Saturday 30 January 2010

Boot Hill

Some of the more interesting graves in the cemetery. Just double click on them to get a close up particularly the one on the door of the building, they are great.

Tombstone

Got an early start today and drove to Tombstone. It's about 225 miles from here, but the speed limit is mostly 75 mph except through Tucson where it was 65. Nice sunny day, but Tucson and south are in a mountain valley so higher elevation than here. As a result it was cooler further south, about 55 F in the early morning climbing to about 62 by early afternoon. Talk about your old west towns, this is it. They do a great job of both preserving the historic aspect and creating a good visitor experience. Lots of souvenier opportunities too. They have gunfights, stagecoach rides, history, tours, etc. They have lots of locals dressed in period costumes and wandering about, something like Barkerville. We went on a narrated stage coach ride that was very interesting. For example Doc Holliday never had a house, he just gambled, drank and chased soiled doves. LOL, a role model for all men! Went to the old court house [a museum] & got the story on the shoot out at the OK Corral [went there to]. The Earps were charged with murder, but were acquited. Their shoot out with the Laury/Clantons did happen, but it was in the alley behind the corral and then hollywood spruced it up. The gunfight only lasted 30 seconds & they were only about 30 feet apart. Both of the Laurys had their horses and tried shooting from behind them. They all had pistols except Doc Holliday used a greener [10 guage shotgun]. There were even pictures of everyone involved [some dead]. Tombstone was a rich silver & copper mining town and had a photographer in the late 1800's. There was even some memorabilia that actually belonged to the Earps & Doc Holliday. There were gallows there and sheriff badges, Earps did not have a star shaped badge, it was circular. Had lunch in the Crystal Palace Saloon. A great long bar, saloon girls, lots of noisy beer drinkers, great atmosphere. When we were leaving we stopped at Boot Hill. The guys killed at the OK corral shoot out are actually buried there as well as a bunch of others, including a large number of unknowns [drifters I guess]. Really cool place. Some of the tombstones are interesting as they say shot by so & so or killed by indians, etc. None of the Earps nor Holliday died in Tombstone as they left right after being cleared in the shootout and never returned. Driving back to the I10 Marg stopped at a grove and bought pecans & pistachios, I think they grew both right there. On the drive back we saw a really interesting road kill, a javelina was on the shoulder of the road and I have never seen one of them before. Fairly late in the day when we got back and we were tired. What a great day!

Friday 29 January 2010

Friday

Rained last night, but the day was bright and sunny. People in the park have said there has been more rain in the last 10 days than they have seen in the last 10 years. Oh lucky us. Anyway the temp was about 68-70, but it felt much warmer than that today. Went back to the optical with my new glasses. They all know us there now, I think it was 5th or 6th visit. Anyway the manager looked after us and she determined that they actually made my glasses using an incorrect measurement between the eyes. They are re-ordering the lenses. Its a big mall and Marg was able to get the clasp on her tennis bracelet fixed at a jewellers. We had to wait for it, so stayed and had lunch at Ruby Tuesday again. The salad bar there is outstanding. Oh yeh; we had some time to shop in Dillards where Marg was able to pick out a few bargains. The sales staff were really helpful, they found me a chair to sit in while she buzzed around the store. Got back in time to play some pool. As luck would have it they were all paired up when I go there, as I was about an hour late. They are really a good bunch. Luther offered to play and then Elmer came along, so we played 3 way, whoever breaks plays the other 2. They are two of the best players in the park, so it was like the A levels. I did manage to beat them once when I was on my own so was pretty lucky. Hamburger night, so we went and had burgers and chili. It was pretty well attended and we sat with a Canadian contingent, all from BC and our neighbours [Kenny & Dora] from Kansas. There was no dessert, so stopped at DQ for a sundae after. Marg had a meeting of her WII bowling league at 7:00 and that has been our day. Will be getting up early tomorrow as we plan on going to Tombstone to see the OK Corral & Boot Hill. Stay tuned.

