Lift Your Feet Up! Suck That Tummy in! Get Moving!

Yuma Lakes RV Resort

So, on Tuesday, Mar. 31st, it was time. I was melancholy in my last post but now it is time to Buck Up and get moving! Sounds like an exercise regime and for the Suite, I guess it is. 😂

Good morning
from
Park Place RV Park

Her feet get pulled up, her slides get brought in and her wheels move, all for the first time since Nov. 1st. We were as ready as we'll ever be. I was not surprised to feel a bit of nausea when I came downstairs at 6:45. I'd been dreading the move, in a way.

Gibbs was anxious while we
prepared things inside.
So much so that he didn't want to 
go for a walk with Mom.
Not while Daddy was in and out 
of Black Beauty.

That passed quickly and I started doing the remaining small jobs that are on my to-do list when we are packing up. Bill was outside, much to Gibbs' dismay (he knew something was up, bigtime), dumping tanks, bringing our Starlink in and packing our power cord and sewer hose away.

So, we pulled out,
stopping briefly at the office to
say goodbye to our Managers.

When Linda came over for
Pokeno this afternoon,
she took a picture of our
empty site. 😞

Gibbs is not a good traveler, not since the summer after his very first winter south. We're not sure what changed but that confident, sleepy pooch was no longer. 😒 He is better now, with a few tricks we've tried but still gets anxious. 

Diesel prices continue
to rise and saying goodbye
to the Q mountain.
(I climbed 2x this winter!)

Without the sun, these
pictures are quite dull but I
do enjoy this ride.

We said goodbye to Sue and Fred and pulled out of the park we've called home for 5 months. With only 90 minutes to drive, we arrived in Yuma Lakes RV Resort around 10:30. It is located on the east end area of Yuma. We turn off I-95S onto 7th Avenue E for about 3 miles.

Pictures from the drive.
Yuma Proving Grounds
the aerostat blimp, construction
and Yuma lemon grove.

We are Coast to Coast members and benefit by staying in this park for points, equivalent to $10/night plus $3 for electric. We got set up on Site #14 and immediately moved indoors. The houseflies are awful, 😫 spring here is different than in the Q, where we had the occasional one here and there. 

Other than being hot,
he enjoyed the ride enough.

Bill hooked us up to water and electric and joined Gibbs and I inside. The nice thing about rv'ing is that when you move, when you step in the door, nothing has changed. You are always 'home'. For Gibbs, that is huge. 💕

Fields harrowed for planting
This row of palm trees indicates
our turn is coming up.

I had a coffee and we relaxed until noon. After a bite to eat, we left the little guy in his happy place and drove into town to pick up things we needed at Walmart. We are only here 3 nights, long enough for a short time in Los Algodones before we move again.

Our turn towards the
park, onto Ave 7E

We stocked up on our Walmart things, stopped at Sally's Beauty Store and O'Reilly's Auto Zone for BB's air filter. They were all in the same mall so one stop shop and were back home before 3. I really wanted a DQ ice cream cone but it was out of our way so tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow! 🙏

Arrival

The afternoon was spent in front of our laptops. We have not sat down to actually plan our route home. There were suggestions, hints and a few ideas tossed around but today we formulated an actual PLAN that we both like. You'll just have to follow along to find out what they are!

This pretty tree was
right beside where we parked
in the Walmart lot.

I made myself a tasty Caesar and since our NCIS shows started at 5 pm, we decided on a throw together kind of supper. Apple pie and cheese were on the menu and saved cooking. With the a.c running, every bit helped.

Easy set up on Site 14
The trees are a nice touch

We reached a much more bearable 93F/31C today under cloudy skies. Tomorrow will be even cooler so we are h-h-h-appy!!! We watched our programs and I focused on finishing today's post. Gibbs is confused but curious, wants out, often, but only to check out all those new smells!

Good night from Yuma

A great day but I'm still thinking I'm in Quartzsite. Funny feeling. 🤭 Thank you for following our journey.

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!

What a Puzzle!

Park Place RV Park

It was around 7 on Saturday, Mar. 28th when I did my stretches and pushed myself out of bed. Gibbs would have been perfectly fine to remain in that comfy position, I could just tell. We came down and joined Daddy.

