Our last day in Yuma

Was the weather ever nice today, about 80F [25C for you Canucks], bit of a breeze, a real nice day. Ran some errands and went to the 99 Cent store Helen told Marg about. Bought some more minutes for the phone from Radio Shack. Since we got this cheaper rate, we seem to be using it a lot more. Mickey & Frank came over after dinner for a drink & the Spags dropped in. It was like a farewell to Caravan Oasis party. We will be travelling to Apache Junction tomorrow and disconnected from the net & or blog. They are supposed to have wifi in the park we plan on moving to, so until then - adious.......

Cocktails

The Spags & Helen for cocktails & snacks.

Fabulous Friday

Great day, the weather was warm, about 76F and nice little breeze. Went to the Flea Market and picked up a few things. It was really packed today and the parking lot was full. About 4,ooo Canucks and 7 locals, LOL. Hey got some new chairs for the patio today, as we are having company today. Had a happy hour with Spag & Tippie next door. Their daughter Linda came to stay with them and joined in as well as Helen on the other side of us. Helen is from Missouri, they must all be characters in that state. Marg made a crab dip, cheese ball as well as cheese, crackers & kolbasa. There is no good sausage here, but it will do. Marg made margaritas for the girls while Spag & I drank whisky. Some things never change, chick drinks/guy drinks. LOL After; we went to the Jam session at the hall. The Spag's saved us a spot and the music was very good. This is about the 3rd or 4th time we have gone and there are some talented musicians in this park. For you Ukrainians, there is a lady who is a whiz on the cymbala [simbala][dulcimer as the anglos call it]. We even got up on the dance floor tonite. Had a chance to trade farmer jokes with some nice people from Saskatchewan. When we said we are leaving Subday, he said he was leaving when the 50 cent beer runs out. Lots of laughs. We will miss these great people when we move on Sunday. There is a big Super Bowl party at the hall on Sunday, so they should all be busy when we leave.

Down in Mexico

Started the day doing our on-line banking with CIBC dealing with Marg's RRSP. It was payday and there was still money, go figure! The weather was warm today, about 75F. They blame all of the cold weather on the Alberta Clipper, so down here they all know where the frozen weather comes from, Alberta . Well we just couldn't stay away, back down to Algodones today. Marg bought some Lipitor pills & we mooched around a bit. The price of brand name medicine there is less than 1/2 of home, but they dicker. If you go generic, it is about 30% of home. She also got some vanilla, apparently Mexican vanilla is very good. Stopped and bought a nice bottle of brandy for about $6, it's good really, very smoooooth. LOL The cheapest bottle of vodka [750 mil] I saw was $2.03. Stopped to look at a leaded stained glass panel, it started out $125 & when we left, the guy chased us down to offer it for $10. Never bought it, but you never know what to expect from them. The line up coming out wasn't too bad, just under an hour, arghhh. It is hilarious, Marg can't be around people without finding out more about them. The two couples in front of us were from Wembley. Paid for parking this time, it was $5 on the indian reservation. No wonder people park all over the road side. When we got back we stopped at the shopping centre, Marshalls and Marg picked up the last really good deal in Yuma. Too bad for those who come after, the good deal ship has sailed, hah! I suspect the only good deals left now are in Phoenix, so we have to go there now. LOL. Then the post office, they also have line ups. Had to mail in my expense claim form for the trip last week. It's really a way of life, isn't it? BBQ'd ribeye steaks, said it before, Texas beef is very good.

Last Wednesday in Yuma

Warmed up a bit today, it was about 70F or so. Went to pick up a few groceries at Fry's so we would have a few things to serve company. We must hold the record for the most cashier interventions in the self-servee. Fry's make great pies, so we had blueberry, last week peach. We are running out of days and there are still so many flavours. LOL. Anyway when Stan & Liz stopped by the pie & ice cream was a hit. After they left, went to Target [it's like Winners] to get a few things. Dave was in line at the cash & I had gone to the lingerie dept. There were long lines & I just got there when he was ready to pay, so I threw the bra on the counter. I told the women behind that this would embarass him, so one of them said, Hope it Fits! Dave's reply was Hope it Looks Good! Hah. Across the way was Marshalls [same kind of store] and when I picked up another bra, Dave wouldn't even go near the cash register, LOL. Guess it didn't look good on him, LOL. By this time it was late, so we went to Mimi's for dinner. That was where we went on New Years day & it was good.

Company Wednesday

Stan & Liz Zatelny stopped by in Yuma for a visit.

