A Month in Silent Valley

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Wednesday, May 2^nd, when we traveled from Lake Havasu, Arizona to Indio, California. Thursday we went out after lunch and did a Walmart run. Not too long after we got back our friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock pulled into the park and took the spot right next to us. We last saw them in Camp Verde, Arizona back in early April. They left and took a quick trip to West Texas to see some other friends and then on the way back stopped in Yuma, Arizona again so Vernon could get some emergency dental work done in Algodones, Mexico. They are working their way back home in Northern California and decided to stop and see us for a couple of days. We had cocktails with them at 5:00 and then Jackie did a Mexican dinner for the four of us. It was good seeing our great friends again. After they went back to their coach we watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Friday, May 4^th, Happy Star War's Day. (May the Fourth be with you, for the culturally under-informed.) We left the RV park around 10:30 and met Peggy and Vernon at a local restaurant called Sloan's for brunch. Back when we stilled lived here in Indio this was an Elmer's, a small chain of coffee shops based in Oregon. It still has a coffee shop type menu, so it was a good place for either breakfast or lunch. Jackie had breakfast, the three of us had beef dip sandwiches. After breakfast we went shopping, we went to Costco and the Bullock's went a couple other stores. We put fuel in the car for only the third time since we bought it in late December. It took 8.9 gallons of gas and the miles since the last fill up was 1008, for over 110 miles per gallon. I later did an analysis and found that in the four months since we bought this car we have put in just over $80 worth of gas. Over the same period in 2017 we had put over $426 of diesel fuel in our old Jeep. Nice savings.

After our Costco run we went back to the coach and put everything away, then left again and did a quick run to Winco for a couple of things. We like Winco for deli lunch meats. We spent a couple of hours relaxing in the coach and then changed clothes and left about 5:30 with Peggy and Vernon in our car and drove to Cactus Jack's in Palm Desert. Up until last year we would have been able to go to the Indio location, but the owner, George, gave up that place after over 30 years when the owner tried to raise the lease payments without doing any improvements. George now only has the Palm Desert place, which is still doing very well. Both our friends George, and Barry Cohen, who works part time at Jack's, were in Las Vegas for a golf tournament, so we were not able to see them. We did see Kevin, the bartender at Jack's who used to work at the Indio place and was a good friend our ours too. The four of us had a great meal and a great time visiting. The new Cactus Jack's is a lot more modern looking, but it doesn't have the intimate feel of the old Indio store. The food is just as good, same cooks, but the feel is completely different. After dinner we headed back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Saturday, May 5^th, Happy Cinco De Mayo! Since today's temperature was supposed to be in the low 100's it was a stay at home day. Jackie and Peggy made one quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things, but that was it. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then the four of us did some steaks, potatoes and asparagus on the BBQ. We had a nice dinner and talked for a while. After they went home about 8:00 we settled in and watched TV the rest of the evening. Sunday we relaxed in the morning with the Sunday paper. Peggy and Vernon pulled out about 10:00 or so, working their way back home. We will see them again in a couple months when we start the summer RV rally tour. About noon we left the RV park and drove to Cathedral City and Don and Sweet Sue's restaurant to meet Jackie's Godson Shane for lunch. Shane was five years old when I came out to the Coachella Valley from Phoenix and he is now 24. He has had diabetes since he was seven, but seems to be doing OK health wise. We had a great lunch and sat and talked for an hour and a half. After lunch we headed back to the RV park, stopping at Stater Brothers grocery to pick up some steaks they had on sale. After we got home Jackie was packaging up the steaks for the freezer and noticed that the two porterhouse steaks we bought had been priced as gourmet hamburger patties at $6.99 a pound instead of the $4.99 that was the sale price for the steaks. Since that was a $6 difference I drove back to the store, only a mile or so away, and talked to an assistant manager. She not only refunded the entire $21 we had paid, she also told me to take the steaks as well. She said, “they made the mistake, not you. Have a great day.” With $15 worth of free steak, you bet I'll have a good day. kudos to Stater Brothers for good customer service. After I got back to the coach I spent a little time packing up for travel tomorrow. We had dinner and watched TV the rest of the evening.

Monday, May 7^th, we left the RV park in Indio at 10:00 and headed west towards Banning. We are headed for Silent Valley Club, which is a private RV park in the mountains between Banning and Idyllwild. The park is at 3,500 feet, so it is about 20 degrees cooler than the desert on average. We have been members since 2002 and try to use it when ever we can. We can stay for 30 days at a time and a total of 120 days per year. We rarely use more than 60 days, but that still gets our daily rate down to about $10 a night for full hookup and 50 amp service. Because it is a little later in the year than we normally come up here it was a little crowded. They have 850 sites, but there are certain areas that are our favorites, plus there a lot of trees, so you have to be careful to be sure to pick a site where the satellite will work. After a half hour of driving around, we finally settled on a spot near the park's main center, where the office, bar, restaurant and laundry are located. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up for our month long stay here. About 5:00 we walked over to where some friends were parked. Bob and Gloria Baron have been friends since we were in the Indio Elks RV club together. They still live in the same country club in which we had our house back before we went full time. They are also members up here, and followers of many of the FMCA events, so we cross paths with them a couple times a year. We had cocktails and snacks with them and stayed about an hour an a half. Gloria is going in tomorrow for open heart surgery to replace a leaky valve. She will be in Loma Linda so they are leaving the RV up here and Bob will commute from here rather from the valley, a savings of 50 miles one way. We went back to our coach and watched TV the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, May 8^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and drove down the hill and then east to Palm Springs, to the UPS center near the airport. We had the UPS store in Pahrump forward our mail package to us last week while we were in Indio, however, because the RV park is on summer schedule, they don't leave the gates open at all, even during the day. As a result, the UPS truck couldn't get into the park to deliver our package. We had to contact UPS yesterday and have them hold the package at their Customer Service Center for us to pick up. It took about 45 minutes to get to the UPS center, we picked up our mail and turned right around and drove back to Banning. We stopped for lunch at La Casita, our favorite Mexican place in the area, then went to Walmart for some supplies. After our errands we went back up the hill. I went to the pool for a little dip in the hot tub, but other than that we just stayed in the rest of the day. Bob Baron did stop by around 7:00 to let us know that Gloria came through the surgery just fine and was in a room recovering. She was having some pain, but the doctor said her heart was fine and she would probably be in for 3 to 5 days depending on her recovery speed. Good news.

Wednesday, May 9^th, was a stay at home day. We got a few chores and fix it projects done around the coach. Thursday was another great Silent Valley day, temps in the low 80's. Stayed at home and did a few more chores. Friday was another stay at home day. Today a cold front moved onto the California coast and the clouds leaked over into Silent Valley in the way of mist and fog. The temps were in the 50's and low 60's today and it was misty nearly all day. We went out after lunch and did our laundry at the laundromat here in the park. After we done we took everything home and put it away. About 5:30 we again went down to the central plaza area and had a drink at the Watering Hole bar. Despite the fog and cold there were quite a few people there. After a cocktail we went into the Chuck Wagon, which is the adjacent restaurant for dinner. They don't have a real extensive menu here in Silent Valley and have always had problems keeping good cooks. The problem is that unless they live in the little “hillbilly” community of Poppet Flats they have to drive at least 12 miles each way up and down a windy mountain road to get to and from work. Last year they had a really good cook who did a weekend special every Friday and Saturday that was scratch cooked and really good. He is no longer there and the new guy has only been here a couple weeks. He did have a Salisbury Steak special which is what we both had. The steak was a frozen piece, but the mashed potatoes were real and the squash was cooked perfectly. It was all covered in mushroom gravy, which was also tasty. Not gourmet food, but not too bad. After dinner we went back tot he coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, May 12^th, we are still wrapped in fog and cool, windy weather. We left the coach about 11:30 and drove down the hill to run a couple of errands. We first stopped at Patsy's Country Kitchen in Banning for lunch/breakfast. They serve huge portions of really good food and they are one of our favorite cafes in the area. After lunch we went to Best Buy to look for a couple things I needed, which they didn't have. We then went to Walmart and Jackie went in to get a pedi. While she was busy with that I did the grocery shopping. We both got done about the same time after which we went back up the hill and relaxed in the coach for the rest of the dreary day. Sunday was Mother's Day, which is not a big holiday for us as both of our mother's have passed away and Jackie never had kids. We stayed around the coach for the day, getting a few chores done and just relaxing. For dinner I made a pot of chili as the weather was still quite cool up here in the mountains.

Monday, May 14^th, we left the coach about noon and drove down the hill, headed towards the town of Hemet, about 30 miles southwest. Actually, Hemet is only about five miles from Silent Valley as the crow flies, but there are no roads that go that way except for an old trail that cuts across the Indian Reservation which is blocked by a gate. Since our helicopter is in the shop, we had to drive the 30 miles to the Golden Ginger Chinese restaurant in Hemet. We went there to meet our friends Ray and Suzi Babcock. They live in Menifee, which is another 25 miles or so west of Hemet, so Hemet seemed like a nice middle place to meet for lunch. We hadn't seen Ray and Suzie since we left Yuma in March. We had a great lunch and spent about 90 minutes chatting, catching up and making plans for our summer travels to the rallies in Wyoming this summer. The Babcocks, as well as the Bullocks and a lot of our other friends, are all going to the summer rallies. Ray also let us use his mail address to get some large packages from Amazon. I need to replace the vent fan in the kitchen of the coach and needed a place to have the parts sent. After lunch we drove back towards Silent Valley, stopping in Beaumont at the Walmart for a few things. We arrived back home just after 4:00 and spent the rest of the evening in the coach.

