Lost and Found Keys

Josie has been holding off making Christmas cookies until she found a good cookie press. It was a task yesterday to locate one at one of the local stores, so we started out first at Sam's Club. There weren't any there, so it was down the road to the next place, which was Target. That also drew a blank so we went to the next store in that strip mall, Bed Bath and Beyond. Bingo. We found a couple of choices and she picked the one she wanted, so we purchased it and left. While we were there, we went to the Best Buy store a few stores away and I picked up a Christmas present - boombox with iPod dock - that we have been wanting for awhile.

While heading home, we thought we should check the mailbox at the town center. That's when I discovered I was missing the spare mailbox key ring that also contained the key to the shed on our space. I have been carrying this small key ring in my pocket which was a mistake in the first place. Anyway, we retraced our steps and went to every one of the stores again - Sam's Club, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and Best Buy. We searched the parking lot, inside each store, and checked with each of the customer service desks in these stores. No luck. On the way home while trying to decide our next step, I remembered that we went to Albertson's down the street the night before to buy lottery tickets for the big drawing. So, we stopped there and checked the customer service desk and - whala! - they had them. I'm sure everybody has had a similar experience at some time in their lives.

We returned home and enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day, including this gorgeous Arizona sunset we had last night:

There aren't very many places in the US where you can see this kind of sky, almost on a daily basis.

Our plan today is to go to our storage unit to see what Christmas decorations we can find for the fifth wheel. We aren't sure if we took the RV decorations with us to CA or left them here in this unit. Today we will know for sure...

New Truck Windshield

We were pretty much held to home while waiting for the guy to come and replace the truck windshield.

I took a stone on the truck windshield while traveling through Virginia over a year ago, and it cracked all the way across the lower part of the glass in January when we had a freezing night while in Las Cruces, NM. I should have had the "ding" repaired right away, but never got around to it. The new windshield was totally covered by the glass coverage on our insurance policy so it was more of an inconvenience than anything else.

The guy showed up at around 11:30 AM and it took him just over an hour to complete the job. Everything looks good, so we're set to go again.

The big topic of conversation around here yesterday was the huge jackpot for the Powerball Lottery. Of course, we bought a few tickets and when we heard that one of the winning tickets was purchased in Arizona, we rushed to check the numbers. Alas, it wasn't one of our tickets. You can be sure that if it were one of ours, you would have already known. We realize the tremendous odds are against winning, but at least there is a chance when you buy a ticket.

The rest of the afternoon yesterday was spent going through magazines while sitting on our porch and enjoying the fabulous weather. It is really difficult to beat this weather in the winter and to think that it still goes to 80 degrees on the first of December is incredible. With only one day of precipitation since we arrived here in mid October, we'll take it...

Trip Planned to Vista

When we left Vista, CA in mid May this year to go to Jackson, WY, we took another storage unit in Vista to place all our things from the apartment. There was not enough time to load the truck, drive back to Surprise, unload the truck and get back to Vista to head out with the fifth wheel. The original plan was to make a stop in Vista on the way home from Jackson to retrieve our belongings in that storage unit. Of course, that never happened as we drove through Utah to visit Zion National Park, Mesquite, NV and spent a week in Laughlin.

We set December 5-7 to accomplish the transfer. I called the storage facility in Vista and notified them that we would be out on December 6. We also called U-Haul and reserved the truck for those days and arranged to have the same 2 men load the truck for us that we used in May. We went to our storage facility in Surprise and arranged to have a new space ready for us for December 7. We will arrive back here late on the 6th, park the truck at the storage facility and empty it into our new space on the 7th. Our plan is to also empty the old space into the new one on the 7th and 8th.

The manager at the storage unit in Surprise, Duane, has been very gracious to us. Of course, we were one of the first tenants in the facility when it opened in 2008. Our goal of eliminating the storage unit altogether was not realistic as we have too many new pieces of furniture and too many items that we won't part with at all that we have had for up to 40+ years. It will still save us money and bring everything together in one location.

Josie's meeting at the Design Center where she will be starting on December 12 went well. She completed the paperwork and is ready to go. Once she starts, she will not have a day off until probably Christmas Eve. It looks like I will be holding down the fort while she is gone those days. There is plenty of shredding yet to finish once we get everything consolidated in our storage unit, so I won't be idle. We both are targeting the Spring Training in March to work at the stadium in Surprise. That is the next target for working before leaving here in early April for a leisurely trip back to Jackson...

Costco and Sams Club

We have been thinking about replacing our whole set of pots and pans that we've been using for years. They are Teflon coated and the coating has been wearing off more and more with each use, so it was time to look for replacements (Merry Christmas). Josie has been seeing sales of stainless, non-stick, pots and pans for some time and we wanted to check out the prices at the warehouse stores, Costco and Sam's Club.

