July 2015

JULY...

We spent the afternoon at Denita and Steve's for the 4^th. In the evening we came back home and watched Turner's fireworks from our yard. Doug, Fran and Callie were with us.

Jason Warren came around noon on the 8^th to begin the old house demolition. It was quite interesting to watch. We had several people stop by and take in the show, including Ron & Sandy (Doyle). Sandy told us some interesting tidbits about the house. It ended up taking the better part of three days to take it down and fill the hole with dirt/rocks. We also had him put some gravel in our driveway.

We drove to Great Falls on the 10^th and overnighted. On the 11^th we got a taxi bright and early and headed to the airport. We made our flights to Denver and then Houston. Once there we picked up our car rental and drove to visit Ruthie. She is doing pretty good and is in a new facility that she likes. We had a great visit and then headed out to drive to Brandon's. We stopped for a Schlotzky's sandwich in Humble along the way. It was a 185 mile drive to Fort Polk and we arrived around 830p. We had a few issues with our car rental – the gave us a mid size instead of the full size we reserved and the gas tank was not full when we got it. It a couple of phone calls to get it all straightened out. We did get the sad news that Bob Ball past away on Sat. the 11^th. He had been sick with anal cancer since April. Mike had planned to go with Brandon while we were there to visit Bob. On Sunday the 12^th we drove with Brandon & Kat the Alexandria. We made a stop at Hobby Lobby and then had lunch. Bailey drove over from Spring and spent the rest of the week with us. We decided to extend our stay so we could attend Bob's funeral in Dayton on Sat., the 18^th.

On the 13^th we had a fun day of driving and sightseeing. We left around 11am and made our first stop to eat our packed lunch. Then we headed to St. Francisville where we toured a Haunted Plantation - The Myrtles Plantation. It was quite interesting. We then headed south and went through Baton Rouge and then west to our next stop....A Swamp tour out of Breaux Bridge. There were only 7 of us on the tour and it was pretty cool. We spent 2 hours on the water and it was especially neat as we saw the sunset and got some awesome photo's. We saw several alligators sunning themselves and numerous birds. We then headed west on I10 through Lafayette and stopped in Lake Charles at Applebee's for a late dinner. We made it back home at Midnight....it was a long drive but a very fun day with the family!

On the 14^th and 15^th we hung out...doing some shopping, going to Brandon's office and touring the post.

On the 16^th we all drove to Spring, Bailey and Nic in Bailey's car, Brandon, Kat and the dogs in theirs and Mike & I I our rental. We had dinner with at Mike & Hope's and we also stayed with them for 3 nights.

The 17^th Brandon, Bay, Nic and Mike & I went to a movie (at least it was cool inside). The movie was 'Mr. Sherlock'. That evening we met Roger & Karen, Casey's family and Corey's family at a Mexican restaurant in Pasadena for dinner. We had fun visiting and catching up and we got to meet the new baby, Jackson Graham.

The 18^th we drove to Dayton for Bob's funeral. It was a very nice service. We went to Brain and Tina's afterwards for burgers and more visiting.

The 19^th was travel day and of course the flights filled up. Our first try was at 9am and finally got on a flight around 3p. We spent a few hours in Denver and arrived in Great Falls around 10p. It was a long day but we did have 'same day service' for a change.

We did some shopping on the 20^th and headed back home.

Roland Dailing started replacing our roof on the 22^nd. It took a few days due to weather but it looks great!

On the 23^rd I took Dad to Havre to have blood work drawn and the back on the 30^th for his VA appointment. They now have a clinic in Havre with a Nurse Practitioner. In between those appointments I had a doctor appointment in Great Falls with an ENT, Dr. Baker. This was for the sinus infection that the Endodontist told me I had. He didn't think it was anything serious but thought maybe I should have a CT scan. Also to keep using the Flonase. The appointment was scheduled for the next morning. I ended up canceling it as insurance didn't pay and it cost over $800.

On the 30^th I took Dad to his yearly VA appointment, this time in Havre. His heart rate is low so they took him off some medications. I need to take him to a cardiologist in Great Falls to have it checked out.