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Wednesday

Started off rainy, but cleared and a pretty decent day today, although no shorts for me. Hah! Redid the shower stall in the AM, this RTV silicone is a little different to work with, but it sticks like sh.... to a blanket when you get it on there. Hopefully that is the end of it. Marg made a nice soup and a salsa we ate with corn chips. Funny thing about the cilantro she put in the salsa. She got it at the farmers market in Tempe. She got the last batch, but when she was paying a woman asked the vendor for some. He replied that Marg bought the last bunch, so when she heard this, Marg gave the woman half and refused payment for it. The women said - Phoenix needs more people like you. Pretty cool.
Anyway it was good and then I played pool. Probably played for 3 or more hours today. Marg went to the WII bowling league and met some new ladies. Apparently one wants to organize a bunch of them going on a yard sale tour. Marg is thinking they could end up being very good friends. LOL
For dinner we went to Four Peaks Brewery, a micro brewery, in Tempe. It was about 22 miles from here. It is the largest micro brewery in Phoenix & some nice beers offered. I tried their most popular beer, a scottish ale called Kilt Lifter [6% alcohol] and it was very nice. I also tried the wheat beer and although it was very good, I stayed with the Kilt Lifter. Normally I find beers over 5% not to my taste, but liked this one. Marg drove back [on the freeway] and commented that the traffic seemed a lot worse than when we came back. I think it is somewhat dependant on the seat you are in. LOL

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Nice Day

Well what a nice day, sunny and about 74F, I even had shorts on today. Bring it on, we can take more of that. Had to stay home today and wait for a propane delivery. Put some silicone on the shower stall, but I kind of screwed it up, so will have to redo it tomorrow. Arghhhhhhh! I played pool with the guys after lunch. You would think I should be getting better, but still miss some pretty easy shots, oh well, I still make some. As Glen always says, its just a game. Marg went and joined up with the bowling league, get this it is WII bowling. Anyway she said you get just as much exercies & as many muscle pulls as the real thing. She had some pretty impressive scores & only one person beat her 191. Bingo nite, so Canuels came over. Carols daughter Leslie is in for a week and she was the big winner, she won 3 times. Carol, Deb & Leslie joined Marg with daubers and Gerry played pool with me. I managed to squeak out a few wins, but he won more than he lost. Before leaving Gerry picked a grapefruit from the tree across the road, it was huge is apparently a pink one, so he could hardly wait to try it. Looks like the weather is on an improving trend. Talked to some guys about Tombstone and they say it is worth the trip, so we will probably head down there in the not to distant future.

Monday 25 January 2010

Robbie Burns Day

Well a toast by Scots everywhere in memory of the old Bard. Weather was much nicer today, probably in the hi 60's. Went back to the optical store where I picked up my new glasses. I had my camera with me and the sales girl must have been in a fun mood. She immediately said - no papparazzi in here please & then broke into gales of laughter. Some adjustment required, I think they are good but time will tell. Stopped at the Superstition Ranch farmers store and among other things picked up some fresh oranges. They are everywhere here: street vendors, boulevards, etc. Oh & Marg wanted to mention the nice lettuce for 19 cents a head & the good deal on blueberries & strawberries. Got back late, but in time to play pool with Gerry, Ron & John. Glasses worked ok for that. Then supper with a toast [Glenlivet] to Robbie Burns - Lang may your lum reek.

Sunday 24 January 2010

Pics from Tempe

Sunny Sunday

Saturday was a pretty quiet day, so not much to report. We did discover the potato peeler was missing, seems Marg must have thrown it out with the peels, something like that baby/bath water thing. All this time I thought she was the potato peeler. Probably running out of reasons to shop, ;>). Or maybe not, she never needed a reason before, LOL. The weather was cool but not raining. Had to make a trip to the book shop and pick up some dusters. Marg did the laundry thing again. Some guys in the park next door to Bobs were helping move a shed, well if that doesn't draw a crowd of supervisors. There was enough help that we probably could have carried the darn thing, it wasn't nearly as big as the ones Richard moves at Shaws Point. Anyway it got positioned. Sunday, it was real nice an warm. We went to a small farmers market in downtown Tempe. Its right in the middle of the university [ASU] area. Them we had a burger at some famous burger place - 5 Guys. The material on them is - Good burgers & fries, if you want any of that other fancy sandwich stuff forget it, just burgers & fries. Nice area. Managed to get a potato peeler, but Marg is still the peeler operator. The irrigation canals are sure full now after the rains. Went to ice cream social after supper.