Tuesday, May 15^th, Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife and best friend, Jackie. And, also to our little fur kid Benji. Benji turns six today, Jackie not so much. We had a fairly quiet day around the coach, not leaving the park at all. We went out briefly to look for a geocache that is supposed to be hidden near the village center, but for the second time came up empty. For dinner we did some steaks, sweet potatoes and corn on the BBQ. We had a little scare just after sunset when one of the feral cats that inhabit Silent Valley came to visit. We had the front door open, with the screen closed and he and Benji were snarling at each other a little bit. I went down the stairs and yelled at the black cat outside and he took off. Benji had gone up the stairs back into the coach, so I didn't think anything of where he was. I was going to close the door to prevent any further confrontation, but when I opened the screen to get the door to close it, Benji bolted down the stairs, out the door and after the other cat. This is only the second time in his life he has gone outside, the first time just after we got him at less than a year old. He went under the coach and he and the other cat were yelling at each other. Benji climbed up into the under carriage of the coach and was just sitting there mewing. I ran the other cat off, then had to crawl under the coach and drag Benji down from his perch. There are too many predators in Silent Valley to let a house cat loose after dark. We finally got him back inside and he settled down after a half hour or so. Not sure who was more scared, him or me. We just watched TV for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, May 16^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and headed down the hill and then east to Palm Desert. Jackie had late afternoon appointment with her regular doctor to discuss the anxiety and shakiness that she has been experiencing. Our first stop, however, was Cactus Jack's Bar and Grill where we had lunch with our old friend Barry Cohen. We had a great lunch and spent almost some time catching up. While we were there we also saw several other friends from our days when we lived here in the Coachella Valley, including George Bishop, the owner of Cactus Jack's, Jim Babbington, the owner of Neil's, another bar in Indio that was one of our places, and a couple of waitresses that Jackie has known for a long time. After our lunch with Barry we stopped at Kohl's in La Quinta to kill some time before the doctor's appointment. We made the 3:45 appointment and Jackie talked to her doctor, who recommended that she up the dosage on her anti anxiety meds and keep him informed as to the progress. Once we were done at the doctor we headed back west, up the hill and back to the RV park. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach.

Thursday, May 17^th, a stay at home day. I had one big chore today which was replacing the power vent fan in the kitchen. That meant spending four and a half hours on the roof, taking out the old vent, cleaning up the old caulk and sealants, then installing the new vent. Of course, as is always the case there were issues with fit, screws that didn't line up, etc. Finally, about 4:00 or so I got the new fan installed. I still have to go up tomorrow and put caulk and sealant all around the new fan before the job will be complete. With a dozen trips up and down the ladder, and spending four hours on my hands and knees, I was one tired puppy this evening. We just had dinner and stayed in the rest of the night. Friday was another stay at home day. In the afternoon I went up on the roof and finished the vent project. Jackie and I then worked on some stuff for the craft classes she will be putting on at the FMCA rally in Gillette this summer. After dinner we watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, May 19^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and went down to Banning for a movie. We went to see Life of the Party with Melissa McCarthy. Although it was the typical McCarthy formula movie as was her character, but it was still a very funny and enjoyable film. In this one she plays a recently divorced mom who goes back to finish her last year of college at the same school at which her daughter is a Senior. As always, she gets wild and crazy and funny shit happens. After the movie we went to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was called Conseula's and it is in Banning. The food was good, but not outstanding. After lunch we did a quick Walmart run, then went back up the hill and relaxed the rest of the day. Sunday was a stay at home day. We did a few chores, but mostly just relaxed.

Monday, May 21^st, we were up and out of the coach by 9:30, going down the hill and then south to San Diego. We are going down there to visit with Jackie's brother Dennis, who lives and works in La Mesa, one of the suburbs. We have not seen Dennis in person in a couple of years and he wanted us to come down. He even offered to put us up in a nearby Holiday Inn since he lives in a one bedroom apartment. It took about two and a half hours to get to San Diego, where the weather was surprisingly cool. Good thing we dressed for it. We met Dennis at a restaurant in the Kona Kai Resort, which is located on Shelter Island, a marina area on the peninsula leading to Point Loma, the entrance to the San Diego harbor and bay. We had a very nice lunch and talked for a while. After lunch we drove to the Holiday Inn in La Mesa and checked in. After we got into the room we drove over to Dennis's apartment and visited with him until about 8:00. We had some good discussions and caught up on a lot of stuff. After our visit we went back to the hotel and watched a little TV before bed.

Tuesday, May 22^nd,we were packed up and out of the hotel around 10:30. Our original plan was to meet Dennis for lunch before we started back north towards Silent Valley, but Jackie talked to him and he some urgent work things to take care of and told us he wouldn't be able to make it. Dennis is a residential property manager here in San Diego and he just changed management companies. Since he is an independent contractor he was able to take his clients with him if they agreed to change companies too. He told us that he had 30 of 35 clients agree to move with him, but that the transition was proving to be more challenging than he thought it would be, and that he needed to spent some time working with the clients. We made a stop at a Costco not too far from the hotel to gas up the car and pick up a few things, then stopped at a Fuddrucker's hamburger place for lunch. After lunch we got on the freeway and headed north, arriving back at the coach about 3:30. We stayed in for the rest of the night. It was a good visit with Dennis but Benji was happy to see his peeps again. He was probably lonely last night, being all alone in the coach.

Wednesday, May 23^rd was another stay at home day. I worked on a couple of projects, getting two more things off my To Do list. Jackie spent some time on her craft class prep and a few other chores. We had a relaxing, but productive, day. Thursday we left the coach about noon and drove down the hill to Beaumont. Our first stop was the La Casita Mexican restaurant where we had a great lunch of taco salad. La Casita has the best chicken taco salad anywhere. After lunch we stopped at Kohl's and did some shopping, then went to Walmart for a few things. We finished the afternoon at Great Clips where we both got haircuts. Although Jackie gets her haircut about once a month, I go six or eight months between trims. Once we were done with our haircuts we headed back up the hill and stayed in for the rest of the day.

Friday, May 25^th, the first day of the long, Memorial Day Weekend. The campground is filling up and we are seeing a lot more people walking around. I expect it to be very busy this weekend. We had a stay at home day, getting some housecleaning and chores done. Jackie made a big pot of clam chowder for tomorrow. Ray and Suzi Babcock are coming up for the day. Tomorrow is the annual meeting for the Silent Valley Club and Ray and Suzie are members. Saturday Ray and Suzie got up to the park just before 9:30. A little before 10:00 the for of us walked down to the Village Center for the meeting. The meeting was being held outside and it was quite cool, but it was only an hour, so we did OK. No big news from the meeting, so we headed back to the coach. We sat and talked for a while and around 1:00 or so Jackie served the chowder, along with sourdough bread. Everyone enjoyed the soup and we sat and visited until Ray and Suzie left around 3:30 or so. We spent the rest of the day in the coach.

Sunday, May 27^th, we stayed up on the mountain all day since there were a lot of activities going on. About 11:00 we walked down to the Village Center for the craft sale. I got a good deal on a new microphone for my sound system. After the craft sale we went back to the coach for lunch, chowder of course, then at 1:00 we walked down to watch the dog show. Lots of nice dogs, most of which seemed to be rescue dogs. After the dog show we went back to the coach and watched some TV, including the Indy 500 which I had recorded. About 6:00 we went back down to the Village Center for the evening activities. They had a BBQ set up and were serving hamburgers and brats, along with chips and potato salad. We each had a burger for dinner. We then stayed for the live band outside on the patio. The band was called Fortunate Son and was, of course, a Credence Clearwater Revival tribute band. They were very good, although Jackie thought it was too loud. We stayed for the first two sets, but left at 9:00 because it was getting a little too chilly. We watched a little TV then went to bed.

Monday, May 28^th, Memorial Day. Although today is the actual holiday, there are no scheduled activities at the park for today. Most of the people up here are working folks and they have to be back at work tomorrow. As a result, we watched people leave all day long. We didn't go anywhere today, wanting to avoid an traffic on the roads down below. We just had a relaxing day around the house. By evening the place was very quiet again and looking pretty empty. Tuesday was a stay at home day again. After lunch we went down and did our laundry at the Village Center. It was surprisingly busy, I guess everyone else who is staying up here after the holiday had the same idea. After we finished we went back to the coach, put stuff away, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, May 30^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and went down the hill to the movie theater in Banning. The Fox theater there has a Wednesday special $3 matinee and the large popcorn and large drink were only $5, so we had a movie and fixings for $11, not a bad deal today. We saw Deadpool 2 with Ryan Reynolds. We had seen the original Deadpool when it first came out about a year ago at the suggestion of Jackie's brother, who fancies himself a big movie expert. He was right though, it was a very funny and enjoyable action movie, despite that fact that we are not generally fans of the action comic book genre of movies. The sequel was equally funny and enjoyable. Reynolds' character constantly breaks the “fourth wall” and talks directly to the audience and has some of the funniest one liner quips I have seen in a while. It is very comic book, very action hero, and very entertaining. We loved it. After the movie we did some shopping, stopping at Hobby Lobby, Kohls and Walmart, before heading back up the hill. We had dinner and watched TV for the evening.

Thursday, May 31^st, was a stay at home day. We got some chores done and relaxed. We have been hearing stories for the last two weeks about a pretty good sized coyote whose territory seems to be the large hill that separates the D section of Silent Valley, where we are, from the F section. We are parked right next to the hill and when they cut the grass around the sites they only go about fifteen feet from the pad, so up the side of the hill the grass is probably 18 inches tall or so, making really good camo for a coyote. A number of people have posted sightings in the campsites right around where we are, but last night just after sundown the guy parked right across the street knocked on our door and told us he had seen the coyote running through our site and to watch any animals we had. Later he posted a photo he took from a distance of the coyote in the grass right behind our coach. The picture is hard to make out because of the low light and good camo, but you can just make out the coyote in the center of the pic.

Friday, June 1^st, we left the RV park about noon and drove down the hill, headed to Hemet to meet Ray and Suzie Babcock for lunch. We arrived at Big Daddy's Cheese-steaks right at 1:00. We first discovered this place about three years ago with Peggy and Vernon Bullock when we were here in the area. It is just a little hole in the wall in a strip mall in the old downtown area of Hemet, but they have really good sandwiches. Ray and I had traditional cheese-steaks while the girls both had chicken cheese-steaks. Everyone enjoyed their food and we had a good time visiting with our friends. After lunch we went to the Hemet Hobby Lobby so Jackie could get some more craft supplies for her classes in Gillette this summer. We then headed back towards Banning where we made a quick stop at Home Depot, looking for something to hang our hummingbird feeder on. We arrived back in Silent Valley around 4:00 and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, June 2^nd, we left the coach about 11:30 and headed south about 16 miles to the mountain community of Idyllwild, California. It has been a couple of years since we visited this little town, but we usually try to get up here at least once when we are in Silent Valley. We had lunch first at a place called Idyology, which is in a building which was a Chart House restaurant many years ago. I don't how long the current place has been around, but it was our first time there. It is a bar and cafe with a basic menu. I had a steak sandwich, which was really a version of a Philly cheese-steak. Jackie had a chicken pesto sandwich. The food was good, but not outstanding or memorable. After lunch we spent a couple of hours walking around the various shops in the village square area. Since it has been a couple years since we were here, many of the shops we remember have gone out of business and new stuff has popped up. Pretty typical for small, tourist driven communities. About 3:00 we headed back to Silent Valley and spent the rest of the evening in the coach. Sunday was our last full day in Silent Valley for this visit. We stayed around the coach for the day, spending a few hours putting stuff away and getting ready to leave tomorrow.

