Time With Family on the Central Coast

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last episode concluded on Wednesday, June 24^th, when we arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge on the Central Coast of California. We have been coming to this area at least once or twice or year since we started our full timing adventure. The reason was that Jackie has family living in Pismo Beach, a coastal town about 20 miles north of Santa Maria. We stay in Santa Maria because the Elks Lodge here has a very nice RV park with full hookup 50 amp sites for which you can make advance reservations. They are $30 a night, which is high for an Elks Lodge, but very moderate compared to RV park rates in this very touristy area.

This is the first time back here since about this time last summer. That last visit was the last time that we were able to see Jackie's Aunt Donna, who passed away at 94 late last year. Her grandson Corey, who has been her full time care giver for the last dozen years, still lives in their house on the hill overlooking the Pismo Beach pier. He inherited the house upon her death and intends to keep it and continue to live there. After we got settled into the Elks and got set up for our two week stay we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing after our three day journey to get here. We contacted Corey and let him know we would come by tomorrow to see him. It is really nice to be back in a cool place again after the heat of the desert.

Thursday, June 25^th, we awoke to an overcast and cool morning. It was nice to be able to do my daily walk again without sweating my face off. We left the coach about 1:30 and went out to do a couple of geocaches and then drive up to Pismo Beach to visit with Corey. We got two caches and one DNF and arrived at what is now officially Corey's house on the hill. We had a very nice visit, although it was odd and sad to be in the house and not have Aunt Donna around to talk to. We had brought a frozen lasagna and some garlic bread with us which we cooked in the oven after cocktail hour. We had a very nice dinner with the three of us and we left around 7:30 or so and headed back to Santa Maria. After we got back to the coach we watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, June 26^th, we left the coach about 12:30 and drove to a local truck stop cafe called Pappy's, located in the south part of Santa Maria. It was recommended to us by Ron Kopf, the husband of Jackie's cousin Stephanie who lives in Fresno. Ron travels a lot for work and told Jackie that Pappy's had the best chicken fried steak anywhere. It is an old place, founded in 1959, with a distinctly cowboy flavor. The menu is pure truck stop comfort food. Jackie had the chicken fried steak and eggs, which was huge and she said it was, in fact, very good. I had the Santa Maria BBQ tri tip melt, which was on sourdough bread with onions, mushrooms and swiss cheese and served with an au jus. It was, by far, the best tasting beef sandwich I have had. We will definitely be coming back to Pappy's. After lunch we did some geocaching in Santa Maria, getting five new finds and three DNFs. We then did some shopping, Walmart and Lowes. After we were done we went back to the coach, had cocktails but no real dinner because we were still pretty full from lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, June 27^th, we had mostly a stay at home day. I did go out after lunch to get our very dirty car washed and stop at a Von's to get a couple of things that Walmart didn't have yesterday. About 4:00 Corey came over to visit and have dinner. We sat and talked for a while and then did hamburgers on the BBQ. He stayed until about 7:30 or so and then left to go home. We watched TV until bedtime. Sunday was a stay at home day. Did the Sunday paper with coffee in the morning and then spent the day doing chores. Jackie made a nice chili relleno for dinner. Monday was laundry day. We went out after lunch to the local laundromat and did our clothes. After the washing was done we drove up to Pismo Beach and met Corey at his favorite neighborhood bar, Scotty's. We had a couple of drinks, talked to Corey and some of his friends. By 4:30 we were on our way back to the coach. We had cocktails and chili relleno leftovers for dinner.

Tuesday, June 30^th, the middle of the year already. Today was a stay at home day. Did a few chores but mostly relaxed for the day. Did some pork chops on the grill for dinner. Wednesday, July 1^st, we left the coach around 12:30 and went to a local restaurant called The Pantry on Park. We had been there about four years ago and really liked it, we just never got around to going back. Jackie had an omelet and I had liver and onions. Both dishes were very good, prepared nicely and were generous portions. The only down side was the service, which was not so good. Friendly, but they payed more attention to chatting among themselves and watching their phones than checking on us. After lunch we drove up to Arroyo Grande to do some geocaching. Jackie also got her haircut in between caches. We were able to get seven new finds, with no DNFs. After caching we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, July 2^nd, we left the coach about 1:30 and went out to run some errands and do a little geocaching. We got two new finds and a pair of DNFs too. We also had four caches that we went to try and get only to find that they were in State parks that have been closed because of the virus thing. We stopped at an RV supply store but were unable to find what I need. Suzie Babcock gave us their propane fire pit, which had hardly been used, but I need to get the right fitting to make it work on our coach. So far I am not having much luck with that. We then stopped at a Von's store in Arroyo Grande for a few things. It was a disappointing stop as they were out of a lot of stuff because, I presume, the holiday weekend. After Von's we headed home just in time for cocktails. We had dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Friday we went out after lunch to run some errands and do a little geocaching. We stopped at Costco to gas the car up, ten gallons after a month and a half. We stopped at Home Depot and then Walmart for a few things. After errands we got three new cache finds along with one DNF. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Saturday, July 4^th, Happy Independence Day! We relaxed at home until about 3:00 when we left the coach and drove to the KFC in Santa Maria to pick up dinner for a 4^th of July party at Corey's. We got the chicken and sides and then drove to Pismo Beach for the party. We have spent several 4^th of July holidays over the years in both the current house which is now Corey's and the larger house next door which is where Jackie's Aunt Donna and Uncle “Barkey” used to live. They lived in the area for some 50 years and built four houses on the hill, all right in the same area. Corey's brother and sister inherited the smaller house below Corey's which still belonged to Donna as a rental. It is up for sale now. The other smaller house they sold not long after they built it. We used to love coming here for the 4^th because Pismo Beach shot their fireworks off of the end of the City pier, which is directly below the house. However, this year there is no formal fireworks show because of the lockdown. We still had a fun little get together with Corey, and a couple of friends of his Gloria and Shaffer. Gloria and her husband have a summer house in Pismo and Shaffer is the bartender at Scotty's, Corey's favorite bar. Jackie's cousin Pia and her boyfriend were supposed to come over, but they canceled at the last minute afraid that there might be a lot of people they didn't know. The five of us sat and talked, drank and had chicken dinner and had a great time. We left around 9:30 and drove home after dark for the first time in a while. There was no public fireworks, but there was no shortage of private shows going on for the entire 20 mile drive south to Santa Maria. When we got back to the coach the neighborhood around the Elks RV lot looked and sounded like a war zone. It kept up until well after we went to bed at 10:30. Fortunately, we never heard any sirens, so everyone must have survived the night.

Sunday, July 5^th, we did the usual Sunday morning paper and coffee. We left the coach about noon and drove to the In N Out burger place for lunch. Had to eat in the car, but it was still good. After lunch we did some caching, getting a half dozen new finds and a couple of DNFs. We are now just 50 finds from hitting our 10,000 milestone. Yea! One of the caches was at the Santa Maria Airport and I saw this old A-4 Skyhawk near a small museum.  After caching we headed back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Monday we left the RV park after lunch and drove to the Costco to get a few things before we left the Central Coast area. We went back to the coach and put everything away and did a few chores. Around 3:30 we left again and drove to Corey's in Pismo Beach for one last visit. It was just the three of us and we sat and talked, had some cocktails and snacks, and for dinner Corey made some locally made burritos with a side of rice. We had a nice meal and visited some more. We left around 8:00 and drove back to the Elks. We stayed in with the TV the rest of the night. Tuesday was a stay at home day. After lunch I spent a couple hours outside putting away all our trinkets. We spent the entire day and evening in the coach relaxing with the computers and the TV.

