December 24 to 31, 2015; Celbrating X-MAs, glass repair, New Year Eve

DEC 24, THURSDAY; Christmas Eve

Cloudy and more rain overnight!  We had our usual lazy morning and were finally dressed by 10 am.  Val went to do the laundry and I drove to the nearest Verizon to straighten out my account.  I did some shopping and bought Val a card and a present for tomorrow.  Back home, I left the Jeep at the laundry room and gave her a hand for a while then walked home.

At 3:30 pm, we drove to a restaurant in Gilbert call Pheanico, a Lebanese food restaurant.  We met Aud & Marcel and Mark & his wife Sharon who is Lebanese and ordered food for us all.  I had never tasted this food before and it was delicious.  We had a nice visit and once again had to say goodbye and wished them a Merry Christmas.  We drove home and got into our PJ’s and I called my family back East and my brother in BC (no answer) then we watched the tube for a while.  Aud & Marcel came over for a drink.  We were in bed by 11 pm

DEC 25, FRIDAY; MERRY CHRISTMAS

Sunny finally and windy!  I was up by 8:30 am and Val soon after.  She was very surprised to see a card and a present for her (we usually don’t do that to each other).  I felt she deserved it!  Then we proceeded to have a piece each of tourtiere.  It was delicious!!!  My hat off to Marcel!  I called and talked with my brother in BC and also my son who is spending the day with his friend Kim.

At 4 pm, we all went to the club house and had X-Mas dinner with almost everyone in the Park.  The hall was full to the hilt.  They only problem was that our food table was shared by 24 people and we all think that some people didn’t bring anything!  Anyway, we had fun and that is the main thing.  Afterwards we went back to Marcel and Audrey’s place and Paul and Peggy joined us for an evening of fun and laughter.  I called my family and talked to everyone which was really nice.  After Paul and Peggy left, we got a call from Curt in Alberta and we all chatted with him for a while.  That ended our Christmas evening as everyone was ready for bed.

DEC 26, SATURDAY; Boxing Day in BC but not here!

Sunny, windy with 53*F forecasted and a very cold night!  Val got ready to go out shopping with Sister Audrey, the boys were left behind. But first Marcel went to the grocery store to pick up a few items to make his “c-paille” (??? spelling) an Eastern French casserole.

Marcel and I went to the clubhouse to play pool after I had a short snooze.  The girls finally got back at 6:30 pm (they had a successful day!), picked us up at the pool hall and we went for dinner at a local Pizza joint, sports’ bar type.  It was busy but we were able to get a booth and ordered our food and beer.  Afterwards, we went to our respective homes.

DEC 27, SUNDAY; Glass repair

I was up at 7 am this morning as a glass mobile repairman was coming out to fix the chip in the Jeep’s windshield.  Three quarter hour later and $30 richer, he left, did a good job too.  It is sunny but bloody cold out there, 40*F (5*C).  But it did warm up some by the afternoon.

Audrey had to get a haircut so Val went with her as she had some small stuff to pick up including milk.  Marcel and I ended up at the Pub so that we could watch Seattle being beaten, YUCK!   But the AZ Cardinals won!!  Came home and watched the tube for the rest of the evening.

DEC 28, MONDAY; Preparations

I had a water leak on the connection for the ice-maker so I fixed but first I had to get some parts so we went to town to LOWE’s then to Fry’s and Costco.  I also got an oil change on the Jeep.  We went to TOTAL WINE to get our supply of wine and Bourbon and had lunch at a Pub/Grill in the Mall!  We came home and went to A&M for HH then watched the tube till bedtime

DEC 29, TUESDAY; Nothing to report!

We were up late again this morning which is nice.  A cold night again but the sun is shining right now although it was cool all day!  We did little to nothing today!  Val went to Bingo with sis Aud so we had an early dinner.

DEC 30, Wednesday; another very cold night

Woke up to water lines almost frozen.  The propane truck was here this morning so I filled up the tank; bloody expensive at $3.39/gal.  I should have asked first!  We went shopping for groceries and a couple items including a 2016 calendar.  At 4 pm, we all went to the Patio for HH where there was live music; first time since we’ve been here that we’ve been there!  It was warm enough but when the sun went down, it became quite cold and we called it quit.  Peggy and Paul were also with us and we said our final goodbyes with promises to meet again.  We came home and proceeded to celebrate some more with Aud & Marcel.  I made beans and wieners for dinner with warmed up buns.  We had laughter and fun until 11 pm. Then to bed!