Monday, June 4^th, the 13^th anniversary of the day we moved out of our “sticks and bricks” house in Indio and into the motor home. Of course, the first two weeks we were parked at an RV park in Indio while I worked my last two weeks as an Association Manager and we packed and arranged the coach so we could live comfortably. We have been in it ever since, over a hundred thousand miles and thirteen years. Yea us! Today was also the day to leave Silent Valley and we were packed up and on our way down the hill by about 10:00. While we are headed to Santa Maria, on the Central Coast, the trip is over 300 miles, so we will be making a couple of stops. Today we are going about 80 miles to Hesperia, California. We arrived at the Hesperia Elks Lodge around 1:30 or so and got settled in for a one night stay. We have stayed here many times before, using it as a “way point' when we travel Interstate 15 in and out of Southern California.

About 4:00 we went into the lodge for a cocktail and to meet with Beverly and Brian West who live in Hesperia. Beverly is a cousin of Jackie's on her mother's side, the daughter of one of Jackie's uncles. Of course, she is also named after Jackie's mother. Beverly is a couple years older than Jackie and Jackie has not seen or had contact with her since 2000, when Jackie and I went to the Los Angeles area for the funeral of Jackie's uncle Jack Barkdull, Beverly's father. We had a very nice visit and a couple of drinks in the lodge, then they came to the back and came into the coach for a little while. It turns out that after they retired about 25 years ago they too were full timers, in a fifth wheel trailer, however they gave it up after a few years because they missed having a house. They now live in a triple wide park model in a nice mobile home park in Hesperia. After Brian and Beverly left we relaxed for the rest of the night.

Tuesday, June 5^th, we left Hesperia about 9:30 and set off on the second leg of our trip, traveling about 140 miles to Bakersfield. We arrived in Bakersfield around 1:30 after a fuel and lunch stop in Tehachapi. We got settled in to the RV park for another one night stay. On Wednesday we left Bakersfield about 9:30 again for the last leg of this run, going 130 miles to Santa Maria, California. We arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge around 12:30 and quickly got parked. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up for our 12 night stay here. Regular readers will know that we come to the Central Coast when we can so we can visit with Jackie's aunt Donna who lives in nearby Pismo Beach.

Donna was married to “Barky” Barkdull, Jackie's uncle, who passed away about eight years ago. Donna, who is 93, is the last of Jackie's family from that generation since Jackie's mom and all the rest of her family have now passed on. After we got set up we relaxed for the rest of the day.

Our arrival here in Santa Maria after a month in Silent Valley marks a good point to close this chapter and get it published. Until next time, remember the words of the great Mae West. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Now get out there and LIVE! See ya.

More Arizona Wandering

Hi there, welcome back to our story. The last chapter concluded on Sunday, April 8^th, when we left the Verde Valley and drove south to Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb on the west side of Phoenix. Monday was a chores day. We left the coach at noon and drove to Raul and Theresa's, a Mexican restaurant in nearby Avondale. This is a west valley institution, having been here since the 50's. We had a really good lunch, then headed over to the laundromat so we could do our laundry. After the laundry was done we stopped at Walmart for some things before heading back to the coach. We got everything put away, made the bed, and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, April 10^th, we left the coach about 1:00 and headed out to do a little local geocaching. We did this despite the forecast of 100 degree temperatures this afternoon. We did hear later that Phoenix did hit 100 degrees, the fourth earliest recorded 100 degree day in history. The average date is May 12^th, a a full month early. We were able to get seven new finds and no DNFs, with the last find of the afternoon being find number 9,100. Yea! After caching we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Wednesday we went out after lunch to run some errands. Jackie went to a nail salon to get her toes done. While she was in there I took the car to the car wash. After Jackie was done we did a Costco run, then headed back to the coach. We did pick up two new geocaches in the parking lot near the Costco. After we got home we stayed in for the rest of the day.

Thursday, April 12^th, I left the coach about 7:30 in the morning and took it to the Avondale Ford dealership, Rodeo Ford, for service. We had noticed on two occasions back in the Prescott and Cottonwood area, that when we were driving around in steep hilly areas with four people on board, we would notice a slight burning smell. I was unsure if it was oil or rubber, but I know we smelled it, several of us, not just me. I never had the smell before or since, but I wanted to get it checked out anyway. The dealership was busy, so they put me on the shuttle after I got the car checked in and took me back to the coach. I spent the rest of the day doing chores and office work. It was VERY windy, gusts up to 45 mph, so it was dusty and ugly out and we wouldn't have been going anywhere anyway. About 4:00 the service writer called and said that they checked the car very carefully, there were no leaks anywhere and all levels were fine. The mechanic took it for a drive and didn't feel or smell anything out of the ordinary. The shuttle came and picked me up and I brought the car back home feeling better that I had at least had it checked and it was now on record. Since the car is under warranty there was no charge for the service. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach listening to the wind blow.

Friday, April 13^th, eek! The wind was still blowing and it was much cooler, but was still supposed to be a nice day in the low 80's. We left the coach about 11:30 and drove north to Surprise on the northwest side of the Phoenix metro area. We are headed to a restaurant called Tailgaters to have lunch with an old friend, Dick Maiocco and his wife Jeanie. Dick and I were both detectives working the Warrant and Fugitive detail for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office here in Phoenix and were partners for about four years back in the mid-1970's. We were very good friends and were a really good team of investigators, getting a reputation for being very effective, but a little unorthodox. We were always pushing the limits of the rules and regulations just a bit. We were given the nickname of “Starsky and Hutch” by other members of the unit, a popular TV show from the 70's. Of course, we were much younger in those days and we had some really good times. Dick was much more openly rebellious than I was, so, although he made it to retirement after 20 years, he never advanced in rank. After our stint in Warrants together we went our separate paths in the department and the close friendship sort of faded out. He retired a couple of years before I did and we lost all contact with one another. A couple of weeks ago he popped up on Facebook as a “potential” friend, so we got back into contact after nearly 40 years. Facebook may have it's issues, but for connecting with long lost friends it is priceless.

Over the intervening years he also worked for the State of Arizona and has done quite well for himself. Both of us have divorced and remarried, he is married to a former MCSO radio dispatcher, Jeanie, with whom I was acquainted back in the day, but didn't know well. He actually remembers Jackie because he and I were partners when we first met her in Hawthorne, California while we were on a prisoner trip back in 1976. She was acquainted with the Hawthorne police detectives we were hanging out with at the time. Both of us are older and chubbier with our share of health issues, but we still had a great time talking, catching up and sharing war stories with the girls. It was really great seeing a great friend again after all these years. I know we will be staying in touch from now on. After a two hour lunch we did one geocache in the area, then headed back down to the RV park where we stayed in for the rest of the day.

Saturday, April 14^th, we left the coach again about 11:30, this time driving to north-central Phoenix to visit with my oldest daughter Tye and her family. Tye's daughter Jordan, the youngest of my seven grand kids, is living right next door to Tye and her husband Frank. They also have one of Frank's son's from a previous marriage. My son Roy Jr. was also supposed to be there, but he wasn't feeling well, so he didn't come. My oldest granddaughter, Crystal, her boyfriend

Orlando, and their daughter Zoey, used to be in Tucson. We saw them late last year. However, they have now moved back up to Phoenix and are living with Roy Jr. in North Phoenix. They also have Noah, Orlando's 10 year old son. We stopped on the way and picked up a couple of pizzas and we all sat around on the porch and visited. The weather was perfect for sitting outside in the shade. We stayed about three hours and then had to leave because we were also going to see my youngest brother Ken and his wife Susan tonight. They both work, so Saturday was the only day they could get to visit, which is the same reason we had to visit with Tye's family today, because Saturday was Crystal's only day off.

Ken and Susan came over to the coach around 5:00 and we visited for a couple of hours. About 7:00 we drove to a nearby restaurant called the Saddle Mountain Brewing Company, for dinner. We had a great dinner and talked for another hour and a half. Ken is the youngest in the family, but he and Susan are already planning retirement and are using our full time lifestyle as a template. They are working their way towards being able to fully retire and go on the road within ten years and seem to have a good, sound plan. After dinner we said goodbye to Ken and Susan, came back to the coach and watched a little TV before going to bed. It was a very busy, but very nice, family visit day.

Sunday, April 15^th, which would have been our cat Smokey's 18^th birthday. He missed it my about six weeks. Today was another travel day. We had the coach packed up and were on the road by about 10:30, heading about 130 miles west to Ehrenberg, Arizona, just across the Colorado River from Blythe, California. We arrived at the Colorado Oasis RV park about 1:00 and quickly got checked in and parked. The park is not very busy now since it is starting to get hot. They may get some weekend traffic being that they are right on the river, but it's a little too warm for the average RV tourist now. It was 90, but it was overcast and didn't feel too hot. It took us a couple of hours to get fully set up for our one week stay here after which we spent the remainder of the day relaxing. Monday was a stay at home day. We got a few chores done and had a relaxing day in.

Tuesday, April 17^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and drove into Blythe, California for lunch at our favorite Mexican place, Garcia's. They have about the best chili relleno's and chili Colorado anywhere. After a great lunch we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the day doing chores and relaxing. Wednesday we again left the coach about 11:30, today driving about 18 miles east to the town of Quartzsite. Now we are normally in Quartzsite in January during the height of the “Snowbird” season. The town has an official population of about 3,400 people, however during January and February more than 100,000 RVs descend on the dozens of RV parks in the town, and the surrounding vacant desert, to enjoy the warm winter weather and the RV-related shopping and shows, and/or the rock and gem collecting activities. The town gets some two million visitors a year, but by the end of March it again turns into a dusty little desert town. We were here in January and the contrast in terms of RVs, traffic and people between now and then is startling. We went to one of the few restaurants in town that stays open year around, the Mountain Quail Cafe, for lunch. Actually Jackie had breakfast, but we still had a good meal and the place was actually very busy with the local residents. After lunch we did some geocaching in town, getting five new finds, including a rare (for us) “first to find” on a virtual cache that had just been published yesterday. After caching we returned to the coach and spent the rest of the day in.

