In Yuma, Arizona with Friends - Part II

Hi friends, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on Wednesday, February 15^th, while we were in Yuma, Arizona for an almost two month stay. Thursday Jackie had her regular physical therapy session for her knee. She is a little disappointed that it hasn't healed as fast as she expected. She had been led to believe that arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus was easy to recover from, but it didn't work out that way. After her PT we came back to the coach and did a few chores for the afternoon. Around 4:00 we left to drive a few miles from our park to visit with some friends from Pahrump. Regular readers may remember that there was a regular Friday night happy hour with a group at the Wine Ridge RV park in Pahrump that gathered around Millie Duffin's coach. She calls the group the Dilly Muffins. Most of that group is now down in the Yuma area, so she set up a happy hour. In addition to Millie and her husband our good friends Len and Debbie Forrest were there, as well as at least three other couples we knew from Pahrump. There were also a couple of new friends there. We had some great snack treats that served as dinner and played some games, a common occurrence at Millie's parties. We left about 7:00 and headed back to our coach. We relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening.

Friday, February 17^th, we were experiencing another Yuma Haboob, or what we used to call a dust storm when I was growing up in Phoenix. I'm not sure when weather changed from storms to monsoons or dust storms to haboobs, but the effect is the same. The wind was blowing about 25 miles an hour, with gusts in the high 30's, so we decided to take in a movie. We went to see “Split,” starring James McAvoy as someone with multiple personality disorder, having 23 distinct personalities. One of “them” kidnapped three teen age girls to serve as “food” for a 24th personality dubbed “the beast.” It was an M. Night Shyamalan movie, which meant it had a good dose of spooky and weird about it. We both thought it was a fascinating movie. After the movie we went to Sam's Club and did some shopping before heading back to the coach. We had cocktails with the Bullock's in their coach. The Kights were there too, as were Peggy's grandson Troy and his wife Makayla. After cocktails we went back to our coach for dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, February 18^th, in the middle of the night the wind died down and the rains started. The weather said it was going to rain all day, they were not wrong. We did leave the coach about 1:00 and drove to the Palms RV Resort, the place we stayed for two months last year, to go to their annual car show. Jackie really wanted to go because last year she won the big booze cooler, bottles from which we are still drinking. Because of the rain it was not nearly as big as last year, but I was surprised that there were still about 30 classic cars on display in the rain. They also had the same type of silent raffle, so we both bought tickets and put them in various gifts. We didn't spend too much time at the car show, and after we left we made a stop at a local RV and hardware store. Later in the day Jackie got a call she had won a pottery water cooler and a gift certificate for $250 from Ashley Furniture. She had put in the tickets because the cooler was decorated with calla lilies. She didn't even know about the gift certificate that came with it. We arranged to pick the prizes up tomorrow. We then went back to the coach for the rest of the night. No happy hour tonight due to weather and the fact that everyone else left to go to dinner at various places.

Sunday, February 19^th, we had a quiet morning, the usual Sunday paper and coffee. Around noon we left with Peggy and Vernon and went out to lunch. On the way we stopped and picked up the pottery water cooler that Jackie won. She also won Now we have to figure out what to do with it. We went to lunch at a Chinese place in the Foothills called Sesame Kitchen. The food and service were both very good. The only thing I would give them low marks for was the egg rolls. Not much in them. After lunch we went back to the RV park and I gathered up the stuff for karaoke at happy hour tonight around the pool. When we first got here in January I volunteered to do a karaoke night. I got everything set up and working and at 4:00 we started the party. We didn't have too many people from the RV park there, which was disappointing, but we had a dozen of our friends there, including Len and Debbie, who like to sing. With this we had at least three singers and we had a good two hours. We did finally get one woman from the park who did two songs before leaving. At 6:00 we cleaned everything up and went back into the coach for the rest of the night.

