At Home In Pahrump - Part 2

Hello again, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Friday, April 30 while we were enjoying our first few weeks back home on our lot at the Escapee's CO-OP park in Pahrump, Nevada. Saturday, May Day, we left the park about 1:00 and went out to have a late lunch. We went to Ohjah, a Japanese steak house here in Pahrump. The food and service were very good, but it is kind of a high end restaurant, so you don't get as much food as you might expect. I had scallops and they were excellent and served with both soup and salad. Jackie had the special, which was a shrimp and avocado sushi roll. She said it was quite good as well. After lunch we picked up mail and then went back home, thinking we would relax for a bit before karaoke at the Elks. However, we got a call from our friend Debbie Forrest that tonight's session had been canceled. Not sure why, but that left us to relax for the night. We did watch the Kentucky Derby on TV in the late afternoon and it was great to see a sporting event with real people in the stands again. Yea! We had happy hour with Millie and after she left we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Sunday, May 2^nd, we had a stay at home day. I did go out in the morning for the Sunday paper, but other than that we stayed at home. We went to the clubhouse at 2:00 for root beer floats. They also had put a jam session on the calendar, but like last week no one showed. We had cocktails with Millie at 5:00, then had some lasagna for dinner. Monday was also a stay at home day. I helped our neighbors assemble a new gazebo they had bought. We bought their old one for our yard a few weeks back. Did a few chores around the house, but basically relaxed. We had cocktails on our own and did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, May 4^th, Star Wars Day! (May the Fourth Be With You) We left the park about 11:00 and headed over the hill to Las Vegas to see a movie in a theater for the first time in over a year. Our first stop after getting to Las Vegas was to stop at a restaurant called Distill, which was in Summerlin, on the west side of the valley. This is a local chain with about eight locations in the Vegas area. They have a very interesting menu with some unique dishes and this one makes the third different location we have been to in the last few years. After lunch we went across the street to the Red Rock Casino which had a Regal theater inside of it. We were about an hour early so we did a little gaming while waiting for the movie time. I lost about $20 and Jackie lost $10, but we had fun for an hour. After gaming we went into the theater and saw the movie Nomadland. This was a surprise winner at the Oscars this year, both best picture and best actor prizes. The movie starred Francis McDermand, but had very few other professional actors. The movie was about the people who call themselves Nomads, living in small trailers and vans, mostly off the grid and just going from place to place and working when they can. They are full time Rvers like we are, but with a lot less income and a lot less RV. I would put them somewhere between homeless and Full Time Rvers. There were a lot of locations in the movie that we have been to, including Quartzsite, which has a lot of screen time, and several areas in the Dakotas, like Wall Drug and some of the National Parks up there. Almost all of the characters in the movie were actual Nomads playing themselves and it was an excellent movie. It was somewhere between a drama and a documentary. After the movie we headed back over the hill, getting home about 6:30, and relaxed in the coach for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, May 5^th, Feliz Cinco de Mayo! We left the park with Millie and drove to Johnny's Mexican restaurant for a nice Mexican meal. They were not as busy as we thought they might be, but service was still a bit slow. The food, however, was great and we had a nice meal. After lunch we stopped at a Family Dollar store because Millie needed some things. We then stopped and picked up our mail before heading back to the park. We did find a few new members for our Flamingo family at the Family Dollar. We also got a nice new garden flag from Suzie Babcock in the mail. It is a light blue flag with some flamingos on it and it is personalized with “The Holts” which is really cool. We spent the rest of the day in the coach doing some chores and relaxing.

Thursday, May 6^th, we left the coach about 1:30 and went into town to do our laundry. After the laundry was done we stopped and picked up mail, then headed back the RV park. After we got everything put away we relaxed for a while. Millie and her son Gordon came over for a late happy hour visit. Gordon had flown in from Utah today because he was pretty sure he had a buyer on the hook for Millie's motor home, which she is selling because she has no intention of traveling. She has relocated to a large trailer on her lot. These buyers flew into Las Vegas this morning from the East Coast just to see the motor home, so they are certainly committed. They won't make a final decision until tomorrow. After Millie and Gordon left we had dinner, then watched TV until bedtime. Friday we went out after lunch to run some errands. We stopped at Home Depot to price some stuff, then stopped at the community center to walk around the annual craft show. After that we did a Walmart run and then went back to the RV park. We put everything away and relaxed for a bit, then Jackie did a nice Chinese meal for us and Millie. It had been planned previously, but became a celebration event because Millie had closed the deal on her RV and they were coming back in a couple of weeks to pick it up. We had a great meal, with some ice cream for dessert, and after Millie left we relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Friday, May 8^th, we went out about 1:30 for a late lunch at the Pour House, which, despite it's name, is an Indian restaurant. Jackie likes Indian food, me not so much. However, they also make a killer pizza, so it's win win for both of us. We had a great lunch then went home and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 we left and went to the Elks Lodge for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie were not there, Len was having a reaction to his second Covid shot. Tom and Phyllis were there as were most of the rest of the regulars. I got to do the usual four songs and we were done about quarter to nine. After we got home we watched a little TV then went to bed. Sunday was a stay at home day except for going out in the morning for the paper. We did a few chores and just relaxed for the day. We had a pot roast for dinner which had been cooking all day in the crock pot. After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.

Monday, May 10^th, we went out to lunch with Millie to the Mountain Falls Country Club restaurant about 11:00. Today was the monthly “dine out” with the members of the Escapees chapter here in Pahrump. There were three tables full of people, the biggest crowd we have seen yet at one of these. We had a nice lunch and some nice conversations with other people who live in the park. After lunch we went back to the RV park and I did some chores around the coach. We had happy hour at 5:00 but didn't have any formal dinner since we were full from lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday we left the coach about 10:30 and went to the dentist. In January we changed our medical insurance to a plan offered by the Arizona retirement systems since it was much less expensive than what we had. We were also able to sign up for a dental insurance plan, the first one we have had since we retired. Other than for a couple of minor emergencies like a chipped tooth or loose crown, we have not been to a dentist in the States in about 14 years. We have had all our work done in Algodones, Mexico, outside of Yuma. With the new insurance the amount we actually pay is in line with what we were paying in Mexico, so we can now go when it is convenient, rather than once a year when we are in Yuma. We both had exams and x-rays and Jackie has no issues. I have a couple of things, a tooth with a broken root that needs to come out, some modifications to my dentures, and a new crown. All of that is scheduled for September when we come back. Jackie didn't get her cleaning as the office was way behind and after a 90 minute wait Jackie said she was leaving. They gave her another appointment for tomorrow. After the dentist we went home. Our friend Tom Howell came over with his pick up truck and took me to Home Depot so I could pick up the new lattice material for our patio. It comes in 4x8 sheets that wouldn't fit in our car. After we got back I did a few chores and we relaxed. We had cocktails with Millie and then had leftovers for dinner. We watched some TV in the evening and went to bed

