Jan 28th – Sat
I sorted through meat in the freezer that needs to be eaten and found a large package of chuck steak that would work great in the crockpot with cocktail onions & mushroom soup. After breakfast we went for a “walk & talk” and also signed up for next week’s golf. Russ & Carol told us about some yard/rummage sales down Dillon Road a bit so we went to check them out. They were pretty picked over by that time and we didn’t find anything interesting.
Next on the agenda was laundry and we hit a good time at the laundry room. On the way back we stopped and asked Gilbert & Grace over for dinner & cards. Gilbert was helping Cliff put down wood flooring but Grace said they would be happy to join us.
Before we played Canasta, we showed pictures of our Maui trip. The last time we played Canasta, the guys were very lucky with wild cards. This time Grace & I managed to win even though we didn’t get our canasta in 7s (5000 points!) twice.
Jan 29th – Sun
We had no plans for today so that translates into a casino trip. We went to Casino 29 and were there for several hours before losing our allowances – and then some!
We went to examine the new floor at Cliff & Pauline’s and ran into Russ & Judy as we were leaving so we joined them for a drink. Terry just had time to snack on some chips before he went to play Texas Hold’em. I read a book and warmed up leftovers for dinner. When Terry got back – didn’t win anything – he warmed up leftovers for his dinner.
Jan 30th – Mon
Terry got out bikes out this morning and we went riding to see people. We chatted for a while with Larry & Barb. Larry has conjunctivitis (pink eye?) and spent a lot of time yesterday getting to see a doctor and getting some medication. He said he was feeling better. We picked up our forwarded mail and went through it. We went back & forth a couple of times to Cliff & Pauline’s motor home and their recently purchased park model but we didn’t find them at either place.
Just after we got back, Cliff came over to ask if we could pick up some furniture when they buy it. We invited them over for dinner which is why we were trying to find them in the first place. Cliff & Terry C. were installing and setting up a satellite dish for Cliff so they were a little later coming over than they thought they could but – who cares! After drinks, appies & dinner we taught them Ponytail Canasta. We were very even through 3 hands, Pauline & I pulled away by catching the guys without their 7’s and we ended up winning.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Jan 25th to 27th - DHS
Jan 25th – Wed
Terry played golf with the men’s club at 7:45 this morning and I enjoyed a bit of lazy time in bed before getting up to putter around and do the large blog entry for yesterday & Monday. I had just finished the blog when Terry got back – not a great game - and I made breakfast. I had a couple different partial loaves of bread and some thin buns in the cupboard when we went to Maui and none of them had mold! So I could actually make some meals without going to the grocery store.
We went for a walk which took us a long time to actually get anywhere as we kept stopping to talk to people. We ended up having a beer with Russ & Judy and then going next door to see Cliff & Pauline’s park model that they purchased while we were away. Actually, Terry was needed to help put up a beam where they opened up a wall so our timing was good.
I helped Judy & Laraine dip strawberries in chocolate while Terry worked at Cliff’s. Grace joined us women for a drink and then she & I went to pay for a golf tournament and stopped to see Bob & Doreen’s just purchased park model on the way. On the way back, we chatted for a while with Larry & Barb.
Back at Cliff & Pauline’s park model, I helped Terry C. put up some furring strips before we all stopped work due to lack of light. I actually had enough ingredients in the cupboard & freezer to make dinner then we dropped in on Larry & Barb for a chat & a drink.
Jan 26th – Thurs
Terry realized last night that his phone was no longer on his belt so he went to Cliff’s new place and crawled underneath again to recover it. Then he stayed to help with the construction. I went to the park kitchen to help Barb with lunch prep. Along with Laraine, we chopped coleslaw and made individual jello desserts for 160+ people. Terry had returned just before me so we got in the dirty truck and went shopping. First I checked at the hair salon and could go back in 15 minutes for a haircut. I have used this stylist previously and she did her usual good job. Then we went to WalMart, grabbed a burger for lunch and got groceries. We looked for a pink shirt for Terry for tomorrow’s golf tournament but no luck.
I took a couple of small loads of clothes to the laundry room and went next door to the kitchen to pull pork while the clothes were washing. There were 5 of us in the kitchen so we made short work of the job & cleanup.
Since we had a late lunch, we had a small dinner and then went to a dance here at the park. Matt Jenkins lives in the park and plays at the dances. He plays very danceable music and there was full house with a crowded dance floor. We were joined by Gilbert & Grace, Dave & Laraine and Russ & Judy so we had a lot of fun.
Jan 27th – Fri
We played in the Rally for the Cure golf tournament this morning at 8:24. Three teams play together in an alternate shot format. 2 of the par 3’s are KPs – one for women and one for men – so the alternate shot is waived for those holes. Make sense?! It is just for fun and to raise money so we didn’t even keep score.
When we finished, I got my good bread knife and we went to the kitchen to slice 15 dozen buns for lunch. Then we went to Leon & Marilyn’s for a drink along with Ronald & Diane who were the others in our golf group. It was back to the kitchen for me where the lunch prep was in full swing. The menu was pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, chips & a pickle slice with individual servings of jello mixed with Cool Whip and topped with a chocolate dipped strawberry for dessert. About 1:30 the “assembly line” started with Barb & Laraine assembling & cutting sandwiches, Mary & I putting the sandwiches on a plate and adding chips and Judy & Grace adding coleslaw & pickles. Phyllis was the “runner” getting whatever was needed and placing opened buns in place for Laraine & Barb. We had about 10 people serving the plates to 176 diners.
There were many items being raffled and auctioned so we didn’t finish until nearly 4. Luckily we were not on the cleanup committee! We went to see Jim & Debbie who just bought a new 5th wheel. Of course they had to pour us a drink and we visited for an hour before coming home and settling in for the rest of evening.
Terry played golf with the men’s club at 7:45 this morning and I enjoyed a bit of lazy time in bed before getting up to putter around and do the large blog entry for yesterday & Monday. I had just finished the blog when Terry got back – not a great game - and I made breakfast. I had a couple different partial loaves of bread and some thin buns in the cupboard when we went to Maui and none of them had mold! So I could actually make some meals without going to the grocery store.
We went for a walk which took us a long time to actually get anywhere as we kept stopping to talk to people. We ended up having a beer with Russ & Judy and then going next door to see Cliff & Pauline’s park model that they purchased while we were away. Actually, Terry was needed to help put up a beam where they opened up a wall so our timing was good.
I helped Judy & Laraine dip strawberries in chocolate while Terry worked at Cliff’s. Grace joined us women for a drink and then she & I went to pay for a golf tournament and stopped to see Bob & Doreen’s just purchased park model on the way. On the way back, we chatted for a while with Larry & Barb.
Back at Cliff & Pauline’s park model, I helped Terry C. put up some furring strips before we all stopped work due to lack of light. I actually had enough ingredients in the cupboard & freezer to make dinner then we dropped in on Larry & Barb for a chat & a drink.
Jan 26th – Thurs
Terry realized last night that his phone was no longer on his belt so he went to Cliff’s new place and crawled underneath again to recover it. Then he stayed to help with the construction. I went to the park kitchen to help Barb with lunch prep. Along with Laraine, we chopped coleslaw and made individual jello desserts for 160+ people. Terry had returned just before me so we got in the dirty truck and went shopping. First I checked at the hair salon and could go back in 15 minutes for a haircut. I have used this stylist previously and she did her usual good job. Then we went to WalMart, grabbed a burger for lunch and got groceries. We looked for a pink shirt for Terry for tomorrow’s golf tournament but no luck.
I took a couple of small loads of clothes to the laundry room and went next door to the kitchen to pull pork while the clothes were washing. There were 5 of us in the kitchen so we made short work of the job & cleanup.
Since we had a late lunch, we had a small dinner and then went to a dance here at the park. Matt Jenkins lives in the park and plays at the dances. He plays very danceable music and there was full house with a crowded dance floor. We were joined by Gilbert & Grace, Dave & Laraine and Russ & Judy so we had a lot of fun.
Jan 27th – Fri
We played in the Rally for the Cure golf tournament this morning at 8:24. Three teams play together in an alternate shot format. 2 of the par 3’s are KPs – one for women and one for men – so the alternate shot is waived for those holes. Make sense?! It is just for fun and to raise money so we didn’t even keep score.
When we finished, I got my good bread knife and we went to the kitchen to slice 15 dozen buns for lunch. Then we went to Leon & Marilyn’s for a drink along with Ronald & Diane who were the others in our golf group. It was back to the kitchen for me where the lunch prep was in full swing. The menu was pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, chips & a pickle slice with individual servings of jello mixed with Cool Whip and topped with a chocolate dipped strawberry for dessert. About 1:30 the “assembly line” started with Barb & Laraine assembling & cutting sandwiches, Mary & I putting the sandwiches on a plate and adding chips and Judy & Grace adding coleslaw & pickles. Phyllis was the “runner” getting whatever was needed and placing opened buns in place for Laraine & Barb. We had about 10 people serving the plates to 176 diners.
There were many items being raffled and auctioned so we didn’t finish until nearly 4. Luckily we were not on the cleanup committee! We went to see Jim & Debbie who just bought a new 5th wheel. Of course they had to pour us a drink and we visited for an hour before coming home and settling in for the rest of evening.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Jan 23rd to 24th - Maui to Palm Springs
Jan 23rd & 24th – Mon & Tues
Kathy & I made a large breakfast before Terry went golfing with Skip & Kathy, Pat & Donna, Dean and Lance. I went shopping with Debbie and Claudine. We went to Savers (like Goodwill) which Claudine loves and to Ross before stopping for a few groceries. Back at Claudine’s condo, we helped put food & suitcases where they belonged as Claudine & Lance and Pat & Donna moved to a different unit this morning and it hadn’t been cleaned yet.
We had just relaxed with snacks and a drink when the golfers arrived and joined us for a couple of drinks.
We had leftovers from last night but decided to thaw some steaks to go with rice fried with lots of veggies, garlic toast and sautéed mushrooms & onions for a great dinner. I had packed in the morning so we just had to finish a few items to be ready to head to the airport about 8. Luckily there was no wait to check our bags because by the time we went through security and walked the long halls to the departure gate, our plane was boarding. Yep, we were on the red eye back to Seattle.
The flight was long and uncomfortably warm with a couple of “beverage services” to break the boredom a bit. Terry slept on & off and I read most of the time. There wasn’t much turbulence but it was a little bouncy when we landed at 6:00 am PST in Seattle. We took the train to our departure terminal where we got coffee and a bagel for me. We had a 3 hour layover so Terry took a nap on a row of seats at the departure gate and I read some more.
We were a few minutes late leaving for an uneventful flight back to Palm Springs. This time it was cool enough in the plane to leave our light jackets on – better than too warm. It was very windy when we hard landed in Palm Springs. Stairs were set up at the rear door of the plane in addition to the jetway so we got off quickly only to wait & wait for the bags to arrive.
Larry picked us up and then we went to Smart & Final to get Barb who was grocery shopping. She is in charge of the luncheon on Friday for a golf tournament so she had 2 carts of groceries and was just ready to check out. We helped them unload the groceries and put them in fridges in the park kitchen and then we took them for a late lunch at Carl’s Jr. since neither we nor they even had breakfast.
We opened up the rig, reset the satellite dish, unpacked bags, downloaded pictures to the computer and hit the recliners. After a bit I put captions on pictures, we watched all the videos we took on the zip line trips and then I made a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. It was quite early (7:30?) when we decided to watch TV in bed and it didn’t take too long for both of us to fall asleep. Terry had many catnaps – not too refreshing – since we first started our trip back but I was operating on no sleep.
Kathy & I made a large breakfast before Terry went golfing with Skip & Kathy, Pat & Donna, Dean and Lance. I went shopping with Debbie and Claudine. We went to Savers (like Goodwill) which Claudine loves and to Ross before stopping for a few groceries. Back at Claudine’s condo, we helped put food & suitcases where they belonged as Claudine & Lance and Pat & Donna moved to a different unit this morning and it hadn’t been cleaned yet.
We had just relaxed with snacks and a drink when the golfers arrived and joined us for a couple of drinks.
We had leftovers from last night but decided to thaw some steaks to go with rice fried with lots of veggies, garlic toast and sautéed mushrooms & onions for a great dinner. I had packed in the morning so we just had to finish a few items to be ready to head to the airport about 8. Luckily there was no wait to check our bags because by the time we went through security and walked the long halls to the departure gate, our plane was boarding. Yep, we were on the red eye back to Seattle.