Thursday, April 19^th, was another stay at home day. We got a couple of chores done, watched some TV, played some cards, and just relaxed for the entire day. There is not a lot to do in this little hunk of desert. Friday was the same as yesterday, did a few things around the coach, relaxed and enjoyed a quiet day. Saturday we drove into Blythe and had lunch at Garcia's Mexican again. This will be our last time in the area until next winter, so I wanted my chili colorado one last time. After lunch we stopped at the store for a couple of things, then went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the night.

Sunday, April 22^nd, I went out and got the Sunday paper to read with our coffee. Today was another travel day and we were packed up and on the road about 10:30. We are going a little less than 100 miles north along the Colorado River to Lake Havasu, Arizona. In all our travels we have never stayed in Lake Havasu with the coach. We have visited a couple of times for the day, but never stayed there. After a stop for propane we arrived at the Lake Havasu RV Resort about 1:30 and got checked in. By 3:30 we were moved in and set up and we just relaxed the rest of the day. We are going to be here for 12 days and it should be fun. There is lots to do here and lots of geocaches we haven't gotten.

Monday, April 23^rd, we left the RV park after lunch and went out to do a little caching. We were able to get four new finds, and two DNFs in about ninety minutes, at which time we decided that six searches in the desert in 100 degree heat was enough for one afternoon. We then went to Walmart to do some shopping before returning back to the coach. We then stayed in for the rest of the day. Tuesday we left the coach after lunch and went to do our laundry. After we got the laundry done we stopped by an urgent care facility because for the last week or so Jackie has been feeling out of sorts. She says she is feeling shaky and a bit anxious. She thought it could be low blood sugar or something. The Nurse Practitioner listened to her description of what she was feeling and said it didn't sound like anything they could treat at an urgent care. She said it wouldn't be low blood sugar because it would not go on that long. She suggested that Jackie see her own doctor soon. We left the urgent care and went back home. After we got everything put away we relaxed the rest of the day. We did check Jackie's blood pressure as we have a device, but it was very close to normal, as was the heart rate. Jackie made an appointment to see our doctor in Palm Desert next week when we pass through the desert after our stay here in Lake Havasu. We revised our travel plans a little to allow for four days in the Coachella Valley to go to the doctor, do some shopping and see friends.  

On the way back home after laundry and stopping at the urgent care we did drive past the Lake Havasu airport to take a look at an Air Force F-16 fighter jet that had crash landed at the airport this morning.  We were not aware of the crash until we saw a news broadcast just before we left to do laundry.  The airport was only a mile or so north of the RV park, but we didn't hear anything at 10:00 a.m. when the crash occurred.  This is a small airport intended for small, general aviation private planes.  The runway is only ab

out 8,000 feet long.  The F-16 flies off of air bases with 12 and 15 thousand foot runways.  The jet was out of Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix and was on a training flight.  The pilot had some sort of engine problems and saw the runway at Lake Havasu and tried to set the plane down there.  However, he ran out of runway before he could get the jet stopped, so just as the plane was leaving the end of the pavement he ejected.  The was treated and released for minor injuries.  The plane bounced and tumbled through the desert, tearing the nose off, but it did not explode or catch fire.  Since the wreck was well off the runway the airport wasn't even closed for very long.  A quick thinking and lucky pilot.

Thursday, April 26^th, was a stay at home day. The only time I went outside the coach was for my walk early in the morning and then a dip in the pool late in the afternoon. Got a few little things done, but mostly just chilled all day in the 101 degree desert heat. We only have 30 amp here, so we are getting by on one A/C, but so far, so good. Friday we left the RV park about noon and went to the theater, which is only a mile or so from the park. We went to see the movie Rampage with Dwayne Johnson. It was a fantasy/sci-fi action movie that was pretty typical Dwayne Johnson fare. I later learned it was based on an old video game, although I was not familiar with it. It would describe it as Godzilla on steroids...and meth...and PCP. Three predators, a gorilla, a wolf, and an alligator are all super sized and super-powered, by evil science experiments gone wrong. They attack Chicago and terror ensues and it is up to the Rock to make it all right again, which he does in fine style. We actually enjoyed the movie, but we like escapism in film. Johnson played it with his usual slightly wry, humorous tone and the effects were great. After the movie we ran some errands, picked up some KFC for dinner, and went back to the coach where we stayed in for the rest of the day, another 100 plus day.

Saturday, April 28^th, we left the coach about noon and drove into town to a Greek restaurant called Niko's Pub. Although they had a lot of Greek stuff on the menu, which Jackie loves, they also had pub grub like burgers and sandwiches for me. It is not a real big place, but nice and the staff was friendly. Jackie had a pita and I had a Philly cheese steak. Jackie said her pita was good, not the best ever, but good with lots of meat. My Philly was among the best I have ever had, and far better than any I have actually had in Philadelphia. Lots of meat, cooked just right, with good onion rings on the side. We had a great meal. We also noticed that they are an “official” caterer to the Desert Bar, an off the grid bar located in the desert outside of Parker, Arizona. It is only open on weekends and is crazy popular with the off road and Jeep fans. We went there with friends about five years ago and enjoyed the experience.

After lunch we drove to downtown Lake Havasu and picked up a geocache that we had DNFed a couple of days ago. The cache was on the London Bridge and the owner had emailed us a hint. The biggest thing was we had been looking under the bridge but the cache was on the top of the bridge. We also stopped at a second cache, but had to DNF that one, so we were even for the day. We drove around the island out in Lake Havasu and took some pictures, then drove up into town to the Elks Lodge. This is a huge lodge, with some 3,500 members. They weren't real busy, but we had a cocktail and got a lodge pin for our banner. After the Elks visit we stopped at an antique store and looked around for a bit, then headed back to the coach. We stayed in the rest of the day. Sunday was a stay at home day. I got a paper in the morning and made a quick trip to the store in the afternoon to get some potatoes and asparagus for dinner. We did some steaks, sweet potatoes and asparagus, all on the BBQ, for dinner.

Monday, April 30th, we left the coach about noon and drove to Culvers for lunch. Culvers is a somewhat upscale fast food restaurant that is big in the Midwest and has expanded now to Arizona as well. We ate at one last summer and thought we would try it again. We both had hamburgers and, while they were OK, they were no where as good as In N Out, or even Wendy's in my opinion. Probably won't go out of our way to go again. After lunch we did a couple of geocaches nearby then drove to the mall and the movie theater. Today we saw A Quiet Place, which was a sci-fi horror flick. It was a thinking movie in that they only hinted at a lot of stuff regarding the plot and you had to figure out what was going on. It was a good terror movie that kept you on the edge of your seat. We both enjoyed the movie. After the movie we went back to the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, May 1st, was a stay in day. Did a few chores and I spent an hour or so packing stuff up because we decided to leave tomorrow, two days earlier than we originally planned. Jackie wanted to go to her doctor in Palm Desert to see about why she felt so anxious and shaky recently. Wednesday was a travel day. We were packed up and on the road at 10:00, headed west to Indio, California. We arrived at Indian Waters RV Resort at 1:30 after a 180 mile trip through the desert. Fortunately, it was still very cool, although a bit windy, so the trip was uneventful. We got parked and while I did the set up work and got us settled in for our five day stay, Jackie went to the doctor's. I got finished setting up just as she returned. She said that the doctor's office gave her a good check up, ran an EKG, and talked to her about symptoms. The EKG and other vitals were very good and they decided that it was probably a chemical imbalance of some kind. They sent her to the lab for a blood test to check her electrolyte levels and will follow up with her on the results. The PA she saw said it could be a high potassium level, Jackie does eat a banana every day, or it could be the caffeine from the three big mugs of coffee she drinks every morning. As we get older the body changes, so what we did in the past may not work as we age. She did feel a lot better about her overall health when she came home, not having to worry about heart problems or other serious issues. We stayed in for the rest of the day and evening.

Our arrival back here in California, after nearly four months in Arizona, marks a good place to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time I will leave you with a quote from a blog I recently came across on the Web. “As we get older, we learn that many things that once occupied our time don’t seem to matter much in the long run. Perhaps it is a blessing that comes with the aging process. At a certain point in life, you simply don’t have the time or strength or energy to get involved in every little squabble. So you decide what matters and what doesn’t, and if you are like most people, you end up with a relatively short list of things that matter and a much longer list of things that don’t. This week a friend passed along a saying that seems very much on point. “A bulldog can beat a skunk, but is it worth the fight?” If we’re laying down bets, I’ll put my money on the bulldog every time. But he’ll end up smelling like a skunk even if he wins.” Actually, the Disney Princess Elsa, from Frozen, put it more succinctly with “Let it go!” Bye till next time.

Some Time In North-Central Arizona

Hello again. Our last chapter ended on Thursday, March 22^nd when we left Yuma, Arizona, after a month long stay, and moved to the High Chaparral RV Park in Arizona City, near Casa Grande. We are only here for three nights and our friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock are parked right next to us. Friday was a chores day for us. We met Peggy and Vernon at the Big Wa Chinese restaurant for lunch. This is one of our favorite places when in Casa Grande. After lunch we did our laundry and then did some shopping. After we got home we put everything away and relaxed for a while. We had cocktails with the Bullock's then relaxed for the rest of the night.

Saturday, March 24^th, we left the coach after lunch and went out with the Bullock's to do some geocaching and go to a couple stores. The wind was blowing really hard and it was very dusty. We still were able to get six geocaches in about an hour before we decided we had eaten enough dust for the day. We went to the grocery store, then headed back to the coach. I had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 but Jackie had an upset stomach and stayed in. After I got back we fixed a light dinner and watched TV the rest of the night. Sunday was another travel day. We left Arizona City about 10:30 and started north to Prescott Valley, Arizona, about 150 mile trip. Prescott Valley is in the mountains of Central Arizona, north of Phoenix and you have to drive through the middle of metro Phoenix to get there. We arrived at the Prescott Elks Lodge around 1:00 and got settled into our spot. We are going to be here for a week. Prescott Valley is at about 5,000 feet elevation so it is MUCH colder than Yuma has been.