Wednesday, May 12^th, we went back to the dentist for Jackie's cleaning about 11:00. This time she was done in a little over an hour. After the dentist we went to Mom's Cafe, a local favorite, for lunch. After lunch we picked up our mail then went back to the RV park. I spent about three hours in the patio installing part of the new panels of plastic matrix. I got the two large windows on the West side cut and fitted in, as well as the smaller panel between them. It was getting hot, so I quit for the day. I still have four panels to cut and fit, then I have to put the trim pieces back on. I should have the project done, except for painting, by the end of the weekend. Yea! We had Millie over for cocktails, but inside because the patio is “closed for construction” at the moment. After Millie left we had a light dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday we picked up Millie about 10:30 and drove to the China Wok buffet for another MASA presentation. It is a sales pitch for an emergency services insurance plan that we joined as lifetime members in 2007. However, they always invite current members to come to the presentations and they provide a free lunch, so here we are. After the presentation we went to a local nursery because Millie and Jackie were both looking for plants to use a decorations. We didn't find anything they wanted. Then we stopped at a Family Dollar store because Millie likes to shop there and needed some things. We then went back to the coach. Since it was close to 3:00 when we got home I decided to not do any work on the patio today. We didn't have any happy hour, although we did have our 5:00 cocktails in the house since the patio is under construction. We didn't have any dinner because of the big lunch and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Friday was a stay at home day. I started working again on replacing the lattice in the patio area about 9:30 and quit about 2:30. All of the new lattice is cut and mounted in the window frames. The hard work is pretty much done. On Sunday I will remount the trim pieces on the inside of the frames and the project will be done except for some paint. We have to get the paint from the CO-OP office since the sheds belong to them they control the color and type of paint. We spent the rest of the day inside, having dinner on our own and watching TV until it was time for bed. Saturday we left the park about 1:00 and went to Red Sky BBQ for a late lunch. As usual, we both had baby backs, with enough left over to take home for dinner tomorrow. After lunch we did a quick stop at Home Depot to pick up a few things I need to finish the patio project, then picked up our mail. We then went home and relaxed for a couple of hours. At 5:00 we left and went to the Elks for karaoke. Our friends Tom and Phyllis, and Len and Debbie were there. So were a lot of other people, with the biggest crowd we have seen yet this season. I got to do three songs and Jackie got to sit at the bar, visit with people and gamble. We left a little after nine, went home, watched an hour or so of TV and went to bed.

Sunday, May 16^th, was a stay at home day. I went out in the morning for the Sunday paper which we read with our coffee. After lunch I spent a couple of hours working on the patio project. I finished putting all the inside molding back on the windows and now the only thing left is a little Spackle and paint. After I finished that project I relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with Millie and then had our leftover ribs from Saturday for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. Monday we left the coach about 2:30 and went to the Ophthalmologist for a check up on my eyes. For the last six or seven years I have had an issue with viscous floaters, mostly in my right eye. The last time I went for a checkup on my eye health was five years ago. Floaters can be a sign of retinal issues, but not always. The doctor gave me a good checkup and told me the floaters were still there, both eyes but more in the right. There was no sign of any retinal problems like bleeding or detachment, and, although I do have cataracts developing, he said they are still mild and don't need any attention right now. After the eye doctor we went home and I spent the rest of the day inside because he dilated my eyes and I couldn't go out in the daylight without discomfort. We had dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, May 18^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. We did a Walmart run and picked up mail, then stopped by the bank for a bit. After our errands we headed back to the park where we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with Millie at 5:00, then I did some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed. Wednesday we left the park about 10:00 and went to the Intermountain medical facility to see our GP doctor for our annual physicals. We had the wrong time on our calendar and arrived an hour early, but it worked out as the doctor was called to come to an early afternoon meeting and was canceling any appointments who had not yet arrived. They actually managed to get us in a little early so we don't have to come back. Kismet. Both of us went through the routine exams, tests and questions and the doc reviewed our labs. Both of us are in pretty decent health for our age and the doctor wasn't upset or concerned about anything. We got our prescriptions renewed for the year and hopefully won't need to come back until next Spring. After the doctor's visit we went to the new winery in town, Artesian Cellars, for lunch. Jackie had eaten there with Peggy a month or so back, but I have never been there. We both had a nice roast beef paninni and a glass of wine and enjoyed the lunch. They have a very limited menu, especially for my tastes, but the sandwich I did have was excellent and we will probably be back, just not too often. After lunch we headed back to the RV park and stayed in the rest of the day. We had cocktails with Millie and then did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, we left about 11:30 and went to nail place to have our toes done. Jackie gets a full pedi, I get a trim. After our nails we went next door to the Thai place we like, Chatthai, but it was closed. The note on the door just said they were closed for a while. It is a family owned and operated place, so likely some family thing. We then went to a Chinese restaurant called simply China. The restaurant has been there for a couple years, but we never have made it there. Turns out the food and service are pretty good. Great food and plenty of it, just the way I like it. After lunch we went to Smith's to pick up a couple of things, then headed back home. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. For happy hour we drove over to Millie's because her son and daughter in law were there for an overnight visit. We had met Gordon a couple of times in the past, most recently about a month ago when he came to help Millie sell her motor home. After cocktails we went back home and had leftovers for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

We are now a little over three weeks with this chapter, so it is time to close it out and get it published. Until next time, remember that a friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. Stay safe and see ya soon.

At Home In Pahrump - Part 1

Hi there, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, April 8^th, when we arrived back home at our lot in the Escapee's Park in Pahrump, Nevada. Peggy, who is traveling with us for a while, was able to get one of the rental lots at the park and will be here a few weeks.

Friday, April 9^th, I spent a few hours in the morning working on setting up decorations and stuff around our lot. We went out for a late lunch to the Chatthai restaurant. Peggy, who had taken a fall on Tuesday when we were leaving Yuma, was still hurting, so after lunch we dropped her off at the urgent care so she could get looked at. I went back later and picked here up and took her back to her coach. Nothing broken, just sore. We spent the evening with the TV and then went to bed. Saturday was also a set up day, I put out the decorative lights around the lot and pretty much finished setting up the outside stuff. We did a Walmart run in the afternoon, then came back and had a pork loin for dinner. After Peggy left we spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Sunday, April 11^th, was a stay at home day except for me going out in the morning for the newspaper. We got some chores done and generally relaxed around the house. We had green chili with rice and beans for dinner, using the leftover pork from last night. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Monday we left the coach about 11:00 and went to the Mountain Falls Country Club with Millie and Peggy for lunch. This was the monthly dine out with the Lucky Rollers Escapee Chapter, which is a separate club from the Pair-a-Dice RV park, although most of the members are also residents. We had a very nice lunch, then went back to the park. We relaxed for the rest of the day and I also did a few small chores. We had happy hour with Millie and Peggy, but didn't do any dinner because of the big lunch. After happy hour we watched TV and then went to bed.

Tuesday, April 13^th, Jackie and I went out about 2:00 so Jackie could get a pedi. I also got my toenails trimmed. Peggy was supposed to go with us, but she hurt her foot this morning and didn't want to go with an open wound. After the nail appointment we picked up our mail and did a quick Walmart run before returning back to the ranch. We had cocktails with Peggy, Millie had another engagement. After happy hour we did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and then went to bed. Wednesday was pretty much a stay at home day. We did go out in the late afternoon to pick up our mail. We also stopped at the used appliance store near the park to look again for a refrigerator for the shed. We found a really nice looking, nearly new, 18 cubic foot Whirlpool top freezer for $350, basically half price. It was another $50 for delivery, since we couldn't fit it in Maxie. It will be delivered at the end of the week. We had happy hour with our little group at 5:00 and then dinner with us and Peggy. We did some hamburgers on the grill and had them with coleslaw on the side. After Peggy left we spent the night with the TV.

