Wicked Weather February

Hello again.  Our last episode concluded on Wednesday, January 31^st.  Hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already over.  The 1^st was a stay at home day for me.  Jackie had a hair cut in the late afternoon.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching the TV after I was done with my hour of security patrol.  Friday I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee which took a couple of hours.  We then left about 3:30 and drove to the Elks Lodge for dinner.  Our friend Phyliss was cooking tonight and she made chicken fajitas.  We had eleven people from the park for dinner, which was a good turnout.  Our group was about half of the entire group that came.  We had some cocktails before dinner, then enjoyed dinner.  We were back home by about 7:00.  I did my security tour at 8:00, then we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV. 

Saturday, February 3^rd  was another stay at home day.  I was able to get some office work done, including finishing up our 2023 tax return and getting it electronically submitted to the IRS.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  I did my last tour of security tonight, then we watched the TV until bedtime.  Sunday we went to the 2:00 social hour and then played some left,right,center afterwards.  After the games we did a grocery run.  After we got home we had dinner, then watched TV for the rest of the night. 

Monday, February 5^th, happy birthday to me, the big 77.  We had another stay at home day.  We have had rain since Saturday afternoon and today it was raining hard all day long.  It’s a good thing that our trailer is on a little rise in the lot, because we have a lake all around us.  The weather was so miserable we even cancelled happy hour because of the rain.  We spent the night on the couch watching TV.  Tuesday it was still raining, although not quite as hard.  We had a 1:00 meeting of the Silver Seekers Board in the clubhouse, which was the workshop session.  After that we went home for a while, then came back for happy hour.  We had some cake and celebrated by birthday a day late with the happy hour group.  After that we went home for dinner, the watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, February 7^th, our 20^th wedding anniversary.  Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  We also had the first visit of our new housekeeper, Margarita.  She does a number of other places here at the park and we have arranged for her to come in every other week for a cleaning.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then about 5:30 we left to go to the Pour House for an anniversary dinner.  Our friends Lee and Kim Grissom went with us.  We had a very nice dinner and then stayed for a hour or so at the karaoke that they have there on Wednesdays.  After that we went home, watched a little TV, and went to bed.  Thursday was another anniversary of sorts, the 25^th anniversary of Jackie and I reuniting after 22 years of not seeing each other.  We had a 9:00 town hall meeting, which we zoomed from home.  At 1:00 we had the Silver Seekers open Board meeting, which went a little less than an hour.  Jackie then had a 3:00 dental appointment and made it back not to long after I went over the clubhouse for happy hour.  The rain has finally stopped with Pahrump supposedly getting just under two inches of rain since Saturday.  We had hamburgers for dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Friday, February 9^th, Jackie went to the clubhouse to play cards about 11:00.  I did some work around the trailer.  After she was done we went out for a late lunch at a fast food place called Teriyaki Madness.  They have been open for over a year, but we haven’t gotten around to trying them.  The food, which is mostly bowls, with rice, veggies and meat.  I had the steak and Jackie had the chicken and we both loved the food.  We will be back.  After lunch we stopped for some groceries, then headed back home.  At 4:30 we went to happy hour, then stayed for Bingo.  Unlike last week we didn’t have much luck.  I did win one regular game, but had to split the pot, so $6.  We still had fun.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until it was time for bed.  Saturday Jackie went out about 11:00 for a ladies lunch and I stayed home and did some office work.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and spent the night with the TV.

Sunday, February 11^th, Super Bowl Sunday.  Of course, everyone knows that Super Bowl 58 was in Las Vegas.  We had a super bowl party at the clubhouse that started about 2:30 or so.  The Silver Seekers served hot dogs and chips, with chili or sauerkraut available as well.  Other people brought other snacks.  We had about 50 people at kickoff, about evenly divided between San Francisco and Kansas City fans.  I had a $1 a square pool going for the group.  Thanks to piss poor performance by the offense on both teams I won the first quarter for $20 with a score of 0-0.  The second and third quarters were won by our friend Don Klein, $20 each.  He won both quarters with the same square, but different scores.  He had 3-0 and the score at the end of the second quarter was 10-3, and then the end of the third it was 10-13.  Our friend Joyce won the $40 final prize.  After the game we cleaned up and went home and watched a little TV until bedtime.

Monday, February 12^th, we had an 11:30 dine out at El Jefe Mexican restaurant with the Lucky Rollers camping group.  We had about 20 people at that one.  After lunch we stopped and checked on our sick golf cart (still being worked on) and then did a grocery run.  After we got home we did happy hour, then went home for dinner and night with the TV.  Tuesday was pretty much a stay at home day.  I had a short meeting in the clubhouse at 1:00 and Jackie had a nail appointment at 3:00.  I went to happy hour on my own because Jackie was busy with her nails.  Later we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Wednesday, February 14^th, Happy Valentines Day and happy birthday to my granddaughter Courtney, whose middle name is obviously Valentine.  Today was a busy day.  Before lunch I took all of my audio equipment over the clubhouse to get it set up for the Valentines party tonight.  Jackie had her Pokeno, which started at 12:00 today to allow time for people to prepare for tonight’s potluck dinner.  My friend Len came over about the same time for our weekly jam session and practice.  Jackie made a taquito casserole for the potluck after she got home from Pokeno and we went over the clubhouse about 3:30 to help set things up.  The potluck started at 4:00 and we had about 35 people show up, which is good, but not great.  We had a lot of good food and most of us over-indulged.  About 5:00 I started playing some dance music, mostly romantic songs.  Unfortunately, a large number of people left the party early and even the ones who hung in and danced a little were ready to go home at 6:30.  We cleaned up and packed up our stuff and went home where we spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Thursday we had a Co-op Board meeting at 9:00, so we got up early and went over for it.  It was an interesting meeting with a fairly decent turnout, at least for this park, about 45 people.  After the meeting we went home and spent the rest of the day around the house doing chores.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went home for dinner.  We spent the remainder of the night with the TV.