The biggest reason we are here is that Troy Bullock, Peggy and Vernon's grandson, moved here after he got out of the Marine Corps. Troy is the one that was stationed at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station. He and his wife Makayla moved here and Troy is going to Embry Riddle University working on an aeronautical degree and getting his helicopter license. He wants to be a commercial helicopter pilot. Peggy and Vernon also just found out that Makayla is pregnant with their first great grandchild. Yea! After we got settled in we relaxed for a bit. Troy and Makayla came over for a visit and dinner about 5:00. We did some burgers on the grill and had a very nice dinner with the kids. We have not seen Troy since last February when he was still in Yuma. They left about 7:30 and by 8:00 we were back in our coach watching TV until bedtime.

Monday, March 26^th, was a stay at home day for me. I had a lot of office work to do including putting together the quarterly newsletter for the Full Timer's Chapter of FMCA. I took on the editor job and this is my second edition. It takes most of a day to get everything put together right once everyone who contributes information gets it to me. Jackie went out to lunch with Peggy and Makayla to a Prescott restaurant and then they went and got haircuts. Troy and Makayla came over about 5:00 again and we had cocktails and then Jackie served a nice chili relleno casserole, along with rice and beans. Makayla also brought an enchilada dish. We had another great meal, this time eating in our coach. By 8:00 everyone had left and we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Tuesday, March 27^th, we left the park about 11:30 and drove to the local In-N-Out hamburger joint for lunch. After lunch we did some shopping, first at Walmart, then down to the Costco, then finally Kohl's. After our shopping spree we went back to the coach and did a few chores. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and then Peggy served dinner. Tonight was salad, shrimp cocktail and a Southwest Chicken soup. We had a great meal and hung around talking until about 8:00 when we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday we left the coach about 10:30 with Peggy and Vernon in our car. We drove into the City of Prescott for lunch, stopping at a place called The Local. It was an upscale, yuppie sort of breakfast and lunch cafe. Lots of local sourced foods, healthy preparation sort of stuff. The menu had some very unusual selections, but as it turned out the food was great. I had a breakfast that was a couple of green chili and cheese enchiladas, scrambled eggs and chirizo sausage and it was probably the best breakfast I have ever had. Jackie had a kind of eggs Benedict thing that she said tasted good, but she didn't like that it had both hot and cold elements combined. Vernon had a simple eggs and sausage breakfast that he liked a lot. Peggy wasn't happy with her burger because she said the meat was tough. I would go back, not so sure about Jackie and Peggy. After lunch we did some geocaching in Prescott, getting ten new finds and one DNF. About 3:30 we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. At 5:00 Jackie and I went over to the Elks Lodge for a cocktail and dinner. Peggy and Vernon had Troy over and the three of them went off to have wings somewhere. Makayla had school tonight. We have never been in this lodge before. It is a nice big building with several large rooms and a big bar. They have 645 members. Tonight was taco night and they had dollar tacos and five dollar taco salads. Everything was very good, lots of meat and cheese, well worth the cost. We had a drink, dinner and got a new lodge pin for our banner, all for about twenty bucks. By 6:30 we were back in our coach in our jammies watching TV for the rest of the night.

Thursday, March 29^th, was a stay at home day. I got some office work done and a few little chores done around the house. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and then we had dinner at our place. We had Asian style country ribs with rice. We had a very nice dinner and Peggy and Vernon stayed until about 7:30, after which we watched TV. Friday we went out after lunch to Walmart for a few things, then stopped at a couple of local thrift stores just to look around. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 then I served everyone chili for dinner. Troy and Makayla were going to come over, but Makayla wasn't feeling well, so they stayed home. After the Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, March 31^st, we left the coach about noon and drove to a very nice, newer community just inside the City of Prescott.  We were coming to visit Steve and Gail Schmidt, some old aquaintences of ours from when we still lived in Indio.  Steve and Gail were members of the Indio Elks RV club and we traveled with them on many outings from 2000 to 2005.  A couple years ago they sold their home in the Palm Desert Sun City community, bought some land in Prescott, and had a house built.  Although we have kept in touch with them on Facebook over the years, we have not seen them in person since shortly after we went full time in 2005.  We arrived at their very nice home and were given a tour.  They have a big piece of land, nearly an acre, and a really big house with a great outdoor rec area and killer views.  We sat and had some wine and talked, catching up after all these years.  Gail served some nice grilled sourdough sandwiches for lunch and we had a very good time.  We spent a couple hours with them before saying our goodbyes. 

After leaving Steve and Gail we went to Walmart for a few supplies. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing around the coach. At 5:00 we got together with Peggy and Vernon, and Troy and Makayla for happy hour. Peggy then served an early Easter dinner with ham, salad, and bread. Jackie made some asparagus and some mashed sweet potatoes. We are having an “early” Easter dinner because tomorrow is Easter and it is a travel day for us. We are leaving in the morning and going up the road a little ways to Camp Verde, Arizona. Peggy and Vernon will celebrate actual Easter with the kids tomorrow. We had a great meal and by 7:30 we were back home relaxing with the TV.

Sunday, April 1^st, Happy Easter and NOT April Fools. We packed up the coach and were on the road about 11:00, heading to Camp Verde. The trip was only 35 miles, so we didn't hook up the car, Jackie just drove along behind me. Normally when we go to Camp Verde we stay at the old Western Horizon's park, but they were not taking reservations for this Spring because they were doing renovations. Instead we are at the Distant Drums RV Resort, which is just the other side of the Verde River, just off the I-17 Freeway. The resort is part of the Indian Casino, which is on the opposite side of the Freeway from the park. It is a nice park, but a little pricey. We got in about noon and check in wasn't until 1:00, so we parked in the overflow area for a little while. Eventually we got checked in and parked in a very nice pull in spot overlooking the Verde River Valley and the mountains. It took us quite a while to get settled in, mostly because our satellite dish is blocked by a big tree, so I had to set up the spare, on the ground dish. That is always at least an hour and a half job. I finally got reception and we got pretty much moved in by 3:00 or so. I still have to wash the windows and put up the shade screens tomorrow. After we got settled in we had cocktails and then a dinner of leftovers from last night. We then watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, April 2^nd, I got the rest of my set up completed in the morning. I got the windshield washed, the dust knocked off the shade screens and the screens put up. After lunch we drove into Camp Verde to the go to the grocery store and drive around town a little bit. We then went back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Our friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock pulled into a spot about four down from us this afternoon. We let them get set up and then they came down to our coach, because we have the nice view, and had cocktails. After happy hour we had a BBQ with the three of them having rack of lamb and me a nice juicy T-bone. We had a great dinner and talked until about 7:30 when they went back to their coach and we watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we left the coach about 10:30 and drove, with Peggy and Vernon aboard, to the old mining town of Jerome, in the hills above Cottonwood. We have a favorite restaurant up there called “The Haunted Hamburger” which is in an old 19^th century hotel that has been converted to a restaurant. We had a great meal, as always, with killer views of the Verde Valley to boot. After lunch we drove back down the hill, stopped at the Post Office in Cottonwood, then headed back to the RV park. Peggy was working on her taxes, so she couldn't stay out and play. When we got back I found that the motor for our outside steps on the coach had arrived. A few days back the steps stopped coming in and out, the second time that has happened since we had the coach. I ordered the motor and it came in two days. I spent the next two and a half hours under the front of the coach installing the new motor. It was hot and dirty, but I got it done and the steps work again. Yea! Jackie did a few things in the coach while I was working outside. We had happy hour with the Bullock's, but no dinner tonight because of the big lunch. It was nice being able to have happy hour outside again in the nice weather. After the sun went down the Bullock's went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, April 4^th, we spent most of the day at home, relaxing and getting a few chores done. About 4:30 we left the park with Peggy and Vernon and I drove to Cottonwood and the Blazin' M Ranch for their dinner show. Jackie and I had been to this place back in November 2013 with our friends Mike and Darlene Neighbours and some of Mike's family. We thought Peggy and Vernon might enjoy this place as we did, so we suggested coming here tonight. This is a family owned and operated business that started back in the mid 90's and provides a light “western experience” for tourists. The ranch has a strip of old looking wooden buildings housing a bar, several gift shops, shooting gallery, photo gallery and a few old west exhibits. There is also a very large, barn-like building that is the dinner hall and showroom. They open about 5:00 and you spend an hour and a half walking around looking at things in the shops and buildings and just enjoying the atmosphere. At 6:30 everyone goes into the large building and sits at family style picnic tables for the dinner and show. The room holds several hundred people and it was packed tonight.

We had a good time with the people at our table, which included a couple from Richmond, Virginia with two teenage kids who were out here exploring Arizona on Spring Break. Very nice people and very well mannered kids. There was also a young couple from New Jersey and I correctly guessed that he might be in law enforcement. He is an investigator for financial crimes for the State of New Jersey. Once everyone gets seated they start to run everyone through the “chow line” military style. You get a metal plate and go through the line, picking up a baked potato, beans, prickly pear slaw, chicken, pork ribs and a biscuit. Once you have your food you go back to your table and eat. They give you a lot of food and for the most part it is all very good. The meal was nice, we visited with our new acquaintances and had a good time.

After the meal they serve desert, ice cream and apple crumble, then the show starts. Two guys and a woman play a bunch of western music from a whole variety of eras and styles. They were pretty good musicians and OK singers. They also had a comedian, “Otis” who came out and did some jokes and a funny song or two. He later came out without the costume and it turns out he is a long-time professional singer who did movies and Broadway shows. He had an excellent singing voice. They close the show out with the song Ghost Riders, during which they turn out all the lights in the building and a horseman dressed in a ghost costume rides around the outside of the building with some spooky lighting effects. The sides of the building are all windows, so you can see the guy riding. It is the same finale they had five years ago and I enjoyed it just as much this time. Peggy and Vernon told us that they really enjoyed the experience tonight and were glad that we suggested it. After the show was over about 9:00 we drove back to the RV park, dropped off Peggy and Vernon, and went to our coach. We watched one half hour TV show just to unwind and then went to bed.

