Wake Up and Walk, Dryden Friends Leave, Clubhouse Breakfast, Steak Dinner

I was awake at 6 on Saturday, Dec. 2^nd but waited until 7 to get up. I bundled a bit because it was only 53F outside but walked around alone for 10 minutes until I met up with Donna, doing the same thing. We laughed and walked together for another 15 minutes before going our own way. She went back to put the coffee on in their park model and I came back to find Bill getting up for our morning drink.

Nice landscaping at the Laundromat

We saw Lori and Roland finishing their packing up so went out to get goodbye hugs. Lori rides her bike and Roland drives the rig with his bike in the back. Bill and I wandered over to say goodbye to ‘Mom and Dad’ (Oscar and Judy) too. Until we meet again. 

this is a big Mobile Suite
Triple axle

We didn’t spend a lot of time visiting with them this time but that is just the way it goes in a park. We all continue to do our own things and enjoy the moments when we do cross paths. They are all headed to Holtville Hot Springs LTVA.

And it is going to be another beautiful day

At 8:40 we headed up to the clubhouse for breakfast and met Donna & Gerry at the wash. Breakfast was $3.50 for biscuits and gravy or pancakes and sausage. I was the odd ball out trying the biscuits for the first time. It was all very good and very filling. Donna and I checked out the crafts for sale and I purchased a homemade tea and hand towel set to support one of the ladies. It has sunflowers on it so just my style!

I got a hug in before she bundled up in her bike gear

Bye Judy!

Lori behind Oscar and Judy

Roland follows Lori

We discussed the plans for today and the next couple of days before parting once more. It was just before 11 when we picked them up to go into Bullhead to do some shopping. We picked up 4 steaks, fresh mushrooms, lettuce and another box of Smirnoff coolers to share plus a few other things on our list. From there we drove to a gated community, just for the heck of it, and went through some open houses.

we met Donna and Gerry to walk to the clubhouse

Biscuits and gravy
Where else but in the southwest?

Happy, um, Breakfast!

 Remember, we have a real estate agent amongst us and Gerry is very interested in housing prices wherever he goes. So, the agent, Tim Smith, took us through a single-family home, 2 park models and a Casita. Not sure if that is the correct spelling but it is a piece of rented property with a cement pad for an rv (a prerequisite to owning one of these) plus a small housing unit made to your specifications. These were very cool, something we’d never heard of back home.

My towel purchase to support the staff

From there, we drove back to the Suite, had lunch and I drove Donna and Gerry back to their unit with the food required to make lasagna. Plans do change, as they are made in Jello, so instead of lasagna tonight, we’re having steak at the Suite on the Weber with potatoes and mushrooms. Since it was already 1:30, it meant Donna didn’t have to rush to make the pasta dish and we could take advantage of the pool instead.

By 5:30, the sun was dropping

It was nice to see that it was cleaned out and so was the hot tub. Someone put a lot of time into that this morning! Donna and I swam and then sat reading and Gerry sat in the sun with us for a while. Bill and Clemson stayed back at the Suite for a snooze. It was 4 pm when I walked back and hung my wet clothes on the line. It has turned into another lovely day.

I'm never in these pictures but I also am enjoying the Happy Hours

As I sit here typing, the quail are just-a-running along behind us up and down the hill. Has to be about 40 make this trek twice in a day. I’ll never tire of seeing them and listening to their chatter. I won’t bore you with pictures, they would just be a repeat of the same little things.

Potatoes and steak on the barbecue

At 4:45 our guests arrived and we sat outside in the shade of our sunscreen for Happy Hour. We all had a cooler and enjoyed the warmth of the day before dinner. Bill lit the Weber at 5:30 and Donna and I prepared potatoes and mushroom for grilling. We did the mushrooms in a fry pan inside until they were golden brown and looked yummy!

Dinner was great but without a surprise to me, I was the only one who couldn’t eat their whole steak. It was very tasty but I knew when I picked it out (as the smallest I could find) at Smith’s that I’d never be able to eat it all. Too much food and the alcoholic beverage didn’t help things. We cleaned up dishes and walked back to their park model with Donna and Gerry. Our evening will be spent inside with our books and tv in the background.

The moon tonight is a prelude to tomorrow nights Super Moon

Tomorrow is another day and Gerry said it best when he said “This is Day 5, it is really going fast!” I hope you’ve had a wonderful day too.

Thanks for reading our story. All comments are welcome.

And the Fun Continues at Oatman, The Pool and The Golden Nugget

When I got up Friday, Dec. 1^st it was just a few minutes before 7 and by the time I’d washed and brushed my teeth, Donna was awake. I turned one of the mood lights on so as not to disturb Gerry too much behind the divider. Oh! I just realized that I haven’t showed you what I’m talking about. 

Bill made it trifold with folding feet for stability

I painted it to match the Suite interior

Folded inside after we attached my curtains

I took pictures when Bill and I made the room divider but didn’t want to post them before Donna and Gerry saw it in person.

And now they have a private sleeping area

Donna and I went for a walk around the park, down the wash, up over the street at the east end of the park, up the hill behind the office and back home again. I’m hoping this really puts me in the routine of walking each morning but I will miss her when she is gone. I do believe from our conversation that she is hoping for the same thing to happen for her so she continues when she returns back home. I know that she has much more of an excuse not to walk outside in the cold Ontario winter.

When we returned the boys were all up and we made our hot drinks with the exception of Gerry. It was his turn to take a walk to get the blood flowing. Donna and I showered and then we ate a banana and the boys had cereal. At 10 we were packed up with sandwiches, water and in Black Beauty for another adventure. Today we were taking them up the winding hill to Oatman.