The flight was long and uncomfortably warm with a couple of “beverage services” to break the boredom a bit. Terry slept on & off and I read most of the time. There wasn’t much turbulence but it was a little bouncy when we landed at 6:00 am PST in Seattle. We took the train to our departure terminal where we got coffee and a bagel for me. We had a 3 hour layover so Terry took a nap on a row of seats at the departure gate and I read some more.
We were a few minutes late leaving for an uneventful flight back to Palm Springs. This time it was cool enough in the plane to leave our light jackets on – better than too warm. It was very windy when we hard landed in Palm Springs. Stairs were set up at the rear door of the plane in addition to the jetway so we got off quickly only to wait & wait for the bags to arrive.
Larry picked us up and then we went to Smart & Final to get Barb who was grocery shopping. She is in charge of the luncheon on Friday for a golf tournament so she had 2 carts of groceries and was just ready to check out. We helped them unload the groceries and put them in fridges in the park kitchen and then we took them for a late lunch at Carl’s Jr. since neither we nor they even had breakfast.
We opened up the rig, reset the satellite dish, unpacked bags, downloaded pictures to the computer and hit the recliners. After a bit I put captions on pictures, we watched all the videos we took on the zip line trips and then I made a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. It was quite early (7:30?) when we decided to watch TV in bed and it didn’t take too long for both of us to fall asleep. Terry had many catnaps – not too refreshing – since we first started our trip back but I was operating on no sleep.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Jan 20th to 22nd - Maui
Jan 20th - Fri
We lazed around and had a nice breakfast. Terry & Skip went zip-lining again with some of our group who weren’t here for the first trip. They went later than we did the first time and it wasn’t cold. Kathy & I had Skip drop us off at a shopping center. We shopped, had a lovely, leisurely snack & drink at Longhi’s bar and then walked back 2 miles to the condo - it took us 45 minutes. It was quite hot and parts of the road were in full sunlight.
We changed into swimsuits and hit the pool to cool off. We had time to sunbathe (Kathy) and read (me) before the guys got back as they stopped for a drink.
We met “the entire group” (13 of us) for dinner at Café au Lei to celebrate Terry‘s birthday. We sat at adjoining tables with the women at one table and the men at the other. The women were noisier than the men until after a couple of drinks and then the men got a little rowdy. When we got back I tried without success to get a red wine stain out of Terry’s new T-shirt before we all crashed.
Jan 21st - Sat
We had some fruit for breakfast and then met “the group” for lunch & then golf at The Dunes. We had 12 players and we grouped 4 guys, 4 women and a mixed foursome of us and Lance & Claudine. It was very windy for the entire game. Our group didn’t do very well but we had fun - sometimes!! We all gathered for a couple of drinks and then carried on to Fred’s for Mexican food.
We got back about 8:40 and we all went to bed! A full day wears out the senior citizens!
Jan 22nd - Sun
We started by meeting 4 others for breakfast at a nice restaurant with an ocean view. We made a quick grocery store stop and came back to the condo where Kathy & I did some food prep for the 9 guests we were having over for dinner and the guys watched a golf tournament on TV. There was quite a bit of frozen meat so we figured having people over was a good way to use some up. We also took time to watch turtles & whales.
Just after golf finished and a football game started, our guests started arriving. Most of the guys watched football and the ladies enjoyed the lanai, whale watching and taking pictures of the sunset. Dinner was quite good if I do say so myself!
After the last guests left we played a game of Wizard and Kathy won!!!!
We lazed around and had a nice breakfast. Terry & Skip went zip-lining again with some of our group who weren’t here for the first trip. They went later than we did the first time and it wasn’t cold. Kathy & I had Skip drop us off at a shopping center. We shopped, had a lovely, leisurely snack & drink at Longhi’s bar and then walked back 2 miles to the condo - it took us 45 minutes. It was quite hot and parts of the road were in full sunlight.
We changed into swimsuits and hit the pool to cool off. We had time to sunbathe (Kathy) and read (me) before the guys got back as they stopped for a drink.
We met “the entire group” (13 of us) for dinner at Café au Lei to celebrate Terry‘s birthday. We sat at adjoining tables with the women at one table and the men at the other. The women were noisier than the men until after a couple of drinks and then the men got a little rowdy. When we got back I tried without success to get a red wine stain out of Terry’s new T-shirt before we all crashed.
Jan 21st - Sat
We had some fruit for breakfast and then met “the group” for lunch & then golf at The Dunes. We had 12 players and we grouped 4 guys, 4 women and a mixed foursome of us and Lance & Claudine. It was very windy for the entire game. Our group didn’t do very well but we had fun - sometimes!! We all gathered for a couple of drinks and then carried on to Fred’s for Mexican food.
We got back about 8:40 and we all went to bed! A full day wears out the senior citizens!
Jan 22nd - Sun
We started by meeting 4 others for breakfast at a nice restaurant with an ocean view. We made a quick grocery store stop and came back to the condo where Kathy & I did some food prep for the 9 guests we were having over for dinner and the guys watched a golf tournament on TV. There was quite a bit of frozen meat so we figured having people over was a good way to use some up. We also took time to watch turtles & whales.
Just after golf finished and a football game started, our guests started arriving. Most of the guys watched football and the ladies enjoyed the lanai, whale watching and taking pictures of the sunset. Dinner was quite good if I do say so myself!
After the last guests left we played a game of Wizard and Kathy won!!!!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Jan 19th - Maui
Jan 19th - Thurs
We left just after 8 to go on a snorkeling boat trip. The departure point was not very far away but it was a good thing that we left early as the road was closed due to a bad car accident and we had a slight detour. Then we had to wind our way through a huge, beautiful hotel resort to the beach. There were 11 people from the group that we know here.
The large catamaran had been out for an early morning run and we watched the guests unload which was a little unnerving as we realized we had to get on the same way. The captain timed the waves and brought the boat near the sandy shore so the passengers could climb down 2 parallel sets of stairs into the surf and then wade ashore. Since we had to walk the opposite way through the breaking waves, an employee passed out small garbage bags to keep our towels, etc dry as we loaded.
We started by lining up the 60 or so passengers into 2 single file lines and waded into the water. When a larger wave came in, the employees had everyone back up while it cleared and then move forward again. I expressed my concern about losing a contact in the procedure but even though I lost my footing trying to move quickly, an employee kept me from going down completely.
We all moved to the cabin for a short safety talk and continental breakfast as we moved to Molokini crater. We all got snorkel equipment and had to wait just a bit to get a good site to tie up. Some brave people jumped off the side of the catamaran but most of us climbed down the stairs, put on flippers and eased into the clear, clear water. An employee did a reef tour and identified fish for those who wanted to join her. In 45 minutes we all reboarded and had a snack as the captain moved to the other side of the crater so we could snorkel in a different area without having to swim all the way over. This was a good thing as Terry & I were both getting leg cramps from the flippers. After this snorkel session of another 40 minutes, lunch was served and the bar opened - unlimited maitais and beer included in the price. We then moved to Turtle Town, saw a couple of whales on the way but not many turtles.
The captain unloaded us at an alternate beach with smaller waves and we just walked off the stairs into a foot or so of water. Passenger vans were waiting to take us back to the hotel and our cars.
Back at the condo, we all showered to get the salt off and Kathy & I started getting everything ready for our pupu party. At 4, everyone started arriving and we ended up with 15 people counting us & Skip & Kathy. We had a great time drinking, eating, talking, laughing & taking pictures. Everyone left about 8, we cleaned up and then played a game of Wizard before calling it a night. Kathy is determined to win a game of Wizard before we leave!!
We left just after 8 to go on a snorkeling boat trip. The departure point was not very far away but it was a good thing that we left early as the road was closed due to a bad car accident and we had a slight detour. Then we had to wind our way through a huge, beautiful hotel resort to the beach. There were 11 people from the group that we know here.
The large catamaran had been out for an early morning run and we watched the guests unload which was a little unnerving as we realized we had to get on the same way. The captain timed the waves and brought the boat near the sandy shore so the passengers could climb down 2 parallel sets of stairs into the surf and then wade ashore. Since we had to walk the opposite way through the breaking waves, an employee passed out small garbage bags to keep our towels, etc dry as we loaded.
We started by lining up the 60 or so passengers into 2 single file lines and waded into the water. When a larger wave came in, the employees had everyone back up while it cleared and then move forward again. I expressed my concern about losing a contact in the procedure but even though I lost my footing trying to move quickly, an employee kept me from going down completely.
We all moved to the cabin for a short safety talk and continental breakfast as we moved to Molokini crater. We all got snorkel equipment and had to wait just a bit to get a good site to tie up. Some brave people jumped off the side of the catamaran but most of us climbed down the stairs, put on flippers and eased into the clear, clear water. An employee did a reef tour and identified fish for those who wanted to join her. In 45 minutes we all reboarded and had a snack as the captain moved to the other side of the crater so we could snorkel in a different area without having to swim all the way over. This was a good thing as Terry & I were both getting leg cramps from the flippers. After this snorkel session of another 40 minutes, lunch was served and the bar opened - unlimited maitais and beer included in the price. We then moved to Turtle Town, saw a couple of whales on the way but not many turtles.
The captain unloaded us at an alternate beach with smaller waves and we just walked off the stairs into a foot or so of water. Passenger vans were waiting to take us back to the hotel and our cars.
Back at the condo, we all showered to get the salt off and Kathy & I started getting everything ready for our pupu party. At 4, everyone started arriving and we ended up with 15 people counting us & Skip & Kathy. We had a great time drinking, eating, talking, laughing & taking pictures. Everyone left about 8, we cleaned up and then played a game of Wizard before calling it a night. Kathy is determined to win a game of Wizard before we leave!!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Jan 16th to 18th - Maui
Jan 16th - Mon
We had lots of time for coffee & breakfast before heading to the middle of the island to play golf at Kahili GC. The guys even picked up some cleaning & groceries while Kathy & I cleaned up breakfast dishes and I posted my blog.
Our tee time was 10:56 and the sun was very hot. Shade & water were necessities. The group ahead of us was kind of slow and Terry & I hit our usual share of bad shots but other than that it was fun.
More friends of Skip & Kathy’s arrived today so we stopped for a drink with Lance & Claudine, Ken & Cheryl, Pat & Donna and Jessica. Back at the condo we made a great steak dinner and then played a game of Wizard.
Jan 17th - Tues
We went for breakfast this morning and tried an island specialty called Loco Moko. It is a patty of sticky rice, a hamburger patty, brown onion gravy and an over-easy egg on top. I had the mini (one of each) and Terry & Skip had the normal order with 2 of each. I would order it again.
At 10:30 we joined 6 others (Pat & Donna, Jim & Carol, Dean & Debbie) for golf at the nearby Wailea Blue GC. Terry & I did not have good games. I think part of my problem was playing 18 holes 2 days in a row as I am not used to it and just wear out. The golfers and 3 more people - Lance, Claudine & Jessica - had a couple of drinks at the golf course bar and then we all went to Jim & Carol’s hotel room for another drink before walking to Longhi’s restaurant for dinner. It was very expensive for the small servings of good, tastefully presented food. We were going to play Yahtzee when we got back but made the mistake of sitting around first which let Terry fall asleep.
Jan 18th - Wed
Skip & Kathy looked after some business on the computer & phone while I got breakfast ready to the point where Skip could make his special French toast. Then it was off to do a bit of shopping at a mall and then the grocery store. The whole group will be coming here tomorrow for pupus & drinks so we made a list of food and have to get the ingredients.
Before we went to Safeway, we had to stop for a drink at Longhi’s bar at the mall. When we got back and unpacked the groceries we had cheese, salami & crackers for “lunch”. Then Kathy & I put together some appies. The guys finally went to the beach with boogie boards and braved the waves. The boards were too small and Skip dragged on the sand when he tried to ride a wave into the beach. Kathy & I were ready to go to the pool when the guys came back so we all took a short swim to cool off.
We played Yahtzee and Wizard while cooking dinner and relaxed with some TV before going to bed early. It is amazing how tiring a lazy day can be!
We had lots of time for coffee & breakfast before heading to the middle of the island to play golf at Kahili GC. The guys even picked up some cleaning & groceries while Kathy & I cleaned up breakfast dishes and I posted my blog.
Our tee time was 10:56 and the sun was very hot. Shade & water were necessities. The group ahead of us was kind of slow and Terry & I hit our usual share of bad shots but other than that it was fun.
