Early Rising, Taking Care of Business, Moving On, Walmart in Benson, Collage Happy Again

I know I was dreaming through the later early morning hours on Friday, Mar. 1^st and woke up with a clear memory of the silly ‘mind matter’ that was involved. It was only 6 am so I stayed where I was for another half hour thinking about it. It was about having a family gathering with Bill’s family so I had to relate it him when I got up. He was in bed last night at 9 with Clemson and asleep by 9:30 so it wasn’t surprising that he was up at 5.

Can you believe this sky this morning?
Black Beauty was happy for the adornment too

He made our hot drinks when I came downstairs and we sat at our laptops. I’m behind on reading blogs but my first priority was to finish adding pictures to my Thursday post and get it off. Then I ran out of time. I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, fast and easy and then Bill drove into the CVS to get our monthly cash withdrawal now that our work pensions had been deposited. After he left, I hopped in the shower.

Heading off, following Rob and Pat today
This drive once you're out of Yuma on I-8E is a little scary
but the scenic views are beautiful

No movement from Clemson yet but he was breathing when I checked on the lump under the covers. We do that a lot now that he sleeps so much, our hearts pumping each time. I trimmed my toenails and removed the old polish before I gathered up the garbage and walked it over to the bins. What a gorgeous day! I was able to catch a beautiful sky to the east and northeast even though I didn’t have time for my walk.

a good breakfast to start our day

The Allpoints cash machine was down 😖 so we’ll have to stop somewhere else when we need to. The boys settled up with the office and we closed everything up. Nice to be on the road exactly at 9. 

We handed in our name tags and mail key

It was 62F when we pulled out under sunny skies with a few wispy clouds. Easy going travel as we stopped at a Rest Area in the Dateland/Gila Bend area and then moved onto I-10E. With chatter on the cb from Sparky, (Rob to us)we searched the area for fuel stations. I knew there were a bunch coming up soon after changing interstates.

A nice day for travelling

Great diesel price here

It was just before 12 noon when Rob and Pat found a PRIDE station offering diesel for $2.719/gal. All around us it was $3.259. While fueling up there was another Ontario couple doing the same, who were heading to Benson for a couple of weeks. Our destination is an overnight in Walmart while they are going into a park and then south to Brownsville, Texas. They will be in warm/hot weather for longer than us. We were all pleased that we were still getting diesel at a good price.

You're looking at the best little traveller
He's on Mom's jacket and going with us
Nothing else matters :)

Pat mentioned getting a bite to eat before moving on so Bill and I bought a ½ sub at the Subway in the station. For $10 they were very good and filling. The next 80 minutes of travel went just as smooth with only the occasional slowdowns. 

Beautiful views all along the way

I've said it often, these southern states know how to do overpasses right

Lots of saguaro (my fav) and cholla cacti on the way

Just when we thought we were home free and 5 minutes to go, there was an accident at our exit. A 25 minute slow down but oh well, we are in no hurry. We took the next exit #304 and followed Bill’s gps to the Walmart on Prickly Pear Ave hoping to stop overnight.

And to those who think the desert is always 'brown'
(said with a look of distaste in their mouth)
THIS is the desert this winter

Within seconds of seeing the lot, we knew we could stay as we saw other rv’s together in an obvious designated area. Rob also said they had called ahead just to save the headache if we couldn’t. Apparently, if the city comes around and asks us to move, we have to move because that would mean there is a city ordinance because of campgrounds in the Benson vicinity. We were parked by 2:45. And we were not alone.

We're hoping of course that no one was seriously hurt
The slow down is in the pictures on the right
I missed getting a pix of the travel trailer that jackknifed OFF the white truck
in the photo

We got in fairly easy and another motor home pulled in right behind Rob. Pat and I had both spotted a Thrift Store just around the corner, within walking distance so once we were set up inside (we don’t unhook the truck, just lower the jacks) she and I walked to it. The sign went up 'CLOSED' almost as we walked up. Darn it all! It looked like it would have been a fun one to poke around in. Oh well, their loss, we might have found the perfect thing!

