Wednesday 13 April 2016

Wednesday, day #3

We were up early and had a quick breakfast in the hotel, we really like these as they are great time savers when travelling.  We have stayed in this hotel on at least 3 or 4 previous trips, so it was familiar to us.
  We left Lethbridge around 7:45 and it was easy travelling through the city as their rush hour is not all that busy compared to others we contend with, somewhat like home.  The wind blew, like it always does in that part of the country.  You're first clue is the windmill farms with hundreds of them in the area, so a good stiff breeze should never be a surprise there.  It was a bit cooler than what we were accustomed to, but not cold. The departure time gave us ideal timing to hit cow town [Calgary] as we got there in mid-morning.  The Deerfoot trail was light traffic at that time, although that was heavier than our earlier rush hour, LOL.
  Stopped in Crossfield for fuel and they had Tim Hortons, so we had to have coffee and Timbits.  I only made a few miles when I got a migraine and Marg took over from Bowden all the way north to around Wetaskiwin.  We switched back at a rest stop around there and I drove through Edmonton to Millers Crossing.
  It was great timing to see mother as she had just finished lunch.  Funny thing she said she had asked Jim earlier if he had heard when we were returning.  That must be a mother's intuition, as we showed up shortly after she had been asking, god bless her.  We had a nice visit and Marg did a facetime with Charlene & family [in England] & then Roger & family [in GP].  Mother really enjoys those on the Ipad and it gives everyone a chance to say hello.  Incidentally Phil, not sure if you're group got the joke I tried to make when she said you looked good and I said that now I was worried about her eye sight?  Oh well, I tried.
  By the time we left mother, it was raining.  We went straight out of the city and stopped in Whitecourt for fuel and a bite to eat, then onward.  We got to GP about 7PM, for an 11 hour day and another 571 miles [917 km's].  I just did the math and it seems I have been misleading folks on the length of our journey, it's only 2.020 miles, not 2,200.  We hit quite a few small showers on the way home, just enough that the truck needs a wash. 
  Daniel called and he and his parents showed up shortly after we got home.  He has pretty good radar for figuring out when we are coming home.  I think he misses us just about as much as we miss him.  After they left the door bell rang and Paige & Haylee were there to give us hugs and visit.  It sure was nice to see them again, they are so full of energy and we missed them more than words can say.  In between all this I got the truck unloaded and Marg is working on putting stuff away.  Home Sweet Home!  The weather was chilly in GP, but the reception was nice and warm.
  This will be the last post for a while now, so thanks for following the adventures of the Marg & I on our winter break in warmer climates, hope we can do the same in the fall.

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Tuesday - Day #2

The day started out sunny, but a bit chilly, so we switched to long pants before leaving Provo.  The hotel had breakfast included, so we went over to office to partake.  When I got there, I saw the porridge [oatmeal] and thought - HEY!, we stayed here both on the way south and on the trip home last year.  It seems they had the discount coupon in the travel book last year too.  Pretty funny.
  We got up discovering we had lost an hour, thinking it was 6 AM, it was 7 locally.  We were still on the road about 7:45, but our bodies were rebelling thinking 6:45.  Traffic started out pretty light leaving Provo, but got heavy quickly until it was 6 lanes of bumper to bumper, even stopped dead at times.  I made my way over to the HOV lane and quickly began leaving folks behind in the rush hour madness, as I was never under 50 mph which was pretty much flying past the jams.
  Once out of Salt Lake, traffic thinned out so we were able to get right up to the 80 mph limit and hold that.  When we got to the Y in the interstate where the left half is for northern Idaho and the right half north to Montana, there were even fewer vehicles.  At times we were the only vehicle in sight.  By noon we were in Idaho Falls and picked up some fuel and food to go and back on the road.  A few years back I left for the barren stretch from their up over the Monida pass and ended up buying some very expensive fuel in a place that had not seen anyone other than locals since it opened. 
  We stopped in Butte for another brief break and fuel [always try to run on the top half of the tank, old advice from my father] and made great time through the pass up to Helena, where we blew through there.  We were really lucky with highway construction as most of it was just getting set up, while other places were not too busy.  We came to one mountain pass where they had signs out that there could be blasting on the rock faces and to expect traffic stoppages.  Again we lucked out, when we got there about 10 guys were hanging on the cliff face by ropes using rock drills to make blasting holes.  I have a feeling that those who follow may not lead the good clean lifestyle I do and will not be so fortunate.  The other thing that was humorous was the number of times we passed vehicles that became very familiar to us, all heading for the border.  I spoke briefly with a younger guy from Saskatchewan in Idaho falls who asked about the number of Canadian license plates he was seeing.  I told him there were a million Canadians just in Arizona and he was witnessing the end of the snowbird migration back north.
  After buying our last cheap fuel in Shelby, Montana [never paid over $2 per gallon in Montana] we decided to make a strike for the border.  When we got there, again it was light traffic and the cars were moving thru the agent's check point quickly.  When we got there we learned why.  We had this well rehearsed story about why we were over in the amount of liquor we were returning with.  The agent asked a few perfunctory questions and said "have a nice day" right in the middle of my lengthy explanation.  Knowing a "start the car moment", I quickly departed while Marg gave me a high 5 and knuckle bump a few times.
  We made it to Lethbridge, where the winds were blowing hard enough to take the cap off my head several times.  Got a room at the Comfort inn where we have stayed several times in the past and treated ourselves to Tony Roma's ribs.  A nice end to a 12 hour day that saw us make 795 miles [1,280 km's].  Time to take a load off with a nice bottle of [now] duty free scotch.