More friends of Skip & Kathy’s arrived today so we stopped for a drink with Lance & Claudine, Ken & Cheryl, Pat & Donna and Jessica. Back at the condo we made a great steak dinner and then played a game of Wizard.
Jan 17th - Tues
We went for breakfast this morning and tried an island specialty called Loco Moko. It is a patty of sticky rice, a hamburger patty, brown onion gravy and an over-easy egg on top. I had the mini (one of each) and Terry & Skip had the normal order with 2 of each. I would order it again.
At 10:30 we joined 6 others (Pat & Donna, Jim & Carol, Dean & Debbie) for golf at the nearby Wailea Blue GC. Terry & I did not have good games. I think part of my problem was playing 18 holes 2 days in a row as I am not used to it and just wear out. The golfers and 3 more people - Lance, Claudine & Jessica - had a couple of drinks at the golf course bar and then we all went to Jim & Carol’s hotel room for another drink before walking to Longhi’s restaurant for dinner. It was very expensive for the small servings of good, tastefully presented food. We were going to play Yahtzee when we got back but made the mistake of sitting around first which let Terry fall asleep.
Jan 18th - Wed
Skip & Kathy looked after some business on the computer & phone while I got breakfast ready to the point where Skip could make his special French toast. Then it was off to do a bit of shopping at a mall and then the grocery store. The whole group will be coming here tomorrow for pupus & drinks so we made a list of food and have to get the ingredients.
Before we went to Safeway, we had to stop for a drink at Longhi’s bar at the mall. When we got back and unpacked the groceries we had cheese, salami & crackers for “lunch”. Then Kathy & I put together some appies. The guys finally went to the beach with boogie boards and braved the waves. The boards were too small and Skip dragged on the sand when he tried to ride a wave into the beach. Kathy & I were ready to go to the pool when the guys came back so we all took a short swim to cool off.
We played Yahtzee and Wizard while cooking dinner and relaxed with some TV before going to bed early. It is amazing how tiring a lazy day can be!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Jan 13th to 15th - Maui
Jan 13th - Fri
The guys were kind of subdued today so it was a good thing that we didn’t have much planned. At 10, Skip & Kathy and Terry & I went to look at a condo that they considered when they were looking for a place to rent here. The rent was VERY high so they wanted to see what you got for your money. We saw a 3 bedroom unit on the 5th floor facing the ocean but you couldn’t even see the beach and you had to walk past other buildings in the complex quite a ways to get to the beach. Prices in that large complex are from $800 to $4000 PER DAY!
Then we all enjoyed whale watching and people watching from the patio. The patio/balcony on this 3rd floor unit goes all across the width of the living/dining room and has sliding glass doors & screens that disappear into 4 foot sections on both sides of the room. The whales are very active and we can see them spouting & breaching all day. Kathy & I went for a walk on the beach and found that the water was cooler than we expected by seeing the number of people in the water and the length of time they stayed in.
At 3 we went to a restaurant at a nearby golf course to have a drink and pupus - appetizers to most people. We played 3 games of Wizard (card game) when we got back and then made a nice late dinner.
Jan 14th - Sat
We went on a road trip to Lehaina today. We are staying on the southwest coast (Makena) and Lehaina is on the northwest coast. We actually drove past Lehaina and did some sightseeing first. Kathy’s brother Dave told her about a place for great hamburgers so we drove all over town looking for a parking spot and then found the restaurant - The Cool Cat Café. Dave was right, the burgers were great. We felt the need to walk and settle lunch so we first checked out a huge banyan tree in a park across from the restaurant and then walked & shopped down and back up the main street.
We stopped at a grocery store for a few items and then played more Wizard before making a late, light dinner. The whales were active again and interrupted the card games many times. Larry wanted to play another game of Wizard after dinner and we ended up going to bed after midnight.
The temperature here has been in the low 80’s but with quite high humidity so Kathy & I take turns mopping our brows. A slight breeze is welcome and does not feel at all cool.
I have to make a correction. What I have been calling a patio is really a lanai!
Jan 15th - Sun
Kathy thought Sunday deserved a nice breakfast so we did potatoes, bacon, eggs & toast. We were just enjoying the view & whales when a housekeeper came and was going to vacuum so we all grabbed a beer - Kathy’s orders! - and went for a walk on the beach to get out of his way. He was still finishing up when we got back so we went to the pool area for a short while.
We had cheese & crackers and such for “lunch” and played another game of Wizard. Skip & Terry took Larry to the airport at 2:30 and picked up a few groceries - again - on the way back. We played a new card game “3 to 13” while the ribs were cooking. After dinner we played Yahtzee with me winning 3 games out of 4 - just had to include that bit of info. It rained a bit before we went to bed.
The guys were kind of subdued today so it was a good thing that we didn’t have much planned. At 10, Skip & Kathy and Terry & I went to look at a condo that they considered when they were looking for a place to rent here. The rent was VERY high so they wanted to see what you got for your money. We saw a 3 bedroom unit on the 5th floor facing the ocean but you couldn’t even see the beach and you had to walk past other buildings in the complex quite a ways to get to the beach. Prices in that large complex are from $800 to $4000 PER DAY!
Then we all enjoyed whale watching and people watching from the patio. The patio/balcony on this 3rd floor unit goes all across the width of the living/dining room and has sliding glass doors & screens that disappear into 4 foot sections on both sides of the room. The whales are very active and we can see them spouting & breaching all day. Kathy & I went for a walk on the beach and found that the water was cooler than we expected by seeing the number of people in the water and the length of time they stayed in.
At 3 we went to a restaurant at a nearby golf course to have a drink and pupus - appetizers to most people. We played 3 games of Wizard (card game) when we got back and then made a nice late dinner.
Jan 14th - Sat
We went on a road trip to Lehaina today. We are staying on the southwest coast (Makena) and Lehaina is on the northwest coast. We actually drove past Lehaina and did some sightseeing first. Kathy’s brother Dave told her about a place for great hamburgers so we drove all over town looking for a parking spot and then found the restaurant - The Cool Cat Café. Dave was right, the burgers were great. We felt the need to walk and settle lunch so we first checked out a huge banyan tree in a park across from the restaurant and then walked & shopped down and back up the main street.
We stopped at a grocery store for a few items and then played more Wizard before making a late, light dinner. The whales were active again and interrupted the card games many times. Larry wanted to play another game of Wizard after dinner and we ended up going to bed after midnight.
The temperature here has been in the low 80’s but with quite high humidity so Kathy & I take turns mopping our brows. A slight breeze is welcome and does not feel at all cool.
I have to make a correction. What I have been calling a patio is really a lanai!
Jan 15th - Sun
Kathy thought Sunday deserved a nice breakfast so we did potatoes, bacon, eggs & toast. We were just enjoying the view & whales when a housekeeper came and was going to vacuum so we all grabbed a beer - Kathy’s orders! - and went for a walk on the beach to get out of his way. He was still finishing up when we got back so we went to the pool area for a short while.
We had cheese & crackers and such for “lunch” and played another game of Wizard. Skip & Terry took Larry to the airport at 2:30 and picked up a few groceries - again - on the way back. We played a new card game “3 to 13” while the ribs were cooking. After dinner we played Yahtzee with me winning 3 games out of 4 - just had to include that bit of info. It rained a bit before we went to bed.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Jan 10th to 12th - Maui HI
Jan 10th - Tues
Yes, I know there is a gap before this entry but things weren’t all that exciting and I am not going to fill in the pieces.
Our plane left at 7 this morning on the first leg of our trip to Maui. We had a stop in San Francisco on the way to Seattle. Alaska Air changed their flights after we made our reservations so we had a 5 ½ hour layover in Seattle instead of 3 hours. We talked to someone at the Alaska service desk and got permission to use the “Boardroom” (VIP lounge) while we were waiting. We had coffee, salad & soup there and then had fish & chips in the concourse shortly before we left for Maui at 5.
We had good weather and a tail wind so we landed early, got our bags and were picked up by Terry’s brother Skip and his wife Kathy who asked us to join them here. We didn’t stay up too late as we had a long day and were dealing with a 2 hour time change.
Jan 11th - Wed
It’s a good thing that our internal clocks were still 2 hours ahead as we had an 8 o’clock tee time this morning. We were joined by 4 friends of Skip & Kathy’s. Just as we got to the golf course, it started to rain lightly which produced a beautiful rainbow. The rain stopped after a couple of holes. The course was tough but we had a great time and then we all went to the restaurant at the golf course for a nice lunch.
We stopped at a couple of stores looking for dill weed - no luck! - and came back to the lovely condo on the beach where we are staying. We relaxed on the patio and watched the ocean before our golfing friends joined us for a drink. We had a late dinner and called it a day.
Jan 12th - Thurs
We had enough time for a nice breakfast before heading out for another adventure. We joined 5 members of the family who joined us for golf to go zip lining. We drove over an hour to get there and ended up at an elevation of 4200 feet. The web site suggested wearing long pants and the cool weather at that height almost made us wish that we had taken their advice.
Our group of 13 people got fitted with harnesses and walked less than ½ mile to the first zip line which was short but a good introduction to the whole process. A short walk brought us to the second line (across the same gully) which had a much steeper drop off. The third line was a little longer and fast enough that the fence behind the landing area was padded in case you didn’t get stopped quick enough. At each line, there was one employee at each end to hook you to the line and to stop and unhook you at the other end. The fourth line was longer yet and required the employee at the finish to stop you with a wood block on the cable. Then we had to cross the gully on a narrow suspension bridge to the final line which is unique in the zip line companies on Maui and is called the pendulum. You go very fast across the gully, past the landing dock and up the line which is fastened very high on a large tree. Some people actually hit the block on the end of the cable just before the tree. Gravity takes you back down past the landing dock again and part way back over the gully. After a pause, you head back to the landing dock. The employee grabs the feet of taller riders and has shorter riders grab a long pole to stop them and direct them to a rolling ladder to unhook and climb down. Whew!! A van picked us up for a short ride back to where we started and we got rid of our harnesses and helmets. The whole adventure was wonderful!
We stopped in Paia for lunch, stopped at a couple more stores, finally found dill weed and came home. We had time for a drink on the patio before Skip & Terry left for the airport to pick up their friend Larry who lives on the Big Island. Terry, Skip & Larry were teenage friends so they had a lot of fun reminiscing - which requires quite a bit of alcohol to keep the throats lubricated! We had a late dinner and the guys finally called it quits at 1:30
Yes, I know there is a gap before this entry but things weren’t all that exciting and I am not going to fill in the pieces.
Our plane left at 7 this morning on the first leg of our trip to Maui. We had a stop in San Francisco on the way to Seattle. Alaska Air changed their flights after we made our reservations so we had a 5 ½ hour layover in Seattle instead of 3 hours. We talked to someone at the Alaska service desk and got permission to use the “Boardroom” (VIP lounge) while we were waiting. We had coffee, salad & soup there and then had fish & chips in the concourse shortly before we left for Maui at 5.
We had good weather and a tail wind so we landed early, got our bags and were picked up by Terry’s brother Skip and his wife Kathy who asked us to join them here. We didn’t stay up too late as we had a long day and were dealing with a 2 hour time change.
Jan 11th - Wed
It’s a good thing that our internal clocks were still 2 hours ahead as we had an 8 o’clock tee time this morning. We were joined by 4 friends of Skip & Kathy’s. Just as we got to the golf course, it started to rain lightly which produced a beautiful rainbow. The rain stopped after a couple of holes. The course was tough but we had a great time and then we all went to the restaurant at the golf course for a nice lunch.
We stopped at a couple of stores looking for dill weed - no luck! - and came back to the lovely condo on the beach where we are staying. We relaxed on the patio and watched the ocean before our golfing friends joined us for a drink. We had a late dinner and called it a day.
Jan 12th - Thurs
We had enough time for a nice breakfast before heading out for another adventure. We joined 5 members of the family who joined us for golf to go zip lining. We drove over an hour to get there and ended up at an elevation of 4200 feet. The web site suggested wearing long pants and the cool weather at that height almost made us wish that we had taken their advice.
