Monday, December 8, 2008

We left at our usual time this morning around 9AM with no hope of actually making up the day we had lost by staying in Branson an extra day.  It didn't matter as we would just stay a day less in Deming, to catch up.

We stopped for gas in Santa Rosa, NM and had Turkey & Dressing Sandwiches for lunch which only took us a few minutes.  We were back on the road with Sharon at the wheel for the next couple of hours.  We stopped again just before Albuquerque to change drivers for the trip through the city.

We kept on going not really realizing how many miles we were putting on.  I always wanted to go to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico And we planned on doing that today.  We didn't plan on stopping but just driving through.  We had some friends who used to go there a few years ago for the winter.  They described it as a neat little place.  It's actually about 5000 feet in elevation and one wonders how often it snowed there during the winter.  We exited at one exit, and drove all the way through town and then got back on the Interstate at the next exit.  It didn't take us long from start to finish.

By the time we left T or C it looked like we could actually make it to Deming before we stopped for the night.  The last 15 minutes we drove in the twilight filming a beautiful sunset and drove into The Little Vineyard RV Park (a usual stop in Deming) about 5:30.  501 miles in a single day.  I can't say that we don't ever do that, cause we did it today.

We settled in for the tube tonight but some napping was going on during the entertainment.  I did save it up until after Prison Break was over with however.  And then we caved at 10 cause we couldn't stay up any longer.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

We were getting some expected rain this morning.  It's cold enough outside without having to accentuate it with rain.

I got up around the usual time today (7) and came out and started typing.  The time change from Central to Mountain doesn't seem to have affected me so far.  It doesn't usually anyway.  That's Sharon's excuse for going to bed early.  Like she needs an excuse.

We would be playing catch-up today.  Sharon took off with the laundry and I had a couple of repair jobs to do today.  When we got the motorhome washed the other day, the guys broke our "third taillight"lens off.  I had to temporarily replace the lens so the white bulbs would show red.  I also suspect that our Fantastic Fan lost its gearing while we were going down the highway yesterday.  The vent kept popping up but the wind was keeping it from going up all the way.  Sharon got her work done in the morning and I got mine done in the afternoon.

At noon we left for our usual Mexican Buffet at the Cactus Café downtown.  We can never remember where its at, and we usually end up just driving around until we find it.  It only takes us a couple of minutes each time but its irritating not remembering where its at.

After the Café we went to Wal-Mart to do some shopping, and then back home.  While Sharon put away the groceries I got busy on my repairs.  We both finished up in time to watch Jeopardy. (An hour earlier here)

We settled in front of the TV for the night.  All the shows were repeats but Discovery had a show on tonight about the Sturgis motorcycle rally.  So we surfed back and forth for a couple of hours during the Discovery show.

Sharon caved at 9:30 and I followed at 10.  We always go to bed earlier and earlier on these trips out West.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

As we left Deming, we found gas for what we thought would be a deal.  It wasn't until we got to Lordsburg it was 10 cents a gallon cheaper than we found it in Deming.  Had I checked the price on the net this morning we would have know to wait until we got to Lordsburg.  Since I printed the prices at home, the price had dropped 32 cents. So 10 days ago the price was high enough to make us feel we got a deal at $1.57 9.

Along the way to Tucson we stopped at Camping World and picked up a few things for $127.  It just seems to be cheaper to stop at Camping World when you need camping items.  It seems that we can always wait until we drive by one.

We arrived at our usual Wal-Mart in Marana just north of Tucson and found it posted for RV's.  So we managed to find another parking lot across the street.  Man, when will these people learn there's always someplace else to park.  We got in about 3:30 so we had about an hour before we left for My Cousin Tom and Dawn's house.

We took the car and left for the McKenna's about 4:30 and even while we got lost, we went the shortest possible way there by accident.  We'll know next time or get lost again.  We were in the right area in any event.

My Aunt Caroline also came over and we had a very nice conversation with all of them.  Dawn had prepared Beef Stew for Dinner and it tasted just like Sharon's.  She also had Biscuits and we had a Chocolate/Banana Cake for dessert.  Everything was very good and we had a wonderful time.  We got back home about 9 o'clock and we gave up on the day shortly afterward.

We went to bed at 10 having had a very nice and interesting day for a change. It's been 9 days since we've actually talked to friends and family.  That part of our trip will soon end.  Actually it ended today.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

We got a leisurely start this morning since we would only be on the road for an hour.Tucson to Casa Grande is a short hop and we started on the north side of Tucson.

When we got in to Casa Grande at Desert Shadows we called Mary and Jerry Milan and set up a meeting for this afternoon.  Sharon wanted to clean the shanty and put up Christmas stuff, and that would take a couple of hours.  She insisted that we not wait until we get to Catalina Spa for Christmas decorations.  And when Sharon insists, its almost gospel.

