April 1 -13 2014...Desert Pools RV

April 1-13...

1st - The wind is still blowing! We have had to put down the satellite dish every evening due to the wind. The shows that did record were intermittent due to the loss of signal. We walked a bit and did laundry in the morning. We went to the movie 'Noah' in the afternoon. Dixie's knee started hurting late morning and was hardly able to walk on it by evening. The pain is in the back of the right knee (already has had 2 surgeries on that knee & a fall on the kneecap in 2008).

2^nd – wind is still blowing and is cooler today. Knee still hurts a lot so we will spend the day inside.

3^rd – Glyn and Henrietta were over for happy hour/snacks. Doug/Fran told us that Ethel Doyle's house in Turner is for sale. I explained to Mike where it was at and we were a bit curious about it.

4^th - We asked Doug/Fran to take a picture of the outside of the Doyle house when there were in Turner.

5^th – We had lunch in Desert Hot Springs and did some grocery shopping. We went to Gyn/Henriettas for HH/Snacks.

6^th – Dixie talked to Mark Rasmussen at length getting the scoop on the house. The house had been flooded about 5 years ago and Mark & Sonny Obrecht did the repair work. He said they put in a new kitchen and all the flooring was replaced. He told us the floor plan of the house. He also gave us Carol Malloy's (daughter/executor of estate) phone number in CA.

7^th – We celebrated our 24^th wedding anniversary. We went to the movie, Capt. America at Cathedral City. Very action packed but lots of violence. Afterwords we went to dinner at an Italian Restaurant next door to the theater called Trilussa. Dixie had researched it and found good reviews. We had a wonderful dinner – Mike the Chicken Marcella and Dixie Chicken in Vodka Red Cream sauce over pasta. The bread and olive dip was wonderful. Included with the meal was biscotti and amaretto!

That evening we were able to call Carol and talk to her about the house. We found out that she already had an offer for the house and it looked like it would be selling for more than her asking price. She also thought there was going to be another offer. She wanted to get it sold this week....yiks. She gave us the name and number of the realtor in Malta. Carol also sent several photos of the house – inside and out! It looks nice. Needs some paint on the outside and some in the inside. Bathroom needs updating but the kitchen is very nice.

8^th – we had Doug/Fran get the key for the house and take a look. They gave us the thumbs up. We called the realtor, Carly Bishop at Missouri River Realty and by the end of the day we had the buy/sell agreement completed and sent back to her. We offered a $1000 over the mentioned sales price.

Dixie had a massage at Happy Feet on Dinah Shore/Bob Hope. It was awesome! We lunched at Subway and did some shopping at Costco.

9^th – we found out that if we really wanted to Doyle house we needed to up our offer. Called the realtor once again and countered with a bump of another $3000.

We had a very good breakfast with G/H at the All Star Burger place just down the road from the park.

10^th – Our house offer was accepted. I've come full circle – moving to Turner 39 years after I graduated from there! Can't believe we bought a house site unseen and did it in a weeks time! Called Independence Bank to see about a loan. We gathered info & completed the loan application online.

11^th – We made contact with Karene Faber at the bank regarding what kind of loan we can get for our purchase. We scanned all the docs she needed and emailed them to her.

We headed to Aunt Marge's in Riverside at 10am. We took her to lunch at Backsteet Restaurant, a neat outdoor deli place....very good! We went back to Marge's and had cake that Dixie made and visited. Had a great day! We got back home around 530p.

12^th – We drove to Danny's around 945a and drove with him & Lexi to San Diego. Lexi surfed in the Surfer's Healing program. It was held on Coronado Island. The person that took her out was Izzy Paskowitz, the person that co-founded the company with his wife. Lexi made it up on the board a couple of times and really enjoyed it. It was her 6^th year of participating but the first time in San Diego. She loves the water. It is a wonderful program that is specifically for Autistic children. Every child gets to go out with a surf board and an instructor and are out for approximately 30 minutes. We stopped in Temecula for lunch at In & Out on the way down and at Utopizza for dinner on the way back. The wind blew horribly in Desert Hot Springs. As we were driving back into the valley it was just brown with sand blowing. The drive from Danny's to our MH was awful. It was like driving in a bad snowstorm. We even had to bring in one of the slides once we got home.

13^th – Mike watched the Master's. Dixie caught up on computer stuff. Dixie cut Henrietta's hair and we went to their site for HH. We made one more trip to the mineral water hottub to soak Dixie's knee which still hurts!