Our group of 13 people got fitted with harnesses and walked less than ½ mile to the first zip line which was short but a good introduction to the whole process. A short walk brought us to the second line (across the same gully) which had a much steeper drop off. The third line was a little longer and fast enough that the fence behind the landing area was padded in case you didn’t get stopped quick enough. At each line, there was one employee at each end to hook you to the line and to stop and unhook you at the other end. The fourth line was longer yet and required the employee at the finish to stop you with a wood block on the cable. Then we had to cross the gully on a narrow suspension bridge to the final line which is unique in the zip line companies on Maui and is called the pendulum. You go very fast across the gully, past the landing dock and up the line which is fastened very high on a large tree. Some people actually hit the block on the end of the cable just before the tree. Gravity takes you back down past the landing dock again and part way back over the gully. After a pause, you head back to the landing dock. The employee grabs the feet of taller riders and has shorter riders grab a long pole to stop them and direct them to a rolling ladder to unhook and climb down. Whew!! A van picked us up for a short ride back to where we started and we got rid of our harnesses and helmets. The whole adventure was wonderful!
We stopped in Paia for lunch, stopped at a couple more stores, finally found dill weed and came home. We had time for a drink on the patio before Skip & Terry left for the airport to pick up their friend Larry who lives on the Big Island. Terry, Skip & Larry were teenage friends so they had a lot of fun reminiscing - which requires quite a bit of alcohol to keep the throats lubricated! We had a late dinner and the guys finally called it quits at 1:30
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Jan 4th to 6th - Desert Hot Springs
Jan 4th – Wed
This was the quietest day that we have had for a long time. I called to wish sister Marg a Happy Birthday and chatted for quite a while. Terry nearly wore out the mouse playing games on the computer. After lunch we went shopping for a few groceries and I am still looking for some blouses - no luck. One more birthday call, this time to Ernie.
We sat outside watching TV & reading until it got too dark for reading for me and then too cool for Terry. Dinner & more TV & reading took up the rest of the evening.
Jan 5th – Thurs
I wanted to go to the outlet stores down Hwy 10 a ways so I suggested that I drop Terry off at the nearby casino and shop by myself. All I did was get totally discouraged by the lack of anything that I wanted and the fact that anything I liked did not fit. Time for a diet!!??
I went back to the casino, found Terry and we proceeded to lose our allowances. We stopped for a hamburger for a late lunch. When we got back, we saw that Larry & Barb were just parking so we gave them some time to set up and went over to say hi. They were going to Russ & Judy’s so we didn’t stay long.
At 4:30 I went to the laundry room and asked Terry to start dinner at 5:30 by turning the heat on under a pan of chicken thighs & Yoshida sauce. I said he had to watch it and turn it way down once it boiled. When I got back, I could smell the burned odor as soon as I got out of the truck. The chicken was fine but the stove was a burned, sticky mess. The extra bad news was I finally really cleaned the stove top about 2 weeks ago!
Jan 6th – Fri
Terry’s scramble tee time was 8:18 so he left about 7:45. I got to stay in bed for a while as my tee time was 9:38. Luckily I went up about ½ hour early as my group was second up on the 1st tee. The tee times at the end of the scramble overlapped some other times and we were encouraged to play as quickly as possible without affecting our games. A sunny day and great golfing partners made for a wonderful game even though we ended up 2 over. Lunch at 12:30 was a good hamburger & all the trimmings.
We were driving out when we saw Larry & Barb were home so we stopped to tell them that we made a tee time for tomorrow. We visited a bit and ended up inviting them over for drinks & dinner. We made a quick trip for groceries and I put a pork loin in the crock pot. Cliff & Pauline had just set up across the wash so we had to go say hi and have a beer with them and Terry & Eileen.
After dinner, we all went to the hall for a “Show & Dance”. A trio played mostly horns and presented a “musical revue of songs that shaped our lives” for the first hour and then some dance music for 40 minutes after a break. The dance music was OK but not exactly our cup of tea.
This was the quietest day that we have had for a long time. I called to wish sister Marg a Happy Birthday and chatted for quite a while. Terry nearly wore out the mouse playing games on the computer. After lunch we went shopping for a few groceries and I am still looking for some blouses - no luck. One more birthday call, this time to Ernie.
We sat outside watching TV & reading until it got too dark for reading for me and then too cool for Terry. Dinner & more TV & reading took up the rest of the evening.
Jan 5th – Thurs
I wanted to go to the outlet stores down Hwy 10 a ways so I suggested that I drop Terry off at the nearby casino and shop by myself. All I did was get totally discouraged by the lack of anything that I wanted and the fact that anything I liked did not fit. Time for a diet!!??
I went back to the casino, found Terry and we proceeded to lose our allowances. We stopped for a hamburger for a late lunch. When we got back, we saw that Larry & Barb were just parking so we gave them some time to set up and went over to say hi. They were going to Russ & Judy’s so we didn’t stay long.
At 4:30 I went to the laundry room and asked Terry to start dinner at 5:30 by turning the heat on under a pan of chicken thighs & Yoshida sauce. I said he had to watch it and turn it way down once it boiled. When I got back, I could smell the burned odor as soon as I got out of the truck. The chicken was fine but the stove was a burned, sticky mess. The extra bad news was I finally really cleaned the stove top about 2 weeks ago!
Jan 6th – Fri
Terry’s scramble tee time was 8:18 so he left about 7:45. I got to stay in bed for a while as my tee time was 9:38. Luckily I went up about ½ hour early as my group was second up on the 1st tee. The tee times at the end of the scramble overlapped some other times and we were encouraged to play as quickly as possible without affecting our games. A sunny day and great golfing partners made for a wonderful game even though we ended up 2 over. Lunch at 12:30 was a good hamburger & all the trimmings.
We were driving out when we saw Larry & Barb were home so we stopped to tell them that we made a tee time for tomorrow. We visited a bit and ended up inviting them over for drinks & dinner. We made a quick trip for groceries and I put a pork loin in the crock pot. Cliff & Pauline had just set up across the wash so we had to go say hi and have a beer with them and Terry & Eileen.
After dinner, we all went to the hall for a “Show & Dance”. A trio played mostly horns and presented a “musical revue of songs that shaped our lives” for the first hour and then some dance music for 40 minutes after a break. The dance music was OK but not exactly our cup of tea.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Dec 31st to Jan 3rd - Mesa to Desert Hot Springs CA
Dec 31st – Sat
We left at 11:40 to go to Filly’s as the band North Star is playing from 1 to 5. We wanted to get a table for a group but ended up with only 8 seats as there were a lot of people there already. We could have grabbed a table on the upper level but we wanted to be closer to the dance floor & band. Ernie & Dianne, Larry & Julie and Neal & Judy joined us. I think about 80% of the people there were from our park as the band leader Steve Stairs lives in the park and we were all there to support him.
We left at 3 and stopped at a couple of stores looking for steaks for dinner tomorrow. We had leftovers for dinner and at 8:30 went to Fiesta community center for a New Year’s Eve gathering. When we got there, a few tables of people were playing cards and some musicians were just setting up so we decided to go to a casino instead. It took us until midnight to finally lose our allowances. We saw quite a few fireworks on the drive home.
Jan 1st – Sun
We didn’t have much to do to get ready to leave so we finished up and then went for a walk to say goodbye to a few people that we didn’t see yesterday. After we pulled in the slides we checked tire pressure and had to get out the pump to top up the 5th wheel tires. We told everyone that we would leave at 10 and we pulled out at 9:59.
Traffic was light so the drive was easy. We stopped for diesel at a truck stop just before Quartzsite and paid less than our last fill in Mesa - $3.76. When we got to Clem & Marlene’s, they were working on a bathroom remodel in their garage and were happy to drop what they were doing to get us parked. We sat the rest of the afternoon to catch up on everything and then I made a nice steak dinner but used their BBQ, dishes and – best of all – dishwasher!
Jan 2nd – Mon
Marlene made a very good breakfast. We watched the Rose Bowl parade during and after breakfast until it ended at 11. We stopped at Spotlight 29 casino on the way to our RV park where Terry lost his allowance and I came out $10 ahead.
There were 2 rigs in line to check in but it didn’t take long to get our paperwork done. The “parkers” were all busy and since we had been here before we were told to go ahead and park ourselves which we prefer. The sites here are narrow but we could park a long ways back and put the electric post between 2 slides which leaves us lots of room to park the truck and enough space for chairs in front of the outside TV.
After setting up we took a walk to see who was here. We ended up having a drink with Terry & Eileen. We didn’t have lunch so I was starting an early dinner when Gilbert & Grace came over. When they visited us in Mesa they said they would make us dinner when we arrived but they weren’t home the couple of times we walked past their place. They told us to come over in ½ hour so we used the time to get the local channels changed on our satellite.
We had a nice dinner and then taught Gilbert & Grace to play Ponytail Canasta. Unfortunately for Grace & I, the guys were lucky with cards and won every hand.
Jan 3rd – Tues
Terry borrowed a rake from Gilbert to smooth out the rocks before putting down our mat. He put out chairs, etc and then we washed the outside of the windows. We back up to a wash so our rear blind will be open most of the time which requires a clean window. A neighbor across the road – Alice - dropped by to introduce herself.
After breakfast we went to sign up for the golf scramble on Friday and buy a punch card for golfing. We made a tee time for 1 and stopped to see Leon & Marilyn who bought a park model last March. We had a beer with them and then hurried back to get our clubs.
The golf course is in mediocre shape but the weather was wonderful so it was nice to play. Once again we didn’t have lunch so we sat outside watching TV and I made a salad to tide us over until dinner. We asked some neighbors over but it didn’t work for them so they will come over tomorrow.
We left at 11:40 to go to Filly’s as the band North Star is playing from 1 to 5. We wanted to get a table for a group but ended up with only 8 seats as there were a lot of people there already. We could have grabbed a table on the upper level but we wanted to be closer to the dance floor & band. Ernie & Dianne, Larry & Julie and Neal & Judy joined us. I think about 80% of the people there were from our park as the band leader Steve Stairs lives in the park and we were all there to support him.
We left at 3 and stopped at a couple of stores looking for steaks for dinner tomorrow. We had leftovers for dinner and at 8:30 went to Fiesta community center for a New Year’s Eve gathering. When we got there, a few tables of people were playing cards and some musicians were just setting up so we decided to go to a casino instead. It took us until midnight to finally lose our allowances. We saw quite a few fireworks on the drive home.
Jan 1st – Sun
We didn’t have much to do to get ready to leave so we finished up and then went for a walk to say goodbye to a few people that we didn’t see yesterday. After we pulled in the slides we checked tire pressure and had to get out the pump to top up the 5th wheel tires. We told everyone that we would leave at 10 and we pulled out at 9:59.
Traffic was light so the drive was easy. We stopped for diesel at a truck stop just before Quartzsite and paid less than our last fill in Mesa - $3.76. When we got to Clem & Marlene’s, they were working on a bathroom remodel in their garage and were happy to drop what they were doing to get us parked. We sat the rest of the afternoon to catch up on everything and then I made a nice steak dinner but used their BBQ, dishes and – best of all – dishwasher!
Jan 2nd – Mon
Marlene made a very good breakfast. We watched the Rose Bowl parade during and after breakfast until it ended at 11. We stopped at Spotlight 29 casino on the way to our RV park where Terry lost his allowance and I came out $10 ahead.
There were 2 rigs in line to check in but it didn’t take long to get our paperwork done. The “parkers” were all busy and since we had been here before we were told to go ahead and park ourselves which we prefer. The sites here are narrow but we could park a long ways back and put the electric post between 2 slides which leaves us lots of room to park the truck and enough space for chairs in front of the outside TV.
After setting up we took a walk to see who was here. We ended up having a drink with Terry & Eileen. We didn’t have lunch so I was starting an early dinner when Gilbert & Grace came over. When they visited us in Mesa they said they would make us dinner when we arrived but they weren’t home the couple of times we walked past their place. They told us to come over in ½ hour so we used the time to get the local channels changed on our satellite.
We had a nice dinner and then taught Gilbert & Grace to play Ponytail Canasta. Unfortunately for Grace & I, the guys were lucky with cards and won every hand.
Jan 3rd – Tues
Terry borrowed a rake from Gilbert to smooth out the rocks before putting down our mat. He put out chairs, etc and then we washed the outside of the windows. We back up to a wash so our rear blind will be open most of the time which requires a clean window. A neighbor across the road – Alice - dropped by to introduce herself.
After breakfast we went to sign up for the golf scramble on Friday and buy a punch card for golfing. We made a tee time for 1 and stopped to see Leon & Marilyn who bought a park model last March. We had a beer with them and then hurried back to get our clubs.