Friday 22 January 2010

Friday

Well the wind let up and the rain was light today. Temp was cooler, it only got to about 57F today, but at least we saw the sun. Lots of water lying about, but I'm sure it won't last long. We did get caught in a hail storm when we were out to load the cell phone with more cash. The exchange rate down here is still pretty good, but the price of fuel has risen about 6 or 7 cents a gallon since we got here. Marg spent some time in Bealls, but came out empty handed. The big car auction is on in Scottsdale, Barrett Jackson. Dave C was there on Wed. It was on TV and the top selling car so far is $275K. See how things go tomorrow, it I get bored, may go there to see it first hand. Went over to Elmers and about a half dozen of us supervised his repair job on his carport. I think it needed a couple of screws to repair the wind damage. Then I went next door and supervised Kenny do his plumbing repair on his water inlet. With my work done, I then played pool with Glen & Mike and Elmer, then a new fellow in the park joined in. Breakfast in the rec hall if we can get up early enough, 8 o'clock sure comes early. ;>)

What a Day!

You know the old song - It Never Rains in California, well it rained yesterday. A big weather system from the Pacific around San Diego made its way inland through California to Arizona and the rains of the prior days were nothing compared to Thursday. This area received about 4 or 5 inches of rain. I am told the annual average for here is 3 inches, so it was wet. This week was more that double the annual average. The impact was made worse by the lack of storm water systems, with the exception of the dry washes, it just ponds. Roads were flooded, the Phoenix airport shut down and it was generally miserable. The winds were the worst part, they reached 74 miles per hour on Ironwood road & that is just the next intersection. A tornado touched down on the 101 loop, thats about 25 miles from here. There were a couple of palm trees blown over and some other minor damage in the park. Light rain today so far & it should let up tomorrow. Certainly the topic of conversation in the park. Dave & Elizabeth Chomik drove up here and we went for breakfast with them. They visited at our place for a while & then drove back to Lake Havasu. He said it was rainy all the way but nothing serious as they avoided the roads where the washes were over the highway.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Wednesday Jan 19

Today Marg got her new specs. Amazing, but she can read with these and see things with more clarity than her old ones and they are the same prescription, hmm! I played pool today with some real fun guys: Steve, Gino & Dick. Won some lost some as usual, now matter how good your stick is , it can't guarantee a win, LOL. Went to supper at a new [to us] place in AJ, a family restaurant. What we didn't realize was that it was Free Pie Wednesday. The place claims to have world class pies & you get a free piece with your dinner on Wed. Well, if that doesn't attract the old geezers around here, nothing will. They were lined up at the door, the waiting list was about a half hour. The dinner was good, but the pie was really good. We will probably go back to this one. ;>). Chomiks called, they are in Mesa & will be over tomorrow. No rain today, it was sunny, but a little cooler. Supposed to be a regular deluge tomorrow with high winds, can hardly wait. If we don't float away, will post the results. LOL

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Tuesday

Nice day today, quite a surprise with the forecast. By evening it started raining and late in the evening it poured. They are forecasting 4 inches of rain this week, that is the normal annual rainfall for this area. Needless to say, the water was flowing all over tonight. If it keeps going like this, it will be interesting to see what the washes look like. They have trenches cut all over the desert to divert flood water but I have never seen any water in them. Went to the big shopping centre: Dillards, JC Penny, Macys, etc. When you seen marble tiled floors in a dept store, you know you're not in Walmart. Something like Selfridge in Bermingham. Marg & I both ordered new glasses, she gets hers tomorrow but I won't for 10 days because I ordered the anti-reflection coated lenses. BBQ'd just before the rains, then got company. Carol & Debbie went to bingo with Marg. She won twice, but small turn out, so small payout. A win is a win! Gerry & I played pool. That lad must have spent lot of his youth in a pool hall, I managed a couple of wins, but generally got kicked on. LOL Gerry & Deb got news today that their offer was accepted, so they are condo owners in Phoenix.

