At Home in Pahrump, Part III

Hello again, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on October 20^th, while we were still at our home base in Pahrump, Nevada. Since moving into our own space at the Escapees RV Park we have been enjoying the slightly cooler Fall weather.

Wednesday, October 21^st, we left the coach about 11:30 and went out to lunch at a relatively new tamale restaurant which was conveniently located right next door to Jackie's ophthalmologist. She had an early afternoon appointment and we decided to try the tamale joint. It turned out to be a great idea because the tamales were wonderful. Their menu is pretty much limited to various tamales, a few burritos and some chips and nachos. Between us we had one of each of the four main varieties of tamale, pork, beef, chicken and green chili and cheese. They were all good, although I thought the beef was the best. After lunch we went to the ophthalmologist's office for Jackie's appointment. She was here a couple weeks ago and learned that she has cataracts, with the right eye being especially bad. Today was for another exam and to schedule the surgeries. Because we had plans to leave Pahrump the last week of November they made room for us on the schedule as early as possible. Jackie's right eye will be done on the third of November. We have to go to Las Vegas for the surgery. That is election day, but we have already submitted our early ballot, so we don't have to worry about missing anything. The second eye will be done two weeks later. It is not inexpensive. Medicare covers a minimal surgery with a simple lens that only provides clear vision, but doesn't correct for any astigmatism, which Jackie has. To get the laser surgery, which does provide better results it is about $3,000 per eye out of pocket. We are going to discuss the options. After the appointment we drove up to the Wine Ridge RV Resort, where we used to stay all the time, to visit with Paul, the manager of the place. We also went into the park and visited briefly with one of our RVing friends, Jim Woolridge, who just recently got into town with his wife Paulette, for the winter. After our visit we went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day and evening.

Thursday, October 22^nd, my brother David's birthday. He is the most far flung of the clan, living with his family in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We had a stay at home day. Did some chores and considered Jackie's upcoming cataract surgery. After we talked we decided that it was best to go ahead and have the laser surgery done and pay the extra money. The results will be better and there is less risk involved. We called the doctor's office and told them of our decision. Other than that, we just stayed in the house and relaxed. Friday we were up and out of the coach about 8:30 and headed to the doctor's office to get our blood drawn for our upcoming annual physicals. You can't have anything to eat or drink, including coffee, before a blood test, so we always go early. After getting our blood drawn we went back to the coach and relaxed and had our coffee. After lunch we went out again, going to the UPS store to pick up our mail. We had a couple of packages as well. One was a new heated mattress pad. When we took our old pad to the laundry the other day we noticed after we got home that the fabric was coming apart in a number of areas after going through the washer and dryer. The pad was over ten years old, so not totally unexpected. We put the new one on the bed, tested it and everything was good. We also got a case of Konrico Wild Pecan Rice, which we get on Amazon. Back in 2017 we were in Abbyville, Louisiana, west of New Orleans, and we visited the Konrico factory at the suggestion of our friend and fellow full timer Mike Neighbours, and fell in love with their Pecan rice. It doesn't have actual pecans in it, but it is a type of wild brown rice that has a wonderful taste and aroma. Since then we have twice ordered a case, which is six boxes, so we always have some on hand. It goes especially well with fish and other seafood. For dinner, of course, we had fish on the BBQ and Konrico Pecan rice. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, October 24^th, we left the park around 1:30 and drove to Terrible's Roadhouse, a small casino and restaurant, for lunch. The Terrible's company used to own and operate three of the casinos here in Pahrump, but about five years ago they sold out to the company that bought the Pahrump Nugget, Golden Group, and now Golden Group owns all but one of the large and medium sized casinos in town. Terrible's reopened as the Roadhouse, several years ago, but it is a much smaller operation than they had in the past. They do have a great restaurant and we had a nice lunch. After lunch we went home and relaxed for a while, then left again around 5:00 to go to the Elks for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie, and Tom and Phyllis were there also. There were a lot of people for the first rotation, but after that was done a lot of the people left, leaving the usual crowd. We were able to get three songs in for the night. About 9:00 we were done and headed home where we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, October 25^th, I went out first thing in the morning and got a Sunday paper. About 8:30 I left to go to a local gun shop to meet the owner who is also a shooting instructor. For my Federal concealed carry permit, which I can get because I am a retired law enforcement officer, I have to qualify with a weapon once a year. I have worked with this same buy for about six years now to do my qualification and get my paperwork signed off. The Nye County Sheriff's Office issues the actual permit. Now that I have my qualification paperwork I can go down to the Sheriff's Office a couple days before my permit expires at the end of the month and get a renewal. After my qualification I went back home and we stayed in for the rest of the day. The weather guys were predicting high winds from early Sunday afternoon to late Monday night as a result of a cold front moving through. That will also drop our high temps from the mid 80's into the high 40's and night time temps close to freezing. They were right about the wind, which started about noon and was gusting in the 40 mph range. I put down the flags and some of the decorations that I thought might fly away. Monday was a stay at home day. We still had very strong winds and dust and the temperature has dropped into the 50's during the day. This is all supposed to be short term so it made for a good day to just stay inside, do a little admin work, and just relax.

