Saturday - March 10 - Today was another scorcher, thank goodness there is no humidity! Today was the annual toilet races at the park, it was fun to watch but I sure felt sorry for those partaking as it was really hot.

After the races we went to the market, didn’t get anything exciting but enjoyed walking around. We ran into Janet & Dave there so had a visit with them. We came back and sat outside and read, and that was it for our day today. We talked to the girls and my mom this morning and our friends in Florida tonight, so it was nice to get caught on all the happenings.

Friday - March 9 - Today was another hot one, sure doesn’t make a person feel too ambitious. I did a bit of cleaning and laundry, then we sat out under the awning and read. We went down for a swim about 4:30, the pool was very busy, everyone had the same idea, a late swim to cool off for the evening. Had a few chats with different people, now it is time to think about dinner. Sure don’t know where the days go, but they fly by!

Thursday - March 8 - Today was a hot one, in the high 80’s.

We now have a change in plans, we were planning on leaving Yuma on Saturday to go to Big Bend National Park so I was checking their web site this morning and lo and behold, if this isn’t one of their busiest times because of March break. When you don’t have kids in school this is something you just don’t think about! I called a couple of the campgrounds and they are booked solid, so guess we won’t be going there this year. We have decided to stay here for another week, until the 17^th, then we will head down to the Rio Grande area without at stop over at Big Bend.

This afternoon we went out and got groceries, paid our internet bill, etc. then when we came back I went down for a swim which felt really good. When I got back from my swim Jim and Sonia invited us over for a drink so we had a nice visit with them, but ended up having a late dinner. John had bought a Trailer Life magazine when we were out so I read that after dinner instead of doing my blog. Oh well.

Wednesday - March 7 - Today was pretty overcast but very warm. This morning I started to get the trailer in travel mode, I got all my knick knacks put away and sorted out some cupboards. John washed the truck so hopefully it won’t get too dusty before Saturday.

This afternoon we golfed with Janet & Dave then went to Famous Dave’s for dinner, which was very good - John had ribs and I had barbecue chicken, we will definitely go back there next winter. This was our last visit with Janet & Dave so it was sad to say goodbye but the good lord be willing we will meet here again for next winter.

Tuesday - March 6 - Wow, the weather is sure warming up here, in the 80’s during the day and even the nights aren’t as cold - usually in the 50’s. It is still good for sleeping though, not too hot and there sure isn’t any humidity.

Today was our last Tuesday golf and we had a good time. My team tied for 3^rd, but unfortunately we lost in the putt off, still it is more for the fun that we go. We got home about 2:45, I laid down for a bit as I hadn’t slept well last night then went down to the pool and had a good long swim, it felt great! John had a little nap also when we got back from golfing, all this heat is tiring!

Monday - March 5 - Today was very warm, up in the 80’s. This morning I made dentist appointments for John and I, an appointment for my two year check up on my hip and asked my surgeon’s office to make an appointment for my mammogram. Sure is a busy few weeks when we get back! We then did a major clean so it was around 1 before we were finished.

About 2:30 I went down to the pool, had a couple of swims and sat in the hot tub for a bit. I was going to read but ended up chatting to various people instead, and so the time goes. I talked to a fellow from Calgary who is originally from Goderich and whose brother lives in Kitchener - small world.

We were reading the Record and Sun and looking at the CBC News and saw what the weather at home is like - we sure are glad we are down here. I have never heard of highways and streets around the CN Tower and downtown Toronto buildings being closed due to ice chunks flying off the rooves. There was also a 70 car pileup on the 400 around the Alliston exit - sure do miss all that stuff!! Thanks Kel for reminding us what we are missing.

Sunday - March 4 - Today was another nice day but about noon we had one huge gust of wind, we haven’t ever had anything like that before, it lasted just a few seconds but the trailer sure shook!

This afternoon we went to see Queen and really enjoyed it, a good movie. After the show we went over to Janet & Dave’s then out for dinner, Dave didn’t want to see Queen so they didn’t go to the show with us. We went to Bubba’s for dinner, it is supposed to have good ribs but we were disappointed in them, not nearly as good as the ones we had at the Texas Roadhouse. Guess the only way to figure this out is to go for yourself as we have heard a few people say how good their ribs are, guess those people haven’t been to the Texas Roadhouse!

On the way home the moon was beautiful, a full moon in between a couple of clouds, very pretty.

Saturday - March 3 - Today was another nice, sunny, warm day. Laundry called, I haven’t done any for a week so desperately needed to do it. I went to do that and John went out to get a couple of things he wanted to get.

While doing laundry I talked to Judy, a gal from Guelph, and they went to Newfoundland 2 years ago, so she gave me all kinds of hints and is going to write down some of the places they stayed, things they did, etc. so that will be real helpful as we plan on going there is year.

Other than that, it was a quiet day. Jim and Sonia came over this morning with questions about starting a blog, and we were telling them how we do tax returns, etc down here so hope we were helpful for them. John barbecued a boneless leg of lamb for dinner - wonderful!

Friday - March 2 - Today was our 45^th wedding anniversary, where does the time go. I told John he deserves a medal for putting up with me all these years. We decided that we had been out to eat enough this week so just stayed home and had a nice dinner and relaxed and reminisced. Thank you everyone for the cards, phone calls and e-mails with best wishes, we sure hope we have many more to enjoy!!

We just got an invitation to a 50^th anniversary party for a fellow I worked with, unfortunately it is in early April so we won’t be home but we hope that we also make the 50 year mark, quite an achievement.

Thursday - March 1 - Today was nice and sunny, but cool. We didn’t do a lot, just took it easy then we went to Janet and Dave’s for dinner and the evening. We had a great dinner and visit.