This little guy greeted us as we arrived
We loved the little knock knees
He has a Don't feed me sign on his forehead

Lots to see and explore
Many things were preserved from the old mining days

The weather proved to be much better than we expected, high of 70, light breeze and full sun. I began ‘disrobing’ as soon as I got out of the truck. There was one burro out in the field after we turned off Oatman Road onto Route 66. 

They must know they're cute

These adult burros kept walking right in the store
The owner would shoo them out by name

That was kinda cool seeing him before even getting there. As soon as we arrived the rest of the family were there to greet us and Lori was right, there were some adorable soft babies.

Lots to spend money if you chose to

 The little ones had little signs on their forehead “do not feed me, please”.  We walked the strip and we could tell that this was another place that our guests really enjoyed. 

How many asses can you count?
Ha ha
(that was Donna's line)

While the boys sat on a bench along the wooden boardwalk, Donna and I popped into the same shop I went in last year. The lady is so sweet and she remembered me and my Oatman top. 

She loves her new hat

I love my new Oatman clothes too

Donna found a couple of tees and a nice ball cap and I found a couple of tops as well. Her prices are great.

In the mine
Donna was glad it wasn't any longer

We did the walk around the town, snapping photos before deciding we’d seen enough. Bill took the route out the opposite way towards Kingman, still on Rte 66. The views are amazing and he loves driving the winding road. We heard a couple of gasps out of Gerry, sitting in the front passenger seat, but he also enjoyed the ride. “I’d be driving in the middle of this road” was his comment.

Are you my Mommy?

Okay, then

We went as far as Sitgreaves Pass before pulling off and having our lunch. 

Many pictures so be prepared! 

Their poses were not planned, really!

On the way up, this burro appeared lost

We were hoping he wasn't contemplating jumping
We told him nothing was that bad

Looking down at the gold mine below

Carrying on we stopped at Cool Springs Museum and Gift Shop. Bill and I have been by there twice and this time I said I wanted to go in. It’s a small shop and we met Crazy Ray. Bill bought a very nice Rte 66 cap and we bought a drink before going outside to snap photos. 

Bill bought a cool hat at Cool Springs

Ray came out and offered to take photos of us before we left.

I'm glad we stopped

 He had a spot painted on the pavement where he could give us the best view all around and he did not disappoint. He gave us a few directions for posing and we all played along. It was a hoot! We turned around and came back through Oatman back to Bullhead City. We were home just before 2:30. Bill stopped at the gate and I went in and asked if we could get the key early for the park model.

Interesting place
Gas pumps?

Water fountain?

Beautiful agave cacti, I think

Johnny on the spot

Donna and Gerry had rented it for 2 nights to give us all a break. It wasn’t necessary, just something they thought would be fun and wanted to do. She suggested at the office that we come back at 3 after the Manager had finished adding new pillows, bedspread and tea towels. We loaded the truck and Bill and Clemson had a short snooze, the first one in days! I drove them up to unload what they needed.

Ray knew exactly where to place us for a great picture

A little posing for Ray - hands on hips

Crazy Ray, himself

The drive back down Rte 66/Oatman Road

Bushes along the roadside decorated for Christmas
by different organizations

What a beautiful little rental, they would enjoy some time to themselves as would we. We all met at the pool soon after and had a swim together while Gerry checked out the times for breakfast in the morning and ice cream on Sunday. The water was nice although they do need to clean it up now that the guys have finished installing the wrought iron fence. I’m sure they know that as their materials are still around.

 

At the pool

 We did a 10-minute dip in the hot tub before we walked back to the Suite and they walked back to their ‘temporary home’. 

Bill and I got out of our swimsuits, cleaned up and at 5:40 we were ready to drive to the park model to pick them up. Bill heard some kind of an alarm going off in Lori and Roland’s toy hauler next door so I texted her. At her request, we ‘rescued’ Shatzi and brought her over here for a playdate with Clemson.

Shatzi comes for a short play date

Waiting for a treat to look after the house

They get along well together, kind of indifferent to each other, really, but we knew they would be fine left alone until our friends returned from dinner out. We drove over to the casino in Laughlin and got seated at the Claim Jumper for supper. Donna and I split a Specialty Calzone with creamed spinach, avocado, parmesan cheese and other cheeses. Absolutely delicious! Oh, my goodness, we loved it!

Gerry ordered the Chicken Pot Pie and Bill had the Fish and Chips with Carrot Cake for dessert. It was a delicious meal and served very quickly. We all walked to the counter to register for Player’s Cards and had fun with Sammy. She explained how to claim our free play money but the luck was not with us as we only received $5 each.

My half of the Specialty Calzone

 The next hour went smoothly, with Bill and Gerry walking away with over $30 each and Donna with $15. I believe my walk-away amount was .16. That is typical but I had fun playing the penny slots. At least my $ didn’t disappear all at once and I was up and down for quite a while. We walked away very happy for the great evening we had. 

OMG delicious carrot cake

When we got back, we dropped in on Lori and Roland so Donna could meet them both.

Just a short visit to say goodbye. They are pulling out in the morning to another destination on their winter adventure. 

Cashing in their winnings

Bill drove Donna and Gerry over to their park model and we settled in at the Suite. I sat to download pictures and finish prepare my blog for posting. It will be a morning publish since I can hardly keep my eyes open.

So pretty in the Casino

I don’t need to tell you that it was another great day. Thanks for stopping by today and for your comments.