Hi there, welcome back to our story.
The last chapter concluded on Sunday, April 8th, when we
left the Verde Valley and drove south to Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb
on the west side of Phoenix. Monday was a chores day. We left the
coach at noon and drove to Raul and Theresa's, a Mexican restaurant
in nearby Avondale. This is a west valley institution, having been
here since the 50's. We had a really good lunch, then headed over to
the laundromat so we could do our laundry. After the laundry was
done we stopped at Walmart for some things before heading back to the
coach. We got everything put away, made the bed, and then relaxed
for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday, April 10th, we left
the coach about 1:00 and headed out to do a little local geocaching.
We did this despite the forecast of 100 degree temperatures this
afternoon. We did hear later that Phoenix did hit 100 degrees, the
fourth earliest recorded 100 degree day in history. The average date
is May 12th, a a full month early. We were able to get
seven new finds and no DNFs, with the last find of the afternoon
being find number 9,100. Yea! After caching we went back to the
coach and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Wednesday we went out after lunch to run some errands. Jackie went
to a nail salon to get her toes done. While she was in there I took
the car to the car wash. After Jackie was done we did a Costco run,
then headed back to the coach. We did pick up two new geocaches in
the parking lot near the Costco. After we got home we stayed in for
the rest of the day.
Thursday, April 12th, I left
the coach about 7:30 in the morning and took it to the Avondale Ford
dealership, Rodeo Ford, for service. We had noticed on two occasions
back in the Prescott and Cottonwood area, that when we were driving
around in steep hilly areas with four people on board, we would
notice a slight burning smell. I was unsure if it was oil or rubber,
but I know we smelled it, several of us, not just me. I never had
the smell before or since, but I wanted to get it checked out anyway.
The dealership was busy, so they put me on the shuttle after I got
the car checked in and took me back to the coach. I spent the rest
of the day doing chores and office work. It was VERY windy, gusts up
to 45 mph, so it was dusty and ugly out and we wouldn't have been
going anywhere anyway. About 4:00 the service writer called and said
that they checked the car very carefully, there were no leaks
anywhere and all levels were fine. The mechanic took it for a drive
and didn't feel or smell anything out of the ordinary. The shuttle
came and picked me up and I brought the car back home feeling better
that I had at least had it checked and it was now on record. Since
the car is under warranty there was no charge for the service. We
spent the rest of the evening in the coach listening to the wind
blow.
Friday, April 13th, eek!
The wind was still blowing and it was much cooler, but was still
supposed to be a nice day in the low 80's. We left the coach about
11:30 and drove north to Surprise on the northwest side of the
Phoenix metro area. We are headed to a restaurant called Tailgaters
to have lunch with an old friend, Dick Maiocco and his wife Jeanie.
Dick and I were both detectives working the Warrant and Fugitive
detail for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office here in Phoenix and
were partners for about four years back in the mid-1970's. We were
very good friends and were a really good team of investigators,
getting a reputation for being very effective, but a little
unorthodox. We were always pushing the limits of the rules and
regulations just a bit. We were given the nickname of “Starsky and
Hutch” by other members of the unit, a popular TV show from the
70's. Of course, we were much younger in those days and we had some
really good times. Dick was much more openly rebellious than I was,
so, although he made it to retirement after 20 years, he never
advanced in rank. After our stint in Warrants together we went our
separate paths in the department and the close friendship sort of
faded out. He retired a couple of years before I did and we lost all
contact with one another. A couple of weeks ago he popped up on
Facebook as a “potential” friend, so we got back into contact
after nearly 40 years. Facebook may have it's issues, but for
connecting with long lost friends it is priceless.
Over the intervening years he also
worked for the State of Arizona and has done quite well for himself.
Both of us have divorced and remarried, he is married to a former
MCSO radio dispatcher, Jeanie, with whom I was acquainted back in the
day, but didn't know well. He actually remembers Jackie because he
and I were partners when we first met her in Hawthorne, California
while we were on a prisoner trip back in 1976. She was acquainted
with the Hawthorne police detectives we were hanging out with at the
time. Both of us are older and chubbier with our share of health
issues, but we still had a great time talking, catching up and
sharing war stories with the girls. It was really great seeing a
great friend again after all these years. I know we will be staying
in touch from now on. After a two hour lunch we did one geocache in
the area, then headed back down to the RV park where we stayed in for
the rest of the day.