Monday 11 April 2016

Monday, the First Travel Day

The day of departure from the Valley of the Sun has arrived.  We had most of our work done and had made no provision to eat this morning, so got up early and went right at it.  While Marg finished the packing and loading chores, got the drains filled with RV antifreeze [it lasts better than water] and put the covers on them & the toilet; shut off some breakers, locked some stuff down and generally got the place ready to be abandoned.  We had a few visitors and said farewell to them this morning with the truck loaded to the max.
  We got away about 7:30 after the farewells on the driveway and made our way to Mediacom to return the TV & wifi hardware.  They open at 8, so we were there about 15or 20 minutes early and I was 5th in line.  Should have known, when dealing with senior citizens if there is an appointed time, many will be early.  Got out of there in pretty good time and stopped at the AJ McDonalds for bacon/eggers and coffee and we were off.
  Took the 202 [which was good] to the 101 [which was bumper to bumper for 3 or 4 miles], then off north on the 17 to the cut-across to Wikenberg.  This gives us a way around the west end traffic in Surprise & those cities out there and saves a lot of time.  The highway is part 2 & part 4 lane, so was pretty busy this AM, but once we get to 40 up around Kingman it's all 4 lane.  Stopped at Kingman for fuel and something to eat [at the same place we stopped at with the Smith family last spring].  We hit a bit of rain at Kingman with cooler weather and later a downpour at Boulder City, both of which were short duration as having the truck I went past a whole passel of small cars.
  Las Vegas was busy, always is on a work day and it was a bit tricky getting our exit on to the I-15.  The exit ramp is a not logical to me, the right hand exit should be for north bound traffic, but it is the next one to the left of it.  We encountered road works in the Virgin River gorge that slowed everyone to about 50 for 4 or 5 miles.The roads there were bare & dry, so we made good time all the way to St George, where we stopped for a Mc something and fuelled up.  The weather was warm [22C] & sunny so we felt good in our shorts after all.  The traffic was fairly light after that and we made good time with the 80 mph [130 kmph] speed limit.  About 2 hours north we ran in to heavy rain that turned into snow on the summit at Panguitch.  This frequently happens at elevations above 5,000 ft.  Traffic really slowed in an area where there was a 3 car wreck with vehicles on both sides of the northbound lanes.  The rain was so heavy cars had slowed right down so again in the truck we passed many, even though we were only doing about 45 mph.  They sped up when they could follow my trails in the water on the road.  The rain lessened on the downward slope and the road was again dry in the valley, so it was back up to the max.  Believe it or not I saw several cars pulled over for speeding.
  Made it to Provo, Utah, so 655 miles today, about 11 hours on the road.  The math doesn't work because of the fuel & bathroom stops, well getting something to eat as well.  Traffic was light coming into Provo, a bonus that we will not have tomorrow morning where we will leave in rush hour traffic.
  Went out for supper to the Olive Garden.  It was very nice and we had a most pleasant young lady as our waitress.  I thought Marg deserved a decent meal after a long day like we had.  After supper, I stopped and fueled the truck, one less delay in the morning.  It was the cheapest fuel I have seen in a long time, just under $2 per gallon, so it was better than Az.
  Marg took some pictures with her ipad, so you may find some on there after she gets out of the shower.  Got to go, it's time for a Scotch, got too much to take over the border.  LOL  Weather looks pretty good for tomorrow, but stay tuned.