Idle Tuesday

Day #2 of the cold snap, it never made 70F today and we had long pants on. The forcast is in the 70's for the balance of the week & it should get to 80. Laundry day, generally a more fun day for Dave than Marg. I had just put clothes in the washer and went to sit outside, when who walks up to me but Dave Chomik. What a surprise. He apparently phoned our home and left a message they were coming today. We never got the message, LOL. They brought another couple from Innisfail with them, who also have a house in Havasau. Tonight was bingo night and I sat with the English ladies again and had a fun time even though I never won. Spags' daughter came to visit from CA and as luck would have it she did. There were all kinds of RV's arriving today and one of them knocked down the brick wall in front of Spags' RV, must have made a nasty mess of the RV. When I got back to the m'home my hubby had a pot of coffee waiting, how nice! Oh yes, more company coming tomorrow, Stan & Liz called to say they will be in Yuma. Apparently they are on the other side of the mountain in Welton.

London Bridge

This is where the bridge went for you Londoners, it's in lake Havasau, where Chomiks are.

Visitors

Today we had company from Lake Havasau, Dave & Elizabeth came with friends.

Busy Day - Monday

Today was cooler, I'm sure it never hit 70, it was warm in the sun, but in the shade we had to wear a coat. Now we know what you people in the great frozen north feel, (;>)! We took the motorhome in for an oil change. They don't make appointments so after I put everything that would fly around away we left on the big adventure. It was way up at the other end of the city, much like at home where things can be way up in the north end of the city. They were great, very careful not to make a mess and Dave said he was doing a good job, as it is difficult with this unit. Dave was surprised it only cost $37, WOW, so he gave the guy a $5 tip. After we stopped for lunch at Long John Silver fish & chip shop. Yum, I thought it was great, but Dave said it was the McDonalds of seafood restaurants. $7 for all the fish & shrimp or fish & lobster you could ask for. While we had the m'home out we stopped for propane & gas. This unit is sure easier to put propane in than our old one. Gas has gone up about 3cents since we got here, to around $1.80/gal. Divide that by 4 for the cost per litre, you Canucks. Still a good deal, about half what it is at home and it probably comes from Alberta. Then back home to reconnect all the utilities and the big levelling job. The levelling job on this unit is sit still with a beer and push the system buttons. Supper was grilled cheese & bacon sandwiches, we passed on the burger feast at the hall tonight. Yesterday Dave neglected to mention the "nine & dine" - nine holes of golf, a power cart rental & sandwich dinner for $16.

Sunny Sunday

Nice day today, not quite as hot, probably only 75, but nice all the same. Where has all the time gone, 1 week today and we are on the move again. I am going to miss this place and some of the people we have met here. After lunch we went to visit Roger & Louise at Country Roads RV resort. Such nice people, we had a nice visit with them and Paul Henley stopped in as well. They are in the same park. It was really funny, Roger offered a beer & Paul said, what would Richard say and the boys had a beer. LOL Back home for a BBQ supper including a salad using all the fresh lettuce & veggies I picked up yesterday. It was great! Dave called mom using our new pay-go telephone, she was great as always. He told her about the old gent he met at boys nite out, who introduced himself saying: I'm from Missouri; you know the state where the highway patrol pulls a local over and asks any ID? And the local replies, 'bout what? Idee/idea, LMAO. The best paart is he drove himself here, he's 92. The blog layout changed a little, all the old postings are on the Archives box on the right; a drop down menu comes up when you pick it.

Malibu sign

This sign will sit in the back window of our car that we dinghy tow [4 wheels down].

Buying Produce @ Lettuce Festival

Marg buying produce in support of the local food bank in Yuma.

Lettuce Festival Days

Dave played pool this AM & won 2/lost 2, must be improving or picking older competition, LOL. Well, after showers & a breakfast of french toast, headed off to the centre of Old Yuma. There were tons of tents set up with all kinds of things for sale. We came across a sign maker and had one made for the Malibu we tow behind the m'home - I go where I'm toad. Toad is a common term for vehicles pulled by m'homes, it's like the Class A wave. There was a German food vendor where we had a bratwurst on a bun, yummm. Walked around a bit and we saw the local food bank had a big fund raiser using all sorts of local produce donated by farmers. I bought some sugar peas, lettuce, onions, brussel sprouts. Also ran in to Everett & Tina MacDonald and his parents. He is the county Reeve in GP & we rent our off-season spot for the m'home from them. He mentioned getting back in time to plow out our spot [I guess there's lots], but he wasn't too worried. Later at Walgreens I found a webkinz for Katie. On the way home we stopped in to see Roger & Louise [from Shaws Point], but they were out so we left a note. They called a bit later, so we are planning to stop by there tomorrow, they are sure in a nice park. Also stopped at a DIY store to get a couple of small bolts for minor repairs. Ate dinner at home, angel hair pasta, shrimp & scallops, yum. We check the news on Big Country & the DHT and were sad to see the minus 31C today, but pleased to report that it was about 79F today, in fact we are getting half decent tans.