The golf course is in mediocre shape but the weather was wonderful so it was nice to play. Once again we didn’t have lunch so we sat outside watching TV and I made a salad to tide us over until dinner. We asked some neighbors over but it didn’t work for them so they will come over tomorrow.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Dec 29th to 30th - Mesa
Dec 29th – Thurs
We started the day with a visit to the laundry room. While the clothes were washing, we walked around to see some people. When everything was put away it was time to go to the courtyard again for an early lunch. The grill has a fairly large menu, a daily special and pretty good food. Their chicken strips, hamburgers, fries & onion rings are very good. Today we were joined by Dennis & Gloria.
We went to WalMart looking for socks for me but their display is more than half empty. They won’t be restocking until after inventory so I will have to look later. Shortly after we got back we went to the courtyard to get a table to listen to music. A popular group was playing at 3 and even at 2:20 there were a lot of people there. We were joined by Duane & Sue, Bob & Maria, Erika and Ron & Terri who just got back today.
Duane, Sue & Terry came up with a plan to have dinner at Duane & Sue’s. They provided steak, baked potatoes & veggies and we brought a salad, wine and Texas toast. We played a game of Canasta which the guys won with a lot of luck getting the right cards!
Dec 30th – Fri
It was another beautiful morning to play bocce ball. There were 32 people which meant 8 players on a couple of courts since there are only 6 courts. I made breakfast for lunch when we got back. Terry was packing stuff up outside and I finally did some cleaning.
We returned chairs that we borrowed from Julie the whole time we were here and went to get propane. Then it was lazy time until we joined Ron & Terri for a drink in the last of the sunshine of the day. We picked up them and Dennis & Gloria to go the Eastern Super Buffet for dinner which was delicious as usual.
We are leaving tomorrow morning for Desert Hot Springs and staying with Clem & Marlene in Quartzsite for one night on the way which is why I am posting just 2 days on the blog. HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone – my next post will be in 2012.
We started the day with a visit to the laundry room. While the clothes were washing, we walked around to see some people. When everything was put away it was time to go to the courtyard again for an early lunch. The grill has a fairly large menu, a daily special and pretty good food. Their chicken strips, hamburgers, fries & onion rings are very good. Today we were joined by Dennis & Gloria.
We went to WalMart looking for socks for me but their display is more than half empty. They won’t be restocking until after inventory so I will have to look later. Shortly after we got back we went to the courtyard to get a table to listen to music. A popular group was playing at 3 and even at 2:20 there were a lot of people there. We were joined by Duane & Sue, Bob & Maria, Erika and Ron & Terri who just got back today.
Duane, Sue & Terry came up with a plan to have dinner at Duane & Sue’s. They provided steak, baked potatoes & veggies and we brought a salad, wine and Texas toast. We played a game of Canasta which the guys won with a lot of luck getting the right cards!
Dec 30th – Fri
It was another beautiful morning to play bocce ball. There were 32 people which meant 8 players on a couple of courts since there are only 6 courts. I made breakfast for lunch when we got back. Terry was packing stuff up outside and I finally did some cleaning.
We returned chairs that we borrowed from Julie the whole time we were here and went to get propane. Then it was lazy time until we joined Ron & Terri for a drink in the last of the sunshine of the day. We picked up them and Dennis & Gloria to go the Eastern Super Buffet for dinner which was delicious as usual.
We are leaving tomorrow morning for Desert Hot Springs and staying with Clem & Marlene in Quartzsite for one night on the way which is why I am posting just 2 days on the blog. HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone – my next post will be in 2012.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Dec 26th to 28th - Mesa
Dec 26th – Mon
We skipped bocce ball again and rode our bikes around to do some errands in the park before going shopping. Yes, the day after Christmas is a dumb day to go shopping!! We went to Total Wine to stock up on inexpensive booze as it costs more in California. We made a stop at Costco for coffee and grabbed a hot dog for lunch. Then it was on to the mall and JC Penneys where I spent a lot of time finding a light jacket and a couple of shirts.
At 4 we went to a pot luck organized by Glo and held in a room in the clubhouse. There were about 20 people and we played games before & after eating. The gathering broke up before 7 so Dennis & Gloria came over for a game of Canasta which the guys won.
Dec 27th – Tues
The weather is beautiful right now which is fortunate as we set up an outside party for tonight. I made some more candy coated pretzels and our neighbors Jerry & Erika helped us set up some chairs & tables. Then Sue, Erika & I decided to go shopping as Sue had missed out on the “spend $25, get $10 off” at Penneys. Sue & Erika both bought items at Penneys but I didn’t find anything else. At Stein Mart I got some shoes and Erika got a great little jacket & jeans. It was a lot of fun.
When Terry first invited people for our party, he said 5:00 but we changed it to 6:00. Unfortunately, we didn’t know where one couple live to tell them the change so Mel & Wanda showed up at 5 – no big deal as others showed up before 6.
We set out 5 buddy burners which were ignored for a while as everyone stood around in groups chatting and then eating all the snacks that everyone brought. Duane started playing his guitar & singing and Henry showed up a bit later to join him. We actually let them take a break and enjoy the mulled wine that Jerry brought out again. Ernie & Dianne came late and added another guitar to the group. By now it was getting fairly cold so the last partyers helped us clean up a bit and left about 10:30.
We counted 45 people including us so it was fairly loud group. We warned the manager beforehand that we were having a party with buddy burners in case someone reported a fire again. All our immediate neighbors attended or were invited so we didn’t worry about the noise.
Dec 28th – Wed
We played bocce ball this morning and it was so warm that I wished I had worn short sleeves instead of a light sweatshirt. We played with Dennis & Gloria and had 2 close games with each team (Terry & Gloria, Dennis & I) winning one game. We stopped at the courtyard on the way back for lunch at the grill and were joined by Ron & Rea.
As we were riding our bikes back, we saw a special “motorcycle” (Stallion) that Terry loves so he flagged down the driver when he came back and we chatted with him for a while. We were at Duane & Sue’s at the time and Ernie & Dianne stopped to see the bike also so we had a little visit with them.
We packed up our minimal Christmas decorations and Terry returned chairs, etc and organized the storage areas while I read for a while. I printed out a coupon for Kohl’s and was still looking for underwear so we went to a different store. In the time it took me to sort through the racks of underwear to find the right style & size, Terry picked up 4 shirts. We were surprised to see an additional 15% senior discount added to the coupon 15%. Then I had a $10 certificate from a previous purchase so the trip was worthwhile.
We went to a Watering Hole (dance) from 4 to 6 and then took it easy for the rest of the evening.
We skipped bocce ball again and rode our bikes around to do some errands in the park before going shopping. Yes, the day after Christmas is a dumb day to go shopping!! We went to Total Wine to stock up on inexpensive booze as it costs more in California. We made a stop at Costco for coffee and grabbed a hot dog for lunch. Then it was on to the mall and JC Penneys where I spent a lot of time finding a light jacket and a couple of shirts.
At 4 we went to a pot luck organized by Glo and held in a room in the clubhouse. There were about 20 people and we played games before & after eating. The gathering broke up before 7 so Dennis & Gloria came over for a game of Canasta which the guys won.
Dec 27th – Tues
The weather is beautiful right now which is fortunate as we set up an outside party for tonight. I made some more candy coated pretzels and our neighbors Jerry & Erika helped us set up some chairs & tables. Then Sue, Erika & I decided to go shopping as Sue had missed out on the “spend $25, get $10 off” at Penneys. Sue & Erika both bought items at Penneys but I didn’t find anything else. At Stein Mart I got some shoes and Erika got a great little jacket & jeans. It was a lot of fun.
When Terry first invited people for our party, he said 5:00 but we changed it to 6:00. Unfortunately, we didn’t know where one couple live to tell them the change so Mel & Wanda showed up at 5 – no big deal as others showed up before 6.
We set out 5 buddy burners which were ignored for a while as everyone stood around in groups chatting and then eating all the snacks that everyone brought. Duane started playing his guitar & singing and Henry showed up a bit later to join him. We actually let them take a break and enjoy the mulled wine that Jerry brought out again. Ernie & Dianne came late and added another guitar to the group. By now it was getting fairly cold so the last partyers helped us clean up a bit and left about 10:30.
We counted 45 people including us so it was fairly loud group. We warned the manager beforehand that we were having a party with buddy burners in case someone reported a fire again. All our immediate neighbors attended or were invited so we didn’t worry about the noise.
Dec 28th – Wed
We played bocce ball this morning and it was so warm that I wished I had worn short sleeves instead of a light sweatshirt. We played with Dennis & Gloria and had 2 close games with each team (Terry & Gloria, Dennis & I) winning one game. We stopped at the courtyard on the way back for lunch at the grill and were joined by Ron & Rea.
As we were riding our bikes back, we saw a special “motorcycle” (Stallion) that Terry loves so he flagged down the driver when he came back and we chatted with him for a while. We were at Duane & Sue’s at the time and Ernie & Dianne stopped to see the bike also so we had a little visit with them.
We packed up our minimal Christmas decorations and Terry returned chairs, etc and organized the storage areas while I read for a while. I printed out a coupon for Kohl’s and was still looking for underwear so we went to a different store. In the time it took me to sort through the racks of underwear to find the right style & size, Terry picked up 4 shirts. We were surprised to see an additional 15% senior discount added to the coupon 15%. Then I had a $10 certificate from a previous purchase so the trip was worthwhile.
We went to a Watering Hole (dance) from 4 to 6 and then took it easy for the rest of the evening.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Dec 23rd to 25th - Mesa
Dec 23rd – Fri
The sun was shining but there was a breeze which made it too cool for us wimps to play bocce ball this morning. After breakfast we made another trip for groceries and then I finished up my baking.
We went to listen to music in the courtyard but the singer cancelled as it could not be moved inside and it gets too cool by 5 when it finishes. After dinner we drove around and delivered plates of goodies to friends. We stopped for a while to visit with Phyllis and Terry fixed a light for her – turns out there were no bulbs in the fixture!!
At 9, Neal called to see if we were home and he & Robin came over. They had just finished playing poker and Neal won so he was wound up. We decided to play cards and we taught them the new form of Canasta that we have been playing. The guys didn’t do too well and we finally decided to quit the second game after 2 hands as the guys were finally ahead and we were all tired since it was close to midnight.
Dec 24th – Sat
Duane & Sue dropped in for a mid-morning chat. Shortly after they left, Dennis & Gloria took a break from a walk and stopped to see us.
Then we finally got moving and went shopping for groceries and to find a new pot for melting wax. After I dealt with the groceries, we took Erika for a walk to see the tortoises. It was too cool and they were both sleeping in one house. We continued walking and showed Erika some amenities in the park that she had missed on her many walks. Jerry was making lemon & orange juice so we all sat in the sun and had vodka & fresh OJ when we got back.
By now it was past time to join Duane & Sue for a drink. As soon as the sun disappeared we moved inside. Terry & Duane initiated our new wax pot and filled Duane’s new buddy burner. After Sue’s appetizers were gone, we decided to put together a shared dinner to continue a fun evening.
Dec 25th – MERRY CHRISTMAS
I had just finished showering about 9 when Duane knocked on the door to deliver some warm scones for our breakfast. Before I finished getting ready, the water in the park was shut off. We have a nearly full tank of fresh water so we turned on our water pump and carried on. We figured it might be a problem for people in park models who were making Christmas breakfasts & dinners.
Gloria called to ask us over for coffee so I cut short a phone call to Marg, finished mixing up cookies to put in the fridge and we joined Dennis & Gloria sitting in the sun in front of their place. The water in the park came back on when we were there having coffee.
When we got back, I baked & frosted the cookies and Terry continued his duel with games on the computer. I made mashed potatoes, put them in the crock pot and put together a big platter of goodies.
We went to Ernie & Dianne’s for dinner along with Dennis & Gloria, Garry & Steph, Dianne’s daughter Annette, her husband Mike and their kids Danni & Kayah. We ate dinner about 4 and it was nice enough to set the tables up in the carport. We all sat around and “digested” before having dessert. We got home just before 8 and Terry immediately got into bed to watch TV.
The sun was shining but there was a breeze which made it too cool for us wimps to play bocce ball this morning. After breakfast we made another trip for groceries and then I finished up my baking.
We went to listen to music in the courtyard but the singer cancelled as it could not be moved inside and it gets too cool by 5 when it finishes. After dinner we drove around and delivered plates of goodies to friends. We stopped for a while to visit with Phyllis and Terry fixed a light for her – turns out there were no bulbs in the fixture!!