Saturday, April 14th, we
left the coach again about 11:30, this time driving to north-central
Phoenix to visit with my oldest daughter Tye and her family. Tye's
daughter Jordan, the youngest of my seven grand kids, is living right
next door to Tye and her husband Frank. They also have one of
Frank's son's from a previous marriage. My son Roy Jr. was also
supposed to be there, but he wasn't feeling well, so he didn't come.
My oldest granddaughter, Crystal, her boyfriend 
Orlando, and their
daughter Zoey, used to be in Tucson. We saw them late last year.
However, they have now moved back up to Phoenix and are living with
Roy Jr. in North Phoenix. They also have Noah, Orlando's 10 year old
son. We stopped on the way and picked up a couple of pizzas and we
all sat around on the porch and visited. The weather was perfect for
sitting outside in the shade. We stayed about three hours and then
had to leave because we were also going to see my youngest brother
Ken and his wife Susan tonight. They both work, so Saturday was the
only day they could get to visit, which is the same reason we had to
visit with Tye's family today, because Saturday was Crystal's only
day off.
Ken and Susan came over to the coach
around 5:00 and we visited for a couple of hours. About 7:00 we
drove to a nearby restaurant called the Saddle Mountain Brewing
Company, for dinner. We had a great dinner and talked for another
hour and a half. Ken is the youngest in the family, but he and Susan
are already planning retirement and are using our full time lifestyle
as a template. They are working their way towards being able to
fully retire and go on the road within ten years and seem to have a
good, sound plan. After dinner we said goodbye to Ken and Susan,
came back to the coach and watched a little TV before going to bed.
It was a very busy, but very nice, family visit day.
Sunday, April 15th, which
would have been our cat Smokey's 18th birthday. He missed
it my about six weeks. Today was another travel day. We had the
coach packed up and were on the road by about 10:30, heading about
130 miles west to Ehrenberg, Arizona, just across the Colorado River
from Blythe, California. We arrived at the Colorado Oasis RV park
about 1:00 and quickly got checked in and parked. The park is not
very busy now since it is starting to get hot. They may get some
weekend traffic being that they are right on the river, but it's a
little too warm for the average RV tourist now. It was 90, but it
was overcast and didn't feel too hot. It took us a couple of hours
to get fully set up for our one week stay here after which we spent
the remainder of the day relaxing. Monday was a stay at home day.
We got a few chores done and had a relaxing day in.
Tuesday, April 17th, we left
the coach about 11:30 and drove into Blythe, California for lunch at
our favorite Mexican place, Garcia's. They have about the best chili
relleno's and chili Colorado anywhere. After a great lunch we headed
back to the coach and spent the rest of the day doing chores and
relaxing. Wednesday we again left the coach about 11:30, today
driving about 18 miles east to the town of Quartzsite. Now we are
normally in Quartzsite in January during the height of the “Snowbird”
season. The town has an official population of about 3,400 people,
however during January and February more than 100,000 RVs descend on
the dozens of RV parks in the town, and the surrounding vacant
desert, to enjoy the warm winter weather and the RV-related shopping
and shows, and/or the rock and gem collecting activities. The town
gets some two million visitors a year, but by the end of March it
again turns into a dusty little desert town. We were here in January
and the contrast in terms of RVs, traffic and people between now and
then is startling. We went to one of the few restaurants in town
that stays open year around, the Mountain Quail Cafe, for lunch.
Actually Jackie had breakfast, but we still had a good meal and the
place was actually very busy with the local residents. After lunch
we did some geocaching in town, getting five new finds, including a
rare (for us) “first to find” on a virtual cache that had just
been published yesterday. After caching we returned to the coach and
spent the rest of the day in.
Thursday, April 19th, was
another stay at home day. We got a couple of chores done, watched
some TV, played some cards, and just relaxed for the entire day.