Friday, February 16^th, we left the park about 11:00 and headed over to Las Vegas.  I had a appointment with an orthopedic doctor about my hip.  A couple of years ago I noticed that if I walked for any long distance, or tried to walk faster than a normal gait, my right hip would start hurting.  It would also hurt if I was standing for a long period of time.  I mentioned it to my primary care doctor and he sent me for an Xray, which showed that I had some early arthritis starting in the ball joint of the hip.  Over the roughly two years since then it has started getting worse, starting to hurt when I walk or stand at all and aching sometimes at night.  I decided to go to an orthopedist to get checked.  When I got into the doctor at Desert Orthopedic Center in Las Vegas he had another Xray taken and then sat down and told me that the arthritis was advancing and that parts of the joint are now bone on bone, which is causing the pain.  He said there is no cure for arthritis and nothing can be done to fix the diminished cartilage in the joint.  He said the only thing to do is have a hip replacement, which is really just a replacement of the ball and socket joint.  He said it was up to me to decide when to do it, which is when it gets so bad I need to have it done.  He took time to explain the surgery and the recovery process and said just come back whenever I was ready.  After the doctor visit we stopped and did some shopping, then headed back over the hill to home.  We didn’t get home in time for happy hour, so we just had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, February 17^th, we were up early again, this time to have breakfast at a food truck which the Silver Seekers association had set up to come into the park.  I had biscuits and gravy and Jackie had a biscuit and sausage with gravy.  The food was pretty good, although really rich and a little spicey.  I also ordered a pulled pork sandwich for later.  When I had the sandwich for a late lunch I was not as happy with it as I was with breakfast.  I would not have the pulled pork again.  I spent the day doing chores and office work around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and did some pork chops in the instapot.  They turned out pretty good.  After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.  Sunday we went out for lunch Teriyaki Madness about noon, then did some shopping.  We are looking for a small cabinet to put in the shed.  After we got back we invited our friends Max and Nancy to come over for a small happy hour on our patio.  Today was a really nice day and we thought it would be good to get together with friends.  After that we had dinner then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, February 19^th, Presidents Day.  Today was a stay at home day.  We did a few things around the house, but mostly just stayed in.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home for dinner and the rest of the evening with the TV.  Tuesday was busier.  I left about 8:30 to go down to the Nye County Planning and Zoning office to do some research on our RV park.  I wanted to see what we are actually zoned as and if there are any restrictions.  I need this info for my work on the By Laws Committee.  I didn’t get any answers, but they told me they would email me the results of my records request.  We went to the clubhouse at 12:30 for another Silver Seekers lunch.  This time Don made hot turkey sandwiches, with mashed potatoes and gravy.  I was, unfortunately, a dreary and rainy day, so not as many people showed up as we expected.  It was still very good.  Right after lunch we went to Walmart so I could get my eye exam at the optometrist and we needed a few groceries.  I had my exam, but the doctor told me that the change from my existing prescription was very minor and that, in her opinion, my cataracts are to the point where fixing them is the only thing that is going to clear up my vision.  I have an ophthalmologist appointment in a couple of months, so we will see.  We got home to late for happy hour so we just had diner and spent the night on the couch watching TV.

Wednesday, February 21^st, we were out of the house by 9:45, heading to Las Vegas so I could go to the urologist for a checkup on an issue with one of my testicles.  The doctor told me what it was and said the issue was usually not anything to be concerned about and fairly common.  He did give me an order for an ultrasound just to make sure there is nothing unusual going on.  I can have that done in Pahrump.  After the doctor we had lunch at a place called the Crab Corner, which is just down the street from the doctor’s office.  It is primarily a sea food place and the food was quite good.  I had fish and chips and Jackie had grilled Mahi Mahi, which was also good.  We had a calamari appetizer which was not as good as some we have had, but it was OK.  After lunch we did some shopping at a couple of the local Goodwill stores.  Both of us got a few bargains in the process.  We then headed back over the hump and got back in time for happy hour at 4:00.  We then went home and relaxed for the rest of the night.  Tuesday Jackie went to play cards in the clubhouse and our new housekeeper came to clean.  Len came over for guitar practice which we missed on Wednesday because of our Vegas trip.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home, had dinner and watched TV the rest of the night.

Friday, February 23^rd, I had a 10:00 meeting with the By Laws Committee which went until about 12:30.  We then went out for a late lunch and did some shopping at Walmart.  At 3:30 we both got haircuts, then came back home.  We went to happy hour about 4:30 and then stayed for Bingo.  Neither of us won anything tonight.  About 8:00 we were done so we went home and spent the night with the TV.  Saturday we had a stay at home day.  At 3:30 we went over to the clubhouse for a 4:00 pot luck dinner and then at 5:00 I did a trivia contest.  We had about 30 people participating and had a really good time.  We were back home by 7:30 or so and watched TV the rest of the night.

Sunday, February 25^th, we left the park about 11:00 headed down to Laughlin, Nevada, for a mini-vacation.  When we were down in Laughlin in October with the Lucky Rollers RV group here at the park, we stayed at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort for the three days we were there.  Since we don’t have a movable RV anymore, but still like to have fun with the group, we have to get a hotel room.  Of course, we gambled some at the Riverside during the three days.  Ever since I have been getting “rewards” from the players club offering two free nights at the hotel.  I have been getting one every month.  We were supposed to go for two nights back in January, but then the big storm blew in so we cancelled and rescheduled for this month.  We stopped in Vegas at a Subway shop for lunch.  We had a gift card for $15, which, ironically, we had won at the Lucky Rollers campout in October.  We continued down and got into Laughlin about 2:30 or so.  Since we probably couldn’t get into the room this early, we went over to the Tropicana casino and gamble for a while.  We also joined their slot club to get points because our friends, the Sullivan’s, always get free offers from the Tropicana for rooms.  After a little gaming we went over to the Riverside and checked into our room.  This time they gave us a river view room.  After a little rest we went downstairs and gambled for a while.  About 6:30 we went to the Prime Rib room where we had a wonderful prime rib dinner with all the fixings.  It’s a good thing the room has a small fridge, because we had leftovers.  After dinner we gambled some more, finally getting up to the room around 11:00. 

Monday, February 26^th, we slept in and relaxed and finally got out of the room around 11:30.  We drove to the River Lodge hotel and casino down the road.  This used to be Gold Town casino years back.  We were there to meet Jackie’s cousin, Ron Kopf, who she refers to as her nephew, for lunch.  He and his wife and kids live in Fresno, California, and we used to visit them almost every year or so when we traveled around California.  Ron and his wife are going through a rough patch, so he is living with his mom in Bullhead City, right across the Colorado River from Laughlin.  His mother is a real estate agent and he is working as an assistant and handyman for the company.  We couldn’t get into the River Lodge restaurant, so we went a little further to Harrah’s for lunch.  We had a very nice lunch and talked for almost two hours before Ron had to go.  After lunch we went across to Bullhead City and went to Sam’s Club for a couple of things, and then to the Goodwill.  I got a couple of shirts at the Goodwill, but Jackie struck out this trip.  We also stopped at the Bullhead City Elks for a drink.  We haven’t been to this Elks since before we went full time in 2005.  At that time we came here a couple of times with the Indio Elks RV club.  At that time we had a small class C motor home.  After the Elks we went back to the room and rested for a little while.  We then went back over to the Tropicana and gambled for a couple of hours.  We also had dinner there in their Brew House restaurant.  We had both gotten a $10 food credit when we signed up for the players club card, so dinner was cheap.  After dinner we went back over to the Riverside and gambled until about 10:30 when we went up to the room and went to bed.