At 9, Neal called to see if we were home and he & Robin came over. They had just finished playing poker and Neal won so he was wound up. We decided to play cards and we taught them the new form of Canasta that we have been playing. The guys didn’t do too well and we finally decided to quit the second game after 2 hands as the guys were finally ahead and we were all tired since it was close to midnight.
Dec 24th – Sat
Duane & Sue dropped in for a mid-morning chat. Shortly after they left, Dennis & Gloria took a break from a walk and stopped to see us.
Then we finally got moving and went shopping for groceries and to find a new pot for melting wax. After I dealt with the groceries, we took Erika for a walk to see the tortoises. It was too cool and they were both sleeping in one house. We continued walking and showed Erika some amenities in the park that she had missed on her many walks. Jerry was making lemon & orange juice so we all sat in the sun and had vodka & fresh OJ when we got back.
By now it was past time to join Duane & Sue for a drink. As soon as the sun disappeared we moved inside. Terry & Duane initiated our new wax pot and filled Duane’s new buddy burner. After Sue’s appetizers were gone, we decided to put together a shared dinner to continue a fun evening.
Dec 25th – MERRY CHRISTMAS
I had just finished showering about 9 when Duane knocked on the door to deliver some warm scones for our breakfast. Before I finished getting ready, the water in the park was shut off. We have a nearly full tank of fresh water so we turned on our water pump and carried on. We figured it might be a problem for people in park models who were making Christmas breakfasts & dinners.
Gloria called to ask us over for coffee so I cut short a phone call to Marg, finished mixing up cookies to put in the fridge and we joined Dennis & Gloria sitting in the sun in front of their place. The water in the park came back on when we were there having coffee.
When we got back, I baked & frosted the cookies and Terry continued his duel with games on the computer. I made mashed potatoes, put them in the crock pot and put together a big platter of goodies.
We went to Ernie & Dianne’s for dinner along with Dennis & Gloria, Garry & Steph, Dianne’s daughter Annette, her husband Mike and their kids Danni & Kayah. We ate dinner about 4 and it was nice enough to set the tables up in the carport. We all sat around and “digested” before having dessert. We got home just before 8 and Terry immediately got into bed to watch TV.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Dec 19th to 22nd - Mesa
Dec 19th – Mon
It was a little cool this morning but nicer at 10 to play bocce ball. I made breakfast for lunch and we were just finishing when Ernie & Dianne dropped by. After they left and I cleaned up the dishes, we went shopping as the cooler weather has made us realize we need more long pants. It took 3 stops to find jeans for both of us and a few groceries.
We were eating dinner at 5:30 when Dianne called to say their guests had moved to a condo and did we want to come over in an hour to play cards. Of course we did! We weren’t quite as late this time – we left at 12:30. The bad news is the guys won all 3 games!
Dec 20th – Tues
I got my hair cut at 9 and then we went to do laundry. I visited the library and worked on a puzzle while it was washing and Terry picked up our forwarded mail and got water. After putting everything away I thawed out the last of the pulled pork and made sandwiches for lunch.
We were to pick up Mike & Susie at the airport at 1:10 and they called at 12:50, just as we were leaving, to say that they were landing. We were just arriving at the airport when they called again to tell us which side of the terminal and we were able to circle to the north side and pick them right up.
Neal called as we were driving as asked if I could help Robin. She was in the park kitchen making cookies for an orphanage and people in the military. She didn’t want to ask for help so Neal took the initiative and I was happy to work with her for an hour and a half as she had to be out of the kitchen by 3. We worked non-stop and had it all cleaned up & loaded in her car just in time.
Gloria was having a drink with Terry when I got back. Dennis got a cold just as he was getting over 2 weeks of “intestinal distress” and Gloria had to get out of the house.
We got gussied up a bit and went to the ballroom for the park sponsored Christmas dinner. We had a nice prime rib dinner and then were entertained by “Mrs. Claus” which was fun.
Terry asked some people to come over afterwards so we got out the chairs & buddy burner. It was very pleasant to sit out with Duane & Henry on guitars providing the entertainment until 10:30. Luckily we have only one immediate neighbor who did not attend so we didn’t worry too much about noise.
Dec 21st – Wed
We played bocce ball at 10 and then went out for breakfast. We stopped for groceries on the way home so that I can do some Christmas baking.
First Dennis & Gloria then Mike & Susie and Duane & Sue stopped by to chat and it was nice enough to sit out in the sunshine. I did some baking, Terry printed personal cards for Ernie & Dianne and played computer games and we generally had a quiet late afternoon & evening.
Dec 22nd – Thurs
I continued with baking and Terry cussed out his favorite game on the computer as he couldn’t win today. I worked on our email Christmas card and finally got it sent to everyone.
Just before 3 we went to listen to music in the courtyard but were expecting it to be moved inside as it was fairly cool. A note on the door said it was outside so we came back to get warmer jackets and sat in the sun in the courtyard which was very pleasant. Our usual group was not there so we got to know Mel & Wanda and Iris & Chris a little better.
After dinner we went to Dennis & Gloria’s to play canasta with them and Duane & Sue. The women had all the luck and won 2 games. All of us except Duane have colds so when the cold meds wore off we all took turns coughing every time we laughed.
It was a little cool this morning but nicer at 10 to play bocce ball. I made breakfast for lunch and we were just finishing when Ernie & Dianne dropped by. After they left and I cleaned up the dishes, we went shopping as the cooler weather has made us realize we need more long pants. It took 3 stops to find jeans for both of us and a few groceries.
We were eating dinner at 5:30 when Dianne called to say their guests had moved to a condo and did we want to come over in an hour to play cards. Of course we did! We weren’t quite as late this time – we left at 12:30. The bad news is the guys won all 3 games!
Dec 20th – Tues
I got my hair cut at 9 and then we went to do laundry. I visited the library and worked on a puzzle while it was washing and Terry picked up our forwarded mail and got water. After putting everything away I thawed out the last of the pulled pork and made sandwiches for lunch.
We were to pick up Mike & Susie at the airport at 1:10 and they called at 12:50, just as we were leaving, to say that they were landing. We were just arriving at the airport when they called again to tell us which side of the terminal and we were able to circle to the north side and pick them right up.
Neal called as we were driving as asked if I could help Robin. She was in the park kitchen making cookies for an orphanage and people in the military. She didn’t want to ask for help so Neal took the initiative and I was happy to work with her for an hour and a half as she had to be out of the kitchen by 3. We worked non-stop and had it all cleaned up & loaded in her car just in time.
Gloria was having a drink with Terry when I got back. Dennis got a cold just as he was getting over 2 weeks of “intestinal distress” and Gloria had to get out of the house.
We got gussied up a bit and went to the ballroom for the park sponsored Christmas dinner. We had a nice prime rib dinner and then were entertained by “Mrs. Claus” which was fun.
Terry asked some people to come over afterwards so we got out the chairs & buddy burner. It was very pleasant to sit out with Duane & Henry on guitars providing the entertainment until 10:30. Luckily we have only one immediate neighbor who did not attend so we didn’t worry too much about noise.
Dec 21st – Wed
We played bocce ball at 10 and then went out for breakfast. We stopped for groceries on the way home so that I can do some Christmas baking.
First Dennis & Gloria then Mike & Susie and Duane & Sue stopped by to chat and it was nice enough to sit out in the sunshine. I did some baking, Terry printed personal cards for Ernie & Dianne and played computer games and we generally had a quiet late afternoon & evening.
Dec 22nd – Thurs
I continued with baking and Terry cussed out his favorite game on the computer as he couldn’t win today. I worked on our email Christmas card and finally got it sent to everyone.
Just before 3 we went to listen to music in the courtyard but were expecting it to be moved inside as it was fairly cool. A note on the door said it was outside so we came back to get warmer jackets and sat in the sun in the courtyard which was very pleasant. Our usual group was not there so we got to know Mel & Wanda and Iris & Chris a little better.
After dinner we went to Dennis & Gloria’s to play canasta with them and Duane & Sue. The women had all the luck and won 2 games. All of us except Duane have colds so when the cold meds wore off we all took turns coughing every time we laughed.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Dec 16th to 18th - Mesa
Dec 16th – Fri
Terry’s coughing didn’t totally disturb us until 6:30 so I gave him daytime cold capsules and we slept until 9. He went to a class on gambling tips and I updated the blog and started backing up pictures on the computer.
After a late breakfast, we rode to Dennis & Gloria’s to see their new name plaque in front of their park model and ended up chatting with them for a while. The weather was lovely so we rode around the park and stopped to talk with Duane, Sue & Bob.
Billy & Lauri saved seats for us at the “music in the courtyard moved into the ballroom” at 3 but there wasn’t a large crowd. After dinner, Dennis & Gloria and Dave & Glo came over to play Canasta. I hate to report that the guys won!
Dec 17th - Sat
Terry had another bad bout of coughing about 4 this morning and we finally got settled down with cold meds for him and Excedrin for my headache. This made us late getting up and going again but the calendar was pretty empty so that was no problem.
We went out for a late breakfast and stopped at a couple of swap meets on the way back as the weather was nice for wandering around. We went to some thrift stores and found bags to take our golf clubs on the plane when we go to Hawaii in January.
Clouds were moving in and the temperature was dropping by the time we got back so once more the awning was stored. Terry put steaks on the BBQ early so he could cook in the daylight and we were just finished eating when Duane & Sue stopped in to chat.
We went to a dance here at the park from 7 to 10. I was still coughing and congested so I encouraged Terry to dance with other women sometimes.
Dec 18th – Sun
I don’t know how Terry times his coughing until the morning hours – cold meds again at 6:30 and then a bit more sleep. After a while I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
The weather returned to cloudy & cool – rain overnight – so we had to make a trip to a casino. We played steadily for several hours before finally giving up our allowances and heading home. We picked up Duane & Sue and introduced them to Fat Willy’s for wings. TV & phone calls wrapped up the evening.
Terry’s coughing didn’t totally disturb us until 6:30 so I gave him daytime cold capsules and we slept until 9. He went to a class on gambling tips and I updated the blog and started backing up pictures on the computer.
After a late breakfast, we rode to Dennis & Gloria’s to see their new name plaque in front of their park model and ended up chatting with them for a while. The weather was lovely so we rode around the park and stopped to talk with Duane, Sue & Bob.
Billy & Lauri saved seats for us at the “music in the courtyard moved into the ballroom” at 3 but there wasn’t a large crowd. After dinner, Dennis & Gloria and Dave & Glo came over to play Canasta. I hate to report that the guys won!
Dec 17th - Sat
Terry had another bad bout of coughing about 4 this morning and we finally got settled down with cold meds for him and Excedrin for my headache. This made us late getting up and going again but the calendar was pretty empty so that was no problem.
We went out for a late breakfast and stopped at a couple of swap meets on the way back as the weather was nice for wandering around. We went to some thrift stores and found bags to take our golf clubs on the plane when we go to Hawaii in January.
Clouds were moving in and the temperature was dropping by the time we got back so once more the awning was stored. Terry put steaks on the BBQ early so he could cook in the daylight and we were just finished eating when Duane & Sue stopped in to chat.
We went to a dance here at the park from 7 to 10. I was still coughing and congested so I encouraged Terry to dance with other women sometimes.
Dec 18th – Sun
I don’t know how Terry times his coughing until the morning hours – cold meds again at 6:30 and then a bit more sleep. After a while I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
The weather returned to cloudy & cool – rain overnight – so we had to make a trip to a casino. We played steadily for several hours before finally giving up our allowances and heading home. We picked up Duane & Sue and introduced them to Fat Willy’s for wings. TV & phone calls wrapped up the evening.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Dec 13th to 15th - Mesa
Dec 13th – Tues
It is rainy again this morning. After breakfast we went to see how Dennis & Gloria are doing as Dennis has been sick for a couple of weeks. He is feeling better but still not 100% so he went to a doctor who recommended more tests (of course!) and gave him a stronger anti-diarrhea medication. Then we walked to Dan & Carol’s to deliver show tickets. We would normally ride our bikes but the seats are very wet as the rain started earlier than expected yesterday and I didn’t get the plastic bags on the seats.
We met Carol’s mother and visited with her & Carol. Dan arrived home, took his mother-in-law to the hairdresser and came back to chat with us. We were going to leave but it had started to rain again so we waited until Dan had to pick up his mother-in-law and he dropped us at home.
We hurried through the rain to listen to music in the ballroom at 3. At 5:15 Ernie & Dianne picked us up again for another trip to the Arizona Opry. The show tonight was Traditional Christmas and dinner was chicken. We had excellent seats and enjoyed the music performed by the multi-talented cast.