Thursday, April 15^th, was supposed to be tax day, but because of the plague the government put it off for another month. Not that it matters much to us, we filed and got our refund over a month ago. Today was pretty much a stay at home day. I did the paperwork for out planned improvement projects, including a patio slab, landscaping the front yard, and doing some repairs to the covered patio. I got them submitted to the park for approval by the various committees. We had cocktails at our place, but then went over to Peggy's for dinner. She made her penne pasta dish, which was wonderful. After dinner we went back to our place and watched TV until bedtime. Friday we left the coach about 10:30 with both Millie and Peggy, and drove to the China Wok Buffet for lunch and a presentation by the Medical Air Transport Services (MASA) representative. MASA is a company along the lines of an insurance company, but legally different. They are intended to provide payment to any sort of emergency medical transport, ground ambulance, helicopter ambulance, fixed wing ambulance travel for long distances. They also are supposed to provide assistance when you are hospitalized away from home, like returning your RV and car, transporting next of kin, that sort of stuff. The program for seniors is a one-time purchase, which provides coverage for life. We bought our coverage in 2007, shortly after starting our full time lifestyle. Whenever they put on these presentations they always invite existing members as well as new people. We particularly wanted to go today because after 14 years we were disappointed in the way MASA handled Millie's affairs in Yuma when her husband Dick died in the hospital of Covid. They didn't do a thing for her, none of the things we always assumed the program would do. After the presentation we brought up these issues with Chuck, the representative we have known for years, and both he and the other representative that was there, seemed to be genuinely shocked at what happened. They talked to Millie and promised to look into the matter to see why things went the way they did. Now we will just have to wait and see. We did get a nice Chinese buffet lunch after the presentation. After lunch we headed back to the RV park because our new, at least to us, refrigerator was scheduled to be delivered. They showed up about 2:30, unloaded the fridge and put it in the shed for us. Looking more closely at it, it is clear that it is essentially a brand new fridge that was “scratch and dent” sidelined. There were deep scratches on both the left and right side of the cabinet that most people who buy new would reject. For us it is a spare fridge in the shed, we really don't care as long as it works. We are very happy with it. We did have happy hour with the four of us and Belle, but no dinner because of the big lunch. After Millie and Peggy left we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, April 17^th, we went out about 1:00 with Peggy for a late lunch at Red Sky, our favorite BBQ restaurant. We had a great meal of baby back ribs with leftovers sufficient for another meal later. After lunch we picked up our mail and then headed back to the RV park. We relaxed for a couple of hours and then Jackie and I went to the Elks Lodge about 5:30 for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie were there and the rotation was a little smaller than it was back in the Fall of last year. I got to do four songs and we got out just before 9:00. After karaoke we went home, watched a little TV and then went to bed. Sunday I went out in the morning and got a paper and we relaxed for a while. In the mid-afternoon we took a drive to the Home Depot store to look at BBQ grills. We have had a very nice, but small, portable Weber BBQ in the coach since 2006. It was set up many years ago to work off of the large internal propane tank of the coach so I didn't have to deal with the little one pound propane cylinders. We wanted a full size BBQ for the lot since we will be spending longer periods of time there. We ended up with a very nice, and very large, BBQ that has four regular burners, a special searing burner, and a stove type side burner. Since it came broken down in a box, it fit in the car, so we brought it home and I spent a couple of hours putting it together. Now we will be able to easily cook for more than just two people when necessary. We had cocktails with the group and then we and Peggy had leftover ribs for dinner. After Peggy left we relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Monday, April 19^th, I had a committee meeting in the morning that lasted a couple of hours. This morning the renters that had been on the lot next to ours left and Peggy made arrangements with the office to move over to that lot to be closer to us. I helped her get packed up and then set up again when she moved. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. We had happy hour with the group, but Jackie and I had dinner on our own. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. We did get approval today for our projects on our lot, including the concrete slab and some landscaping work. Tuesday we were up early and out the door by 8:30, going to get our annual blood tests done. We have doctor's appointments for our checkup and prescription renewals in a few weeks and needed to get the testing done. After our tests we drove to Johnny's, a Mexican restaurant here in town. Peggy met us there and while we were there our friend Len came in. We had also seen him earlier at the medical center waiting to go in for an MRI on his hip. He came and sat with the three of us and we all had breakfast. After eating we went back home, then in the afternoon we took Peggy and did a Walmart run and picked up our mail. After Walmart we went back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with the group and then we and Peggy had dinner. We had a pizza that we had bought at Walmart. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, April 21^st, I drove Jackie to her eye doctor about 10:30 for a followup to her cataract surgery from last year as well as an issue with dry eye. The doctor said her vision was perfect and gave her a prescription for a drops to treat the dry eye issue. After the doctor we went home and then Jackie and Peggy left to go to lunch at a place here in Pahrump called Artisan Cellars, a winery themed restaurant. I stayed home and did a few chores around the coach. After lunch Jackie went to Walgreens to pick up her prescription and called me because she was in shock. It turns out that the medicine she was prescribed had a co-pay of $105 and a retail price of almost $2,800!! She got the meds, but I don't know how the average middle class person without good insurance could possibly afford those prices. After Jackie got home we relaxed for bit, then had happy hour with Peggy. Millie was busy with other stuff. After happy hour we did some fish on the new BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, April 22^nd, we were going to have a stay at home day, but after lunch we decided to go out and run some errands. We stopped at a jewelry store to drop off a ring, picked up our mail, and checked on one of geocaches which had recently had some Did Not Find (DNF) reports. The cache was where we had placed it, the cachers just didn't find it. After our errands we decided to go to one of the local casinos, the Pahrump Nugget, for a little gaming. Other than Jackie at the Elks Lodge while I did karaoke, this would be our first gambling since coming back to Pahrump. I was playing deuces wild on a nickel triple play poker machine and after a half hour or so I hit a natural royal flush for $200! Yea. About five minutes later I hit four deuces for another $50. At that time I was still playing with my original stake of $20. After about 15 minutes I used up my original stake and cashed out the $250. Jackie, who was playing the same game then cashed out with over $60. We were happy and celebrating our wins and got back in the car to head for home. That is when Jackie realized she didn't have her wallet in her purse. Yikes. Panic time. We went back in the casino and walked around all the area that Jackie was in, which wasn't really that much, just three machines in the same general area. No wallet. She tried security and the players club desk, but no one had turned it in. She gave one of the security guards that had been helping us our business card and we sadly went back to the car to drive home and start calling credit card companies. Half way home the phone rings and it is the security guard telling her that they had her wallet and it seemed to have everything still in it. We turned around and headed back and Jackie picked up the wallet. It did, indeed, have everything in it, including some cash. The guard said a lady turned it in saying she found it on the floor next to a machine she was playing. Jackie tipped the guard $20 and we headed back home, happy again!!! We had happy hour with our little group and then we and Peggy did some burgers on the BBQ. After Peggy left we watched TV and then went to bed.

Friday, April 23^rd, we did have a stay at home day. I did some chores and maintenance work around the coach and spent some time practicing guitar and playing games. We had happy hour with the group and after happy hour we had a meat loaf for dinner at our place. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday we left the coach, with Peggy, about 1:00 and drove to Terrible's Roadhouse casino for a late lunch. On the way we stopped at Millie's to meet her son Chris and his wife, who came for the day to pick up some of the stuff Millie is trying to clear out of her motor home and take it back to Utah. We got to the Moonshiner cafe in the casino and all three of us had the liver and onions, which is really good here. After lunch we went back to the RV park and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Jackie and I left again about 5:00 and drove to the Elks for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie were there, and our other good friends Tom and Phyllis were also back from their trip to Florida. We have not seen them since we left Pahrump in December. We had a great time at karaoke, got to do four songs, and we were on our way back home by 9:00. We watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, April 25^th, we had a stay at home day. I went out in the morning for a paper and then spent a little time in the morning getting a crock pot full of chili colorado ready to cook. We did a few chores and went over to the clubhouse at 2:00 for root beer floats and what was supposed to be a jam session, but no one else showed up. We had our floats and went home. We did go over to see Millie's new “home”, a large trailer that her son bought in Florida and had shipped out here. It is 40 feet long and very nice inside and out. I think Millie will be very happy. Now, she just has to sell her motor home. We had happy hour with the group and then Peggy and us had chili colorado for dinner, along with rice and beans. A very nice dinner, and sadly, the last with Peggy for while as she has decided she needs to head home to help with the efforts to sell the house in Mineral. She will be leaving in the morning. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, April 26^th, I was up about 7:30 and helping Peggy get unhooked, packed up and ready to travel. She was on the road by 8:00, heading to Mineral, California with a few stops along the way. About noon one of the concrete contractors I had called came out to give us a bid on the concrete slab we want to put on our lot between the coach and our shed and front yard. The good news is that he estimated it would be around $2,000, a little less than I had anticipated. The bad news is that he is backed up at least 8 weeks, which means he couldn't get it done before we leave for the summer in June. I have another coming out on Wednesday. The rest of the day was pretty much stay at home. We walked over to Millie's after lunch and I moved her motor home out of her lot and onto another lot a few doors down. She had made arrangements to use this empty lot for a few days while she transitioned from her motor home to her new trailer. Some other friends of hers at the park then moved her new trailer onto her lot and started to get it set up for her. We had cocktails with just the two of us for the first time in a long time. We had leftover chili colorado for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, April 27^th, we were on the road about 10:00 headed over the hump for our first trip to Las Vegas since coming back to Pahrump a few weeks ago. Our first stop was a restaurant called the Omelet House, which has become our favorite Vegas breakfast place. They have about 45 different, and sometimes exotic, omelets on the menu. I had the corn beef hash omelet, Jackie had the avocado and shrimp omelet. After lunch we went to a Great Clips and both got haircuts. Once the haircuts were done we went to Costco to stock up. It is nice that we now have the shed on our lot to store things, we can stock up on paper products at Costco and save money. After spending a bunch of money at Costco we headed back over the hump, getting back home just before 4:00. We got everything unloaded and put away, then relaxed for the rest of the day. It was too windy and cold for cocktails outside, so we stayed in. We also didn't have any dinner because of the big, late lunch.