 Mike @ Algadones

 Steve, Levi & Tyler and the 3D in Great Falls

Denita & Shay @ her Birthday Dinner

April 2015 ~

April....It's a lot of work traveling...we got upacked and the washing done. Doug and Fran we moving things around since they will be leaving the 5^th wheel here. They closed on their purchase on the 2^nd. They are now owner of a lot in the Yuma Foothills. It has a park model, casita, a storage shed and RV parking. The casita need work but it's a great place...we have been staying here since the 2^nd of March. That evening we had George/Coralee, Dan/Julie and John over for Happy Hour and snacks. Dixie worked on the deposit and charges for Medical Accounting Services.

On the 3^rd we moved the motorhome so Doug could get the 5^th wheel out. He parked it at John's neighbors house so it would be under covering. We moved back into the rv lot at Doug/Fran's place. We made a wonderful shrimp dinner with shrimp Doug & Fran got in Algadones. On the 4^th they headed north. We are now here by ourselves.

On Easter Sunday we went to Church at Gloria De Christo Lutheran Church. Dixie made a ham dinner for Easter. We had a nice relaxing day.

On the 6^th Dixie had a dentist appointment in Algadones with Dr. Eric Escobedo at 930am. The wind was blowing and it was a bit cool so we left right after the appointment. Dixie ended up having to have a crown on the upper back tooth. The prep work was done and a temporary crown was put on. So far I was impressed with this dentist (recommended by George and Doug). We go back on Wed. to have the crown out on. We cleaned the window tracks and vacuumed in the park model.

7^th – Our 25^th Wedding Anniversary!!!!! We started the day out by catching up on computer work...the blog, email's, etc. Later in the morning we went for an hour long bike ride. In the afternoon we decided to go to the movie 'Still Alice' at the Main Street Theater in old Yuma. It was a good movie but depressing – it was about a 50 yr old women that had early on set Alzheimer disease. Then we had a drink on the patio at the Pint House down the street. We had a wonderful dinner at Olive Garden and enjoyed reminiscing.

8^th – We made the trip back to Algadones to get my crown. We had lunch first at the El Parisco courtyard. It was quick and good! We walked around a bit and bought more Ibuprofen and a bottle of brandy. The visit to the dentist went well and only took 20 minutes tops. I still have the sensitivity to hot and cold but he said it could be that was for a week or two. Hopefully it's not a 'root canal' that I need. We stopped at Home Depot, Wally's World and Walmart on the way home.

9^th - We for a walk in morning and over to Doug/Fran's 5^th wheel to pick up stuff. Dixie worked some. We cut the window covering for the window in the park model and put on new weather stripping on the back door. We enjoyed the nice weather, reading on the patio. The last few days have been cooler and the nights have been wonderfully cool!

10^th - We drove the north frontage road for a mike to a hiking location. We hiked up the Gila Mountains for about an hour. There is much more ground to cover getting to the top but it was a bit hot and we are not in hiking shape right now...maybe when we come back in the fall. Dixie worked on creating a web blog for the condo sale....it turned out well and is a place to show interested people the photo's of the condo....gtfcondo.blogspot.com

John Hebbelman came for dinner around 530p. We enjoyed some corned beef, cabbage and all the trimmings.

11^th – Rode the bikes in the am and then decided to go out for a bit.

12^th – Aunt Marge's Birthday. Went to the flea market, however it was all but closed up as it was the last day for the season. We did have lunch there and bought a few things.

13^th – Made one more trip to Algadones as Dixie's jaw is real sore and the teeth are very sensitive. The appointment was at 1p but didn't get in until almost 2. He filed down a couple of teeth and but some liquid stuff on the crown to help with the sensitivity. He also prescribed a muscle relaxant for a week to help with the jaw clenching. It seems better for now. We spent the rest of the afternoon putting stuff away in the motorhome and prepping the park model for summer.