Tuesday, February 27^th, we checked out of the hotel about 11:00, went down to the car and started back towards Pahrump.  We stopped at the Denny’s in Searchlight for lunch, then got into Pahrump about 2:15.  Jackie had a 3:00 nail appointment, so I dropped her off and went home and unpacked.  I picked her up a little after 4:00 and we went to El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant to meet with others from our park for the monthly dine-out event.  There were not too many people there because the Lucky Rollers had also scheduled a visit to a local winery earlier in the afternoon.  We had a nice dinner, then went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.  Wednesday Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Thursday, February 29^th, Leap Day.  Jackie had to go to the clubhouse at 10:00 to help decorate for St Patrick’s Day and Easter.  I had a 9:45 dermatologist appointment.  I got the usual nitrogen spray on a couple of areas and he cut out one small lesion on the chest that he suspected was an early skin cancer.  They will do a biopsy and then let me know if I need to come back to have them carve out a little more.  I spent the rest of the doing chores as did Jackie.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home for dinner and another night with the TV.

We are now at the end of February and sneaking up on Spring.  Yea.  Time to close this chapter and get it online.  Bye for now.

A New Year Begins in Pair-A-Dice

Hi there, welcome back.  Our last episode ended on Sunday, December 31^st, New Year’s Eve.  That was also the day we boarded the Carnival Miracle cruise ship for a six night New Year’s cruise to the Mexican Riviera.  We celebrated New Year’s Eve while out at sea heading South towards Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Monday, January 1, 2024, Happy New Year’s day.   Today was a sea day and, although it was a bit stormy in Los Angeles, our seas were calm and we had a nice voyage.  It was too chilly to be on the outside decks, but we spent the day taking in the different venues on the ship.  We went to karaoke in the afternoon and I got to do a couple of songs.  We had dinner with Jim and Linda Sullivan, our friends from the Escapees Park who are also on this cruise.  It was they who had initially told us about the cruise. After dinner we gambled a little, then went to the theater for the first big show of the cruise.  It was a musical theater featuring piano music for the most part.  After the theater we went to the comedy club for a show, then headed to our cabin for bed.

Tuesday, January 2^nd, we arrived in Cabo San Lucas about 8:30 or so.  Because we had a balcony cabin we were able to watch us pull into port and anchor in the bay.  Cabo is a tender port, meaning you get off the ship onto a small tender boat, which then takes you to the dock.  We went ashore about 10:00 with Linda and got onto a 100 foot catamaran boat so we could go whale watching.  It was a nice boat with a friendly crew and open bar.  We were out a little over two hours and saw lot of whales We were not able to get too much in the way of pictures because they were usually a hundred yards or more away and you never knew when or where one was going to appear.  We did see a lot of whales coming up to the surface, and even a couple who did the back flip jump out of the water, which is spectacular to see.  After the whale watching tour we did a little shopping before heading back to the ship.  The ship pulled anchor about 5:30 and we went back out to sea.  However, since we are going to be coming back into the this same port in the morning, they just go out a little ways and then float around all night.  They only leave so they can open the casino and on-board shops.  About 6:30 we had dinner with the Sullivans, then did some gambling and drinking around the ship.  There was no big show tonight, but we did go to the late night comedy show.  After that we went to bed.

Wednesday, January 3^rd, we were back in port in Cabo about 8:00.  We and Linda went ashore about 10:30 or so and spent a couple of hours shopping and having lunch in town.  I went to a bar called the Giggling Marlin that I remembered visiting on a cruise back in the 90’s.  I had bought a tee shirt, which has long since been discarded, and I wanted to get a new one.  I got a couple of tee shirts, as did Jackie.  We were back on ship around 2:30 or so.  Jackie and I had made reservations for dinner in the steak house on board, called Nick and Nora’s Steak House.  It was an extra cost event, but well worth it.  We both had a fabulous meal and a wonderful, romantic evening together.  After dinner we went to the show in the theater, which tonight was “The 80’s” and it was great.  Almost all of our times in the theater and in the comedy club we were accompanied by Linda.  Jim doesn’t much care for the shows and stuff and just spends all his time in the casino.  We went to the late comedy show, then headed to our cabin for the night.

Thursday, January 4^th, we had another day at sea.  We spent the day at different venues and bars on the ship, just relaxing.  We had dinner with the Sullivans at 6:30 and then took in another musical show in the theater about 9:30.  After the show we went to the comedy club where we stayed for both acts, getting into bed around 11:30 or so.  Friday we docked in Ensenada, Mexico for the day.  This was a pier port, so we and Linda got off about 11:00 or so and went into town.  We did some shopping and had lunch at a place we had eaten at a few months ago when we were here.  We had a nice meal and got a few souvenirs.  After we got back on the ship we relaxed until dinner.  Tonight was the night we had to pack our bags and get them out in the hallway before 10:00 because tomorrow the cruise is over and we are back in Long Beach.  We had dinner at 6:30 and then went to the Theater were the two comedians put on there acts on the big stage.  After that we did some gaming, then headed off to bed.

Saturday, January 6^th, we were docked back in Long Beach early in the morning.  We had to be out of our cabins by 8:30, so we got ready and went up to have some breakfast.  We were able to get off the ship by a little after 9:00 and we were back at the hotel, in our car and headed back to Pahrump by 10:00.  The trip home was uneventful, and traffic was fairly light.  We stopped at the outlet mall in Barstow so Jackie could get some things.  We also had lunch there and got some gas before finishing the trip.  We arrived back in Pahrump before dark, about 5:00 or so.  Took our bags in and just crashed until we went to bed.

Sunday, January 7, today was mostly an unpacking and doing laundry day.  We did go to the Sunday social and played Left Right Center with the group for the first time in a few months.  There haven’t been enough people to do it until recently.  After the social we went home and finished our clean up work.  We had dinner and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Monday we had an 11:30 lunch with the Lucky Rollers camping club.  We went to the Indian restaurant we like, the Pour House.  We had a really large group today.  After lunch we did some shopping then headed back to the park.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and an evening with the TV. 

Tuesday, January 9^th, I had an early meeting in the clubhouse and Jackie went for a manicure appointment.  At 1:00 we both had a meeting of the Silver Seekers Board of Directors.  We are both member of the Board and I am the Vice President.  This was a planning meeting went for about an hour an a half.  After the meeting we just did some chores around the house until happy hour.  After happy hour we spent the rest of the evening in the trailer relaxing.  Wednesday Jackie had an early, 8:00, meeting with her Ophthalmologist.  It seems that one of her cataracts had come back a little and she needs to have another quick laser treatment.  She had to go to the doctors office in Pahrump to get it set up, but the surgery will be in Las Vegas next week.  After the doctors visit we went home.  Jackie went to Pokeno in the afternoon while I spent the afternoon doing office work.  We did happy hour and then dinner and the TV until bedtime.

Thursday, January 11^th, we both had to attend an open meeting of the Silver Seekers Board in the clubhouse.  The meeting went for less than an hour.  After the meeting we did some errands, then spent the rest of the day at home.  We did happy hour and then dinner, then watched TV for the rest of the night.  Friday I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee of the Co-op.  This meeting went for a couple of hours.  I did some chores in the afternoon and we went out for lunch at a local Mexican place.  We went to the clubhouse for bingo at 4:30.  I got one bingo on a regular game, but only won $6 because I had to share with two other people.  Jackie didn’t win anything.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until it was time for bed.

