Monday, January 30, 2012

We were off this morning for Breakfast at the Cottage Too with Terry and Jo-Ann Bertamini.  We had called them yesterday to see if we could meet this morning.  It seems as though whenever we’ve called each other, we’ve never been able to get together.  There has always been one reason or another why we couldn’t get together.

This morning we managed to get all our ducks in a row and pulled the trigger, so to speak.

After Breakfast, we stopped at Walgreen’s so Sharon could pick up a few things, including a book the will record us reading it to the kids.  It’s really kind of a neat idea.  Sharon had found one a couple of weeks ago when she was previously at Walgreen’s, and was sold on the idea.

We got back home late this morning but Sharon took off with the laundry as soon as we did.  I got into dumping the tanks and filling the water for our trip to Yuma tomorrow.  I also picked up the remaining items outside our rig and gave the windshield of the motorhome a good scrub.  We had a few bird droppings that we didn’t care to look through on the way.

By the time Sharon got back from the laundry it was time to head to the pool.  Yesterday the pool was quite warm and we’re hoping it’s a little cooler today.  And as a matter of fact it was a little cooler today.  Only by a couple of degrees but it did feel better.  We even sat in the hot tub today which felt a little better.

After coming home tonight Sharon whipped up some Pigs in a blanket, Macaroni and Cheese and Baked Beans.  A meal that I take particular favor to.  It’s a nice change of pace from more formal meals.

We camped out in front of the TV tonight to see some original programming along with repeats.  We avoided the repeats by taping with the DVR, and then just watching the new programs.  The modern way to beat the system provided there are some programs that are new to watch.  We folded up our tents about 10:30 and headed off to the sleep chamber.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

We left Catalina this morning with the sun shining but the threat of wind today.  The wind actually never did materialize but the forecast called for it.

Our first stop was in Thousand Palms at McDonald’s for Breakfast.  I hadn’t had a Big Breakfast in two months and I was actually missing it.  When we were at home we used to go with John and Becky Spera usually every week at least once.  In any event we stopped this morning and found space in the truck parking alongside the building at Flying J.  It took about a half hour to eat and get situated back on the road again.

Since we had no reservations for the first two days on the road, we decided that we’d stop at the Red Earth Casino overnight in Thermal, near the Salton Sea.  They were welcoming overnighters in their lot and offering $10 to play their slot machines for first time visitors.  That deal would be right up our alley.  We sat in the parking lot for a couple of hours napping before we went in to try our luck.  I figured if one of us made even a minor killing it would probably enough to fix our ailing generator.  But it never really came close.  Even though we played for about an hour we both managed to lose the $10 that we got for free.  Sharon lost the $10 we had to invest in our own money, but I quit before I lost that.

We decided we’d go to Subway and have a sandwich for our early Supper tonight.  The Subway is in the casino so we just stopped on our way out.

The casino is a small one but loaded with machines.  There is no restaurant except for Subway, and they also sell $1Jumbo Hot Dogs at the gas station, also located in the casino “building.”  We returned to the motorhome and Sharon laid down and took another nap.  She was not feeling good and had the sneezes, to say the least.  It must be an allergy but she’s been loading up on antihistamines all day, and it doesn’t seem to be helping.

We fired up the satellite tonight for TV and our batteries lasted all night and then some.  We ran out of stuff to watch after awhile and just went to bed.  It was around 9:30 when we finally caved for the night.  We had had a busy day for sure losing all that money.  It was a record for us even though it was the casinos money.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

We left the casino this morning heading for Yuma and “Gilligan’s Island.”  A spot outside of the Yuma Lakes Campground where people park during their outweeks or non-reservation days.  As we exited at Highway 95 we decided that we were hungry for lunch after having had no Breakfast this morning before we left.  We had parked in the Sam’s Lot before and Sharon walked over to pick up a couple of burgers at In-N-Out Burger while I guarded the motorhome.  Beside this was the first opportunity we had to get a burger from there since we’ve been out here.

After our “burger lunch” we continued on our way to Yuma Lakes which turned out to be a disappointment to say the least.  We tried to find a spot in a little campground on the way into Yuma Lakes without any luck. And then we found out the area outside the campground was now closed down for overnighters.  No more Gilligan’s Island.  We checked our book to see if we could find another cheap campground without any luck.  Our almost last resort was to go to the VFW that was up on Highway 95 toward Quartzsite.  It was only about 6-7 miles further from where we were at, and the overnight parking was free.

We stopped at the clubhouse on the way in and they informed us that next door was BLM Land.  We certainly knew what to do with that.  As we maneuvered around the clubhouse we got into a tight spot with the motorhome and the car and ran into the dumpster with our rear end when Sharon misjudged our position when we hadn’t quite gotten past the dumpster when our rear end swung around.  Another scrape in the new paint job.  God only knows why I even painted it last summer.  We lucked out when the car passed by without incident. 

We found ourselves a spot among the rest of the RV’s and settled in.  There was at least 50 other people with the same idea.  A free spot for overnight, or you can stay for 14 days at a time.

Clay Nye had called us when we were still on the highway on our way in.  We made a date to see him and his new girlfriend at 4:30 tonight, so by 4:15 we took off on our way to his park.  We would have a couple of beverages and then go out for dinner tonight.  So we sat and talked for the first hour or so and then decided to go to Outback Steakhouse for Dinner.

We had a very nice Dinner with Clay and Linda and the conversation seemed to flow nicely and comfortably considering the circumstances.  We didn’t see Jerie last year when we were here, and she passed away during the year.  But we felt very comfortable meeting Linda tonight.