Wednesday, April 28^th, we went out after lunch to run a few errands. We picked up our mail and stopped at Walmart for a few things. After we got home I did a few chores and generally relaxed. We spent the rest of the day in the house because the wind was still blowing hard. Thursday, April 29^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. We picked up mail and stopped at Walmart to return some windshield wiper blades I bought yesterday. They didn't fit on our car,despite the fact I bought the one's the book said was correct. We stopped at Albertson's and bought some steaks and country ribs that they had on sale, then went to Home Depot to shop a few things we might be using in our projects around our lot. Our final stop was the NAPA store where I bought the correct blades and the desk guy even came out and installed them for me. Yea! We went back home where we relaxed for the rest of the day. We did a couple of the new steaks on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, April 30^th, we had a stay at home day. It was quite warm outside today, so we stayed in and did some light chores. We did settle on a contractor to put in our patio slab. Neither of the contractors we had bid could get the job done before we left for summer travels in June, so we picked the less expensive bid with a start date in September, when we get back to Pahrump. We did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner, watched TV and then off to bed.

We are at the end of the month and a little over three weeks, so it is time to close out this episode and get it published. Until next time, consider these words by author W.H. Auden. “We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.” See ya soon.

Last Weeks in Yuma, Headed Back Home

 Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, March 14^th, while we were still in Yuma, Arizona for our Winter stay. Monday was a stay at home day. It was really cold and windy today, so we pretty much stayed in all day. Did a few chores, watched some TV and generally relaxed. We had cocktails with the group and then Peggy served dinner to the five of us. She made lasagna, salad and bread and it was excellent. She even threw in a lemon cake for dessert. After we went back to our coach we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, March 16^th, we left about 11:00 with Peggy and drove to the taco stand for lunch. After lunch we stopped at Fry's for a few things, then headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the coach and doing a few chores. Wednesday, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Today was a stay at home day. I went over to the clubhouse at 12:30 for the jam session and Jackie and Peggy came over later to watch for a while. Big crowd today, I got to headline for two songs. After the jam session we relaxed for a while, then did cocktail hour with our group. For dinner we and Peggy had a corn beef that I had been cooking all day, along with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. A real Irish dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday was also a stay at home day. Did a few chores, played some games and watched some TV. Most of the morning and early afternoon we were dog sitting Belle while Peggy was on a Jeep run. Cocktails with the group at 5:00, then Jackie and I had left over Irish food for dinner. Yum again! After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, March 19^th, Jackie and I went out about 1:00 for a late lunch at a restaurant called Icons here in the Foothills. It is probably the closest thing to an upscale restaurant you can find in the Foothills and we have eaten there several times, although not yet this year. We decided that we were celebrating all the milestone days we missed in February when we were both sick. We missed my birthday and two anniversaries. We had a nice calamari appetizer and Jackie had scallops and shrimp and I had halibut. We had a very nice “dinner” and enjoyed our meal. We also learned that the owners are changing the name of the place to “Zydeco Grill” because they discovered that Icons was already trademarked and if they try to expand and open new stores they will end up in legal trouble. After lunch we did a Walmart run, then went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. We had cocktails with the group, but no dinner due to our late lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, March 20^th, was a stay at home day. Around 2:00 I went to the clubhouse and set up my gear for karaoke, the last one for this season here in Yuma. We had the same six people we have had the last several times, including our friends Len and Debbie, but we still had a good two hour session. After karaoke I packed up the equipment and we had cocktails on the patio with our group, including Len and Debbie and our good friend Suzie Babcock. Regular readers will remember that Ray and Suzie Babcock were Rvers, full timers for a while, who we met at a rally in 2007 and became great friends with. We did a lot of traveling together over the years. Ray died last February due to heart problems he dealt with for many years. Suzie still lives in Menefee, California, and decided to come visit with us and Peggy for a few days. She is staying at the nearby Best Western hotel. After cocktails we did burgers on the BBQ for everyone, except Len and Debbie who went home after cocktails. It was windy but we managed to get the six of us in our coach and had a great dinner. After everyone left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, March 21^st, we left the coach about 11:00 and picked up Suzie at the hotel. We then went across the freeway to the Daybreakers restaurant for brunch. Peggy met us there in her own car. Because it was Sunday morning we ended up waiting a half hour to get a table, but the food is really good here. Peggy and I both had liver and onions and Suzie and Jackie both had breakfast. After brunch we and Suzie drove to the Yuma Marketplace to do some shopping. Peggy didn't want to go which is why she drove herself to the restaurant. Suzie had not been to the marketplace in a couple of years and we spent a couple of hours walking around and shopping. They are only open for one more weekend, so this will be our last time there this season. I bought a couple of tee shirts from a friend of ours who has a booth there and Jackie bought a couple of little things. After our shopping we dropped Suzie back off at the hotel and we went home. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Suzie came back to our place about 4:00 and we had cocktails with the group at 5:00. After happy hour the four of us had dinner in our place. Jackie made a Chinese chicken casserole that she has not made in quite a while. It is one of my favorite dishes and it was equally good this time. After dinner Suzie and Peggy left and we watched TV until it was time to go to bed.

Monday, March 22^nd, was a stay at home day, at least for me. Jackie, Peggy, Suzie and Debbie all left about 11:30 and drove to their favorite sushi restaurant near the mall in West Yuma. I had lunch at home and did some computer work and maintenance chores while they were gone. They came back about 1:30 and then Suzie and Jackie left again to go shopping at Kohl's. They were done around 4:00. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00, but no formal dinner since they were all full from lunch. After everyone left we watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday we left the coach about 11:00 and drove to the hotel to pick up Suzie and go to lunch. Peggy had someone over working on her coach, so she couldn't go. We went to Wheezy's Sports Grill here in the Foothills. We have been to Wheezy's several times, but this is the first this season. Their portions are quite generous, so we all left really full. Before we went home we drove to the edge of the Goldwater Military Range, which borders the Foothills area to the South. Suzie sprinkled a small vial of her husband Ray's ashes onto the sand at the entrance to the range. Back when we traveled together and our little band came to Yuma we would often go geocaching on the range. Ray loved to geocache. After this tribute we dropped Suzie off at the hotel and went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the day in the coach. We had cocktails inside at Peggy's because the wind was blowing and it was cold. No one wanted dinner, so about 7:00 or so we were back in our coach watching TV.