Tomorrow we move to Mountain Lakes RV which is at 3200 ft so the weather will be cooler. The past week has been in the mid to high 90's and the frig just can't keep up. Hoping to get ride of the wind and see some cooler temps!

March in Yuma, AZ

March....It was a short night after our trip from NC. We got up about 715a and went to McDonald's for coffee/breakfast. We picked up a few groceries and went to the office to pick up our refrig/freezer items. We left the park and stopped at Fry's for fuel and were on the road just after 10am. It is 168 miles to Yuma. We overnighted in the lot that Doug/Fran are staying at as our reservation at Yuma Lakes is not until the 3^rd. We had a great rib dinner with D/F and Angie. We sat around the fire that evening. The next morning, Lowell & MaryLou stopped and we visited for a bit. Then we went for a walk. We had lunch with D/F, Dixie cut Angie's hair and then we moved the MH 15 miles to Yuma Lakes. We got set up but had some electrical problems. We ended up going to Walmart after dinner to purchase a new 50/30 amp connector. That kept the breaker from tripping but the alarm still went off on the volt meter. The park people checked it out on Tue morning but found nothing wrong – guess we will just stop using the meter for now! Tue. we went for a walk and did laundry. In the afternoon we had a windshield chip repaired on the MH. Then headed into town. We ordered Tire Skirts for the MH at Specialty Sewing Senter.

The 6^th Doug/Fran came over to use the pool and join us for dinner. On the 7^th we had out carpets cleaned by 'Roberts'. They did a good job and we also had them clean our 5x7 area rug. They did it all for $45!
The 8^th Doug/Fran and Angie came over. Dixie colored Angie and Fran's hair and the we headed to the pool.
We went to the Swap Meet with Doug/Fran on the 9^th and then met their contractor, Bob/Carol at Lutz's for an early dinner.
On the 10^th we moved back to George Wencott's lot with Doug/Fran. We maneuvered the mh in so that we were paralegal with the street. This way we could hook up to the 50amp that the park model uses. We didn't have any sewer but it was great to spend the week their with them. Thanks to George we had a free week!!!
We were Alcadones, Mexico bound on Tues., the 11^th. Doug/Fran went with us. Angie and Julie/Dan also drove down. This time we decided to go after lunch so we could skip the long lines at customs. We picked up a few medicine items & a bottle of Kahlua. Mike looked for glasses but decided not to get any. We all had drinks at the patio area and then went to listen to Pepe sing at El Gourmet. We visited with him when he was done playing at 5p and then went straight through customs with NO line! We stopped for dinner at the Pepe's II Mexican restaurant on Fortuna.
Harold Struck and his friend, Dellis came over to dinner on the 13^th. Loni didn't make it!
The evening of the 14^th was attending the twilight Air Show at the Marine Base. We went with John/Angie, Doug/Fran and Todd. It was a great show- something we have never seen. Fireworks came out of a plane, helicopter, and an ultralight. The highlight at the end was the helicopter unfurling a huge American Flag as well as fireworks...talk about 'bombs bursting in air'! After the show we all went for a late Chinese dinner. Doug & Mike went back on Saturday for the regular Air Show. They really enjoyed that as well. That evening we had a group made Spaghetti dinner at Hebblemen's. It was for the Independence Motorcycle Club – the group going on the ride up and down the CA coast.
On Sunday, the 16^th we repositioned the motorhome with the help of Doug/Fran. We didn't think we could get it out of there with just the two of us. That afternoon the whole motorcycle group came over for happy hour and to finalize their plans.
On the 17^th the group left on their trip and we moved to Pilot Knob. Enroute we stopped off to have the tire skirts installed.
We stayed busy this week relaxing, Dixie working, and doing a bit of shopping. On Sat. the 22^nd we drove into the old Yuma flea market. We decided we really didn't need to go there again – mostly Mexican stuff!
Dixie went to church at the park on the 23^rd and attended exercise class several days.
We went to the movie, 'God's Not Dead' on the 24^th. We really enjoyed it and feel that it would be a great movie for all to see (Creation versus Evolution)!
On the 26^th we drove over to Doug/Frans to drop off their cooler before the group arrived home from their trip. The check engine light came on in the Tracker. We haven't figured out the cause as of yet! The wind blew horribly that day and also quite a bit on Thurs.
On the 27^th we went to Doug/Fran's in the afternoon – Dixie did haircuts and finished up some work stuff. Later we all went for another Spaghetti dinner at John/Angie's. The whole group was there for a farewell dinner.
The 28^th was move day for all...Doug/Fran left for Lake Havasu to get Dad and start heading home. We drove the 155 miles to Desert Pools RV, arriving around noon. We will be here for 17days. We are in site 68. We had happy hour at Glynn & Henrietta's. It was fun catching up with them and hearing about Glynn's accident.
The wind started blowing on Sat. evening and hasn't quit blowing! 
Danny & Lexi came for dinner on Sunday. 
We closed the month out on Monday with a trip to Cathedral City to stock up at Trader Joe's and also a Walmart stop. 