These stores have nice sets that satisfy the requirements, but they all seemed a little pricey. Nobody goes to these stores without buying something. We really did a good job by limiting our purchases and we actually got out of these stores with less than $50 in merchandise. It must be a new record for us. Plus, by the time you walk around taking food samples from the little promotional stands, you have had close to a full meal - free. There are more of those now with the Christmas season. At any rate, we will keep our eyes out for sales in the paper and online for the "right" set of pots and pans.

Our next door neighbors, Rett and Claire Porter, arrived while we were out yesterday. They are the new owners of the space we are renting and we haven't met them yet, so I'm sure today will be our introduction to them. They sound like nice folks on the phone and we have been communicating through emails. They have the nice home on the space next to us that we rented several years ago, and they have a similar arrangement at a location somewhere in Texas. Their motor home is also a beauty so it will be interesting to talk with them.

Josie has her first contact this morning with the folks at Phoenix Flower Shops to complete her paperwork and to meet the people who will be working with her at the Design Center. That meeting is scheduled for 10 AM, so we will have an update on that by tomorrow...

Truck Day

Our truck has very low mileage on it - 28,000 miles - for being a 2008 vehicle. The reason is that it sits when we are not traveling and doesn't get any attention. When we are staying long term at a location it is rarely driven anywhere except to, maybe,  a grocery store just to keep the battery charged and to check it out. It was almost embarrassing to see it sitting there with dirt and grime on it so yesterday was "truck" day.

We have a car wash area here at Happy Trails where, for $2 in quarters, you can do a self wash. We used it last week for the Jeep, so today was the turn for the truck. We like using the local wash since it's cheap and they have a power wash along with 2 brushes that dispense soap while you use them. In a 15 minute  time frame, you can usually complete a wash. It didn't work that way with the truck.

Shortly after putting the 8 quarters in the machine we discovered that the wands were not dispensing much soap. Actually, they were almost completely out of soap and since it was Sunday, nobody was going to refill the containers. A 15 minute wash for the truck was not enough and we ended up just streaking the dirt on the whole vehicle.

I ended up taking it to the car wash - TNT - in Surprise where they do a good job but for a lot more money. Normally, I can get it done for about $20 - hand wash and interior cleaned - but the attendant talked me into getting a mini-detail done for a negotiated price of $50 (regularly $69.95). Great. They also have a glass salesman who repairs "dings" in windshields while you wait for your vehicle. The truck happens to have a ding that developed into a crack along the entire base of the window. I gave him the OK to contact my insurance company, GEICO, to get approval to schedule a windshield replacement. That was all done and I will get a call today to schedule a time for the glass people to come out to our site and replace the windshield in the truck.

What started out to be a simple wash for the truck  turned out to be a much more costly, but necessary, salon treatment. Maybe today we can get some things done that will be "normal" with little or no cost...

International Auto Show

The big event for us yesterday was the International Auto Show being held at the Phoenix Convention Center. There were no goals to seek out any special vehicles except that it has been many years since we have seen, up close, all the new technologies that have been incorporated into automobiles. This was an opportunity to see them all.

We arrived at the show at around noon, parked and purchased our "Senior" tickets at the entrance for $6 each. We actually had $3 discount coupons but the ticket agent said they weren't any good for the Senior rate since the discount was off the regular price and we saved more by not using the coupons. The show contained just about every model of most of the auto producers and there were many exotics in addition to those. I think I saw where there were about 400 vehicles in the show. There were test courses for many of the vehicles in case you wanted to test drive a vehicle. Below is a photo of the show:

The Jeeps happened to be one of the first displays we saw when we arrived on the floor. They had, in addition to their models, a 4 wheel drive course that you could ride in one of their vehicles to experience the capabilities of their off road vehicles:

We walked around the entire show and were primarily interested in the SUV models of the manufacturers. In our opinion, the best suited models for us that we saw, in addition to the Jeeps, were from Toyota, Ford, Mercedes and Lexus. Not that they were affordable, but they had great features that would be perfect for our traveling.

In addition to the vehicles, there were other vendor booths and some entertainment. This is one of the "acts" that was working the floor of the show. It is what is called King Robota:

and was a real hit with all the kids. It was a robot that was nothing but a glob of shining metal:

We never heard of this creature but it was very entertaining.

Was the show worth the trip and the money to park and go into the display area? Probably not. This isn't one of Josie's favorite activities and I appreciated her indulgence and patience while I had my thrill of catching up on all the new vehicle offerings.

Last night we tried to locate the High School football championship on TV at the Sun Devils Stadium but couldn't find it on our satellite stations. We were looking forward to watching Robert's team  - Cot and Lois' grandson - play for the state championship. We read this morning that his team lost, 27-3, so we were sorry to see that outcome. It still was an experience of a lifetime for him.