14^th – we rode the bikes for awhile in the am and them summerized the park model. From there we went to John's and Dixie gave him a haircut and Mike put some antifreeze in Doug's fifth wheel. We then drove to Julie & Dan's to see their new house and ask some question on selling our condo. Julie has sold several! She was lots of help.

15^th – We locked everything up in Yuma and headed north. Today's drive is only 85 miles to Quartzsite. We decided to overnight in front of Bob & Cheryl's house since their neighbors had just left that morning. We spent the afternoon visiting and then had dinner with them. After that we played 9 holes of card golf.

16^th – We left Bob & Cheryl's at 7am. We made a stop at Love's for a fuel topoff, coffee, and a breakfast sandwich. We drove 390 miles to Cedar City and overnighted at the Home Depot parking lot. It was next door to Walmart and they were pretty full. It worked out great. We made a Walmart run and found something for dinner. Dixie's jaw and tooth are still hurting. She called the dentist in Great Falls and left a message but didn't get a call back. The winds were high park of the day and the weather between St. George and Cedar City was drizzly.

17^th – We left just after 7am. We stopped on the other end of Cedar City at the Love's and fueled up and were on the road at 748am. We drove 465 miles to the Walmart in Idaho Falls. Dixie drove for about an hour today south of Salk Lake to give Mike a break.. After a fuel stop in Idaho Falls, we arrived in our destination around 5p. We shopped a bit at Walmart.

18^th – We hit the road around 725a. Today's drive was 350 miles to Great Falls We fueled up at the Pilot there and parked in front of Dad's around 3p. Denita, Steve, Levi & Tyler were there. We all went to dinner at the 3D. We overnighted in the motorhome.

19^th – Denita & Steve drove our Tracker home. We did some shopping and in the afternoon went to Harold Struck’s to visit. Levi stayed overnight at Dad's again. We enjoyed dinner in the house and slept in the house. Dixie worked on the buy/sale agreement and printing take one flyers for the condo sale.

20^th – Dixie went to Dr. Crane (Chiropractor) at 8am. We went to Chicago Title to talk to them about our condo sale paperwork. The 'Buy/Sale' agreement we have looks good – we are set – we just need a buyer. From there Dixie went to Dr. Cammeron about her trigger thumb. He gave her an injection (cortisone) with the hope that the injection will correct the problem, if not it will require a trigger release which can be preformed in the office at a later date. We then met Levi for lunch at Hoagieville – he then left for Missoula. We ran some more errands and then met our renter's at the condo. Mike checked out the crawl space and determined that there is no water down there..yeah! We put the sign up in the yard – the condo is officially for sale! Karen told us of a possible lead for a buyer. There is a lady that is renting 219 35^th Ave and is interested in buying a condo in this complex. We went to visit with her and leave her a flyer. Her name is Linda Graff. We are keeping our fingers crossed?

21^st – We left Dad's just after 9am. We made a stop at the Cennex station to dump our holding tanks. We were on our way at 945a. We made a couple of stops in Havre. Walmart for a few more groceries and a stop to pick up parts for Doug. We fueled up in Chinook and made a stop in Harlem for more parts for Doug. We completed our 189 mile trip arriving in Turner around 230p. We unpacked the kitchen that day and left the rest for tomorrow!

22^nd – We unpacked the remainder of the motorhome! What a job...the least favorite part about traveling. Around five we drove to Denita & Steve's to check out the kitchen remodel. It is very nice! Looks like a different kitchen. From there we went to Doug & Fran's for a Birthday dinner for Denita! We had b-b-qued steaks and everything that goes with! Dad drove his car over and I rode with him (it was a white knuckle ride for me but he did ok, but he drives tooooo fast! If there was any kind of deviation he would be in trouble with reactionary time.

The remainder of the month we worked in the yard, picking large rocks for out borders, shoveling dirt, and general yard stuff! The other big thing we did was get all our 'condo for sale postings' done...Craigs List on the 25th and Zillow on the 26th. We received quite a few calls initially.

On the 25^th Dixie helped Denita and the Jr. class ( Tyler & Brett) decorate for the prom. Dixie went to Havre with Fran on the 30^th.