Saturday, January 13^th, Jackie had a ladies luncheon at 11:00.  After she got home we went out and did some shopping at some thrift stores.  We got a few bargains.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 then had dinner at home.  Sunday was a quiet day, we went to the social at 2:00 and played LCR again.  Then we went home and just relaxed for the rest of the day. 

Monday, January 15^th, we were on the road about 10:00, heading to Las Vegas.  We needed to go to the Ford dealer to get the car serviced.  We don’t have a Ford dealer in Pahrump.  We stopped at a little café for lunch, then went to the Ford dealer.  It took about two and a half hours to get the work done.  After that we stopped at one store for a few minutes, then headed back to Pahrump.  We got back about 5:00, had some dinner and then watched TV for the rest of the night.  Tuesday was mostly a stay at home day.  I did a number of chores around the house as well as some office work.  At 2:00 we went to the dermatologist so he could take a look at a lesion on the side of Jackie’s face that I had some concerns about.  After she got in and he looked it turned out to just be a benign growth from blocked glands that the PA Michael, called a “barnacle.” He said it was nothing to be worried about.  We then went home and I did a little more office work.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 then came home and had dinner.  We watched TV for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, January 17^th, Jackie went to play Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over about that same time and we practiced guitar for about 90 minutes.  After Jackie got home we went and did some shopping, then came back for happy hour.  After happy hour we went home, had dinner and I had my security duty at 8:00.  After that we spent the rest of the night watching TV.  Thursday We left to go back to Las Vegas about 10:00 so Jackie could go into the out patient surgery center to have a quick laser treatment on her right eye.  Although it was a very quick procedure, the whole thing took about 2 hours to complete.  After her procedure we grabbed lunch and then did a Costco run.  After shopping we headed back home, getting back in time for the last half of happy hour.  After that we went home and spent the night with the TV.

Friday, January 19^th, I went over in the late morning to the clubhouse and set up my audio equipment for the jam session I was having at 2:00.  My friend Len, and one other person from the park showed up to play and we had about 10 spectators, but we still had a good time.  After the jam session I did some office work and then we went to happy hour at 4:00.  After that we had dinner and Jackie made a huge kettle of soup for the pot luck tomorrow.  We then watched TV until it was time for bed.  Saturday I was back in the clubhouse in the early afternoon getting my equipment set up for karaoke tonight after the pot luck.  We went to pot luck at 4:00.  This one had a theme of “Snowed in” and was mostly soups and comfort foods.  At 5:00 I started karaoke.  I had invited our friends Phyllis and Tom, and Len and Debbie to come.  All of them except Tom sing karaoke and I wanted some singers so that it was not just me and the one or two members of the park who come up.  We had a really good time and actually had several people from the park come up and sing who had never done so in previous karaoke sessions.  We finished up about 7:30, I packed up my stuff and took it home and we spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Sunday, January 21^st, we woke up to rain coming down.  We were supposed to leave this morning to drive to Laughlin for a two night stay.  The players club at the Riverside Casino Hotel had given me two free nights and had picked this weekend a month ago.  We were considering whether to cancel or not, and had decided we would go, but then the power went out in the park.  At that point we decided we would stay home and I called and cancelled the reservation.  We also had two free nights available in February, so we booked them.  We then spent the rest of the day doing some chores around the house and relaxing.  We went to the Sunday social at 2:00, then stayed and played Left-Right-Center for a half hour.  After that we went back home and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing. 

Monday, January 22^nd, I left about 10:00 to go to DMV to get my drivers license renewed.  As always, the place was packed and I didn’t get done there until about 2:00 or so.  However, this time was able to get the Federally mandated “Real ID” license, although with a passport I don’t see a whole lot of use for it.  After I got home I did some chores and we went to happy hour at 4:00.  After happy hour we went home, had dinner and spent the night with the TV.  Tuesday the rain finally stopped.  We went out to do some shopping at about 1:30 or so, then came back to the house, unloaded the groceries and went to happy hour.  After happy hour we went home, made meatloaf for dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Wednesday, January 24^th, We had mostly a stay at home day.  I called the golf cart shop to come and pick up our golf cart.  I had covered the cart on Saturday morning, when the rain was just starting, to keep it dry.  I uncovered it yesterday after the weekend rain was finished, and it would not work.  The batteries seem to be charged, but it will not run.  A few hours later the guy from the cart shop came and took it away to their shop here in Pahrump.  Jackie went to Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  After practice I did some chores around the house.  We went to happy hour, then had dinner spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  Thursday Jackie had a 10:00 ophthalmologist appointment to follow up on last week’s laser surgery.  Everything is fine, although she did have him give her a regular eye exam and prescription for new glasses.  After the doctor’s appointment we went over to the clubhouse for a Silver Seekers lunch.  Don, the President of the Silver Seekers, along with several other volunteers, made meatball subs for lunch.  We had almost 40 people show up and it was great fun.  After lunch we went to Walmart so Jackie could order new glasses and I could make an appointment for an eye exam for myself.  We also picked up a couple of things.  On the way home we stopped to check on the golf cart.  They are not sure what is wrong yet, but they are working on it.  After we got home we went to happy hour, then came home and spent the night with the TV.

Friday, January 26^th, we went out about 1:00 for a late lunch at ChatThai, our favorite Thai restaurant here in town.  We have bingo tonight at 5:30.  After lunch we headed back home and did a few chores.  We went to happy hour a little late, then stayed for bingo.  Jackie and both had really lucky nights tonight.  Both of us hit bingos in two of the regular games, although we had to split the pots with another winner.  Oddly, on one of them, she and I were the two winners, so we ended up with all the money anyway.  Then Jackie won the coverall game for $30.  All in all we won over $70!!  Yippee.  After bingo we went home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.  Saturday was a stay at home day.  Jackie went to the clubhouse to play cards with the ladies in the afternoon.  I did some work around the house.  We went to happy hour, then home for dinner and night watching TV.

Sunday, January 28^th, we had a relaxing day.  We went to the social at 2:00, stayed and played our usual dice game at 2:30, then came home and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Monday was a chores day.  We did some things around the house and just relaxed.  Tuesday was a little busier.  We did some chores in the afternoon and Jackie went out at 3:00 for a mani appointment.  I went with some friends to the monthly dine-out at Nicco’s, a local Italian place.  Jackie was going to join me there when she was done, but by the time she was finished we were done eating.  I got something for her in take-out and went home.  We spent the rest of the day with the TV.

Wednesday, January 31^st, the last day of January already.  Jackie had her Pokeno game at 1:00.  My friend Len wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t come over for guitar practice.  Instead I did some office work in the afternoon.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and watching TV for the rest of the evening.

We are now at the end of the month and it is time to get this published.  Until next time, be good, do good.  By for now.

