Winter In Yuma, Arizona - Part II

 Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Wednesday, December 23^rd, while we were in Yuma, Arizona. Thursday, Christmas Eve, was a stay at home day. It was very cold and windy, so a good time to stay inside. We had dinner at Peggy's and she made chicken picata, which was very good. After dinner we chatted a while, then we went home. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, December 25^th, Merry Christmas! Today was also a stay at home day. We spent most of the day doing chores, playing on the computer, and watching some funny Christmas movies. Around 6:00 we had a very nice Christmas dinner with Peggy. Jackie cooked a turkey breast and made some stuffing. Peggy made green beans and mashed potatoes, and we had it all with cranberries and gravy. We ate way too much, but it was great. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and then went to bed. Saturday we left after lunch with Peggy and went out to do some geocaching, our first in quite some time. We went to midtown Yuma and picked up eight new finds, and one DNF, in a couple of hours. After caching we headed back to the RV park. We had leftover Christmas fixings for dinner and it was just as good the second time around. After dinner Peggy went back to her coach and we relaxed for the rest of the evening with the TV.

Sunday, December 27^th, was a stay at home day. We did a few chores but mostly just relaxed. For dinner we went to Peggy's and she made penne pasta, one of my favorite dishes. After dinner we went back to our coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Monday we left the coach about 11:30 and headed out for lunch and some shopping. Our original plan was to eat at a new Asian restaurant near the mall on the west side of town. However, when we got there it was closed due to a maintenance issue. So we went down the street to Ninja Sushi, one of Jackie and Peggy's favorite places. I don't care for sushi that much, but they also have a limited menu of other Asian dishes. I had orange chicken and the girls had lots of sushi. What they like about this place the most is that from opening until 5:30 is “happy hour” and all sushi is two for the price of one. After lunch we went to Sam's Club, put some gas in the car, and did some shopping. After Sam's we stopped at Sprouts, which is right down the street. After our shopping we headed back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, December 29^th, we had another stay at home day. Again, a few chores and some relaxing. For dinner we did fish on the BBQ. After Peggy went home we watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday was a stay at home day as well. About 12:30 I went to the clubhouse for the weekly jam session. It was a good crowd, both players and listeners. After the jam session we did do a quick run to Walmart for a few things. For dinner we had chicken on the BBQ. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday, December 31^st, finally, the last day of cursed 2020! We went out for lunch with Peggy to Mi Rancho Mexican restaurant, one of our Yuma favorites. After lunch we headed back home so I could get set up in the clubhouse for the New Years Eve party. I am doing the music for the party. I got everything set up and working and then just relaxed at home until 6:30 when the party started. There were not a lot of people at the party, maybe 20 to 25 and a good part of them were park staff and volunteers. We still had some fun. They had a light pot luck, which we didn't eat because of our big late lunch. They then did their version of horse races, where the horses move across the floor based on throws of the dice. You got to bet on each race, a quarter a bet, max of two bets. Both Jackie and I broke even for the most part. After the horse races we played some dance music and a few people danced, but by 9:00 people were drifting out even though the party was supposed to go to 10:00, which would be midnight in New York. By a quarter to ten we had the place cleaned up and we were back in our coach. We watched new years in New York, went to bed around 10:30 and were awakened at midnight when all the fireworks started going off. After about ten minutes it got pretty quiet and we slept the rest of the night.  The picture is of one of the residents of the park who likes costumes.  He is Father Time -2020.  Very appropriate, I think.

