March - The Start of Spring in Pahrump

Hi there, welcome back.  Our last episode concluded on Thursday, February 29^th.  On Friday, March 1^st, Jackie had a 10:00 card game in the clubhouse that went for about 5 hours.  I was doing some chores and also had a 2:00 appointment with the President and Vice President of our Co-op Board of Directors to help them with conducting meetings.  They have been having some issues with disorganized meetings and I was teaching a little bit of basic Roberts Rules of Order.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went home for dinner and a night with the TV.

Saturday, March 2^nd, Jackie and some of the other ladies from the park went out to a craft sale and then some other girl’s day out stuff.  I was doing some office work and other chores around the house.  We were having a major wind storm and at one point I heard a huge crash and went outside to find that a four by eight piece of two inch Styrofoam had blown from somewhere and hit our trailer.  Fortunately, it hit our garden flag pole first, bending it about 30 degrees, which slowed it down some.  It didn’t do any damage, other than bend the pole, which I straightened out.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  We spent the remainder of the night watching TV.  Sunday I had an appointment at Desert Radiology at 2:00 for an ultrasound of my testicles.  I had gone to the Urologist last week to have them check a lump, which he said was a common benign cyst which would not be any problem or need to be removed.  He did order an ultrasound just to be sure.  After the ultrasound we went to Smith’s to do some shopping and then came home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Monday, March 4^th, we left the trailer about 11:00 and  went into Las Vegas to go see my brother Russ and his wife Zen, who live in North Las Vegas.  Even though we live fairly close, we only get to see each other every few months.  He is still working as a floor manager at the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas.  He has been there about 30 years now working the craps tables.  Zen is Philippino and loves to cook, so we had a wonderful meal and had some time to sit and talk and catch up.  We left about 3:30 and on the way home we stopped at Valley Hospital, near downtown, to see our friend Millie Duffin.  She has some health issues and ended up having to spend some time in the Pahrump hospital first, then transferred down here to Las Vegas.  She was surprised and happy to see us and we spent about 40 minutes visiting.  We then left and headed home, getting back home about 6:30.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV.  Tuesday was a stay at home day.  We got a lot of little chores done but stayed home most of the day.  I did go out in the morning to take my Pre-op Clearance checklist to my primary care doctor here in Pahrump.  This is the list of stuff that the Orthopedist in Las Vegas needs checked before I can schedule my hip replacement.  I was concerned that I might not be able to get all the stuff done before our cruise, but it turned out well.  The nurse took the checklist back to Dr Wiggins and he immediately made out an order for the chest Xray, as well as for all the required labs.  I was able to go to the other end of the building and get the Xray done and the blood drawn for the labs.  I also have an appointment in a week and a half with the doctor for the physical and the EKG and then he should give me a letter of clearance and I can schedule the hip replacement, hopefully shortly after we return from our May cruise.  Yea.  We did go to happy hour and then came home and had dinner with the leftovers from Zen’s lunch yesterday.  After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, March 6^th, was also a stay at home day.  Jackie played Pokeno at 1:00 and I did some office work and other chores around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then had pot roast for dinner that had been cooking all day in the crock pot.  After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.  Thursday we got up and cleaned up early to go to the clubhouse for breakfast.  The Silver Seekers did a French toast casserole for breakfast.  About 10:00 Jackie went over the clubhouse to play cards and I stayed home and did some chores.  The housekeeper came about 1:00 to clean.  About 3:00 we left to take Jackie to her ophthalmologist for a checkup.  He told her tat the floaters were normal, nothing to worry about and there was no way to make them go away.  After the eye doctor we went to happy hour, then came home, had dinner and spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Friday, March 8^th, we went out about 12:30 to Terrible’s Roadhouse for a late lunch.  We both had liver and onions, Yum.  We then stayed and gamed for an hour or so before heading home.  We did a few things around the house in the afternoon.  We went to happy hour about 4:30, then stayed at the clubhouse for bingo.  Again, neither of us won anything.  After bingo we went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.  Saturday was a stay at home day for me.  Jackie went out about 11:00 for a ladies luncheon at a local Mexican restaurant.  Len came over about 1:00 for guitar practice.  I went to happy hour about 4:00.  Jackie was feeling poopy and didn’t go.  After I got home we had dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, March 10^th, we had a relaxing morning, then went to the ice cream social at 2:00 in the clubhouse.  After the social we spent about 45 minutes playing left-right-center, which was a lot of fun because we had a dozen people playing today, including some visitors.  After the game we went to Walmart for some supplies.  After we got home we had some hamburgers on the grill for dinner, then spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Monday we were dressed and out of the house by a little after 10:00, heading over the hill to Las Vegas.  We were headed to the Olive Garden restaurant in Summerlin, for the Lucky Rollers monthly dine out.  They try to do at least two a year in Las Vegas for those members of the travel club that do not live in Pahrump.  We had 26 people turn out for lunch and we had great service and great food.  After the lunch we drove to the nearby rehab facility that our friend Millie had been transferred to for a brief visit.  One other member of the park, Phyliss also went to visit Millie.  Millie is not very happy with the facility, which is really just a facility for people who are not sick enough to be in a hospital, but still need some medical care that they can’t do on their own at home.  She is scheduled to be here for 20 days and is about a third of the way through that now. After we saw Millie we made a quick run to the nearby CVS pharmacy for some supplies she needed.  We dropped them off to her, then drove to Costco for some heavy duty shopping.  All three of today’s destinations were within a quarter mile of each other.  Among other things, we bought about $100 worth of corn beef to cook for next Sunday’s St Patrick’s day dinner in the clubhouse.  After shopping we headed back to Pahrump.  We didn’t make it back in time for happy hour, so we just stayed in the rest of the evening watching TV.

Tuesday, March 12^th, we had pretty much a stay at home day.  We did some chores around the house and had a meeting of the Silver Seekers Board at 1:00.  After the meeting Jackie had a mani appointment and I did some more chores.  I did happy hour at 4:00 and Jackie came after her appointment at about 4:30.  After happy hour we went home and did some pork chops on the grill and then watched TV until bedtime.  March 13^th, my son Roy Jr’s birthday.  Jackie did Pokeno in the afternoon and I played some guitar with Len.  About 3:00 or so I got a call from Susan, my brother Ken’s wife, letting me know that Ken was not doing well in the hospital and doctor’s were not hopeful for a recovery.  After talking to Jackie, we decided that we would travel down to Phoenix to spend some time with Ken and Susan.  I made some hotel reservations for us leaving here on Thursday and arriving in Phoenix on Friday.  We went to happy hour and midway through happy hour I got a another call from Susan telling me that Ken had passed.  We were shocked and sad, but told Susan we would be coming down as planned to help in away we could.  After happy hour we had dinner and spent the rest of the night with the TV and packing.