Tuesday, October 27^th, we left the park about 1:40 and drove in Las Vegas to run a few errands. The first stop was a discount pharmacy to pick up the prescription eye drops that Jackie needs to use before and after her cataract surgeries. There were three prescriptions that totaled a little over $100, and based on my earlier research, that was a bargain. The retail price for just one of the tiny bottles was over $500. After picking up the prescriptions we went to the Omelet House again for lunch. Again a lot of really good food with leftovers for later. We then went to a Jewelry store that was having a “buyers event” for diamonds and gold. Jackie wanted to have them give her a bid on the diamond ring she got from her mother. We were disappointed in the amount offered, so we took the ring back and left. We then stopped so Jackie could get a haircut and while she was doing that I went to Costco and gassed up the car. After her haircut we were on our way back over the hump, getting home around 3:30. We relaxed for a while, then around 6:00 we left and drove to the Elks Lodge for a Lodge Meeting. Normally we don't go to many lodge meetings, but tonight our friend Tom $$$$ was being initiated into the Elks and I was his sponsor. The meeting was long and we finally got out about 9:00. After we got home we watched some TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, October 28^th, we left the coach about noon and drove to the local office of the Ophthalmologist that is doing Jackie's eye surgeries, to resign some of the consent papers and to pay for the first eye. We had to redo the paperwork because Jackie decided to go with the laser surgery. After talking to the doctor we did a Walmart run and stopped for mail. After that we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the day and evening inside. Thursday we left the park about 11:00 and drove to our doctor's office so both of us could have our annual checkup. We got in fairly quickly and both of us saw our primary care doctor. Other than the occasional aches and pains I didn't have any thing to talk to the doctor about other than renewing my prescriptions and telling him about my skin cancer stuff. Jackie also didn't have much to ask except for telling him about her headaches she is still getting and some other minor stuff. We were in and out in less than an hour. After the doctor we went to the Japanese steak house here in town, OhJah, for lunch. We both had hibachi, with Jackie getting salmon and I got beef. The lunch was really great and very filling. After lunch we went back to the park and spent the rest of the day at home. Thursday I spent an hour in the morning with an online webinar regarding the health insurance coverage that is available from the Arizona State Retirement System. I have been drawing a pension from the State of Arizona's Public Safety Personnel system since 1992 and starting in 2000 I have a second, smaller pension from the State Retirement System, which is separate. In the past I have received the material on health coverage and was not impressed with their offerings. They were generally much more expensive than what we could get on our own. This was especially true because I have lived out of Arizona since 1998. Their out of state offerings were dismal. However, they now have a United Healthcare Medicare Advantage plan specifically for retirees who live out of state or travel a lot. It is a PPO plan, unlike most advantage plans, which are normally HMO's with limited networks. I am pretty certain, after a lot of investigation, that we are going to switch and save a lot of money next year.

About 2:00 we left to go have a late lunch at Red Sky BBQ. We wanted to do a late lunch because we are going to the bingo session at the Escapees park at 5:00. After lunch we stopped for mail and a couple things at the store, then went home. We stopped briefly at the lot of our friends Dick and Millie Duffin, who came in yesterday after their summer travels. They have been at the Escapees park for several years and were the ones that finally convinced us it would be a good plan for us too. At 5:00 we went to the clubhouse for the bingo. Normally I am not a big bingo person, but since we are new here I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know some of the other residents. It was only $6 a person for a couple hours of bingo and Dick and Millie were also there. That made it easier for us to get to know who's who, because they have been here a while and know a lot of the residents. Oddly, Mr. Not Crazy About Bingo (me) won the first game for $16. Jackie won the last game, but she only got $4 because she had to share the win with several others. After bingo we went home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, October 31^st, Happy Halloween, Boo! We pretty much stayed at home all day. We had our leftover ribs for late lunch and I spent some time in the shed setting up my sound equipment for a sort of singing and guitar studio. We did leave the coach a little before 5:00 and went to the Elks for karaoke. There was a little lighter than usual crowd and we got four songs in for the night. Our friends Tom and Phyllis were there and Len and Debbie came in later. They were in costume, having gone first to the Halloween party at the Wine Ridge RV Resort, our old hangout. However, although they a DJ there, they were only playing dance music and were not doing karaoke, so they left and came over to the Elks. We went until a little after 9:00 when we left and headed back to the coach. We watched a little TV, changed the clocks back for standard time, and went to bed. Sunday we had our usual Sunday paper morning. We also did some chores and housekeeping, getting ready for our little get together with friends tomorrow. After lunch we went out and did a Walmart run. After we got back we spent the rest of the day just relaxing.