Sunday 10 April 2016

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Our last day in Apache Junction for the winter of 2015/16. 
We have been busy packing and cleaning and the truck is loaded to the end gate.  We have drawn the tarp back a few times to cram something in and we can't even do that any more.  The back seat is holding the overflow now.
  Had a nasty surprise this morning when one of the fittings on the hot water tank gave up and the leak was spraying water in the cabinet and had the place pretty much soaked.  It must not have been going too long and I think we got it shut down before we had too much damage.  It was really lucky that the hardware store sells a fitting exactly for this application.  It is a braided pipe with a shark bite fitting on one end and a screw on fitting to attach to the hot water tank.  It sure made the repair a lot easier.
  By then it was time for brunch, so we had sausage & eggs, our last meal in the place.  By that time I was getting hungry and it was welcome fare.  From here on the meals will go down in quality and regularity.  For those of you who know me, neither of those are good news.  It all starts tomorrow morning as the kitchen is closed.
  We vacuumed the place and then Marg washed the floors with her swifter thing.  The place looks great and we don't seem to have missed anything.  Time will tell I guess.
  It rained most of the day.  When it rains here, most times it really comes down and today was no exception.  It is like the rain we get at home when we have a thunderstorm and hail.  The aluminum carport is nice, except when it rains like that, you can't hear yourself think in there.  It was pretty chilly too, I think we were down in the 60's today.
  A few visitors stopped by to say goodbye and then we were off for supper.  Being our last supper, Marg wanted to go to Popeye's.  It's a Louisiana style chicken place that also has shrimp and fish.  We ate at one last year with Vanessa & Daniel.  It was OK, but Marg is quite taken with all of their commercials and wanted to go back.  My memory of the place was not all that fond that I would make a special trip for it, but what the hey it's the last night.  It seems she was hungrier last time or not hungry tonight because she wasn't all that impressed.  It worked out pretty good because I stopped at total wine and got 2 nice bottles of scotch, what the heck I'm already so far over on alcohol that the border crossing will be interesting.  Then a quick stop at Winco where she picked up some last minute stuff, snacks for the road kind of stuff and we were done.
  Back at the park two couples stopped by to say farewell.  One of them is also leaving tomorrow, but they are heading east on their way to Wisconsin.  We will be dropping off the tv receiver and wifi modem at Mediacom and then heading out for Las Vegas where we just might meet up with another couple who are leaving through that same route.
  If we get wifi along the route we will try and keep the posts up and include a few pictures of anything that seems interesting.

Saturday 9 April 2016

Saturday

This was not one of our typical Saturdays.  There are no more breakfasts in the park, there were no pool players, there were only packers.  It ended up being a nice day after the storm last night and I think the temp got up around 80 today.
  We got up early enough and got ourselves fed and organized to start the move out.  And a move outa here it will be with the amount of stuff we transport back and forth.  We packed food, clothes, knick knacks, do dads, you name it.  I put the awnings down and the silver insulation in the windows and the truck is full.  When I took this pic it was dark already and as you can see the load is to the tailgate with more to go.  All of the loose stuff outside including my bike are stored in the Az room.  Marg said the house is as dark as a cave with all the windows blocked out, but it's a lot cooler in there now.  Tomorrow will be the last minute stuff and there is lots of that.
  A couple of the guys went riding, but there were two couples leaving today, so I passed on it.  Gary & Linda stopped by with Sadie.  She seemed a bit confused, she knew something was up and was excited, probably worried about being left behind.  They will be going to Las Vegas for a couple of nights and then making their way back to Minnesota.  Warren and Bev also left his morning for Montana, so I asked him to get the roads cleared if there is still any snow left up there.  Anyway we said our farewells and will see them again in the fall.
  Marg did laundry today.  It was a big load off her mind.  Hey that is almost a pun.  Anyway there will be almost nothing in the way of soiled laundry when we leave and she plans to take it home and do it there.  I cautioned her about the laundry room and looking around when you go in.  Everyone here leaves the door open and any critter could just wander in there.  In fact last night Aggie had a picture on her phone of a snake right in front of the laundry room door on Wednesday last week.  It was only a gopher snake, but it was a heck of a lot bigger than the one Binger had in his golf cart a few days back.  I can just imagine the excitement something like that would cause.
  It's funny there are lots of critters having young right now.  At the golf course the geese had little ones that are still in the yellow fluff.  There are a pair of quail around the back gate that have about 8 little ones and they are about an inch tall.  It looks hilarious to see them all running along in a line.  The owls have 3 young ones in the nest.  A neighbour has a nest and had a baby hummingbird in it until today.  Unfortunately a much bigger bird came along and ate it today.
  The panda bear has its seat all picked out and is ready to roll.  It seems excited to take its first trip to Canada.  Perhaps he/she is looking to get a name on the way, like Winnie the Pooh did!  Don't laugh, could happen!
  It's fortunate we never left today with the big storm they had in Las Vegas.  The weather on the way home is starting to look like we will be in for a fair amount of rain, but it could all change.  The park is getting down to the people who live here year round and a few hold-outs now.

