Sidewinder Road - Yuma, AZ

Last Wednesday The Mossmans drove us around Yuma to get acquainted with the area. They showed us Mitry Road where Boomers often stay.  It’s on the water and pretty, but I prefer Sidewinder Road.

Then we drove to Imperial Date Garden as I love dates and it was on my list when visiting Yuma. The cacti are in front of the main building of the gardens. I’d like to return and take the tour and see how the dates are gathered and processed. Back in Colorado I paid $5.99 a pound for these dates and here the same size was $3.00

Yuma is in the middle of the harvest season with several types of lettuce being grown.  You drive and see green acres everywhere.

 

 

 

There are flowers, green grass and palm trees everywhere. It is so nice to see in the middle of winter everywhere else.  It has been in the mid-70s every day, sun shining and just wonderful.  We sure picked the right part of the country to stay for the winter this year!!!  Everywhere else they are suffering from terrible cold, storms and snow.

Later in the day we did go the Wednesday matinee in town and saw Blind Side with Sandra Bullock. Oh, we laughed so much; such good one-liners.  Sandra Bullock’s character was such a strong personality and one I really liked.  I think I’ll read the book by Michael Lewis that the movie was made from.

Out here on Sidewinder Road (actually in California) there aren’t too many people.  One of the people in a rig flies a large model airplane every evening.  The guy is very talented and does many trick maneuvers….fun to watch.

The other morning here comes two ultra-lights making passes over our rigs. Very pretty!

We have been hearing helicopters throughout the night.  There are always two or three at a time, flying without search lights, so they may be using night-vision equipment to check for people crossing over the border.

We were surprised to see that they still have agriculture check stations off he major freeways into California.  I remember seeing them 35 years ago when I visited Yuma from San Diego where I lived.  Then they were looking for fruits and vegetables that might bring in insects that could adversely affect the California crops.  Now I don’t why they still have the these stations.  They don’t even stop you but wave you through.  Must be more Homeland Security stuff.

Here is another of our wonderful sunsets.  That’s especially for you Joyce!!!

Arrived in Yuma, AZ

We had an uneventful drive from Apache Junction to Yuma and settled ourselves out on BLM land off of Ogilby Road and Sidewinder Road.  This is where many Boomers are located and where we met back up with our friends, Linda and Jim Mossman. We’ll be doing a lot of things together.

Two other Boomer couples came over for happy hour last night-Bill and Kaaren (not a mis-spelling) Payne and Mick and Karen Bennett.  They travel a lot together. Afterwards the Mossman’s and us enjoyed a barbeque chicken dinner together.

Today we are going to a movie matinee of Blindside with Sandra Bullock.  On Wednesday’s at Main Street Cinema here in Yuma, you get free all-you-can-eat popcorn and seniors pay only $4.  Such a deal!  That will take care of dinner :)

Weather couldn’t be better….clear skies, calm wind and at 9:30 am it is 65 degrees with an anticipated temperature of 73 degrees….sure like that!

Remember, you are loved.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives-Giuseppe’s, Phoenix, AZ

Mike and Sandy Bubar joined us for a wonderful dinner at Giuseppe’s last night. It was a bit of a drive from Apache Junction into downtown Phoenix, but well worth it. The restaurant is in a small strip mall and is very, very small with only 12 tables in a 12 x 20 foot dining area. The left side is the door and the right side is the entry to the kitchen so you can see how small it is. The decor is upscale and sophisticated, with beautiful artwork on one side and photos of celebrities on the other side.

Here is that same right side wall. At lunch time you go up to the window and place your order. Here the two wait staff are placing our order. All the meals are sold separately so if you wanted a salad or bread it was extra.

Here is Mike’s Pork Shank Osso Buco for $19, very good, that was featured on the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show.

Here we are with our dinners.