Thursday, March 14^th, we had our clothes and stuff packed for a weeks stay and headed out from the park about 10:30.  The first part of the drive was about 180 miles to Kingman, Arizona, where we checked into a Motel 6 near the airport for the night.  We were up early the next morning and on the road heading to Phoenix.  The weather was really bad, lots of rain and we roads, but we made it into Gilbert, Arizona, on the East side of the Phoenix valley, about 2:30 or so.  We got checked into our extended stay hotel for a week’s stay, then drove over to the hospital to meet with Susan.  For those who don’t know, Ken and Susan have been full time RVers for the last three years or so.  Last March Ken was not feeling well and went to an urgent care in Texas, near Dallas, to get checked.  They did some tests and found a mass in his chest that was causing the shortness of breath and weakness he was feeling.  They needed to get back to Arizona for more tests, but Ken was not up to the trip and Susan didn’t drive the coach.  I flew out to Texas and helped them get the coach back to Arizona.  He went to the hospital shortly after that and they found the mass was cancer and he started treatment.  They have been living in the hospital parking lot for nearly a year.  Fortunately, the hospital has 10 full hookup RV sites in the parking lot.  Ken was in and out of the hospital, but could never get away from the hospital because of the ongoing treatments.  He had chemo, stem cell transplants, all kinds of procedures, although they never did surgery because of the location of the mass.  At one point in the fall they thought the tumor was gone and he was getting better, but by the holidays it was showing it was back.  In the end, his body just couldn’t tolerate the treatments anymore.  We spent some time with Susan before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday, March 16^th, we went back over to Susan’s and spent the afternoon with her talking next steps.  She asked us to go to the funeral home with her to make the arrangements for Ken.  She is just doing a simple cremation for the present and planning a Celebration of Life for later in a couple months.  We went there and spent an hour or so with the funeral director taking care of the papers.  They hope to be able to do the cremation and get the ashes back to Susan by the end of next week.  After spending the day with Susan we went back to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the night.  The next couple of days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, were all pretty much the same.  We spent some time with Susan, we did some sightseeing in the East valley and some shopping.  We also did some geocaching, something we haven't been doing a lot of.  In fact, we found enough caches that our finds for 2024 is already more than we got all last year.  Still only a few compared to the old days, but we did have one 10 cache day here in the Phoenix area.  We spent the nights with the TV at the hotel.  On Thursday, our last day there, we had to move the motor home.  Susan knew that the hospital was asking her to leave now that Ken was no longer a patient, and I had to drive the coach.  Fortunately, Susan has family in the Phoenix area and one of her older cousins has a small farm in Buckeye, on the far west side of Phoenix.  So about 9:30 on Thursday morning we went over and helped Susan get the coach packed up and I drove the coach about 60 miles from Gilbert, across the Phoenix metro area, to Buckeye and got her parked in her cousin’s yard.  She has some hookups there and will stay there for a month or so to get situated.  She and Ken had purchased an RV lot at a resort in Benson, Arizona, East of Tucson, but she wasn’t sure if she was going to keep the motor home and put it on the lot, or change to a park model.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to the motel.

Friday, March 22^nd, we were packed up and ready to leave Gilbert around 9:00.  Unlike the trip down the weather was good.  We made it across the City of Phoenix, East to West in good time and were on our way home.  We stopped in Wickenburg for lunch at a café called Spurs, which had great food and great service.  We had a little trouble navigating our way out of Wickenburg because of some major road construction on Highway 93, but we were finally on our way again.  We made a quick potty stop in Dolan Springs, about 30 miles South of the Nevada line and bought some tickets for the big PowerBall lottery.  We hit Vegas at the beginning of rush hour, but we finally pulled into our driveway in Pahrump about 5:30.  We got unpacked and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, March 23^rd, we did laundry and other chores related to being gone for a week.  In the early afternoon I took all my audio equipment over the clubhouse for an event tonight.  At 3:00 we went to the clubhouse to help set up for tonight’s pot luck dinner at 4:00.  We had a nice pot luck, with probably 30 people.  About 5:00 I started doing karaoke.  Tonight was originally supposed to be a lip sync night, but no one signed up, so we made it karaoke instead.  About two dozen members stayed for karaoke and for the first time since I have been doing this stuff at our park I had people come up and sing.  We had singing, dancing
and went until 7:30 with nonstop fun.  I was really pleased.  After the event I packed up the equipment and took everything home and we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  

Sunday, March 24th, we planned to have a quiet day at home, but we got a call from Jackie’s cousins, Ron and Stphanie Kopf that they were in Las Vegas, heading back to Bullhead City, and wanted to know if they could come up to Pahrump for a visit.  We said yes and they came up.  They actually have a home in Fresno, California, but Ron is an electrician and has been working in Bullhead City for a while.  Stephanie came out to take a mini-vacation with Ron.  They got up here about 1:00 and we took them over the clubhouse at 2:00 for the ice cream social.  We then came back and sat and talked until almost 8:00.  We did take a break and Ron and I drove to the Pour House to get a pizza for dinner.  They left about 8:00 and we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV.

Monday, March 25^th, we had a fairly quiet day.  I did have an meeting in the clubhouse at 2:00 that lasted about an hour.  After the meeting we had 4:00 happy hour.  We left happy hour and went to Walmart for some supplies.  After Walmart we stopped at Chipotle for a quick dinner, which we took home to eat.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV.  Tuesday Jackie had a mani appointment at noon and I did some work in the office.  About 3:00 we left to go to the monthly park dine-out.  This month we went to Mom’s Diner.  We left early because Jackie’s favorite place to shop, Secret Sisters consignment store, is in the same strip mall.  There were ten people at the dine-out and we had a good time.  After the dinner we went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 27^th, I had an 8:00 appointment with our primary care doctor, Dr. Wiggins, to get the final clearance for my hip replacement surgery.  He and his nurse did the usual basic checkup stuff, the doctor came in and talked to me for a while, then they did a brief EKG.  After it was all finished the nurse came in and said they would fax the surgery clearance to Desert Orthopedics and they would be in contact with me at some point to make appointments.  Jackie had Pokeno at 1:00 and my buddy Len came over at 1:00 and we had guitar practice.  We did happy hour at 4:00, then came home for dinner and a night with the TV.  Thursday was pretty much a stay at home day.  I had an open jam session in the clubhouse at 2:00 and had to go over a little early to get set up.  We still only had three people at the jam.  Len thought he had identified another couple, but they told him today that they couldn’t come because of illness.  We still had a good two hours or so with a few people in the audience.  After the jam I cleaned up all the equipment and went home.  We did happy hour, then went home for dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, March 29^th, I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee, which went for a couple of hours.  After the meeting I went home for lunch and we went out to do some shopping.  We did happy hour, then dinner and the TV for the rest of the night.  Saturday, we had haircuts scheduled for noon.  After the haircuts we ran a couple of errands, then went home for the rest of the day.  It was rainy, so we skipped happy hour and just had dinner and watched TV.

Sunday, March 31^st, Happy Easter.  We had a relaxing morning and afternoon for the most part.  Jackie spent some time cooking sweet potatoes for the Easter dinner we were having at the clubhouse.  At 3:00 we went over to the clubhouse to help set up for the 4:00 dinner.  I was one of the ham carvers.  We had four big spiral hams that the Silver Seekers provided, and lots of side dishes brought by members.  We all had plenty to eat and we had about 40 people at the dinner.  We were pretty much done and cleaned up by 6:00, so we headed home and spent the rest of the night with the TV.