Thursday, April 5^th, Peggy and Vernon left this morning to continue their own travels. They are heading to Texas to visit some other friends. We will be pretty much on our own now until we meet up with our friends again in Wyoming in July. We left the coach about 10:45 and drove to Sedona to meet my brother Dennis for lunch. Dennis is the next brother in line, eight years younger than I. He is also my only full brother, all of the other's being half brothers. He has lived in Cottonwood since the late 70's and is a Regional Manager for a small, New York based boutique bank called AmTrust Bank. They have two branches in the Sedona area and Dennis manages both. We met him at Szechuan, a local Chinese restaurant not too far from where he works in West Sedona. We had a very nice lunch and talked for an hour or so. After we said our goodbyes we did a couple of caches in the area. We were able to get two finds and one DNF before deciding we needed to get back to Cottonwood to do our shopping. We stopped at the Cottonwood Walmart, then headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach, with just us and the cat, no friends, no visiting dog.

Friday, April 6^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove across the freeway to the Cliff Castle Casino to do a little gaming. The park gave us vouchers for ten dollars in free play since the park is owned and operated by the Tribe. We each put in $20 for a total of $30 each and it didn't even take a half hour before we had finished our gaming. We seldom have any luck in Indian casinos. After gaming we drove into Camp Verde and went to a couple of antique stores just to kill time. We also got two geocaches which get us to within 10 finds of having 9,100. We got back to the coach around 4:00 and relaxed for a bit. We had dinner around 6:30 and about 7:00 my brother Dennis came over for a quick visit. Friday's are a late day at his bank, so he came directly from work. We fixed him a quick dinner and talked while he ate. He stayed a couple of hours then said he needed to get home because he had to go down to Phoenix early in the morning to fix the water heater in our parent's old house, which is still in the family. Hopefully someday it will get sold so we can share the proceeds among the five brothers. After Dennis left we watched TV and went to bed.

Saturday, April 7^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove into old town Cottonwood to walk around and do a little sightseeing. Old town is only about three blocks long, so we walked both sides of the street, going into a number of shops and antique stores. On our way to downtown we stopped at a couple of geocaches in Cornville, a little town along the way, and got a couple of geocaches. We also got one in Cottonwood for a total of three finds for the day. After our shopping adventure we headed back to the coach. I spent a little time putting some stuff away because tomorrow is a travel day. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach. Sunday was another travel day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:45, heading south to Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. The trip was about 110 miles and we arrived in Goodyear, at the Cotton Lane RV Park, about 1:30 after a brief stop for fuel. We got parked and spent a couple of hours getting set up. It is pretty hot down here, in the 90's, and will likely be so for the whole week we are going to be here. We hope to see some family and friends while we are in the Phoenix area. After we got set up we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing.

Our arrival here in the Phoenix area marks a good point to get this episode published. Until next time, remember that life is too short to be serious all the time. If you can't laugh at yourself, call me and I'll laugh at you. See ya soon.

A Month in Breezy, Dusty, Yuma, Arizona

Hi friends, welcome back. Our last chapter ended on Sunday, February 18^th as we ended the last day of our month long stay in Pahrump, Nevada. Monday, February 19^th, was a travel day. We got an early start, heading out about 9:30, for our 230 mile trip south from Pahrump to Parker, Arizona. Not only was it a fairly long trip, we also lost an hour when we go into Arizona. To top it off, it was a pretty windy day, which made for a long, tiring trip. We arrived at the Parker Elks Lodge about 3:30 local time and got set up for a one night stay. About 5:00 we left the coach and went to a local Mexican restaurant called El Serape. We had been here once before with Peggy and Vernon about four years ago and remembered the food being good. We weren't disappointed, the food was very good. After dinner we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, February 20^th, we packed up and left Parker about 10:30 and continued south to Yuma, Arizona, about 120 miles. We made a fuel stop at the outskirts or town, then arrived at the Carefree Village RV Resort around 1:00. We quickly got checked in and parked in our site for our month long stay. We are right next door to our friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock, and just a few sites down from Ray and Suzi Babcock and Clark and Judy McKay. We have been in Yuma for the last five or six winters with this group. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting settled in and set up. We had 5:00 happy hour with our group, which is the norm when we stay here. About 6:30 the whole group had dinner in the Babcock's coach with some ham and bean soup that Ray had made. We also had corn bread and salad. We stayed and talked until about 8:30 when we went back to our coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, February 21^st, we left the coach after lunch and went to the laundry to do clothes. After we were done with laundry we did a Walmart run, then went back to the coach and put everything away. We again had cocktails with the group at 5:00, then later had dinner with the Bullock's in their coach. Peggy made her penne pasta dish, which I love. The Babcock's went out to dinner, and the McKays went to play bingo at the park. We talked with the Bullock's until about 8:30, then went back to our place, watched a little TV and went to bed. Thursday we woke up to a real wind storm. I had to take down the flags and put the awnings up. About 2:00 we drove over to a place in the foothills, a

couple miles east of where we are, for a party put on by Millie and Dick, two of our friends from Pahrump. They always come down here for about three months in the winter and rent a lot in the foothills. Most of the people at the party were friends or acquaintances from Pahrump, including Len and Debbie Forrest, who are down here for a month, and Linda who is down here for a couple weeks. We had a great time visiting and eating finger foods. We left there about 5:30 and went back to our RV park, where we finished happy hour with our group here at the park. Some other acquaintances of ours, Ernie and Andy, came in today for a three day stay. About 8:00 we were done visiting and went back to our coach. We watched some TV then went to bed.

Friday, February 23^rd, we left the coach about noon and drove to the Foothills area and our favorite little street taco stand, Las Cositas. We have been coming here for years and they make the best street tacos in Yuma. Vernon had gone to Algodones, Mexico for some dental work, so Peggy went with us for lunch. After lunch we ran a couple of errands, then went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day. I got some chores done around the coach and at 5:00 we had cocktails with the group, minus the McKay's who had driven home in their car for a few days to attend a funeral. After cocktails we and the Bullock's cooked some burgers on the BBQ and had a nice dinner. Peggy and Vernon left around 7:30 and we watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, February 24^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and drove to downtown Yuma for the Lettuce Days street fair. Turned out to be not such a big deal, mostly food vendors and community services booths. We walked around in about 15 minutes, then went into Da Boyz Pizza for lunch. We shared a pizza and had a great lunch. After lunch we went to the mall to do some shopping. We went to the Verizon store first and upgraded our Mifi wireless wifi device. We have had our old one about five years or so and it was not as strong as it used to be. We then went to Kohl's so Jackie could get a new purse. After our shopping we headed back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon. At 5:00 the group was together again for cocktails. By 7:00 everyone was gone and we watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, February 25^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and drove to the Daybreakers Cafe, one of our favorite eating spots here in Yuma. I guess it is technically a truck stop, since it is at the Flying J truck stop, but it has great food. We had lunch with Peggy and Vernon and Ernie and Andi. After lunch we went to the Arizona Market Place, which is the big outdoor sale place. It is not really a swap meet since everything there is new, but it is a whole bunch of individual booths selling just about anything you might want. We got a few things, a couple shirts and some RV supplies. After the swap meet we went back to the coach and rested for a while before leaving again around 5:00 and going to a place called the Eatery, another bar and restaurant, where we met our gang from Pahrump for karaoke and dinner. We had some drinks, a light dinner and listened to karaoke. It was a long rotation, so I only got to do two songs. Our friends Dick and Millie, Len and Debbie, and Linda and CJ were all there. It was a fun night and we got back home around 9:00. We watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Monday, February 26^th, we had a mostly stay at home day. I got some chores and repairs done, including installing a new power cord on the motor home, turning the old cord into a 50 amp extension cord, and changing the water filters. About 5:30 we left the coach with Peggy and Vernon in our car and drove to Mi Rancho Mexican restaurant and met the Babcock's and the McKays for dinner. We were all there to celebrate Ray's 70^th birthday! We had a great meal, with wonderful service and had a good celebration. After dinner we went back to the coach and then all gathered in Ray and Suzi's coach for an after dinner drink. By 9:00 we were back in our coach where we watched some TV before going to bed.

Tuesday, February 27^th, we left the coach about quarter after one to take Peggy to her radiation treatment near the hospital. Vernon was still down in Mexico getting some extensive dental work done and Peggy didn't have a car. We dropped Peggy off at the clinic and then we did a few nearby geocaches, getting two new finds and one DNF. We picked Peggy up and went back to the coach. At 5:00 we had happy hour with the group in the Babcock's coach. After happy hour we went to the Bullock's coach and we did some pork chops on the BBQ for the four of us. We had a great dinner and were back in our coach about 8:00 where we relaxed and watched TV for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, February 28^th, my brother Russ's birthday. Happy Birthday Bro! We left the coach about noon and went to the taco stand for lunch again. After lunch we did some shopping at Frys, took that stuff home and put it away, then went to Walmart for some more stuff. After shopping we hung around the coach until happy hour, then went to the Babcock's for cocktails. About 6:30 we went back to our coach, had a light dinner, then watched TV the rest of the evening. We watched a CD of the new movie, The Shape of Water, which is an Oscar contender. It was a kind of fantasy/sci-fi romance that was odd, but interesting and captivating. I think I actually liked it better than Jackie did. I think it will win a lot of awards next Sunday.

