Slept In, Lunch with Friends, Big Nose Kate's and Camera Fix?

I woke up at 6:30 am and still felt tired so curled up again, rolled over and was out like a light. Right into a crazy dream. Seems my first hour or so sleeping and the last hour before fully waking is when I have the silliest dreams. I shook out of it and looked at the clock again. This time it was 7:40! I guess that is because it was 10:30 when I went to bed and probably 11:30 when I finally fell asleep. I felt chilly in bed so it took a while before I dropped off.

I didn't have a sunrise picture so thought I'd share a cute
one of Bill and I that George took yesterday

It looked like a beautiful morning but it was still only 34F so I’ll put my walk off until later. Wimp! Bill got up just after I’d made my tea so we did our normal morning reading together and discussed the day. While I was on Facebook, on the park’s Wifi, Bill picked up my camera and cleaned the front lens. He knows how much I want to use my Canon but won’t because of the spots. Bless him for trying.

Before

He took a couple of pictures of the sky and we both cringed at the dust marks when I downloaded them. I decided to go online AGAIN and follow the instructions AGAIN to clean the sensor AGAIN. I know I’m doing it right but maybe I’m missing something. 

a new cleaning tool

First thing I did was dispose of the cleaning tool that I’ve used. Maybe I’ve used it too many times. I followed the directions and dabbed a bit of the solution on a new swab.

After
I am ecstatic!

Bill took the camera out and took a picture of the sky. Voila! 90% of the specks were gone! I’m so excited so will take my Canon with us today and test it out. You can see in the pictures below what I was dealing with and I have no one to blame but myself. We had our grapefruit and then Bill got cleaned up and took a drive into town to get some cash. We were happy to see our Government pensions had gone in early. Yay!

Fun names for streets but no street signs

 While he was gone, I did the same and then took a nice walk with Clemson before it was time to leave. Every park has its uniqueness about it and this one is no different. On their pamphlet, their site map shows the streets at the front with odd names like Been There Ave, Done That Lane etc. You can see them here. But at the back, the streets are named after cacti, trees and plants. It is original and a cool idea.

Clemson walked pretty good this morning on his retractable leash. He seems to act up more when his Daddy comes along. I let him do his thing, 3, 4 and 5 times at the beginning of the walk and then when I know there can’t possibly be anything left, I get firm. We had a nice walk to the back and returned to the Suite before 11:30. I had some yogourt to tie me over until lunch. We cleaned up the dishes and relaxed for half hour until noon and drove back to pick Debbie and Dj up.

I sat outside for awhile to figure out how many layers I'd need today

First on the agenda upon arriving and parking at Tombstone, the old western town, was lunch. We were all hungry. Deb and Dj suggested Big Nose Kate’s since we hadn’t been there before. It was packed but looked like a very cool spot so we got in line, second behind a party for 3. Within 10 minutes, maybe, we had a table ready for us. What a neat place! There was an entertainer at an organ who kept our feet tapping and our heads swaying with his music.

Such an interesting place to stop for lunch

Love the idea of the newspaper menus
We've seen them before

Three of us ordered Sasparillas, Dj ordered the Prickly Pear soda and we toasted to a good time with friends. Our server was Bridgett. When I told her I would remember her name and why, she immediately asked how I spelled my daughter’s name. 

Interesting that my daughter, Bridgette, just put something on Facebook the other day about how people are always misspelling her name. Bridgett is a cutie but you know who wins that contest! Ha ha. A Mom can brag.

Bridgett (no E)

Just in case you think I heard her wrong.........

Bridgette (with an E)

Bill had a Stampede Burger and I had the Reuben, both with fries and a pickle. Yum! I got through half of my sandwich and decided something would have to give so left the toasted rye bread on the plate for the other half and finished the good stuff inside. I still couldn’t eat all the fries. It was a really nice lunch and would be our big meal of the day.

My Reuben, pickle and fries

The Sheriff had this guy cold

This guy was good, also played the Sax and harmonica

We had a good day together

Then we walked the boardwalk, sticking our noses in some stores, and waltzing right in to others. We liked Spurs, a western gear store. If you want hats? If you want guns or holsters? If you want petticoats, parasols or stirrups? They had them. We weren’t there to buy but had fun browsing and trying on some of the cowboy hats. 

I loved the parasols

Face masks, I assume for costume parties or
ladies of the night, perhaps

We wandered down to the Crystal Palace and stuck our heads in there to see if Joshua and Candi, last night's entertainers were performing. They were taking a break but we saw Joshua returning so said 'hey' to him. Very nice young man.

We headed back to Black Beauty and were on our way home by 2:30. This was a good day and the weather was pretty much perfect. We did walk on the sunny side of the street as much as possible since we only reached 59F today and the wind had a chill. 

Yes, friends and family back home ONLY 59! We dropped Deb and Dj off and back home turned the water on and settled in our recliners with our books. Debbie was the one yawning on the way home but it didn’t take long for Bill and I to give in to a snooze.

and the REAL Sheriff was in town

This is the way I like to see a western town
With no commercialized vehicles parked in front of the shops

Bird Cage Theatre

Dj was disappointed this place was closed today
Hmmm

And there she is, working the streets

Another nice view from the heart of Tombstone's historic area

This stage coach driver gets into character very well

That was where we remained for the next couple of hours. Sounds lazy and yes it was but we were doing what we wanted. At 6:15 at the end of a chapter, I put the book down and warmed up a bowl of my vegetable soup for supper. Bill wasn’t hungry but will fix himself something when he is.