Wednesday, July 8^th, another travel day. We had the coach buttoned up and ready to go by 10:00, heading North. Ultimately, we are on our way to Peggy's house in Mineral, California, near Redding, for what was to be the 5^th annual 50^th wedding anniversary. However, a couple days ago Peggy called and said that she was canceling the party because 33 people, many of whom are younger people and people Peggy doesn't see very often, was way too many with the Covid virus still running rampant around the country. She still wants us to come and spend time with her and her kids, but the party is off. That works out for us because we are going North into Oregon anyway and we have to be somewhere, so we just kept our reservations at the RV park in Mineral. Last year the party was nearly canceled when Vernon Died a couple days before, but they turned that into a celebration of life. This year's will be a celebration of family. Today's journey was only 130 miles north and east to the town of Coalinga off of the I-5. The trip was pretty uneventful and we arrived at the Almond Tree Oasis RV park at 12:30. We got parked and set up for our two night stay here. Relax today, some caching tomorrow, and then on to the next two night stay. We have three of these short stops before we head into the mountains and Mineral. After we got set up we just relaxed the rest of the day.

The end of our two week stay here in Santa Maria marks a good point to get this episode published and online. Until next time, remember that you can’t always control who walks into your life but, you CAN control which window you throw them out of… See ya soon.

Three Plus Weeks in the San Jacinto Mountains

Hello again. Our last episode concluded on Friday, May 29th when we left Indio, California and arrived at the Silent Valley RV Resort in the San Jacinto Mountains south of Banning, California. This is a private resort operated on a time share model. Since it is located on leased Forest Service land, you buy” an undivided portion of the lease and improvements and then pay a yearly fee. You get to use the resort up to 120 days per year at no additional cost and most of the sites are full hookup and 50 amp. Since it is at 3,500 feet elevation it is also 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the Coachella Valley. We first bought in when we still had the house in Indio and a much smaller RV and we got quite a bit of use out of it, although we rarely stayed for more than a week or two. After we went full time we started using it 30 days at a time, the most you can stay without having to leave for at least 10 days. The first few years we were getting at least 60, sometimes 90 days in a year. However, as time has gone by we are spending less and less time in Southern California and have been spending less and less time here despite we fact we like it when we are here. We are considering selling our interest just because we no longer get our monies worth from it. Our first day here we just got the basic set up completed and then relaxed.

Saturday, May 30th, we stayed up on the mountain. Our general pattern here is that we will stay on the hill for three or four days, then go down the hill to shop, eat, go to movies and geocache. Of course, a lot of that activity is still somewhat limited due to the COVID lock down orders. I did spend a couple of hours outside getting decorations put out, the BBQ set up and making the place look like home. We did hamburgers on the BBQ for dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Just for information, the peak temperature today up here was 79 degrees and it was 102 in Indio. Yea! Sunday was another stay at home day. Unfortunately, there are no newspapers available up here, so when we are here we have to forgo our usual Sunday Paper ritual. We took a walk, relaxed and just enjoyed the day. We had country ribs in the crock pot all day which we had for dinner. Watched TV and went to bed.

Monday, June 1st, wow, already? We decided to go down the hill today so we left the RV park about noon and drove down to Beaumont for lunch. One of our favorite Mexican places, La Casita, has reopened for dine-in service. Yea! We both had the chicken taco salad, which is the best restaurant taco salad anywhere. I even got to have a beer with lunch. After lunch we did a few geocaches in the area, getting three new finds. We then drove back up the hill and relaxed for the rest of the day. Tuesday was a stay at home day. We went for a walk, did some chores and generally relaxed for the entire day. Wednesday was another stay at home and relax day. It was a little warmer today so we stayed inside for most of the day. Did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, June 4th, our coaches 15th anniversary. We closed on the house on June 4th, 2005, took the check to the bank, got a cashiers check for the coach and made the deal. We picked up the coach the next day. Today we decided to get out of the house for a little bit. Around 11:30 we left the RV park and headed to the mountain community of Idyllwild, about 16 miles south and 2,500 feet higher. We found that none of the restaurants up there were doing dine in service yet, but the Lumber Mill Bar and Grill had an outside, covered patio which they were allowing people to sit in. You had to order the food “to go” but when they would deliver the take out food to you if you were sitting on the patio. We had a nice lunch, then walked around the small main village area of town. I was surprised that most of the small gift shops were open, so we actually got to do some browsing. While we were in town we also got one geocache. After a couple hours we headed back to Silent Valley and spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach.

Friday, June 5th, we had a stay at home day. There was a cold front moving into Southern California and it brought cool temperatures, fog and light rain to Silent Valley. We stayed inside for the entire day. I made a nice pot of chili for dinner, we ate, watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday we woke up to light rain and even cooler temps. We actually turned on the furnaces for a while. Although it cleared up a little in the late afternoon we still had a stay at home day. Got a few chores done, relaxed and played games and watched TV. We did a pork roast in the oven for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, June 7th, we left Silent Valley after lunch and drove down the hill to do some geocaching and to do a Walmart run. We were able to get four new finds, and one DNF, in a fairly short time, then went to Walmart to shop. The store was really crowded, but by 3:30 we were done and back on our way up the hill. After we got the groceries put away we just spent the rest of the day and evening relaxing. Monday was a stay at home day. Although it warmed up a little, the wind picked up and it was pretty breezy. We just relaxed at home for entire day and evening. Jackie made a nice meatloaf for dinner. Tuesday was another stay at home day. Did a few chores and relaxed. Had leftovers for dinner.

Wednesday, June 10th, we left the coach about 11:00 and went down the mountain, headed west to Menifee, California to meet some friends for lunch. We arrived at the Applebees and met with Suzie Babcock. Suzie and her husband Ray were some of our best friends and over the years we spent a lot of time traveling together. Ray died this last January and Suzie is still dealing with the fallout. Shortly after Bev King arrived. Bev and her husband Jerry were also Rvers, although Jerry died about five years ago. Jerry and Ray were both retired fireman and knew each other. We were supposed to have been joined by Gary and Ramona Wilson, also old RV friends that have sold their rig and gone off the road. However, they sent word through Suzie that they would not be able to make it. Gary is also a retired fireman, but for a different department. The four of us had a very nice lunch and did a lot of catching up. We haven't seen Bev in a couple of years, Suzie we saw just a few months ago. After lunch we went to Suzie's house nearby and sat and talked for another couple hours. The Babcock's daughter Wendy was there as she is staying with Suzie for a while to help out. We left their house about 4:00 and headed home. On the way home we stopped at the UPS Service Center in Romoland, not too far from Menifee, to pick up our mail that we had delivered there by our mail box service in Pahrump. We arrived home about 5:30 and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. It was nice seeing old friends today.

