Hello again. Our last chapter
concluded on Sunday, March 15th, while we were still in
Yuma, Arizona. Monday was another stay at home day for the most
part. We are in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic panic of 2020,
with all events and gatherings being canceled, including the two RV
rallies we were go to starting this week in the Tucson area.
Fortunately, we already had reservations at this park to the middle
of April, so travel wise we weren't affected. Peggy was able to add
another month to her reservations so at least until mid April we will
remain hunkered down here in Yuma. Monday afternoon we watched the
last 45 minutes of the film The Irishman, a Martin Scorsese mob film.
It was a great movie, but at three and a half hours, a little too
long. About 5:00 we drove over to another Foothills area RV park,
Carefree Village, to have cocktails and dinner with Clark and Judi
McKay. We had also stayed at Carefree for the previous three
winters, but were not able to get reservations there this winter. We
had cocktails and a very nice dinner with the McKays and talked for a
couple of hours. We left around 7:30 and went back home. After we
got in the coach we watched some TV and went to bed.
Tuesday, March 17th, Happy
St. Patrick's day. Of course, due to the ongoing virus crisis there
are no celebrations. It appears that the dinner here at the park was
not canceled, but we hadn't planned to go anyway. I got a nice, big
five pound corn beef in the crock pot at 8:00 this morning and had
two big heads of cabbage and some carrots standing by for cooking
later. The news of the crisis continues to show more and more of a
trend towards an unofficial martial law in the country. The
government is now calling for the canceling of any gathering of more
than ten people. Individual states are mandating the closure of
bars, restaurants, theaters and any other place where people gather.
I went to the store yesterday and the shelves are still eerily empty.
Unlike a lot of people this does not scare me as much as piss me
off. We did go out after lunch to the Dollar Store to try and return
a hundred plus dollars worth of table cloths and decorations that
Jackie had bought for the Monaco rally. The receipt said no refunds
and the store manager confirmed that they would not refund the money
or give a credit. She could exchange them for a hundred dollars
worth of something else, but no refunds. After we got back home we
just relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and
then a very nice corn beef and cabbage dinner at 7:00 with Peggy. We
watched a little TV after dinner and then went to bed.
Wednesday, March 18th, we
woke up to more rain. So far this year Yuma has gotten as much rain
as it normally gets in a year, which is not really that much. Since
it was cold and wet we had another stay at home day. Of course, the
governments has us grounded anyway. We got a few chores done but
mostly relaxed. For dinner Peggy made some Ruben sandwiches for us
with leftover corn beef. It was really good. We watched some TV
after Peggy left, then just relaxed for the rest of the day.
Thursday I was out of the house about 9:30 and heading back to the
local Ford dealer. Since we had the car serviced last week there has
been a high pitched whistle inside the car which I finally narrowed
down to something in the heating/air conditioning system. Before I
got my hearing aides I would have never heard it. It varies in tone
depending on the speed of the fan and stops when the fan is shut off.
Since they changed the cabin air filter in the system when they did
the service, I suspect that there is a small air leak. They took the
car in as soon as I got there and a technician took out and replaced
the filter and the noise was gone, so I was correct. I was in and
out in 15 minutes. Yea! On the way home I stopped at a couple of
grocery stores to see if I could get some paper products, but still
no joy anywhere. I also stopped at the local gun shop since I needed
a new holster for my concealed carry. The place was buzzing, with a
couple dozen people looking at guns. After I got home we just
relaxed around the house as is our new normal now. We had cocktails
with Peggy and Belle and had dinner at Peggy's. After dinner we
watched some TV and went to bed.
Friday, March 20th, the
first full day of Spring! I was planning on going down to Mexico to
get some adjustments on my hearing aides, but this last night the
government issued an order to close the border to people just
crossing for recreation and shopping. I think technically I could
have gone, but I decided the work I was looking to have done was not
important so we just stayed home. We spent the day around the house
doing the usual things. Cocktails at 5:00, dinner at 7:00 and then a
little TV before bed. Saturday we went out after lunch to do some
geocaching. We had planned to go out to eat, but yesterday Yuma
county reported it's first confirmed case of COVID19, a Marine at the
air station, so under the Arizona Governor's orders, all restaurants
and bars in Yuma County were ordered closed except for take out and
drive through. We did get nine new finds and two DNFs in a couple of
hours. After caching we stopped at Fry's for a few things, then went
back home. We had hamburgers on the grill for dinner, watched some
TV and went to bed.