What happens at the hall stays at the hall

Lots of plans today, but the darn computer jammed up. After extensive research [yellow pages], Dave called a guy to fix it & we had to be home for him at 2:15. At 11:30 I went to the fashion show & lunch at the hall. Nice clothes although not my style, but I think I will get mom something from them. When I got back, Dave & I went to Frys for milk & toothpaste [remember the customs agents]. On the way there we stopped in Radio Shack & bought a new cell phone, you can never have enough, LOL. It's pay-as-you-go and we will use it only while we are in the U.S. It works out to about 14 cents a minute this way. Our SPECIAL deal from Rogers was 50 cents a minute [the regular rate was about $1.85/m], so we just saved a bundle. This is common amoung snowbirds, so are still learning. We will stop using our Rogers phones as of tomorrow & will only be using the new one: 928-446-4358. If you call us you will need to use this number. I think it has text messaging too. The computer geek, er guy, showed up and fixed it in the m'home for $45, so we're back. It was a virus protection that disabled the connection. Even he couldn't fix the Telus problem with email, arghhhhhh! He said they don't even try to fix Telus email accounts, they are HOPELESS! For supper Dave & Spag went to the Boys Nite Out at the hall. He said it was fun; $5 for dinner, beer & they even had belly dancers. Later we went for a walk and stopped at the hall to watch the Jam Session. It was good and the neighbours from all 3 sides were there. Sat with the lady I met at lunch from Sask. & her husband, they seem nice. The big switch over to digital TV happened here today and caused quite a panic. I am pleased to say our system is operating just fine.

Jan 22 - Home Again!

Home has taken on new meaning now that we are trailer park trash, this means back at the RV. The trip there was long, I arrived in Edm at midnight & it took 2 hours to clear customs with Canada's finest. They were worried I was smuggling some of the oranges & lemons Marg has been poaching, LOL. Had interesting meetings in Edm, endured many comments about weather, retirement & my decision to be a "Fresh Air Inspector" for "Seymour DoLittle"! Had a nice visit & dinner with mother, then off to Waynes for a rye/water chat. Just when I thought the weather was OK, the storm blew in and by morning they had a full grown blizzard with freezing weather. Me and the rest of the south bound travellers were fealing pretty smug about our destinations, as we did the virtual/mental "Dance of Joy". Lots of time in the US Airways terminal at the Phoenix airport on both trips. The only thing they don't charge for is the air you breath & I think they're working on that. If you check your bags, they charge $15, if you put it in the valet service at the ramp & they put your case in the same compartment, it's free! Then there was the airport security. The Americans are very thorough. As I stood there holding up my jeans with one hand [my belt was in the security bucket] & my passport in the other, they confiscated my terrorist materials - Crest toothpaste & hair gel. Who knows what havoc I could have created on the flight. Passengers with teeth so white they would have blinded the pilot & hair so stiff it would pierce the cockpit door. You can imagine us crazed canucks yelling maple syrup is great as we charged the door. It's enough to strike fear. Met Dave & Elizbeth Chomik in the departure lounge, they were flying to Lake Havasau. Marg picked me up at the Yuma International [LOL] airport, I was really glad to see I was still on that list. Oh yah, the temp here was 78F, a bit warmer than Edm's minus 20C. BBQ'd tonite and Spag gave me a nice big glass of red wine to help me focus, good neighbours are priceless.