When we got back home our batteries were too low to watch TV.  Apparently the fridge was sucking them dry.  But it was late anyway so we just slid off to bed instead.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

We woke up this morning with absolutely nothing to do except hang today.  The last two days took their toll on us even though they shouldn’t have.  We’ve been boondocking several times in past years including many stops overnighting at Wal-Mart parking lots.  We’ve never done it without a generator before, however.  Aside from stopping in Quartzsite on our way back to Desert Hot Springs, I think our boondocking days, sans generator, are mostly over, for this year at least.

After getting the utilities hooked up and the satellite TV running I settled in to watch some TV and Sharon settled in for a nap.  I sat and typed my Journal entry for yesterday since we didn’t have enough power to do it before now.  Sharon was concerned about how I was going to tell the story about the incident with the dumpster.  I thought I was quite gentle on her.

I found out early that our site here was pointed in exactly the wrong direction.  The wind had picked up this afternoon and was playing hell with the dish.  It really wasn’t blowing hard enough that it was going to make a difference, but it did.  The wind didn’t settle down until after 6 Pm tonight, but it was still in time to watch prime time shows.  In fact we had new programming on all night tonight.  I would have been quite upset to have missed all of it because of the wind.

Sharon made an early exit tonight.  She was more interested in her Crossword Puzzle book than she was in TV.  I however, hung in there until 11 tonight watching the Telly and some recorded material also.  It turned out to be a pretty good day after all.

Friday, February 3, 2012

We had planned yesterday to go to the Arizona Marketplace today so after Breakfast we took off.  It was a nice sunny day today but we both dressed warm.  It always seems that the wind is blowing and the Flea Market is all under cover, so it gets a little nippy to say the least.  We were sorely disappointed in the size of the market, however, as it seemed even smaller than it was last year.  There was one bright spot at the end of the market.  On our way out we stopped and got a Bacon-wrapped Jumbo Hot Dog for lunch.  It was absolutely fabulous.

On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart and did some shopping.  We needed some groceries and a few other things and Wal-Mart is the perfect place to pick up the odds and ends.

After the store we came directly home and Sharon put everything away after I taste-tested all the snacks first.

For Supper tonight we decided to dive into the leftovers instead of having the Pre-Breaded Catfish Filets we picked up at Wal-Mart.  We’ll have the filets some other night, and we had plenty of leftovers to dig in to.

After Supper we settled in front of the TV for the night.  We knew there would be original programming on tonight and a couple of our favorite shows were on.  It was a good TV night that took us all the way to 11 o’clock.  We had an interesting day today even though the Market was a disappointment.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

We were off this morning but apparently not early enough.  We had planned to go to Golden Corral for Breakfast this morning and pay the Senior price.  The price only held til 9 AM however, and we were not there at that time.  We didn’t know it was only til 9, or we could have been there early enough.

After Breakfast we drove around town looking for a Flea Market that we’ve been hearing about for years.  We’ve only concentrated on the Arizona Marketplace for the last few years waiting for it to come back to it’s former size.  At this point it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.  We thought we knew where the indoor market was in the former Merwyn’s Building but we drove where we thought it was, and nothing.

We were on a “where is it” roll today as we were also looking for Foothills Furniture on Foothills Boulevard.  We didn’t find out until we got back home that it was on Fortuna Road in the Foothills.  It’s a good thing we’ve got a car with good gas mileage.

By the time we got back home we felt like just sitting around and relaxing.  We’ll recoup and then rejoin the search again next week.  We’ve also got a couple of other things on our agenda for next week.  Whether or not we’ll actually do what we’re thinking remains to be seen.

Sharon and I sat outside for awhile today in the sun.  We actually sat in the shade because it was too hot to sit in the sun, but in any event we sat outside until it started to cool off.  And it didn’t take long after the sun started to drop out of the sky.

We were on our own for supper tonight.  We still had a ton of leftovers which is right up my alley.

Along with the rest of the TV we watched tonight was the NFL Honors show.  We were hoping that Aaron Rodgers was going to get the MVP and he did.  Most of everything else we watched was repeats, although we did get several episodes of Cops that we hadn’t seen before.  We actually made it to 11 o’clock without much trouble.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

We awoke to Super Bowl Sunday today and the hype started early.  After my Sunday morning political shows, it transitioned right into the pre-Super Bowl show.  Even though the game wouldn’t start until late this afternoon,

Sharon was off to church in town this morning and had quite a distance to drive.  She would be going through the main traffic area of 16th and 4th Avenue.  Her church is just beyond that.

By the time she got home I was already watching a movie, sick of the game hype already.  We had leftovers again for lunch and the fridge looks like we’ve caught up on the extra food we had.

After lunch Sharon went out and sat outside in the sun for awhile before moving to the shade.  I’m not much of a “sun” person so I stayed inside and watched TV.

By the time the game started Sharon had already made Pasties for Supper.  Pasties are an old family recipe consisting of Ground Meat, Potatoes, Onions, Salt and Pepper, all rolled up in a crust and baked in the oven until golden brown.  Of course, the eating of the Pasties is always the best part, and it was certainly the best part tonight.

The game was quite interesting to say the least.  The Giants systematically dismantled the Patriots just like they did to the 49ers and the Packers.  They were the underdogs in each game yet they won after a hard fought contest.  It was pretty much the story of Green Bay last year.

For the rest of the night we watched stuff that had been recorded during the game.  It was pretty much all repeats.  I guess they didn’t want to compete with the Super Bowl.

We still managed to make it to 11 before we called it quits for the night.