Monday, January 21, 2008

We took off, after our showers this morning, to the Cottage Too Restaurant in Desert Hot Springs.  We had gone there last week and got off so cheaply that we decided we would give them another crack at us this morning.  It wasn't a fluke as Sharon had a 3-egg Omelette, and I had my usual, and the bill came to $14.60.

On the way home we stopped a K-Mart for some Printer paper which we needed to make up a couple of documents this morning.  We needed to print up a new Airfare Ticket, an introductory letter for Jerry Milan to get our motorhome out of storage, before we return, and a couple of pictures of the new precious little angel.  What should have taken a half hour took a couple of hours to complete.  We got it all done before noon, however.

Sharon spent a part of the afternoon checking on parking at the airport and found out that we had assumed we were flying out of Sky Harbor in Phoenix and instead we fly out of Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, which is much closer and less traffic than Sky Harbor.  A little known fact which would have been important on Thursday.  We would have pretty much been "waiting at the train station when our ship came in".  She still didn't find out about secure parking so she'll have to call again tomorrow.  It's been about 14 years since we've taken a plane anywhere, and the naivete certainly shows.

We had Turkey and Dressing Sandwiches for Supper tonight.  It was a mixture that we froze at Thanksgiving, but we just love the combination.  Sharon made some fresh Cranberry Sauce out of whole Cranberries that we spread over the top.  We finished it off with Potato Chips.  Mmmmmmm Good!

We had a full night of TV tonight starting with Prison Break and finishing it off at 10 with Rules of Engagement.  A couple of repeats were sprinkled in but they were good shows at the time  they originally played.  We hung in there until 10 and Sharon decided she would try to sleep with me again.  She had a hard time getting to sleep and I woke up early and had a hard time going back to sleep.  We'll get used to each other in bed again, I hope.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

This was a "get ready to go day" right from the start this morning.  Phil and Joyce Bach came into the park from Outdoor Resorts, and parked right across the street from us. 

Sharon left with the laundry to make a final catch-up before we leave tomorrow. So we could take all our favorite clothes with us when we leave Mesa on Thursday.  By the time she got done it was time for lunch, and we would be trying to eat up what we have left in the refrigerator.  We needed to finish up what we have before Thursday when we fly out.  I don't think we're going to make it, however, but we'll be pretty close.

We went to the pool with Phil and Joyce this afternoon but we just got Ice Cream and sat by the side of the pool.  It was a little cool and Sharon didn't want to go into the water either.  We stayed for about 45 minutes before we headed home.  Sharon had asked them if they wanted to play dominoes or cards tonight and they said they would come over.

Phil and Joyce were going out to eat at Del Tacos tonight but they were done by 7 and stopped over.  We played until 10:30 and that had been the latest that we had stayed up for a long time, including New Year's Eve.  As soon as they left we headed for the bunkhouse.  We had planned on an early escape tomorrow probably around 7:30 or so.  We always lose an hour headed back toward Arizona.  We have already planned to have supper at the Elks with Mary and Jerry Milan when we get there.

It didn't take long for us to fall into slumber having greased the skids with a couple of drinks while we played Dominoes.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

We got rolling early this morning even though we don't know exactly what time we left.  I do know that we were at Carl's Jr. by about 8 since we left there around 8:20.   I wanted to try their new Breakfast Burrito.  It looked good on the advertisement and indeed it was very tasty.  Sharon had their Breakfast Sandwich on Sourdough Bread.

We left Coachella and our next obstacle would be the Chiriaco Summit which loomed right in front of us.  It would take us about a half hour to get up it and then we would be on to Quartzsite.  We had it all planned out that Sharon would stop in Quartzsite and pick up our Quartzsite Snowbird Pins.  We've been picking them up for about 7-8 years now.  I wear them on the hat that I wear swimming.  It looks kind of tacky, but who cares.

We rolled into Casa Grande right at 4 o'clock and called Jerry and Mary Milan to let them know that we were in.  They agreed to pick us up at 5   They were there right at 5 before the gate closed.  They didn't have the gate code so they needed to be there before it closed. 

We left almost immediately after I explained to Jerry how to take care of the motorhome.  We were at the Elks long enough to have at last 3 pitchers of beer and our burgers.  Sharon had Chicken Wings and Mary had a Breast of Chicken Filet.

We came back to the motorhome and just talked for awhile. We also told Jerry that we would disconnect the battery for the engine so It wouldn't go dead in the next 10 days.  He was also going to take our coach out of storage for us on the day we return, because we won't be back until 10 at night.

After they left we sat up until 10 just watching a little TV and then we headed for the sleep room.  Me to mine and Sharon to hers.   We had been drinking so I'm sure there would be some snoring going on tonight.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

We were up and showered early this morning cause we had a few thing to do before we headed to Mesa and the Airport.  We had to get the motorhome into storage at 9 and then get the keys and our extra food over to Jerry and Mary's along with an extra set of keys for the motorhome.  Sharon decided to go over there while I was putting the motorhome in storage but the keys we were going to give to Jerry were the ones we were using.  So she had to come back and get them along with me.  It was only about a two mile trip, so it didn't take much time.

We took off for the airport after we dropped off the keys, and we arrived a couple of hours early.  I tried catching up on my Journal in the terminal but the chairs were very uncomfortable, so here I sit on the plane at 33,000 feet typing.  At least it's a way to help pass the time of the flight.

The plane was small and crowded even though there were two seats an aisle and another 3 seats across.  The seats reclined about 2 inches which didn't make a "hill of beans" difference.  About halfway through the flight the cereal I had for Breakfast decided it didn't want any part of me anymore.  Two trips to the Bathroom on the plane, one in the Terminal and another one after the 2 hour ride home seemed to take care of the problem somewhat.