Wednesday, March 24^th, we had another stay at home day. Suzie left this morning to go back home. About 12:30 I went over to the clubhouse for the jam session. We had the biggest group yet, including a guy with a big, stand up bass. Got to solo a couple of songs and played along with a bunch. After the jam I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing with the computer. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then we and Peggy did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday we went over to the clubhouse about 11:30 for the burger bash. It was called a burger bash, but this week they didn't have any burgers. The park is starting to shut down for the season and they are trying to clean out the kitchen and use up all the food and left overs they had. It was $3 for all you could eat hot dogs, and left over meats from the owner's party a week ago. Actually had a pretty good meal. After lunch Jackie and I went out to one of the local furniture stores just to check on couches. The sleeper couch in our coach is not real comfortable and Jackie wanted to see what might be available and at what cost. Although Peggy and Vernon bought a couch for their coach here a few years ago, the salesman told us he really only had one couch that we would be able to get in our coach. The problem is the door on the coach. You need to be able to at least partially break down the coach to get it in the small door. The one he had looked a lot like the one we had and was over a thousand dollars, so we decided we could live with what we had. After the furniture store we went to Walmart for some supplies. We took the groceries home, put stuff away quick, and then went out to do some geocaching in the Foothills area, down on the far, southeast corner. We were able to get six new finds with no DNFs in less than an hour. We then went back to the coach and Peggy told us she just got back from shopping at Fry's and that they had really nice T-bone steaks on sale. So, we got back in the car and went to Fry's for steaks. After we got back we put stuff away and relaxed until happy hour. We had our group, but only stayed out for less than an hour because the wind came up and it was too cool. We went back in our coach and Jackie and I had a light dinner on our own, then watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, March 26^th, we left the park with Peggy and drove to a local Foothills restaurant, The Eatery, to have lunch with a small group from our Overland Trailblazers Chapter of FMCA. This is the group we are with every January (except this year, of course) at the FMCA Western Area rally in Indio. We have also gone on several other trips with the group and are planning to go to Moab, Utah this Fall with some members. There were five couples there, and Peggy, and we had a very nice lunch. Some of the group we were lunching with have part time homes here in Yuma and are down here every year. After lunch we went back to the RV park and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00, but no dinner since we all had a big lunch. After everyone left we watched TV and went to bed. Saturday we again left with Peggy about 11:30 and drove to a Mexican restaurant near downtown that had been recommended by one of the group at yesterday's lunch. It was called La Fonda and it was located on the edge of Yuma's old barrio area. It was a big place in an old building, but fairly clean. The menu was pretty limited, especially when compared to Mi Rancho and El Charro, our two favorites. The salsa was watery, but spicy, and the chips were stale. The food was OK, but bland, certainly not the “authentic Mexican” food they advertise. We will not be going back and cannot recommend the place. After lunch we did a Sam's Club run for some supplies, then headed back to the coach where we stayed the rest of the day. We had cocktails with the group, but again no dinner because of the big lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, March 28^th, we had a stay at home day. I did go out briefly in the morning and took the car to a car wash. It was really starting to look pretty dirty after all the blowing dust and occasional light rain. We had cocktails with the group and then did some steaks on the BBQ. Everyone brought their own meat and I cooked them all. The wind had finally stopped and the temps were in the low 80's, so we were able to eat outside, which was very nice. We sat outside and talked after dinner until about 8:00, after which we watched a little TV and then went to bed. Monday was a stay at home day for me. I did a few chores around the house, including starting to pick up some stuff so as to be ready to travel. We leave Yuma in just over a week. I was also babysitting the dog as Peggy had to take her coach back into the shop to get some front suspension repairs done. Jerry followed her to the shop so she wouldn't be stuck all day there. After Peggy got back to the park she and Jackie went out for lunch and to do some shopping. They didn't get back until around 2:30 or so. We had cocktails with the group, and then after happy hour we and Peggy had some pork chops and rice for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV.

Tuesday, March 30^th, we had a stay at home day. I spent a couple of hours cleaning up our outside stuff, decorations, lights, etc., getting ready for our departure. We don't leave for a week, but in two days we have someone coming to wash and wax the coach, so I needed to get everything removed except stuff we might need, like chairs and the BBQ. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then we all had dinner in our coach with a big pot of clam chowder that Jackie made. We ate inside because the wind was blowing again. After dinner we watched some TV and then went to bed. Wednesday was mostly a stay at home day for me. Peggy and Jackie left about 11:00 to go to Walmart to get haircuts. I went over the clubhouse about 12:30 for the jam session, the last for this season. Sometime while I was at the jam Pat and Linda Kight arrived in the park and were parked right behind Peggy. Pat's wife Tammie died about a year ago. She and Peggy were lifelong friends, but she also grew very fond of Pat. Pat remarried three or four months after Tammie passed to a woman named Linda. This would be the first time Jackie and I met Linda. I knew they had arrived because I saw Pat come into the clubhouse and sit in the audience. Shortly after, Jackie and Peggy came back and also sat in on the jam. We had fewer players than in past sessions, only about 11, so we got to do a few more songs. The jam was over around 3:00 and I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. We had cocktails with our usual group and included Pat and Linda. We discussed dinner options and decided that we would go about 6:30 to the taco stand. We have never been there outside of lunch time. Jerry and Debbie had previous plans, so it was just us, Peggy and the Kights. We had a very nice dinner and because we were there at dusk it was nice and cool. After dinner we went back home, watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, April 1^st, and I forbid April Fools jokes!! About noon the company came over to wash and wax the coach. They were several hours earlier than they had scheduled, but that was OK. They were done by 1:00 so Jackie and I drove to the mall to do some shopping. Didn't end up with much, each of us got a shirt. After shopping we headed back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day. We had cocktails with the group at happy hour and then did burgers and wieners on the BBQ. After everyone ate we sat out in the nice cool, calm evening and chatted until about 8:00. We then went in to watch some TV and headed off to bed. Friday we did our laundry here at the park. We got an early start and were done by noon. We went out shortly after noon to have lunch at El Charro, another of our favorites. After lunch we did a quick stop at Fry's, then headed back to the coach where we spent the rest of the day relaxing. We had happy hour with our group. Pat and Linda had left this morning to continue their travels, so it was just the usual group. Since we had such a big lunch we didn't do any dinner, just watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, April 3^rd, we had Peggy's cleaning lady come over to the coach and do a deep cleaning. She oiled all the cabinets and did a pretty good cleaning job. I took care of some minor repairs for Peggy, and also took all of our window screens out so Jackie could wash them. We now have a nice, clean coach, inside and out. After the cleaning lady left the three of us drove to the Love's Truck Stop to have chicken livers. Many of the Love's locations have a Chester's Chicken franchise inside of them, and they have surprisingly good chicken livers. We had a great lunch and I also stopped at Arby's to pick up some sandwiches for the freezer. The Arby's roast beef sandwiches do very well in the freezer and make great lunches. We went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day relaxing. We had yesterday's Mexican leftovers for dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, April 4^th, Happy Easter. Today was a stay at home day. We relaxed for most of the day, watched a movie on TV and just rested. We had cocktails with the group at happy hour, inside our coach since it was still quite warm outside. For dinner we also ate inside. I did lamb chops on the BBQ for Jackie and Peggy and a nice big T-bone for me. Jerry and Debbie cooked a pork roast on their own BBQ and brought it over for dinner. It was a very nice get together and probably the last time we will all eat together since we are leaving in two days. After everyone left we watched TV and went to bed. Monday, our last full day in Yuma. We had a stay at home day, doing a few chores getting ready to travel tomorrow, and relaxing. We got some KFC for dinner and after Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, April 6^th, a travel day, our first in almost four months. We left Yuma about 9:30 and started North to Parker, Arizona, about 110 miles. Peggy is traveling along with us and making all the same stops. She is also going to Pahrump to spend another month with us. We arrived at the Blue Water RV Park, which is part of the Colorado River Indian Tribe's operations and is located next door to their casino. We got in around 1:30, after a fuel stop, got hooked up for our one night stay, and just relaxed the rest of the afternoon. This is not a cheap park, $40 a night, and it is a dump. It is right on the river, with a beach (currently closed for Covid) and a boat launch, but the sites are very narrow and poorly maintained. There is dog poop all over the place and it certainly not a premium park unless you are coming to recreate on the river. Wednesday was another travel day. We got out about 9:00 or so and continued north 110 miles to a wide spot in the road called, CalNevAri, Nevada. It is about 10 miles north of the State line on U.S. 95, probably 20 miles South of Searchlight. It is a casino, gas station, small store and a large RV park. This park is still $25 a night, plus tax, and has pull through spots, 50 amp, water and sewer. It is also much better maintained than the one in Parker. We got the basics done and settled in for the evening. I did have to spend an hour messing with the car. For some reason the battery went dead and I had to jump it from the coach to get it to respond enough to put the charger on it. My jumper cables were JUST long enough to reach the terminals in the car and the battery compartment in the back of the coach. After a couple hours of charging everything was fine again. This happened last year when we were towing too. I suspect it has something to do with the auxiliary braking system. We are planning to get a new system anyway, so we won't use the old one any more. I made a pot of chili for the three of us. We had a nice dinner then went to bed early because we want to get an early start tomorrow to beat the heat.