Hi every one

I saw that we have 21 followers would be nice to know who is following the blog just say hi

While Dave's away Marg will shop

Well first day on my own and it went well. We have a built in laundry hamper and it was totally full so I knew how my day was going to start yikes 3 loads ,but at least there are lots of machines in the laundry room. They have a good system here , you buy a card then there is a machine that you can reload it when ever you need to so your not searching for coins to do the laundry. There are always ladies in the laundry room so its not boring, today I was chatting with a couple of them and everyone was groaning about doing the ironing in this heat so I said it only takes me a few minutes with my clothes steamer that goes every where with me.They had a hard time believing it so I invited the one lady to come and see it work. I should get a commission for all the steamers that people have bought once they see how great it works. After all domestic things were done I decided to be brave and take off to one of my favorite stores. Yes I found it and had a great shopping afternoon without Dave sitting in the car as he does not like what he caller chick stores. Well no meat and potatoes for this gal tonight , instead a fab. salad not what Dave would choose. He say's salad is what food eats lol. Well for you guy's out there sorry for the boring blog but Dave will be back tomorrow. Good nite

Dave off to Edmonton

Well I guess I am on my own for a couple of days as Dave had to fly to Edmonton for his first meeting with AUMA he was asked to sit on a committee so they wanted him there for their first one. The good news is that I didn't get lost coming back from the airport Yipeeee. It was very strange pressing his sport jacket and slacks and packing his suit case , haven't had to do that for a few months and I do not miss it LOL. The good thing after his meeting he will get in a short visit with Grandma . The funny thing is when Char told her he was coming she said well he knows its my bingo afternoon so I hope he doesn't come too early.LOL Dave will have a surprise when he gets home as his buddy Spag came over this afternoon wiyh a nice bottle of wine for him, as I guess Dave helpped him with a couple of projects and lent him some tools. Who would of thunk it Dave has tools with him. Well I am going to catch up with a few things while he is gone eg: dye job,do a real good clean job on the motorhome ,I could get used to alot smaller home to keep up.Well its bingo night tonight and Spag is the caller so I better go and donate. Bye for now and wish me luck.

Palm grove

Just took this picture so we didn't forget the kind of dates we had.

Date Palms

The date palm plantation where we got shakes, you can see why Marg wasn't picking these.

Date for a Date

Played pool a bit this AM and won one game. That may not sound like much, but some of these geezers had cues instead of rattles, they've been playing so long. Some of the guys went prospecting after for the rest of the day. They claim to find small amounts of gold or silver, but I think mostly scorpions & rattlers. What a gorgeous day, temp was about 79F and just enough breeze so it wasn't too hot. Went and toured a bit today. Went to the Peanut Patch where they have every kind of nut and peanuts every way you can think of. On the way stopped and Marg poached an orange from a tree, she is concerned about getting a reputation as a fruit poacher. LOL Then we went to Sun Garden Growers in Bart, California, where they grow dates. They use man lifts to pick the dates from the tops of the date palms. I would guess these Royal Palms to over 30 ft tall. Bought Marg a date shake and tasted it before committing to one for myself. They had 4 kinds of dates, we chose Madjool, one of us loved it, the other thought they were pretty good. Got home for a couple Landshark Lager's, they are made in Florida so hope to introduce Phil to them. It was burger nite, but we passed and Marg made a wonderful pasta with shrimp & scallops. Then on to what was left of the rice pudding. Life is good. We try to walk lots, but at best I think I am staying even, definitely not losing any weight. Tomorrow is a travel day for me and I will be in Edm all day Wednesday.

Poaching Lemons

There are huge lemon & orange orchards along the highways, so we stopped and .... Katie wait till Florida, there will be lots of orchards, LOL!

Flea Market

This picture is from quite a ways away because this thing is so large, you can't do it justice with a camera. There are hundreds of vendors, it covers about 10 or 15 acres plus parking

Putting & driving area

This is one of the amenities at Caravan Oasis

RV Park Entrance

This is the entrance to the park we are staying at.

Jan 17th

Another slow day in paradise. (;>) While I was cleaning up & getting ready Dave went & played pool, 8 ball. I guess he got beat again, I told him not to mention that he has a pool table at home, LOL. Might be an incentive for him to start actually using it. We have about 7 followers & others reading it, please feel free to comment so we get an idea of who you are. Went to Walmart where Dave bought a new razor, probably the first in 10 years. Tomorrow we will see if technology has changed too much for him or if he gets a good shave. Also got some more postcards, then home for happy hour & more great steaks. Time is going by too fast, next week Dave goes to Edm & I miss him already. You younger ones probably are not familiar with the term - grass widow, LOL! At least he will get to see mom. A lot happens here in the park, but much of it starts at 7 AM & the only 7 I am familiar with is PM. It gets real dark here, real early, it's like Maui Midnite if you are familiar with Hawaii.