This afternoon we were talking to Jim, from the trailer behind us, and somehow it came up about blogs so I was telling him about mine and he was quite interested, so I showed him how I did it etc., maybe he will also start one. He is doing what I started out doing, keeping a daily diary then e-mailing it to his kids every couple of weeks so thought the blog sounded easier to do and then they can check it daily if they want.

Wednesday - February 28 - Today was very breezy and cool, I’m glad it was warm while we were away. We had a quiet day, went out for a bit this afternoon to get a couple of groceries, stamps, etc. but other than that we didn’t do a lot.

We have decided to stay here for another week so I went down and paid up till March 10^th but I think that for sure we will leave then. That’s it for today.

Mine at Ajo

Puerto Penasco Across the Bay

Shrimpers

View of Gulf of California From Our Balcony

Tuesday - February 27 - We enjoyed the breakfast again, then it was time to get our stuff down and ready to go on the bus. The local fishermen were there with their fresh catch, John and I bought some beautiful jumbo shrimp (we had some for dinner and they were delicious). There was also a lady selling asparagus for $1/bunch so we got some asparagus. The bus left about 10 and it was the same route home only on the way back Joe stopped in Ajo (pronounced Awho) so we could see where they had mined copper there. The mine was closed about 20 years ago but there is still this huge area where they mined, just a humongous hole in the ground! There is also a beautiful looking building sitting on the top of a hill which at one time was a hotel, then during the war it was turned into a hospital. It is now all closed up but Joe said that it is haunted - interesting.

Going through customs on the way back was a breeze and the fellow was very friendly - sure a difference from the ones at Algadones! We got home about 4 and all in all it was a fun trip and we hope to be able to do another one next year. We had great weather, cool in the morning but it warmed up nicely during the day and it was all sunshine until we got back today then it clouded over.

The one thing that really bothered us was the poverty there, the housing was indescribable, we wondered how anyone could live in some of the places. Also, because of the dirt roads and dry dusty landscape everything was totally dusty, even the leaves on the few trees were dust laden. It is so sad to see people having to live like that.

Monday - February 26 - Breakfast both days was included in the price and it was a great buffet, lots of fruit, sausage, pancakes, French toast etc. and wonderful omelets - very scrumptious. The bus left the hotel at 9:30 and Joe (the bus driver) took us to a shopping place which was very much like Algadones but at least the vendors there weren’t in your face like they are in Algadones. After that we stopped at a local artist’s place, he uses sea shells and his work is lovely, he has a large piece of his work at the Vatican, pieces at the Smithsonian Institute, etc. I think he made some good sales from the bus but we didn’t buy anything as we have no place to put it. From there we went on a tour of some very large million $ homes, what was interesting though was that although these homes were on the ocean and very expensive it was all dirt roads - I can’t imagine having that kind of a home on a dirt road. The dust there is incredible because only the main roads are paved so it would be a killer trying to keep a house there clean.

From there we went to the port area for lunch and more shopping, then returned to the hotel about 2. John and I went for a long walk along the beach, they are building all kinds of condos along the beach and there is also a large RV park which was part of our hotel complex. We walked through the park but weren’t very impressed, the sites were all dirt and close together. We also heard that it was very expensive and there was a 3 year waiting list to get into the park. We came back and sat on the balcony for a while just watching the ocean, the shrimp boats, the people on the beach etc. and watched the local vendors come in with all their wares to sell. They walked across a huge lot sand loaded down with their goodies and they started coming about 3:45, guess they knew happy hour on the patio was from 4 to 6. It would be a very hard walk in all the sand loaded down with their wares, we wondered if they actually sold very much.

We went down about 5 for happy hour then dinner and again had an early evening, all the fresh air and exercise is tiring!

Sunday - February 25 - We were ready to go at 8:15 a.m., an early start to the day. Most of the people were from our park but we stopped at Fry’s and picked up another 10 people from other parks, the bus was full with 56 passengers. We stopped at Gila (pronounced Hilla) Bend for lunch at Burger King (not my favourite) then went south from there to Mexico. We stopped at the border for liquor purchases and the washroom, then on to Puerto Penasco. Altogether it was about a 4-1/2 hour trip. We went right to the hotel and were given keys to our rooms and the rest of the day was ours to do what we wanted. We got together with 3 other couples from Alberta and spent happy hour and had dinner with them, all in all a good time. It was an early evening as everyone was beat and it seemed to be a long day.

Saturday - February 24 - Happy 16^th Jeff, hope you had a good day. The temperature overnight went down to 43, that is the lowest for February but it warmed up nicely today and was another sunny day. I talked to mom, the girls and my sister today so got caught up on all the new (there wasn’t a lot).

We had a quiet day, did some laundry and that was about it for the day. John put my new golf cart together so I am looking forward to trying it out next Thursday. We are going on a 2 night 3 day bus trip to Puerto Penasco tomorrow so we spent a bit of time getting ready - clothes etc. Had to do a hunt and search for John’s bathing suit but it was finally located! We still have to pack the cooler, will probably do that in the morning.

I will not be doing the blog until we get back so until Wednesday, goodbye.

Friday - February 23 - Well, the weather forecast was right, today was windy and cool. We went out this afternoon and there was lots of blowing dust, you couldn’t even see the mountains. We were glad we weren’t out on the highway today!

We had a quiet day, we went out for a bit this afternoon - I got a new golf cart and that was about it. I am looking for a pair of golf sandals, but so far I haven’t found any that feel like they would be comfortable. With the weather forecast we decided that it would be easier not to barbecue tonight so we used up the frozen spaghetti sauce, it was a good dinner. Not an exciting day, but an enjoyable one.