There is not a lot to do in this little hunk of desert. Friday was
the same as yesterday, did a few things around the coach, relaxed and
enjoyed a quiet day. Saturday we drove into Blythe and had lunch at
Garcia's Mexican again. This will be our last time in the area until
next winter, so I wanted my chili colorado one last time. After
lunch we stopped at the store for a couple of things, then went back
to the coach and stayed in the rest of the night.
Sunday, April 22nd, I went
out and got the Sunday paper to read with our coffee. Today was
another travel day and we were packed up and on the road about 10:30.
We are going a little less than 100 miles north along the Colorado
River to Lake Havasu, Arizona. In all our travels we have never
stayed in Lake Havasu with the coach. We have visited a couple of
times for the day, but never stayed there. After a stop for propane
we arrived at the Lake Havasu RV Resort about 1:30 and got checked
in. By 3:30 we were moved in and set up and we just relaxed the rest
of the day. We are going to be here for 12 days and it should be
fun. There is lots to do here and lots of geocaches we haven't
gotten.
Monday, April 23rd, we left
the RV park after lunch and went out to do a little caching. We were
able to get four new finds, and two DNFs in about ninety minutes, at
which time we decided that six searches in the desert in 100 degree
heat was enough for one afternoon. We then went to Walmart to do
some shopping before returning back to the coach. We then stayed in
for the rest of the day. Tuesday we left the coach after lunch and
went to do our laundry. After we got the laundry done we stopped by
an urgent care facility because for the last week or so Jackie has
been feeling out of sorts. She says she is feeling shaky and a bit
anxious. She thought it could be low blood sugar or something. The
Nurse Practitioner listened to her description of what she was
feeling and said it didn't sound like anything they could treat at an
urgent care. She said it wouldn't be low blood sugar because it
would not go on that long. She suggested that Jackie see her own
doctor soon. We left the urgent care and went back home. After we
got everything put away we relaxed the rest of the day. We did check
Jackie's blood pressure as we have a device, but it was very close to
normal, as was the heart rate. Jackie made an appointment to see our
doctor in Palm Desert next week when we pass through the desert after
our stay here in Lake Havasu. We revised our travel plans a little
to allow for four days in the Coachella Valley to go to the doctor,
do some shopping and see friends.
On the way back home after laundry and stopping at the urgent care we did drive past the Lake Havasu airport to take a look at an Air Force F-16 fighter jet that had crash landed at the airport this morning. We were not aware of the crash until we saw a news broadcast just before we left to do laundry. The airport was only a mile or so north of the RV park, but we didn't hear anything at 10:00 a.m. when the crash occurred. This is a small airport intended for small, general aviation private planes. The runway is only ab
Thursday, April 26th, was a
stay at home day. The only time I went outside the coach was for my
walk early in the morning and then a dip in the pool late in the
afternoon. Got a few little things done, but mostly just chilled all
day in the 101 degree desert heat. We only have 30 amp here, so we
are getting by on one A/C, but so far, so good. Friday we left the
RV park about noon and went to the theater, which is only a mile or
so from the park. We went to see the movie Rampage with Dwayne
Johnson. It was a fantasy/sci-fi action movie that was pretty
typical Dwayne Johnson fare. I later learned it was based on an old
video game, although I was not familiar with it. It would describe
it as Godzilla on steroids...and meth...and PCP. Three predators, a
gorilla, a wolf, and an alligator are all super sized and
super-powered, by evil science experiments gone wrong. They attack
Chicago and terror ensues and it is up to the Rock to make it all
right again, which he does in fine style. We actually enjoyed the
movie, but we like escapism in film. Johnson played it with his
usual slightly wry, humorous tone and the effects were great. After
the movie we ran some errands, picked up some KFC for dinner, and
went back to the coach where we stayed in for the rest of the day,
another 100 plus day.
Saturday, April 28th, we
left the coach about noon and drove into town to a Greek restaurant
called Niko's Pub. Although they had a lot of Greek stuff on the
menu, which Jackie loves, they also had pub grub like burgers and
sandwiches for me. It is not a real big place, but nice and the
staff was friendly. Jackie had a pita and I had a Philly cheese
steak. Jackie said her pita was good, not the best ever, but good
with lots of meat. My Philly was among the best I have ever had, and
far better than any I have actually had in Philadelphia. Lots of
meat, cooked just right, with good onion rings on the side. We had a
great meal. We also noticed that they are an “official” caterer
to the Desert Bar, an off the grid bar located in the desert outside
of Parker, Arizona. It is only open on weekends and is crazy popular
with the off road and Jeep fans. We went there with friends about
five years ago and enjoyed the experience.
