all vineyards and orchards, the leaves aren’t out on the vines yet but a lot of the trees were just starting to flower – very pretty.



There were also a lot of cattle grazing on the hillsides on the south side of the highway. Just before we got to Highway 99 we passed a very large area of oil drilling rigs and hundreds of hydro towers to supply the juice to run them.





Highway 99 was pretty boring and not much scenery and at Bakersfield we picked up Highway 58 East and the scenery along here was a bit better. We stopped for lunch at Tehachapi, elevation 3729’ and there was lots of snow on the surrounding hillsides but fortunately none in the town. From there I took over the driving and we went across 58 to Highway 395 and took it south to I-15, then picked up I-210 at San Bernardino, then I-10 east to 86 south around the Salton Sea. Highway 58 wasn’t too busy but 395 was a VERY busy two lane highway and I-15 was really busy, I was very thankful when we hit I-210 as it was far less traffic all the way home from there.

We had overcast cool weather all the way to Palm Springs then the sun came out and the temperature jumped to 75F, sure did like that! We again passed a lot of wind farms in the southern part of California and the mountains were still beautiful with the snow on them. A lot of the windmills we passed today were on metal towers rather than pylons, but there were also a lot on pylons, I have no idea why they would be different.



It was interesting that all the vines in the vineyards around the Salton Sea had the leaves on them, just the difference in climate.

I drove until we were at I-8 with about 45 minutes to go to Yuma and then John took over again so I called both Nan and my sister and chatted with them until we were pretty well into Yuma.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner when we got into Yuma, then home. It has been a long day and I am tired so I won’t be trying to catch up on my blog until tomorrow.

We had a wonderful “holiday” and the scenery was amazing but I am glad to be back in our own little home on wheels as I hate staying in motels, but this was a trip that was much easier to make without having the trailer behind us.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the not so sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.