That is the end of March, and the end of this episode.  Until next time, be kind and stay safe.  See ya soon.

Wicked Weather February

Hello again.  Our last episode concluded on Wednesday, January 31^st.  Hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already over.  The 1^st was a stay at home day for me.  Jackie had a hair cut in the late afternoon.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching the TV after I was done with my hour of security patrol.  Friday I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee which took a couple of hours.  We then left about 3:30 and drove to the Elks Lodge for dinner.  Our friend Phyliss was cooking tonight and she made chicken fajitas.  We had eleven people from the park for dinner, which was a good turnout.  Our group was about half of the entire group that came.  We had some cocktails before dinner, then enjoyed dinner.  We were back home by about 7:00.  I did my security tour at 8:00, then we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV. 

Saturday, February 3^rd  was another stay at home day.  I was able to get some office work done, including finishing up our 2023 tax return and getting it electronically submitted to the IRS.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  I did my last tour of security tonight, then we watched the TV until bedtime.  Sunday we went to the 2:00 social hour and then played some left,right,center afterwards.  After the games we did a grocery run.  After we got home we had dinner, then watched TV for the rest of the night. 

Monday, February 5^th, happy birthday to me, the big 77.  We had another stay at home day.  We have had rain since Saturday afternoon and today it was raining hard all day long.  It’s a good thing that our trailer is on a little rise in the lot, because we have a lake all around us.  The weather was so miserable we even cancelled happy hour because of the rain.  We spent the night on the couch watching TV.  Tuesday it was still raining, although not quite as hard.  We had a 1:00 meeting of the Silver Seekers Board in the clubhouse, which was the workshop session.  After that we went home for a while, then came back for happy hour.  We had some cake and celebrated by birthday a day late with the happy hour group.  After that we went home for dinner, the watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, February 7^th, our 20^th wedding anniversary.  Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  We also had the first visit of our new housekeeper, Margarita.  She does a number of other places here at the park and we have arranged for her to come in every other week for a cleaning.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then about 5:30 we left to go to the Pour House for an anniversary dinner.  Our friends Lee and Kim Grissom went with us.  We had a very nice dinner and then stayed for a hour or so at the karaoke that they have there on Wednesdays.  After that we went home, watched a little TV, and went to bed.  Thursday was another anniversary of sorts, the 25^th anniversary of Jackie and I reuniting after 22 years of not seeing each other.  We had a 9:00 town hall meeting, which we zoomed from home.  At 1:00 we had the Silver Seekers open Board meeting, which went a little less than an hour.  Jackie then had a 3:00 dental appointment and made it back not to long after I went over the clubhouse for happy hour.  The rain has finally stopped with Pahrump supposedly getting just under two inches of rain since Saturday.  We had hamburgers for dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Friday, February 9^th, Jackie went to the clubhouse to play cards about 11:00.  I did some work around the trailer.  After she was done we went out for a late lunch at a fast food place called Teriyaki Madness.  They have been open for over a year, but we haven’t gotten around to trying them.  The food, which is mostly bowls, with rice, veggies and meat.  I had the steak and Jackie had the chicken and we both loved the food.  We will be back.  After lunch we stopped for some groceries, then headed back home.  At 4:30 we went to happy hour, then stayed for Bingo.  Unlike last week we didn’t have much luck.  I did win one regular game, but had to split the pot, so $6.  We still had fun.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until it was time for bed.  Saturday Jackie went out about 11:00 for a ladies lunch and I stayed home and did some office work.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and spent the night with the TV.

Sunday, February 11^th, Super Bowl Sunday.  Of course, everyone knows that Super Bowl 58 was in Las Vegas.  We had a super bowl party at the clubhouse that started about 2:30 or so.  The Silver Seekers served hot dogs and chips, with chili or sauerkraut available as well.  Other people brought other snacks.  We had about 50 people at kickoff, about evenly divided between San Francisco and Kansas City fans.  I had a $1 a square pool going for the group.  Thanks to piss poor performance by the offense on both teams I won the first quarter for $20 with a score of 0-0.  The second and third quarters were won by our friend Don Klein, $20 each.  He won both quarters with the same square, but different scores.  He had 3-0 and the score at the end of the second quarter was 10-3, and then the end of the third it was 10-13.  Our friend Joyce won the $40 final prize.  After the game we cleaned up and went home and watched a little TV until bedtime.

Monday, February 12^th, we had an 11:30 dine out at El Jefe Mexican restaurant with the Lucky Rollers camping group.  We had about 20 people at that one.  After lunch we stopped and checked on our sick golf cart (still being worked on) and then did a grocery run.  After we got home we did happy hour, then went home for dinner and night with the TV.  Tuesday was pretty much a stay at home day.  I had a short meeting in the clubhouse at 1:00 and Jackie had a nail appointment at 3:00.  I went to happy hour on my own because Jackie was busy with her nails.  Later we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Wednesday, February 14^th, Happy Valentines Day and happy birthday to my granddaughter Courtney, whose middle name is obviously Valentine.  Today was a busy day.  Before lunch I took all of my audio equipment over the clubhouse to get it set up for the Valentines party tonight.  Jackie had her Pokeno, which started at 12:00 today to allow time for people to prepare for tonight’s potluck dinner.  My friend Len came over about the same time for our weekly jam session and practice.  Jackie made a taquito casserole for the potluck after she got home from Pokeno and we went over the clubhouse about 3:30 to help set things up.  The potluck started at 4:00 and we had about 35 people show up, which is good, but not great.  We had a lot of good food and most of us over-indulged.  About 5:00 I started playing some dance music, mostly romantic songs.  Unfortunately, a large number of people left the party early and even the ones who hung in and danced a little were ready to go home at 6:30.  We cleaned up and packed up our stuff and went home where we spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Thursday we had a Co-op Board meeting at 9:00, so we got up early and went over for it.  It was an interesting meeting with a fairly decent turnout, at least for this park, about 45 people.  After the meeting we went home and spent the rest of the day around the house doing chores.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went home for dinner.  We spent the remainder of the night with the TV.