We had a call last night from our friends Rodger and Sue Sandlin who are, once again, working at Amazon.com in Campbellsville, Kentucky. They indicated that Amazon is probably not doing as well this year as in years past, but there are still several weeks left before Christmas. It sounded like everything else is about the same there, and there aren't many familiar faces that returned this year. This may be the last year for them and we hope to connect with them again in the the near future, probably here in AZ where they plan to visit next year. It was nice to hear from them.

There are no special plans - yet - for today, so we'll see what develops...

Black Friday

It was the newspaper to top all others on Thanksgiving. There were at least 100 flyers describing all the sales for Black Friday which was yesterday. No matter what you were looking for, I'm sure it was on sale in one of those ads.

The only thing that caught our eye that we have been watching for over the last year was a super price on outdoor lounge chairs that we needed. The ones we have been using are very heavy and difficult to open, close and carry anywhere. These were the lighter weight chairs that were also reverse gravity - recline to a position that results in blood flowing to your head. They were available at the Sports Authority store located just east of the Arrowhead Mall located in Glendale on Bell Rd. The trip was fine until we arrived in the area of the mall. The traffic was unbelievable and it was a solid line for at least 5 lights. It's a good thing we weren't headed for the mall as I'm sure the parking spaces were far and few between. The Sports Authority was about a half mile past the mall and we had no problem finding a space to park in this small strip-mall shopping center. We found the chairs and bought two. They are originally $100 chairs that were recently marked down to $59.95, and were a "door-buster" sale price of $34.95 for 5 hours during the Black Friday sale. Here is a photo of our new chairs:

The best part of the day though, was getting together with our friends, Cot and Lois, and George and Cheryl and Brian and Amy (and family) again for a wonderful post Thanksgiving dinner. It's been a couple years, at least, since we saw them and it was a fun time and a great meal. Below is a shot of the whole group:

The gentleman standing with Cot is their grandson, Robert, who is playing in a football game tonight for the High School State Championship at Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix. We know all about the excitement he must be feeling with the tremendous year Austin had and can imagine the feeling he must have about playing in such a grand location for the game of a lifetime. We will try to catch at least some of the action on TV tonight at 7 PM.

Following dinner and on the way home, we captured the first photo of Christmas lights in Surprise:

It's really nice to see the season officially begin. That also means that everywhere we go we will be hearing Christmas music again which always gives us a good feeling.

The plan for today, following our workout this morning, is to go to the International Auto Show in Phoenix. It has been so long since we've looked at any new vehicles and this is an opportunity to see them all in one place, without a salesman crawling all over you. It's a first time experience for us so we hope it is worth the trip to town...

Wonderful Thanksgiving

Holidays are always a good time to catch up on calls to and from family members that are miles away and too far to visit. Sometimes, that is the only contact we have with some of our relatives but it is always nice to connect with them.

The main activity was dinner at Brian and Amy's home with George and Cheryl. It was a wonderful meal and there was plenty of good food to go around. The kids, Jason and Jesse, were first to get their plates ready and they sat down at the kitchen counter:

followed by the grownups:

We even had enough food to get a "take home" package of leftovers which is a favorite part of every Thanksgiving meal. We were thankful to have such a great time with family and only wished we were able to have our complete families all together for the holiday. Maybe someday.

There is another Thanksgiving gathering tonight with old friends Cot and Lois whom we haven't seen in several years. Time really does fly. The last time we saw them was in the early days when we started out on our adventure in 2009.

It's really crazy watching the news about shoppers getting a head start on the Black Friday sales. One would never know that there was an economic crisis in this country. There were folks camping out in front of stores to be the first ones through the door when the stores open. I can't imagine anything in any store that would warrant staying up all night, outside, in cold weather to be the first to save a couple bucks. Whatever.

The only other activity we have planned for today is to pay a visit to our storage unit in Surprise to get some of our Christmas decorations. The next 30 days or so are the best time of every year with all of the Christmas activities and we are looking forward to enjoying them...

Tossing in the Towel

Windows 8 is out of my life! At least for now. I got so frustrated with not being able to move over the most important (to me) applications, that I reset the system, packed it up and returned it to the Costco warehouse in Glendale. I also returned the book to Barnes and Noble for a refund on that. I realized that the problems I was having were not worth the stress and confusion. Even the book, although helpful, was filled with disclaimers and negative comments on the new software. The whole experience was a nightmare and I'm sure that Microsoft is in for a long haul with objections and complaints regarding this operating system. The other problem is that it is very difficult to find a new computer - anywhere - that is being sold with Windows 7, the preferred alternative. The sales person at Costco told me that all of their Windows 7 laptops were flying off the shelf just before Windows 8 was released. The manufacturers and Microsoft are trying to jam the Windows 8 machines down everybody's throat by limiting production of new machines with Windows 7.

