Monday, February 1, 2010

We hit the road this morning about 8:30 and no sooner got onto the Interstate and got held up by construction traffic.  I made the mistake of hurrying over to the left lane and hoping I could sneak by whatever was up ahead and preventing myself from exiting and just driving around it.  Just when we thought we were around it another jam formed in front of us.  I scurried to the right to exit and the ramp was closed.  We were tied up for the better part of an hour and a half before we finally broke free.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful except that we had to stop as soon as we got into Yuma for something to eat since we hadn't had anything but a banana since 8:30 this morning.  We drove into the parking lot at In-N-Out Burger and got a Double-Double and Fries before we took off again for the campground at Yuma Lakes.

As soon as we got settled we gave Clay and Jerie Nye a call to see if they would be home this afternoon.  I didn't find out until later that when I called they were on their way home from Los Angeles and were still about 15 miles out west of Yuma.

It was about 3:30 by the time we took off and left for their development.  It took us a few minutes before we were hopelessly lost and had to call them to find out where they were.  I had gotten all the right numbers but had transposed them incorrectly.  Instead of 247 I had written down 427.  Oh well, I guess I was having one of those days where nothing seems to go right.

We stayed and caught up on the last year for the next couple of hours but it was soon approaching time for "24" to come on the tube.  We left having made a date to meet them at the Elks tomorrow night for the "Fried Chicken night" that we've gone to for the last few years.  They're food is excellent and we have a good time with Clay and Jerie's friends.

We got back home in plenty of time to catch "24" for the night, and I taped a couple of other shows for later viewing.  We didn't make it past 10 though as we had watched all the shows, taped and not, for the night.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

We had a couple of things to do today including picking up our mail at the Post Office.  We left for town about 10 o'clock and went directly to the Post Office, mostly in vain.  Our mail had not made it there as of yet.  We'll have to return over the next couple of days to check again.

We also checked for the Mexican Restaurant on 4th Avenue that Roy Parent told us about.  He doesn't know the name of the place so looking for it is pretty much a waste of time.  His description of the place is so General that it matches a couple of places.  We gave up on that notion after a trip up and down 4th Avenue.

We decided that since it was close to lunchtime we would stop for a sandwich to hold us over til 6 tonight when we go to the Elks club with Clay and Jerie.  We stopped at McDonald's and when we got out of the car I found a Credit Card on the ground by the tire of the next car.  I picked it up and then pondered what to do with it.  I suggested we give it to the employees at McDonald's, but Sharon didn't agree.  She said she'd rather keep it and call the credit card company and report it.  But while we were eating Sharon saw a young couple getting in the car next to ours and she hurried outside to check and see if the card was theirs.  It was, and she returned it to them.  Happy ending.

After McD's we decided to go out to the new casino and pick up our Player Cards so we could enjoy having Breakfast there at a discounted price.  We actually received $10 worth of free play on the slot machines.  Sharon zipped through her money and I won $11.65.  I took my money and ran.  I'm usually the one who loses so I was quitting while I was ahead.

By the time we got back home we had a couple of hours before we headed out for the Elks for the Fried Chicken Dinner.  We got a call from Clay and Jerie to let us know that they would meet us at the Elks.  By 5 after fighting our way through traffic we made it to the club for.  There were 16 other friends of Clay and Jerie's that were gathered in the bar waiting for tables.  The food was excellent and we had a good time and even stopped for an after-dinner drink with Clay and Jerie before we came home.

We were in plenty of time to catch a couple of our fav's on the tube tonight.  We actually both stayed up until 11 watching Gordon Ramsey on "Kitchen Nightmares".  He's quite the piece of work.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

We left the hacienda this morning with the intention of going out for a buffet Breakfast to Golden Corral and when we got there the parking lot was empty.  Not to fear, JB's was next on the list for their buffet.  JB's was closed for construction having been open yesterday.  We were now across the street from the Post Office and decided to stop and see if our mail was there.  It was, but the half hour wait made us too late for the Breakfast buffet at Hometown Buffet.  We were now officially scrambling to find a place to eat.  As we continued down 32nd street we couldn't find another buffet but we agreed to try Penny's Diner near Cracker Barrel.  We had heard about Penny's for years and never got a chance to try it.  The food (Chicken Fried Steak, Eggs, Hash Browns and Toast) was very good and quite reasonable for the amount of food we got.