Friday, February 16^th, we left the park about 11:00 and headed over to Las Vegas.  I had a appointment with an orthopedic doctor about my hip.  A couple of years ago I noticed that if I walked for any long distance, or tried to walk faster than a normal gait, my right hip would start hurting.  It would also hurt if I was standing for a long period of time.  I mentioned it to my primary care doctor and he sent me for an Xray, which showed that I had some early arthritis starting in the ball joint of the hip.  Over the roughly two years since then it has started getting worse, starting to hurt when I walk or stand at all and aching sometimes at night.  I decided to go to an orthopedist to get checked.  When I got into the doctor at Desert Orthopedic Center in Las Vegas he had another Xray taken and then sat down and told me that the arthritis was advancing and that parts of the joint are now bone on bone, which is causing the pain.  He said there is no cure for arthritis and nothing can be done to fix the diminished cartilage in the joint.  He said the only thing to do is have a hip replacement, which is really just a replacement of the ball and socket joint.  He said it was up to me to decide when to do it, which is when it gets so bad I need to have it done.  He took time to explain the surgery and the recovery process and said just come back whenever I was ready.  After the doctor visit we stopped and did some shopping, then headed back over the hill to home.  We didn’t get home in time for happy hour, so we just had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, February 17^th, we were up early again, this time to have breakfast at a food truck which the Silver Seekers association had set up to come into the park.  I had biscuits and gravy and Jackie had a biscuit and sausage with gravy.  The food was pretty good, although really rich and a little spicey.  I also ordered a pulled pork sandwich for later.  When I had the sandwich for a late lunch I was not as happy with it as I was with breakfast.  I would not have the pulled pork again.  I spent the day doing chores and office work around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and did some pork chops in the instapot.  They turned out pretty good.  After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.  Sunday we went out for lunch Teriyaki Madness about noon, then did some shopping.  We are looking for a small cabinet to put in the shed.  After we got back we invited our friends Max and Nancy to come over for a small happy hour on our patio.  Today was a really nice day and we thought it would be good to get together with friends.  After that we had dinner then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, February 19^th, Presidents Day.  Today was a stay at home day.  We did a few things around the house, but mostly just stayed in.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home for dinner and the rest of the evening with the TV.  Tuesday was busier.  I left about 8:30 to go down to the Nye County Planning and Zoning office to do some research on our RV park.  I wanted to see what we are actually zoned as and if there are any restrictions.  I need this info for my work on the By Laws Committee.  I didn’t get any answers, but they told me they would email me the results of my records request.  We went to the clubhouse at 12:30 for another Silver Seekers lunch.  This time Don made hot turkey sandwiches, with mashed potatoes and gravy.  I was, unfortunately, a dreary and rainy day, so not as many people showed up as we expected.  It was still very good.  Right after lunch we went to Walmart so I could get my eye exam at the optometrist and we needed a few groceries.  I had my exam, but the doctor told me that the change from my existing prescription was very minor and that, in her opinion, my cataracts are to the point where fixing them is the only thing that is going to clear up my vision.  I have an ophthalmologist appointment in a couple of months, so we will see.  We got home to late for happy hour so we just had diner and spent the night on the couch watching TV.

Wednesday, February 21^st, we were out of the house by 9:45, heading to Las Vegas so I could go to the urologist for a checkup on an issue with one of my testicles.  The doctor told me what it was and said the issue was usually not anything to be concerned about and fairly common.  He did give me an order for an ultrasound just to make sure there is nothing unusual going on.  I can have that done in Pahrump.  After the doctor we had lunch at a place called the Crab Corner, which is just down the street from the doctor’s office.  It is primarily a sea food place and the food was quite good.  I had fish and chips and Jackie had grilled Mahi Mahi, which was also good.  We had a calamari appetizer which was not as good as some we have had, but it was OK.  After lunch we did some shopping at a couple of the local Goodwill stores.  Both of us got a few bargains in the process.  We then headed back over the hump and got back in time for happy hour at 4:00.  We then went home and relaxed for the rest of the night.  Tuesday Jackie went to play cards in the clubhouse and our new housekeeper came to clean.  Len came over for guitar practice which we missed on Wednesday because of our Vegas trip.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home, had dinner and watched TV the rest of the night.

Friday, February 23^rd, I had a 10:00 meeting with the By Laws Committee which went until about 12:30.  We then went out for a late lunch and did some shopping at Walmart.  At 3:30 we both got haircuts, then came back home.  We went to happy hour about 4:30 and then stayed for Bingo.  Neither of us won anything tonight.  About 8:00 we were done so we went home and spent the night with the TV.  Saturday we had a stay at home day.  At 3:30 we went over to the clubhouse for a 4:00 pot luck dinner and then at 5:00 I did a trivia contest.  We had about 30 people participating and had a really good time.  We were back home by 7:30 or so and watched TV the rest of the night.

Sunday, February 25^th, we left the park about 11:00 headed down to Laughlin, Nevada, for a mini-vacation.  When we were down in Laughlin in October with the Lucky Rollers RV group here at the park, we stayed at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort for the three days we were there.  Since we don’t have a movable RV anymore, but still like to have fun with the group, we have to get a hotel room.  Of course, we gambled some at the Riverside during the three days.  Ever since I have been getting “rewards” from the players club offering two free nights at the hotel.  I have been getting one every month.  We were supposed to go for two nights back in January, but then the big storm blew in so we cancelled and rescheduled for this month.  We stopped in Vegas at a Subway shop for lunch.  We had a gift card for $15, which, ironically, we had won at the Lucky Rollers campout in October.  We continued down and got into Laughlin about 2:30 or so.  Since we probably couldn’t get into the room this early, we went over to the Tropicana casino and gamble for a while.  We also joined their slot club to get points because our friends, the Sullivan’s, always get free offers from the Tropicana for rooms.  After a little gaming we went over to the Riverside and checked into our room.  This time they gave us a river view room.  After a little rest we went downstairs and gambled for a while.  About 6:30 we went to the Prime Rib room where we had a wonderful prime rib dinner with all the fixings.  It’s a good thing the room has a small fridge, because we had leftovers.  After dinner we gambled some more, finally getting up to the room around 11:00. 

Monday, February 26^th, we slept in and relaxed and finally got out of the room around 11:30.  We drove to the River Lodge hotel and casino down the road.  This used to be Gold Town casino years back.  We were there to meet Jackie’s cousin, Ron Kopf, who she refers to as her nephew, for lunch.  He and his wife and kids live in Fresno, California, and we used to visit them almost every year or so when we traveled around California.  Ron and his wife are going through a rough patch, so he is living with his mom in Bullhead City, right across the Colorado River from Laughlin.  His mother is a real estate agent and he is working as an assistant and handyman for the company.  We couldn’t get into the River Lodge restaurant, so we went a little further to Harrah’s for lunch.  We had a very nice lunch and talked for almost two hours before Ron had to go.  After lunch we went across to Bullhead City and went to Sam’s Club for a couple of things, and then to the Goodwill.  I got a couple of shirts at the Goodwill, but Jackie struck out this trip.  We also stopped at the Bullhead City Elks for a drink.  We haven’t been to this Elks since before we went full time in 2005.  At that time we came here a couple of times with the Indio Elks RV club.  At that time we had a small class C motor home.  After the Elks we went back to the room and rested for a little while.  We then went back over to the Tropicana and gambled for a couple of hours.  We also had dinner there in their Brew House restaurant.  We had both gotten a $10 food credit when we signed up for the players club card, so dinner was cheap.  After dinner we went back over to the Riverside and gambled until about 10:30 when we went up to the room and went to bed.

