Mar 1st to 4th - DHS, Yuma, Mesa

Mar 1st – Thurs
When we went to Fantasy Springs casino with Moe & Trish, I found out that on the 1st I would get $30 free play. Since the wind was still blowing like mad, we went back to the casino where I spent my free play and more. Terry didn’t do well either but it kept us out of the wind for quite a while. We used points on our cards for lunch there, stopped at a grocery stop and then filled up with diesel - $4.39 - on the way back.
Larry called to ask if we could come over and take a picture of them with a beautiful flower arrangement sent by their dentist. Of course we had to have a drink with them.
At 5 we went to Moe & Trish’s for dinner. Lynn and Louise were also there. More fun, laughter and good food was enjoyed by all.

Mar 2nd – Fri
Larry & Barb got up early to say goodbye, Debbie hurried over in her dressing gown and we waited a few minutes for Jim to throw on some clothes to come see us off. We are heading back to Mesa with a stop to dry camp at the Quechan casino and go to Algodones. My cousin Pat and her husband Rick are joining us but weren’t there when we arrived in a howling wind. The parking area was quite full but we found a spot and then parked our truck next to us to save the spot for Rick & Pat. I made sandwiches for lunch, Rick & Pat arrived and we immediately left for Alogodones. Rick had to pick up some eye glasses and I talked to a guy about getting glasses for me. Unfortunately they are closed tomorrow so I couldn’t get them. The dentist office was typically late with my 2:30 cleaning appointment. We stopped at the Purple Pharmacy for liquor and had a short wait to cross the border. Friends Don & Joanne (from Logan Lake where Pat & Rick live) had arrived while we were gone so it was time for happy hour.
Pat brought shrimp back from Mexico and had us all over for dinner with the highlight being battered shrimp and her special dipping sauce. We had just finished eating when I noticed lights on their fridge were blinking. The “diagnosis” was a battery no longer holding a charge so Don hooked his generator up to Pat & Rick’s 5th wheel for the rest of the evening and the guys decided Rick should switch to 6 volt batteries.
Of course we and Pat had to go to the casino. Some time ago I had mentioned to Pat that a certain slot machine was fun to play and I found her winning money on it after a while. I could not win on anything and Pat eventually lost her money. Terry was having fun so Pat & I hung around for another hour or so until he eventually lost his allowance.

Mar 3rd – Sat
Rick & Pat joined us for breakfast at the casino. We had enough points on our cards to pay for our buffets. When we finished eating, we had about 20 minutes before we were due back to meet up with Don & Joanne so we each took $10 to gamble. It took us about half an hour to leave but I cashed in a ticket for $110!
I took Pat & Joanne in our truck to shop at Kohl’s & Ross while the guys went with Rick to get batteries. We met up at the Flea Market and had lunch before shopping a bit there. We found a Wizard card game (we left ours with Skip & Kathy) and splurged on a Pegs & Jokers game. We all went to Bealls for more shopping. While we were there, Ron called and said there was someone in “our” RV site beside them and they weren’t leaving until the 8th. I called the park and discovered that things were messed up and we didn’t have a reservation even though $250 hit our credit card! Luckily, the lady who made our reservation was there and remembered the transaction. She did some research and called back later to say they were very sorry but we would have to stay in another site for 4 days and then move to the one we wanted for the rest of the month. We’ll put this under the “stuff happens” column.
The wind died down to a breeze so we all got chairs out to enjoy a drink and then put together a group dinner and ate outside. After dinner we all went to the casino. I started with $20 at the machine that treated me well this morning and cashed out $120 after I started losing my winnings. The rest of the evening didn’t go so well but I still walked out with $100 after paying for some purchases earlier in the day with my first winnings. Terry didn’t have my luck.

Mar 4th – Sun
We gave goodbye hugs to Rick & Pat and Don & Joanne and were on the road to Mesa shortly after 8. We stopped for a breakfast sandwich in Gila Bend and pulled into Val Vista Villages RV Resort at noon – lost an hour going to Arizona. Within a few minutes we got hello hugs from Steph, Gloria, Dianne and Ernie. We parked in our temporary site, set up and I vacuumed up dust from the recent winds. We went to the courtyard hoping to get lunch but the grill wasn’t open. Gloria and her daughter Julie were at the pool and just going for another round of drinks so they included us. Of course we had to reciprocate with drinks!
We came back to make a dish for happy hour(s) at 3 and just got back when Larry & Julie stopped by. As soon as the Crispy Green Beans were done, we all went to Ron & Terri’s for the get together – along with about 20 other people.
I’m not even sure what time we came back with Larry & Julie. I made 3-2-1 cake and ice cream for all of us for dessert and we crashed about 10.