Another Last Day, Winds Picked Up and Then Calm, Last Happy Hour, Last Swim

Bill and I were up before 7:30 on Sunday, Feb. 11^th. I am surprised my tough old foot isn’t sore from the gate wheel last night, but other than a bruise, I survived! I really did enjoy the evening, how I love to dance. It pleases me that people know how to dress for this kind of ‘party’. Most tried to wear something RED and I love that, always have and always will.

I don't know if you can tell how windy it is
the palm leaves are pointing south

We had our tea and coffee while catching up with friends. I figure my exercise last night meant a morning I could skip the walk. I’ll go later on. This is our last day so I may try and put a few puzzle pieces in and we’ll have to see if the pool draws us before Happy Hour. Bill had made up his mind yesterday that this morning he was taking a drive over to the Yuma Flying Field off I-95 so he had some cereal and got cleaned up.

My egg breakfast

I decided to stay back and take a walk and do a bit of cleaning up in the Suite while he was gone. Not in a rush, I fried up a couple of eggs for myself and fried 2 tortillas to eat them on. I’m not crazy about the Gluten-free Corn flour ones, but I bought them thinking they were better for me. Well, not if I don’t enjoy the taste! Frying them a bit is the only way I can eat them. Even then, I prefer the regular flour ones. 

Bill goes to explore the RC flying field
I love the look of Black Beauty

Had a brief chat with my oldest grandson yesterday on FB Messenger. I like to keep in touch to see how he is doing. I think I can stop worrying about him, he is finding his niche in life, living on his own. When Taylor communicates with me, he treats me with such compassion and has always tried to convince me that he is “doing well, Grandma”. I do believe he is now. I miss him, it has been far too long since I’ve hugged that sweet boy.

I did the few breakfast dishes up after Bill left at 10:15, brushed me teeth and took a walk. The early morning winds have calmed and it is another gorgeous day. Already at 10:30 it is 70F. Every weather station we check into says that we are going to get a bit of a cool down in our temperatures. Well, at mid-80’s for over 3 weeks, I’d say we can afford a little cool down without hurting us too badly. After all, 69F here during the day and 50F overnight is not cool by any means. I think we can handle it for 3 days.

The one I liked showed more like a home
breaking up the bedroom and bath from the kitchen and dining
area

The walk to the closest recycle bins on Victoria St. was not too far so I veered further so I came back a different way to the clubhouse/office. I stuck my head into 3 more Open House units to see the differences. Well, I did more than that. I walked right in. If we don’t have dreams……..hey, we always have dreams and ‘what ifs’ in our life but that doesn’t mean we aren’t happy or content. It means we are always open to explore new things.

Arizona room bathroom

This would be your living room area

I worked on the puzzle for 15 minutes or so and managed to drop quite a few pieces in place. That felt good and satisfied my fingertips, hovering over the picture. 

It would have been fun to work on longer

I walked down to the Billiards Room, which I hadn’t peeked in the other day. There are just 3 pool tables in there and one fellow was challenging himself. He said it was a bit disappointing since he’d played in a league back home, but to me it seemed just fine.

I arrived back at the Suite right around noon and Bill was home. That told me that there probably weren’t any or many flyers at the field.  We chatted and Bill made himself a sandwich. My egg seems to have fulfilled me for now so I took my book and went on the patio. Around 1:15 I decided to go to the pool and Bill opted out today. No problem, we don’t have to go everywhere together.

So, I tried a selfie on the big lounger

When I got there, of course, I wished he was there only because there was only one other person. Situating myself in the opposite corner, I spread out on the double cushioned lounger. Feeling spoiled, naturally. I showered and took a swim in the warm water. 

Laying on the lounger, I looked up to this majestic palm

Back and forth from one end to the other 3 or 4 times and then relaxed with my book. Lee Child is becoming one of my favourite, least predictable authors. Jack Reacher is brought to life for me and I laugh often at his actions.

and zoomed in to the top

At 2:15, I took another dip with 3 more laps of the pool before stretching out on my tummy. The air outside was not cool like it was yesterday. When you get out of the water, there was no need to rush for a towel. There are no clouds today and that is likely the difference. It is 77F, just beautiful! I left the serenity of the pool and walked ‘just over there’ to the Suite at 3.

Happy Hour at the Duchaine's

Bill was feeling sleepy after finishing his Tami Hoag’s Dust to Dust so he laid down for 15 minutes. We took our small cooler and chairs to Tom and Deb’s for our last Happy Hour with them this winter. How sad! On the other hand, we have been very happy to get to know them better on a personal level and will keep in touch on line until next time.

And I was there too

Deb had made up a batch of Beer Margaritas and some salsa and chips for a snack. I didn’t contribute much but I took a dish of green olives. Thanks guys, it was a lovely last meeting, too bad I forgot my funky tripod for a selfie. 

Thanks for the snacks guys

Back home, Bill was feeling the effects of the two drinks so he wanted to sit for a bit before we started supper. I had prepared potatoes so we could finally eat up our fish and chips, planned for two nights ago!