DEC 31, THRUSDAY; our last day in Mesa

Another very cold night with frost on the Jeep this morning.  Val did laundry first thing this morning and I washed the jeep.  In the afternoon, we went to Bud and Judy in CHANDLER and had one last visit before leaving for Mexico.  We had a very nice visit of course, and were there over two hours but finally had to leave to pick up M&A and Bud was getting tired, so it was time to go! 

We drove to Mark’s place in SUNDANCE, south of Phoenix where M&A joined us.  They parked their truck in Mark’s driveway where he is leaving it for the next two-three months while we are in Mexico.  We drove back to Power street to OLIVE GARDEN only to find a 45 minutes wait.  We walked across the street to RE LOBSTER where it was worse: one and half hour wait.  So we drove to a Chinese restaurant on MAIN ST but found this neat place instead called “WHAT THE HELL” Bar and Grill where we had dinner and stayed until 9 pm when the band came on and began to play.  Unfortunately it was “hard rock” which is not in anyone liking so we left after a couple songs.  We got back by 9:30 pm, said our goodnights and were in bed by 11 pm.

LAST DAY OF THE LAST MONTH OF 2015!!!

December 19 to 23, 2015; Apache Junction, GeoCaching and move to Mesa AZ

DEC 19, SATURDAY; Apache Junction

The days are once again warming up to decent temperature, it went to low 70’s.  After another lazy morning, then we went to find a Corporate Verizon store so that we could pay our bill.  Once done, we bought a roasted chicken then went to Aud and Marcel’s place in Del Oro.  Peggy and Paul joined us and we had dinner then walked over the Hall for another evening of dancing to the sounds of a much better Band!  It all ended at 10 pm and after walking back and saying goodnight to everyone, we came home.  Someone left a X-Mas present on our door steps!???  What a nice gesture!

DEC 20, SUNDAY; Visiting family

We met with Audrey and Marcel and drove to uncle Bud and Judy’s place in Chandler/Phoenix.  We had a great reunion as we hadn’t seen them in over 3-4 years.  They both looked fantastic although Bud is feeling his age (77) and has breathing problems.  Judy cooked hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers and we had a feast.  It was fun catching up to news and relive loving memories.  We came back around 4 pm.  It was a warm day so it made the visit even more enjoyable.  Watched the tube then to bed early

DEC 21, MONDAY; Apache Junction

It was cooler today and cloudy with sunny period!  We went to find the UPS drop station to pick up a letter for Val and after a few false destination and a call back to UPS, we finally found it on Inverness in Mesa.  When we got here, we found out that it had gone on the delivery truck; it was supposed to stay back!  Oh well, back tomorrow.  Came home and Val decided to vacuum the house so I went out to read.  Afterwards, I had a two hours’ nap.  Chicken for dinner then we watched some of our recordings.  To bed by 10 pm.

DEC 22, TUESDAY; Geo-Caching and Val’s Visa card

Cloudy and the forecast is for rain today!  YUCK!!!  I am so looking forward to being in San Carlos!  Got an e-mail from sister Therese and responded to that this morning.  We went to pick up Val’s letter that contains her new Visa card then we went Geo-Caching toward Tortilla Flats!  We found 8 in total; we ran out of time J.  The sky was grey and morose all day but we still had a good time.  First we stopped at FILLY’s Restaurant & Lounge, a western style saloon with good food and very popular with Snow Birds and locals alike.  We had a great burger and beer then we went to find our first Cache.  Hwy 88 or Apache trails as it known locally, is a very scenic drive.  The road follows the land contour so there are lots of curves and switchbacks.  The speed limit is 25 MPH and for good reasons.  We finally arrived at TORTILLA FLATS, a small settlement with a population of six, yeas 6 people!  It used to be a very busy place when the Roosevelt Dam was built back in the early 1900’s.  We had a beer at the saloon and some fries, looked around at the building we had forgotten about (we’ve been here a long time ago) then it was time to drive back (4 pm).  Once back at Apache Junction, we went to Marcel and Audrey to pick up the drive with pictures of X-Mas that we had taken earlier.  At home finally, we had a small bite to eat then relax.  Tomorrow we move to Valle Del Oro in Mesa.