While She put up Christmas stuff I went to the off ice to try to get our $3 surcharge back.  Our friend Jack Derlein told us that if we weren't using 50 amp and wi-fi we didn't have to pay the surcharge.  They sent me back home with my head hanging and without the money.  Oh well there's nothing like trying.

After Sharon finished up we went over to the Milan's for the cocktail hour and spent a couple of hours there.  We made some plans for tomorrow night to go to the Elks Club and have a fish fry.  We'll probably pick them up on the way.  We lucked out because the Elks are now rotating their menu and fish is on the docket for tomorrow night.

We got back home in time to watch a little TV before we crashed and burned for the night.  We had a busy day today but not a very long one.  I took a nap anyway purely out of relaxation as opposed to fatigue.  I missed some TV but not anything important.

Friday, December 12, 2008

We got a leisurely start this morning since we weren't going anywhere but just takin' care of business.

After Sharon took her shower she headed out for the grocery store to pick up a few things.  I took the new shower hose that we picked up at Camping World the other day.  It's not a good match since our fixtures are beige and the hose is white.  But it's working just fine.  By the time Sharon got back I was all showered up and clean as a whistle.

We ate our lunch of Ground Pickle and Bologna sandwiches and potato chips and then called Jayce Dale.  A friend from home who stays out here for 6 months in the winter.  We stopped over to see her and stayed for about 2 hours.  She had to take off about 3 so we made sure we were gone by then.

We went home and sat and waited for a call from Jerry and Mary to go out to the Elks Club for Dinner tonight.  It would be a fish night tonight.  They've been rotating their meals and just by happenstance they were serving fish and shrimp tonight.  We always manage to go with them at least once while we're here.  It's either a Wednesday or Friday when we go.  The Shrimp that I had were absolutely delicious, and Sharon said the fish she had were very good also.

We came back home just in time to watch NUMBERS on TV.  After that we actually stayed up past 10 by watching "Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader" on our West Coast channel.  We managed to tough it out until 11 tonight before we both headed south.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

We didn't get any kind of a start this morning since we weren't going anywhere.  Sharon wanted to take in the patio sales this morning and frankly I wasn't interested.  We've done them over the last couple of years and there's nothing good for sale anymore.  By the time she got back she only confirmed what I suspected.

The only thing I had to do today was to re-install the new valve for our icemaker.  This the second one I put in.  The first replacement was necessary because it froze when we took a colder road out west 2 years ago.  I-80 is not a good choice at the end of November.  That won't happen again.  After I got the valve in we were making ice again.  Good Boy!

We mostly just relaxed for the rest of the day.  Sharon was back and forth to the library getting reading materials today, and she finally found a couple of things to take up her time.  She also spent her time this afternoon making a Turkey Pot Pie for supper tonight.  When I finally saw it, she had made it in a 9 X 13 glass baking dish.

At Supper time we devoured half of the Turkey Pot Pie and a little sauce that she had made from leftover cranberries.  It was absolutely superb.

We settled in front of the tube for the night scrounging for entertainment.  The clubhouse has had entertainment almost every night but this year they're charging $10

a couple and who knows how good it is. TV was mostly repeats and it isn't going to change until after Christmas now.  We couldn't wait for 10 to roll around so we could head off to slumberland.  Actually Sharon caught me napping a couple of times before I went to bed.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

I was watching my usual Sunday shows(political) this morning when Sharon left for church.  There didn't seem to be anything controversial being discussed this morning.

Sharon announced before she left that she would be up for a Big Breakfast when she got back.  That was my cue for peel the potatoes and get the bacon started before I get back.

I had the potatoes peeled, and the bacon started, but she said she couldn't smell the onions and garlic cooking when she walked in the door.  Well you know, everything isn't all peaches and cream in the world.

By the time she got back the pre-game hype was on for football.  We wouldn't be getting the Packer game so I didn't really care who was playing.  We watched football for most of the afternoon after putting the BBQ Ribs in the oven for Dinner tonight.

I got out the printer to make up some hard copies of documents for my civil legal case that's still pending in Iron Mountain. As long as we had the printer out, we printed up some pictures of the kids that we took during the Thanksgiving holiday.

We had Ribs for Supper and they were absolutely fabulous.  The meat was just falling off the bone as we tried to eat them. Sharon also had some "maple baked beans" which were very tasty along with Garlic Bread.  We washed all that down with a few Whiskey Old Fashioneds.  It was so good I decided to watch TV on the backs of my eyelids tonight.  I woke up just in time to go to bed and finish my entertainment for tonight.