Hi there, welcome back. Our last chapter ended on Saturday, January 9th, while we were in Yuma, Arizona, staying at the Sunset Palm RV Park. We are now about a month into our planned three month stay. Sunday we left about noon with Peggy and drove into central Yuma to have lunch at a new, at least for us, Asian restaurant called Lemon Grass. It is in a spot where one of our favorite hamburger restaurants was until it went out of business last year. The menu was extensive, with mostly Chinese dishes, although I did see a few Vietnamese and Thai choices. The food was plentiful and good. Jackie and Peggy both had lemon grass curry noodle soup and the bowl was huge! They only finished about a third of the dish, which had chicken, fish, and shrimp, along with noodles and some veggies. I had the more traditional sweet and sour pork and also took a good portion home with me. We will be going back again before we leave Yuma. After lunch we went back to the park because Peggy had an afternoon hair appointment. We spent the rest of the day at home. Around 2:30 or so our good friends Dick and Millie Duffin arrived in their motorhome and parked in the spot next to Peggy. We have known them for years from our time in Pahrump, first at the Wine Ridge RV Resort, and now at the Escapees Park. They have also been coming to Yuma in the winter for many years, but the private lot in the Foothills that they used to stay at changed ownership and they couldn't get it this year at terms that were acceptable to them. Of course, they didn't have any problems getting a spot in our park since it is probably 25 percent down in residents from previous winters. They got settled in and we visited for a bit. They came over at 5:00 for cocktails and we talked until about 6:00. The Duffins went back to their coach and we had some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.
Monday, January 11th, we had a stay at home day for the most part. About 5:30 we left the park with Peggy and drove to the Elks Lodge on the other side of town so Peggy could be interviewed for membership in the Elks. Vernon had been an Elk for many years and they enjoyed the organization as well as the privileges, like the RV parking at many lodges. After Vernon died Peggy was able to get a widows card based on his membership, but it didn't offer many privileges outside of being able to go into the Elks bar for a drink. This year she decided to join as an Elk herself and thought that the Yuma lodge would be a good one to join as it was very large and she comes here for at least a short time every year. Part of the process after you apply is to be interviewed by the membership committee. Jackie needed to be there also as a current Elk who is proposing Peggy for membership. I was along to drive. This coming Wednesday the lodge will vote and the following Wednesday will be her Initiation into the Order. We will, of course, be there for that meeting. After the interview it was about 7:00, so on the way home we stopped at the new Daybreakers II restaurant. We have been going to the original Daybreakers, which is in the truck stop in the Foothills, but recently they opened a second location in an old Applebee's space near what is know as the “big curve” of Yuma. The menu is the same as the original, but the place is much more modern and clean looking than the truck stop. Peggy and I both had liver, which was great, as it is at the original. Jackie had an omelet, which she said was good, but they forgot the avocado. After dinner we went back to the park and we watched TV until bedtime.
Tuesday, January 12th, we had a stay at home day. Peggy was having her carpets cleaned and we were dog sitting Belle. We had cocktails at 5 on the patio with the Duffin's and Peggy. After cocktails we did some burgers on the BBQ for us and Peggy. After Peggy went home we spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Wednesday we left the park about 11:00 with Peggy and went to the taco stand for lunch. We met Dick and Millie there and had a nice lunch. After lunch we stopped at the vet's office so Peggy could pick up some food for Belle, and then at Walgreen's so Jackie could get some eye drops. She has been getting sore eyes from dry eye. After our shopping we went back to the RV park. I was supposed to go to the jam session in the clubhouse at 1:00, but had gotten a call from the activities director that today's session was canceled. She didn't give a reason, but it was off. Dick and Millie had a coach wash outfit at their place washing their coach, so Dick suggested we go to the driving range for bit so I could see if I still remembered how to swing a golf club. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. After a couple of hits I found I wasn't hitting any worse than I was 15 years ago when I quit playing. I am not good, but I am ready for social golf. After the driving range we went back home and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00, and in addition to Dick and Millie, we had our neighbors Jerry and Debbie and were also joined by our friends Mike and Darlene Neighbours. Mike is president of the Full Timers Chapter of FMCA and also a Vice President of the International Area. They got into Yuma a few days ago and will be here for about three weeks. We had a nice visit with everyone. We had dinner with Peggy about 7:00 and she served tamale pie. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.
Thursday, January 14th, was a stay at home day. Jackie woke up with what appears to be allergies. She has an intermittent cough, running nose and itchy eyes. I took her temp a couple of times and it is normal, so it does not appear to be a virus. We stayed in all day and Jackie didn't even go out for cocktails at 5:00, so I know she is not feeling well. We had a simple dinner of bacon and eggs and watched TV until bedtime. We are going to keep Jackie in for a few days at least and monitor her temp. Friday was another stay at home day as Jackie was still feeling badly. The cough has given her a sore throat and headaches, but other than that she feels OK. Still no fever. I did go out briefly to Fry's to pick up fixings for some chicken soup, which I made for dinner. We spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach.