I located another system on HP's site that has Windows 7, but it is not discounted as much as my original system. With a smaller screen and slightly less memory, the new system I ordered this morning with the "Black Friday" special pricing is still about the same as the original. I never thought the process would be so complicated. After this experience, I'm hoping that Windows 7 will be much easier to implement. I know that my applications will run on that platform and it will, most likely, be the last upgrade I will make on any computer. The replacement will ship on December 3, so I expect to see it by around the 10th.

Today, we enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday by going to Brian and Amy's for dinner with their family and George and Cheryl. It is nice to be near some family for the holiday. We miss our own family but know that their day will be a happy one...

  HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!

Jobs and Computers

Josie had planned to do a drive to all the hotels and lodges in our area yesterday morning asking if they had openings for seasonal help. Armed with our excellent letter from the Virginian Lodge in Jackson, and our front desk experience at other locations, we felt that there would a good chance to get at least a part time job at one of those. I was going to pass on that activity since Josie would have a better chance getting a position alone. Besides, if I work at all, it will be at spring training in March. Anyway, Josie received an email from the HR person at Phoenix Flower Shops asking if she would be interested in seasonal work at one of their locations. Yes! She has an appointment next week to meet with them and work out the details, but she will work part time during the holidays and special occasions (Valentines Day, Secretaries Week, Mothers Day) at the Design Center located on Union Hills Rd not too far from where we are staying. It appears she will start in early December.

The other news from yesterday was that my new computer arrived. That was an exciting time as I unpacked the computer and went through the initial setup of the new software - Windows 8. What a shock! There is no resemblance at all to the Microsoft systems I've grown used to using. It is so different that I am having buyers remorse. I knew that it would be different, but this is like waking up to a home on Mars. It is a touch-based system for which I need to use a mouse and keyboard. I spent several hours trying to figure out how to load my old applications and I got so frustrated I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the book - "Windows 8 for Dummies" - which certainly describes my feeling. The book is over 1000 pages and cost $30, so it better guide me through this learning experience. There is no doubt that the future in computing, at least on a Microsoft platform, is with this new Windows 8. It is the same software being sold with their own hardware and on the Windows smart phones. They are really rolling the dice on this one. There are many applications that don't run at all yet on this platform - one of which is iTunes which I need to run my iPod updates. Ho hum. The laptop is great though with all the nice features I needed on a new PC.

I guess my day is planned -  trying to get a quick education on how to bring up this new computer so that I can use it. Right now, I am still plodding through the slow response times on my old system...

Planning Ahead

Following our morning workout at the fitness center, we spent some time catching up on a couple of the Christmas movies we copied from the Hallmark Channel and started to read through magazines that have been lying around. Most of the magazines we get are through annual memberships - like  AAA (Highroads), AARP (AARP Magazine) and Costco (Costco Magazine). There are also some that I get from life memberships that I signed up for years ago, like Thousand Trails (Trail Blazer), Good Sam Club (Trailer Life), NAHC (North American Hunting Club) and the  NRA (American Hunter). I also have one subscription to Laptop Magazine, so you can see how easy it is to get behind in reading material. On top of those, throw in periodical publications that we get from other places and their are lots of magazines that we need to sort through.

While reading through these magazines and sitting on our porch, we decided to set a goal for ourselves. Next year, following our workamping assignment in Wyoming, we would visit Patty and her family in Chicago before heading back to AZ for the winter. We would stay at Lake Pleasant next winter and leave around the first of April to head north to visit Kristine and Tracy in WA and then head to Alaska. After spending a couple months traveling to, and visiting places in Alaska, we would head south to Canada, drive east through Canada to New England where we would spend the fall (October?) and then head to Fl to visit Josie's family there. The trip back to the west would not be a straight line but would include places we haven't been yet, such as Branson, MO, south Texas along the Gulf, and others that we haven't yet identified.

It actually represents the start of our "real" retirement. We would have sold the Jeep before heading north and just using our truck. The plan would be to sell the truck, sell the fifth wheel, buy a new vehicle and find a home base in AZ to use for winters. We hope to be able to buy a small trailer to use for weekends and for travel to another, summer base, somewhere up north.

There's a lot of time to plan this future, so a lot can happen between now and then. If all goes well, it will be accomplishing several goals. Number one, we will have traveled to all the areas we set out to see almost 5 years ago. Secondly, we would have gotten full benefit from our investment in the truck and fifth wheel - and the Jeep. Thirdly, we would have seen enough areas to decide where we want to spend our retirement years. Lastly, we would have seen our beautiful country the way it should be seen, while we were still healthy enough (hopefully) to enjoy the time. Sounds like an aggressive plan and we hope we are able to make it happen...