Holiday Time in Pahrump - December 2023

Hello again.  Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, November 30^th.  Friday morning we were up and out of the house a little after 8:00.  We had to go down to the health center and get blood drawn for our lab work.  We have doctor’s appointments next week.  After we got home, we just did chores around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  After that we just watched TV until bedtime.  Saturday was also a stay-at-home day.  We did some chores and I finished up the Christmas decorations.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then relaxed with the TV for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, December 3^rd, we relaxed around the house until about 2:00 when we left and went to the Saddle West Casino ballroom for the annual Silver Tappers Christmas show and fund raiser.  One of our friends, Debbie Forrest,  is in the group, but we would go anyway because they are enjoyable shows.  The show went from 3:00 to about 4:30 and was a pretty good production.  We went home after the show, had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.  Monday was a stay-at-home day for the most part.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then Jackie left a little before 5:00 to go get a manicure.  She didn’t get home until about 7:00, after which we had dinner and then spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Tuesday, December 5^th, we were up early and in the clubhouse at 9:00 for the first of the new Silver Seekers Board’s breakfast event.  Our new President, Don O and his wife Sharon, made a bunch of breakfast casseroles for the event.  We had over 30 people come, and everyone had a good time.  We also made almost $100 in profit for the Silver Seekers.  Yea.  After breakfast we went back home and relaxed for a while.  About 1:30 we left and went out to do some thrift store shopping before our doctor’s appointments at 3:30.  We went to a couple of places and got some pretty good bargains at Goodwill.  After shopping we went to the doctor for our six-month checkups.  Both of us are in pretty decent shape for our age, so there were no big surprises.  After the doctor we went back home and had some KFC we picked up on the way for dinner.  We then watched TV until bedtime.  I did have an hour break when I did my first tour of security duty for the month.

Wednesday, December 6^th, Jackie went to play Pokeno at 1:00.  I stayed home and did some office work and other chores.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home for dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.  Thursday I was out early for the 8:00 flag raising ceremony to commemorate Pearl Harbor Day.  Afterwards I went home, and we spent the rest of the day around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Friday, December 8^th, we had a stay-at-home day.  I did some admin work and a few chores around the house.  Jackie went out at noon to go to Artesian Cellars for another girl’s lunch.  We went to happy hour at 4:30, then stayed for bingo.  I won one of the regular games for $12, which meant I made a whole dollar.  After bingo we went home and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.  Saturday, we did some chores around the house.  We went out for lunch at El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant and then ran some errands.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Saturday we went over to the clubhouse about 10:00 to do all the Christmas decorations for the various functions coming up.  After that we spent the rest of the day at home doing chores.

Sunday, December 10^th, we had a 10:00 meeting in the clubhouse for the Silver Seekers Association.  We were setting the calendar of activities for January.  The meeting went for about two and a half hours.  Normally we don’t do meetings on Sundays, but Don’s wife had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday, when the meeting was originally scheduled.  We later went to the 2:00 ice cream social in the clubhouse.  After the social we went home and relaxed.  Jackie made a new recipe for beef stew, which turned out really well.  We had that for dinner then watched TV until bedtime.  Monday we were up and on the road about 10:00, heading for Las Vegas for a luncheon with our park’s RV group, the Lucky Rollers.  The group has monthly lunch dine-outs, but they usually try to have at least one or two a year in Las Vegas for the people in the group who don’t live in Pahrump.  The group is open to any Escapees member, not just people who live in our co-op.  The lunch was at Blueberry Hill restaurant.  We had never heard of it, but they have three locations in Las Vegas and have been around since the 60’s.  Rumor has it that it was one of Elvis’s favorite places to eat back when he used to play Las Vagas.  The place was large, clean and the food was pretty good.  We will probably go back again.  We had about 20 people at the lunch.  After lunch we did some shopping.  Half the group ended up in the Sketchers outlet store across the street after lunch.  We also stopped at Kohl’s before heading back to Pahrump.  We got back home about 4:30, so we skipped happy hour and just spent the night with the TV.

Tuesday, December 12^th, we went to Walgreens around 11:00 and got our Covid booster shot for the year.  After our shots we did some shopping.  We went to the party store here in town, which is closing up, and Jackie got some stuff for Saturday’s 50’s party in the clubhouse.  After we were done, we went home, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.  Wednesday I stayed home and did some office work.  Jackie missed Pokeno because she was sick from the shot yesterday.  I went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and TV until bedtime.

Thursday, December 14^th, we had a meeting of the Silver Seekers at 1:00.  This was the first real open meeting we have had since I became Vice President of the association.  The meeting went pretty well.  After the meeting we went out and did some shopping.  We didn’t make it home in time for happy hour.  We just went home, had dinner, and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.  Friday was an open day, we had nothing special to do.  I did some office work and Jackie did some chores.  We had happy hour and then dinner.