Tuesday, February 27^th, we checked out of the hotel about 11:00, went down to the car and started back towards Pahrump.  We stopped at the Denny’s in Searchlight for lunch, then got into Pahrump about 2:15.  Jackie had a 3:00 nail appointment, so I dropped her off and went home and unpacked.  I picked her up a little after 4:00 and we went to El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant to meet with others from our park for the monthly dine-out event.  There were not too many people there because the Lucky Rollers had also scheduled a visit to a local winery earlier in the afternoon.  We had a nice dinner, then went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.  Wednesday Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Thursday, February 29^th, Leap Day.  Jackie had to go to the clubhouse at 10:00 to help decorate for St Patrick’s Day and Easter.  I had a 9:45 dermatologist appointment.  I got the usual nitrogen spray on a couple of areas and he cut out one small lesion on the chest that he suspected was an early skin cancer.  They will do a biopsy and then let me know if I need to come back to have them carve out a little more.  I spent the rest of the doing chores as did Jackie.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home for dinner and another night with the TV.

We are now at the end of February and sneaking up on Spring.  Yea.  Time to close this chapter and get it online.  Bye for now.

A New Year Begins in Pair-A-Dice

Hi there, welcome back.  Our last episode ended on Sunday, December 31^st, New Year’s Eve.  That was also the day we boarded the Carnival Miracle cruise ship for a six night New Year’s cruise to the Mexican Riviera.  We celebrated New Year’s Eve while out at sea heading South towards Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Monday, January 1, 2024, Happy New Year’s day.   Today was a sea day and, although it was a bit stormy in Los Angeles, our seas were calm and we had a nice voyage.  It was too chilly to be on the outside decks, but we spent the day taking in the different venues on the ship.  We went to karaoke in the afternoon and I got to do a couple of songs.  We had dinner with Jim and Linda Sullivan, our friends from the Escapees Park who are also on this cruise.  It was they who had initially told us about the cruise. After dinner we gambled a little, then went to the theater for the first big show of the cruise.  It was a musical theater featuring piano music for the most part.  After the theater we went to the comedy club for a show, then headed to our cabin for bed.

Tuesday, January 2^nd, we arrived in Cabo San Lucas about 8:30 or so.  Because we had a balcony cabin we were able to watch us pull into port and anchor in the bay.  Cabo is a tender port, meaning you get off the ship onto a small tender boat, which then takes you to the dock.  We went ashore about 10:00 with Linda and got onto a 100 foot catamaran boat so we could go whale watching.  It was a nice boat with a friendly crew and open bar.  We were out a little over two hours and saw lot of whales We were not able to get too much in the way of pictures because they were usually a hundred yards or more away and you never knew when or where one was going to appear.  We did see a lot of whales coming up to the surface, and even a couple who did the back flip jump out of the water, which is spectacular to see.  After the whale watching tour we did a little shopping before heading back to the ship.  The ship pulled anchor about 5:30 and we went back out to sea.  However, since we are going to be coming back into the this same port in the morning, they just go out a little ways and then float around all night.  They only leave so they can open the casino and on-board shops.  About 6:30 we had dinner with the Sullivans, then did some gambling and drinking around the ship.  There was no big show tonight, but we did go to the late night comedy show.  After that we went to bed.

Wednesday, January 3^rd, we were back in port in Cabo about 8:00.  We and Linda went ashore about 10:30 or so and spent a couple of hours shopping and having lunch in town.  I went to a bar called the Giggling Marlin that I remembered visiting on a cruise back in the 90’s.  I had bought a tee shirt, which has long since been discarded, and I wanted to get a new one.  I got a couple of tee shirts, as did Jackie.  We were back on ship around 2:30 or so.  Jackie and I had made reservations for dinner in the steak house on board, called Nick and Nora’s Steak House.  It was an extra cost event, but well worth it.  We both had a fabulous meal and a wonderful, romantic evening together.  After dinner we went to the show in the theater, which tonight was “The 80’s” and it was great.  Almost all of our times in the theater and in the comedy club we were accompanied by Linda.  Jim doesn’t much care for the shows and stuff and just spends all his time in the casino.  We went to the late comedy show, then headed to our cabin for the night.

Thursday, January 4^th, we had another day at sea.  We spent the day at different venues and bars on the ship, just relaxing.  We had dinner with the Sullivans at 6:30 and then took in another musical show in the theater about 9:30.  After the show we went to the comedy club where we stayed for both acts, getting into bed around 11:30 or so.  Friday we docked in Ensenada, Mexico for the day.  This was a pier port, so we and Linda got off about 11:00 or so and went into town.  We did some shopping and had lunch at a place we had eaten at a few months ago when we were here.  We had a nice meal and got a few souvenirs.  After we got back on the ship we relaxed until dinner.  Tonight was the night we had to pack our bags and get them out in the hallway before 10:00 because tomorrow the cruise is over and we are back in Long Beach.  We had dinner at 6:30 and then went to the Theater were the two comedians put on there acts on the big stage.  After that we did some gaming, then headed off to bed.

Saturday, January 6^th, we were docked back in Long Beach early in the morning.  We had to be out of our cabins by 8:30, so we got ready and went up to have some breakfast.  We were able to get off the ship by a little after 9:00 and we were back at the hotel, in our car and headed back to Pahrump by 10:00.  The trip home was uneventful, and traffic was fairly light.  We stopped at the outlet mall in Barstow so Jackie could get some things.  We also had lunch there and got some gas before finishing the trip.  We arrived back in Pahrump before dark, about 5:00 or so.  Took our bags in and just crashed until we went to bed.

Sunday, January 7, today was mostly an unpacking and doing laundry day.  We did go to the Sunday social and played Left Right Center with the group for the first time in a few months.  There haven’t been enough people to do it until recently.  After the social we went home and finished our clean up work.  We had dinner and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Monday we had an 11:30 lunch with the Lucky Rollers camping club.  We went to the Indian restaurant we like, the Pour House.  We had a really large group today.  After lunch we did some shopping then headed back to the park.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and an evening with the TV. 

Tuesday, January 9^th, I had an early meeting in the clubhouse and Jackie went for a manicure appointment.  At 1:00 we both had a meeting of the Silver Seekers Board of Directors.  We are both member of the Board and I am the Vice President.  This was a planning meeting went for about an hour an a half.  After the meeting we just did some chores around the house until happy hour.  After happy hour we spent the rest of the evening in the trailer relaxing.  Wednesday Jackie had an early, 8:00, meeting with her Ophthalmologist.  It seems that one of her cataracts had come back a little and she needs to have another quick laser treatment.  She had to go to the doctors office in Pahrump to get it set up, but the surgery will be in Las Vegas next week.  After the doctors visit we went home.  Jackie went to Pokeno in the afternoon while I spent the afternoon doing office work.  We did happy hour and then dinner and the TV until bedtime.

Thursday, January 11^th, we both had to attend an open meeting of the Silver Seekers Board in the clubhouse.  The meeting went for less than an hour.  After the meeting we did some errands, then spent the rest of the day at home.  We did happy hour and then dinner, then watched TV for the rest of the night.  Friday I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee of the Co-op.  This meeting went for a couple of hours.  I did some chores in the afternoon and we went out for lunch at a local Mexican place.  We went to the clubhouse for bingo at 4:30.  I got one bingo on a regular game, but only won $6 because I had to share with two other people.  Jackie didn’t win anything.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until it was time for bed.