Dec 14th – Wed
I had a sore throat yesterday evening and it looks as if it’s the start of a cold. We had a lazy morning and I worked on the pictures on the computer after resting on the recliner and then the couch.
I took some cold capsules in time to feel human for a dance from 4 to 6 as we had already purchased tickets. Then Phyllis took us and Larry & Julie to dinner at the Duchess, a nearby bar/restaurant. Our neighbors last year walked there for dinner so they didn’t have to drive home after a couple of drinks. The food was ample and good.
Dec 15th – Thurs
Terry had coughing fits last night so it was another lazy morning and then a trip to get cold medication, a few groceries and DVDs to back up the pictures. When we got back, our neighbors Gerry & Erika were sitting out in the sun in an area protected from the slight breeze. We joined them and then Dennis & Gloria came over with drinks in hand. Duane & Sue walked by so we added them to the gathering.
At 4:30 or so we went with Duane & Sue to the Casino Arizona for another show. We went early enough to have a roast beef sub that is available most days in the entry area of the casino. It is a good deal for $5 for the sandwich, chips & au jus. We gambled a bit before lining up for show seating. The show this time was the Christmas edition with impersonators doing a good job of Elvis, Dean Martin, Shania Twain, Natalie Cole and The Four Tops.
When we were waiting for the show, we saw Neil & Robin who had just flown back from attending Neil’s father’s funeral in Omaha. Robin was on a winning streak and even after the show she was going strong. I lost my allowance and hung around with Robin before finding Terry and heading home.
It is rainy again this morning. After breakfast we went to see how Dennis & Gloria are doing as Dennis has been sick for a couple of weeks. He is feeling better but still not 100% so he went to a doctor who recommended more tests (of course!) and gave him a stronger anti-diarrhea medication. Then we walked to Dan & Carol’s to deliver show tickets. We would normally ride our bikes but the seats are very wet as the rain started earlier than expected yesterday and I didn’t get the plastic bags on the seats.
We met Carol’s mother and visited with her & Carol. Dan arrived home, took his mother-in-law to the hairdresser and came back to chat with us. We were going to leave but it had started to rain again so we waited until Dan had to pick up his mother-in-law and he dropped us at home.
We hurried through the rain to listen to music in the ballroom at 3. At 5:15 Ernie & Dianne picked us up again for another trip to the Arizona Opry. The show tonight was Traditional Christmas and dinner was chicken. We had excellent seats and enjoyed the music performed by the multi-talented cast.
Dec 14th – Wed
I had a sore throat yesterday evening and it looks as if it’s the start of a cold. We had a lazy morning and I worked on the pictures on the computer after resting on the recliner and then the couch.
I took some cold capsules in time to feel human for a dance from 4 to 6 as we had already purchased tickets. Then Phyllis took us and Larry & Julie to dinner at the Duchess, a nearby bar/restaurant. Our neighbors last year walked there for dinner so they didn’t have to drive home after a couple of drinks. The food was ample and good.
Dec 15th – Thurs
Terry had coughing fits last night so it was another lazy morning and then a trip to get cold medication, a few groceries and DVDs to back up the pictures. When we got back, our neighbors Gerry & Erika were sitting out in the sun in an area protected from the slight breeze. We joined them and then Dennis & Gloria came over with drinks in hand. Duane & Sue walked by so we added them to the gathering.
At 4:30 or so we went with Duane & Sue to the Casino Arizona for another show. We went early enough to have a roast beef sub that is available most days in the entry area of the casino. It is a good deal for $5 for the sandwich, chips & au jus. We gambled a bit before lining up for show seating. The show this time was the Christmas edition with impersonators doing a good job of Elvis, Dean Martin, Shania Twain, Natalie Cole and The Four Tops.
When we were waiting for the show, we saw Neil & Robin who had just flown back from attending Neil’s father’s funeral in Omaha. Robin was on a winning streak and even after the show she was going strong. I lost my allowance and hung around with Robin before finding Terry and heading home.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Dec 10th to 12th - Mesa
Dec 10th - Sat
We did laundry this morning and worked on a puzzle while it was in the washers. Terry decided we should look for another Kohl’s as the one I went to had only 3 pairs of undies that I finally decided would be OK. We stopped for a burger for lunch on the way to the store. At the store, luckily we saw the line up for the cash registers before we did any shopping and we walked right back out. A Saturday a couple of weeks before Christmas is not the time to shop!
We visited with Dave & Glo, Billy & Lauri and Sue before Ernie & Dianne picked us up at 5:15 to go to the Arizona Opry which is quite a ways out in Apache Junction.
Barleen’s Arizona Opry is a well known dinner & a show attraction in this area. Dianne made reservations in the spring so we had excellent seats right up front. The entire staff – including entertainers – serves dinner to up to 508 guests in 35 minutes. Dinner is roast beef on even days and chicken on odd days. Our roast beef was superb and the Country Jamboree show was even better. Some of the musicians are members of the Barleen family and all are very versatile on instruments and singing. An intermission allows people to visit the gift shop and get root beer floats if you have any room left after dinner. We were home about 10:30.
Dec 11th – Sun
The day dawned clear & sunny which was perfect for Neal & Judi’s brunch at 11 this morning. They also invited Larry & Julie, Billy & Lauri, Ed & Millie and new acquaintances Rob & Terri.
Judi is a very good cook and loves to decorate so the tables were as beautiful as the food was good. Bloody Marys and champagne – mimosas if desired – started and ended the gathering. We actually moved into the shade after eating as it was too warm in the sun.
It was after 3 when we left which was time for a nap before TV, dinner and a long phone call to sister Marg.
Dec 12th – Mon
We woke early to rain so Terry went out and put the chairs further under the awning. A bit later, the awning was rattling in the wind so Terry pulled the awning most of the way in. When we got up the awning came all the way in and the chairs went under the 5th wheel.
We went to the Casino Arizona to get 12 tickets for a show on Thursday. Again we stayed to gamble a bit and Terry won enough to put our original allowance back in his pocket and to keep him going for a while. We stopped for a late breakfast on the way home and shopped at a couple of stores.
Back at the park, we hunkered down with computer games, cookie baking and reading to pass the wet afternoon. At 4:30ish we went to Ernie & Dianne’s for dinner. She bought a crock pot and made my roast beef with gravy recipe. Their son-in-law and granddaughter (Mike & Kaya) are visiting. Also there were Garry & Steph and Dave & Sandi so it was quite a houseful.
After a good dinner and visiting, we dodged the raindrops & puddles walking back and went to bed to watch TV rather than turning on the furnace and staying up.
We did laundry this morning and worked on a puzzle while it was in the washers. Terry decided we should look for another Kohl’s as the one I went to had only 3 pairs of undies that I finally decided would be OK. We stopped for a burger for lunch on the way to the store. At the store, luckily we saw the line up for the cash registers before we did any shopping and we walked right back out. A Saturday a couple of weeks before Christmas is not the time to shop!
We visited with Dave & Glo, Billy & Lauri and Sue before Ernie & Dianne picked us up at 5:15 to go to the Arizona Opry which is quite a ways out in Apache Junction.
Barleen’s Arizona Opry is a well known dinner & a show attraction in this area. Dianne made reservations in the spring so we had excellent seats right up front. The entire staff – including entertainers – serves dinner to up to 508 guests in 35 minutes. Dinner is roast beef on even days and chicken on odd days. Our roast beef was superb and the Country Jamboree show was even better. Some of the musicians are members of the Barleen family and all are very versatile on instruments and singing. An intermission allows people to visit the gift shop and get root beer floats if you have any room left after dinner. We were home about 10:30.
Dec 11th – Sun
The day dawned clear & sunny which was perfect for Neal & Judi’s brunch at 11 this morning. They also invited Larry & Julie, Billy & Lauri, Ed & Millie and new acquaintances Rob & Terri.
Judi is a very good cook and loves to decorate so the tables were as beautiful as the food was good. Bloody Marys and champagne – mimosas if desired – started and ended the gathering. We actually moved into the shade after eating as it was too warm in the sun.
It was after 3 when we left which was time for a nap before TV, dinner and a long phone call to sister Marg.
Dec 12th – Mon
We woke early to rain so Terry went out and put the chairs further under the awning. A bit later, the awning was rattling in the wind so Terry pulled the awning most of the way in. When we got up the awning came all the way in and the chairs went under the 5th wheel.
We went to the Casino Arizona to get 12 tickets for a show on Thursday. Again we stayed to gamble a bit and Terry won enough to put our original allowance back in his pocket and to keep him going for a while. We stopped for a late breakfast on the way home and shopped at a couple of stores.
Back at the park, we hunkered down with computer games, cookie baking and reading to pass the wet afternoon. At 4:30ish we went to Ernie & Dianne’s for dinner. She bought a crock pot and made my roast beef with gravy recipe. Their son-in-law and granddaughter (Mike & Kaya) are visiting. Also there were Garry & Steph and Dave & Sandi so it was quite a houseful.
After a good dinner and visiting, we dodged the raindrops & puddles walking back and went to bed to watch TV rather than turning on the furnace and staying up.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Dec 7th to 9th - Mesa
Dec 7th – Wed
It was cold this morning but was nice and warm in the sunny end of the courts when we played bocce ball at 10. We forgot that we were supposed to go to another park with Ernie & Dianne but they had to wait for a carpenter so it all worked out OK. We went to a Country Store at nearby Good Life RV park. It is also a Cal-Am park but they have a much larger ballroom that is filled with vendors and a few overflow into another activities room. We saw our neighbor Judy from when we stayed there for a week about 3 years ago.
We all went for a nice lunch at Red Mountain Café and returned to the park so Ernie could oversee the work being done for them. We made a trip for a few groceries, sat around watching TV for a while and decided the empty afternoon called for a casino trip.
Our money lasted until 7:30 at the Lone Butte casino. I had enough leftovers from dinner last night to make a very easy dinner for us.
Dec 8th – Thurs
We attended the coffee & doughnuts meeting in the ballroom this morning. The Camping World representative sponsored the session and he always brings items to raffle. Our lack of luck held out and we didn’t win anything!
We did some bike riding and visiting, had lunch and then went to find a Stein Mart store. The first one that I found online was closed and we didn’t find the second as I was so sure the first one was there that I didn’t write down the exact address.
We went to another music- in-the-courtyard that was moved to the ballroom. The singer was Curtis who lives in this park and is a great performer. There was a large crowd and the floor was filled three times with line dancers.
I had a huge pork roast in the crock pot to make pulled pork. It is a new recipe and turned out great.
Dec 9th – Fri
It was cold last night with frost on our table this morning. We played bocce ball again this morning and loved the sunshine and total lack of wind. Terry’s court was the last to finish so it was nearly lunch time by the time we got back.
After a pulled pork sandwich, we went to Costco to pick up my contacts and a couple of other items. Dennis & Gloria came over to visit and then we all went to Duane & Sue’s to have appies & drinks before the Christmas parade. The parade went right by Duane & Sue’s site at 4:30 and then we picked up our chairs and moved to Ernie & Dianne’s site to watch the parade again as it came by the clubhouse. We stayed there until about 6.
We invited Duane & Sue and Bob & Maria over for dinner. I made chimichangas with the pulled pork and we topped them with Salsa Salad – yum!
It was cold this morning but was nice and warm in the sunny end of the courts when we played bocce ball at 10. We forgot that we were supposed to go to another park with Ernie & Dianne but they had to wait for a carpenter so it all worked out OK. We went to a Country Store at nearby Good Life RV park. It is also a Cal-Am park but they have a much larger ballroom that is filled with vendors and a few overflow into another activities room. We saw our neighbor Judy from when we stayed there for a week about 3 years ago.
We all went for a nice lunch at Red Mountain Café and returned to the park so Ernie could oversee the work being done for them. We made a trip for a few groceries, sat around watching TV for a while and decided the empty afternoon called for a casino trip.
Our money lasted until 7:30 at the Lone Butte casino. I had enough leftovers from dinner last night to make a very easy dinner for us.
Dec 8th – Thurs
We attended the coffee & doughnuts meeting in the ballroom this morning. The Camping World representative sponsored the session and he always brings items to raffle. Our lack of luck held out and we didn’t win anything!
We did some bike riding and visiting, had lunch and then went to find a Stein Mart store. The first one that I found online was closed and we didn’t find the second as I was so sure the first one was there that I didn’t write down the exact address.