Saturday, December 16^th, was a busy day.  We went over to the clubhouse about 10:00 and Jackie helped with the decorating for the 50’s party.  I spent a couple hours getting all my sound and video equipment set up for the party.  We went home for lunch and then we were back in the clubhouse by 3:30, with Jackie all dressed up in her poodle skirt and jacket.  The potluck went from 4 to 5, then I did the “Name that Tune” game at 5:00.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the game.  After that we did a bunch of 50”s songs and had a lot of dancers.  The party went until about 7:00 when everyone started heading for home.  I packed up the equipment and we went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.  Sunday was a stay-at-home day.  I spent tome time out in the shed putting away stuff from the party and also did some office work.  My son Roy Jr. arrived at the Escapees Park about 3:30 or so to spend a couple of days.  He is done with his job at Death Valley.  The company he works for lost the contract for Stovepipe Wells, so he has been transferred to work at Lassen National Park in Northern California.  This is very near Mineral, California where our good friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock had their huge cabin in the woods.  Peggy sold the place a couple of years ago and now lives in Redding.  Roy will actually be staying in Chester, a small town about a half hour from Lassen.  The company has an old motel there which they use for employee housing.  He is now going from a place where it’s 125 in the summer to a place where he will see 10 feet of snow and temps close to zero this winter.  Jackie made meat loaf for dinner and the three of us had a nice dinner and talked for a while.  After Roy went back to his motor home, we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, December 18^th, Jackie had a manicure appointment at 11:00.  I dropped her off and then drove to the Northwest part of town to pick up Roy.  He had taken his motor home to a truck service place to get the oil changed and new coolant/antifreeze put in.  I picked him up and then we went out to run some errands that Roy needed to do.  Since he is going to work in the cold country of Northern California, he needs some heavy boots and clothes.  We first went to Big 5 sporting goods where he got some snow boots and snow pants, heavy gloves and some head coverings.  We then went to Goodwill, just to see if they had anything worth his while.  They didn’t.  We then went home for a little while before going back to get Jackie.  After we picked up Jackie we went to Mom’s for lunch and then Jackie had to go to Secret Sister for a bit.  Actually, Roy found a nice polo shirt in there for ten bucks.  We then headed back home and waited until about 3:30 to drive Roy back out to get his motor home.  We all got back to the park in time for 4:00 happy hour.  After happy hour we went home and talked for a while before Roy headed back home for the night.  We spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Tuesday Jackie had a ladies luncheon at 11:30 at El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant and Roy and I decided to go there as well.  The ladies were meeting in the back room, probably over a dozen of them, so Roy and I ate in the main dining room.  We had a great lunch and afterwards went out and ran a couple more errands that Roy needed to do.  Jackie was going to get a ride home from one of the other ladies.  After our errands we went back home, and Roy went over to his coach to do some prep work for his departure tomorrow.  He is supposed to be in Chester, California on Friday, so he is leaving tomorrow for the 600-mile trip.  Right now, he is planning on overnighting in Tonopah and then the Reno area before heading into California.  At 4:00 the three of us went to happy hour, then came home and chatted for a while before Roy headed back to his coach.  We spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Wednesday, December 20^th, Jackie went to Pokeno at 1:00.  I did a grocery run to Smith’s, then came home and did some work in the office.  We didn’t go to happy hour as we had a park dine-out at Ohjah, the Japanese Steak House and Hibachi grill here in town at 4:00.  We had about a dozen people there and we all sat around the hibachi and watched the show as the chef cooked our food.  It is not inexpensive here, but the food is really good, and you get a lot of it.  Plus, the show the chefs put on is great.  We had a nice meal with friends and took home some leftovers.  After we got home we watched TV and then went to bed.  Thursday, I went to the clubhouse at 9:00 for the open meeting of the Board of Directors.  They had a lot of stuff on the agenda, so the meeting ran two and a half hours.  After the meeting we had lunch, our leftovers from last night, then at 1:00 went to the salon so both of us could get haircuts.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then a little later our friends Dale and Sue picked us up to go out for a dinner for just the four of us.  We went to Carmelo’s Bistro, a local Italian restaurant that we have yet to visit.  The owner used to be one of the Nye County Supervisors, but he lost the election last year.  We had a pretty decent meal.  Our calamari app was over cooked, but my angel hair with bolognaise and meat balls was excellent.  Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well.  The real kicker was that after we were done Leo, the owner came over and told us that a “Secret Santa” had picked up our meal and everything, apps, meals, desert and wine, were all on the house.  We both left a pretty nice tip, but still got a real bargain meal.  Dale dropped us off at home after we were done, and we watched TV for the rest of the night. 

Friday, December 22^nd, we did some chores around the house for most of the day.  We did go out about 1:00 for a late lunch at the Roadhouse Casino.  We went to happy hour about 4:30 and then stayed at the clubhouse for Bingo at 5:30.  Jackie won one small pot, I didn’t get anything.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until bedtime.  Saturday was the fourth anniversary of the loss of our last cat, Benji.  We still have not replaced him, the longest either of us has gone without a cat kid.  About 2:00 we gathered in front of the clubhouse for a Christmas Golf Cart Parade that we organized.  We had ten people participating, five in golf carts and two on bicycles, all of which were nicely decorated for the holiday.  We drove up and down all the roads in the park and actually had some people standing or sitting outside waiting for us to go by.  We were also playing Christmas carols and handing out candy treats along the way.  It was a great time, and we hope to be even bigger next year.  We did happy hour at 4:00 then went home, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, December 24^th, Christmas Eve.  We had the usual Sunday social at 2:00, then we gathered again about 4:00 for a light snacks potluck and then the annual gift exchange.  Our friend Phyliss did it again this year and we had a couple of dozen people participating.  Everyone got a number and she told an old poem she has used for years for these events.  The poem announces a number, that person goes to the table and picks a gift.  Then there is another number called, and it may require taking a gift from someone who already has one or taking one from the table.  There may be multiple swaps with each number.  It is a lot of fun, and you have no idea what gift you are going to end up with at the end.  We got a couple of nice gifts in the end and had a great time.  After the gift exchange we helped clean up then headed back home.  We watched TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, December 25^th, Merry Christmas.  Jackie and I exchanged cards in the morning, which is our tradition.  No gifts for any birthday or holiday, only cards.  We then relaxed in the house for most of the day, although we were cooking a full turkey and a turkey breast for the Christmas dinner at 3:00.  At 3:00 we went to the clubhouse and had a wonderful Christmas dinner with about 40 of our friends and neighbors from the park.  After dinner we cleaned up and went home where we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  Tuesday, we had mostly a stay-at-home day.  About 5:00 we left and drove to the Elks Lodge for a Lodge Meeting.  We were going to the meeting because an acquaintance of ours from the park was being initiated into the lodge.  We were there with several other members of our park as well.  After the meeting we went home and relaxed for the rest of the night with the TV.

Wednesday, December 27^th, Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and I spent the afternoon in my office doing some work for one of the committees I am on.  After Jackie got home, we did a Walmart run, then came home and had dinner, then watched the TV the rest of the night.  We also did some packing for our trip this weekend.  Thursday, I had a meeting of the By Laws Committee at 10:00.  I am the chairman of the committee.  We met until about 12:30, after which I went home and did some more packing for the trip.  We did happy hour at 4:00, then had dinner and spent the evening with the TV.  Friday, we spent the day getting ready for the trip.  At 1:00 we went to the salon so I could get my toenails clipped and Jackie got a mani and pedi.  Since this takes several hours, I left her there, ran some errands and went home and did some packing.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then had dinner and relaxed for the night.

Saturday, December 30^th, we had our luggage in the car and were on the road by 10:00, heading back to Long Beach, California to go on another cruise.  It was a long, six hour plus trip, and unfortunately, we did have some rain along the route, although it was only for about an hour total during the trip.  Traffic was about normal, and we arrived at the Cove Hotel in Long Beach just about 4:00.  We always come to the departure port city a day early when we cruise.  We checked into the hotel and then had a cocktail with our friends Linda and Jim, who are also members of our park, and are also going on the same cruise tomorrow.  Jackie had contacted her Godson, Shane Cooper, who is now in his 20’s, and living in North Orange County.  Jackie had spent a lot of time with him as a baby and toddler, as did I after we got together in 1998, and he is now six foot four and definitely all grown up.  He came up from Orange County and met us at the hotel.  We went out to dinner and spent a couple of hours visiting with him before he left and went home.  After he went home, we went into the room and went to bed.

Sunday, December 31^st, New Year’s Eve.  We were up and in a cab headed for the cruise port by 10:30.  We leave the car parked at the hotel and they provide transportation to the cruise ship.  We are going on a six-night cruise aboard the Carnival Miracle, the same ship that we took in September to Alaska.  This one goes down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for two days, then stops at Ensenada for one day, with three sea days in between.  We went on it because we got a good deal, and it was a New Years cruise.  The boarding process went very smoothly, and we were on the ship and having a cocktail by 12:30 or so.  We had a balcony cabin and got moved in there before dinner.  The ship left port at 4:00 and we were on our way to Mexico.  Since this was New Years, the dinner was a formal night, so we got dressed up and went to dinner.  Then there were all kinds of parties and such around the ship for the whole evening.  We actually stayed up until midnight and brought in the new year at one of the parties in the atrium bar.  After bringing in the new year we went to our cabin and went to sleep.