 

Bailey & Nic



A busy February 2014

February ….Sat., the 1st - Doug and I made a quick trip to Dad's to say goodbye & a stop at the Italian place. We left for our trip to Gold Canyon around 10am. We had an uneventful 2.... mile drive to Gold Canyon. We were pleasantly surprised when we got there, Canyon Vista RV resort is a very nice park with very large sites. We had a beautiful view of the Superstition Mtns. While there we drove to north Phoenix with Doug/Fran to pick up Angie Hebblemen's motorcycle, spent a portion of a couple of days working on 'work stuff', used the exercise facility and toured the modular homes (Superstition Views) area that was attached to the park. Most of the homes had a very large deck on the rooftop. They were very nice – only downside is that you don't own the land and have to pay a pretty good monthly fee. You do get the use of very nice facilities however! We took a drive to Tortilla Flats, north and east of us. We enjoyed the scenery on the way and ended up in the touristy little town (actually a few buildings). We did enjoyed some live music while there. On the return trip we stopped at Goldfield, an old mining town. From there it was a stop at Filly's Roadhouse for a beer and App. Doug/Fran went to Yuma on Wed. and then a bike trip with friends to Mexico and back on Fri. We drove to Bill/Gloria's park (Mesa Spirit) on Wed. We had dinner with them. On Thur. we drove back into Mesa to the WinCo. Friday Bill/Gloria visited our park and we toured the modular homes again!

Sat., the 8^th we took 75 miles of back roads with the RV's to Casa Grande RV Resort. This was one of our membership parks that was sold and fixed up. It's nice but we decided we like the park in Gold Canyon better! Sat. evening we got a call from Carla telling us that Dad had fallen twice and they called the ambulance. When it was all said in done they determined nothing was really wrong, he scrapped and bruised his arm and face pretty good. He was released around 11pm. Doug and I drove to Lake Havasu to see him on Sunday. We overnighted and came back on Monday. I think Dad now realizes that he just can't drink much alcohol anymore. It affects him much more after the stoke and with the medications. He seemed to be doing much better. He continues to go to physical therapy 3 times a week.

Doug had some issues with this bike on the trip back from Mexico so he had the wheel bearing replaced while in Casa Grande. Fran and I shopped the Goodwill/Salvation Army one day and tried out a Zumba class at the park. I also attended a couple of other exercise classes. Mike used the exercise room.

Friday the 14^th we flew out of Phoenix to Houston to meet up with Brandon, Micheala and families (the first time we have all been together at once since all grandkids were born. Last gathering was 14 yrs ago). We attended a memorial service for their Mom, Claudia who passed away suddenly in January. We stayed with Mike & Hope Enriquez (Kat's parents). We had a wonderful time visiting. Roger & Karen and their families also attended to the service so we were able to visit with them as well. We even got a bunch of family pictures taken!!!!

Sunday we flew back to Phoenix. The 1230p flight was full but we made the next one. We got back to the Motorhome around 530p.

The last week of Feb...Dixie worked on Mon/Tue, we went to the gym, did laundry, shopping and packed. On Thur afternoon we packed up our frig/freezer stuff and took it to the office for storage in their coolers. Friday at 700a we put the MH in storage at the park and headed to the PHX airport. We left on a flight to Fayetteville via Washington Dulles. The flight to IAD was pretty open but the flight out of IAD filled up. We almost got left behind, there was a weight restriction and when we asked about our bags we realized the agent forgot about us. We got on at the last minute and arrived at FAY at 645p. We had a wonderful Spaghetti dinner with Brandon, Kat and Nic.

On Sat. the 22^nd we got our temp. ID for Ft. Bragg, groceries and set up for our week stay with Nic (a freshman). On Sun. Brandon and Kat left for RDU where they flew to Kansas to Ft. Leavenworth for Army training classes. Kat will be back on Sat and Brandon 3 weeks later.