Monday 18 January 2010

Monday Again?

Mondays were never like this when I worked. Since retiring, I have found they are actually just as good as any other day - LOL. A cool weather system moved in and today was overcast with rain. Not steady rain, but off & on. Like all the seniors turn signals on the freeway. The temp only got to about 65F today. Still not a bad day, but a far cry from the heat we saw last week. The forecast is to rain until Friday. Looked around the region to see if there is any better area, such as Yuma of California, we could be in either in about 3 or 4 hours. Nothing, the whole area is socked in. Saw on CTV news it was 19 below in GP this AM, so I guess it could be worse. Haven't had to break out the long johns yet, ;>)! Marg did the laundry thing today, must be like playing the slots, she keeps going back for more; hehe. I on the other hand to met with the pool group and played for 2 or 3 hours, kind of lost track of time. It was fun, played with Mike, Bob & Elmer today. You don't really play on a set team, rather just make a ball & when two players have a stripe down or two have a solid, thats the team. Played well today, but managed to fluff my share of shots. I think I was on the winning more than the losing team, but not positive. Pretty casual. Nice guys, sometimes you feel bad when you have to hook the other team, but if you win, that feeling goes away. ;>) Read another duster, by spring I will have enough read pocket books to hold a garage sale. We walked around the park, were trying to see the fox. There is a type of chinese grey fox around here. Thats what keeps him and the owls around. The great horned owls from last year are still here. Stay tuned, expect there will be a Tuesday report tomorrow!

Sunday 17 January 2010

Sunday

Chilly this AM, but the day turned out nice, I think it got to 70 or so. Forecast is for about 3 days of rain. Funny thing here, when it rains it doesn't sink in quickly. Not what I expected in the desert. It ponds and if there is enough of it floods. They have flood channels all over and I guess they get pretty nasty at times. Went out to flea market to get a cap and Marg got some baking, then went to Frys for a few things we needed. Hit the magic number on our loyalty number, so filled up with gas using the discount. Gas ended up being $2.45 a gallon. Stopped for lunch at Native New Yorker, it was ok, but I don't think we will be back there. Met Gerry, Debbie, Carol & Phil for dinner at the Grand Buffet. Phil's nephew from Edm joined us. Stopped by Carol & Phils place, it's very nice. They are a little east of us, but not far and their place is very nice. Missed the ice cream social tonite, but I can really do without the calories. ;>)

Saturday 16 January 2010

Chandler

Weather was nice today, but cloudy, probably in the high 60's. No shorts for me today, LOL. We went down the 202 to Gilbert where Marg got into a Target store where she found some good deals. They must have been real good as she bought some clothes.
After that we went on to Chandler, it had a reputation in the old wild west. According to the tourism info, it is an arts & culture hotbed of activity. Anyway the city was hosting a multi-culture festival. It was great and they were able to showcase a very wide cultural diversity. They had: dancers, a Japanese tea ceremony, the fire dept pipe & drum core, etc. I took a picture of an east Indian group who's routine included balancing scimitars on their heads. We also got to witness 10 new citizens each from a different country take an oath of citizenship.
Had lunch at the Santan Brewing co., a local micro brewery. It is in an old bank building & the food was good and the wheat beer was excellent. If you have been to Brewsters in Edmonton, it was something like that. What a neat community, sometimes you just get lucky and happen on a day like this.