Canyon Vistas

We've been seeing the ads in our RV magazines - and the AZ Republic newspaper - about the the new development in Gold Canyon called Canyon Vistas:

 There has been an RV Resort there for years, but they have opened a new section for custom built RV Port homes. These new homes are converted Cavco manufactured homes with custom interiors and exteriors, plus an additional attached carport and/or RV port.

The models were located right off the Superstition Freeway in Gold Canyon, which is just east of Mesa and Apache Junction.

Of course, a salesman met us at the models and had to take us through each one. There were models with different floor plans that were 14, 16 and 18 feet in width, with the optional carports and RV ports (or garages) attached. These shots give you some idea of the homes:

Each of the balconies gives you a great view of the Superstition Mountains.

One last view of the very nice pool area:

They were wheeling and dealing on the prices and you could get a complete home, with carport, patio, RV port and custom interiors for around $150K. The biggest problem that we saw was that you don't own the land on which your home sits and there is what they call a "Lifestyle Fee" each month which is similar to association dues, except you are leasing the land. Although it includes all services (security, landscaping, maintenance), it runs over $500 per month! The salesman told us that they were writing agreements with up to 5 years free "Lifestyle Fees". The thought of not owning our land and knowing that your stuck if, for any reason, they don't renew your annual lease for the land turned us off.  It's a shame that such a great deal is overshadowed by the enormous monthly fee.

We returned home by 4 PM and started watching some of the Christmas movies we have been taping on the Hallmark Channel. They are having a Christmas marathon of great Christmas movies - most of them tear jerkers - from now until Christmas. It's worth checking out if you like Christmas movies.

The awards and recognition have begun for Austin following his spectacular football season. We see that he has been chosen for All State honors by the Coaches Association in the state of Illinois. Fantastic! What an honor and accomplishment.

It's back to the fitness center this morning and who knows what else on this beautiful, sunny AZ morning...

RV Self Repair

On Wednesday I talked about the water pressure problem and the fact that I made an appointment on the 29th to have a tech come repair the fresh water connection. The more we thought about waiting until the 29th and spending, probably, close to $100 for the repair, I decided to attempt it myself. I am always fearful of doing these kinds of repairs myself because I inevitably create more problems than I started out to fix. This one just didn't seem that complicated or difficult. Here is a shot of the original connection with the quick-connect adapter locked onto the connector:

The main reason I initially rejected the idea of self repair was because the rear of the connector was very difficult to reach to disconnect the threaded end that was behind the connector. I recruited Josie to help with the removal of the old connector. We went to the local RV dealer and parts store in town and bought a replacement connector for $17. With Josie's help, we did the repair in about a half hour, reconnected a new quick connect adapter, turned on the fresh water and we were set to go. Here's the new setup:

Now I just need to call the mobile tech tomorrow and cancel our appointment for the 29th.  

We spent the afternoon sitting on our porch and going through magazines that we need to decide whether to keep or throw away. While doing that, we discussed more about this Christmas season. We are getting anxious to get our storage units consolidated and part of that consolidation is getting our Christmas decorations out for this year. Much of those decorations will be used for the last time this year, such as our electric deer that we used for about 5 years before we hit the road.  

Today may be a day where we drive to the east side of Phoenix to view some new RV (port) homes that are being advertised near the Superstition Mountains in Gold Canyon. They look like the nice homes we saw while we were in Laughlin and, according to the ad, are very affordable. We hope to get the real scoop on those...

MVD Visit

The dreaded task of renewing my drivers license was completed yesterday. It's not the test - a short eye test - or the money - $10 for 5 years - but the long wait for your number to be called. Actually, I arrived there at around 10:45 AM and was through the front desk, had my number, completed the test and had my photo taken before 11 AM.

That's the easy part. I sat in the waiting room, with about 75 other customers, until close to noon. I actually had 2 situations to address. The first was that I changed the address on my original drivers license on October 12, so that it would be easier for me to vote. See, our drivers licenses are for AZ, but our address on the license is our mail forwarding address in FL. The problem was they sent it to this location in Happy Trails just a few days before they actually set up our postal box here for our space - 976. The new license was returned to MVD and I never received it. It turned out I didn't really need it anyway as we voted using Provisional Ballots. The second situation was, of course, getting the new license.

When I reached the counter to complete my transaction, the nice young lady got confused and I ended up having to fill out a second form and have my picture retaken. Oh well, I'm legal now until January, 2018. It's sad to get old. They renew licenses for 10, 15, 20 years, and sometimes longer, depending on your age. I guess they figure I'm in the "risk" window of only 5 years now.