Thursday, June 11th, we had a stay at home day. Got a few chores done but mostly just relaxed. Our friends Bob and Gloria Baron brought their motorhome up to Silent Valley and are parked right across the street from us. They have been members here even longer than us. We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner as well as some grilled corn on the cob and scallops. We watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we left the coach about 11:30 and drove down to Banning and the Sun Lakes Country Club. We came down to visit an old friend, Marianne Connor who lives there. We met Marianne and her husband David back in 1999 when we joined the Indio Elks and their RV travel club, the Desert Drifters. We went on many outings with the Drifters from 1999 to 2005 when we sold the house and went full time.

Dave and Marianne were actually our first real “travel partners” in 2006. They also had a diesel pusher, a 40 foot Beaver that was also made by Monaco and was very similar to ours. We met up with them, as well as several other Desert Drifters, on the way to Minot, North Dakota, for our very first FMCA Convention in August 2005. We traveled with this group for about a month and a half, including the before, during and after the rally. We left the group in September in California and we headed east along I-10. We spent our first winter full timing in Florida and in March 2006 we went to Branson, Missouri for a rally. Dave and Marianne were also at the same rally, as well as one other couple from the Elks group. After the Branson rally we traveled with the Connors for about three months, up through the Mississippi Valley and into the Northeast. We finally split up in late June when they went into upstate New York and we went to Massachusetts. They full timed for about two years before David's health got too bad. He died in 2008 and Marianne continued to use the motor home with the Elks group for another couple years before she sold it. She has been living in the Banning/Beaumont area ever since. We see here once in a while, although it has been two and and half years since the last time we saw here. We visited with her at her house for a while, then drove into Beaumont to a Mexican place called Marla's for lunch. We were joined by Bob and Gloria Baron, who had also been in our Elks travel club. We had a very nice lunch, although the food and service could have been better. Nonetheless, it was still great to be able to visit with old friends. We left Marianne's around 3:30 and went to Walmart for some supplies. We then drove back up the hill and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach watching TV and relaxing.

Saturday, June 13th, we had a stay at home day. I got some chores done, including fixing the front steps again. Every three or four years I have to fix something with the automatic steps. Twice before I had to replace the motor, this time it was a broken bolt on the linkage, which required I order a whole new tie rod because the bolts were part of the tie rod. We had cocktails at 5:00 with the Baron's and another couple from the Indio Elks travel club that we haven't seen in years, Tom and Joan Bolaris. They are also members of Silent Valley and are camped not too far from us. We did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Sunday was another stay at home day. We just relaxed for the entire day. Monday we went down the hill for lunch and to do some shopping. We went to Patsy's Country Kitchen for lunch. This is a breakfast and lunch cafe that we really like and it has now reopened for dine in service. We had a great breakfast, omelet for Jackie, machaca for me. After lunch we ran some errands, stopping at a beauty supply store, Walgreens and then an RV supply store. After our shopping errands we stopped at a Great Clips so Jackie could get a haircut. After the haircut we headed back up the mountain. We didn't do any caching because we have pretty much cached this area clean. After we got back to the coach we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Tuesday, June 16th, my eldest daughter Tye's birthday. Happy Birthday Tye! We had a stay at home day. Did a few chores and some office work, but mostly just relaxed. We did some Cajun chicken on the BBQ for dinner. Wednesday was also a stay at home day. Thursday we left the coach around 11:00 and went down the hill again, heading back to Menifee and the Babcock house. We arrived there around noon and picked up Suzie to go to lunch. This time it was just the three of us. We went to BJ's Brewhouse for lunch and had a very nice meal. After lunch we drove out to where their motorhome was stored. The Babcock's had a 2006 Monaco Diplomat, which was very similar to ours with basically the same chassis. We traveled with them many times and spent a lot of time in the coach. The coach was always Ray's baby, so Suzie doesn't know anything beyond the basics about the coach. She never drove it and doesn't want to learn. She has it up for sale at the moment. She took us out there to go through the storage bays and take any accessories that we wanted. They really don't add anything to the value of the coach and she doesn't need them around the house. We got a voltage regulator for use in campgrounds with wonky electric power, a couple of lawn chairs, and a few other small service items. After we got back to the house we went through some stuff she had in the garage from the coach and got a couple of other little things. We then left and drove north to Moreno Valley to go to Costco. After the Costco run we headed back to Silent Valley, getting home just after 5:00. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing. One thing I did have to do was reprogram most of our satellite television programs. Because of action, or actually inaction, on the part of Congress, satellite TV providers are no longer able to allow customers to get network programming, IE., ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW, that does not originate from their local market, which in our case would have been Las Vegas. For 15 years we had a special package that gave us both New York and Los Angeles network feeds. Yesterday they cut off those feeds. I was able to get Direct TV on the line and we got our local programming turned back on. I also changed our “service address”, which is where we actually are, to the address of Silent Valley, so we at least got the Los Angeles network stations turned back on. However, we were recording most of our network shows on the New York feed because they came on earlier in the day, so I had to change almost everything to the Los Angeles stations. I got it done and we now have network coverage again, at least from the west coast. Hopefully they won't do anything more to screw things up for us.

Friday, June 19th, Juneteenth, another new holiday, although it did show up on my Google calendar as part of the “U.S. Holidays” download. However, Flag Day didn't, which I found distressing. Oh well. Today was another stay at home day. Got a few chores done, some office work and some relaxing. Had the chicken we bought at Costco yesterday for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday was another stay at home day. I spent a couple of hours cleaning up all of our outside decorations, getting ready for our departure from Silent Valley on Monday morning. Sunday was our last day here in Silent Valley. I finished up getting ready for travel tomorrow and checked all the fluids in the coach as well as the batteries and the tire pressure. We are now ready for travel.   While I was outside checking various things on the coach I noticed the Shade Pro service truck pull up to one of the RV's parked behind us.  When the guys got out I recognized Ryan, our service guy from Yuma who installed our new shades a couple months ago.  I had to go over and say hi.  We also had to take a photo with Jackie so she could send it to Peggy, who also had a bunch of work done in Yuma by Ryan.  We had cocktails with the Baron's who came back up today after being gone most of the week.

Monday, June 22nd, our first travel day in nearly a month. We were packed up and pulling out of Silent Valley about 9:30 heading north on a fairly short 80 mile trip to Adelanto, a small town on the west edge of Victorville. The toughest part of the trip was climbing the Cajon pass out of San Bernardino. Because we left early we beat the worst of the heat and got to the summit without any overheating. We arrived at the Adelanto RV park about 11:30, got checked in and parked for a one night stand. Since we got in early we did unhook the car and drove into town to have lunch and do a Walmart run. We ate at a little taquaria near the Walmart, then went shopping. After we got back to the coach we put everything away and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, June 23rd, another travel day, this time about 120 miles to Bakersfield. We again had a grade to climb, this time the Tehachape Summit. We were out about 9:30 and got to the Shady Haven RV park in Bakersfield about 12:30. We got checked in and parked, then relaxed the rest of the day. We didn't even unhook the car. Wednesday we were again on the road after a very hot night in Bakersfield. Yesterday afternoon, after we were parked, the temperature hit 102 and the A/Cs were working to keep up. We were out by 9:30 headed west on the final leg of this trip, going about 130 miles to Santa Maria, California. Since it was really hot in the valley even in the morning we did have to make one stop on the way up the grade over the coastal range outside of Maricopa. The coach got very warm and I to pull over in a wide spot and let it cool down. Strangely coincidentally, just as I stopped the coach and put the parking brake on the coach started a little wiggling motion. It was not real strong, but definitely there. I told Jackie, “ooh, earthquake.” At first she said no, it was movement from the coach idling, but I said no, I know it was an earthquake, probably big, but far away. Since we were parked anyway I got on my phone to the recent earthquakes site and sure enough there was a 5.8 that just occurred in Lone Pine, California, about 135 miles northeast as the crow flies. A few minutes later the “quake alarm” on the phone went off. Had we still been driving we probably wouldn't have felt it. After a ten minute stop we were on the way and made it over the top without further problems. We arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge about 1:00, got checked in and parked and spent the next couple hours setting up for our two week stay here.