Monday, November 2^nd, we had a little get together at our place. Around noon our friends Len and Debbie, Tom and Phyllis, and Dick and Millie, all came over to spend the afternoon. For the most part we sat on the patio and talked and had a light lunch of various foods brought by the guests and us. For an hour or so Len and I sat in the shed and played guitar together and had a really great time. It has been a long while since I have been able to jam with someone. Everyone packed up and left just before sunset, around 4:00 or so. We cleaned up and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Tuesday, November 3^rd, we were in the car and on the road by 9:00, heading into Las Vegas for Jackie's first cataract surgery. Today they did the right eye, which was the worst. The surgery was at a contract surgery center in south Las Vegas and they were very efficient and nice. The got her in quickly and within two hours she was being wheeled out to the car, a little groggy, but otherwise OK. We stopped at a restaurant for a quick lunch, then headed over the hump to home, arriving around 2:00. Because she had been lightly sedated for the procedure Jackie spent the afternoon on the couch in and out of sleep. While Jackie was resting I went over to the UPS store and picked up our mail. We had our new prescriptions from our annual checkup and also my new electric guitar. I have always wanted to try an electric guitar and found a nice one on sale at Guitar Center, the same place I bought my acoustic one about six years ago. After I got back to the coach I just relaxed and watched over Jackie. She seemed to be doing well and went to bed around 9:30. I stayed up until about 10:30 watching election results, but when it became clear there was no way a winner was going to be declared nationally for at least a day or two, I went to bed.

Wednesday, November 4^th, was a stay at home day. Jackie was feeling better and her eye, which had still been very dilated when she went to bed last night, was now normal and she was marveling at how well she could see with that eye. I did a few chores and spent some time in the shed tuning my new guitar and trying it out. I am really happy with it. Our friend Len, who also plays guitar, came by about 4:30, just to see the new guitar and play it for a minute. He left after a half hour or so. We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner and watched TV the rest of the night. For the second night in a row the election is still up in the air and no decision has been made. Thursday we stayed around the coach until about 3:00 when we went to the eye doctor's office for Jackie's first follow up exam. They told her she was doing fine and to just keep up the drops and be careful not to get water in her eye. She has to come back again in a week for another checkup. The next surgery is two weeks from now. After the doctor we went to pick up mail and stopped at Home Depot for some things. We then went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Friday, November 6^th, we had a stay at home day. I did a few chores but we mostly relaxed and watched the dumpster fire, that is our national election, play out on TV. Saturday we went over to the clubhouse about 8:45 for a Board of Directors meeting. Today was supposed to be the Annual Membership Meeting of the non profit corporation that operates our Escapees park. Like any corporation, profit or otherwise, they are required to have an annual meeting of the members. However, due to the Corona issue, they felt that there was no way they would get a quorum of members, which would be over 93 of the 182 members. In addition, even they did get a quorum the current Nevada health regulations would prohibit a meeting that would include close to 180 people, since generally in most cases the term “member” for the park really means a couple. So, they simply held a regular Board Meeting, did the Board business, announced the results of the election, and introduced the new Board. The new Board then met, elected their officers and the meeting was over.

They also closed out the Silent Auction, which had been going on for over a week. As new members of the park we thought the silent auction, which was a fund raising event put on by the Silver Seekers, a committee that handles entertainment and the operation of the Clubhouse, would be fun. There were lots of nice things donated by people in the park, and we had our name and bids on a number of the items. We found out that there was one member of the park who was known to use this event as his Christmas shopping time, and bought over half of the items. Everyone else who tried to bid was basically just a shill for the committee to build up the bids so they would make money. I also suspect, but can't prove, that the committee is in on it and allows this person to be the last one to be in the room before the bid sheets are picked up. This guy took 66 of the 103 items. Sure, the Silver Seekers made money, but the fun of the auction was gone and we certainly won't be participating next year.

After the meeting we went home and relaxed for a while before going out for a late lunch at the Pour House, a bar and ten pin bowling alley, that also has a pretty decent Indian restaurant. Although Jackie likes Indian food, I am not crazy about it, but fortunately, they also have the best pizza in Pahrump, so that's what I get. After lunch we went back to the coach for a while before leaving again to go to the Elks for Saturday Karaoke. We had the usual crowd, including our friends Len and Debbie, and Tom and Phyllis. By 9:15 we were done and headed home where we watched a little TV and went to bed.

This marks nearly three weeks since we published and we have about another three weeks here in Pahrump before we leave to head south for a few months. So, we will get this edition finalized and online. Until next time, appreciate the words of Lily Tomlin. “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.” See ya soon.