We're trying to figure out a good time to go to CA to salvage our goods in storage there and bring them back to AZ. We would like to have that done before Christmas, but the slow emptying of the shed here has caused a delay in that project. The whole activity needs to be coordinated with the sorting of our stuff in the space we have here in Surprise, and combining everything into one, slightly larger space. It doesn't appear like we will be able to get rid of our storage space entirely, as there is just too much stuff that we want to hang onto, and we do plan to eventually move into some kind of home base within the next couple years. We'll see how that turns out...

Tanger Outlets Glendale

As most Outlet Malls go, the new Tanger Outlet Mall in Glendale is a keeper. It celebrated its Grand Opening yesterday at 9 AM and at noon, we arrived to join in the festivities. The traffic and parking situation was about as expected as we got to the off ramp on the freeway. Traffic was lined up all along Glendale Ave from the mall entrance to the off ramps, both north and southbound. Rather than fight all the traffic, we drove around the perimeter of Westgate (adjacent to the Mall) and came into the parking area on the south side of the Mall which was pretty smooth. We actually found a parking space within 50 yards of the southwest corner of the complex. The entire area, as you can imagine, was mobbed.

The Mall contains almost all of the popular outlet brands and even some new ones. The layout is simple, and as can be seen from these photos, partially covered so that summer heat can be kept to a minimum:

We did really great fighting off some of the great deals for opening day and only spent about $10 on a couple gadgets from the Kitchen Collections store. This last shot is of the Christmas tree, already placed for the season:

This mall will be highly successful and is very convenient from the 101 freeway. The only thing missing that we could see was a food court of some type. There were only a couple places where you could buy any kind of food - like pretzels and pizza - and we gathered the lack of food availability was intentional. The restaurants in the adjacent Westgate area are starving for business and the hope is that people will shop at the outlets and go across the street to eat. The problem with that concept is that all of the restaurants in the Westgate area are high end, expensive places to eat.

The cloudy day made for a dreary afternoon at home so we just hung out around the rig. I pulled the trigger on the Costco.com computer deal that was just too good to ignore. I ordered an HP Envy Dv7 configured just the way I would have ordered it from HP - but for $400 less, including shipping and tax. The only concern I still have is making the Windows 8 commitment. It should be interesting as the computer is scheduled to arrive around Thanksgiving...

Bombarded by Promotions

I know everybody thinks the same way about the Christmas season - it arrives earlier and earlier every year. I'm also sure that your emails, in terms of number of emails per day, have at least doubled like mine. It's probably a result of being signed up on these sites for alerts when they have sales, but the last few days have bordered on ridiculous for emails from these sites. I counted 22 emails just yesterday from stores and sites that I have on my contacts list. At this rate I will be spending a half day going through emails before Thanksgiving arrives.

One advantage though is you just might discover a deal that you have to evaluate. Specifically, I saw a special sale on the computer I have configured on the HP site that is $400 less than HP's price - at Costco. They have almost the identical configuration that I priced on the HP site and I am evaluating to see if there isn't something I'm missing in some fine print for the sale. I'm still debating whether to take the plunge and go to Windows 8, or look more at another solution, like Windows 7 on a different system. Most of what I've read and heard about the new Windows is positive, but I hate being among the pioneers for any new software.

The rest of these emails are alerts to special prices that are sure to kick-off your shopping adventures for this year. Some of them are from stores we haven't shopped in years and others are stores that, even with their sales prices, are beyond what we would spend for similar items somewhere else. All of this has created curiosity for the new Outlet Mall in Glendale which is opening today. Josie is anxious to go and check it out but, if we go, it will be a challenge to keep the hands away from the pockets. We should know tomorrow if we have been successful...

Some Outside Work

We have had a water pressure problem - too low - since we arrived here. Actually, we have been dealing with that problem, off and on, for several months. Yesterday I decided to do something about it while Josie was doing a full load of laundry.

This was a problem that I discussed with the tech who came to replace our water pump and he determined that the problem was in the actual fresh water connection. I use a "quick connect" hose attachment so that every time we set up at a different location I just have to snap on the hose to the connection rather than threading the hose into the connection each time. It has worked really well over the last couple years. The quick connect hasn't been removed at all during that time and I had a problem removing it yesterday. I couldn't. The brass connector would not budge and even after I sprayed WD-40 on the connector, it wouldn't move. The next step was to try to remove the whole fresh water connection which I couldn't do because I couldn't reach the rear of the connection to remove the part. To make a long story short, while trying to remove this connection, I ruined the tight seal between the quick connect parts and now have to use the new water pump and water from our holding tank until I can get a tech out to repair the connection. The appointment is set for Thursday the 29th of November, so we will get a lot of use out of our new water pump until then.