Saturday, January 13^th, Jackie had a ladies luncheon at 11:00.  After she got home we went out and did some shopping at some thrift stores.  We got a few bargains.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 then had dinner at home.  Sunday was a quiet day, we went to the social at 2:00 and played LCR again.  Then we went home and just relaxed for the rest of the day. 

Monday, January 15^th, we were on the road about 10:00, heading to Las Vegas.  We needed to go to the Ford dealer to get the car serviced.  We don’t have a Ford dealer in Pahrump.  We stopped at a little café for lunch, then went to the Ford dealer.  It took about two and a half hours to get the work done.  After that we stopped at one store for a few minutes, then headed back to Pahrump.  We got back about 5:00, had some dinner and then watched TV for the rest of the night.  Tuesday was mostly a stay at home day.  I did a number of chores around the house as well as some office work.  At 2:00 we went to the dermatologist so he could take a look at a lesion on the side of Jackie’s face that I had some concerns about.  After she got in and he looked it turned out to just be a benign growth from blocked glands that the PA Michael, called a “barnacle.” He said it was nothing to be worried about.  We then went home and I did a little more office work.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 then came home and had dinner.  We watched TV for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, January 17^th, Jackie went to play Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over about that same time and we practiced guitar for about 90 minutes.  After Jackie got home we went and did some shopping, then came back for happy hour.  After happy hour we went home, had dinner and I had my security duty at 8:00.  After that we spent the rest of the night watching TV.  Thursday We left to go back to Las Vegas about 10:00 so Jackie could go into the out patient surgery center to have a quick laser treatment on her right eye.  Although it was a very quick procedure, the whole thing took about 2 hours to complete.  After her procedure we grabbed lunch and then did a Costco run.  After shopping we headed back home, getting back in time for the last half of happy hour.  After that we went home and spent the night with the TV.

Friday, January 19^th, I went over in the late morning to the clubhouse and set up my audio equipment for the jam session I was having at 2:00.  My friend Len, and one other person from the park showed up to play and we had about 10 spectators, but we still had a good time.  After the jam session I did some office work and then we went to happy hour at 4:00.  After that we had dinner and Jackie made a huge kettle of soup for the pot luck tomorrow.  We then watched TV until it was time for bed.  Saturday I was back in the clubhouse in the early afternoon getting my equipment set up for karaoke tonight after the pot luck.  We went to pot luck at 4:00.  This one had a theme of “Snowed in” and was mostly soups and comfort foods.  At 5:00 I started karaoke.  I had invited our friends Phyllis and Tom, and Len and Debbie to come.  All of them except Tom sing karaoke and I wanted some singers so that it was not just me and the one or two members of the park who come up.  We had a really good time and actually had several people from the park come up and sing who had never done so in previous karaoke sessions.  We finished up about 7:30, I packed up my stuff and took it home and we spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Sunday, January 21^st, we woke up to rain coming down.  We were supposed to leave this morning to drive to Laughlin for a two night stay.  The players club at the Riverside Casino Hotel had given me two free nights and had picked this weekend a month ago.  We were considering whether to cancel or not, and had decided we would go, but then the power went out in the park.  At that point we decided we would stay home and I called and cancelled the reservation.  We also had two free nights available in February, so we booked them.  We then spent the rest of the day doing some chores around the house and relaxing.  We went to the Sunday social at 2:00, then stayed and played Left-Right-Center for a half hour.  After that we went back home and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing. 

Monday, January 22^nd, I left about 10:00 to go to DMV to get my drivers license renewed.  As always, the place was packed and I didn’t get done there until about 2:00 or so.  However, this time was able to get the Federally mandated “Real ID” license, although with a passport I don’t see a whole lot of use for it.  After I got home I did some chores and we went to happy hour at 4:00.  After happy hour we went home, had dinner and spent the night with the TV.  Tuesday the rain finally stopped.  We went out to do some shopping at about 1:30 or so, then came back to the house, unloaded the groceries and went to happy hour.  After happy hour we went home, made meatloaf for dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Wednesday, January 24^th, We had mostly a stay at home day.  I called the golf cart shop to come and pick up our golf cart.  I had covered the cart on Saturday morning, when the rain was just starting, to keep it dry.  I uncovered it yesterday after the weekend rain was finished, and it would not work.  The batteries seem to be charged, but it will not run.  A few hours later the guy from the cart shop came and took it away to their shop here in Pahrump.  Jackie went to Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  After practice I did some chores around the house.  We went to happy hour, then had dinner spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  Thursday Jackie had a 10:00 ophthalmologist appointment to follow up on last week’s laser surgery.  Everything is fine, although she did have him give her a regular eye exam and prescription for new glasses.  After the doctor’s appointment we went over to the clubhouse for a Silver Seekers lunch.  Don, the President of the Silver Seekers, along with several other volunteers, made meatball subs for lunch.  We had almost 40 people show up and it was great fun.  After lunch we went to Walmart so Jackie could order new glasses and I could make an appointment for an eye exam for myself.  We also picked up a couple of things.  On the way home we stopped to check on the golf cart.  They are not sure what is wrong yet, but they are working on it.  After we got home we went to happy hour, then came home and spent the night with the TV.

Friday, January 26^th, we went out about 1:00 for a late lunch at ChatThai, our favorite Thai restaurant here in town.  We have bingo tonight at 5:30.  After lunch we headed back home and did a few chores.  We went to happy hour a little late, then stayed for bingo.  Jackie and both had really lucky nights tonight.  Both of us hit bingos in two of the regular games, although we had to split the pots with another winner.  Oddly, on one of them, she and I were the two winners, so we ended up with all the money anyway.  Then Jackie won the coverall game for $30.  All in all we won over $70!!  Yippee.  After bingo we went home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.  Saturday was a stay at home day.  Jackie went to the clubhouse to play cards with the ladies in the afternoon.  I did some work around the house.  We went to happy hour, then home for dinner and night watching TV.

Sunday, January 28^th, we had a relaxing day.  We went to the social at 2:00, stayed and played our usual dice game at 2:30, then came home and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Monday was a chores day.  We did some things around the house and just relaxed.  Tuesday was a little busier.  We did some chores in the afternoon and Jackie went out at 3:00 for a mani appointment.  I went with some friends to the monthly dine-out at Nicco’s, a local Italian place.  Jackie was going to join me there when she was done, but by the time she was finished we were done eating.  I got something for her in take-out and went home.  We spent the rest of the day with the TV.

Wednesday, January 31^st, the last day of January already.  Jackie had her Pokeno game at 1:00.  My friend Len wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t come over for guitar practice.  Instead I did some office work in the afternoon.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and watching TV for the rest of the evening.

We are now at the end of the month and it is time to get this published.  Until next time, be good, do good.  By for now.