Our week with Nic went very well. He is pretty much self sufficient.... he gets himself up at 530a , leaves the house at 615a and doesn't return home until 7pm - I just had dinner ready for him when he got home and helped a bit with studying for tests. Monday we did a little shopping, Tuesday Nic was sick so he stayed home from school. Wednesday & Friday we picked Nic up from school and took him to track practice – he had to take a test after school due to his sick day. Thursday we drove to Southern Pines where we walked around the historic district and had lunch at the Downtown Grill. We then drove to Pinehurst and then back home. Friday Bailey came home from college in Charlotte. The four of us went to dinner that evening at their favorite restaurant, Miyabi's.

March 1 - Nic had school on Sat. due to all the snow days they have had this year. Bailey took us to the airport at 830a, which turned out to be the start of a very long day. The afternoon flight to IAD was full so we opted for the 10am one. We arrived at IAD around 1130 and our scheduled departure flight to PHX wasn't scheduled until 530p so we knew we had a wait. However, once we arrived we found that it was delayed until 7p due to late equipment from SFO (caused from the rain in CA). We hung out in the club – we checked flights, read, checked flights, watched a TV show on the computer and checked flights some more. It was overbooked and kept fluctuating. We went to get a Subway around 6p and then headed to the gate. The delay kept growing, then we did a gate change and waited some more. Finally around 8p we got the last 2 seats and boarded. Once on board and ready to go at 845p, the Capt announced we had a maintenance problem. We finally pushed back from the gate around 915p with a 5 hours flight ahead of us – separated and in middle seats of course! We arrived in PHX at 1215a local time. It was almost 'same day air service'! We then had to wait for our bags that were checked at the gate. We lucked out and didn't have to wait for the shuttle to the parking lot – it was there when we walked out the door. We were on the road at 1am and arrived back to the motorhome at 2am. It was in storage so we just snuck in quietly and crawled into bed – 22 hrs after we got up!

 Balloon Fest

Sunset over Lake Havasu

 Angry Birds Balloon

 Mike inside a balloon

Humpty Dumpty at night 'glowing'

More from Lake Havasu City!

January 2014

1st ....On our drive back from Quartzsite we stopped to check out 2 state parks out of Parker. We also made a Walmart stop in Parker.

Fat and MaryLou Dugan arrived on the 1^st. We had them over to Dad's for dinner on the 2^nd and again for pizza on the 4^th.
We to church on the 5^th with the Dugan's and then out to breakfast at Papa Bears.
Also that evening Jack and Carla arrived. We all went to Dugans for a sandwich and a visit.
6^th ...I took Dad to Dr. Wintory, the ortho guy. He thought that the problems was a torn rotator cuff. Since that shoulder was replaced 5 years ago they are unable to do an MRI. They will inject it with dye and then do an arthroscope on the 10^th.
7th ...Doug & Fran came and overnighted with us. They left one of their motorcycles at Jack and Carla's. We all visited with them that evening. Doug & Fran took the trailer with the other motorcycle to Yuma on the 8^th.
9th ...Dad went with us for a drive to Parker where we met Doug & Fran for lunch. They are headed home for 3 weeks and will bring the RV back with them the end of Jan.
10^th ...I took Dad back for the test and then we saw the surgeon. Best he could tell from the arthroscope the shoulder tendons/muscles are torn. The options he gave was to 1) do nothing and live with not using the shoulder and 2) have surgery to try and repair it. If he wanted the surgery it needed to be done as soon as possible which left out the option for doing it back home. He opted to try the surgery. The doc said he would scope it to see the damage and then determine while in there if it can be repaired. Fortunately he had a cancellation for Jan 20^th. From there we went to the lab for his surgery blood work. He has not been a 'happy camper'. He has pain in the shoulder and is not happy about having additional help. ….very hard to please at times! Lord give me patience!!!! We will made some plan adjustments to be here during and after surgery.
12^th ...we attended church with the 'group'. Dad went to breakfast with the others but we came home. That evening I made dinner at Dads. Sonja, a friend of Dads that lives in the park also came to dinner. She does volunteer Home Health Care. We talked about hiring her to help Dad get to /from therapy and to check in on him for the month of Feb. while we are in the Phoenix area with Doug & Fran.
13^th ...we went to the movie “Saving Mr. Banks”. Dad went as well. It was also time for grocery shopping.
14^th ...Dad's pre-0p appointment.
15^th ...move day.....First we had to get propane and make a stop to get the oil changed in our generator. We moved to Lake Havasu Resort on London Bridge road...a Coast to Coast Park. We can stay here for a week. In the afternoon I took Dad to see another doctor to have an EKG for surgery clearance.