Saturday, January 16th, Jackie was still feeling poorly. It was another stay at home day. I did a few chores and played on the computer some. We had a light dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Sunday, January 17th, Jackie was still sick and wanted to go to the urgent care, so we left the coach around 10:30 and drove to the Primecare Foothills facility. They were not real busy and almost everyone who came and went was there for something related to Covid, whether to get a test or get test results. When the doctor finally saw Jackie he told her that her cough and sore throat could be a Covid symptom, despite the lack of fever. He suggested some OTC medications for the symptoms, took a urine specimen and suggested a Covid test. Since she was getting one and it didn't cost anything, I got one too. Now we wait for 72 hours or so for the results. So far I am feeling fine. Just before we left our friends Dick and Millie came in too. Dick has been feeling poorly off and on for several days and they also wanted to get tested. After we got back to the coach I got Jackie settled in. Later in the afternoon I took a quick trip to Walgreens for a prescription for Jackie. We spent the rest of the day in, and given the fact that we may be Covid exposed, we will probably be under a voluntary quarantine for a week or two.
Monday, January 18th, I was awakened at 4:30 by the sound of truck engines and when I looked out the window I saw flashing lights. I got up and checked and saw that there was an ambulance and fire truck parked on the street, in front of Peggy's coach and Millie's coach. Since I knew that Dick wasn't feeling well yesterday I assumed it was probably for him. I got dressed and went outside and saw that they had brought Dick out on a gurney and put him in the ambulance. He was partially sitting up on the gurney, so I knew he was at least conscious. I talked to Millie when the fire engine and ambulance left and she said that he got continually worse as the night wore on and by early morning she was very worried and called for an ambulance. My educated guess is that he was dehydrated and exhausted from not eating or drinking and not sleeping. Millie said she was going to wait a few hours before going to the hospital, so I went back home and back to bed.
Tuesday, January 19th, Jackie was still feeling about the same. We had a stay at home day. Interestingly, we are not missing much as all of the activities here at the park have been canceled due to illness in the park. About half way through the day I checked on my Covid test from Sunday and found out I was negative for the virus. Yea! We tried to get Jackie's results but hers were not done yet. Later in the evening I checked again and her test came back positive for Covid, so, despite the lack of any fever she has the virus. Dick's condition is still about the same. He is stable and on oxygen but not intubated. Peggy got her results and is also negative. So for the moment Jackie and Dick are the only one's testing positive. Wednesday continues as a partial lockdown. Jackie seemed to a little bit better, but still pretty down. I did a quick run to the store for some stuff. I still don't have any symptoms at all. I made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner.
Thursday, January 21st, Jackie doesn't seem to be getting better. She said the sore throat is a little less painful, but now she has body aches. We had another stay at home day. Friday was another stay at home day. I did go to Walgreens briefly for some supplies, including an oxygen saturation meter, one of those thingys they put on your finger to check blood oxygen levels. It occurred to me that Jackie might be low, which could lead to the constant headaches. She was a little low the first time I checked, but after a couple puffs of oxygen from one of the little bottles she has on hand for high altitudes brought it up to normal and it was fine the rest of the day. Other than that one short trip we were inside all day. We are now approaching 10 days with Jackie, so I would expect to start to see some improvement soon.
Saturday, January 23rd, Jackie finally seems to be turning the corner and getting better. Fewer headaches and less body aches, other than the lethargy that comes from not doing anything physical for two weeks. We stayed in all day. Sunday was yet another stay at home day. Late in the day I got really bad allergies from something. My eyes were watering uncontrollably and I felt like I was running a fever, although the thermometer didn't show one. I took some Niquel went I went to bed and that seemed to do the trick. Monday was more of the same. I did go out and get some KFC for dinner. Jackie continues to slowly improve.
Tuesday, January 26th, we stayed at home all day. Jackie seems to be over most of the physical symptoms, but is very sad and depressed over the whole isolation thing, Dick's condition and just life in general. Wednesday more of the same. Thursday, more of the same. Stayed home all day. Friday Dick lost his battle with Covid. Millie and two of his four kids were there with him when they disconnected the machines. Very sad. I made chili colorado in the crock pot for dinner. I did go out in the afternoon to do a grocery run at Frys. Other than that we stayed at home.
Saturday, January 30th, we along with Peggy drove into Yuma proper to go through a drive through Covid testing clinic. We had signed up for the tests last week. This was not the swab up the nose test, it was a spit test. You put a small sample of saliva in a tube which was then tested for the virus. It is supposed to take at least two days for the results to come back. After the testing we stopped at the Lemon Grass Chinese restaurant for lunch, then did a quick stop at Sam's Club, mostly for vodka restocking. After Sam's we headed back to the coach. Jackie appears to be feeling quite a bit better. I am now a little unsettled, slightly light headed and slight tummy distress. Not sick, per se, but not a hundred percent either. We spent the remainder of the evening in the coach.
We are now three weeks into this episode and it is time to close it out and get it published. Until next time, ponder the words of Physicist Albert Einstein. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” See ya soon.