The owner and chef, Richard Bock, was very gracious stopping to talk to each table. He signed our DDD book and stopped for this photo with us. Quoting from his website it is said:

Owning Giuseppe's also allowed Richard the ability to continue with his music career, as he was able to perfect both. Richard joined the Phoenix Symphony in 1984 and has been the principal cellist for 24 seasons. He began his cello studies at the age of 12 with Harvey Shapiro at The Juilliard School. Leopold Stokowski chose Bock, at age 18, to be principal cellist of the American Symphony Orchestra, making him the youngest principal player in the orchestra's history.

It was a very enjoyable evening. Remember, you are loved.

No new rig for us at this time

We came to Mesa, AZ to look at a 2007 Cardinal we found on the internet, but, alas, it wasn’t the right one for us.  It was very, very well used…actually looked like it had been purchased at an auction and there was canned goods still in the pantry.

But we got a call from our friends Joel and Barbara who were driving to Chandler from Casa Grande, so we made plans to meet them after looking at the rv.  I have become Joel’s personal computer geek having spent 11 hours cleaning viruses from his computer in the midst of the terrible wind storm we lived through in Quartzsite.  This time he couldn’t register his Avast Anti-virus and his trial was version expired yesterday.  So we drove to Chandler and I figured uninstalled and reinstalled Avast and got it to register.

We are going to dinner with The Bubars at a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives recommended restaurant called Giuseppe's.  Their menu looks very interesting and they make their own pasta daily!  That’s something.   The Bubars have eaten there before and say it is very good.  Can’t wait.

By the way, the Bubar’s new rig is fabulous and with Mike’s carpentry talents he is making many nice additions.

Remember, you are loved.

Leaving Laughlin

We are leaving Laughlin today and heading for Mesa, AZ so tomorrow we can check out a rig we're interested in...keep your fingers cross that it works for us; we really would like a third slide to give us more of a "living room" feel to a rig, plus update us three years.

Here are some photos of Laughlin from the other side of the river in Bullhead City, AZ.

Aquarius	Edgewater
Royal Palms	Riverside

                                        Colorado Belle

Jim and I have been coming to Laughlin for about 25 years.  Jim’s parents (Kenneth and Ada Beth) would come here every two years to meet Kenneth’s brother and wife (Bob and Helen) who came from  Southern California. We came with them one year and enjoyed the slower pace than we had experienced in Las Vegas.  So from then on we visited Laughlin every few years.  Now that all those parents are gone we meet with one of Bob and Helen’s sons every couple of years here in Laughlin to “keep up the tradition”. This year we met with Mark Chapman for two days and had a grand time with him.

At the same time we enjoyed spending time with Jim and Linda Mossman, who we met in Parker. They were also at Boomerville, but with so many people there we hadn’t met them. Once in a while you meet people who “just fit” with you and that is what happened with Jim and Linda…we all “just fit” and enjoy being with one another a lot. 

Yesterday I finally “got in the mood” and quilted the baby quilt for our great-granddaughter, Amity.  Now all I have to do is hand-sew the binding. I’m glad it is going to be done and ready to give them when we visit them in April.

Ok, Jim, OK, I’ll stop typing and get the rig ready to move!  Remember, you are loved.

Forgot we were retired….

Sometimes I forget we are retired and don’t have to try and do everything in one day!  It’s not like it’s a Saturday of our weekend off from work, for goodness sake.  But I was in the laundromat at 7:30 am then visited with Linda Mossman as she did her laundry.  After that Jim and I shopped at a K-Mart…don’t see too many of them on the road anymore…I retired from K-Mart back in 1998 and can still use my discount card. After K-Mart it was on to Safeway to grocery shop.  By the time we got back and I put everything away I was pooped!  Note to Self….you don’t have to do all your errands in one day!!!

Soon enough it was time to dress and go over to the Mossman’s for happy hours and go to dinner.  We sure have had fun with the Mossman’s in Parker and here in Laughlin….we laugh constantly (you know laughing makes you younger, don’t you? We’re getting down right youthful!!!)