Sunday, March 22nd, I
decided to go out to Sam's Club on a supply run. We needed a few
things, but mostly we were on our last bottle of vodka. I left the
coach a little after 9:00 and got to the store around 9:30. The
store opened at 10:00 and there was already a line halfway around the
side of the building. I was probably number 50 or 60 in line. We
all got in when the store opened I was close enough to the front of
the line that I was able to get one of the large containers of paper
towels, 15 rolls, before they ran out. They also had a lot of small
water bottles, but we have good water and didn't really need that. I
was able to get some paper plates, frozen fish, tuna, and a few other
things we needed, including two cases (6 bottles) of vodka, one for
us, one for Peggy. Still no toilet paper available, but we are OK
for a few weeks. I stopped at a couple other stores in the area just
to check on TP, but no luck. After I got home we relaxed for a
while. We split the paper towels with Peggy and delivered the vodka.
Around 5:00 Clark and Judi came over for cocktails and then we all
did steaks on the BBQ and had a nice meal. After they left we
watched some TV and went to bed.
Monday, March 23rd, we had
another stay at home day, or shelter in place day as it is now known.
Did a few chores but mostly just relaxed. We had cocktails with
Peggy and Belle, then we had dinner using the chicken I bought when I
was at Sam's yesterday. After dinner we watched some TV and went to
bed. Tuesday was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out and do a
Walmart run after lunch to pick up a few things. We then stopped at
Fry's just to see if they had things we were having a hard time
getting. I was able to get toilet paper. Now Kleenex and hand
sanitizer are the only things on our “yet to find” list. Yea!
We spent the remainder of the day watching some of our shows on TV.
We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle and Clark and Judi came over
for bit too. They had been to Algodones today to finish up some
ongoing dental work Judi had going. They said the dental office
opened just for patients like her who had work to finish off.
Everything else, restaurants, stores, medical places, were all
closed. I think their season is over early. After cocktails the
three of us went to Peggy's and had sausage and sauerkraut. for
dinner. After dinner we went home and watched TV until bedtime.
Wednesday, March 25th was
another shelter in place day for us. Peggy went off on a Jeep run
with her friends Don and Barb, but she left Belle with us to dog sit.
We had a quiet day, getting a few chores done, including some
revised travel planning. The plan now is to stay here in Yuma for
another month, with our leaving date now pushed out to May 12th.
We hope that this virus thing will have peaked by then and it will
be safe to travel. Assuming that, we will be going to Goodyear for a
week, then back to Indio for a week and then up to Silent Valley for
a month before hopefully going back to our original summer trip
schedule. Not too sure what Peggy is going to do, but she will
likely stay here until at least May before trying to go home to
Northern California. I have talked to my brother Ken, who lives in
the Phoenix area, and he and Susan are doing OK. Both are still
working as Ken is a part time flight instructor and part time
executive pilot, and Susan works for Southwest Airlines in the
reservations office. They just bought a new 40' diesel pusher and
are really upset that they are temporarily grounded from their hoped
for travel. They did go to Gila Bend for a few days just as a test
run.
My brother Russ, who works in Las Vegas
is home on an enforced vacation as he works at a casino. The
governor closed all casinos in Nevada, putting a million people out
of work for a month. Right now they are getting paid, but that can't
last long, even for a casino company. Our friends Dick and Millie
Duffin came over for happy hour and let us know that they are headed
back to Pahrump tomorrow. They feel that they will be safe there
assuming they can avoid contact with people on the way. After
cocktails we had dinner at our place with Jackie making chicken
enchiladas, rice and beans. After Peggy went home we watched some TV
and went to bed.
Thursday, March 26th,
another stay at home day. I got a number of chores done today,
including working on some small water leaks on the roof, weeding the
yard and fixing some lights. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle
and then did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy went home
we watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we are still staying at
home for the most part. Peggy and Jackie went out after lunch and
did a quick Fry's run for a few supplies. The stores seem to slowly
be getting their shelves restocked after the panic buying from a
month ago. I got a few more maintenance chores done around the
coach. We had cocktails, then Peggy made dinner, a nice pork roast
with sweet potatoes. After dinner we went back home and watched TV
until bedtime.