Jan 16th

It was a great day, the last I saw the temp was 79F with a slight breeze. What a gorgeous day! We went to the Home & Garden show today, it was really small and quite a disappointment. The one at the Crystal Centre in GP makes this one look bad. The funny part was the couple in the line ahead of us to buy tickets, they were Homeniuks originally from Manning, Alec's brother. They have a park model & know Anne & Bill Paulovich well. Meanwhile back at the Caravan Oasis the Shriners had a big hamburger BBQ raising funds for the transportation of sick children to their hospitals in: America, Canada & Mexico. It was good and very popular, standing room only. The band played good old country music and a lot of people danced. The couples we sat with were nice, one from Edmonton, the other from Lanigan, Saskatchewan. Roger would love it here, they have enough hamburger events to put a smile on his face. In some parks there seems to be a bit of an us/them thing with the rv'ers & park model people, but not here, this park is well known for friendliness & having many activities. We really lucked out. Another interesting phenomenon here is anything with a license plate is OK on the highway. You see quads, golf carts & dune buggies all over the place, there was quad ahead of us on the road yesterday and a dune buggie at the lights today. I think I could get into that with the Rhino, LOL.

Jan 15th a low excitement day

A slow day in the heart of the Yuma Desert, but a hot one, I think it was 79F. We are both getting a bit of a tan. It was busy in the park today with new campers arriving. It seems many of them had such a tough winter that they had to delay their travels, so are arriving late. It's hilarious, there are more RV dealers here than you can imagine and everday someone is driving a new unit around with the price sticker still on the windshield. We went to the outlet store again [Beall] where Marg had a good day and returned with a bag of clothes. We are really getting to know our way around, Yuma isn't much bigger than GP. Marg went for groceries to Frys where there were lots of really good deals. We're eating too good & BBQ'd tonight. Had some guys come and look at the m'home windshield and they repaired one chip in it. I asked if it was too hot or sunny to do this & their answer was not until it reached 100F. We took a bit of a blasting from the sanding trucks on the way down and I am worried about the potential for a crack. Got a price on the car windshield, but with all the towing left I think we will leave it for home.

2 Weeks in Yuma

Wow, 2 weeks today, hard to believe. Not much today, 2 loads of laundry, not too bad. On the way to laundry there was a flea market at the main hall, all kinds of neat stuff. Both of us got geezer glasses, sun glasses that fit over your glasses. LOL After lunch we finally made it to the pool, we went to the large one. There is a brick wall around it, so it was really hot around there today. The water was so warm I stayed in until I was wrinkled, then had a dip in the hot pool. Sat around while Dave read another duster. Met a couple of nice ladies, one from Red Deer, the other an American. After we sat out on our patio when Spag & Tippie stopped by, he really liked the Crown Royal from duty free. I think he will be back, good thing Dave has 2 bottles, LOL. Told him he is the Richard Proulx of this campground, he got quite a laugh at the comparison. Dave is still working on him. He goes to church every Sunday AM like Richard used to do when we first met. LOL

Algodones street vending

The sidewalks are covered and vendors are wall to wall with all manner of goods. This looking down the sidewalk at an intersection.

The line

People in the line to US customs said this was the longest one they had ever seen, it was 2 hrs long.

Algodones - Jan 13th

Well back to Mexico today, this time thru California. This would make about 4 times into California, it's about 10 minutes from here, just over the Colorado river. It was nice and warm in Mexico, about 82 F. This was a different border town, a real shoppers paradise. They must have half of the Mexican dentists, optometerists and drug stores in this little border town. The shopping was fun, the vendors were hilarious. They would do anything to make a deal & if you walked away, they would chase you and take your offer. One little mexican guy, said you guys are from Alberta aren't you? Probably because us blue eyed arabs are all so good looking, LOL. Better yet they all spoke very good english. Marg got some cool stuff, gold earings, some of the famous Mexican vanilla, etc. you know chick stuff. Booze is really cheap, I saw tequila as low as $1.50 a bottle and bought rum for $6 for a 750 mil. We are in a neat little restaurant and had the local combo and a beer/margarita. The only negative part was the line up for US customs, it was about 2 hours, in the blazing sun until you get under the covered walk. There were some great people in the line and it was an adventure itself. One guy drank a 6 pack, another read his book in the line. There were US border patrol observation towers, armed guys, helicopters, you name it. Again parked and walked across. Went to an Applebees for dinner and it was great. I got asked if I was some TV sports analyst/personality from Pennsylvania, he must be a good looking son-of-a-gun.