The Painted Church near Kona 

 Puako on the Big Island

 The northern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii

 Sunset on the beach in Kona

T

On the beach in Kona

Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island

Kona

 Maui - Island of Lanai

Snorkel Trip in Maui

25th Wedding Anniversary Trip to Hawaii

Our 25^th Wedding Anniversary Trip ~ A bit early!.....

The 20^th was our day to start 'the trip'. We closed everything up at the motorhome and left around 2pm. We made a quick stop at the flea market to pickup the sunshade drop for the motorhome and then headed to Coachella. We arrived at Spotlight 29 Casino around 530p. We had a happy hour glass of wine and then a slice of pizza for dinner. From there it was standing in line for 40 minutes for the doors to open for the free Elton John Tribute concert. It was excellent. We were in the third row so we had a great view of his piano playing which was awesome. His name of Kenny Metcalf and the Early Years Band. He played for over an hour and a half. We then drove to Danny's where we overnighted.

On the 21^st Dixie did a little cleaning at Danny's condo and then we realized somehow Mike's flipflops got left behind. We had a breakfast at Micky D's and then found some flipflops at Marshall’s. We then headed to Riverside to Aunt Marge's. We had a nice afternoon and evening visiting.

We started our long day on the 22^nd attending church with Marge and then she drove us to meet up with Doug. We all had lunch a Marie Calendar’s in Buena Park. We left there around 1230p for the Courtyard Marriott in El Segundo where we were to park the pickup while we are gone. Well we ran into a bit of a snaffo as they said we had a reservation for our overnight on the 30^th , they did NOT have any parking. They advised they didn't have park and fly agreement with Hotels.com/Expedia and also their parking was closed for that package deal. After much to do and phone calls, the manager agreed to let us park there. We caught the 2p shuttle to the airport and got checked in and through security in record time – about 15 minutes. We spent a little time in the United Club prior to our 440pm flight. We got exit row seats all together which gave use plenty of leg room...first would have been better but it was not to be!!! We arrived in Maui at 720p. It took awhile to get our bags and to the rental car place. We arrived at the World Mark Condo around 9pm. We visited with Fran and Camilla before we pooped out around 11pm. We took a sleeping pill to overcome the jetlag/time change.

The 23^rd we went for a walk and ended up at the place Camilla is renting for the month. We walked back via the ocean side. We packed up our beach stuff and headed out around noon. We made sandwiches and made a stop at the ABC Store and we were off. We drove south and took in the scenery. We stopped at a beach south of Waila...we think it as Po'olenalena Beach. We had our lunch and spent the afternoon there. We were in the water riding the waves in when a big wave came over the top of us...Dixie's glasses and visor came off. We thought the glasses were long gone...we saw them on the beach after one wave but couldn't get to them in time. We all searched and luckily another man on the beach located them on the ocean floor. Very thankful for that. On the way back to the hotel we drove into the Four Season's Hotel complex...Fran's Nephew, Tim works at Spado's, a restaurant there. We then went to the grocery store and bought hamburger for dinner. We made a great meal back at the condo. Groceries and eating out is quite 'spendy' here!

The 24^th....Doug and Fran left shortly after 7am for their Helicopter ride to view Haleakala/Hana. They had a wonderful time. We went for a walk as the Helo ride was not in our budget. We drove to Lahinia in the afternoon and a bit further north on the island. We made a a few stops to view some scenery. We had a happy hour drink in Lahina overlooking the water. It was a bit windy. From there Doug/Fran dropped us off at the theater to see the 'Ulalena' show. It was a great show of the Hawaiian History. Thanks Doug & Fran for the tickets for our Anniversary. After the show we went to a great Chinese restaurant called Fu Lin.