We walked back and wandered into Walmart to pick up some groceries that they needed and I found a couple of things too for lunch on the road tomorrow. When I returned to the Suite, it was cooled down inside considerably after opening many of the windows. Bill was snoozing inside and since Clem had been fed on our arrival, he was content too. I caught up on my post and took Clemson for a walk around the parking lot. Oh, first a picture of our ‘site’ before I forget. Not to take away from the lovely 0C back home today, temperature reached 80F here in Benson.

There we are, side by side
And there is Pat peeking around the mirror
She was looking for me

When I returned, Rob and Pat were sitting out between the trailers and invited us over for a Happy Hour. Rather than get our lawn chairs out, it was easier to carry our dining chairs over. We sat for maybe an hour and all decided to walk over to Little Caesars for supper. It was not a dine in venue so we each ordered and carried our pizzas back to our homes. It was good and filling, they really piled the extras on.

We all walked over to Walmart just to browse and sure enough I found 3 little camisole tops, a style which I wear a lot, for $1.68 each. I couldn’t walk away, so I chose 2 new colours and a white one to replace mine that was looking worse for wear. While waiting for Rob and Pat to check out, a fellow from New Mexico offered us .50¢ to buy a soda. Did you get that? He wasn’t asking for the money, he was holding out his hand offering us his change from the machine. So, Bill said ‘Sure! Thank you very much!’ We chatted for a while and the 4 of us walked back to our trailers for the night.

Yum, good pizza

This was a great driving day with fortunately no upsets. Even the delay couldn’t take away from it. We were sad in one way to leave Yuma but now that we’re on the road again, we are looking forward to a new adventure in a different state. We read our books inside while other rv’s pulled in all around us for the night. It is nice that we can stay here considering there is an rv park literally right across the street. We are grateful for the free stay.

I hope you’ve had a good day too, my friends. Thank you for stopping in!

Last Day in Yuma, Early Morning Swim, Happy Hour at Fortuna de Oro, Clean Suite

I woke up early again, around 5:00 and Bill was up. Today, Thursday, Feb. 28^th is not only our last day in the park, it is the last trip to Los Algodones, the last day for swimming but it is also the last day in Yuma, last Happy Hour with Kim and Ken AND the last day of this short month.

Waiting at the wash for the sun rise

I love how you can stand, wait and watch it appear

 When we booked into this park last September, we were excited for it. Circumstances have discoloured that excitement and because of that, we are ready and eager to move on. A couple of regrets, speaking for myself, is that the weather wasn’t what we’d hoped being in a full-service luxury park. Therefore, because of that we didn’t take part in any of the outdoor activities (as a group) that I’d hoped we would.

and then the sun says "Good Morning, Patsy!"

This man walks his dog every morning down here
It is nice because the dog has free reign without a leash and seems very happy

I don’t like regretting anything and seldom does that happen so I took advantage of as much as I felt comfortable doing, on my own. Occasionally, Pat would join me but for the most part, it is up to me to do what I want to do alone or not. I took advantage of the puzzle room and met a few very nice people, I used the pool as much as I could (with weather in mind) and with the exception of 2 or 3 mornings, I was out for my walk. I don’t regret being here but I am also happy to move on.

More backyards along the wash

On my walk around the park this morning, I remembered that there were two water exercise classes, one at 8 am and one at 9 am. Since it was past 7:30 when I returned from my walk and hadn’t had my tea yet, I decided to go to the latter class. I texted Pat to see if she wanted to join me since she doesn’t enjoy the afternoon sun. The boys were getting cleaned up and ready to leave around 9:15 for their last visits to Dr. Urena in Los Algodones.

Again, I try not to walk alone

I said goodbye to Bill and walked back to the pool at 10 to 9. It was a wonderful class with about 15 attendees, all ladies, and we moved to some really good agility instructions from a tape recording. It was loud enough, clear enough and when no one chatted to you, easy to understand the movements. I really enjoyed it and now only wish again that the weather had encouraged me to go earlier in the month.