Linda HAD always liked her beef cooked well-done, and you know what that does to a perfectly good piece of meat….it dries it out and makes it tough. She doesn’t eat a lot of beef because of that and had never had prime rib before; can you imagine?  So when we went to the Prime Rib Room at the Riverside Casino, we talked her into trying her prime rib medium-well.  She loved it….said it was tender and had so much flavor…we were all very proud of her for going out of her comfort zone and giving it a try. Good for you, Girlfriend!

Here is Linda enjoying her first taste of prime rib

Linda and Jim at dinner

We really like the Prime Rib Room and always go there when we are in Laughlin. For $13.95 you have the salad bar, potatoes, veggies, plus dessert bar. They bring out these huge stainless steel carts filled with several prime rib roasts at different degrees of doneness.  They carve the roast right there by your table…..very nice.

We had an early dinner and the boys went back to try out their luck at the casino…..Linda and I just went home to relax. We say good-bye to the Mossman’s today until we see them again in Yuma next week.

Remember, you are loved!

Oatman, Arizona

The other day we went to Oatman, AZ about 30 miles from Laughlin.

Oatman’s call to fame are the wild burros that wander freely through this old mining ghost town. You can buy bags of carrots to feed the burros and then they will follow you down the street trying to get more.  There are about ten burros and a few babies in town at any one time.

 

Some of the burros take time out to rest

 

 

 

 

or hide out on a side street to get away from the tourists.

 

 

 

There are a lot of old buildings that are very interesting.

Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned at the Oatman Hotel March 18, 1939. The hotel’s bar and restaurant have thousands of dollar bills tacked to the walls, ceilings and door ways.

Yes, the 40 stores are tourist traps, the gunfights comical, but the old buildings, wooden sidewalks and burros are really interesting and we enjoyed our stay.  I would recommend Oatman as a curiosity well worth the trip to see.

Remember, you are loved!

Ed’s Party-Winter Blast

I had to show you how high we had to elevate the front of the rig when we were parked at The Steps. We had to use 13 levelers under each foot.

 

 

Here’s why they call this area The Steps.  It was “terraced” in preparation to make a resort years ago.

 

We went to Sara Park around 1pm as parking is a premium. There were 73 people in attendance for Ed’s Birthday Party.

Folks lounged around played card games and chatted.

People spread out blankets at the grandstands and secured them with duct tape to save a seat.

Ed’s Birthday Party has a story.  Last year Betty wanted to celebrate Duanne’s birthday during Winter Blast in Lake Havasu. She went to the bakery to get a cake but they were all out.  The counter lady said they did have one cake available. It said “Happy Birthday Ed”, but Ed had died and the family didn’t pick it up, and Betty could have it for half-price!!! She bought the cake and Ed’s Birthday Party was born! 

After eating hot dogs and side dish potluck Dean suggested we sing the theme song from Mr. Ed the tv show instead of the birthday song.  Terry used his Blackberry to find the words and wrote them out on paper which he held behind Duanne’s head as the group looked on and sang to him. It was soooooo funny.

Around 5pm we walked over to the grandstands to get ready for the fireworks display. Now remember the Winter Blast is the public display of the annual convention of the pyrotechnics association, where they shoot off the latest and newest fireworks.  At 5:30 they began shooting off the fireworks that had been assembled during the convention’s classes and workshops.  They kept shooting till 8 pm when the main event show took place.

For 25 solid minutes they shot off fireworks synchronized to different themes of music from hard rock to Enya.  Now I know why everybody has raved about this pyrotechnic display.  It was awesome…it was mind blowing and a sensory overload.  There wasn’t any pauses…..every couple of seconds they shot up fireworks. And not one at a time, but a whole sky full every second or so!!!  The sky was ablaze in color and the fireworks filled your entire eye range.They even shot off gas bombs that blasted up in the air with a terrific booming sound and then you felt a large blast of heat. I couldn’t decide which of the 90 photos I took to show you, so here are the best of them in an album.  Please take a minute and click on the “view full album” to really see what we saw.

View Full Album

Now I know why people come year after year to see the Winter Blast.  It is definitely fantastic.

Remember, you are loved!