We managed to finish up Breakfast and then head back home to wait for a call from Terry and Jo-Anne Bertamini who were coming into town today.  Sharon had decided earlier that she would tackle the laundry today and she hopped right to it when we got home.

I had a few finishing touches to put on the Newsletter before I sent it out.  I managed to make up a logo and get it sent out, before she got back.

I also got the call from the Bertamini's while she was gone and gave her a call on her cell phone, but she didn't answer, and it went to voicemail.  The message came through as she was getting out of the car after she got back, about 15 minutes later.

She started putting clothes on hangars so they wouldn't wrinkle before we left to see Terry and Jo-Anne.  They are staying overnight at the VFW on Highway 95 tonight, and then moving on to their campground tomorrow.

We sat and caught up on the last few months before we left to go to Golden Corral for supper.  I ate only enough to be comfortable after our Breakfast this morning that filled me up beyond full.

By the time we got home tonight it was about 7 and still in plenty of time to catch some shows on the tube.  It didn't force us to stay up past 10 however, and we caved at our usual time.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

We took off this morning headed toward our southern neighbor, Mexico.  We had a couple of things to do including a dental visit for Sharon and glasses for the both of us.  We stopped first at the optical place since our glasses would take a couple of hours to be made.  After we finished up there we went to the dental office and Sharon had 4 fillings put in for $200.  With both of us getting hungry by now we stopped at Rincon Timpatico Restaurant for lunch.  The food was very good and I picked up a T-shirt and Sharon bought some yard ornaments from the wandering vendors.

After lunch we headed to the Purple Pharmacy to pick up some liquor and some liquor-laced chocolate candies.  Sharon also picked up some Aloe cream that she had been looking for.

After the Pharmacy we headed for the border and the wait to get back home.  Typically in previous years the wait has been longer and longer since 9/11.  Surprisingly, the wait today was about 25 minutes, but the walk out of the Border Booth was horrendous.  We had to walk at least a block past the entrance to the Quechan Parking Lot before we had to walk back to get into it. This crossing is getting worse and worse and this is a brand new crossing gate.

It was about 4 PM by the time we got home and we got as phone call from Terry and Jo-Anne that we didn't answer in time, so it went to voicemail.  They wanted to know if we had already eaten Dinner and whether we wanted to come over tonight to watch a movie.  When we called them back we declined the invitation since they are located about 15-20 miles from our campground, and we really didn't feel like going anywhere tonight anyway.  We did tell them that we would be going to the Marketplace tomorrow, and they informed me that they would be going into Mexico.

We settled in front of the tube tonight for our usual TV watching entertainment for the night.  We had enough stuff taped to bring us right up to 10 even though we stayed up until 11 watching a show called "Impaled" on Discovery.

Friday, February 5, 2010

We were intending to go to the Yuma Marketplace this morning but not too early.  Terry and Jo-Anne had to go to Mexico on a drug run and would be back later.  Before we had a chance to take off for the Marketplace we got a call from them telling us that they would meet us there.  A half hour later we were waiting for them as they drove up.

I went to the Electric Cart people and rented a scooter cause I knew there was no way I would make it through the market walking.  It was only $20 for all day, so I rented it for the day.  By the time we finished up and got back home it was about 3 o'clock and we were supposed to be at Terry and Jo-Anne's at 4 to have a few drinks before we went out for the Seafood Buffet at the Casino.  It would take us the better part of a half hour to get out to Pilot Knob where they're campground is.  It's 22 miles out there from Yuma Lakes.  We managed to make it at about 5 after 4 and we settled in for some imbibing.  We had a couple of drinks and headed out for the casino about 5.