Friday 15 January 2010

Jan 14th

Nice weather, another one in the mid 70's. Slower day for us today. Went for a bit of a drive and washed the car. Drove down to the area where Proulxs might be staying when they come next month, it's very nice. With the rain and blowing dust car needed washing, nothing like we have at home. Need to windex the windows as the water leaves nasty water marks here. Marg went grocery shopping on her own. After all these years of being married; in retirement she has discovered that she doesn't like grocery shopping with me. As it turns out that is not a bad thing! ;>) Stopped an optical shop and found some neat frames, will probably get some here. The neighbour from Chicago [Ted] was over for a while to BS. He is a major leaguer on this topic. As near as I can determine he was a truck driving pilot who worked as a paramedic, firefighter & taxi driver at the same time, has about 8 kids, 14 grandkids and 4 or 5 great grandkids and is on his second marriage, is in the middle of a major lawsuit and likes Canadian whiskey. LOL Chomiks called to say they are not coming until Wednesday next week, something about an antique car auction. Dinner was tacos and chili at the rec hall tonite, so we passed and had bbq steak instead. Marg made some fresh vegetables & baked potatoes, along with the shark [lager], very nice. Finished another duster, To Tame a Land [Louis Lamour], thanks Vanessa, you know what I like to read!

Thursday 14 January 2010

Pictures

Some pics around the park. The first is a prickly pear cactus and an aloe. There are so many plantings around the park and they are all unique to us northerners. The 2nd is the grapefruit tree across the road from us. Marg must have missed these - LOL!

Jan 13th

A shot of our park site from the back looking towards Superstition mtn.
The talk this morning was the lightning & thunder last night. We got up early and went to coffee donuts in the rec hall. Probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the people go and it's both a social event and opportunity to find out what is goin on in park for the next week.
Busy day, Marg did the laundry thing today, seems to be a regular event. I played pool on the inter-park team today. We played Eastgate and they were much better players than the last group. In December when they met our park, the won 14 to 4. Today we tied at 9 games each. I had a very good partner [Luther] and we won 2 of our 3 games. Probably would have won all 3 but, I made a bad shot that sold out the first game. We had to play them pretty tight, so there were lots of safety shots. The guy shooting after my partner shot out of 4 straight snookers, but when he got a shot, he made about 4 balls. One of the guys brought some deer sausage that was real good. A fun day.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Work Day??

Well today was my meeting day, so we had to get up early and travel to Phoenix. The rush hour traffic is something else here. It's like all of GP is on the road right with you, add to that a little highway construction and a couple of accidents and you have a regular big city experience. Six or eight lanes of traffic in each direction, 65 mph and multi-level overpass. The GPS was great, took us right to the office. At the Stantec office they had a conference room and call set up for me, it was great. They were expecting me and even the receptionist was aware of who I was; very accommodating. At the end of the call Diana went over the provincial cabinet changes, as it is a provincial board & our minister changed. I learned that Frank Oberle got a big promotion and is now a minister in the Stelmach govt. Well done Minister Oberle! Marg came along & as it was a 4 hour phone call, she went shopping to Arizonza Mills centre. They are all outlet stores, including a Saxs 5th Ave. Marg said it was a mile around all the stores, let alone the walking thru them. She was like a kid in a candy store, but when she picked me up, she was all in. Great job navigating Marg, but then again it was an outlet mall - LOL! I think she got some good deals & certainly enjoyed herself. I worked thru lunch, so on our way back we stopped at Souper Salad & it was great. By the name you know the gist of their offering, but there was almost everything you can imagine in those 2 areas. It was a nice day, but not hot like yesterday, only about 72F. By evening it clouded up and we had lots of thunder and a pretty good rainstorm. I guess even that cactus needs some moisture. Busy day tomorrow, inter-park pool tournament & we have to check out a place where the Proulx's may stay in Feb. Chomiks called to say they are coming over on Saturday from Lake Havasau with their motorhome.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Sunny Tuesday