DEC 23, Wednesday; to Mesa AZ

Cloudy this morning, it rained overnight!  We left the Park at 10:15 am and we were in VALLE DEL ORO RESORT at 10:30 am; a whole 15 minutes’ drive!  Paid our dues then went to park and set up at Site 935.  We then went to town to check on a glass auto to get a chip repair on the windshield which I got yesterday while going to Tortilla Flats.  No luck so came back to the Park and got a number from Marcel which he had mentioned before and I called him and he will be here Sunday at 8 am.  We then drove to the bank to get some cash then we went to see Glenda and Terry at VAL VISTA RESORT in Mesa.  We had a marvelous reunion with them and finally got to see their new 5^th-Wheel.  After having a drink and catching up to each other’s news, we walked to the Hall’s Happy Hour where we had a couple more drinks and dance to Live Music.  We also met with Al and Brenda and Lyn & Leo, people we’ve known for many years.  It was great seeing everyone.  We then walked back to the March’s 5^th-wheel where we proceeded to devoured a delicious roast prepared by Glenda.  Afterwards, Al and Brenda came over and Terry was a marvelous host, making sure no one was going thirsty.  We also had a visit from Dennis and Gloria, friends of Glenda and Terry and whom we had met before.  Like all good things, it came to an end and we drove home at 9:30 pm. 

It is 10 PM and it is raining!

N  33* 23.494

W 111* 38.526

ALT: 1452’

December 14 to 18, 2015; Repairs in Casa Grande, Mt Lemmon and to Apache Junction AZ

DEC 14, MONDAY; Jeep mirror repaired

Cold, Grey skies, rain and winds greeted us this morning but Val still went to her “Walk away the pounds” exercises; she is a determined girl!  After showering, I went to the garage to have the new mirror installed on the Jeep.  They gave me a ride back to the Resort and while walking around, I went into the card room and ended playing euchre which I hadn’t played since my Army days.  It didn’t take me long to catch up to the way of playing this game which is a game I love playing.  At 3:30 pm, I was picked up and taken back to the garage, settled my bill, went to and Auto Zone to buy a convex mirror then to Safeway for milk and coffee.  Back home, Val had started dinner and I went through our mail which arrived today.  Lots of RV magazines to read. J

DEC 15, Tuesday; Casa Grande

Mid-month already!  Still very cold, only 54*F (12*C) as a high.  27*F (-3*C) when I got up this morning at 7:30 am. Brrrrrrr!  Not much done today except trying to stay warm.  Went for some groceries, lunch at BIG WAH (which means CHINA by the way), then home

DEC 16, WEDNESDAY; TRIP TO TUCSON

We left at 10 am for Tucson Mt LEMMON, a State Park, that I had read about and wanted to see so we did two things: Saw the Park and got a bunch a Geo-Caches along the way!

It was a long drive just to get to the foot of the mountain as we had to go through part of Tucson.  As we drove up the foot of the mountain, the switchbacks started immediately.  We had a fantastic view all the way up.  The drive was absolutely gorgeous and spectacular, especially the VOODOOS and the rocks.  We hit snow at about the 4500-foot level and it got deeper as we went up but the road was bare.  Lot of families out with their kids skidding down small slope (school????).  We arrived at a small village named SUMMERHAVEN, (7800 feet), a beautiful little Alpine Village.  We stopped at a Souvenir boutique but bought nothing but a bumper sticker.  The area had gone through a fire in the recent past as the majority of the trees were burned out and it looked like a lot of the cottages/houses had been recently built or touched-up.  We continued up to the ski hill at the 8200-foot level where the road was closed to points further up and after taking some pictures, finding a couple geo-caches, we turned around and headed back down and home.  By the way, we had lunch on the way up about ¾ of the way up at a side road view point.  We got back at 7 pm, had a quick dinner and in bed early.  Another great day!

DEC 17, THURSDAY; Last day in CASA GRANDE

-28*F again this morning but warmed up quickly to 59*F (15*C).  Val did laundry and I packed our toys and stuff away.  This is our last day in Casa Grande, tomorrow, we moved to Mesa.  I called Mexico Bob and paid for our Mexican Insurance for 3 months.  I sat outside and had the last of my bourbon with sushi as a snack for HH; Val is still at the games room.  She got home soon however to cook dinner then we watched some of our recordings.

DEC 18, FRIDAY; To Mesa,

30*F when I got up this morning so things are beginning to warm up.  We slowly got ready to leave and were on the road by 10:30 am.  We drove north on I-10 to 202, East to HWY 60 and onto Broadway at Apache Junction to our Resort, GOLDEN SUN!  We paid our dues then settled in site A04.  After setting up, we drove to a friend’s place in Chandler where Marcel and Audrey were and listened to Marcel, Mark and Howard jam with Peggy singing!  It was a fun end of the day and afterwards, we all went to a local golf club for dancing.  We left first and drove home; I was tired, getting old I guess!  Straight to bed!