We finally received our letter of recommendation from the Virginian Lodge yesterday. They sent the letter to our FL address before we arrived here but they had the wrong zip code on the envelope (32512 instead of 32513). That resulted in the letter being sent to the Naval Hospital in Pensacola before being re-directed to the proper zip code. Since we only get mail forwarded once a week, it didn't arrive until yesterday. It was worth waiting for and gives us a real advantage when applying at any other lodge, hotel or facility in the hospitality industry. It was signed by all the management (General Manager, Operations Manager and Front Desk Manager) and we feel blessed to have found such a wonderful group of people in Jackson, WY. We also received a nice check for commissions that the Lodge received from other facilities where we sent customers when we were booked, and from the vendors where we sent visitors, such as horseback riding, rafting, etc. The money was divided equally among all the front desk workers. That was on top of the regular bonus we received as workampers for them. They sure know how to treat their employees...

Day of Healing

Evidently, I pulled a muscle in my lower abdomen while exercising the other day. It has been getting worse the last couple days, so we skipped the workout the last 2 days and I gave it total rest yesterday. At first, we thought it might even be a hernia, but it seems to be feeling a bit better this morning, so we'll hold off on any professional opinions for now. We do some weight exercises following our treadmill program and I added too much weight to the abdominal apparatus. There is no question that you have to work into more weight rather than taking a shortcut by adding big chunks too fast. I really know better, so I don't know what came over me. Maybe thinking that I can lose this extra fat quicker by adding more weight to the exercise faster than normal was the way to go. Wrong.

As a result of resting the muscles, we didn't go anywhere - except to the grocery store in the afternoon. I did get a chance to spend more time trying to recover my lost files on the computer. This computer definitely has a short life ahead. The tech support from Davis, the company that manufactures and markets my weather equipment indicated that the Vista operating system I'm using has shortcomings for recovering data. Thanks for that good news. We worked on several options to try to make the data that I located work with the new version of the software that Davis downloaded to me last week. We did not succeed, so my next step is to try once again to locate the original data on my backup hard drive. I will give that a shot today.

Josie did some laundry and did a roast in our crock pot yesterday which turned out to be delicious. We need to use that more often as it always creates a great meal. Even though we didn't go anywhere yesterday, we enjoyed the smell of the roast cooking. That's the part that you miss when you normally use the crock pot to cook meals while you are away someplace.

It's another beautiful, sunny day in Arizona so we'll try to find some way to take advantage of the beautiful weather...

Lake Pleasant

Another one of our favorite places in the Phoenix area is Lake Pleasant. We had spent over one year living there when we first relocated to this area from Washington. Actually, I lived in our old trailer while Josie held down the fort at the flower shop in Redmond. I was going through Real Estate School at that time and we also stayed there while our home was being built in Scottsdale. It had been almost 5 years since we were there and it brought back some memories:

We stopped in the office and spoke with the ladies behind the front desk about our time here long ago and about changes to the park.

The pool area looks pretty much the same as we remembered except it appeared to be even nicer:

One thing we noticed vs the last time we were here was that management is now enforcing the rules regarding neatness of the sites:

The most glaring difference is in the lake itself. The water level is much lower than we could ever remember and the ladies in the office indicated that the water level is close to 100 feet lower than normal. We don't know about 100 feet, but it was certainly lower in this shot of the Marina:

There were many islands visible that were never there before. The low level can really be seen in this photo of the dam:

We didn't drive around the lake to see the campground on the other side, but we are sure it is a shock from that side also. One thing that we decided though, was to give this serious consideration for spending a winter here very soon. The cost is much less than Happy Trails and the electric is included. Who knows.

We had a nice visit from Carole after we arrived home and she is making good progress toward emptying the shed on this property. The owners will be coming soon, so we are looking forward to seeing them around Thanksgiving...

Baseball and Football

It's always fun to watch our kids and grand kids play sports. It's especially fun to watch them when they are excellent athletes and the best players on their respective teams. That was the case yesterday when we first watched Jason (George and Cheryl's grandson and Brian and Amy's son) play in a baseball tournament in Peoria, AZ. The tournament started yesterday with "pool" play, and Jason's team won both of their first games. The first game was won 15-2 and was called early as a result of the "mercy" rule when one team is so much better than another and it saves embarrassment for the inferior team. The second game was won 8-6 and really wasn't that close except the pitcher on Jason's team was a little wild in the early innings which allowed more base runners than normal. Jason was very impressive in both games and these shots show him in different stages of the game. Starting with the on-deck circle where he was waiting to go to the plate:

and then at the plate where he is the team''s leading hitter:

In the field, where he played third base in the first game and the outfield in the second game:

Their first real tournament match-up is today at 4 PM and we're sure they will go far, if not win the whole thing.