Wow the weather was fabulous today, 78F was the highest number I saw and most of the day above 75. Went looking for wheel covers today and that took us in to Mesa. The places that sell wheels & wheel covers are not in the high rent district. Pretty dodgy places. Talk about selection, unbelievable. Must be lots of vehicles without hubcaps in this area, LOL. Nice drive though, we went by the big mormon tabernacle and the park around it, very nice area. On the way back we stopped at this butcher shop that had a bakery & a restaurant added, called Midwestern Meats. The place was so popular they had staff in the parking lot directing traffic. There was quite a line up, but it was obvious why, food was great! The bakery had some really cool stuff as well; we bought: canolli, mini pecan pie & an apple pie. Stopped at Walmart on the way back as I needed paper and a black ink cartridge for the printer. Had to print the agenda & some attachments for my meeting tomorrow. They will supply the large graphic ones at the office tomorrow. I have my GPS, maps and instructions for the trip. The office is right where the Superstition [#60] freeway connects with #10. The overpasses are about 4 high at that location and traffic fairly heavy, although not as bad as downtown. Will have a story to tell after that adventure, I'm sure. Marg plans on coming and shopping in the area as the meeting is scheduled for 10 - 2. Marg went to bingo at the rec hall in our park today. Met some nice people, none of whom won, but she enjoyed herself.

Monday 11 January 2010

Mondays can be fun

Monday, Monday - the old Beatles song, doesn't really ring true here in AJ. Mondays can actually be fun. We had a great day, the weather was sunny and warm and we slept in a bit. Went out where we both got haircuts. I went to this little barber shop across from Frys on Apache Trail. It's the same place I went last winter and is run by a couple from Maine, who came out here to beat the winter & ride their harleys all year round. He cuts my hair, but get this. She stopped cutting hair to get me directions into the downtown area where I have a meeting on Wednesday. Marg went to a new place and was happy with the result - sound the trumpets, this seldom happens. They also have spa features & she is considering the offerings. Stopped for lunch at JIB [Jack in the Box], where the offering down here definitely has that southwestern element. Get this I had a fajita in a pita, it's almost poetic & pretty good. Marg had nachos & the chips had some kind of beans inside them, almost like flat bread. Back to the Carefree where I played pool with the regular bunch and a few extras. New cue worked great, except when Mike [he's from New Hampshire] snookered me; that happened quite a bit. Some of these old guys really know their way around the table. BBQ'd burgers and Marg made a great salad with all the fresh veggies, lettuce & gaucamole; down here & the shark [lager] made its appearance. Went for a walk around the park, where we chatted up Bob our neighbour from last winter.

Sunday 10 January 2010

Sunday tour

The weather was a bit cooler today, in the high 60's low 70's. We went for a bit of a tour today, down to Globe, it's about an hour east of AJ. The highway goes into the canyons and into a mining area where there are huge copper/gold mines operating. A real remote area and lots of people around here take their ATVs up in that country. The tailings piles from the mines are huge, as is some of the equipment. Some of those tailings piles must be 1,000 ft high and a mile long. This evening was ice cream social, so we went to it and visited with some nice people, including a couple from BC we met when we were here last winter. A bunch of the ladies make cakes & squares and they top it up with your choice of about 8 different ice cream flavours. I had a nice lemon cake and Marg a cheesecake. After; we went for a walk around the park to walk it off. Probably should have gone twice. LOL

Saturday 9 January 2010

Saturday

Well in spite of ourselves we were up at the virtual crack of dawn. Morning comes early here, so not really sure when that is. Went to the rec hall for pancakes & eggs. Most of the park must have been there. It was a nice change. Went to the flea market in Mesa where Marg got me a case for the new pool cue. The market is very large, about the size of the average shopping centre. Probably has somewhere between 3 & 5 hundred vendors. You can probably buy anything there [mostly new, but some used stuff], we were looking at kits you can buy to dress up your golf cart, there are 3 vendors each selling carts from one of the major makers. Most of the stuff sold there is pretty well priced, for example it's the best place to buy: shirts, hats, ornaments, souveniers, RV accessories, snack foods, art, golf clubs, supplies, cheap tools, mats, chairs, etc, etc. They have live entertainment in the main food court area and then there are several food & beverage vendors as well. We had a beer & sausage on a bun with sauerkraut. It was nice, sitting out in the sun. I bought 5 pocket books, all dusters, as there is lots of time for reading here & we are in the heart of the old west.