Saturday, March 28th,
another chores and relaxation day. I got some storage cabinets
rearranged and cleaned out and a few other chores. We had cocktails
at 5:00 and I made a batch of stuffed peppers for dinner. After
dinner Peggy left and we watched TV until bedtime. Sunday we went
out after lunch to do a little geocaching. We were with Peggy and
caching in a rural area of Southwest Yuma, so we weren't violating
any “social distancing” rules. We were able to get a dozen new
finds, and one DNF, in a couple of hours. After caching we stopped
at Walmart for a couple things, then went back home and relaxed for
the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then Peggy turned
the left over pork from the other night into chili verde. After
dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.
Monday, March 30th, we had
another stay at home day. My big project for the day was to finish
the quarterly newsletter for the Full Timer's Chapter of FMCA. I got
it done and ready to publish by late afternoon. I had been cooking a
pot roast all day, so that's what we had for dinner. After dinner we
spent some time with the TV and went to bed. Tuesday and still
grounded, now it appears for at least 30 days. We stayed home, did a
few chores and continued to safely relax. Cocktails at 5:00, a
dinner of cheeseburgers on the grill later. Watched some TV, went to
bed. Wednesday we decided to get out of the house for a bit and left
after lunch to do some geocaching. Peggy didn't go, so it was just
Jackie and I. We had a fun afternoon, getting 14 new finds along
with two DNFs. It was also responsible pandemic caching in that we
were in a rural area and never got closer than 50 feet to another
human who was not sealed in a vehicle. Washed and disinfected after
caching, then went home and relaxed for a bit. We had cocktails with
Peggy and Belle, then a nice dinner of tamales. After we got back to
our coach we watched some TV and went to bed.
Thursday, April 2nd, was
another stay at home day for the most part. I did some chores for
Peggy that I had been putting off. Also did a few things around our
coach. We mostly relaxed. After cocktails we had dinner at Peggy's,
tacos. They were great. After we got home we did the TV thing and
went to bed. Friday still grounded. I did go out before lunch, by
myself, to do a supply run at Frys. Things are starting to look a
little better in the stores. Still no toilet paper or paper towels,
no disinfectant products like wipes or hand sanitizer. But the food
isles are mostly full now, lots of dairy and eggs, meats, and most
can goods. The pasta isle is still a little barren, but there are a
few of most types now. I got our supplies, making sure to stay clear
of people, then went back home. Did a few chores and some office
work. For dinner the girls both had rack of lamb on the BBQ and I
had a nice T-bone steak. We had some potatoes and asparagus to go
with dinner. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.
Saturday, April 4th, another
day in the hunker bunker. Did get some office work done, including
filing a dispute with the credit card company over the refusal of
FMCA to refund all, or even any, of the $675 we paid for the canceled
Tucson rally. Well over half that money was for the full hookup 50
amp parking site which FMCA would not have spent any money on yet.
We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then dinner at our house. We
had Asian pork ribs that had been cooking in the crock pot all day.
After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Sunday we
Jackie and I went out after lunch and drove to Sam's Club. I needed
to return a computer hard drive I had bought just two weeks ago that
just stopped working. All of a sudden it gave error messages and
then the computer wouldn't recognize the drive any more. I tried to
do the reformat fix, but it still wouldn't work. Although I didn't
have the box, I did have the receipt and documentation, so they
refunded my money with no problem. As long as I was there I picked
up some more vodka and a couple other little things. Jackie came
along just to get out of the coach, but stayed in the car while I
went in. After we got back to the coach we just relaxed for the rest
of the afternoon. We had cocktails and then dinner with Peggy. She
served some ham and bean soup which was excellent. After dinner we
went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
It is now three weeks since we last
published. Most readers will agree that this episode is pretty damn
repetitive, and it is. However, it is something that we will want to
remember in a year or two. It's like we are all living “Ground Hog
Day” in real life. Same crap, different day. Oh well, this too
shall pass. Until next time, remember the words of author C.J.
Redwine. “Losing your head in a crisis is a good way to become the
crisis.” Stay safe and see ya soon.