The 25^th we started our day out early. We had to be at the Lahina pier at 715a (a 45 minutes drive from the condo). We went on a snorkel tour to the Island of Lanai with 'Captain Steve's'. Our captain was Jonathan and his mate was Mika. We saw some whales on the way over. It was windy and the weather was iffy so they had a hard time finding a good snorkeling spot. We went quite a ways around the island. We made two snorkel stops and also had lunch on the boat. It was a good snorkel...saw lots of fish. The trip back was more than rough. We all got soaked. The weather was a bit dicy so we had to take the long way back...however, we did see several whales. One calf slapped his tale several times for us! We were pretty beat after that ride so we headed back to the condo in Kehie.

The 26^th was travel day. We left Maui on the 1203p flight which was about a ½ hour late. We didn't think we were going to get seats but at the last minute they had some no-shows. We arrived in Kona around 1p. We got our rental car (got an upgrade from a full size to a Ford Explorer) and were off to the condo...this World Mark room looks just like the other one! Bonnie (Fran's sister came over) to visit. We went to the store and bought snacks – that was dinner!

The 27^th we took a drive south. We stopped on the roadside for a Huli Huli Chicken plate lunch...it was wonderful. Then we checked out the beaches. Next stop was a tour of the Greenwell Coffee Farm. It was very interesting and informative...we have never seen coffee trees before. We then went to a beach called Two Step near,........State Park. Doug/Fran dove and snorkeled here before. We had rented snorkel gear at Big Island Divers in the morning so we got in the water to snorkel. This spot has lots of colorful fish...Tang and Parrot fish were the coolest. Of course right after we got out of the water we say the dolphin fins! We met Bonnie & Michael (boyfriend) for dinner at Quinn's....we enjoyed some wonderful fish and seafood!

The 28^th we drove to the north point of the Big Island. We saw where Bonnie teaches and then to the end of the road where we were high up overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful site. From there we drove back over the mountain and returned via Wiama. All in all we put on over 200 miles. We went to Bonnie & Michael's that evening. We met two other couples and we all sat on the beach at their condo and watched to the sunset and enjoyed some drinks and snacks! It was a beautiful setting and a fun time!

The 29^th we all took advantage of Bonnie...We treated ourselves to a massage! It was wonderful. After all that we went to the Harbor House for a late lunch. We enjoyed some fresh fish! It was quite cloudy and it rained a bit. We had planned to snorkel again but decided against that due to the weather. We went to the pool/hotub instead. The rest of the day we packed. Dixie cut Michael and Bonnie's hair. Around 830p we decided we needed something else to eat so we made a run to McDonald's!

The 30^th was the day to leave the islands. We packed up and headed to breakfast – another trip to the Big Island Grill. There food is wonderful and local! From there we drove south and checked out a bit more of the island. We ended up at the car rental return just after noon. We got checked into at the airport for our 152p flight and went to the gate. The flight had 6-7 seats up until that point. Suddenly there were non. The agent said she may have one seat....we would take two but not just one. Well – we didn't get on and the next flight that wasn't until 834p was also full. It was time to make some decisions. There was a Lavaman Triathlon in Kona on Sunday and that may have been the cause for the flight fluctuation. Tue. the flight was also full so Dixie started checking other options. We found the flight out of Honolulu had 100 open seats. We then decided to purchase passes online on Hawaiian Airlines. We headed to that gate and got on the flight leaving at 311p.

Once in Honolulu we went to the United Club. Dixie had packed her card by mistake but we managed to all get in the club. It was a much better place to pass the 4-5 hr wait time. The flight was scheduled for 845p but was delayed for an hour due to Guam connections. We had a sandwich at Quiznos and went to the gate. The flight ended up not taking off until 11pm. So much for our $247 hotel in LA for Monday night.

March 31^st – we arrived in LA around 630am. Our bags were there as they traveled on the original flight from Kona. We arrived at the hotel at 715am. We checked into the room and slept for 3 hours. We checked out at noon and headed to Riverside to pick up our car. We stopped at the same Marie Calendar’s in Buena Park for lunch. We got to Aunt Marge's around 230p. We visited for a bit and then took off for Yuma. We arrived at the motorhome around 730p. It was a very long 2 days....but a very fun time in Hawaii!  

Elton John Tribute Concert at Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, CA