Friday

Windy day, but still nice. Went to the liquor warehouse Dave Trout told me about. They advertise having 1,000 kinds of beer. They have a lot, but never counted. LOL They have even more wine, almost anything you can think of. Marg participated in the wine tasting. They can't give it away, so it cost 10 cents to participate in the tasting. Scotch on the other hand, they had a great selection about half of which I have never seen. They even had about 20 different Irish whiskey brands. Bought a bottle of Slivovic, a Yugoslavian brandy that I have previously had at Chomic's. Marg drove - on the freeway, she did well, I think she liked it. That's about it for today.

Thursday 7 January 2010

Thursday - Jan 7th

Howdy from Apache Jctn, another nice day in the land of the sun. Started off a bit cloudy, but turned out to be a very nice day. We missed the coffee & donuts in the rec hall this AM, but will try harder next Thursday. The problem was, you need to get up early for it & as you may know that has not been a big part of our retirement. ;>) Today I played in the pool tournament for team Carefree! We had a road trip to MountainView RV park. We out-racked & out-caromed the opposition. My partner & I took 2 of our 3 games. They wouldn't let me play with a cue off the rack, rather lent me a very nice one, so this afternoon we stopped a sporting goods store and I spent $50 on a skookum cue. Sounds crazy when you have about 20 of them at home, could dimentia be setting in? Marg did her fun thing as well - laundry. Some day I must go see what that is all about. We then had Barbie [our GPS system] take us to Costco where we picked up a few things and then off to Grand Buffet for dinner out. Life if full of chance events, we met Gerry & Carol Canuel and their spouses in the restaraunt. Who would believe you have to travel 3,400 miles to meet a couple of kids from the Calder neighbourhood you grew up with! Carol & Phil have a place not far from here for the winter in AJ. Gerry & Debbie are looking for an investment opportunity in the area. After dinner they came by for a coffee.
Woohoo, life is good!

Wednesday 6 January 2010

Wednesday, Jan8th

Another nice day, the sun shone and we soaked it up. Went out and got new sandals, the old - when in Rome, do as the Romans. Filled up with gas, the station - Valero, has one price for a credit card and 6 cents a gallon less for cash. That is actually quite common here. Ended up paying $2.47 per US gallon, thats 3.8 litres, or about 65 cents per litre. Also went to the superstition ranch market garden and bought vegetables. While standing by the check out, an older lady said to me -Excuse me young fellow, to which I replied, it's been a long time since anyone called me that. Her come back was she thought she was at least 20 years older than me, so I was a young fellow. Now that was funny ;>). She probably was. There are some old people here. There are some really bad wigs down here as well. Saw a guy that looked like he had a hat on today. Sometimes its a little like those Walmart pics that you see floating around the internet, you can't make that stuff up. LOL! BBQ'd for supper again. While bbq'ing there was a nice sunset, so took a picture of superstition mtn. The couple next door from Kansas were walking up the drive, so I felt I should tell them I was taking a pic for the blog. This is the view from our site. She said you sure must enjoy bbq. I think a lot of these women put the kitchen on light duty down here.

Monday 4 January 2010

Another day in the sun

Wow, what a nice day! Started out windy, but was real nice when the wind died down. Still getting accustomed to the daylight hours here, there must roughly 11 hours of sun a day from 7:00AM until 6:00 PM. Many evenings have very nice sunsets, the sky gets red as the shadows lengthen. Paid our rent for January, $375, same as last year. Met some more people, Mike looks after the pool and was repairing rests [ladies aids] & invited me to play 8 ball with them. Went to Walmart in AJ, we are pretty well stocked now. They had a beer special on - 30 cans for $15.99, but it was light beer. If you have ever had US light beer, well it's more like near beer, but they did have my old fav Landshark on sale, so bought that. Can't bbq without the shark. ;>) Went to OK Tire and got the oil changed in the car, [Mike the pool expert recommended it] what a deal! Oil, filter, lube and tire rotation all for $19.95. BBQ'd for supper & Marg made some rice with a southwest flavour, very nice. Been following the Edm/Cal TV channels and I'm not sure what is worse news: the weather or the way the Oilers are playing. Coyote fans down here are hopeful.