After lunch we drove to downtown Lake
Havasu and picked up a geocache that we had DNFed a couple of days
ago. The cache was on the London Bridge and the owner had emailed us
a hint. The biggest thing was we had been looking under the bridge
but the cache was on the top of the bridge. We also stopped at a
second cache, but had to DNF that one, so we were even for the day.
We drove around the island out in Lake Havasu and took some pictures,
then drove up into town to the Elks Lodge. This is a huge lodge,
with some 3,500 members. They weren't real busy, but we had a
cocktail and got a lodge pin for our banner. After the Elks visit we
stopped at an antique store and looked around for a bit, then headed
back to the coach. We stayed in the rest of the day. Sunday was a
stay at home day. I got a paper in the morning and made a quick trip
to the store in the afternoon to get some potatoes and asparagus for
dinner. We did some steaks, sweet potatoes and asparagus, all on the
BBQ, for dinner.
Monday, April 30th, we left the coach about noon and
drove to Culvers for lunch. Culvers is a somewhat upscale fast food
restaurant that is big in the Midwest and has expanded now to Arizona
as well. We ate at one last summer and thought we would try it again.
We both had hamburgers and, while they were OK, they were no where
as good as In N Out, or even Wendy's in my opinion. Probably won't
go out of our way to go again. After lunch we did a couple of
geocaches nearby then drove to the mall and the movie theater. Today
we saw A Quiet Place, which was a sci-fi horror flick. It was a
thinking movie in that they only hinted at a lot of stuff regarding
the plot and you had to figure out what was going on. It was a good
terror movie that kept you on the edge of your seat. We both enjoyed
the movie. After the movie we went back to the RV park and stayed in
for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, May 1st, was a stay in day. Did a few
chores and I spent an hour or so packing stuff up because we decided
to leave tomorrow, two days earlier than we originally planned.
Jackie wanted to go to her doctor in Palm Desert to see about why she
felt so anxious and shaky recently. Wednesday was a travel day. We
were packed up and on the road at 10:00, headed west to Indio,
California. We arrived at Indian Waters RV Resort at 1:30 after a
180 mile trip through the desert. Fortunately, it was still very
cool, although a bit windy, so the trip was uneventful. We got
parked and while I did the set up work and got us settled in for our
five day stay, Jackie went to the doctor's. I got finished setting
up just as she returned. She said that the doctor's office gave her
a good check up, ran an EKG, and talked to her about symptoms. The
EKG and other vitals were very good and they decided that it was
probably a chemical imbalance of some kind. They sent her to the lab
for a blood test to check her electrolyte levels and will follow up
with her on the results. The PA she saw said it could be a high
potassium level, Jackie does eat a banana every day, or it could be
the caffeine from the three big mugs of coffee she drinks every
morning. As we get older the body changes, so what we did in the
past may not work as we age. She did feel a lot better about her
overall health when she came home, not having to worry about heart
problems or other serious issues. We stayed in for the rest of the
day and evening.
Our arrival back here in California,
after nearly four months in Arizona, marks a good place to close out
this chapter and get it published. Until next time I will leave you
with a quote from a blog I recently came across on the Web. “As we
get older, we learn that many things that once occupied our time
don’t seem to matter much in the long run. Perhaps it is a
blessing that comes with the aging process. At a certain point in
life, you simply don’t have the time or strength or energy to get
involved in every little squabble. So you decide what matters and
what doesn’t, and if you are like most people, you end up with a
relatively short list of things that matter and a much longer list of
things that don’t. This week a friend passed along a saying that
seems very much on point. “A bulldog can beat a skunk, but is it
worth the fight?” If we’re laying down bets, I’ll put my money
on the bulldog every time. But he’ll end up smelling like a skunk
even if he wins.” Actually, the Disney Princess Elsa, from Frozen,
put it more succinctly with “Let it go!” Bye till next time.