Good morning!
Clear sky to start
but the winds of 20 mph stirred
up some desert dust.

An easy start to the day, I had my tea. I wasn't hungry for anything else and surprisingly, that was how I felt all morning. I did have a coffee mid-morning and took care of the 'little-to-no' business. 😀 I worked on the puzzle and turned the tv on to music.

Just a quick view of the
PP clubhouse, all nice and quiet.

Having background rock tunes from the 70's was nice for a change. Usually, I have a hard time figuring that tv system out. LOL  Home for lunch and back again to carry on. I messaged Renae to see if she would join me and she did. 

This was how we left it last night.
Renae did the border herself.

We have such great talks, about our plans, about our pasts and the joy of spending time together at the puzzle and with the ladies here in the park. We both are sad for the numerous goodbyes but looking forward to everyone returning to the frivolity. 

Clouds moved in and
that means a nice sunset,

Supper was grilled sausages, our last bbq meal for a while, and I cooked some of the Spanish cauliflower rice pack I'd picked up a while ago. It was easy to prepare and tasted pretty good. 

I knew it!

While Bill was bbq'ing, I nipped over to say goodbye to Bette, who would be leaving in the wee morning hours, wishing her safe travels and a good summer. Things change almost daily around here in March with snowbirds straggling homeward.

We ate late so I was hungry for this
meal.

This was a good purchase.
Low carbs and decent taste.
I'm still debating about it.

This was another warm day, repeat, repeat, repeat, at 101F/34C but tonight will be warmer for sleeping than it has been. 72F/20C will have us hoping for a breeze in our windows. We had a great day.

I messaged Renae who was working
at the puzzle while doing laundry.
She sent me these pictures for
my blog.
It's really coming along!
Likely our last one together this spring.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!

Last Stretch for Us

 Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Mar. 27th I woke from a silly dream. It had to do with hosting but it was in a very elaborate park. I just remember the last few inutes before waking, and that was quite funny. I know I'd slept well, up to bed at 9:30, dropping off pronto.

Good morning.
My security agent is on duty
behind me.
Look at his position.
💕

So, waking at 5:45 to Bill's admonishment to Gibbs of "it's not time, go back to sleep", I took it upon myself to do the same. 🤭 It was 7:10 when next I saw the light of day and breathe that lovely fresh air in my north-facing window. 

Bill and Gibbs were both ready at 8:30 to take their run around the park. I took the quilts off our recliners and took them over to put them in the laundromat. Mine, especially, (shared with Gibbs), was extremely dirty. I would hang them on the line to dry.

Finishing up raking the
newly vacated site.

I opened up the clubhouse and office by 9 and said goodbye to Sue. She was off with Bette and Anne-Marie to Lake Havasu for the day. She just worked 6 days so deserved a 'holiday'. 😊 I'm happy to be able to step in so she can do that.

I left it like this, waiting for Renae.
I knew we would finish it today.

Bill raked and weeded a site, which a guest vacated last night. He did it early enough before the 'real' heat set in. It was already mid 70'sF/mid teensC by 9:30. It was a quiet day in the office, a couple of phone calls and one drop in. Easy.

Ta-dah!
It's beautiful!

I worked on the puzzle alone this morning and walked away at noon. I wanted to wait for Renae to join me. When I stopped putting pieces in, I began making a new greeting card, using some pre-printed cards. I was running out of blanks.

Look - another clear blue sky.

Renae and I finished the puzzle after 5 and I returned home to watch the tail end of a movie with Bill. He bbq'd flat iron steaks, thicker than our previous ones, and a baked potato. The steak were rarer than we like so he popped them back on for a couple of minutes.

Steak was too bloody so it went
back on for a few minutes.

Our last little .99 pies.

Gibbs was treated like a king tonight with some small bits from mine. He gobbled up his supper with the added treat. There were no dishes to wash by hand so Bill loaded the dishwasher and watched an old movie while I worked on my blog. 

Sue put a warning on 
the board.

This has been a great day, I had a nice time chatting with Renae, as usual, and after I left, she started the new puzzle we chose, kind of together. 😃We still reached a high of 103F/35C today but being inside all day, I never noticed.

The scene from Mar. 27, 2025
Good night

Thank you for popping in today and for your comments if you choose to leave one.