The Balloon Fest was in town the 17th-20th. We went out the first morning and watch several balloons inflate and go up. It was a beautiful site. This was a first for us and we really enjoyed it. That afternoon we went to the movie 'Lone Survivor'. Mike had read the book and really wanted to see the movie...it was hard to watch but very well done. After the movie we met Dad/Sonya, Jack/Carla & Fat/MaryLou at the Eagles for dinner. While there we ran into Elaine and visited for a short time.

18^th ...Dad called and seemed to be having some kind of spell...he wasn't making a lot of sense and wasn't understanding what I was saying. We rushed over there and he was still having problems...said he couldn't run the microwave and that really bothered him. He knew something was going on. A similar thing happened the Thur. before when he was at Sonja's. When discussing it with the surgeon prior to his surgery, he felt it could have been a TIA (a mini stroke).
19^Th ...we went to Church and then brunch with Van Voasts and Dugans. We took some dinner to Dad and that evening we went back to the Balloon Fest to watch the 'night glow'. That was sooo cool. The balloons were all on the field and when they would give it propane the fire would light up the balloon. They did several routines where they all 'glowed' at the same time. 
20^th ...we were scheduled to arrive for Dad's surgery at 1245p. Well when all was said and done he was not taken into surgery until after 430p. The doctor found that is was NOT a torn rotator cuff. He did remove some bone spur and arthritis but felt the problem of not raising his arm was most likely neurological. Also that the muscles in the arm had deteriorated. We finally got back home at 9pm. I stayed overnight with Dad.
21^st ...(my birthday) I spent the day with Dad. I made a pecan pie and rolls for him and did laundry. Also did charges for Fran. That evening Mike & I went to Angelina's Italian restaurant for my Birthday dinner.
22^nd.... Dad had an appointment to have the dressing changed and then his initial physical therapy appointment. After all that we headed to Quartzsite with the RV. We parked in the desert about 3 miles north of town at the 'High Jolly' BLM area.
23^rd ...we went to the RV show and then that evening visited with our friends from CA, Glenn & Henrietta. I also cut Henrietta's hair. We decided to bite the bullet and purchase a Winegard HD satellite dish for the roof of the motorhome. It works similar to the King Dome in that you just push and button and the dish comes up and finds the satellite automatically....it just isn't in a dome as they are too big. The KEY is we now will get HD programing The company is Satellite Advantage out of Quartzsite and they told us if we paid cash we could get out of paying sales tax, which saved us $180.
24^th ...I went to the 'Gem Show' and wondered around a bit. In the afternoon we went to Bob & Cheryl's for dinner and a couple of games of cards.
25^th ...we wondered around the other vendors in Quartzite and back through the RV show. Had a beer at Beer Belly's near the RV show and listened to the music.
Sunday the 26^th ...we had to have the motorhome in for the sat dish installation at 8am. We went across the street to LaMesa and looked at some used motorhomes to kill time. Finally around 1pm we were on the road headed back to Quartzite, this time to Campbell Cove Rv. Our spot this year was very tight (did I say TIGHT)....the smallest space we have ever parked in. You pull straight in and are about 2feet from the RV in front of you and our slide was about 18in away from the neighbors slide. Kinda felt like being in a sardine can! Won't do that again...most storage spaces have more room than that. Oh well it is only for 6 nights. We went to Dad's that night and cooked some fish that the neighbor gave him.
27^th ...I took Dad to therapy and also did some grocery shopping. Later we took dinner over and Sonja joined us. Prior to dinner we all stopped and visited with Jack & Carla.
28^th ... we stayed home and go caught up on computer/paper work. I also did charges for Fran.
29^th ...I went early to Dad's to do his and our laundry. Therapy today was at 4p. afterwards we went to Denny's for dinner.
30^th …. therapy was canceled. We had a Happy Hour gathering at Dad's with Roger & Val Golden, Jack & Carla and Sonja.   
31st ...was a trip to Walmart and then Dad's Post Op doctor appointment at 145p. All is good at the doctor but he told Dad's that he needed to exercise that arm every day for the rest of his life. He will continue to have therapy for 6 weeks. After the appointment we went to Lake Havasu State Park to pick up Doug & Fran. They are overnighting there in the overflow area. We went to the Beachcomber where they picked up the motorcycle. We went to the Eagles for dinner. It was quite busy! Tomorrow we leave Lake Havasu and head to Gold Canyon which is east of Mesa.