Friday 8 April 2016

Friday, April 8th

 
  Went for a bike ride this morning, I was a loner but made a pretty good effort in spite of the wind putting in about 4 miles.  The weather started off nice and warm for what may be my last ride of this winter season.  Not having a carrot, I turned off before the donkey and took the route I usually travel with Larry, who is now safely back in S. Dakota.
  After breakfast I vacuumed truck [box & cab], then cleaned the windows and the interior.  After I started putting a few things in the truck, golf clubs, some boxes, a huge bag of shoes.  Then I put the yard ornaments in the shed and generally started on some of the stuff needed before we leave.   I checked our return to service date on Telus and found it was about a week after we get home, so got them to change it for the middle of next week, so it will be on when we get there.  It was nice to get a few things started in preparation for leaving as we are down to two days.
  A couple of people called to say they got home today and had a good trip.  Gary & Linda are leaving tomorrow morning, so the parade continues.  One of the guys in the park who has not been well just returned from the hospital and his situation is not good.  A sad day for him in more ways than one. 
  Marg went for a few things she wanted for supper tonight as we were having company.  It is one of the tactics to help clean out the fridge, so she made a pasta dish with the remaining shrimp, a marinated salad and got a dessert.  I was going to play pool after noon, but I had so many visitors that the last one was still here when she got back.  One of them stopped by to ask us to join a few of them on the patio, but we already had the supper gig planned.
  In the afternoon we could see clouds building over the Superstition's and the forecast had been for a possibility of rain.  The wind blew hard all day and if I had been home I would have expected a high risk of hail.  Curt & Aggie [the park managers] and later Gary & Patti showed up for supper.  Gary was critical of my route this morning, saying the donkey will be going through loneliness or was that carrot withdrawal.  Patti had brought a salad & Aggie a pie, even though Marg had told them to just show up.  The pie was one I had not had before, a coconut custard pie.  It was a fun evening with good food.
  The rains came right after supper and it rained hard for quite awhile.  When it was almost done, the rainbows appeared.  It is unusual to get a double and the main one was right over the end of our road in bold and bright colors.  Isn't a double rainbow supposed to mean luck?  I guess they had hail in parts of Phoenix, but we escaped it.  As the final part of the fridge clearing strategy, everyone had to take leftovers home.  Marg advised me that by Sunday there will not be any cooking in our place.  LOL I guess the dinner bell will be ringing in a restaurant yet to be named.

Thursday 7 April 2016

Thursday, April 7th

At this late date in winter, there are no planned activities in the park and very few people to participate in them.  Well there are those who live in the park year 'round, but many of them still work during the day while others keep to themselves.  So there was no coffee and donut meeting this morning.  As luck would have it, the park manager [well one of them], Aggie made sticky buns this morning and we were invited.  She must have been expecting more than were there as she had a whole lot.  They were very good, as usual and with only a half dozen of us, it was a nice opportunity to have a visit.  So no bike ride today, although a couple of the guys did go.  They probably never got an invite to have sticky buns, so weren't faced with the difficult choice I had.  LOL  It is a bit of a privilege to be invited so I never question how I got one; but I am pretty sure it is because of my wife.
  It was a warm day and the sun was out for most of it, although there was a pretty stiff breeze for most of the day.  Toward the latter part of the afternoon the clouds were building, looking more like rain, even in the 88 degree heat.
  We went out for a few things at the Superstition Ranch market and then over to Fry's for gas.  In the process we got a few cardboard boxes, as it appears we are going to need them as we pack up to go home.  When we got back to the park, we started in on some of the things we need to do before leaving.  I put down the awnings on the west side and packed a bunch of things from out front into the shed.  Then I cleaned up the bbq and wiped it all down using the purple power cleaner.
  We even made time for a bit of chill-axing time today.  It was hot out and likely would have been a good day for a nap.  LOL  Later in the afternoon we left for Casino Arizona, to meet Gerry & Deb at the bingo.  We had been there a couple of years ago, but it was different enough to feel like our first time.  We were close quite often and finally Marg won on a big one.  It was a $1,200 payout game and we thought she won the big one.  Unfortunately there were multiple winners, 7 in total I believe, so the prize payout got watered down.  She ended up with a prize of $172, so still a good win.  We ate in the casino in the bingo area and it was pretty good.
  When we left Casino Az it was sprinkling and shortly after we got home it was pouring rain.  The desert needs a little water, so it will not only keep the dust down, but nourish the plants.