This looks so authentic

The O.K. Corral site

Other than stage coach rides, they offer guided trolley rides

A nice drove to and from Tombstone today

It was a great day and two books will probably be finished tonight. Bill is reading Midnight Club by James Patterson and I’m finishing up Free Fire by C.J. Box. I hope your day was a good one too.

Thanks for the suggestion, Deb and Dj!

Thank you for popping in today. Feel free to leave a comment, I enjoy them very much.

Getting Better all the Time, Walkabout, Clean Sheets, Friends Arrive, Entertainment

When I woke up on Saturday, Feb. 24^th it was after 7, closing in on 7:30 the more I lay there. So, I got up. It felt cozy in the Suite living room and that was due to having our heater on throughout the night. We set the temperature dial between 1 & 2 and it keeps things at 60F. I bumped it up a notch. I made my tea, deciding to delay a walk until it warmed up a bit. It was only 31F outside but at least no frost today.

a beautiful pink prickly pear cactus
say that 5 times fast!

Bill was up soon after to have his morning cuppa and to read with me at our laptops. I seem to have no problem connecting to the Resort’s ‘free’ Wifi but can’t always do everything I want. This morning, however, I could read blogs, surf on the web and get into Facebook easily. Bill can’t with his laptop. Weird. I do have to use our personal Hotspot on our phone for banking and to download pictures into my blog.

I think this must be a form of yucca

It was around 9:30 when I made breakfast and Bill made a phone call to Dad. Trying to switch things up, because we both get tired of plain ole bacon and eggs every day, I added green onion, celery, tomatoes, shredded cheese and black olives. That would be fine just like that but I love a breakfast quesadilla so I grilled a couple of soft taco shells too. It was so good and so filling, I shouldn’t need anything else until dinner time.

my favourite breakfast

Bill was still working diligently at our route when we leave here. Each day he gets closer to a resolve and today he requested my help so we could firm things up. For the first time, we’ve reserved a site in a Coast to Coast park for on our way home. That was so easy, we’ll definitely use that part of our membership more often now. It always takes the right circumstances to push you to do certain things for the first time and that is what happened here.

another sunny day - yay!

Talking to Dad this morning was encouraging, with all he is dealing with health wise, he sounded really good and his spirits remain positive. Bill breathes a sigh of relief after each phone call home. When I went for my walk around the park, I stuck my head in the laundry room to find 2 washers were freed up. Hmm, I may go back.

And the road runner was squawking at me

While walking, I called Mom and she answered right away. She also sounded great, which is so refreshing. Unfortunately, conversation with Mom can be up or down and we never know how we’ll find her. Today wasn’t one of her better days, but I didn’t correct her in any of her thoughts about moving etc. I kept upbeat and answered her questions over and over, focusing on the lilt in her voice. When we are so far away and can’t give a hug to our loved ones, hanging up after a phone call is either a relief or an upset. I walked home feeling a bit down in the dumps.

and then he turned his head to pose

Walking back past the clubhouse, Bill was coming with Black Beauty to get a propane tank filled so I walked back and met him. We discussed doing the sheets up and I walked home instead of waiting for him to finish. I took the truck back up and claimed one washer.

Clemson was happy to see Suzie

Bill and I walked over to greet George and Suzie from Our Awesome Travels, who had arrived around 11ish, I think. Not sure, I was out walking. We chatted for a bit and then headed back home to the Suite to wait for the dryer to shut off. I sat at the laptop and had an orange since I missed my grapefruit earlier. Sure enough, the time zipped by and I almost forgot my sheets! I drove up, gathered them up and Bill helped me fold them.

I wanted to take advantage of some of that warm sunshine so slipped a jacket on and sat out in my lawn chair to read. I had to move a couple of times to get out of the cool breeze but finally settled snugged tight up at the back of the Suite near the lane. It was quite cozy, actually hot at times and I got a fair bit of reading done. When I came in it was because time was zipping by and we had plans for the evening.

These two have been singing together for just over a year
and have a good little gig going for themselves

At 5:15 Bill lit the barbecue and I prepared my broccoli inside. He was having a sausage on a bun and I’d eat mine with veggies. I didn’t have lunch, persay, just an orange at noon so I was hungry. Supper turned out pretty good and it was another easy meal. We were finished dinner and dishes by 6 and we got cleaned up and relaxed a bit before we had to leave. The hardest part when going to one of these events is figuring out what to take to drink that is easy to carry in a cooler. No wine bottles fit in our small cooler nor do our vodka or rum bottles. Oh well, we work it out since we don’t drink beer.

Candi was encouraging us with the Yippy Ki Yay song
You all know the one I mean!

I downloaded my pictures from today, which weren’t many. There is a band, actually a couple, playing country music at the back clubhouse tonight and Deb and Dj invited us to join them. I texted Suzie to let them know in case they wanted to pop in. We walked back to the clubhouse before 7 and sat at a table with our friends.

The band's bus

The music was good, and after listening to them tell their story, we realized whose big black bus I took a picture of on their first day here. They play in Tombstone at the Crystal Palace weekdays and that explains why their bus goes in and out every day. I know her name is Candi but until I see the bus in the morning, I can’t even guess at his. They were very good, quite pleasant and share a wonderful talent.

George and Suzie were warming up the dance floor

We made plans to see Deb and Dj tomorrow and the band wrapped up by 8:30 so the old people could go home to bed. I could have listened to a few more songs personally. Unfortunately, we didn't get up for a dance but maybe next time.

This has been a good relaxing day again. It was cooler than yesterday but I believe the sun felt hotter if you could get out of the breeze. We managed to get our sheets done and now just have one more laundry day before we leave. I hope you have enjoyed your day as well!

Thanks for stopping in. I do love reading your comments.