Yuma - Jan 12th

Today was a warm one, it got up to 79 F, with a nice breeze so very warm, but it wasn't too hot. We went to the Mesa del Sol and hit a bucket of balls. My new clubs aren't any straighter, but the balls are a lot harder to find. Marg had a good day as well. We were running out of cash, so went through a couple of options until we hit a bank where Marg was able to recharge our wallets. Thought we were going to have to collect aluminum cans for the deposits there for a while, LOL. It was burger nite at the big hall, so we went and met some nice people. The burgers are a real good deal, so it was my treat, hah. One couple are full time RVers from Florida, they came here for the winter???? The other couple was from really far away, Edmonton, LOL. They have a lot of miles on in their travels & have gone down as far as the Baha in Mexico. There are here with the Florida guys. Marg also bought a ticket to the fashion show & one for me to the boys nite out on Jan 23rd. There are a bunch that play 8 ball here, but for Phil & John's benefit, the rules are very different. Kind of that home turf thing I guess. There are probably more ways to play 8 ball than any other game. The only thing that is common is if you sink the 8 prematurely, you lose. Picked up a few groceries at Frys, they have a lot of stuff we don't see at home. Lots of kinds of: peppers, tortillas, vegetables, beer. Everything is in 2 languages, Spanish & English, it's quite an education. Not all that's different is good, we bought a nice looking banana cream pie at Frys & it was so terrible that we chucked it.

Yuma - Jan 11th

Today was a nice hot one, we wore shorts & Tshirts all day long. Sat in the sun a bit and really felt good about the weather when we heard about what it was like at home. ;>) We went for a drive out Fortuna road where the farms are. There were a large number of Mexicans harvesting lettuce crops surrounded by some large herb fields. Marg bought some things at a veg & fruit stand, some really nice oranges, avocados, etc. It was hilarious, there we were in shorts and the Mexicans were putting on winter coats, I guess they like it really hot. The produce here is so fresh and tasty, it's really different, in a very positive way. In the afternoon Spag had a flat tire on the golf cart, so I helped him change it. There are more golf carts here than at the lake. That is a beer drinking job in any country. Hey I saw a quote by Benjamin Franklin today, it went something like: Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to enjoy life. This could be a new guiding star for some of us. Anyway while changing the tire we collected quite a crowd, but the job got done, Richard you would have loved it. After supper we went to an ice cream social in the main hall and met a nice couple from the Seattle area. According to them the bluest skies are not really in Seattle, rather in Yuma. For the younger generation, this was an old Perry Como song.

Lutes saloon & casino

Their claim to fame is the worlds best burgers, they are pretty good; this old gal was bangin' away on the old upright with some real oldies.

Hi All Yuma - Jan 10th

Hi Everyone Hope your not getting bored but here is today's tale. Today was very warm, the temp. was about 75 and is supposed to get even warmer as the week goes by. Today we went to old downtown where they had an arts & craft show. It was very nice, tons of people with neat things to sell. Our neighbour told Dave Lutes was a great place for lunch so we tried it, food was ok. The place was an old saloon and it had lots of character. After we walked around for a while we headed to Target yes another chick adventure, LOL as Dave would say. I finally found a few things to buy. Its crazy but I haven't bought that much as always wondering what the next place might have. The only problem is what to bring back for the grandkids. They are getting older and harder to please. We are still having lots of problems with our internet service the blog works just fine and we receive emails, but never know if the ones we sent are delivered. Thank you Evelyn for the one you posted, its great to hear from you. I sent you one back but it didn't show that it was delivered. Yes I would love to have you here for a shopping partner and Dave would love to have Richard to hang with but I think they would get into alot of trouble LOL. Well that's all for today - nite all.

Lazy day

Hi every one well today was a lazy day for us just hung around here read,went for walks. It was very warm but there was a strong wind today.The only exciting thing for me was I went out to the supermarket all by myself and never got lost LOL. Oh yes thank you Vanessa for the email so I could pay bills. How great it is to be so far from home and pay your bill on line.It's just too bad that they still keep coming even if your not at home LOL.