N   33* 24.437’

W 111* 33.519’

Alt: 1647’

We drove 61 miles in one hour and 18 minutes @ an average 47MPH

December 5 to 13, 2015; Casa Grande, visits with Aud and Marcel, Florence AZ,

DEC 5, SATURDAY; Casa Grande

So here we are at our “Home Park”, it is sunny but it was a very cold night. 39*F (4*C), Brrrrrr!  Got the furnace going as soon as we got up!  Temperature is forecast for 75*F, much more gooder!  We called Aud & Marcel and made arrangement to meet them tomorrow and go to the RV Market in Mesa. 

We went to town to our favorite Chinese restaurant, THE BIG WAH, and had lunch for $5 each which includes any special dish, soup and tea.  And the amazing thing is that it is ALL delicious!  We then went to the Mall to check it out and see what’s new, I got a haircut which was overdue.  We stopped at FRY’s for groceries then home for HH and a relaxing evening at home.

DEC 6, SUNDAY; Visit with Audrey & Marcel

We left the house at 9:11 am and got to A&M by 10:10 am after stopping at McDonald for breakfast and coffee for the road and taking a wrong turn at the Junction of highways 202 and 60. 

The plan was to go to the MESA FLEA MARKET but Marcel couldn’t come because of a self-inflicted injury while under the influence!!!  So the three of us went.  While parking, Aud had a slight accident with a parked car; she is not used the width of the truck and hit the car on the right side; we left a note with Aud’s phone number. We walked the whole Market and only bought a pair of binocular for Aud and I.  The Market was very disappointing in terms of what was available for RV’s and auto.  I won’t be going back again.  We went back to Aud’s place and picked up Marcel then went to a local pub/restaurant for lunch and a brew.  We had a great visit and left around 6 pm, to be home by 7 pm.

DEC 7, Monday; CASA GRANDE

Val began the exercise program available here.  She went to “walk off the pounds” and to a pool exercise program.  She just loves this stuff; good for her!

We went to town to get a few things then came home and relaxed.  I did a few maintenance things and Val cleaned the house some.

DEC 8, Tuesday; visit Florence

We went for a drive to Florence today as we had never been there.  It was incorporated in 1886 and was the site of a couple big movies back in the 50’s and 60’s.  It has retained some of its charm but there wasn’t much to see.  We had lunch there and went into a “Saloon” with the long bar and table and chairs; neat!  We were back home by 4 pm, Happy Hour and I got a surprised call from my son, Jeff, whom I had been trying to get a hold of many times.  We had a nice conversation and caught up to his news.  We watched a rented movie in the evening called “SAN ADREAS FAULT”.  Not all that impressive!

DEC 9, Wednesday;

It’s been very warm the last few days and the nice thing above all…NO WINDS!!!

Val went for her morning exercises but missed “walk away the pound”; she slept in!  I went to the Jeep Dealer and ordered a new side mirror as the one on the driver side is broken and shakes a lot when driving; it should be her tomorrow.  I stopped to return the last of our movies and got a couple more.  At 5 pm, we went to the club house for a roast beef or chicken dinner.  We had one of each at $10 each.  It was very good however the turn-out was disappointing: only about ten couples were there; a shame really!  Came home and watched some of our recordings

DEC 10, THURSDAY; Geo-Caching

Val went to her exercises and I took the jeep to the dealership to have my mirror fixed but they had ordered the wrong one so will be back again tomorrow.  We went Geo-Caching today on the south side of the town on a small mountain but first stopped for lunch at our favorite BIG WAH!  We found 6 caches and did a lot of 4X4’ing as we took the wrong turn and ended up in the middle of the desert and had to make our own tracks in a few places.  Makes you appreciate what our pioneers went through, sort of!  We were back home by 3:30pm in time for HH.

DEC 11, FRIDAY; surprise visit

Cooler this morning, only 15*C as a high!  Val went for her “Walk away the pounds” but didn’t go to swim exercises, just too cold.  Audrey and Marcel showed up around 2pm for a visit.  We took them to BUFFALO WINGS for beer and wings and had a great visit.  They left at 9 pm after many laughs.  Marcel was in fine form and Audrey drove home back to Mesa.

DEC 12, SATURDAY; TO MESA

Boy, did it ever rain last evening and overnight!  Even got some lighting and thunder.  This morning, the wind is blowing and it is only 52*F (11*C) by 11 am.  Val made an omelet for breakfast and after cleaning up, we drove to Mesa. 

Aud cooked us a delicious dinner: Sloppy Joe with potato salad and coleslaw.  We went to the Park’s Club House where they had a Western Band and we had a few dances and lots of fun.  We came back to their place where Marcel proceeded to show us his heritage that he found while in Gaspe, Quebec.  It was really fascinating and interesting, especially the pictures and photo-copy documents.  We finally got out of there by 11 pm and drove home, arriving at midnight after stopping for a pit-stop.  The sky was clear and we could see lots of stars.  We were in bed by half past!