Monday, February 20^th, we mostly had a stay at home day. Did some chores and some cleaning from the most recent dust storm and rain that came through a few days back. We did do a Walmart run for a few things. We had cocktails with the group around 5:00 and then everyone did some pork ribs on their various BBQs and we all ate together in party central. The weather was very nice, the food was excellent, and the company great. We ended up sitting outside and talking until almost 8:30, after which we went in and watched TV the rest of the evening. Tuesday we took Jackie to her PT in the morning. After PT we drove downtown and had lunch at Da Boyz, a pizza and subs place we like. They were having the farmer's market downtown, so we walked around that for a while, then went to Sam's Club. Jackie wanted to take one thing back and then we bought a few more things. After Sam's we stopped at a couple of furniture stores that were listed on the $250 gift certificate that Jackie won. We were hoping to find a small couch or love seat that would work to replace the one we have, which is wearing out. Unfortunately, after an hour and a half of looking we decided that nothing that was built for a house would work in our motor home. We decided to rethink what we needed and maybe get some new accent items, like lamps and small tables, rather than a couch or chair. We had cocktails with the group at 5:30, but no dinner tonight. About 7:00 we went in the coach and watched TV. We did watch a DVD of Fences, one of the Academy Award nominee pictures this year. The acting, especially by Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, was excellent and they both deserve their nominations for the movie.

Wednesday, February 22^nd, both the McKay's and the Babcock's left early to go home. They both left their coaches and will be back in a few days. The McKay's, who live in Camarillo, west of Los Angeles, wanted to check on the house because of all the recent rain and flooding in the area. They live in hill country and can be subject to flooding at their house. The Babcock's went back so Ray could have a follow up appointment for the skin cancer under his eye. They are pretty sure they got all the cancer and he will not need any further treatment beyond the healing of the skin graft, but they still need this last appointment with the surgeon to be sure.

We left about 10:00 and drove to Algodones, Mexico for the day. Peggy went with us, but Vernon doesn't care to go to Mexico, so he stayed home. After we got across the border Jackie and I both went to our regular dentist down there for a cleaning. We then did some shopping and had lunch at one of the nicer restaurants in Algodones, called The Alamo. We did a little more shopping, picked up a few things, and then spent an hour and a half in line waiting to cross back in to the U.S. Once we got across the border we drove back to the coach. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30, but no dinner. I had some leftover ribs later in the evening and Jackie had popcorn. We watched some TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, February 23^rd, Jackie had her morning PT and then we came home and stayed in the rest of the day. I did some chores around the coach and Jackie and Peggy worked on some stuff for their craft class at the upcoming FMCA Convention in Chandler. We had cocktails with the Bullock's about 5:30 and then Peggy made dinner, a nice oriental chicken casserole. We were home about 8:00 and watched TV the rest of the night. Friday I left about 8:30 to give Vernon a ride home from the Jeep dealer. He had to take his Jeep in to have the radio replaced. About 10:00 Peggy and Jackie left to get pedicures and go to lunch while Vernon and I stayed home so we were there when the car wash people came. They washed both our coaches in a couple of hours. Jackie and I went out for a bit in the afternoon to runs some errands. The Bullock's left to have dinner with their grand kids, but late in the afternoon Ray and Suzie came back. Ray's eye looks pretty yukky, but the good news is that the cancer is gone and he needs no further treatments. We had cocktails with Ray and Suzie and then went to Day Breakers for dinner. After dinner we went back home and relaxed the rest of the night.

Saturday, February 25^th, Jackie and I went out after lunch to go back to Ashley Furniture to spend the $250 gift certificate she won at the car show last weekend. We decided to just find a new accent table for behind my chair and maybe a new lamp or some other decorative items. We ended up finding a very nice TV stand table that fits perfectly in the space behind my chair, and looks nice too. We also bought a leopard print fuzzy throw. Both things were overpriced, and pretty much used up the $250, but we didn't have to put out any money, so cool. We did a Walmart stop then came home and put the new table in place and moved a few things around. We had cocktails with the group about 5:30. The McKay's got back today, reporting that all was fine at their house despite the rains. At 7:00 we did some hamburgers on the BBQ and had dinner with the Bullock's. The McKay's and Babcock's were doing their own thing. About 8:00 or so we were back home and watched TV until bedtime. We watched a DVD of the new movie Moonlight, which is up for a bunch of awards. It was about a black kid growing up gay in the hood. Not my kind of movie, but I guess the acting was good. I didn't care for the way the movie was constructed and cut. It was disjointed and hard to follow for me.