Our arrival here in Santa Maria marks a good point to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time ponder the words of author Gayle Forman, “Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” See ya soon.

Finally Moving again - Along I-10 from the Phoenix Area to the Coachella Valley

Hi there, welcome back. Our last episode ended on Tuesday, May 12^th when we finally left Yuma, Arizona after a record setting four month stay. We didn't go far, and didn't change climates much, heading 153 miles northeast to Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. Wednesday we went out in the late morning, stopped at a Chick-Fil-A for lunch, then did a Walmart run. After our supply run we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day inside. About 5:30 my brother Ken and his wife Susan came over for a visit. They live in Goodyear, just a couple miles from the RV park. Although they still work, they are going out tomorrow with their new, 40 foot diesel pusher motorhome, for a weekend trip with friends. We sat and talked and had some pizza for dinner. They left around 8:00 and we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, May 14^th, there was a cool front moving though the area so the forecast temps for today were in the low 90's, so we decided to do some geocaching. We left the coach about 12:30 and went out caching. Some of the first caches were in residential areas and then we moved out into the more rural farming and desert areas. We are working this year to get to 10,000 finds by the end of the year and wanted to get number 9900 today. We got to 9897 with eleven new finds and three DNFs, when bad luck struck. Most of our finds were just off the road, so we were parking on the shoulder to get the caches. On the last one we picked up something in the left front tire, because I no sooner pulled away from the cache when the “low tire” warning light came on. It only took a minute for the car to start to feel spongy, so I pulled over onto the shoulder of County 85, which many years ago was U.S. 80 and led from Yuma to Phoenix, way before the freeway. Now it is just a connector road, although it is fairly busy. I checked the tire and it was FLAT. Now, our car is a hybrid with a giant battery under the back area of the car, where the spare tire is normally kept, so it doesn't have a spare tire at all. You get a small 12 volt pump that has a bottle of “fix a flat” gunk that you can pump into a tire. After pumping half a bottle into the tire and not seeing any change I did a closer exam and found that there was a very large piece of metal stuck in the tread of the tire which made a very large hole that the gunk couldn't begin to seal.

So, on the phone to AAA. Of course, AAA doesn't have contract people that do roadside tire replacement or repair, it is strictly a service to bring gas, jump start the car, or tow you. I talk to the AAA service rep, he gets our location, determines the nearest tow service they have under contract, and tell me they are sending him. He is from Buckeye, the next town down the road, but the AAA guy tells me it could take 90 minutes. He then talks to me about where he should tell the driver the car is being towed to. I tell him I have a flat tire that probably can't be fixed, so I need a tire store where I can buy a new tire and have it put on. He tells me that there are a number of tire stores in Goodyear, but they are all more than five miles away, the maximum for free towing with AAA. I say I don't care, I just need to go to a tire store and if I have to pay some I have to pay some. He then comes back and tells me, “Oh, there is a Goodyear AAA Service Center located 9.9 miles from your location. If you get towed to a AAA owned service center the maximum towing is extended to ten miles, so it would be no charge.” I said fine, whatever, I just need a tire. Now he tells me that because of the COVID crisis there rules do not permit anyone to ride with the tow truck to the service center and that we need to provide our own transportation. He didn't seem to care how we did it, only that we couldn't go with the car. Then it was thank you and goodbye. Piss poor service.

In a couple minutes I get a call from the tow truck driver. He is very nice, tells me where he is, which is in downtown Buckeye, and that he is on the way and will be there in 15 minutes. He then told me that when he received the call from AAA they told him the car was going to the AAA Service Center in Goodyear and he asked me what the problem was. When I told him I needed a new tire he said, “well, that AAA Service Center is just a repair facility, they don't sell or repair tires at all.” He then told a story about a recent tow for AAA involving a flat tire where they convinced the car owner to take the car to the AAA center too. When he dropped that car off the owner went in and learned they didn't to anything with tires he was pissed. He got more pissed when the tow driver had to tell him that the AAA service was one pick up, one drop off. If he needed the car towed somewhere else he would have to pay the full price of the tow. The tow driver then offered me several alternatives, one of which was a Firestone Tire store a half block from the AAA service center. I called the store and determined they were open, would be for another couple hours, and had the right tire in stock. When the tow truck arrived I told the driver to take us to the Firestone store.

The driver, Kevin was very nice and the tow truck was a rollback type with the flatbed rather than a tow hook, which was nice because those hooks can screw up newer cars with all their plastic bumpers and body work. He loaded the car and told us he had no problem with us riding with him, that he never would leave a customer standing on the side of the road in 100 degree heat with no ride. We went to the Firestone store, got a new tire and were on our way by 5:30. What could have been a very bad situation turned out to be just a temporary inconvenience and we got everything taken care of. Needless to say, I am very unhappy with AAA because it was clear that the reps only motive was to get me to a AAA owned facility, because he probably gets a commission for getting a customer. He didn't care that the center couldn't take care of my problem, and didn't care how we got home. I won't be renewing with AAA after 30 years as a member. After we got the tire we went home, had a cocktail and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Friday, May 15^th, Happy Birthday to my lovely bride Jackie! We left the coach about 10:00 and headed towards Flagstaff with the car. About a year ago my son Roy Jr. sold his condo and bought an older 36 foot motorhome and went on the road. A few months ago he got a job as a host at a National Forest Service campground at Lake Mary, about 20 miles south of Flagstaff. For a while he was afraid it all might fall through because of the COVID thing, but last week he called and told me that he was moving in to his site at Lake Mary because the Forest Service was opening everything up in mid May. Since we were in the area we decided to drive up and see him. Since it was about 180 miles from Goodyear to Lake Mary, we decided to make a weekend of it and got a hotel reservation in Flagstaff for Friday night. We got into Flagstaff about 12:30 and stopped at a fast food restaurant for lunch. We called the hotel but they said we couldn't check in until 3:00, so drove to the campground and visited with Roy. The campground is still officially closed for another week, but he met us at the gate and let us in. We sat and talked with him for several hours and had a very nice visit. He seems really happy and doing well in his new lifestyle. We left about 5:00 and drove to Flagstaff and checked into our room at the Quality Inn. The hotel was a bit shabby, more so than I remember Quality Inn's being, but it had a bed and most of the amenities we needed for a one night stay and it was only $40, a bargain now days. We got some take out from the nearby Denny's for dinner, and just relaxed for the rest of the night.