Wednesday 6 April 2016

Wednesday

Tough night for sleep, the house was hot well into the evening and seemed to hold the heat well into the night.  I guess we should have run the AC unit for a bit to cool the place down and will try that tonight as it was even warmer today.  It definitely got over 90 for most of the afternoon.
  Gerry came and we played Apache Sun this morning.  There was a dozen of us, so a pretty good turnout for this late in the winter season.  The course played well, but is showing signs of starting to dry out with these hot days.  My game was pretty good, about average I would say although I did lose one ball today.  Marg hung around the park model waiting for Kenny & Doris to leave, so did some gathering of stuff that will have to go home with us.  We had a sandwich when I got back and still no sign, so I went in for a shower and sure enough there they were, leaving for home.  Marg wished them a safe journey and we will stay in touch over the summer.
  After I went and played pool for an hour and a half and Marg went to pick up some groceries.  The pool was OK, again I played about average, so nothing to brag about.  From Fry's Marg got what we needed and a nice layered cake for the dessert she had indicated she would bring tonight.  It was our next door neighbours 25th anniversary and they had quite a large group of friends and neighbours over.  It was burgers on the bbq and most folks brought something to share.  The cake was a real hit, with many going back for seconds.  While there we chatted with a lady from Ontario who trailers her two horses bringing them here for the winter months.  Apparently they are thoroughbreds and she stays at a place where she can keep them and work with them.  I guess she was riding fence lines for a guy down here who has 7,000 acres in some rugged country.  Not only does she travel by herself, but she also rode the fence lines alone, taking a pistol with her in case of rattlers.  She was very interested in our granddaughter and riding in England.
  After we had quite a few people stop by, apparently someone was saying we were leaving in the morning and they wanted to say farewell.  When they found out we weren't leaving until Monday, they stayed for a beer.  Then we went for a walk around the park with a group of them.  Just trying to stay outside until the place cools off.

Tuesday 5 April 2016

Tuesday

Started the day with a paint bucket in my hands.  They guys came for a bike ride, but I was already into it, so had to pass.  I had been meaning to get to some touch-up in the bathroom.  There was still lots of paint from last year, so even the color was not a problem.  It's really amazing how well paint keeps in a sealed paint pail here.  With that I had everything I needed, some good brushes and a few wiping rags and got-er-done.  The area was small, so not much room for a roller, but fortunately I had a really good brush that was almost as good.  This was a second coat and it covered well.  Then I went on to do some touch up on the ceiling.  That paint was still good as well.  I had a ceiling stain earlier and had primed it and painted, but still had a mark, so fingers crossed on this second coat.
  Marg went to water aerobics and as with everything here, the numbers were smaller today.  The pool was bath tub warm, but they got their time in and had a good time.  While she was doing that I went to Ace hdwe for close up stuff and then to Food City where I got some toilet rolls and milk.  Then to Harbor Freight where I got ear muffs so I don't go deaf from the gun fire.  Yes I got a free gift, a neat little multi-meter, it would have been $8, so the two pairs of ear muffs at $3 each were a great deal.
  When Marg got back, we just sat down to a sandwich when the Blanke's pulled up.  It seems we had a miscommunication on what we were doing.  We had agreed to go out with them, but thought it was after lunch.  It was stuff the sandwiches in the fridge and off with Kenny & Doris.  We got to Tortilla Flats just about 1 and in very good time.  We had the cowboy burger and it came with tortilla chips, surprise, surprise!  The burger was good, but it is huge.  The crowd was smaller, so we sat on the patio, front row table and the band appeared minutes after we sat down.  The band today was 3 of the regulars who play at either the Az Oprey and the Harmony Cats and they are pretty darn good.  So it made for a great lunch.  By then the sun was well up and the heat was rising.  They have a sign that they don't play if the temp reached 100, so we must have been close with it at about 90.






  After the band took an intermission, we left & went beyond the creek to a road Kenny knew, almost to Fish Creek then turned off.  He brought two of his pistols, one he had for many years, the other he bought a couple of weeks back.  Both are .380 caliber, which is pretty much the same as 9 mm.  He had a box of ammo and we found a piece of plywood about 16 inches square for a target.  In total we fired about 35 shots between the two pistols and the two of us, scoring 24 hits.  Most of our misses were high or low and had something to do with the long trigger pull on the new pistol.
  I was not too familiar with the pistols, so tried using a two hand grip to steady my aim.  This was an unfortunately a mistake and didn't allow for the slide action as these were automatics and I have previously only fired revolvers.  My thumb paid for this mistake dearly and I took a picture of it after the bleeding stopped and I cut away some of the torn nail.  Now my challenge will be to golf with it tomorrow.  Ouch!  On the way back while up in the Superstition mtns, the temp on the vehicle display said 88, so it was warm.
  After returning home, Marg offered the Margarita solution to the days end so Kenny & Doris stopped in for a couple.  Then Linda was passing by and went to get Gary to join us.  Not finding Gary, she brought Darlene as the two of them had been having cocktails earlier.  Oh then Gary happened by and stopped in to see what was up and we had a few wobbly pops.
  I gotta go, I'm tired all that exercise in the heat.  Stay tuned for tomorrow when I tell you if I can still grip it and rip it.