Holiday Time in Pahrump - December 2023

Hello again.  Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, November 30^th.  Friday morning we were up and out of the house a little after 8:00.  We had to go down to the health center and get blood drawn for our lab work.  We have doctor’s appointments next week.  After we got home, we just did chores around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  After that we just watched TV until bedtime.  Saturday was also a stay-at-home day.  We did some chores and I finished up the Christmas decorations.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then relaxed with the TV for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, December 3^rd, we relaxed around the house until about 2:00 when we left and went to the Saddle West Casino ballroom for the annual Silver Tappers Christmas show and fund raiser.  One of our friends, Debbie Forrest,  is in the group, but we would go anyway because they are enjoyable shows.  The show went from 3:00 to about 4:30 and was a pretty good production.  We went home after the show, had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.  Monday was a stay-at-home day for the most part.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then Jackie left a little before 5:00 to go get a manicure.  She didn’t get home until about 7:00, after which we had dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Tuesday, December 5^th, we were up early and in the clubhouse at 9:00 for the first of the new Silver Seekers Board’s breakfast event.  Our new President, Don O and his wife Sharon, made a bunch of breakfast casseroles for the event.  We had over 30 people come, and everyone had a good time.  We also made almost $100 in profit for the Silver Seekers.  Yea.  After breakfast we went back home and relaxed for a while.  About 1:30 we left and went out to do some thrift store shopping before our doctor’s appointments at 3:30.  We went to a couple of places and got some pretty good bargains at Goodwill.  After shopping we went to the doctor for our six-month checkups.  Both of us are in pretty decent shape for our age, so there were no big surprises.  After the doctor we went back home and had some KFC we picked up on the way for dinner.  We then watched TV until bedtime.  I did have an hour break when I did my first tour of security duty for the month.

Wednesday, December 6^th, Jackie went to play Pokeno at 1:00.  I stayed home and did some office work and other chores.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home for dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.  Thursday I was out early for the 8:00 flag raising ceremony to commemorate Pearl Harbor Day.  Afterwards I went home, and we spent the rest of the day around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Friday, December 8^th, we had a stay-at-home day.  I did some admin work and a few chores around the house.  Jackie went out at noon to go to Artesian Cellars for another girl’s lunch.  We went to happy hour at 4:30, then stayed for bingo.  I won one of the regular games for $12, which meant I made a whole dollar.  After bingo we went home and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.  Saturday, we did some chores around the house.  We went out for lunch at El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant and then ran some errands.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Saturday we went over to the clubhouse about 10:00 to do all the Christmas decorations for the various functions coming up.  After that we spent the rest of the day at home doing chores.

Sunday, December 10^th, we had a 10:00 meeting in the clubhouse for the Silver Seekers Association.  We were setting the calendar of activities for January.  The meeting went for about two and a half hours.  Normally we don’t do meetings on Sundays, but Don’s wife had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday, when the meeting was originally scheduled.  We later went to the 2:00 ice cream social in the clubhouse.  After the social we went home and relaxed.  Jackie made a new recipe for beef stew, which turned out really well.  We had that for dinner then watched TV until bedtime.  Monday we were up and on the road about 10:00, heading for Las Vegas for a luncheon with our park’s RV group, the Lucky Rollers.  The group has monthly lunch dine-outs, but they usually try to have at least one or two a year in Las Vegas for the people in the group who don’t live in Pahrump.  The group is open to any Escapees member, not just people who live in our co-op.  The lunch was at Blueberry Hill restaurant.  We had never heard of it, but they have three locations in Las Vegas and have been around since the 60’s.  Rumor has it that it was one of Elvis’s favorite places to eat back when he used to play Las Vagas.  The place was large, clean and the food was pretty good.  We will probably go back again.  We had about 20 people at the lunch.  After lunch we did some shopping.  Half the group ended up in the Sketchers outlet store across the street after lunch.  We also stopped at Kohl’s before heading back to Pahrump.  We got back home about 4:30, so we skipped happy hour and just spent the night with the TV.

Tuesday, December 12^th, we went to Walgreens around 11:00 and got our Covid booster shot for the year.  After our shots we did some shopping.  We went to the party store here in town, which is closing up, and Jackie got some stuff for Saturday’s 50’s party in the clubhouse.  After we were done, we went home, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.  Wednesday I stayed home and did some office work.  Jackie missed Pokeno because she was sick from the shot yesterday.  I went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and TV until bedtime.

Thursday, December 14^th, we had a meeting of the Silver Seekers at 1:00.  This was the first real open meeting we have had since I became Vice President of the association.  The meeting went pretty well.  After the meeting we went out and did some shopping.  We didn’t make it home in time for happy hour.  We just went home, had dinner, and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.  Friday was an open day, we had nothing special to do.  I did some office work and Jackie did some chores.  We had happy hour and then dinner.

Saturday, December 16^th, was a busy day.  We went over to the clubhouse about 10:00 and Jackie helped with the decorating for the 50’s party.  I spent a couple hours getting all my sound and video equipment set up for the party.  We went home for lunch and then we were back in the clubhouse by 3:30, with Jackie all dressed up in her poodle skirt and jacket.  The potluck went from 4 to 5, then I did the “Name that Tune” game at 5:00.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the game.  After that we did a bunch of 50”s songs and had a lot of dancers.  The party went until about 7:00 when everyone started heading for home.  I packed up the equipment and we went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.  Sunday was a stay-at-home day.  I spent tome time out in the shed putting away stuff from the party and also did some office work.  My son Roy Jr. arrived at the Escapees Park about 3:30 or so to spend a couple of days.  He is done with his job at Death Valley.  The company he works for lost the contract for Stovepipe Wells, so he has been transferred to work at Lassen National Park in Northern California.  This is very near Mineral, California where our good friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock had their huge cabin in the woods.  Peggy sold the place a couple of years ago and now lives in Redding.  Roy will actually be staying in Chester, a small town about a half hour from Lassen.  The company has an old motel there which they use for employee housing.  He is now going from a place where it’s 125 in the summer to a place where he will see 10 feet of snow and temps close to zero this winter.  Jackie made meat loaf for dinner and the three of us had a nice dinner and talked for a while.  After Roy went back to his motor home, we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, December 18^th, Jackie had a manicure appointment at 11:00.  I dropped her off and then drove to the Northwest part of town to pick up Roy.  He had taken his motor home to a truck service place to get the oil changed and new coolant/antifreeze put in.  I picked him up and then we went out to run some errands that Roy needed to do.  Since he is going to work in the cold country of Northern California, he needs some heavy boots and clothes.  We first went to Big 5 sporting goods where he got some snow boots and snow pants, heavy gloves and some head coverings.  We then went to Goodwill, just to see if they had anything worth his while.  They didn’t.  We then went home for a little while before going back to get Jackie.  After we picked up Jackie we went to Mom’s for lunch and then Jackie had to go to Secret Sister for a bit.  Actually, Roy found a nice polo shirt in there for ten bucks.  We then headed back home and waited until about 3:30 to drive Roy back out to get his motor home.  We all got back to the park in time for 4:00 happy hour.  After happy hour we went home and talked for a while before Roy headed back home for the night.  We spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Tuesday Jackie had a ladies luncheon at 11:30 at El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant and Roy and I decided to go there as well.  The ladies were meeting in the back room, probably over a dozen of them, so Roy and I ate in the main dining room.  We had a great lunch and afterwards went out and ran a couple more errands that Roy needed to do.  Jackie was going to get a ride home from one of the other ladies.  After our errands we went back home, and Roy went over to his coach to do some prep work for his departure tomorrow.  He is supposed to be in Chester, California on Friday, so he is leaving tomorrow for the 600-mile trip.  Right now, he is planning on overnighting in Tonopah and then the Reno area before heading into California.  At 4:00 the three of us went to happy hour, then came home and chatted for a while before Roy headed back to his coach.  We spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Wednesday, December 20^th, Jackie went to Pokeno at 1:00.  I did a grocery run to Smith’s, then came home and did some work in the office.  We didn’t go to happy hour as we had a park dine-out at Ohjah, the Japanese Steak House and Hibachi grill here in town at 4:00.  We had about a dozen people there and we all sat around the hibachi and watched the show as the chef cooked our food.  It is not inexpensive here, but the food is really good, and you get a lot of it.  Plus, the show the chefs put on is great.  We had a nice meal with friends and took home some leftovers.  After we got home we watched TV and then went to bed.  Thursday, I went to the clubhouse at 9:00 for the open meeting of the Board of Directors.  They had a lot of stuff on the agenda, so the meeting ran two and a half hours.  After the meeting we had lunch, our leftovers from last night, then at 1:00 went to the salon so both of us could get haircuts.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then a little later our friends Dale and Sue picked us up to go out for a dinner for just the four of us.  We went to Carmelo’s Bistro, a local Italian restaurant that we have yet to visit.  The owner used to be one of the Nye County Supervisors, but he lost the election last year.  We had a pretty decent meal.  Our calamari app was over cooked, but my angel hair with bolognaise and meat balls was excellent.  Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well.  The real kicker was that after we were done Leo, the owner came over and told us that a “Secret Santa” had picked up our meal and everything, apps, meals, desert and wine, were all on the house.  We both left a pretty nice tip, but still got a real bargain meal.  Dale dropped us off at home after we were done, and we watched TV for the rest of the night. 