Saturday, May 16^th, we were up, showered and packed up by about 10:00. We stopped at the Sam's Club which was right around the corner from the hotel and put some gas in the car. Then we did some geocaching, getting three quick caches, one of which was number 9900! Yea! We are now at 9901 headed for 10K. After finding the caches we got on the road and headed south towards home. The trip back took about the same as the one up, two and a half hours, and we were in the coach eating lunch by 12:30. After lunch we were finally able to get out to a Super Cuts in Goodyear and we both got haircuts for the first time in a while, two months for Jackie, more like four for me. After the haircuts we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails and dinner, then watched some TV and went to bed in our own bed.

Sunday, May 17^th, we had a stay at home day. Got the Sunday paper in the morning and we spent the whole day doing small chores and relaxing. After dinner, about 7:30, Ken and Susan came over to say goodbye to us. They are working tomorrow and we are leaving on Tuesday, so we will not see them again this trip. They had gone on a Jeeping trip this weekend and we talked about their trip and our trip to Flagstaff and our adventures with the car on Thursday. After they left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, May 18^th, I went out about 11:00 to take care of some errands. I went to the Firestone store we were at on Friday and had the other three tires replaced. We know that we are going to keep this car at the end of the year when the lease runs out, so I thought it was time to replace the tires. After that I did a quick run to the Camping World store for a couple of things I needed. After I got home we just stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Tuesday was another travel day. We had the coach packed up and ready to travel by 10:00, heading west about 126 miles to Ehrenberg, Arizona, just across the Colorado River from Blythe, California. It was an uneventful trip with the only stop in Quartzsite to go to the Love's Truck Stop for fuel and to pick up some fried chicken livers at the Chester's Chicken there. We arrived at the Arizona Oasis RV park about 12:30 and got into our spot for our three night stay. After we got set up we just relaxed, watched some TV and then had dinner. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Wednesday, May 20^th, we went out after lunch to do some geocaching in the Blythe area. The weather was very nice today, in the mid 80's, so it was a good day to be out and about. We have stayed in this area a lot and have gotten most of the geocaches that are not out in the desert on roads I don't want to take our little car. We did have three caches to find, two north of town on Highway 95 and one out by the Blythe Airport west of town. It took us an hour or so to get the three caches because of the travel time, but we got all three. After caching we stopped at the Albertson's in Blythe for a few groceries, then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. Thursday was another stay at home day. Did some chores, watched a movie on TV and generally just relaxed.

Friday, May 22^nd, we had another travel day. We left fairly late, at least for us, about 11:00, because we were only going 103 miles west to Indio, California. We arrived at Indian Waters RV Resort about 12:30, picked up our packet and got parked. This resort, like the last two we have been at, is totally non-contact. No office visit, no in person registration. After we got parked I ran to the nearby In N Out to pick up burgers and fries for lunch. After we ate we finished setting up. We just stayed in today as we were tired from packing up and setting up again in the heat. We watched some TV and went to bed. We will be here in Indio for a week. Of course, most readers will know that Indio was our home before we went full time in 2005. Our old house is only a mile or so from the RV park.

Saturday, May 23^rd, for the most part it was a stay at home day. I did some chores and repairs around the coach and we relaxed. About 2:30 we left and went out to have our first sit down inside a restaurant dinner in two months! Yesterday Riverside County announced that the State of California had given permission for the County to enter into Phase 1 reopening, which among other things, means that dine in service is again allowed in the county. Of course, we had to check to see if our favorite place, Cactus Jacks was going to open and when Jackie called we found that they had already opened. Yea! We arrived and found that they were taking precautions, half the tables and bar stools were removed to allow for distancing and all the staff were wearing masks. They even required you to have a mask to come in, although you could take it off once you were seated. Kind of hard to drink and eat with a mask on. We saw several of our friends for the first time in nearly a year, including George, the owner of the restaurant, Kevin, one of the bartenders, and our good friend Barry Cohen, who works as a greeter and general helper. We had a couple of drinks, sat at a bar, had a nice dinner, it was great. After our early dinner we went back home and just relaxed in the house until bedtime.

Sunday, May 24^th, was forecast to be the last day of reasonable temperatures for the rest of the week, reasonable being high 90's, low 100's. After lunch we went out to do some local geocaching. Although we have cached a lot in the Coachella Valley over the years, even still have two of our own caches hidden here, there are still a lot we haven't found. The Valley has a very active caching community, albeit less so in the summer, so there are always lots of caches. We went out for a couple of hours and were able to get a dozen new finds, along with one DNF, before we got too hot. Even the DNF was actually gone because we know the cache owner and Jackie sent him a message when we couldn't find the cache. He described what it was supposed to be and we told him that we found one part, but no cache. After caching we headed back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. After cocktails and dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, May 25^th, Happy Memorial Day. For the most part this was a stay at home day. However, we did accept an invitation to visit with some old friends of ours, Bob and Gloria Baron, for happy hour at their house. We knew Bob and Gloria from the time when we still had the house here in Indio. They were members of the Indio Elks Lodge and the Elks RV group, the Desert Drifters. In the early 2000's they also bought a house in the same country club that we lived in, the house they still live in today. It is one of those houses that has the large, RV garage attached. Bob and Gloria are one of the few people we still stay in frequent contact with because they are also members of FMCA and several chapters to which we belong. We left the RV park and drove to Indian Palms Country Club about 5:30. After we got in the gate we drove past our old house on the way to the Baron's place. Our house still looked pretty much the same as it did when we moved out 15 years ago. We got to the Baron's and had a very nice visit. We had some cocktails and Gloria had some snacks. As it was just the four of us we had a good time talking about a lot of things. We finally left around 9:00 and went back to our coach. We watched TV and relaxed until bedtime. This was our first real visit with anyone other than Peggy since the Corona thing hit and it was nice to get out for a change.

Tuesday, May 26^th, we had a stay at home day. The valley is in the grip of an early heat wave with temps in the 110's, so we just stayed inside and tried to keep cool. I did go out to get some pizza for dinner. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed. Wednesday we left the coach after lunch and went to the laundromat to do our clothes. After we were done we went back to the coach, put everything away and relaxed for the rest of the day. Thursday was a shopping day. We went out after lunch and did a Walmart run, then took that stuff home and put it away. Then we went to Costco for some supplies. After our shopping we stayed home for the rest of the day and evening.

Friday, May 29^th, another travel day. Today was supposed to be hot, so we got packed up and out of the RV park early, about 9:30. We weren't going far, only about 55 miles west to Silent Valley, our membership RV resort in the mountains below Banning, California. We arrived at Silent Valley about 11:30 and quickly found a great spot. This resort doesn't assign spaces, it's first come, first served. Another reason why we left early, so we could arrive as those who were going to leave today were just leaving their spots. It worked out because we got a great spot right on the main road near the Village Center, where the restaurant, bar, store, laundry and office are located. We have had this spot in the past and it made us very happy to get it again. We got set up and moved in and spent the rest of the day just relaxing. It is at least 15 to 20 degrees cooler up here at 3,500 feet than it was in Indio at 0 feet. We are going to be here at least 20 days before moving on, hopefully, to Santa Maria, California. Of course, all that depends on how quickly California “opens up” from the shut down orders.

Our arrival here marks a good point to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time, stay safe and healthy, pray for our country and somehow manage to still have fun. See ya.