Hi everyone and thanks for visiting us today. It would be nice if some of you would post a comment hint, hint, LOL. This may be a boring one as it was laundry day, the only good thing about that is you get to meet more people as you are stuck there for awhile lol. One of the ladies at laundry was having email trouble, they are from BC & have TELUS, another unhappy customer. We ended up back at the fleamarket there is everything if you can imagine it you can find it: furniture, tools, veggies, clothes, toys, magic potions, RV's, etc. Dave was getting short on reading material and in the process got a licence plate made for the motorhome; it reads Marg & Dave Grande Prairie. We also found out that you shouldn't drink the water here; after drinking it for a week. It contains alot of salt; I guess it tastes ok but not good for you. We had to get a container to buy salt free water for drinking. They have these little shacks all over the place with coin op dispensers & charge you 25 cents a gallon for it, as a comparison I think Aquatera in GP is a dollar for 220 gals. We wish someone had told us about the salt when we checked in! Oh well, short term it just had us smacking out lips lots, a little like the old chapped lips joke. Weather is getting nicer every day [in the 70's all week] and tomorrow I plan to sit around the pool; I need to get some rays before Florida. Well Bill - you will be proud of your Dad as he is getting pretty good with the BBQ, did up some great steaks tonight. Texas beef is pretty darn good. Oh yes, Char thank you so much for keeping in touch so much with Grandma and reading her the blog. All my love to those precious grandkids of ours we miss you and love you all very much. Also Roger & Vanessa thanks for looking after the house and getting the mail. You too Bill. Everyone here keeps asking us how cold it is & how much snow there is at home and then they shake their heads. Love to all.

The Mexican adventure Jan 7th

After breakfast we decided to go to Mexico it's only 22 miles from here so no big deal to go. It's another nice day today temp. in the 70's. We found a good parking spot on the US side as you don't take your car in without special insurance. We only had to walk a couple of blocks and going in is no big deal; the Mexican border control never said a word to us just a nod to proceed. It was just as I remembered yuk , almost no one spoke english and anything in the stores was priced in peso, not that there was anything I would of bought anyway. We walked around a bit and met up with a couple that stopped to talk to us. Small world he was born and raised in GP and they now live in St Albert too funny. Well we were starting to get hungry and no way was I eating there, Montezumas revenge & all. On the way back to US border was a bit different as we had to show our passports; but the fellow was very nice wanted to know more about Canada. After many questions about driveby shootings, gangs & cold, his comment was it sounded pretty quiet and we must have come for the excitement. After lunch at a Jack In the Box (first time in one of them), we came accross a great store Burlington Coat Co. - yipeeee another great chick outlet. They must of had 2000 purses alone, to quote the governor of the next state over [Arnold] I'll be back, LOL. Dave went to a sporting goods store in the same complex. It was full of guys whose wives were in the chick outlet. This is lettuce season here; saw lots of workers in the fields like one of our photo's. Really starting to fit in as now; I not only have a Macy's credit card, but now a Fry's VIP card that saved us 44.00 on our grocery bill today LOL. Got back just in time for a beer with Spag & then BBQ for suppper.

Lettuce Harvesters

These farm workers were harvesting romain lettuce onto this conveyer type machine

Mexico border crossing

Marg at the border to San Luis in the Sonora province.

Farmers Market Yuma

A shot of Gonzalez produce stall on main street, they had the best selecction.

Yuma Jan 6th

Well an interesting day for us in Yuma. It was in the mid 60's today & expect it to be in the 70's for the next week or so. The Malibu is really cool, it switches from metric to english with a menu option and the speedometer now reads in mph. We went to the farmers market in the old downtown. It was on Main street by the old prison. Pretty neat, we bought pink oranges, were they ever good. We bought some small pitted oranges, were they ever terrible. LOL There are orange & lemon trees everywhere, even on the traffic islands. Never realized there were this many kinds of peppers & vegetables, Marg bought a fresh artichoke, while some we are not trying, like tomalitto. Lots of market gardening here, Jan 23rd is the big Lettuce Days Festival. Apparently there is a really good recipe for cooking rattlesnake that we aren't trying either. Marg got some postcards & sent them to the grandkids. She is at bingo tonight in the main building, our neighbour, Spag, was calling. She brought home $70 big ones, yeh! While sitting here I could feel the m'home shake, it did it several times. Each time I went out, first thinking a strong wind came up, then someone bumped it, then I thought the jacks were moving the m'home. It had me going. Watching the news, it turna out it was the Yuma Proving Ground, they were exploding some very large bombs and it was causing a vibration. Yikes, we are about 25 miles from there. I want a combat medal for this, LOL.