Friday, December 22^nd, we did some chores around the house for most of the day.  We did go out about 1:00 for a late lunch at the Roadhouse Casino.  We went to happy hour about 4:30 and then stayed at the clubhouse for Bingo at 5:30.  Jackie won one small pot, I didn’t get anything.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until bedtime.  Saturday was the fourth anniversary of the loss of our last cat, Benji.  We still have not replaced him, the longest either of us has gone without a cat kid.  About 2:00 we gathered in front of the clubhouse for a Christmas Golf Cart Parade that we organized.  We had ten people participating, five in golf carts and two on bicycles, all of which were nicely decorated for the holiday.  We drove up and down all the roads in the park and actually had some people standing or sitting outside waiting for us to go by.  We were also playing Christmas carols and handing out candy treats along the way.  It was a great time, and we hope to be even bigger next year.  We did happy hour at 4:00 then went home, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, December 24^th, Christmas Eve.  We had the usual Sunday social at 2:00, then we gathered again about 4:00 for a light snacks potluck and then the annual gift exchange.  Our friend Phyliss did it again this year and we had a couple of dozen people participating.  Everyone got a number and she told an old poem she has used for years for these events.  The poem announces a number, that person goes to the table and picks a gift.  Then there is another number called, and it may require taking a gift from someone who already has one or taking one from the table.  There may be multiple swaps with each number.  It is a lot of fun, and you have no idea what gift you are going to end up with at the end.  We got a couple of nice gifts in the end and had a great time.  After the gift exchange we helped clean up then headed back home.  We watched TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, December 25^th, Merry Christmas.  Jackie and I exchanged cards in the morning, which is our tradition.  No gifts for any birthday or holiday, only cards.  We then relaxed in the house for most of the day, although we were cooking a full turkey and a turkey breast for the Christmas dinner at 3:00.  At 3:00 we went to the clubhouse and had a wonderful Christmas dinner with about 40 of our friends and neighbors from the park.  After dinner we cleaned up and went home where we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  Tuesday, we had mostly a stay-at-home day.  About 5:00 we left and drove to the Elks Lodge for a Lodge Meeting.  We were going to the meeting because an acquaintance of ours from the park was being initiated into the lodge.  We were there with several other members of our park as well.  After the meeting we went home and relaxed for the rest of the night with the TV.

Wednesday, December 27^th, Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and I spent the afternoon in my office doing some work for one of the committees I am on.  After Jackie got home, we did a Walmart run, then came home and had dinner, then watched the TV the rest of the night.  We also did some packing for our trip this weekend.  Thursday, I had a meeting of the By Laws Committee at 10:00.  I am the chairman of the committee.  We met until about 12:30, after which I went home and did some more packing for the trip.  We did happy hour at 4:00, then had dinner and spent the evening with the TV.  Friday, we spent the day getting ready for the trip.  At 1:00 we went to the salon so I could get my toenails clipped and Jackie got a mani and pedi.  Since this takes several hours, I left her there, ran some errands and went home and did some packing.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then had dinner and relaxed for the night.

Saturday, December 30^th, we had our luggage in the car and were on the road by 10:00, heading back to Long Beach, California to go on another cruise.  It was a long, six hour plus trip, and unfortunately, we did have some rain along the route, although it was only for about an hour total during the trip.  Traffic was about normal, and we arrived at the Cove Hotel in Long Beach just about 4:00.  We always come to the departure port city a day early when we cruise.  We checked into the hotel and then had a cocktail with our friends Linda and Jim, who are also members of our park, and are also going on the same cruise tomorrow.  Jackie had contacted her Godson, Shane Cooper, who is now in his 20’s, and living in North Orange County.  Jackie had spent a lot of time with him as a baby and toddler, as did I after we got together in 1998, and he is now six foot four and definitely all grown up.  He came up from Orange County and met us at the hotel.  We went out to dinner and spent a couple of hours visiting with him before he left and went home.  After he went home, we went into the room and went to bed.

Sunday, December 31^st, New Year’s Eve.  We were up and in a cab headed for the cruise port by 10:30.  We leave the car parked at the hotel and they provide transportation to the cruise ship.  We are going on a six-night cruise aboard the Carnival Miracle, the same ship that we took in September to Alaska.  This one goes down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for two days, then stops at Ensenada for one day, with three sea days in between.  We went on it because we got a good deal, and it was a New Years cruise.  The boarding process went very smoothly, and we were on the ship and having a cocktail by 12:30 or so.  We had a balcony cabin and got moved in there before dinner.  The ship left port at 4:00 and we were on our way to Mexico.  Since this was New Years, the dinner was a formal night, so we got dressed up and went to dinner.  Then there were all kinds of parties and such around the ship for the whole evening.  We actually stayed up until midnight and brought in the new year at one of the parties in the atrium bar.  After bringing in the new year we went to our cabin and went to sleep.

This is, of course, the end of the month, as well as the end of the year.  We will close this episode for now and get it published.  Look for the details of the rest of our cruise in the next chapter.  Goodbye for now.