This is, of course, the end of the month, as well as the end of the year.  We will close this episode for now and get it published.  Look for the details of the rest of our cruise in the next chapter.  Goodbye for now.

November in Pair-a-Dice

Hi there, welcome back.  Our last episode concluded on Tuesday, October 31^st with us in Pahrump, Nevada.  Wednesday, November 1^st, I went over to the clubhouse in the morning to set up the sound equipment for the jam session this afternoon.  I have been trying to get a regular jam session together in this park for a couple of years and this is the first time I had any response when I put out a call for players.  The jam session is part of the activities for “homecoming week” at the park, the week before the co-op holds it’s annual membership meeting.  At 2:00 we got the jam session going with myself, my friend Len (who doesn’t live in the park), another two co-op members, Margi, who was playing an autoharp, and Bob, who had a guitar.  Bob was actually a member of several bands back in the 60’s and 70’s, so he was the best player among us.  However, he also had not played in quite a while, so his fingers were pretty sore at the end.  We played for about 90 minutes and had a great time.  We even had an audience of a dozen people for a while.  While I was jamming Jackie was playing Pokeno in the other room.  After the jam I spent an hour taking down all the equipment and then we were off to happy hour.  After happy hour we spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Thursday, November 2^nd. I spent the morning doing chores.  After lunch we went out and did some grocery shopping.  When we got back we had a nurse practioner from United Healthcare come to the house for our annual “home visit” wellness check.  We are in pretty good shape for the shape we are in, so it all went well.  At 4:00 we went to happy hour then stayed over in the clubhouse for the Bingo, which started at 5:30.  Unlike last week, neither of us came close to a bingo tonight.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until bedtime.  Thursday Jackie went over to the clubhouse about 10:00 to help out in the kitchen with preparations for tomorrow night’s meat loaf dinner.  I did some chores around the house.  At 4:00 we went to happy hour and then stayed over for the 5:00 baked potato dinner.  We stayed until about 7:00 after which we went home and watched TV until it was time for bed.

Saturday, November 4^th, today is our Co-op’s annual meeting day.  This is the only meeting where the membership is in charge and gets unlimited time to speak, unlike Board meetings where the Board members are in charge.  I was up about 7:00 to get to the clubhouse by 8:00 to help set up the Zoom equipment to put the meeting online.  The meeting started about 9:00 and we actually had a quorum, which is a minimum of 93 memberships.  Although each membership has a maximum of two people, it only has one vote in co-op matters.  Things went fairly smoothly until they opened it up to the membership, where a number of people got up to make proposals for changes in the park’s governing documents.  It really wasn’t too bad, but there were a couple of times when people started talking out of turn and some nasty comments were made.  The meeting went on until after noon when the current Board went into executive session to elect their officers for the coming year.  Although there was an election for members of the Board, and five of the six running were elected to the new Board, there were few changes to the make up of the Board.  Three of the people on the Board were temporary appointments made during the year to fill vacancies.  Of those three, two were reelected to full terms.  Of the nine members on the Board now, only two are actually new to the Board.  After the new Board was introduced the meeting was over.  We went home and relaxed until 4:00.  At 4:00 we went to happy hour and then stayed over for the meat loaf dinner.  It was quite good and we had a nice time with friends.  About 7:00 we headed home and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Sunday, November 5^th, we had a stay at home day.  We went to the ice cream social at 2:00 and then we did a happy hour on our own patio, inviting about ten of our friends from the park.  Normally there is no happy hour on Sunday, so we decided to use our patio for the first time.  Since today was the first day after changing the clocks back from daylight savings, it got dark early, about 5:30, so we were able to use our fire pit and everything.  We had a really nice time and went until about 7:00.  After happy hour we watched TV and went to bed.  Monday we didn’t have much on our calendar but we went out and ran some errands in the afternoon.  We didn’t do happy hour because we were meeting two other couples at the China Wok for dinner.  After dinner we went home and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, November 7^th, I had committee meeting in the morning.  After lunch we went to a planning session for the Silver Seekers group.  After that meeting we went to the local community hospital so Jackie could get her annual mammogram.  After that we went home and then to happy hour.  After happy hour we had dinner, then spent the rest of the evening with the TV.  Wednesday was another busy day.  I had another committee meeting at 9:00 in the clubhouse.  After lunch Jackie went and played Pokeno and I went out and ran some errands.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 then home for dinner TV for the rest of the night.

Thursday, November 9^th, was another busy day.  I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee, of which I am the chair.  We had the regular meeting of the Silver Seekers group at 1:00 and I was elected Vice President of the Silver Seekers, along side of my friend Don, who is the President.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then about 5:00 we had our first food truck visit to the park.  There are some members of the Board who don’t think we should have outsiders in the park for any reason, but we did the food truck thing anyway and it was a huge success.  They sold out of food and actually had to turn away the late comers, including me!  We will now be scheduling food trucks into the park on a regular basis.  After the gathering for the food truck we went home and spent the night with the TV.  Friday, Happy Birthday United States Marine Corps!  At 2:00 we went out and went to Walgreens where we both got our second shingles shot and an RSV vaccination.  On the way home we planted the directional signs for the yard sale that is going on at the park tomorrow.  I was responsible for the signs.  We then went home and went to happy hour.  After happy hour we went home, had dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, November 11^th, Veterans Day.  Today was the craft and yard sale at the park.  It was all in the clubhouse and I was assigned to work security in the Clubhouse and around the park.  We started at 7:00, so it was a very early day for us.  Jackie also volunteered for the event, being the cashier for the food concession.  The sale was a moderate success and we didn’t have any major problems, so we will probably do it again sometime.  After the sale was over we went home and just collapsed in front of the TV until bedtime.  Sunday I had to go out to one of the local abandoned gravel pits to qualify with my pistol so I can renew my concealed carry permit.  I have to do this every year and the last few years I have used Invictus Firearms Training to do it.  I like the instructor and the way he does qual shoots.  I was out about three hours, then returned home and we spent the rest of the day and evening in the house.