Finally, the Last Two Weeks in Yuma Arizona - Time to Move On

Hello again. Our last chapter ended on Sunday, April 26th while we were still hunkered down in Yuma, Arizona, dodging the COVID pandemic. So far, so good. Monday was another stay at home day. I spent a little bit of time helping Peggy get her coach ready to travel. She has decided that she is going to head home to Northern California rather than stay another couple of weeks with us. She has some friends who live in Washington state and have a winter home here in Yuma, Don and Barbara. They have decided that with the early heat they are going to leave tomorrow and head back to the Northwest. Since Peggy's destination is along the same route, she asked if she could tag along and they said sure. She met them some years ago on an RV caravan along the East coast, so she is used to traveling with them.

We had cocktails at 5:00 with Peggy and Belle, our last for a couple months, and then dinner. Our original plan was to order some chicken livers from the local Chester's Chicken place, but it turns out they are closed due to the virus. So, we ordered pizza and salad from Da Boyz, a local Italian place right around the corner from us. I went and picked it up and we had a nice dinner of pizza, calzone and salad. The girls played some cards and then Peggy went home. We watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday morning Peggy was packed up and on the road by 8:00. I got up early to help her with some of the hookup issues and sent her on her way. After Peggy was gone we did our laundry at the park and by early afternoon we were all done. We spent the rest of the day inside, staying cool in the 100 plus temps and relaxing. We had our first cocktail hour with just the two of us. Unfortunately, we did hear from Peggy in the late afternoon and it turned out she had some coach issues near Hesperia, in the high desert north of San Bernardino. It seems that something came off the road and knocked a hole in the plastic radiator overflow tank. This set off alarms and she was able to stop the coach before it overheated or damaged anything. However, it also meant she was stranded. The last we heard the coach had been towed to a shop and she was at a motel in Hesperia. We feel really bad for her and Belle. We watched TV for the rest of the evening and then went to bed.

Tuesday, April 29th, we needed to get out for a while, so after lunch we got in the car and took a drive. We basically drove north of Yuma to the Martinez Lake/Laguna Dam area just to do some sightseeing. It was still very hot, just over 100 degrees, but we did do a few geocaches. For the whole trip we managed five new finds and one DNF with no heat stroke. We drove past Laguna dam into California and just continued down the rural roads until we found our way back to Interstate 8, just on the California side of the river. We continued on the freeway until we got back home. Our entire trip was a about three hours and we went 55 miles. It was nice to get out of the house. We did hear from Peggy who told us that the shop had found the part and she hoped to be back on the road by Friday. On the negative side, when the tow truck lifted her coach to take it to the shop they tweaked the body and broke a large crack in the fiberglass sidewall near the rear. Of course, the driver claimed they weren't responsible for any damages, which is bullshit, but no point in arguing with the driver, he is expected to say that. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did some ahi tuna on the grill for dinner. We watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, April 30th, we had mostly a stay at home day. I did go out at lunch to get some money at the ATM and then picked up lunch for Jackie and I at the Del Taco just down the street. Went through the drive through, picked up the food and went home where we had lunch. It was really good. It has probably been more than a year since I had Del Taco, my favorite fast food Mexican. We spent the rest of the day inside doing some chores and relaxing. We had cocktails at 5:00, but no dinner as we had eaten too much at lunch. We watched TV until bedtime. Nothing new from Peggy. She is still hoping that she will be fixed by Friday and can start for home. She talked to her insurance agent and he said that the damages might be covered by insurance since the initial damage was caused by a road hazard. Fingers crossed because it's going to be pricey.

Friday, May 1st, MAY DAY, MAY DAY! Did you know that the use of may day as a distress call came about in England in 1921 when a senior official at a London airport asked his staff about coming up with something to call for help that pilots and ground controllers could easily remember and understand. Since much of that airport's traffic at that time was between Paris and London many of the pilots were French. One of the staff suggested the French word m'aider, which means “help me” and when pronounced sounds much like “may day.” By 1927 it had officially replaced “SOS” as the universally accepted distress call. Now you know the rest of the story.

We had another quiet day. I spent an hour or so starting to take down some of our decorations and lights. We are leaving on the 12^th, a little less than two weeks from now, and we have a lot of stuff out. No need for lights and decorations as we are some of the last people in the park and have no one around us to look at our lights anyway. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did take out from our favorite fish and chips place in the Foothills, Mr. Fish. The dinner was great and boy were there a lot of people wanting fish today. There were 20 people waiting when I arrived. Everyone was outside as the dining room was closed, but everyone was respectfully distanced and friendly. The food was great and after dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. We did hear from Peggy and learned she got her coach back and was starting out on the road in a couple days when the winds in the high desert settle down a little.

Saturday, May 2^nd, we left the coach about 1:00 or so and drove to the mall area near downtown to go to the Dollar Store. We had a few things we had to return. Back three months ago, when we still thought we were going to rallies in March, Jackie and Peggy had been assigned to do the table decorations for the Monaco Rally. They bought $100 worth of stuff from the dollar store. When the rally was canceled Jackie was fortunate enough to be able to sell the bulk of the stuff, mostly plastic table cloths, to the Escapee's park in Pahrump and recoup most of the money. A couple things Jackie kept and we were only left with 16 glass bowls that they were going to use as the base for the decorations. The Dollar Store does not do refunds, but they will do an exchange, so today we put on our masks and went to the store and exchanged the 16 bowls for a bunch of little stuff that we do use, like shower caps (to cover bowls, not heads) and some decorations for the coach. Even though it had been over three months the store had no issue doing the exchange. After shopping we went back to the coach and relaxed the rest of the day. I finally went down to the pool at the park for the first time and splashed around a bit to cool off, and I did a little more cleanup of our outside decorations. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. We watched TV and went to bed.

Sunday, May 3^rd was a stay at home day. I spent a couple of hours finishing cleaning the majority of the decorations and getting everything stowed away. About the only thing left to put away when we leave in a week or so is the BBQ. We had cocktails 5:00, then dinner and TV for the rest of the night. Monday, Star Wars Day! (May the fourth be with you) We were up early and headed for Walmart by a quarter to eight. There are a lot less people there in the morning hours than afternoon. We were able to finally score some hand sanitizer as well as toilet paper and paper towels. Still no Clorox wipes, but we will get along. After shopping we went back to the coach, put everything away and relaxed the rest of the day and evening.