Thursday, April 8^th, our last travel day for a while. We continued North towards Las Vegas, and then on to Pahrump, a total trip of about 120 miles. We got on the road at 8:00, made a fuel stop in Vegas, then headed over the hill to Pahrump, arriving at the Escapees RV Park about 11:30. We got settled into our spot and began to set up. We are going to be here for at least three months. Peggy couldn't get a spot near us, but did get a nice full hookup site near the entrance to the park. The lot next to us is a rental and we believe the people now in it are leaving in a few days. If they do, Peggy will move over to this spot. I spent some time getting things set up, then we just relaxed for the rest of the night. We did some scampi for the three of us for dinner and went to bed early because we were bushed from the early start and the drive.

Now that we are back home in Pahrump, it is time to close out this episode and get it published. Until the next time, remember that friends pick us up when we fall down, and if they can’t pick us up, they lie down and listen for a while. See ya soon.

 

Another Three Weeks in Yuma: Things Starting to Look Up, Maybe

Hi there, welcome back to our story. The last chapter concluded on Sunday, February 21st, while we were still wintering in Yuma, Arizona. Originally we were going to leave Yuma in a couple of weeks, early March, to head back to Pahrump, but because of the fact that we need to get our second Covid vaccination in late March, we have extended for a month, so now we won't be leaving until about April 1st.

Monday, February 22nd, we had a stay at home day. I spent most of the day in the office taking care of admin work. We got our mail the other day and had everything for our taxes, so I did those and e-filed our tax return. I also did the blog and took care of several other admin chores. A very productive day. Jackie spent some time painting rocks for our friends. We had cocktails with our little group at 5:00 and then did some hamburgers on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed. Tuesday Jackie and Peggy went to a ladies luncheon and fashion show at the clubhouse. I did a few more admin chores. After the luncheon the three of us did a Walmart run. After we got back we put away the groceries and relaxed for a while. We had happy hour with the group and then Jackie and I had a simple dinner of tacos. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, February 24th, was a stay at home day. About 12:30 I went over to the clubhouse for the jam session. It was a little smaller group today, but we still had fun. Len came and played for the first time this afternoon and seemed to enjoy himself. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00, then Peggy did a pasta and scallops in a cream sauce dinner for us, and her and Millie. We went home around 8:30 and watched TV until bedtime. Thursday we babysat Belle while Peggy went out Jeeping with her friends. For lunch we went over to the clubhouse for the burger bash. After lunch we walked Belle, then drove to Sam's Club for supplies. We were back home by a little after 2:00 and Peggy came back around 3:00. We had cocktails with the group on the patio, then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed.

Friday, February 26th, Jackie and I left the coach after lunch and went to get our toes done. Jackie gets a full pedi, I just get a trim. After our toes we went back to the coach and relaxed for a bit before going over to the patio of the clubhouse to listen to a band. The park brought in a trio called “The Dependables” who have played at a lot of other parks around the foothills. They are three baby boomer age guys, a drummer, a lead guitarist and a bass player, who do a variety of music, oldies, country, rock, you name it. They have a good rapport with the audience and were pretty good musicians. It was a two hour concert, 3-5, and it we enjoyed it a lot. We had cocktails with the group after the band and then the four of us had some KFC for dinner. After Peggy and Millie went home we watched TV for the rest of the night.

Saturday, February 27th, we went to the taco stand for lunch with Peggy and Millie. After lunch we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. About 2:00 I went over to the clubhouse and set up for karaoke. I got everything up and working, but at 3:00 no one showed up again. Since I had the stuff set up, I did some practice singing, working on some new songs. I also let Dottie, our activities director sing some songs and we worked on a couple of duets to try when people start coming to karaoke again. I later learned that one of the other parks had scheduled a band for the afternoon, so that's probably where the music people went. About 4:30 I packed everything up and we did our happy hour with the group. After happy hour Jackie and I had leftovers for dinner then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Sunday, February 28th, happy birthday to my brother Russ who hit the big “6-0” today. We had a stay at home day. Around 4:00 I set up all my sound equipment outside our rig in preparation for a park wide block party. It was advertised as a 'howl at the moon” party, but we missed the full moon by a couple days, so it doesn't come up until almost 8:30 today. So, the party is just a 5-7 happy hour. I was very pleased when we ended up with at least 50 people sitting, talking and drinking around our coach. I just played a variety of music and everyone seemed to have a good time. Since it was a little cool tonight they even brought out the propane fire pits from the clubhouse patio and put them in the street for people to sit around. We partied until about 7:00 when I shut it off and dismantled my equipment. We had a late dinner at Peggy's, with Millie and our other neighbors, Jerry and Debbie. Peggy made her penne pasta and it was wonderful. After dinner we went home, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Monday, March 1st, was a stay at home day. Welcome to the beginning of “calendar Spring” and maybe warmer weather. It wasn't today, as the high was only to be 67 degrees. I finished packing up the equipment from the block party last night and got everything back in it's proper place. Today was also laundry day and we had everything done by mid afternoon. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00, then we and Peggy and Millie had a meat loaf that Jackie made. After they left we watched TV and then went to bed. Tuesday we went out after lunch to do a grocery run at Fry's. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing chores. We had cocktail hour with the group and then six of us shared a big pot of shrimp, asparagus and mushroom risotto that Jackie and Peggy put together. After everyone left we cleaned up and watched some TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 3rd, Jackie went out for lunch with Millie, Peggy and Debbie to the Ninja Sushi restaurant. It worked out well because I don't care for sushi and was going to the jam session at the clubhouse today. I went over there about 12:30 and got set up. We had a great group, mostly the same people I have been playing with since I started going. I got to do three songs and played along on many others. After the jam I went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. We had cocktails with the group, but no group dinner tonight. Jackie and I had left over risotto for dinner. We watched TV until bedtime. Thursday Peggy and Jackie went out again for lunch, this time to Thai food at Lemon Grass Cafe. After lunch they stopped at the optical place so Jackie could pick up her new glasses. I left the coach about 12:30 and went and played golf with Len and Debbie Forrest and a friend of theirs named Bonnie. We played the very easy, and inexpensive, Foothills par 3 course. Regular readers will know that I just recently bought a new set of golf clubs to replace the set I gave away almost 16 years ago when we left the Coachella Valley and went full time in the motorhome. I only played for fun and was never any good at golf. I didn't like to play alone and I didn't like to play with strangers, and I knew when we went out on the road that those would be my only choices. So, I gave up the game. Never thought much of it until we got the place in Pahrump and now I have friends that golf, also only moderately well, and a near by golf course, so I thought I would start up again. Today was the first time I have played golf since 2005, and I was predictably bad, but actually did par the third hole. I almost quit after that win. We had a great three hours and I am glad I am out with friends again. After Jackie and I both got back to the coach we just relaxed until cocktail hour with the group. After happy hour we and Peggy had pork loins baked with onions and side dishes for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and then went to bed.