At 5:45 we started grilling and deep frying and we were eating delicious grilled cod fillets and home-made fries. I had some red wine to finish so that went with the meal also. The one glass will last me through the evening and I have a bottle of water handy too. Ha ha. My foot is bruised from the wheel last night but it isn’t sore, thank goodness. Such a clumsy one I can be!

After dishes, Bill put the last items away, the Weber Q, table and our chairs. All done! We decided to miss Madame Secretary, after all my whining, but it wasn’t worth setting up the satellite dish for one night. We’ll survive and there are always recaps of the previous show. Tomorrow we move, Tucson here we come! We are anxious to re-connect with Ken and Nancy, our Illinois friends, once more for a few days. The time will go fast, we have a few Jell-o plans together.

Bill's supper
I'd already cut into my fish before taking a picture
I had less potatoes and still too many

I must say this has been a quiet but enjoyable day. Great to share one more Happy Hour with good friends whom we just met last winter and a great park to enjoy. I hope you have had a good one as well.

good night from Fortuna de Oro
We've enjoyed it here

Thank you for stopping by. Feel free to leave me a comment.

Turning Plans into Fruition

Tuesday, Dec. 6 and Wednesday, Dec. 7 changed the way we do things in and around our home. We left Bullhead City, Az on Tuesday morning by 10:15 am, according to plans and within 2 ½ hours we were approaching another major destination on our Bucket List.

Since October 2013 Bill and I have talked about this first trip, this first step into the unknown. We’ve discussed it, we’ve dreamt about it, we’ve planned for it and now it is unfolding before our eyes and we are smack dab in the middle of it all. Oh, how rewarding it is to us now, after what seems like a very long time in the planning stages.

There have been soooo very many ‘firsts’ on this adventure and I know I won’t be able to mention them all but here are a few.

   Selling our house and not buying or renting another

  Selling everything in our house for a major down-sizing

  Living full-time in an rv

   Travelling south before winter hits

Route 66

   Upon travelling south, not turning around after the normal 2 weeks’ vacation

  Sleeping in an rv in a Walmart parking lot

   Crossing many state lines, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and a biggie …………. Arizona! (a bucket list destination)

Cadillac Ranch

  My first tumbleweed

    

      My first saguaro cactus

Cotton fields

  My first south west jack rabbit

My first burro

                                                               My first quail

Just a few, for me these were a big deal. I haven’t mentioned sunsets here in the desert, seeing rv’s along the highway in open desert fields nor have I touched on the absolute freeing feeling I experience on a daily basis, here in the wonderful southwest.

Arriving in Quartzsite, Az yesterday we found La Posa South 

and quickly spotted George from Our Awesome Travels waiting for us inside the LTVA grounds. We paid our 2-week fee of $40 and located a level spot not too far away from his and Gerry and Melinda’s rvs. We’re here! Quartzsite and we just know we’re going to love it as much as everyone else here does.

Our No Name, No Number site for a week

We joined our neighbours for happy hour at 3 and caught up on the latest. 

We solved some issues, just by discussion and picked up some more helpful tips to make life easier on the road. Calling it a night at 5:30 we went inside to warmer temperatures.

Gerry and Melinda on the left and further up, George and Suzie

The sky hasn’t been completely forgiving, with skiffs of clouds throughout the first day we arrived and the wind had changed direction making it a bit cooler than I’d hoped. We decided to test the walls of our Mobile Suite and didn’t bother with any form of heat during the evening or overnight. We aren’t entirely ‘cold’ sleepers, meaning we find we do like some form of heat while sleeping but not wanting to run the furnace all night after a day without full sun, we went to bed by 11 pm pulling up the extra spread.

Boondockers along the highway

Wednesday, we woke up and were pleasantly surprised to find that although it was 46F outside, the Suite was holding its own at 53F. Bill turned the furnace on, set at 66F, for 15 minutes to take the chill out and by that time the sun had risen enough to retain this temperature.

Before long, once more, the clouds seemed to take over the blue sky with a mere skiff and I knew it wasn’t going to be a ‘sit outdoors’ kind of day for me. We had a few things we wanted to check out in the small town of Quartzsite so drove in after breakfast. We are checking out a propane heater so visited RVLifestyle with great success.

Tuesdays sunset

A few tent vendors were set up at one end of town so we stopped in for a quick peek. Only a quick peek because I failed to dress warm enough to walk and walk through the majority of shops that caught my eye. We came home after picking up a few necessary items and stopping at Satellite Advantage for some help with our dish reception for the bedroom. Still not working since it tipped over last Friday in the wind. They were a terrific help and we are now good to go!

While Bill was back and forth to town over the dish, I was able to catch a few rays getting very close to finishing my Michael Connelly novel. Clemson and I enjoyed a peaceful afternoon before we all joined the group for happy hour at 3:45pm. When the sun starts to go down, I really feel the chill of night so need to move inside. I didn’t miss catching yet another gorgeous sunset before I fried up some Tilapia with potatoes for supper. We settled in for the night.

I hope you had a great day as well and I thank you for reading.