Monday 4 April 2016

Monday

A busy day for us retired folks today. 
  Got up a bit on the early side as I had to work [golf] today.  It was our last chance to play Encanto, so we booked to play in the morning.  Knowing it was going to be hot, we wanted to be done earlier so we would spend less time out there at the maximum temps.  The forecast was for 90, but I think we might have been a bit above that.  I saw 34C on the truck and Marg posted the thermometer at home on FB.  The course was not too crowded and they put a 3rd with us, a retired Ophthalmologist from St Louis, who was pleasant company.  May game was about average, perhaps a bit better than the last few times.  I drank 3 bottles of water and one of Gatorade while out there.  Traffic going there was very heavy, as I left here at 8 AM, in fact it was all 6 lanes stopped at a couple of times, but it was a breeze coming home.
  Marg had a lots of time to get ready for water aerobics and got there early.  This of course gave the gals time to visit and it seems that went on after they were done, so she had a long time in the pool, which she loves.  It seems to be a good location to find out all the news about what is happening in the park and how everyone is doing [lately that seems to mean on their journey home]. 
  I got back to Carefree shortly after 1 and we mostly sat about and read or relaxed with the mid-day heat.  Marg said she thought about packing, LOL.  Anyway it was a nice break.
  At 4, as usual we went for happy hour and there was a much smaller group today.  We almost missed it because I left my shower too late in the afternoon.  Now that is an indication of how laid back it was!  From there we all piled into cars and went to a Chinese food buffet, no not the one we have been going to for years, but a new one [to us] down on Power road.  It was great, nice and bright and they had some different dishes we haven't seen and others not for a long time.  What do I mean by that, well like: crawdads, frogs legs, kimchee, you know.  Anyway it was very good and we are sure to return at some future date,

Sunday 3 April 2016

April 3rd

The day started off nice and got warmer as it progressed.  We were up early but usually no one goes riding on Sunday, so I took a leisurely breakfast. Then I went riding by myself.  I went the usual route and my surprise today was a roadrunner up on Foothills.  It crossed right in front of me and had a long tailed lizard in it's beak.  I could have kicked myself that I had not taken the camera; it was pretty funny looking with that long tail hanging behind it.  I turned off before the donkey place, but could hear it braying up there.  I understood from a later conversation that Gary & Patti had ridden up there and fed it some carrots, so it was probably pumped, calling for more.  I think I made about 3 1/2 miles today and it finished just as it was starting to get hot.
  When I got back, Marg had found a flea market that we had not been to. It was down just at the end of Tempe on Washington.  It's just north of Sky harbour airport and is billed as the largest in Arizona.  Parking was a bit of a challenge, but it worked out and the place was huge.  The neat part was they had some people selling their stuff or junk as well as booths with new stuff.  The selection of power & hand tools was remarkable, I couldn't help but think there must be a lot of contractor trucks with tools disappearing.  I stopped at a booth where the guy was selling many things including coins and bought 7 Canadian coins.  I can't help but think he was glad to finally get a buyer.  I bought a 1928 penny & 6 nickels from 1928, 1935, 1938, a victory nickel [1945] and a 1947.  When I got back I googled the values and they looked to be 2 or 3 times what I paid; so a good deal.  Surprisingly Marg never found anything, one of the guys on hearing this asked if I let her out of the truck.  LOL
  On the way back we stopped for lunch at a sports bar called the Hungry Lion.  It was pretty swish and the food was excellent well so was the pale ale.  Marg had a Greek burger and salad I had a Rueben and fries, really recommend the place.  Traffic was the lightest I have ever seen on the 202, a bonus.
  Happy hour was at Blanke's today and there was a good sized crowd.  It was noisy as usual.  It was the last one for the Johnson's and Nancy is one of the gamblin' gals; Larry one of the bike riders, so we had to go, they leave tomorrow morning.  Bingers were also there and they leave Tuesday; he is one of the poker players, she one of the splash & thrash group.  There were two other couples who are leaving this coming week as well, Blanke's & Clifford's.
  Supper tonight was steak on the bbq and the rest of the potato salad with a nice house salad.  Now if that isn't summer fare, I don't know what is.  Finished off the last of the cheesecake a great end.  We ate late as we were still feeling the effects of the large lunch we had.  A great day and it was hot, over 90F today.  Got to go and freeze a couple of water bottles for tomorrow so I can golf in this heat.
 

