This is it! Our Last Day Here, Melancholy

Park Place RV Park

Monday, Mar. 30th

As the desert sun climbs higher and the Ocotillos begin to bloom, and yes, rattlesnakes make an appearance, we all experience the familiar seasonal shift. Another beautiful winter in Quartzsite is drawing to a close. Spring has arrived. 

Good morning!

RV's are being serviced either professionally or by the owners. Patio chairs, gazebos and mats are being packed away, and travel plans are coming together. Us Snowbirds (yes, a capital 'S') are preparing the journey back to our summer homes,

Gibbs, what are you doing?
Watching Daddy, Mom.
Please don't disturb me.
💘

Most of the above paragraphs were written in the local Desert Messenger by Robert Salas and I liked it so much, I adopted parts of it. This time of year brings mixed emotions. Speaking for Bill and I, we arrive here in the park on November 1st. 

I enjoy the banter we share.
We had some grrreat shots.
We had some lousy shots.
We're going to start counting how
many times we pocket the cue ball!
😂😂😂
I took some pictures on Linda's phone
but haven't got them yet.

We easily fall into a groove here, excited to see good friends, whom we've met over the last 5 years. Reaching beyond what was comfortable since the winter of 2016/17, after Covid (AC) we opted to spend our following years in the 'luxury' of a full service park.

Along with that, came friends. New friends. This has been a wonderful 5 months and I totally feel mixed emotions with leaving in the morning. Hugs, heart to heart hugs, leave a mark and will have to suffice until we return, God willing, on November 1st.

This is why coming into a park
is a bonus for me.
My friends' circle has expanded.
L to R
Patsy, Linda, Renae, Sue, Anne Marie.

Don't misunderstand. We are also anxious to hit the road that leads us to 'our' summer home, as mentioned above. It will not be rushed, although we're sure weather back home will be much improved when we arrive the second week of April.

Gifts from Anne Marie (the American star)
Linda (the wire wrap tree and Mexican)
Renae (the Hagstone with a natural hole from erosion)
All gifts meaningful and special.
Sue and Fred also gave Bill and I a beautiful
thank you card this morning.
Our hearts are full.

Today, off duty, (another kind of retirement!) Bill proceeded to do the rv things that he does. I went to play my last game of Ladies Poker Pool for this season. There were 4 of us to start and for the 3rd game, yay, Renae joined in and won the day.

She has definitely played before! 😉 We had fun, exchanged a few cards and gifts and parted ways at noon. 😞 After lunch, I decided to bake a pie to use up some frozen apples and took Sue 2 packages of frozen rhubarb for her Wednesday coffee meets. 

I remember that this puzzle
was a challenge so I'll leave
it to Renae to finish up.
This is mostly all her so will
do just fine in my absence.

The clubhouse oven did the baking while I fumbled with this repeat of a puzzle. I did it in 2024 and Renae and Sue will have to finish it. 

The sky looked like this for
a lot of the day.

Supper is leftover roast beef, gravy, vegetables. We are 95% ready to go. Anne Marie stopped by after Gibbs and I got back from a park walk so it was nice to exchange those hugs. Then just before our meal was heated, Renae popped over for the same thing. I'll miss her too! Safe travels for all who are left to hit the road. 

Supper was delicious

It was another hot day, although - again - a bit cooler. We had 97F/32C and a decent wind. There were some clouds but with a warm wind, we didn't notice too much. Bill would have felt it more than I, outside checking and greasing tires and packing the last of our things away.

At the end of the day,
this is what we'd all like to do.
A dog's life is sooo very hard!
😍

It will be a quiet evening for us, but what better for our last night? This has been a really nice day. I hope yours has too.

Thank you for stopping around. Your comments are always welcome!

The Tail End of a Slow Shift

Park Place RV Park

On Sunday, Mar. 29th we were all up by 7:15. I know I woke up around 1:30 am, feeling quite warm as there was NO breeze at all coming in our windows. We debated leaving the bedroom a/c on but it can be noisy when trying to sleep. 

Good morning!

The temperature never dropped below 70F/18C all night/morning. I was able to drop back off though and slept until 6:30. This is our last, very last, day for volunteering here for the park's office/clubhouse duties. It has been a great winter and a new experience for both of us. Me especially.

Fred and Bill moved Bette's
trailer to her new sit.
There are a few things pick up,
tire covers, firewood, hose etc.
It sure looks different!

It had been 10 years since I worked in an office on a programmed system computer. I actually enjoyed it! With just a couple of 'business' issues to take care of today, it was to be another slow one. I worked on the puzzle, Renae had done a lot last night! 😃

All settled until she returns in
December..........or sooner.
That's her rig on the left.

Yesterday, I cleaned the 3 washers really well so today, just did a quick look through. I scrubbed the 'kitchen' sink also and threw the shower mat and all tea towels and dish cloths in the washer. We try to stay on top of that, so a couple of each are clean and available. 

I opened up the office.
Nice entry, isn't it?

The new hosts for summer and the following season dropped by to talk to Sue and Fred just before noon. Bill and Fred were out early to move Bette's rv from her site to relocate it to her new one. She has left for the summer, as we soon will be. Bill raked the empty site.

Bill and Fred cleaned up
the site for the next hosts.

It feels weird that I will be stepping 'down' from the duties but good at the same time. So, yesterday, Renae, who is also cleaning out her fridge and freezer for her departure, offered me a beef roast that was gifted to her a while ago. 

With the puzzle finished
of course, we needed a picture.
Renae, my sweet friend, don't
ever change. 💕

Her friends bought it from a butcher so I was willing to take it off her hands. It was frozen and too large for Madame IP so I took it out today to thaw it. After finishing the puzzle with her today, I closed up shop (so to speak) and returned home to cut it into two pieces.

This is a big roast so it
had to be cut in half to cook it.

I spiced each portion and although it was a lot of meat, Madame IP cooked them both. With no potatoes in the Suite, I added onions and carrots and suggested we have deep fried fries. In peanut oil to boot! I'm going to splurge, yes I am!

Everything was delicious!
And leftovers!

Everything was ready within an hour and 15 minutes. The roast was cooked to perfection, gravy and vegetables as well. The fries - excellent! Before I indulged though, I sliced a few pieces and ran them over to Renae in the clubhouse for her supper. 💖

And a beautiful sunset to boot

We cleaned up the non-dishwasher items and ran it to clean the rest. 😊Yes, it is warm inside here and the a/c is running but it would be worse if we had cooked it in an oven. I think we'll leave the a/c on overnight for the first time but with low fan and higher temp.

Not to forget this little bum.
Good night!

This was a great day! Slowly, our time here comes to an end. It was a bit cooler today, ha ha, didn't feel it though. A bit more relieft tomorrow, we hope.

Thank you for your visit!