Tuesday, May 5^th, Cinco De Mayo. The day when everyone is Mexican for a while. Cultural appropriation at it's best, and I don't say that in a bad way. I don't think there is any problem with enjoying and celebrating traditions from other cultures. We had a stay at home day, played some cards, watched a dumb horror movie, and just relaxed. For dinner we did some carne asada on the BBQ, along with rice and beans and instead of our usual vodka we had margaritas! After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. Un día muy agradable y relajante. Buenas noches. Wednesday we left the coach early, about 9:00 and went to the nearby Frys grocery. We got most everything we needed yesterday at Walmart, but we didn't have any steaks in the freezer and Fry's has good meat, and today was senior day, 10 percent off for seniors. Yea! We got a couple packs of the top sirloin steaks that were on sale, and also scored a pack of disinfecting wipes, the first we have seen since the hoarding started a couple months ago. They were store brand, not Clorox, but just as good. After we got back we put everything away and just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, May 7^th, was another stay at home day. Relaxed around the house for the entire day, trying to stay cool in the 104 degree heat. Made a meat loaf for dinner. Friday we took another driving tour just to get out of the house. Our first stop was our favorite street taco place. Although they are not allowing people to sit, in conformance with the executive orders in place, they are taking phone orders to go. We ordered our food, then sat in the car in the parking lot and had a nice lunch. This was our last chance to eat tacos here until we return in December. After lunch we drove north on Highway 95 out of the Yuma area, then turned west and drove across the Army'sYuma Proving Ground to the community of Martinez Lake. This lake is one of several along the Colorado River created by the Laguna Irrigation dam downstream. The community was formed in 1958 as a fishing village and is still primarily a vacation place. It has a wide variety of housing, from really old trailer parks and RV parks to huge new homes on the bluffs overlooking the water. We drove around

for a half hour or so, looking at the area, then headed back. Although California is right across the river, there is no road access here and all of the surrounding area on the Arizona side is part of the Army base. After our tour we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the day relaxing. We did get one geocache on the way back home. We had leftovers for dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, May 9^th, we had another stay at home day. Did some chores and just stayed cool as we could. Did some burgers on the BBQ for dinner. Sunday, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Another stay at home day. Did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner, then watched TV and went to bed. One more full day here, then we finally ride. Monday was our last stay at home day, at least in Yuma. We did our laundry in the morning and I spent some time in the afternoon putting the last of the outside stuff away and doing some checks on the coach in preparation for our travel day tomorrow. The coach has been sitting for four months, so I needed to check the oil and coolant, the tire condition and pressures, and the batteries, to be sure everything was OK and there would be no surprises when I started the coach tomorrow. Everything was OK – yea! We had cocktails and dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, May 12^th, I can finally say we had a travel day! We had the coach packed up, closed up and car attached and were on the road by 9:30. We wanted to get an early start because even though the forecast temps were back in the high 90's, it was still hot and we wanted to beat the worst heat. We are headed northeast to Goodyear, Arizona, a western suburb of Phoenix. Still the desert, so still hot, probably close to what Yuma is, but at least it's a change of scenery. Plus, the Arizona Governor partially reopened the State yesterday, allowing restaurants to do inside service again, with some restrictions. They also opened hair and nail salons. Yea! We had an uneventful trip of 153 miles and arrived at the Cotton Lane RV Resort about 12:30. We have been to this park a number of times and knew just where to go for our spot. They have “no contact” check in where they tell you what spot you are in and you call them with your credit card when you get parked. None of the facilities are open, but except for maybe the pool, we don't usually use them anyway. We like to stay here because my brother Ken and his wife Susan live in Goodyear, just a couple miles from the park. After we got parked and set up we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

We have reached a great spot to close out this chapter and get it published. We are finally moving again after a long, four month stay in Yuma. Until next time, wash your hands, cover your face and stay away from me! Bye for now.

Springtime in Yuma Arizona - The Lockdown Continues

Hi there, welcome back to the story. Our last chapter ended on Sunday, April 5^th, while we were still hunkered down in Yuma, Arizona, sheltering in place due to the COVID19 pandemic. Monday was a chores day. Since we are grounded we don't get to go out much, but I left the coach about 9:30 to make another visit to the local Ford dealer. As most regular readers will know, our car is a 2017 Ford C-Max, which is a plug-in hybrid. The car comes with a 120 volt charger which plugs into a standard outlet and then into the car. The commercial chargers you see in parking lots are 240 volt models that charge the car twice as fast, but the one that came with the car will do it in about 6 hours, so it works overnight. At any rate, I have been noticing for the last couple weeks that I was getting a red “fault” light on the charger. It usually happened towards the end of the charge period and would reset when I unplugged the charger and plugged it back in. I did some research and learned that they had problems with the chargers in the past overheating, so in 2016 they came out with a new model with a device inside which would show a fault light if it started getting too warm, and shut it off if the heating continued. I suspected that this device was going bad, but it was intermittent. I went to the dealer fully expecting that they would plug it in, see that it was working, and say they couldn't do anything without seeing the problem. I only wanted to get it on the official record that I had seen a problem because the car's warranty is up at the end of this year. To my surprise, the service consultant at Alexander Ford here in Yuma listened and took both the car and charger into the shop and said they would check it out.

It took two hours, during which I took a little walk and got a nearby geocache. When the tech came out he said that their tests had determined that the charger was indeed going bad and they had ordered a new one under warranty. I was impressed. They even washed the car. Great service. On the way home I stopped and picked up a take and bake pizza for dinner, then went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the day in, getting some chores done around the coach. We had cocktails and then pizza for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, April 7^th, we decided we needed to get out of the house for a bit, so the three of us drove southwest out of the Foothills and down to San Luis, Arizona. San Luis is one of the three major border towns in Arizona, the others being Nogales in Central Arizona, South of Tucson, and Douglas in Eastern Arizona. The Mexican town on the other side is San Luis Rio Colorado and is in the State of Sonora. We have never been to San Luis because we don't like to go into the big Mexican border cities. Algodones is just fine for us for Mexican visits. San Luis is a fairly big town, almost 40,000 population, with almost 99 percent of the population Hispanic. San Luis Rio Colorado has a population approaching 200,000. In keeping with our virus protection protocols we just drove around town, doing some “drive by tourism” in the area. The downtown ar

ea right at the border crossing is pretty dumpy, but the areas away from the border are pretty nice with a number of new suburban housing developments. There are also some Barrio areas and while we were there a house fire brokeout in one of the them. They got it knocked down pretty quickly. After driving around San Luis we started back North towards Yuma, doing a little geocaching in the farming area North of San Luis, near Somerton, another small farming community. We were able to get ten new finds, and one DNF in about an hour. One of the finds was number 9,800 for us! Yea! We are on a quest to hit our 10K finds mark by end of this year. Less than 200 to go! After caching we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon inside. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then had leftover ham and bean soup for dinner. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.  It was the night of the full moon and had we not been quarantined we might have gone out to the desert for the "howl at the moon"gathering.  There is a country singer named Kelly Hughes who is from Idaho, but winters in Yuma.  He puts on a free concert in the desert on the night of the full moon during most of the winter months.  We have been to a couple and they are a lot of fun.  It has been called a "rave for seniors" by some.  However, with the virus scare they have been cancelled for the rest of this winter.  We did get a picture of the moon coming up over the mountains.

Wednesday, April 8^th, another day in lockup. Today we woke up to a stormy, rainy day. It rained on and off most of the day, sometimes pretty heavy with some strong winds. I was chasing patio furniture all day. We didn't go anywhere but did get a few things done around the coach. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle and then Jackie served a big pot of clam chowder, which was great for the cool, wet day. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday was a quiet day. No rain, but we were still grounded. Peggy and Jackie colored each other's hair in the afternoon and I got some chores done. We had cocktails with Peggy then dinner at our house. We had leftover soups, a little bit of the ham and bean and some of the chowder. After dinner Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime. Friday we had another day of expected rain. We mostly stayed home and dog-sat Belle because Peggy went out on a Jeep run with some friends of hers. We did go out and do a Walmart run in the morning and then did our laundry here at the RV park in the afternoon. Peggy got back in time for cocktails and then after cocktails we had a nice dinner of chicken curry that Jackie made. After Peggy went home we watched TV and went to bed.