Friday, March 5th, was a stay at home day. We did a few chores and mainly relaxed until about 2:30 when we went over to the clubhouse for another concert on the patio. Today the entertainer was Kelly Hughes. Regular readers may remember that Kelly is a country western entertainer from Idaho who winters in Yuma and does gigs all over the Southwest in the winter months. In Idaho he has a full band and does bars and small venues up in the north country during the summer months. He is also the one who started the “howl at the moon” phenomenon about 15 years ago here in Yuma and frequently plays at the howl parties. We have seen him a number of times and always find him fun and easy to listen to. When he is in Yuma he normally performs alone, although at the howl parties he has some friends who may come to play with him. Today it was just him and he put on a great two hour show. After the show we had our cocktail hour with friends, including Len and Debbie today because they came over the the concert. After cocktails we and Peggy did pork green chili for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, March 6th, the morning started at 7:30 when we got a table set up for the park-wide yard sale. Jackie had a bunch of stuff out that she wanted to get rid of. She ended up making over $30, so it was a success. They shut down about 11:00 because it was starting to get hot. Peggy and Jackie went to Fry's after lunch to get some steaks that were on sale. I stayed home and started getting stuff ready for the karaoke session this afternoon. At 2:00 I took everything over to the clubhouse and got set up. The session started at 3:00 and we initially had the same six people we had two weeks ago, but at one point we had eight in the rotation. Yea! We had a great time and everyone got to do at least five or six songs if they wanted. A little after 5:00 I shut it down and dismantled all the equipment. We then had happy hour with the group and after happy hour we and Peggy did our steaks on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, March 7th, we had a stay at home day. Enjoyed the paper and coffee in the morning and spent the day doing chores and relaxing. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then Millie served dinner on the patio of her coach. Salad, a very nice Italian soup, and a nice desert. There were eight of us for dinner as Len and Debbie also came over. After dinner we went back in our coach and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night. Monday we left the coach about noon to go to lunch and do some geocaching. Peggy was staying home waiting for a service guy to come to unclog her toilet. We stopped at Del Taco for a quick lunch, then did some geocaching. We were able to get five caches in an hour and a half or so. On the way home we stopped at Walmart for a few things, then went back to the coach. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then we and Peggy did some burgers on the grill for dinner. After dinner we watched TV and headed off to bed.

Tuesday, March 9th, we, along with Peggy, left the RV park about 11:00 and drove to downtown Yuma to go another of our favorite places to eat, Da Boyz, a pizza and Italian place. They also have a store out here in the Foothills, but we have found the food, service and ambiance better at the downtown location. All three of us had Calzones, and I took half of mine home for dinner. After lunch we just headed back to the coach because Peggy had stuff to do. We spent the rest of the day in the coach relaxing. One great thing, both Jackie and I were able to make our appointments for the second Moderna Covid shot. We go in on Friday, exactly 28 days from the first shot. Yea! Peggy, who got the first shot on the same day was unable to get an appointment, but when she called the hospital she was told to try again Wednesday since she thought they were allowing appointments to be made by people in the same order as when they called for the first shot. Peggy made her appointment a day after we made ours for the first shots. We had cocktails with the group, minus Millie. Millie's son and his wife flew back into Yuma today and they are planning to leave for Pahrump tomorrow. After cocktails we went had a light dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 10th, we had a stay at home day. I went over to the clubhouse at 12:30 for the jam session and Peggy and Jackie came over later to listen for a while. The group continues to grow, we are up to about 16 people now. Had a good time and sang a couple of songs. Millie left Yuma today with her son driving the motorhome and his wife driving Millie's car. They are planning on a one day trip to Pahrump, which would be way too far for me at 335 miles. We had cocktails with the group and then we and Peggy did some Ahi on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we spent the rest of the evening watching TV. Thursday I went out about 12:30 to play nine holes of golf with Len. We played the par 3 course and I did better than last week. Not great mind you, but better. I even got a birdie on the eighth hole. Yea! Peggy and Jackie went out to a local Thai restaurant for lunch when I went to play golf. After we all got home we relaxed until cocktail hour. We had happy hour with our group and then had chili that was made by Jerry and Debbie, our neighbors, who are part of our happy hour group. We ate in our coach because they live in a 11 foot truck camper and their “house” is a little tight for five. The chili was excellent. After dinner everyone left and we just relaxed with the TV until it was time for bed.

Friday, March 12th, we were on the road with Peggy around 10:00 headed to the Civic Center to get our second Covid shots. Yea! Jackie and I had appointments for 11:00 but Peggy wasn't able to get an appointment until the day after we did, so she was closer to 1:30. We went and got our shots then went to Mi Rancho Mexican restaurant for lunch. After lunch we went back to the Civic Center and arrived about a half hour before Peggy's scheduled time. However, they were not busy and took her in early. After Peggy was done we went back to the coach. We had cocktails with the group but no dinner because of the big lunch. We watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, March 13th, my son Roy Junior's birthday. Jackie woke up feeling really badly. She was having the same reaction to the second shot as she had with the first. Major headache, body aches and fatigue. She ended up spending the entire day in bed. I just futzed around the house all day. I did go over to the clubhouse about 3:00 because the owners of the RV park were putting on their appreciation day, just like they did last year. They had a dinner with some BBQ and fixings, but I just took two plates to go. Jackie didn't feel like eating and I had eaten lunch. I had mine later for dinner, but Jackie's is still in the fridge. Hopefully she will wake up tomorrow feeling better. She was at 90 percent the next day a month ago.

Sunday, March 14th, as predicted Jackie woke up feeling much better. Not quite back 100 percent, but better. She was still a little tired and weak feeling, so we spent the day in the house, but at least she was up, showered, dressed and doing better. By cocktail hour she was OK enough to go outside with the group. For dinner we and Peggy did some pork chops on the grill, along with sweet potatoes and a very nice zucchini dish that Peggy put together. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. We are now three weeks out from the last time we posted, so it is time to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time, consider the words of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” Get out there and experience something! See ya soon.

 

Still Wintering in Yuma, Covid comes, Covid Goes

 Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Saturday, January 30th, while we were still in Yuma, Arizona. Sunday I woke up pretty much sick. I had much the same symptoms as Jackie, slight cough, achy body, tired and listless. We stayed in all day. Monday was more of the same. Late in the day I got the results of the Covid test we took and on Saturday and I am now positive. My luck had run out. Jackie was also positive, but with her I am sure it is just residual from when she was sick as she is feeling pretty much OK now. So we are now officially quarantined for at least two weeks.

Tuesday was a stay at home day. I didn't feel any worse than yesterday, but not better either. Just stayed home and rested all day. Wednesday started out pretty much the same, but by the end of the day I was actually feeling a little better. We had a hamburger helper meal for dinner and for the first time in four or five days I actually had a decent size meal. When I went to bed I was feeling at least 50 percent better. Thursday I seem to continue to improve. I am now getting by with just a decongestant tablet and a couple of Advil every six hours. For dinner we ordered a pizza delivered from the nearby Pizza Hut. Not the bets pizza in the world, but pretty damn good today. I think I am headed in the right direction.