Friday, January 1^st, 2021, my first time typing that year. Today was a stay at home day. I spent about three hours or so cleaning up all the Christmas decorations and getting them all put away. I then got out some of our normal outside decorations, various flamingos and lights, and set that stuff up the rest of our stay here in Yuma. We had cocktails with Peggy and then she did dinner. She made a flank steak that I cooked on the BBQ, and we had that with potatoes, coleslaw and bread. It was a great dinner. We went home about 8:00 and watched TV until bedtime. Saturday we went out about 11:30 with Peggy and went to the taco stand in the Foothills for lunch. As always, lunch was great. After lunch we dropped Peggy off at her coach and we went caching. Peggy had some chores to do and didn't want to go out caching. We had a fun afternoon getting eleven new finds with no DNFs. We were even able to swap a couple of travel bugs, something we haven't been able to do in several months. After caching we headed back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner we went to Peggy's and used the left over beef from last night for beef dip sandwiches, which we had with baked beans and coleslaw. We went home about 8:00 and watched TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday, January 3^rd, we had a stay at home day. We did our laundry at the park, which took until about 2:00. After that I went to Peggy's and helped her with a couple of “honeydew” projects. After that we just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails on the patio and then had a nice pork loin roast for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed. Monday was another stay at home day. We did a few chores and just relaxed for the afternoon. We had leftover pork, turned into green chili, for dinner. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday was another stay at home day, at least for me. Jackie and Peggy went out for a girl's lunch at the sushi place and then some shopping. I spent the day doing some chores and relaxing. We had cocktails on the patio with Peggy and our neighbors on the other side of our coach. After cocktails we went inside and Peggy went home. We didn't have any actual dinner as the girls were still full from lunch. We watched TV all evening and then went to bed.

Wednesday, January 6^th, was another stay at home day. We attended a presentation at the park for SkyMed, an emergency evacuation insurance company. They do an hour presentation and provide a lunch. The lunch was a box lunch, sandwich,chips and a cookie, but it was OK. Besides the free lunch we also went because the representatives who do the presentations, Jack and Karen Cotton, are acquaintances of ours, who we first met geocaching. We don't need SkyMed because we already have this coverage through another company, MASA, which we have had since 2007. After lunch I went to the jam session and we had another really good session, with a dozen players and singers. Also today my new golf clubs arrived!

I started playing golf back in the 80's and was never very good at it. I played only with friends, none of whom were all that good either. When we went full time in 2005 I gave away my clubs because I didn't like playing alone, or with strangers, and I knew when we were on the road that would be the only choices I would have. Plus, they take up a lot of room in the coach. Now that we have a spot in Pahrump I have a shed to keep the clubs in and at least three friends there who play every other week or so, so I decided to take it up again. Dick and Millie Duffin will be here in Yuma next week and Dick is one of my friends who urged me to take up the game again and play with their group. Now I need to go to a driving range for some remedial work and practice. We had some steaks for dinner and after dinner Peggy went home and we watched some TV for the rest of the night.

Thursday, January 7^th, we went to clubhouse patio around 11:30 for lunch. The park had a “burger bash” with hamburgers and hot dogs on the BBQ. It was relatively inexpensive and we had a chance to visit with some other residents while we ate. After lunch Jackie and I went to Walmart where we first both got haircuts. I haven't had mine cut in at least five months and it was getting a little long and shaggy. After our haircuts we did some shopping. A few groceries, some new supplies for my golf bag, balls, tees, that kind of thing, and a new coffee maker. Our old Mr. Coffee, which lasted about three or four years, finally gave up this morning It wasn't that it wouldn't turn on, it wouldn't turn off. The only way to shut it down was to pull the plug. After shopping we went back to the coach and put everything away. We had cocktails on the patio with Peggy and our neighbors, and then Peggy served some clam chowder that was quite good. After dinner we went back to our coach, watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, January 8^th, we went out after lunch to Fry's to get a few things that Walmart was out of. They had a good sale on rib eye steaks, so we picked up a couple of pairs for the freezer. After we got home and put everything away we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Jackie made a nice meat loaf for dinner and we had that with potatoes and veggies. After dinner Peggy went home and we watched TV for the rest of the evening. Saturday was another stay at home day. I was scheduled to do karaoke in the clubhouse from 3 to 5 and got everything set up. However, like last time, no one showed up, so after a half hour or so I tore everything down, put it away and went back to the coach. Without the Canadians that were here in large numbers last Spring, none of the current residents are interested in karaoke, so I will no longer set it up absent at least a couple people on a sign up sheet. We had lasagna for dinner, with a salad and garlic bread from Peggy. After Peggy went home we relaxed with the TV for the rest of the evening.

We are now more than three weeks into this episode, so it is time to close it out and get it published. Until next time, ponder the words of Charles Schultz, “father” of Charlie Brown. “I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it.” Great idea! See ya soon.