Saturday 2 April 2016

Saturday, April 2nd

Saturday morning with no breakfast in the hall, now that doesn't seem right, but I can get through it, LOL. 
  I went for a bike ride this morning, but only one other rider showed up.  Patrick from Saskatchewan and as luck would have it, he had a few carrots so we stopped to feed the donkey.  The donkey must have been lonely as it came at a trot, hee haw ing all the way over.  Remember how loud I said it was before, well that donkey only has one volume setting.  Anyway Pat fed it the carrots and it seemed very satisfied.
  When I got back, Marg had everything ready to go.  We had a few errands to run and I wanted to go to the Mesa market to sell my pocket books and get some new ones.  I got 5 new books after selling her 6, she has a better selection of westerns than most other places.   Chatted with the old gal a bit and she is only there for 2 more weeks.  It seems they close down that aisle in the market for the summer.  I also picked up 3 new hats, not sure if I needed them, but I have them. Marg had better luck, she found some pot or bowl silicon covers. They work pretty neat and she got a good deal on them.  She had been unhappy with the wrist watch she bought at Walmart a while back and she found one she liked at the market.  It has a band like a spring loaded clamp that doesn't go completely around the wrist.  Apparently some of her pals here have them and well you know how that works!
  In the way back I stopped at Walmart, one of the other errands.  The windshield wiper on the drivers side had come apart.  The rubber just comes apart in this desert sun and they had Michelin replacement blades.  Marg picked up some groceries:  a 30 pack of Miller high life and some stuff she needed for a potato salad.  Oh yes a loaf of corn bread that was billed as sweet, some cheese cake.   When we got back to the park she made a pot of chili and we had the cornbread with it, delicious.
  After lunch I play pool for a while.  There was no one playing, so I had to get Dale and drag him over to the pool room.  It was the first time we had played without others.  I knew he was quite good and that proved to be the case, as I had to work hard for the wins I did get.  I think we were about even on win/loss and had quite a few laughs.  The amazing part is he hardly ever played before even though he has been in the park for several years.  Marg made a great potato salad this afternoon.  It must be summer, as that is one of my favourite things about summer.
  We went to happy hour at Johnson's at 4 and got caught up on the news.  It turns out they plan to leave on Monday, Bingers on Tuesday as well as Dale and his wife.  It's not a ghost town yet, but that is coming as it sure is a lot quieter around here.
  Supper tonight was brats and potato salad with cheesecake for dessert.  It was great and we had a couple of brats left over.  I saw Mark out and  about and went to ask him if he would like them.  Told him it was Marg's maternal instinct to see worry about if he eats regular.  He made a couple of humorous comments and then stopped by to pick them up.  I guess when he got them, he said that now when he goes past he wonders what we are having and whether there will left overs.  Pretty funny as now we have 2 guys in the park who look for her leftovers.  Then we went for a walk to take the garbage.  We had to go thru the back and down the next street as we didn't want to go down our street.  One couple had there daughter there and invited us to listen to their son-in-law, same as last year. It is one of those I play my own music sing songs I have written deals.  It is OK, but we just weren't up for it tonight.  So we took the long way on our walk.  It also gave us an opportunity to visit with Betty & Ma a bit, so that was nice.
  Oh yeh, it was hot today and we are entering into another 90 plus period.

Friday, April 1st, late again

This is becoming a pattern, late posts, mainly because of early mornings and late evenings.
  April fools day has come and gone, so can't pull an joke on anyone.  Mom used to say if you did it after noon on the first - April Fools has come and past, you're the biggest fool at last.
  Happy birthday Phil, it was great to have a moment out of your busy evening with friends and family, although it was nice to see everyone helping you celebrate your day.  It was also great to see Sophie, it seems we miss her, what a pretty girl.
  We were up at 5:30 to take Lynette to the airport.  Fortunately she flew out of Gateway which is the closest airport, going back to Michigan.  She was sitting on her patio with both suitcases ready to go, anxious I suppose, to get home and see her family.  Even though it was very early I was wide awake when a guy cut right in front of me.  He made a wrong turn into a road he didn't want, I guess and when I was beside him he cut me off.  The thing that annoyed me was when I slammed on the brakes I knew the luggage was at the front of the box, so would have to climb in to get it.  Anyway it was nice to be able to see Lynette off, her and Marg are such good friends.
  We had thought to go back to bed, but were too wide awake, so another early start to our day.  Got my bike out only to find the back tire flat as a pancake.  Pumped it up and crossed my fingers, but I am almost certain I have picked up a thorn or goat head to put a leak in the tube.  I have the green goo in the tubes and I know it's still there because some came out when I put air in it.  Wait that's not a  good sign, how is that goop getting out anyway?  There were only 3 of us and the wind blew pretty hard, but now we have to ride up east so Gary can feed the donkey.  I think we probably made about 3 - 4 miles and I always say it's just to get a bit of exercise.  Marg had a nice leisurely break to get ready this morning and had the laundry ready to go.  I helped get it into the laundry room here in the park.  She had lots to do today, used 4 machines and apparently 5 dryers to get it done.
  While she was waiting I went and visited a bit with the bunch that were watching Darryl hook up.  He is the one with the Kenworth that he mounts the Smart car on the deck between the cab and where he pins the 5th wheel.  They were pretty casual about leaving, not planning to make a lot of miles so they never left until about 11:30.  They were going north via California which is a lot longer, but it will avoid the spring storms in the mountain passes that are a problem right now.  There were a few more pulled out as well.  At this time of year we see more than average people who come for a few nights and leave, many full time RV'ers. 
  Got the laundry back to our place and had some lunch.  After lunch Marg steamed clothes and put them away while I went and played pool.  The guys I played with are pretty good and we had a few laughs.