Thursday, March 1^st, was mostly a stay at home day. We got a few chores done and relaxed. About 3:30 we left the coach in the Bullock's Jeep and headed out to the desert just east of the Foothills area for another Howl at the Moon party. Regular readers will remember that we discovered this interesting Yuma tradition last year. There is a country music singer by the name of Kelly Hughes who is from Idaho and spends much of the year up there doing shows for a living. He and some of his band come south for the winter and he has been coming to Yuma for

about seven years. He does a few shows at RV resorts to pay the bills, but his big thing is a party in the desert on the evening of the full moon. It started out with just a few friends, but has now grown into a party with close to a thousand people. They have a vacant piece of BLM desert, set up a wood stage and everyone brings their lawn chairs, booze, food, whatever, and listens to music for a couple
of hours. When the full moon comes over the mountain everyone howls, then the party winds down. Last year we came alone, this year the Bullock's wanted to come. They had a great time too. By 7:30 we were back at the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, March 2^nd, I left the coach about 10:00 and drove Vernon to his physical therapy session in the foothills. Peggy had their car at her radiation treatment. I went back to the coach and got cleaned up and then around 11:30 we left again and drove to Mr. Fish, a great fish and chips place in the Foothills, to meet Peggy and Vernon for lunch. After lunch we drove around a little, looking for a geocache that we couldn't get because it had been disabled in the last few days. We went back to the coach and I did some chores in the afternoon. About 3:15 we left with the Bullock's and drove over to the south side of Yuma for the annual classic car cruise that is part of the weekend long Midnight at the Oasis Car Show. We have been to this Friday night cruise now for about six straight years. There are several hundred cars that participate, the police block off part of

the street and the cars parade by on their way to the park where the car show is. The new Elks Lodge is right on the cruise route, so we park in their lot and set up chairs on the street. The Babcock's and the McKays were also out there with us. The cruise was fun, lots of fun cars to look at and listen to. The cruise was over a little after six and the eight of us went into the Elks lodge for dinner. We have done dinners here in the Elks for about three years running now and always had a great meal. Tonight it was a disaster. The waiter was very nice, but totally inept. All the orders came out wrong, a lot of the food was cooked poorly, either over or under, the drinks were watered down, the whole meal was sub par. This will be our last after cruise meal at the Elks. After dinner we drove back home and then watched some TV before heading to bed.

Saturday, March 3^rd, was another stay at home day. We got a few chores done, and Jackie spent a couple of hours working on making sushi for a get together tonight. Around 5:00 our group of four couples were joined by our friends Dick and Millie, and Peggy and Vernon's friends Barb and Don, for a heavy snacks pot luck. Jackie provided some really good sushi and we had meatballs and other great snacks from the other folks. Although the weather was great when we started the wind came up about 6:00 and cut the evening short. Some of us had cocktails in the Bullock's coach, but we were all done by 8:00. We went back to our coach and watched another Oscar contender movie, Three Billboards out of Ebbing, Missouri. I thought this was an excellent movie, although it had a very harsh portrayal of small town police. I will say it was riveting and Francis McDormand should certainly win an Oscar for her portrayal of a grieving mother.

Sunday, March 4^th, we left the coach after lunch to go out and run some errands. We drove to the west side of Yuma and stopped first at a discount liquor store near the barrio area. A few years ago we bought some Three Olives vodka here at a really good price. Three Olives is excellent vodka and they again had it on sale for $12.99 for the big bottle, a dollar less than we can get the house brand at Sam's or Costco. You had to buy a case of six, but that's how we buy the Costco, so no big deal. We then stopped at Food City for some groceries, and got some marinaded carne asada and chicken for a cookout later in the week. We then went to Sam's club and picked up a few things we needed. After our shopping we stopped at Micheal's so Jackie could look for some crafty things she needed, then we went home. About 5:00 we had cocktails with the group. Happy hour ended early, by 6:30 because all the women wanted to get home for the Oscars. Jackie watched the whole thing closely, I watched bits and pieces. At least one of the movies we have seen won Best Picture, Shape of Water, and the supporting actor and lead actress awards also went for performances we have seen. After the Oscars we watched a little Saturday Night Live, then went to bed.

Monday, March 5^th, a very sad day for us. We spent most of the day around the house, but a little after 2:00 we took our old cat Smokey to the vet to have him put to sleep. Smokey came into our lives in the spring of 2000 when we still lived in a real house in Indio, California. I was the manager of a large homeowner's association at the Desert Princess Country Club in Cathedral City. My security people came in one day with a trap that they had put out trying to catch some racoons that were causing problems. Instead, they caught four feral kittens about six or seven weeks old. They were all the usual wild and mean feral cats except for the fuzzy gray one. He would let people pick him up and hold him and he loved his forehead rubbed. I have always been a cat person, so I told the staff I was going to take him in. I surprised Jackie when I drove over at lunch and said, “meet our new cat.” Since he was all gray we named him Smokey. We took him to the vet who checked him out, said he seemed to be in good health with no bugs or issues. We took him back a few weeks later to be neutered and then again a few weeks after that to have his front claws removed. Both of our existing cats were declawed in the front. Other than going out in a carrier for the occasional vet visit Smokey was never outside.

Smokey got along OK with our two other, older cats, both female. They weren't buddies, but they tolerated each other and shared cat boxes OK. By the time we sold the house and bought our motor home in 2005 the two original cats had passed on and we had Smokey, who was five, and Fuzzy, who was about 15. We had taken him in when my dad died in 2002 and my mother had to go to a nursing home. Fuzzy died in 2006 and Smokey was the only cat until 2012 when we got Benji. Smokey loved the motor home and never showed any interest in going outside. He didn't like it when we were driving the coach, but once we parked he was right at home, up in the windows enjoying the life. About a year and a half ago we noticed that Smokey was going blind. I think he could see light and shadow, but that was about it. It didn't stop him from wandering the coach since he had lived in it for over ten years and had the layout memorized. About six months ago he started losing weight and got very skinny. In 2009 we had to take him to the vet for a health certificate because we were going to be in Canada. At that time he weighed over 17 pounds. He was a big Maine Coon mix with beautiful, soft medium length fur. About a week ago he stopped eating and became very unstable. He was still drinking a little water, but we could tell he was not doing well. We made the appointment for the vet for today back last Wednesday, and we really expected that he wouldn't live long enough to go to the vet. He surprised us. When we took him in today they weighed him and he was 4.2 pounds, all skin and bones. He was one month shy of being 18 years old, the oldest living cat I have ever owned. The vet agreed that he had reached the end of life phase. We said our goodbyes and the vet took him away. We didn't want to be with him at the end and didn't want the body or the ashes. He will be cremated and sprinkled in the desert. Goodbye Smokey, we love you and will miss you.

We drove back to the coach, had a good cry, and stayed in the rest of the afternoon. We did have cocktails with the group and they were very supportive in our unhappiness. We even got a kitty sympathy card from Clark and Judy. Peggy made meatloaf and all the fixings and the group had dinner in their coach. We went back to our coach after dinner and watched another of the Oscar movies, Get Out. I thought it was a very odd movie, although Jackie said she liked it. A lot of symbolism and obscure references to racism. I guess that's the reason it was considered by the Oscars. After the movie we went to bed.

Tuesday, March 6^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and drove to downtown Yuma for the weekly street fair. It is no where near as big as it used to be, about two blocks worth of booths, but we enjoyed it. I bought some mix to make salsa and Jackie bought a blouse. I also picked up an old copy of a book about the Texas Rangers for Vernon. He likes old west stuff and history stuff and this one was both. After we did the booths we went into Lutes Casino, an old downtown restaurant, and had lunch with Clark and Judy, who had also come down to the street fair. After lunch we walked through a few antique stores before heading back to the coach. We stopped at Walmart on the way home for some supplies. At 5:00 we had cocktails with the group and by 7:00 or so we were in the coach watching TV. Tonight we watched The Big Sick, another of the Oscar movies. This was a fairly standard romantic comedy, with a lot of comedy because many of the stars were also comics. I enjoyed the movie, although it was not Oscar material in my opinion. After the movie we watched some regular TV then went to bed.

Wednesday, March 7^th, we left the coach about 12:30 and went to do our laundry. By 3:00 we were back home and had everything put away. At 5:00 we had happy hour with the group and about 6:30 we and the Bullock's were in our coach and we had a nice dinner of chicken and beef carne on the BBQ along with all the Mexican fixings. We had a really nice dinner and by about 8:30 we were alone with the TV. We watched another of the Oscar movies, Lady Bird. It was a very nice “coming of age” story about a teenage girl growing up in Sacramento, California. Nothing spectacular, but good acting and a nice story. After the movie we watched a little regular TV then went to bed.

Thursday, March 8^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and went out with the Bullock's in their Jeep to do some geocaching. We drove east, over the mountain range, to the little town of Wellton, Arizona. There are a bunch of geocaches out that way and we hadn't gotten any of them. We spent about three hours caching and ended up with 16 new finds and no DNFs, our best caching day in many months. In between caching we stopped at a little cafe in Wellton called Chuck's Stage Stop for lunch. It was a small town cafe with very good food. We all had Ruben sandwiches and they were excellent. We were back at the coach by a little after 4:00. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then the eight of us gathered in the Babcock's coach for a dinner of shrimp curry. The food was very good and we had a great dinner. By about 8:00 we were back in our coach where we watched TV until bedtime. We watched another of the Oscar movies, this time it was I Tonya, the story of Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding. The acting was very good, although the story was a real tragedy. Tonya had a horrible mother and the whole story revolved around her relationships with her mother and boyfriend/husband.

Friday, March 9^th, the local guy that we are having re-cover our sofa came at 9:30 and picked up the couch. For the next week and half or so we will have to use a lawn chair in the living room. We left the coach after lunch and went out to run some errands. We first went to the Arizona Marketplace and walked around for a couple hours. We bought a few little things, nothing major. After the Marketplace we stopped at Sam's Club again to exchange a pair of jeans that I had bought on Monday that didn't fit like I wanted. We also bought some meat that they didn't have when we were there Monday. We then went to Kohl's and shopped for an hour or so. Jackie had a bunch of coupons and emails from Kohl's with discounts and we ended up getting two shirts for Jackie and one for me that had a total list price of over $70. With the sale prices and all the discounts factored in we paid just under $17. Yea, score! After Kohl's we went back to the coach and put everything away. At 5:00 we had cocktails with the group, then about 6:30 we went back to our coach and Jackie made chili relleno for us and the Bullock's. We had a great dinner and talked until about 8:30, after which we watched some TV then went to bed.