Sunday, February 26^th, we went out after lunch to the Arizona Market Place for one last look around before we leave. We did buy a new comforter-bedspread for the bed and a couple of little things. After the market place we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 the whole group met out on our patio for a Mexican Fiesta to celebrate Ray Babcock's birthday. It was a little cool, but not too bad and everyone had a great time. About 7:00 we were done and cleaned up and in the coach watching TV. Monday we were on the road about 9:30, heading back up to the Coachella Valley for another doctor's appointment for Jackie's knee. We weren't going to go to this one, but after a few phone calls Jackie got the doctor's approval for a cortisone shot, despite the fact it has only been about three months since the last one. It was a three hour drive up and another three back, but we got home about 7:00. Early signs are that this time the cortisone seemed to be helping and Jackie's knee was not hurting as much. We can only hope. After we got home we watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, February 28^th, my brother Russ's birthday. Happy Birthday Bro! Jackie had her PT in the morning, after which we went to the mall to do a little shopping. Kind of a quiet day. Wednesday we went to one of the local farmer's markets. Thursday Jackie had her last PT appointment. Peggy and Vernon left today, heading for Casa Grande. We will see them again on Saturday. After we got back to the coach I started doing some clean up outside as we are leaving on Saturday. Friday I spent most of the afternoon cleaning up and getting ready to travel. We left the coach about 3:30 and drove to the Yuma Elks lodge. We set up chairs on the street so we could watch the parade of classic cars that happens every year with the Midnight at the Oasis Car Show in Yuma. They usually have at least 600 or 700 cars

for the weekend and Friday night is always the “cruise” where everyone can set up chairs along the route and watch the cars. It was a great show. After the cruise we and the Babcock's, along with Clark McKay, went into the Elks for dinner. Judi wasn't feeling well, so she didn't come. We all had great steak dinners before heading back to the RV park for the rest of the night.

Saturday, March 4^th, our first travel day in almost two months. We left Yuma about 10:00 and headed east on Interstate 8 towards Casa Grande. We arrived at the High Chaparral RV park about 2:00 and got settled in for a one night stay. The Babcock's and McKay's both traveled with us and the Bullock's were already here. Some other friends, Curt and Sharon Minard, had been staying in another park in Yuma and they also came to Casa Grande. We are all leaving in the morning, heading north to Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix, for the FMCA International Convention. About 6:00 all ten of us went to the Big Wa Chinese restaurant, one of our Casa Grande favorites, for dinner. We had a great dinner in our own little private room. After dinner we all went back to our coaches for the night.

Sunday, March 5^th, we were all on the road about 10:00, heading north towards Chandler. It was less than 50 miles, so we arrived in a little over an hour. We went into the holding area and spent about two hours there waiting to get parked. We and the Minard's and Bullock's are all parked together. The McKay's and Babcock's signed up for 50 amp electric instead of the regular 30 amp, so they are parked in a different lot. After we got settled in we relaxed for a while. About 5:30 we went to a happy hour with one of our Chapters, the Overland Trail Blazers, and had a great time, as well as some great snack food. After the happy hour we had another cocktail with Peggy and Vernon and then settled in for the night. The rally really doesn't start until Tuesday, so we have a couple days of relaxation.

Our arrival here at the rally site is a good place to close this chapter and get it published. We are here for a week and then go down to Tucson for a week in an RV park and then another rally, this time with the Escapee's RV Club. Until next time, remember the words of Mark Twain. “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” See ya soon.