Monday, November 13^th, we left the house about 11:00 and went to the Stagecoach Grill, a local restaurant, for a dine-out with the Lucky Rollers.  This is the RV travel club here at the Escapees park.  It is also a chapter of the national Escapees organization,  We had a nice lunch with about a dozen or so people present.  After lunch we went to run some errands and do some shopping.  After we got home we went to happy hour and then went home for dinner.  We watched the TV until bedtime.  Tuesday Jackie had a decorating committee meeting in the clubhouse at 10:00.  We both had a Silver Seekers calendar planning meeting in the clubhouse at 12:30.  That last meeting went for a couple of hours, but we got the December calendar finalized for the first time with the new Silver Seekers team.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then home for dinner and TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, November 15^th, Jackie went to Pokeno at 1:00.  At 2:00 I provided the Zoom support for a meeting of the Storage task force meeting in the clubhouse.  This is a member driven team that is looking at solutions to the problems with storage here at the co-op.  These are the spots in the back of the property where members can store RVs, extra vehicles, trailers, etc.  Any member can get a storage space, if available, but there are no where near as many storage spots as members, so shortages and disputes have been occurring recently.  This group is looking at various solutions to suggest to the Board and the members.  We had happy hour at 4:00, then went home and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  I did have my first hour long tour of duty as security tonight.  Thursday there was a 9:00 meeting of the Board of Directors and I was providing the Zoom support for the meeting, which went on for almost three hours.  I had a 2:00 appointment at one of the local banks, along with the other new officers of the Silver Seekers, to make changes in the groups bank account.  Jackie went out about 3:00 for a haircut appointment and then had a mani appointment at 5:00, right after happy hour.  After she got home we had dinner, then watched TV the rest of the night, except for my hour of security duty.

Friday, November 17^th, Jackie had a 12:00 luncheon with her girlfriends at the Artesian Cellars restaurant.  My friend Len came over and we had a guitar practice session since we had missed the last couple of weeks.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went home.  I had my last tour of security duty for the month tonight.  We spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  Saturday, we went over to Petrack Park here in Pahrump after lunch to see the annual Pow Wow.  We spent an hour or so there watching the Indian dancers and looking through the booths and displays.  After we got home we had happy at 4:00, then went home and had clam chowder for dinner.  Our friend Max came for dinner.  His wife Nancy is back in New York with family, so we invited him over for a home cooked meal.  After Max left we watched TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, November 19^th, was a day off for us.  We did go out to do a quick Walmart run, but mostly stayed home and did chores.  Tomorrow we are leaving for a couple of days staying in Death Valley National Park, so we were getting stuff together for that trip.  Monday we packed our suitcase in the morning for our trip and left about 11:00, headed for Death Valley.  We stopped for gas and a quick lunch at Carl’s Jr. before leaving Pahrump.  Death Valley is about 90 miles west of Pahrump.  My son Roy Jr. has been working there the last 18 months or so as a work camper at Stovepipe Wells, one of the three settlements in the park.  He made arrangements with his company for us to spend two nights at the lodge there.  We got into Stovepipe Wells about 2:30 and met up with Roy.  While waiting for the room to be ready we did some shopping at the general store.  The company that Roy is working for did not win the bid to be the concessionaire at Stovepipe Wells for another year and is leaving after the first of the year.  As a result, they were clearing out all the souvenir merchandise in the store for 60 percent off, plus Roy got another 50 percent of the remainder for his employee discount.  As a result, the normally expensive $35 tee shirts we got for about $7.  Jackie and I both got several shirts and she got some jewelry.  After the room was ready we moved in and then spent the rest of the evening visiting with Roy.  He took us to dinner at the restaurant, which was also comped, and we had a great time.  After Roy went back to his RV, we watched some TV and went to sleep.

Tuesday, November 21^st, we got up about 8:00 and by 10:00 or so we were in the car and out exploring Death Valley.  We had Roy along as our personal tour guide.  We have only been to Death Valley twice, once in 2007 during our first visit to Pahrump, when we became residents of Nevada.  Then again in 2019 when we came out for the day with our friends Peggy and Vernon.  We spent most of the day exploring, going out to Badwater Basin, the lowest spot in North America at minus 282 feet elevation.  This is normally a dry lake bed, but the bad storms this past summer caused a lot of flooding in Death Valley, and all of the water ended up in Badwater basin, so it was still a “temporary” lake.  We also went to Artists Palette and several other side trips in the park, with Roy providing context and explanation.  It was really a lot of fun.  We went to the visitors center and then had lunch at Furnace Creek, the biggest of the settlements in Death Valley.  After our tours we went back to Stovepipe Wells, did some more cheap shopping, and then spent the evening with Roy.  After he went home we went to bed.

Wednesday, November 22^nd, we were packed up and ready to head back to Pahrump about 11:00.  We said goodbye to Roy and started back.  After we got back into Pahrump we stopped for lunch and got home about 1:30.  Jackie went to the clubhouse at 2:00 for the second round of her Pokeno group and I did some unpacking and laundry.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went home and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.  Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving!  We relaxed in the morning, then went over to the clubhouse about 2:30 for the park’s Thanksgiving pot luck dinner.  We had a really good time visiting with friends and having way too much good food.  We got back home about 5:00 and just vegged with the TV until it was time to go to bed. 

Friday, November 24^th, was a stay at home day.  Didn’t want to be anywhere near a store on Black Friday.  We went to Bingo in the clubhouse at 5:30.  Jackie and I each won one of the regular games, getting $12 each in winnings.  Yea!  After Bingo we went home and watched TV until bedtime.  Saturday we went out after lunch for a Walmart run and some errands.  We stopped by the Elks Lodge with one of the people here at the park who wanted to join.  We sponsored their application.  After shopping we went to happy hour, then came home and had chili relleno casserole for dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Sunday, November 26^th, I got out the Christmas decorations from the shed and started doing some decorating around the lot.  We went to the ice cream social at 2:00 and then went out for a quick grocery run.  After we got home we had dinner, then relaxed with the TV until bedtime.  Monday my brother Russ and his wife Zen, who live in Las Vegas, came up for the day.  We had a great time visiting.  Even though we live close to each other, he still works full time at the Golden Nugget Casino downtown and we have been pretty busy this summer as well.  Jackie made a nice late lunch of Chinese chicken casserole, fried rice and egg rolls.  After dinner we sat and talked until about 5:00 when they left to drive home.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV. 

Tuesday, November 28^th, I had an appointment at 1:00 with my ophthalmologist.  The appointment only went about a half hour and I was back home.  I did a few chores around the house until we left to go to the monthly Escapees Park dine-out at the Roadhouse casino and restaurant about 3:30.  Tuesdays is when they have their baby backs on sale, so the majority of the 24 people at the dine-out had ribs.  Yum.  After dinner we stayed and gamed for a little while.  I didn’t do well, but Jackie cashed out $52.  Yea.  We then went home and watched TV for the rest of the evening.  Wednesday was a typical Wednesday.  Jackie went to Pokeno at 1:00 and Len came over about that same time and we had a little guitar jam session. We went to happy hour at 4:00 and them home for dinner and the TV for the rest of the night.

Thursday, November 30^th, last day of November.  I had a meeting of the By Laws and Standing Rules Committee, of which I am the chairman.  The meeting went a couple of hours and I think we accomplished some good things organizationally.  After the meeting I had lunch and then did some decorating for Christmas.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home for dinner and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.

That concludes the month of November and it is time to close out this chapter.  Until next time, do good deeds, but have fun.  See ya.