Friday, February 5th, happy birthday to me. Yea, 74! Still feeling about the same, good but not completely well. This damn Covid kicks your ass even when you don't get it bad. We had some nice scampi for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday we just stayed home and relaxed. I seem to have plateaued, not getting worse but not better either. Mostly it's the cough and the associated headaches and stomach issues that come from it. We had some salmon on the BBQ for dinner. Sunday was our 17th wedding anniversary. And Super Bowl Sunday! We were both rooting for Brady and were not disappointed in the game. We couldn't go out for a celebration of our anniversary, but we had a nice quiet day at home. Again. Monday was another of our anniversaries, this time the 23rd anniversary of our reunion. We had a nice day at home. I continue to improve a little each day. Everything is pretty normalized except for the occasional cough, which still nags me.

Tuesday, February 9th, was the day that the health department had given me as the probable date I would be over the Covid symptoms. Although I am better, I haven't quite reached that goal yet. I have decided to give myself until Saturday, just to be sure I am not still infectious. After Saturday I am out and about. Did a nice pot of chili for dinner. Wednesday I continue to improve. Had a quiet day at home and actually sat outside for cocktail hour, the first time I've done that in a couple weeks. Even took the car for a five mile joy ride to be sure it still worked. We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner, a real dinner for a change. Today we also got a call from the Yuma Medical Center that we had appointments for our first Covid shot Friday morning at 10:00. They got both Jackie and I and were also able to get Peggy in at the same time, so we can go together. Millie got her shot a day or two ago, so our whole group will be vaccinated soon.

Thursday was a stay at home day. We were babysitting Belle while Peggy went out on a Jeep run. Didn't do much but some chores around the house. Friday we and Peggy left the RV around 9:30 and headed towards the Yuma Civic Center, which is in Central Yuma. Although the clinic for the shots was at the City's building, the actual event was being put on by the Yuma County Medical Center. It was very well organized and the lines moved along quite well. It was not a drive through clinic, so we did have to get out of the car. Within a half hour we had our shots and were sitting in the recovery area. They keep you there for at least 15 minutes to watch for any serious reactions to the shots. By 10:30 we were out of there and back in the car. We all got the Moderna vaccine, which means we have to get the second shot after 28 days. That means we will have to extend our time here in Yuma by a few weeks or a month, but it if means we get inoculated, so be it. We stopped at El Charro, one of our favorite Mexican places, for lunch. Jackie and I both had machaca, which is wonderful there. Peggy had enchiladas and was a little disappointed. Just this morning the local paper published the “best of” awards for Yuma and El Charro was number one for Mexican food. Our next favorite place, El Rancho, was number two. After lunch we went back to the coach and hung out the rest of the afternoon. We had leftovers for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, February 13th, we ended up having a stay at home day because Jackie was having some reaction to the shot from yesterday. She had a rough night and was kind of achy and out of sorts. Sunday, Happy Valentines Day and happy birthday to my granddaughter Courtney. We left the coach, just Jackie and I, and went out to brunch around 12:30. After brunch we went to the Arizona Market Place, the outdoor shopping mall, and walked around for an hour. The only thing I bought was another “Old Guys” tee shirt from a friend of ours who has a booth in the market. We then went home and relaxed for a while. We had dinner at Peggy's with Millie and Peggy made spaghetti and meatballs. It was pretty good stuff. This was the first time we have all been together for 3 or 4 weeks. After dinner we went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, February 15th, Presidents Day. We had a stay at home day. We did our laundry and some other chores, but basically stayed home. For dinner we had some pork chops on the BBQ and had Peggy over. Millie's birthday is tomorrow and her kids surprised her by showing up in Yuma this morning, so she is busy with them. Tuesday we left around 11:15 and drove to the taco stand for lunch, our first tacos in about three weeks or so. Peggy met us there for lunch. After lunch we went to a “yard art” store that was next door to the taco stand. We are looking at decorations for our shed in Pahrump. We didn't buy anything today, but did find a couple of things that would work. About 2:30 our friend Len came over and he and I spent an hour playing guitars. We had a good time, the first time we have played together since leaving Pahrump. About 5:00 Len and Debbie came back for our happy hour on the patio. Today was Millie's birthday and her kids were scheduled to leave around 4:00 to head back to Salt Lake City, but we later found out that they couldn't get out until Friday because of weather delays around the country tying up the airports. We had BLTs for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, February 17th, I went to the jam session at the clubhouse for the first time in over a month. They had shut down the clubhouse for a couple weeks prior to my getting sick, and then I couldn't go for several weeks after they reopened. I was only able to stay for the first hour of the jam because Jackie finally had an appointment to get an eye exam and new glasses after her cataract surgeries. She had one a couple weeks ago but had to cancel because she was sick. After a couple hours she had her glasses on order and we went into Albertson's, which was right next door, to get a few things we couldn't find in other stores. After shopping we headed back home and had cocktails on the patio with Peggy and Millie. Around 6:30 Jackie served chili relleno casserole for the four of us. By 8:30 we were alone and watched TV until bedtime. Thursday we went with Peggy to Mr. Fish, our favorite fish and chips place in the Foothills. After lunch we dropped Peggy off and did a Walmart run. After our shopping we went home and spent the rest of the day in the coach. We had cocktails on the patio and Millie's son and daughter joined us for a while. The are due to leave tomorrow if the airlines are back on schedule. We had leftovers for dinner and then watched TV until time for bed.

Friday, February 19th, we stayed at home for most of the day, doing some chores and relaxing. About 4:30 we left, along with Peggy and Millie, and drove to the Yuma Elks for dinner. Friday is prime rib night and everyone was in the mood for prime rib. We had a cocktail and a nice dinner. Their prime rib is only $16 and you get a nice piece, along with a salad, potato and veggie, so it is a nice dinner. After dinner we drove home and were in our jammies by about 7:30. We watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday was a stay at home day. Around 2:00 I took my equipment over to the clubhouse to do karaoke. The park's social director asked if I would do it and told me she actually had some people coming to sing. We started karaoke at 3:00 and we actually had six people in the rotation,including me and Len and Debbie Forrest. I had called them to let them know we were doing karaoke, which they love to do and haven't been able to do a lot of because of Covid We actually had a fun two hours. By 5:30 I was packed up and enjoying a cocktail. We and Peggy had dinner, lamb for them, a steak for me. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, February 21st, we had another stay at home day. I spent a couple of hours installing a new thermostat for our A/Cs and furnaces. The old one was very hard to see and I found a new one that had a larger and brighter display and was also Bluetooth compatible, so I can control it from my tablet. It was a little too large to fit into the old space, so I had to do some carpentry work to install it. Jackie made a big pot of clam chowder and we had both Peggy and Millie over for dinner after our normal happy hour. The chowder was excellent. After they both left we watched some TV and went to bed.

We are now about three weeks into this episode and it is time to get it published. As with the last one, there are few photos simply because we haven't been doing that much. Now that we are both well again that may change some. Until next time, ponder the words of author Shauna Niequist. “When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” See ya soon.

Covid Finally Comes Knocking on our Door

 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.

Jackie woke up still feeling about the same, not worse, not better. We did hear from Millie that Dick was responding to treatment and they were going to admit him for a day or two at least. They also confirmed that he tested positive for Covid. Of course that is worrisome, not just for him, but for all the rest of us who have been around them for the last week and a half. Almost all of our interaction has been outdoors and somewhat distanced, but it is still a concern. Since I consider us now quarantined, at least for a while, we spent the rest of the day inside. Since I am still not sick at all I did make a quick run to the store to stock up on food for Jackie. We didn't do anything else all day but stay inside.

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.