Sunday 3 January 2010

Jan 3rd, Apache Jctn

Today's views, the dreaded satellite dish & looking east from our site to Superstition Mountain.
What a nice day. The sun shone and the temp. was in the low 70's. Felt warmer at mid-day. Went to the flea market this AM and Marg bought a few things we didn't know we needed. The RV park here is full and they were turning away motorhomes today. Interesting because other parks have signs out advertising vacancies. New neighbours on the south side, they are from Kansas and no Dorothy or Toto! Neighbour to the north is from Illinois, he's really friendly. Funny thing, they have the same make of motorhome & car as ours, just a few years older. Went to Radio Shack to charge up the old pay-as-you-go phone. The number is the same as last yr 928-446-4358. Got a tripod for the satellite dish and set it up. Interesting process [u need to set the azimuth, skew & elevation] & a major accomplishment for this tehno-peasant. To say nothing of the myriad wires and switches in the motorhome. No help available here as the US systems are all different. The neighbour asked what satellite we are on, my answer, the one in the sky. Hah! We have all the same channels as we had at home. Big panic to get it so Marg could watch Brothers & Sisters and Desperate Housewives. I'm not sure if they are soaps, but they have a lot in common if they aren't; LOL. Got to drive the freeway again, it's only 4 lanes each direction out here in Mesa & goes down to a more sedate 2 lanes in each direction when you hit AJ. Marg picked her first orange of the season today. Last yr I thought they were forbidden fruit, but the park manager encouraged her to pick them. We were so busy today, that Marg has not gone to the pool yet, there's always tomorrow here. To all our friends & family, think warm thoughts - we are. ;>)

Saturday 2 January 2010

Last travel day, January 2nd

On the road at a good time, participated in the very long line to get a security search before crossing the Hoover Dam. There was an option for a strip search, so I went twice, LOL. Thank you Al Queda, or however you spell it, you have finally contributed something to life here. Travelled thru the Joshua Tree forest, very scenic. Got to Carefree RV resort in Apache Junction about 3:30 and fired up the RV. It started, god bless America & those diehard batteries. The temp at Vegas was about plus 40, in AJ it was plus 72, now we remember why the journey. Went to Frys & got some essentials, beer, wine, oh yeh some groceries & water. That's right, you really don't drink the water here. It's a little like Mexico, you can build up a tolerance to it, but for 15 cents a litre why bother. Washed the dirtiest car in Arizona, you really never see dirty cars here like we get on snow travelled roads. It's the opposite of GP. Got a nice stall, #59 if that means anything to you. Neighbours still have Christmas lites up & the central hall is lit, very nice.

Nice Room

The Cannery, Las Vegas

Jan 1, 2009 on the road again!

Happy New Year!
Late publishing this one as we didn't have a connection last nite. This is what we saw coming in to Vegas.
Left Idaho Falls in what they term a blizzard, it was the talk of the town. In GP we would have said an almost sunny day. Hah! Woke up to about 5cm of white stuff covering the car and snow plows on the road, temperatures dipping to about 16F, minus 8 for you canucks. The driving lane was bare, not even close to what keeps us off the road. Had snow and wet highways all the way to Pocatello and a few slippery sections. Went thru lots of washer fluid. Traffic was light for the dreaded Salt Lake City crossing, New Years Day must be a mormon celebration where all the wives get to go. ;>)
Made it all the way to Las Vegas, where we got to drive around in the dark with several thousand race car drivers. Now I why they call it Sin City, if cursing is a sin, I have sinned. LOL Found a new hotel called the Cannery and had a nice room. Had a nice dinner at the buffet and Marg almost cleaned up at the slots.