Saturday, March 10^th, we got up early because our plan was for us and the Bullock's to drive about 80 miles east on I-10 to El Centro, California, for the annual air show. This old Naval Air base is the winter home for the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and they always do the first show of their season there. When we still had the house in Indio we used to drive down almost every April. However, when we got up it was overcast and sprinkling and the weather for El Centro was the same. After some discussion we decided to not go since none of us wanted to be outside in the rain watching airplanes. We did drive with the Bullock's to the Day Breakers truck stop for breakfast and then went back to the coach for the day. It sprinkled on and off for much of the day, but by happy hour it had cleared up. We had cocktails with the group and then had a nice dinner at the McKay's, with Clark providing a big batch of BBQ tri tip as the main course. We had a great dinner, then went back to our coach and watched the last of the available Oscar movies, tonight being Darkest Hour, the story of Winston Churchill's ascension to Briton's Prime Minister during the early years of WW-II. This was not Jackie's kind of movie, but I enjoyed it and I could see why Gary Oldman got best actor for his portrayal of Churchill. After the movie we watched a little TV then went to bed.

Sunday, March 11^th, was a stay at home day. I got a number of small chores done around the house, as did Jackie. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then watched TV for the rest of the night. Monday was a caching day for us. We went out and did a bunch of caches in the farming area south of the Marine Corps base and were able to get 37 new finds, and no DNFs, in about three and a half hours. Our best afternoon of caching in a long time. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then everyone was on their own for dinner.

Tuesday, March 13^th, my son Roy Jr.'s birthday. We left the coach about 9:30 and drove to Algodones, Mexico, for the day. We did a little shopping and got our teeth cleaned and examined. After the dentist we went to lunch at El Alamo, one of our favorite local restaurants. We met our friends Dick and Millie there. We had a nice lunch, then shopped for another hour or so before heading back across the border. The line today was quite short, only about 15, 20 minutes at the most. At 5:00 we had happy hour and then the group had dinner, tonight's main course being Ray's taco salad. It was great, as always, and we had a good time. By 8:00 we were in our coach watching TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 14^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. Our first stop was in a vacant lot across the street from the Marine Corps Base. The morning paper had posted an article that the Blue Angels demonstration team was going to do a “fly by” of the Marine base at five minutes before 2:00. We got there about ten minutes early and took up position along with several hundred other cars. Right on time we spotted the six plane diamond formation approaching from the west. They swung around the south side of the base and came right up along the runway at about a thousand feet elevation, decorative smoke on. We got some good pictures. They only made the one pass, which was, according to the paper, a “thank you” for inviting them to the MCAS Yuma Air Show this coming weekend. They couldn't make it, but on their way from El Centro to Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, the site of their next show, they did the fly by here. Yea! After the fly by we drove downtown to the NAPA auto parts store so I could buy an air cleaner for the coach. They had to order ^th. Since then we drove 1133 miles on 10.6 gallons of gas, for an average MPG of 114.7. Gotta love this car! We headed back to the Foothills and I dropped Jackie off at the nail salon for a pedi and I went to a local auto glass place to get an estimate on tinting the windows on the new car. For what ever reason it didn't have any tint on the windows, despite being a top of the line model. After talking to the auto place and making an appointment for Friday, I went to Walmart and did some shopping. After I was done there I went and picked up Jackie and we headed back to the coach. At 5:00 we had happy hour with the group and after cocktails everyone was on

their own for dinner. Peggy and Vernon went out on a date night to celebrate the fact that today was the last of her radiation treatments for her most recent breast cancer scare. We went back to our place and watched TV until bedtime.
it for pick up tomorrow. We then went by Sam's Club to put gas in the car. This is only the second
time we have put gas in the new car since we bought it in late December. The last full up was January 8

Thursday, March 15^th, we left the coach about noon and drove downtown to go to the movies. We went to see Annihilation staring Natalie Portman. It was a sci fi mystery story that was very interesting, and visually beautiful, but really kept you thinking. I thought it was a very good movie. After the film we went back to the coach and relaxed for a bit. At 5:00 we had happy hour with the group and then we all had leftover tri tip sandwiches, with cole slaw and some other goodies. I made up some au jus so we could have French dip sandwiches. We ate and talked until about 8:00, after which we went back to our coach and watched TV the rest of the night. Friday morning I was up and out by 8:30 to take the car to the auto glass place to get the windows tinted. It took until noon, but they did a good job. The tinting really makes the car look nice and it will be cooler inside too. After they were done I picked up Jackie and we went to our taco stand for some tacos. We then did a quick Walmart run and went back to the coach for the rest of the afternoon. At 5:00 we had cocktails and then around 6:30 or so we did hamburgers on the grill. We had a fire pit to take off the chill while we ate. Our whole group was there and we had burgers, beans, cole slaw and veggies. It was another great dinner and by 8:00 we were done and back in our coach for the rest of the night.

Saturday, March 17^th, Happy St. Patrick's Day, the day everyone is Irish. About 8:30 Ray, Clark and I went to the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station for the annual air show. The girls had no interest and decided to stay home. It took about an hour in traffic to finally get on the base and parked. We then spent about four hours walking around, looking at military equipment and aircraft, visiting vendor booths and booths set up by the various squadrons represented in the displays. I got a couple of tee shirts, including one from VMA-214, the Black Sheep. This squadron is currently based here in Yuma and flies the AV-8 Harrier jet. Back in 1969 the squadron was based at MCAS El Toro where I was a Marine Sergeant and the supervisor in the radar shop that fixed the radars on VMA-214's planes. At that time they were flying A-4 Skyhawk jets. We also watched some really cool flying demos including the new FA-35B, the new vertical take off and landing jet for the military which will eventually replace the Harriers. They also flew the MV-22 Osprey vertical take off and landing transport plane, and one of the Harriers. We had a really good time and left the base about 1:00 or so and went back to the RV park. We didn't stay for the flight demonstration team, which was a private, civilian unit flying little jets. We would have stayed had it been the Blue Angels or the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Since it was St. Patrick's day everyone planned a big corn beef and cabbage feast for this evening. Three of us, including me, were cooking corn beef and cabbage all day in slow cookers. We all got together at 5:00 for cocktails and had a good time. Our friends Millie and Dick also came over. However, about 6:15 the winds picked up to a horrible level and we ended up canceling the group meal outside. We went in our coach with just Dick and Millie and the other six went into the Babcock's coach for dinner. We had a very nice dinner with Dick and Millie, but missed everyone else too. They left around 8:00, after which we cleaned up and then watched some TV until bedtime.

Sunday, March 18^th, the winds, which blew all night long, finally died at daybreak. We left the coach about 11:00 and went to the Arizona Market Place for one last look before we leave Yuma. Bought a couple of small things that were on sale. Other than that we had pretty much a stay at home day. Got a few chores done and did some relaxing. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00 and then we had dinner with Peggy and Vernon. Peggy made a Mexican style casserole with a bunch of left over stuff she had. By 8:00 we were back in our place watching TV. Monday we were up early and on the road back to Algodones, Mexico by 9:00. Today we were going down to get eye exams and new glasses. We got our eye exams and ordered our glasses, then went around and did some shopping. We also got one geocache in Mexico, our first down there in a few years. About noon we met the McKay's and Babcock's at one of the Mexican restaurants and we had a very nice, long lunch with lots of beer and margaritas. After lunch we went and picked up our new glasses, did a little more shopping and then got in line to come back to the U.S. The line took about an hour, but we were back home by about 3:30. I had cocktails with the group at 5:00, Jackie was tired and stayed in. Since we had such a big lunch we didn't have dinner, just watched some TV and went to bed early.

Tuesday, March 20^th, the first day of Spring! Yea! We left the coach around 11:00 and drove downtown to the farmer's market. After the market we met the McKay's and Bullock's at Da Boyz pizza for lunch. We all had pizza and had a very nice lunch. After lunch we ran some errands, stopping at a couple of stores so Jackie could pick up a few things. We dropped some stuff off at the Salvation Army and stopped at the Humane Society to drop off a dozen cans of squishy cat food. The squishy stuff was Smokey's thing until he got so sick he stopped eating. Benji has no interest, so we thought we would donate it to the shelter. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed until happy hour. We had happy hour with the group, but no meal. We had some leftover pizza while we watched TV, then went to bed.

Wednesday, March 21^st, our last full day in Yuma this year. For lunch Jackie went with Peggy and the Babcock's to a sushi restaurant. I am not too big on sushi, so I went with the McKay's to Mr. Fish in the foothills. I had the shrimp and chips basket and it was very good. Just before we left for lunch the upholsterer delivered our re-covered couch. The fabric looks good, the craftsmanship of the upholstery leaves a little to be desired. Some of the folds are not real good and the fabric is a little loose in places. Since it is our last day we didn't have a whole lot of choice and it really does look a lot better than it did before. It took me an hour or more to get the couch secured to the slide because I had trouble finding the right holes for the screws. I finally got it done and then spent another couple hours cleaning up all the outside stuff and putting stuff away in preparation for our departure tomorrow.

The Bullock's are traveling with us tomorrow and when Vernon went to start his coach this afternoon the batteries were dead. His coach batteries are OK, but the engine batteries died. They are the original batteries and he has a 2006 coach, so I guess he got his monies worth out of them. He had one of the local RV service guys come out and they replaced the batteries. We had cocktails with the group, but no dinner. Peggy and Vernon came over to our coach after happy hour and we had some time with just the four of us. We will be traveling together tomorrow and for the next couple of weeks. The Babcock's and the McKay's are staying in Yuma another week and then going to their homes. After Peggy and Vernon left we watched some TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, March 22^nd, another travel day. Another problem for the Bullock's today. One of their slides wouldn't come in. It was just dead. They had the motor replaced last month by one of the local RV service guys, so they called him. He came out and found the problem was a loose connector on the motor. Oops. We got everything packed up and left around 10:30 and the Bullock's were close behind. We were going 175 miles from Yuma to Casa Grande, actually an RV park in Arizona City, which is just outside of Casa Grande. The Bullock's had to stop for fuel before leaving Yuma, but they caught up to us just before we got to our destination, the High Chaparral RV Park. We are going to be here for three nights before heading up to Prescott, Arizona. We got in about 2:30 and by 4:00 we were set up and relaxing. Peggy and Vernon are parked right next to us. We had cocktails with them and Peggy made dinner with the Mexican casserole leftovers from a few days back. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Our departure from Yuma is a good place to close out this chapter and get it online. We will be spending the next month in various places in Central Arizona, Casa Grande, Prescott, Camp Verde, Ehrenberg, and Lake Havasu City. Until next time, and as the new Spring begins, I leave you with the words of the late, great, Robin Williams. “Spring is nature’s way of saying, "Let’s party!"” Party ON! See ya soon.