DEC 13, SUNDAY; Relaxing day

It was sunny and cold all day; never got above 57*F.  I didn’t get up until 9:30 am and Val a half hour later.  This was football day for me and puzzles at the Club House for Val.  I didn’t even get out of my PJ’s!  We had spare ribs and mash potatoes for dinner then watched our usual Sunday evening favorite programs.  They are forecasting colder weather and storm whit snow warning for higher elevations.

December 1 to 4, 2015: Yuma to Casa Grande, AZ

DECEMBER 1, 2015, TUESDAY; Algodones for adjustments

Sunny and cold (59*F)!  A few neighbours have departed this morning; next will be us on Friday and looking forward to it.  We went to Algodones for a few adjustments and had lunch there; fish and shrimp tacos and they were delicious.  From here we went to Yuma to ALBERTSON to get some groceries then home to put it all away.

DEC 2, WEDNESDAY; To Martinez Lake and visit with friends

Sunny and surprise…WINDY!  It was a cold night, 37*F!  To be fair, it did warm up to 68*F. 

We drove north on Hwy 95, past the turn off to Imperial Dam and we turned off on the Martinez Lake turn off.  As we were driving through the Yuma Proving Ground, we saw a half dozen military parachutists coming down from the sky.  As we drove on, we saw them walking to a make-shift booth where other military personnel were waiting for them. 

We continued on and arrived at Martinez Lake.  What a funky place.  Decorations for X-Mas were all out, we walked around the marina and the grounds then went to the Pub for a beer and lunch.  Very good burgers!  We drove around, took some pictures then went on to the Wildlife Refuge and went in the Visitor Centre and looked at the exhibits.  We went on the road further into the desert and stopped at various points to look at the Colorado river or the sanctuaries created by the river.  We got as far as the PAINTED CANYON, parked and went for a walk up the trail.  It is a one hour walk to go all around but we only did a part of it due to time constraint. 

We drove back to Yuma to Ed & Judy and Reg & Sharon’s place in the Foothills.  We had HH outside then moved inside and had dinner.  We moved back outside to sit by the fire and had a free show of F15 or 18 flying around and chasing each other.  There was some kind of military exercises and it was fun listening to them flying over as it was too dark to see them.  We had a very nice visit but we had to get back as it was getting late.  40 minutes later, we were home

IT WAS A GREAT DAY! (Pictures can be seen at our Picasa Web Site)

DEC 3, THURSDAY; Breakfast at COCOPAH CASINO and packing

Much better today in terms of temperature but it was a cold morning; 45*F at 7:30 am.  We were up early to meet the “gang” at COCOPAH CASINO for breakfast @ 8:45 am, approx. 40 minutes’ drive from here.  Everyone that we know here in Yuma was in attendance.  We had a great breakfast @ $14. For both of us and we could have second if we wanted (it was a smorg.).  It was wonderful to see everyone again.  But as everything else, it had to come to an end and after saying our goodbyes to everyone, we drove to town and fueled the Jeep then went home.  I loaded the kayaks, the bikes, put everything away, and got everything ready to leave in the morning.  We sat outside and looked at how empty this place is!  It is going downhill and this will be our very last time we stay here, for sure!!!

We had dinner, watched the tube for a while then went to bed.

DEC 4, FRIDAY; TO CASA GRANDE, AZ

We had a lazy morning, taking our time to pack the last of the toys, then we headed out by 10:30 am.  We were in CASA GRANDE by 3 pm.  We took I-8 to Yuma, stopped for fuel then headed out.  The ride was quite boring as it is all desert and very monotonous.  We stopped near GILA BEND for lunch and 20 minutes later, were on our way again.  CASA GRANDE RV RESORT, our HOME PARK with WHR, has really been improved since it was bought by an outside business.  There are now new Park Models for rent, the whole place has been revamped and it is over half full now.  Everyone is in a good mood and friendly.  We parked in site 310 and a half hour late, after hooking up and setting up, we were sitting outside for a drink.  We had a nice dinner then relaxed’

We are here for two weeks!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zp8Avi7gfbhg.kyJ9Nbv9lXfs&usp=sharing

We drove 191 miles in 3.5 hrs @ an average 54MPH with an hour stopped for fuel and lunch.  We paid $2.20/gal for diesel.

N   32* 55.261’

W 111* 45.327’

EL: 1361 feet