Mike, Jess's husband drove to Green Bay to pick us up.  He actually found a great parking spot very close to the terminal.  I actually managed to maneuver to the car before the snow and ice took over the ground.  It was very cold, however, about -2 degrees with a wind chill of -25 below Zero.

We did get a chance to see the precious little angel, the actual reason for the trip.  We spent the next hour at Jess and Mike's, Kissing and Hugging and Loving.  Stella Marie mostly slept, but did wake up a couple of times to cry.  We didn't care, we just wanted to see her.

We arrived at our daughter Jen and Tom's about 10:30.  Jen, Tom and Nicole greeted us at the door but we didn't see Brady.  I guess he was the practical one by getting his sleep tonight.

We went almost immediately to bed after having a long day.  The bed was soft and fluffy and welcomed us with welcome arms.  We were zzzing not long after.

Friday, January 25, 2008

The weather was not too bad when we finally got out today.  The sun was shining and the temp was about 20 degrees.  A far cry from the temp last night when we flew into Green Bay.

Brady got a new bed today, so the mattress from his bed Sharon will use for the duration.  The Full size bed was not too small, but sleeping in separate beds will be a little more comfortable for us.

We left the house around noon today as we were going to the Assisted Living place to have lunch with my mother.  We called them earlier this morning to see if they had room for us, and they did.

Lunch was a pasty for both of us.  It was small, compared to what we're used to,

but it was very tasty.  We also had celery sticks and Cottage Cheese, along with a piece of Carrot Cake for dessert.  It was certainly enough to hold us until suppertime.  We stopped in her room and visited for awhile before we left to take care of other business.

We had some minor shopping to do so we went to K-Mart and picked up the couple of things we needed.  Sharon saw a couple of people that she knew prior to leaving in the fall.  I only knew one of them but it wasn't important anyway.

We left K-Mart and headed for home.  We would just sit around for a couple of hours before we went out to Dinner with Sharon's brother Denny and his wife Drema.  They picked us up and we went to the T&T for food.  It is one of our favorite restaurants here in Iron Mountain.(Aurora, WI)  We were surprised to see that the Lobster/Steak Special had gone up to $17.95.  It's quite a good little Dinner but it was $12.95 when we left.  I think Drema was the only one to have the Special.  Denny had Steak, Sharon had Petite Lobster and I had Ribs.  Everything was very good, as usual.  We stayed long enough to have an after-dinner drink and then they dropped us off at home.

Jen and Nicole were working on the computers when we arrived.  Tom has 2 Laptops and a Desk model lined up in his office.  We stayed up for just a while and then we went to our rooms upstairs.  I watched TV and Sharon read her book for a while and then we just went to our respective beds.  I mostly hobbled and Sharon just went.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

When I woke up this morning we had some snow falling.  It wasn't a lot, but it was falling.  That means I won't be able to see the ice patches where I put my crutches down.  Welcome to Michigan.  The snow would stop and the temperature came up into the 20's though.  A balmy day for this time in the U.P.

Jen stopped at the Bakery this morning and got a box of fresh doughnuts, and by the time we came down we were ready for them.

We just lazed around for most of the morning not really having anything to do.  By lunchtime we went to McDonald's for a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Fries.  We also had to pick up a cake mix for Jen's Birthday cake for tomorrow.  We had pretty much nothing to do all day today, so Nicole and Sharon made the cake for tomorrow.

Jen had made a big pan of Chili that we had for supper.  It was very tasty and she had picked up some chewy rolls to eat with the chili.  Jess and Mike had stopped over with the "new little angel" and decided to also have some chili while they were here.

Jen, Tom and Brady were down in Escanaba for hockey games today, and they were now on their way back home.  Sharon called them and found out that they were only about 30 miles away.  Jess and Mike didn't want to stay too late with the baby, but Jen and Tom will be home in twenty minutes or so.

Everybody got a chance to hug and kiss and hold the baby before the Mindoks headed for home.  Sharon had seen the baby again on Friday, but I hadn't seen her since Thursday night.  She sneaked over there when she was out with Jen and Nicole.

I came up to our room after Jess left and Sharon stayed downstairs and played Yahtzee with Jen and Nicole.  She came up about 9 and read her book before she went to sleep.  I watched TV until about 10:30 having had a short nap this afternoon.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

It was overcast this morning but the temps were still in the 20's.  We're going at 11 this morning to see one of Brady's hockey games.  We're excited to see him play again.  He played 2 games today and they won the first one at 8 AM.  Apparently Brady had won the game scoring the winning goal on his knees.  Before we knew it, 11 o'clock had rolled around and we were at the game.  It started out badly with the other team scoring 2 unanswered goals.  Brady's team came back however, and scored 3 unanswered goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods.  We were very happy since last Spring we attended a Tournament Game and they lost.  We were beginning to think we were jinxed.  They did finally win the Championship last Spring after we refused to attend the final game.

Sharon and I went to McDonald's and had lunch and then went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for Pasties.(Meat, Potatoes and Onions rolled up and baked in a crust) It's a UP delicacy., and very good indeed, if I do say so myself.

Sharon spent the entire afternoon making 2 batches of Pasties with our older daughter.  Our youngest makes pasties already and they're quite good.  The batches were done by 5 and we sat down and ate some of them.  There were 16 so we couldn't do them in one sitting.  They made one batch with Wheat Flour and the other with White.  None of us could taste the difference when they were done.  They were all good.

Sharon stayed downstairs and cleaned up the kitchen and I went upstairs to watch some TV.  There was absolutely nothing on so I watched a couple of old movies.  Sharon came up about 8 and started reading her book.  By that time I was already into a second movie.  We were up until 10 and then we caved.  It had been a somewhat long day.