By the time we got Terry and Jo-Anne's Player Cards it was at least an hour and a half wait for the Buffet.  Jo-Anne and I decided we didn't want "all you can eat" crab legs that bad.  We decided to leave but not before Terry and Jo-Anne gambled away their free $10 on the Player Card.

We left and headed for town to find something to eat.  We decided on Golden Corral again since we were all felling like a buffet, and not wanting anything specific.  We loaded up again before we left there and headed back to Pilot Knob.  We stayed for about an hour before we left and headed toward home.

We stayed up watching the tube til 11 before we ambled off to the "rest" room and rested for the next 8 hours.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Sharon had a couple of things to do today and I was going to be the driver of the vehicle since she didn't have clue as to where she was going or how to get there.  I suggested that if we go into town at noon that we stop at a place called "Kneaders" for lunch while we were there.

So off we went, stopping at Kneaders first to have our lunch.  I wasn't impressed with the sandwich I had at Kneaders and the salad that Sharon had didn't look too impressive either.  But this was a place that we had spotted a couple of years ago here in Yuma, and we wanted to try it out anyway.  The food was also not that cheap even though the place was little more than a coffee shop.

After we left we caught the Wal-Mart on Pacific Ave.   We also wanted to check to see where the Wal-Mart was near the Foothills, and to see if we could locate Parrish's Bar And Grill on Fortuna.  The Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Foothills was in a very desirable location and closer to Yuma Lakes than the one on Pacific.  After locating the Wal-Mart we went on to find Parrish's and then turned for home.

We had finished everything we wanted to do this afternoon and we were back home by 2 o'clock.  We watched a little TV and hen both of us took a little snoozer.

By 4 o'clock we were getting ready to meet Clay and Jerie at 5 at the Elks Club for Ribs tonight.  We arrived a few minutes early and the parking lot was empty.  There were 5 cars in the lot and one of them was ours.  This was not a good sign for the quality and taste of the ribs.  But the "parking lot opinion" was wrong, the ribs were very, very good and falling off the bone tender.  The price of the Dinner was also very reasonable at $9.95 for a half rack.

We were back home again by 7 and settled in front of the Telly again.  I've been having trouble with the printer over the last couple of days and I tried to get it working again.  I sent out the Newsletter as a .pdf in e-mail but I haven't been able to print the hard copies.  I'll try to clean the nozzles of the printer tomorrow and change the cartridge, if necessary, but after that I'm at a loss to figure out what's wrong with it.  Oh well, I guess I'll just sleep on it.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

We had no one to meet, nothing to see and nowhere to be today so this was truly going to be a do nothing day.  Sharon was off to church at 11 and I started cooking my Breakfast which was going to be pancakes.  I had already watched all my Sunday morning political shows so it was time to just sit and enjoy my Breakfast.

I decided that today would be the final push to get the printer working again.  I ran a test on it and cleaned the printing nozzles, and each time I did, it was getting better.  I cleaned the nozzles a couple of more times and it was finally working again.  I still needed to print up the hard copies for this month's Newsletters.  I still have 9 "Letters" that need to be sent out.  With the printer working I finally got them printed, folded, stamped and ready to go into the mail.  By the time Sharon got home again she was surprised to see that I finally got the printer working.

Most of the afternoon was spent watching a movie and taking a short nap.  We were just marking time until the Super Bowl was on even though we had no special interest in watching, or not watching it.  We surfed back and forth for the whole game until it got to the 4th quarter and it started tightening up.  I was hoping that New Orleans would be able to hold on and pull it out in the end, and they finally got everything to come together in the end of the game.

We had Meatloaf and Fried Potatoes along with Peas for supper tonight.  It's one of my favorites so I wasn't complaining.  If you complain, you get to cook and I had already made my Breakfast today.

We settled in front of the tube for the rest of the night.  There wasn't much on tonight but we surfed a couple of shows on the off channels, and had a couple of shows taped to watch.  We were up until 10 before the bewitching hour came crashing down on us and we headed for the padded room.