We went to another music- in-the-courtyard that was moved to the ballroom. The singer was Curtis who lives in this park and is a great performer. There was a large crowd and the floor was filled three times with line dancers.
I had a huge pork roast in the crock pot to make pulled pork. It is a new recipe and turned out great.
Dec 9th – Fri
It was cold last night with frost on our table this morning. We played bocce ball again this morning and loved the sunshine and total lack of wind. Terry’s court was the last to finish so it was nearly lunch time by the time we got back.
After a pulled pork sandwich, we went to Costco to pick up my contacts and a couple of other items. Dennis & Gloria came over to visit and then we all went to Duane & Sue’s to have appies & drinks before the Christmas parade. The parade went right by Duane & Sue’s site at 4:30 and then we picked up our chairs and moved to Ernie & Dianne’s site to watch the parade again as it came by the clubhouse. We stayed there until about 6.
We invited Duane & Sue and Bob & Maria over for dinner. I made chimichangas with the pulled pork and we topped them with Salsa Salad – yum!
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Dec 4th to 6th - Mesa
Dec 4th – Sun
We and Ernie & Dianne tried a different restaurant (Hackers) for breakfast. It is in Apache Junction and we had to wait to get in. It was good but other places are just as good with not such a long line to get in.
Neil asked Terry to come over and try some gold sluicing with Neil’s friend Steve. Then Terry joined them to go to a casino and I went shopping at Kohl’s. I got back about 4 with a few items and Terry returned just in time to grab a quick bite of leftovers before we went to play cards with Ernie & Dianne.
We learned a new variation of canasta (ponytail?) at Dave & Glo’s so we taught Ernie & Dianne.
The guys won the first game and the women won a hard fought second game so we started the tie-breaker game at 11:00. The women finally won the third game at 1:40. Our sites aren’t very far apart so we fell into bed at 1:45. Terry’s feet were like ice cubes which is very unusual so I made him put socks on so he could get to sleep!
Dec 5th – Mon
When Terry was on his way to the casino yesterday, he got a phone call from Judy Hunt who has a park model in the Sands RV in Desert Hot Springs. Her, her husband Russ and Gilbert & Grace were staying in a condo in Scottsdale and wanted to see us. Terry suggested dinner today but when I called this morning we all decided lunch would work better.
We made a trip to Casino Arizona to get tickets for a show and ended up losing some money on the slots. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back and I had just finished lunch prep when our visitors arrived. We had a great time catching up before lunch and then went on a tour of the park. We took them to Total Wines where everyone picked up a supply of alcohol. On the way back we stopped at a Big Lots so Grace could buy a narrow table like the one we have between our chairs. We transferred all their purchases to their car and they were on their way about 4:30.
Shortly after they left, Duane & Sue dropped by with drinks in hand. As they were leaving about 5:30, Sue said she had a pork roast in the oven and asked us to join them for dinner. We had a nice dinner, said to heck with line dancing and taught them how to play Wizard which Sue won.
Dec 6th – Tues
I made jelly biscuits for breakfast and then Dave brought over 2 freshly made empanadas which he said should be eaten while they were warm. Glo made the Spanish/Mexican treat and they were very good.
We rode our bikes to visit Larry & Julie and Billy & Lauri stopped in while we were there. We went to see Dennis & Gloria to see if they feeling better since they both had some intestinal distress going on for a few days. Gloria is OK but Dennis is waiting for a lot of cold sores to heal before going anywhere. We stopped at Ernie & Dianne’s to check out the progress of some work they were having done in their Arizona room.
We had a light lunch and relaxed before going to listen to music which again was moved from the courtyard to the ballroom due to continuing cool weather. The band (North Star) is popular so a lot of people attended and we danced a lot. I had a beef roast in the crockpot so we asked Ernie & Dianne and Phyllis to come for dinner with the condition that we were going to line dance lessons at 7. We finished eating and doing dishes in time for us and Ernie & Dianne to go line dancing. We stayed until 8:30 or so for additional instruction in a couples dance. Dave & Glo stopped by for a nightcap.
We and Ernie & Dianne tried a different restaurant (Hackers) for breakfast. It is in Apache Junction and we had to wait to get in. It was good but other places are just as good with not such a long line to get in.
Neil asked Terry to come over and try some gold sluicing with Neil’s friend Steve. Then Terry joined them to go to a casino and I went shopping at Kohl’s. I got back about 4 with a few items and Terry returned just in time to grab a quick bite of leftovers before we went to play cards with Ernie & Dianne.
We learned a new variation of canasta (ponytail?) at Dave & Glo’s so we taught Ernie & Dianne.
The guys won the first game and the women won a hard fought second game so we started the tie-breaker game at 11:00. The women finally won the third game at 1:40. Our sites aren’t very far apart so we fell into bed at 1:45. Terry’s feet were like ice cubes which is very unusual so I made him put socks on so he could get to sleep!
Dec 5th – Mon
When Terry was on his way to the casino yesterday, he got a phone call from Judy Hunt who has a park model in the Sands RV in Desert Hot Springs. Her, her husband Russ and Gilbert & Grace were staying in a condo in Scottsdale and wanted to see us. Terry suggested dinner today but when I called this morning we all decided lunch would work better.
We made a trip to Casino Arizona to get tickets for a show and ended up losing some money on the slots. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back and I had just finished lunch prep when our visitors arrived. We had a great time catching up before lunch and then went on a tour of the park. We took them to Total Wines where everyone picked up a supply of alcohol. On the way back we stopped at a Big Lots so Grace could buy a narrow table like the one we have between our chairs. We transferred all their purchases to their car and they were on their way about 4:30.
Shortly after they left, Duane & Sue dropped by with drinks in hand. As they were leaving about 5:30, Sue said she had a pork roast in the oven and asked us to join them for dinner. We had a nice dinner, said to heck with line dancing and taught them how to play Wizard which Sue won.
Dec 6th – Tues
I made jelly biscuits for breakfast and then Dave brought over 2 freshly made empanadas which he said should be eaten while they were warm. Glo made the Spanish/Mexican treat and they were very good.
We rode our bikes to visit Larry & Julie and Billy & Lauri stopped in while we were there. We went to see Dennis & Gloria to see if they feeling better since they both had some intestinal distress going on for a few days. Gloria is OK but Dennis is waiting for a lot of cold sores to heal before going anywhere. We stopped at Ernie & Dianne’s to check out the progress of some work they were having done in their Arizona room.
We had a light lunch and relaxed before going to listen to music which again was moved from the courtyard to the ballroom due to continuing cool weather. The band (North Star) is popular so a lot of people attended and we danced a lot. I had a beef roast in the crockpot so we asked Ernie & Dianne and Phyllis to come for dinner with the condition that we were going to line dance lessons at 7. We finished eating and doing dishes in time for us and Ernie & Dianne to go line dancing. We stayed until 8:30 or so for additional instruction in a couples dance. Dave & Glo stopped by for a nightcap.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Dec 1st to 3rd - Mesa
Dec 1st – Thurs
Needless to say, Terry wasn’t feeling too chipper today. Moe came by just before 10 to see if we wanted to join him for breakfast but that didn’t sound at all good to Terry and I already ate a muffin so we passed on the invitation.
Right after Terry left at 11:30 to take Moe to the airport, Ernie & Dianne stopped by. As they were leaving, they ran into Steph who was delivering Christmas cards and she came in to chat. We were joined for a while by Sue.
Steph was still here when Terry returned so he made some soup but his queasy stomach only tolerated a small bowl. We took it easy the rest of the afternoon and went to listen to music at 3. It poured rain early this morning and was still cool so music was in the ballroom instead of the courtyard. We did a couple of line dances but the music was generally slow and didn’t get the crowd dancing too much.
Dinner, dessert & TV filled the evening.
Dec 2nd – Fri
It’s a good thing that we didn’t have to be at bocce ball doesn’t until 9:45 as the early hours were our only “down” time today. Bocce ball lasted until 11:30 today and then I made pancakes & eggs for lunch. Next it was time to do laundry. Even then we multitasked – I got books at the library and worked on a puzzle and Terry went to get DEF for the truck.
After putting away the laundry and making the bed, we went to Costco where I ordered contacts and we got some coffee. We were going to stop for a few groceries on the way back but made a quick stop at Big Lots instead.
Music in the courtyard at 3 was moved into the ballroom again as it was pretty cool. We danced a bit and stayed after 5 for a few minutes to chat with Sue & her friend Maria. When we were at the ballroom, Dave & Glo invited us over to play cards so I made dinner as fast as I could and we walked to their place around 6:30.
We played Pegs & Jokers and Ponytail Canasta and drank chocolate martinis. Yes, even Terry who yesterday wasn’t going to drink for a month was drinking the martinis. We got home about 12:30 as we had to determine the Canasta winners (the women!).
Dec 3rd – Sat
After breakfast, we went shopping for a few groceries, dropped them off so the ice cream wouldn’t melt and went to WalMart for a couple of items. When we returned, we went visiting on our bikes. Julie wasn’t home so we chatted with Larry and gave Bandit his treat. We talked for quite a while with Phyllis and discovered that it was raining when we went to leave. It is only about a minute from there on our bikes so it’s not like we got very wet.
We relaxed and watched golf and I did some dinner prep. Ernie & Dianne came over about 3:30 so we could play some cards before dinner. After dinner, we all went to a dance here at the park.
We arrived first at the dance and found we were seated with some people who don’t dance much but were sitting at the end of the table which makes it harder to get out and dance. Ernie & Dianne had tickets for a different table so we changed to that table and when Duane & Sue and their friends Bob & Maria arrived, we had them change to our table too. Good company, good band, good evening.
We all went to Ernie & Dianne’s for a nightcap when the dance ended at 10 and we got home at 11:30.
Needless to say, Terry wasn’t feeling too chipper today. Moe came by just before 10 to see if we wanted to join him for breakfast but that didn’t sound at all good to Terry and I already ate a muffin so we passed on the invitation.
Right after Terry left at 11:30 to take Moe to the airport, Ernie & Dianne stopped by. As they were leaving, they ran into Steph who was delivering Christmas cards and she came in to chat. We were joined for a while by Sue.
Steph was still here when Terry returned so he made some soup but his queasy stomach only tolerated a small bowl. We took it easy the rest of the afternoon and went to listen to music at 3. It poured rain early this morning and was still cool so music was in the ballroom instead of the courtyard. We did a couple of line dances but the music was generally slow and didn’t get the crowd dancing too much.
Dinner, dessert & TV filled the evening.
Dec 2nd – Fri
It’s a good thing that we didn’t have to be at bocce ball doesn’t until 9:45 as the early hours were our only “down” time today. Bocce ball lasted until 11:30 today and then I made pancakes & eggs for lunch. Next it was time to do laundry. Even then we multitasked – I got books at the library and worked on a puzzle and Terry went to get DEF for the truck.
After putting away the laundry and making the bed, we went to Costco where I ordered contacts and we got some coffee. We were going to stop for a few groceries on the way back but made a quick stop at Big Lots instead.
Music in the courtyard at 3 was moved into the ballroom again as it was pretty cool. We danced a bit and stayed after 5 for a few minutes to chat with Sue & her friend Maria. When we were at the ballroom, Dave & Glo invited us over to play cards so I made dinner as fast as I could and we walked to their place around 6:30.
We played Pegs & Jokers and Ponytail Canasta and drank chocolate martinis. Yes, even Terry who yesterday wasn’t going to drink for a month was drinking the martinis. We got home about 12:30 as we had to determine the Canasta winners (the women!).
Dec 3rd – Sat
After breakfast, we went shopping for a few groceries, dropped them off so the ice cream wouldn’t melt and went to WalMart for a couple of items. When we returned, we went visiting on our bikes. Julie wasn’t home so we chatted with Larry and gave Bandit his treat. We talked for quite a while with Phyllis and discovered that it was raining when we went to leave. It is only about a minute from there on our bikes so it’s not like we got very wet.
We relaxed and watched golf and I did some dinner prep. Ernie & Dianne came over about 3:30 so we could play some cards before dinner. After dinner, we all went to a dance here at the park.
We arrived first at the dance and found we were seated with some people who don’t dance much but were sitting at the end of the table which makes it harder to get out and dance. Ernie & Dianne had tickets for a different table so we changed to that table and when Duane & Sue and their friends Bob & Maria arrived, we had them change to our table too. Good company, good band, good evening.
We all went to Ernie & Dianne’s for a nightcap when the dance ended at 10 and we got home at 11:30.
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