Yuma Prison - the Old West

A day in Yuma Jan 5th "In Prison"

Dave spent most of the morning booking his flight to Edm on Jan 20th for the AUMA Task Force meeting. Good thing as there were only 2 seats left on the return flight. The trick was getting the confirmation printed as we don't have a printer & Dave is a techno peasant, but he & Vicki at the Oasis Connection office figured it out. He's going to a computer for geezers class at the main hall tomorrow AM & is oft heard saying how he misses the HELP desk guys at the City of GP. I was checking gmail & the Y&R came on channel 13, life is good! Dave was out chatting up the neighbour [Spag, his wifes name is Dittie] and met another fellow. They chatted about RV sewers & how Terry had bought a new Honda he took back to Regina last spring. It was a real horror story. I am glad he had those stimulating topics as I am afraid he will go nuts with only me to chat with. LOL. After lunch we went to the Old Yuma Prison, it was cool. The inmates had it pretty rough, our justice system could get some pointers, LOL. On the way there we stopped at a great outlet store called Bealls and I will really do it justice when Dave is gone to Edm. Easy to find, I hope - LOL. Tonite was burger nite at our RV park, very good burgers, all of the geezers with good teeth were there, LOL. Met some nice people from Calgary and Spag won a bottle of wine. Have not seen him since.

Our first day in Yuma [not the prison]

Beer 30 cans for $21, hooray for Walmart! Went for a drive to see Yuma, stumbled on a major gun show. Never seen so many pistols and automatic weapons in one place. Right then I knew it was going to be a great day for me too. What makes your man in a great mood, yes a gun show. After that Dave spotted a huge Flea market that we walked around. It was bigger than West Edm Mall. Had a polish sausage there for lunch but had to leave before we saw a quarter of it. You would have to spend the whole weekend there to have a chance of seeing it all, now that's a plan, LOL. Dave got new runners @ Walmart to go with the new beer and picked the $10 ones [shoesthat is], I made sure he ended up with the expensive $30 ones. LOL, he will thank me later. Back home for Miller time and trying the 3rd brand of beer, so far no bad ones. It was really cool & overcast today [got to about plus 66], we had to put on a sweater by 4PM. Our email in Yuma is now gmail, we are at mgourlay34@gmail.com

Jan 3rd, Yuma

This is our home until Jan 31st.

The view out front

Inside the M'home

Updating the blog.

Jan 2 Yuma

Well our first full day here. Today was a day to get some domestic things done eg: vacuum, laundry, and rearrange some things. Met a 91 yr old woman who just renewed her driving lic in the laundry, watching to see what she drives in case we meet her on the freeway. It was so cold when we left, alot of things were just put anywhere there was space. It was too cold to open the slides and some of our storage inside cannot be accessed until they are opened. Met alot of nice people, everyone is so friendly it reminds us of the lake. Something that is funny, our next door neighbour here has been coming here for over 20 years and everyone knows; him something like at the lake. Our claim to fame there is our neighbour is Richard & everyone knows him. This could be a look into the future for Richard, LOL. Also lots of people run around here on golf carts I wish I had ours here. Went to a jam session tonite, we were part of the young crowd, the tunes would have brought back memories to grandma Bez. We had our first home cooked dinner tonight since we left GP got tired of eating out. Dinner included southwestern style corn, something new to us, kind of like chefs' surprise, when you open the can. Dave checked out flights to Edmonton for the 20th as he has to go for a meeting .

The Rig

This is all 55 feet of us in the desert, the lingo for the car we pull is a "toad" or "dinghy".

Laughlin Casino

This casino is in the shape of an old riverboat, cool!

Highway 95

The highway from Laughlin to Yuma, very scenic.

New Years Day, Jan 1st

aka - the drive to Yuma [the 3:12 to Yuma??] Off to a good start, on the road @ 8:50, got gas in Needles, it was the most expensive gas we have seen, there is a pattern developing here. Made a wrong turn in Needles that could have been worse except we found a turn-around spot just before the underpass. It was only 8 feet high, not even close to our requirements, LOL. Called boys & grandma to wish happy New Year. Well can you believe it, we drove right to our RV [geezer] park [Caravan Oasis], unreal eh! For the BoB [Brits on the Blog] they use the word caravan in terms of a procession of camels here. We have a great spot, it was easy to get into even though it was not a pull-thru. There are palm trees & giant cactus everywhere. After set up, we got groceries & a few other things we needed [ladder]. Too funny, the Walmart superstore is about the same distance away from here as it is from home in GP. LOL. Dave picked out a couple of new kinds of beer, one made in Florida so he can recommend one to Phil. We will see if one of them will be a favourite, LOL, there are no bad beers. Well a long day, so Dave took me out for a wonderful New Yr Day dinner. It was FAB, so we will be back there again [Mimi's]. This is like an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was a little too warm during the day, so we had the windows and vents open, but it cools right down at night. Had to put a sweater on. It's nice to be in one place!

Drivin Miss Daisy

New driver going thru Utah.