The pool looked inviting at 7:30 before classes started
so I made my decision to go back

I popped into the hot tub after the class with many of the other ladies and walked back. The day was already turning into a gorgeous one. Inside, I made myself a coffee and prepped the floors and counter tops for cleaning. With everything packed away I proceeded to get the vacuum out. One of my most ‘disliked’ jobs but I offered to do it as Bill has outside stuff to care of. By the time I finished, I was feeling weak and at 11 or so, I cut an apple and had a cheese stick to last until Bill got home.

An after vacuuming breakfast snack

He texted at 11:15 and said they were on their way. That was fast! His appointment was for 10:30 so Dr. Urena must have caught up with her patients and is back on schedule. I was preparing some Murphy’s Oil and water mix to give the woodwork a good wipe down when he walked in. I finished the bedroom dressers and headboard before stopping to fry us some bacon and eggs for breakfast. It was good and filling to boot.

and then a nourishing breakfast

I told Bill to leave the few dishes and I carried on with the ‘dusting’. It took over an hour but finally around 1:30, I was finished every bit of wood in the Suite. It looked great and the smell of the oil didn’t hurt. With our silver cleaner I also wiped the fronts of the microwave, fridge and dishwasher. We cleaned the dishes up then and I slipped into my bathing suit. I knew I only had about an hour before we were heading out for H.H. but with the hot sun, that would be plenty.

As hot as it was, chairs filled and more and more people sat under the pergola
There was to be live music at 3

Not too many in the pool at any given time, just the way I liked it
The water was beautiful!

Look at that sky
A perfect last day at the pool

 After I returned and got changed, we packed our chairs and a cooler with drinks and drove with Rob and Pat over to Fortuna. Kim and Ken were hosting Happy Hour today so this was a treat for them not to have to leave home and for us as well. It was a fun visit as usual, lots of stories, laughs and even some serious discussions back and forth. It was around 6 when we packed up and hugged goodbye. I hope we didn’t overstay our welcome!

It took numerous tries to get everyone in because of location
and sun so I told this group they would be 'collaged'
Unfortunately, I wasn't in it because I forgot my tripod
At least I got everyone in the last one!

We won’t likely see these guys again until we’re all back home in Ontario. But at least we’ve made some great new friends again this winter. Bill and I had planned on a fish and chips supper but neither of us felt like putting the time into making them. I wanted to get our load of wash done tonight so we easily agreed on grilled cheese sandwiches. I can’t usually do 3 sandwiches at the same time so I got our grill pan out and used that. It worked like a charm!

During the winter months my Coconut Oil behaves exactly like it does during
the summer at home

It goes through stages of hard to scoop to this semi-liquid
in the warmer temperatures
I don't put it in the fridge or I'd never be able to get what I need each day for my tea

My sandwich had slices of onion in it and on rye bread, it was delicious! Once more, Bill shooed me off from doing dishes and I took the bag of laundry back to do our wash. Only 2 washers were being used and I snagged one for $1.50. I had to walk back to the Suite to get the cord for my phone, it was dead as a doornail and I’d need it to text Bill later. I plugged it in at the puzzle room and sat to help one lady start a new one.  I haven’t been back to work on one for a while so I was happy to wait for the load to finish by putting pieces in.

The grill pan worked great across 2 burners
and very quickly our sandwiches were ready

Perfectly delicious!

The dryer shut off around 8:40 so I said goodbye to Diane, whom I’ve seen many times doing puzzles, and met Bill to fold our clothes. We walked back together and put them away. What a beautiful evening it is, calm and 70F at 9:30. I think this weather is supposed to stick around for a while. I, at least, hope some of it follows us to our next few destinations. I’m tucking some in my pocket just in case it doesn’t.

The lighted pool area at night is gorgeous!

And then I tried it without the flash
Good night everyone from Sundance RV Park

This has been a nice last day. I’ve enjoyed it to the fullest and got the best that I could out of Sundance RV Park. I hope you can say that you had a nice day as well.

Thank you for stopping by to check us out today. Your comments are always welcome.