Saturday, April 11^th, the weather cleared again, although it was a little chilly. Although it was another stay at home day, I did go out by myself briefly in the morning to drive to the Ford dealer and pick up my new charger for the car. The old one was having issues and they replaced it under warranty. We spent another day in the house doing chores, today cleaning out a couple more closets. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then did some chicken on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, April 12^th, Happy Easter. We had a stay at home holiday. Spent most of the day relaxing. After our 5:00 happy hour I did two racks of ribs on the BBQ for a non-traditional Easter dinner. The three of us had ribs, coleslaw and baked beans for dinner and it was wonderful. After dinner the girls played some cards, then after Peggy went home we watched some TV and headed to bed. Monday we left the coach about 11:30 with Peggy and drove to the mall on the other end of town. We went through the drive through at In N Out and picked up lunch, which we had to eat in the car in the parking lot as the dining room was closed. It was still a great lunch and the first outside food we have had in a month. After lunch we drove to rural farming area southwest of town to do some geocaching. We are fortunate that there are a large number of geocaches in the rural areas. They are not very challenging, mostly just caches for the numbers, but at least we were outside on a nice day and not around any other people. In a couple of hours we were able to score 20 new finds with no DNFs. After caching we headed back home, stopping at KFC on the way to pick up some more coleslaw. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then a repeat of last night's dinner with leftover rib and some more beans and coleslaw. The girls played some more cards, then Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, April 14^th, still on lockdown. Had a stay at home day. Had cocktails at 5:00 and then dinner for the three of us. I made a tuna casserole for us and it was pretty good. After dinner the girls played some cards, then Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday we had another stay at home day for the most part. About 5:30 the three of us left and drove to another RV park a couple of miles west to visit with my brother Ken and his wife Susan, who had just come down to Yuma from their home in Goodyear, Arizona, for a brief visit. Ken, who is my youngest brother by 20 years, and Susan have been RVing for about ten years now and have always told us that they want to go full time as soon as they can retire. They just moved up from a mid-size trailer to a 40 foot Newmar Kountry Star diesel pusher motor home. They have only had it out a couple of times and wanted to take it on a little longer trip to work out any bugs. We were anxious to see it. When we got to the RV park we got a tour of the new coach. It is about the same size as ours, and the exterior is similar, mostly grey and silver. The interior is all tile and grey leather and the coach has one of the new full length slides on the drivers side, which really gives the impression of open space. They really have a coach now that can accommodate an easy full time lifestyle. Susan has a couple more years before she can retire, so they have time to get into the rhythm of the motor home. We sat and talked for an hour, but then left so they could rest after their travel day. They will be here for about five days. After we got home we had dinner at Peggy's, she made a chicken and linguine dish with a mushroom cream sauce that was quite good. After dinner the girls played some cards, then we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, April 16^th, we went out after lunch with Peggy and did some more rural geocaching. Again we were able to get 20 new finds, and no DNFs, in a couple of hours. After caching we went back to the coach, did a few chores and relaxed. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy went home we watched TV and then went to bed. Friday we stayed at home. Mid afternoon Ken and Susan came over to spend the day with us. We sat outside and talked for most of the afternoon and had an enjoyable time. At 5:00 we did happy hour and then around 6:30 I did some burgers and brats on the BBQ for dinner, along with beans, mac salad and coleslaw. Another great dinner, although it got a little windy and cool towards the end. Peggy went home after dinner and Ken and Susan came in our coach and visited for another hour or so. After they left to go back to their coach we watched a little TV, then went to bed.

Saturday, April 19^th, another day in lockdown. We had a quiet, stay at home day. Got a few chores done, but mostly relaxed. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then Peggy served an Asian chicken dish for dinner. It was an new recipe for her, but it came out pretty good. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime. Sunday Jackie and I left the RV park after lunch, drove over to the park where Ken and Susan are staying, and picked them up for an afternoon of COVID-safe geocaching. We got Ken and Susan interested in geocaching about seven or eight years ago and they are still caching. We went in our car since they have a new Jeep Wrangler that is lifted and setting on big tires, making it too high for Jackie to be able to get in and out of easily. We drove to the farm country southwest of Yuma and started caching. In a couple of hours we were able to get 25 new finds, along with a couple of DNFs. After caching we went back to the Foothills and dropped Ken and Susan off at their coach. We went back to ours and after a little rest I drove to KFC to pick up dinner for everyone. Ken and Susan drove over to our place a little after 5:00 and we had happy hour and sat outside and talked. About 6:30 we had dinner after which Peggy left and went back to her place. Ken and Susan stayed and talked until about 8:30 when they left for home. We watched some TV and went to bed. Ken and Susan are leaving to go home tomorrow. They actually have jobs! Our plans are to go to Goodyear, Arizona, for a week after we leave here in May, so we should see them again in just a few weeks.

Monday, April 20^th, Happy Anniversary to my brother Ken and his wife Susan on their 24^th anniversary. We had a stay at home and relax day. Didn't do much of anything until happy hour. Drinks with Peggy and Belle, then dinner at Peggy's. She made a cheese and sausage pasta dish that was very good. Had a nice meal and went back to our coach about 8:00. We watched a little TV and went to bed. Tuesday was another shelter in place day. Stayed in and around the coach all day. Had our usual happy hour and then dinner at our place for the three of us. Jackie made pasta and calamari in a cream sauce. Very good dinner. The girls played some cards, Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, April 22^nd, we needed to get out of the house, so about 10:00 the three of us got in our car and drove East to Wellton, a small farming community in Eastern Yuma County. It was only 23 miles from the RV park, but it was a rural, desert community with about 3,000 population. We did some geocaching there, getting eleven new finds in a couple hours. We had lunch at a Jack in the Box drive through, did a little sightseeing, then by 1:30 we were headed back over the mountains to the Yuma Foothills area. We were back home by 2:00 and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and leftover pasta for dinner at Peggy's house. After we got home we watched TV and went to bed. Thursday was a stay at home day. Did a few chores but mostly relaxed. Jackie made chili relleno for dinner. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.

Friday, April 24^th, we left the coach about 9:00 with Peggy and drove to Sam's Club to do some shopping. We wanted to get there early to beat the crowds and also the heat. The triple digit temperatures are starting this week in Yuma. We got our supplies and headed for home. After we got the car unloaded we stayed in for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then had left over chili relleno for dinner. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and then went to bed. Saturday was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out to Frys after lunch to do some shopping, but other than that we stayed in for the day. We had cocktails at 5:00, then did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner. The girls played some cards and then after Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, April 26^th, was another stay at home day. Today was the hottest day yet, about 103, so we stayed in except for our morning walk. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then did some hamburgers on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed. Today marks another three week mark for the blog, so it is time to close it out and get it published. Until next time, stay safe and pray we can all start to enjoy whatever we like to do again soon. See ya.

Winter in Yuma Arizona - Part 4 - The COVID Lockdown!

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, March 15^th, 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 17^th, 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 18^th, 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 20^th, 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 22^nd, 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 23^rd, 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 25^th 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 12^th. 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 26^th, 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 28^th, 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 30^th, 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 2^nd, 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 4^th, 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.