I had to pack up early as the patio opening was today at 4 and they asked me to take pictures.  The park owner built it after some tenants suggestions and then the Tenants Assoc. bought the two tables with chairs to put on.  There was punch, ice cream and cookies and a handful of people came out for it, which was pretty good with the reduced numbers around here at this time of year.  I already had the first beer on the patio at a dance a few weeks back, before the wall and floor tiles were installed.  Some of the residents use it for games and cards, so it looks to be a great addition to the amenities here.  I had on my Made in 1947 shirt and as almost always happens some folks wanted to know where I got it, as they knew someone they wanted one for.
  After we went to the new Denny's with Kenny & Doris for supper.  They had been previously, but it was our first time.  The food was good, but the service was the poorest we have had this winter.  There was car show and shine at the east end of the parking lot that was just winding down when we left, so we took a look a the remaining cars.  Some nice old iron there, kind of nostalgic for us old guys. 
  Thought that would be our day, but on the walk back to our place, we stopped at Hardy's where there were a bunch gazing at the night sky.  It seems the international space station was passing over at 7 and they were trying to spot it.  So we stood around and craned our necks skyward for awhile.  It doesn't take much to amuse a bunch of seniors in an RV park.

Friday 1 April 2016

Thursday - a bit late!

Another last today, coffee & donuts in the hall.  It was surprising to see the numbers out for it, but not everyone leaves by March 31st.  The meeting was short as there are only a few things to deal with, but the donuts were just as good as the long meetings. ;>))  It was a cooler day, in fact down right chilly first thing in the morning.  Well not chilly by what we expect at home, but by our expectations here in the valley of the sun.
  Richard & Evelyn left early, about 8, well before coffee.  They had to get to Sky Harbour airport to pick up Doug & Elaine who were just getting back from Edmonton.  They had a bit more luggage than they arrived with, after the prior day stop at Ross's & Total Wine.  It was a nice visit with them and this trip rather than tour around we included them in our normal park activities, which included a couple of happy hours, so they got to meet lots of our friends in the park.
  I did some work on the fence in the back patio. It seems all of our neighbours picked it up at one time or another last summer.  My problem is that there are water and power lines back where it is, so I can't set the posts in ground, so instead mounted them on cement deck blocks.  The blocks are heavy, but the winds down here can blow hard.  I didn't think the lattice work would stop as much wind as it did, so seem to have a design flaw, LOL.  Anyway I made a brace that I will leave on for the summer this year and leave here with my fingers crossed.  While in the shed, I found some other problems that needed some re-organizing, including putting some of the stored stuff in the Az room [ie: golf clubs].
  It was the day I had committed to take the ladies to Fort MacDowell.  It started out as only 3 this time, but Rita came by asking if she could come with us, so she was the 4th.  They wanted to try the evening bingo and none of them wanted to drive it in the dark, so they always went to the afternoon on before.  We took the freeway, a different route for the gals.  It was a longer term trip for me, so I had agreed to play bingo with them.  My lasting impression was -- I have never seen so many odd bingo games, e.g.:  7/11, 21, diagonal line with opposite postage stamp, etc.  I never won a thing, but the good news was 3 of the ladies did OK in the casino and Lynette won a bingo that pay a couple hundred in a zoo game where she also got a big bear.  Well actually she gave me the bear, so it looks like I may be able to use it as a passenger and ride in the HOV lane during rush hour??  Marg made a couple hundred in the casino, but Lynette was a big winner and they were all very happy for her.  There were lots of close calls as well, like when Rita was down to one number for $1,200.  Some of the games had very large payouts if you got one early enough, like $84,000 for a couple & $6 or $8,000 for others.   The ladies all had fun, for me it was all the bingo I wanted and more, LOL.  Got home late, around 11, so that was why the blog is late.