Since our visit with Josie's brother hasn't come together yet, we discovered that there was an RV show at the Peoria Sports complex that was running for an entire week. We are always game for RV shows , not to look to buy one, but to see the changes that are being made:

This was a show sponsored by a single, local RV dealer - McMahon's - and it was essentially a waste of time. We no sooner got in the gate when we were attacked by sales people and we could not walk anywhere within the lot without having a sales person attack us as soon as we got close. It seemed like there was one sales person for each rig in the show. We couldn't stand it, so we left after about a half hour. That's exactly the reason that Josie refuses to go to any car dealership. So, unless or until we are ready to buy either an RV or a car, I will probably be going to the dealers alone.

The second game of the day was, of course, Austin's big game against Neuqua Valley in Naperville. The bubble has burst on his teams' season as they lost, 23-20, on a field goal made by Neuqua with 6 seconds left in the game. They started out out in the first period as though they were going to mop the field with Neuqua and led 14-0 after the first quarter. Neuqua settled down and played a terrific game the rest of the way. Austin did well even though Neuqua keyed on him the whole game. He finished with 141 yards on 30 carries and 1 TD. His counterpart on Neuqua, and good friend, Joey Rhattigan, had a career game for his team and Waubonsie just could not figure out how to stop him.

Austin and his team had a memorable season. Austin has set records for the school that will take years to be broken, if ever. We are so proud of him and know that he is very disappointed and sad that his season has ended. Austin will be getting some nice offers from colleges and he will have some tough decisions ahead. No matter what he decides, we will all be supporting him and rooting for him...

Westgate

We didn't think that the new Mall - the Tanger Outlets - would be open before the grand opening next week but thought it would be nice to see where they were located. It was right off the freeway at the Stadium exit on 101 which is Glendale Ave. November 15 is the official opening.

While we were there, we drove around the Westgate complex to see if there were any changes:

There weren't any changes that we noticed except there were no people around, which was rare for anytime at this place - especially in the early afternoon.

After driving around the complex, we came back out onto Glendale Ave and saw this cotton field:

The farmer who owned most of the property that was used for the Westgate project still owns a portion of the ground adjacent to Westgate. I remember the story about him and that he refuses to sell this final area that is still farmed. He already is wealthy and doesn't need more cash, but it seems funny to see a farm next to the Stadium and all this new development.

Also along Glendale Ave before getting back to the freeway is one of my favorite stores in the world - Cabela's:

One of the best locations within the store is the wildlife museum. We walked through the museum to see of there were any updated world record animals taken since our last visit here several years ago. There were a couple recent trophies, but the entire museum is a world class showroom of American wildlife:

We bought a few small items of clothing that were on sale but just seeing the store again was a satisfying experience.

When the entry for yesterday was written, for some reason, I thought it was Saturday and not Friday. Austin's game is tonight as all of the playoff games are held on Saturday night vs regular games on Fridays. Sorry for the confusion. We are anxious to watch the game and, you can be sure, we will be tuned into the TV feed for the start at 6 PM CST tonight.

This morning we are going to one of Jason's baseball games which starts at 8 AM. There are two games this morning, and if his team wins those games, he plays again tonight. It seems like a marathon tournament for these kids and I'm sure they will all sleep well tonight. It will be fun to watch as he is one of the better players on his team.

Other than that, we are going to try to connect with Josie's brother for a visit to see how he is recovering from his stroke of a year ago. We hear he is doing well, so that is very good news...

First Rain

We have had no measurable rain anywhere (except one small storm in Laughlin) since we left Jackson on October 3. That is, until yesterday and last night. It was only a matter of time, but we did receive a whopping .01" during the 24 hour period. It actually impacted our plans slightly as we are looking to take a hike in the White Tank Mountains not too far from here. There are some interesting trails in the mountains aside from the one trail - the Waterfall - that we took many years ago. The park is close - about 5 miles from here - so it would be convenient to hike some different trails. Maybe we can do that sometime over the weekend.

There is a new Outlet Mall - Tanger Outlets - that is very close to opening in the area. Actually, the official opening is in the middle of November but we would like to go see where they are located and also to see the stores that will be opening there. That's on the agenda for today and there may even be some stores that are already open. A friend of ours - Jamie Rodriguez - whom we worked with at our first workamping job in Happy Jack, AZ is a hairdresser in the area of this Mall and has promised to help Josie locate a seasonal job through her friends and contacts. Yes, we are still looking for opportunities even though we are enjoying all this free time.

Tonight is the scheduled rematch in the third round of the state championship playoffs in Naperville, IL. Austin's team will face the only team that defeated them this year. We will be watching the game on a TV link beginning at 6 PM CST. It should be a great game to watch and we are confident that Austin will play well in this "payback" game...

No Surprises

There weren't any surprises about the election results when we got up yesterday and watched the news. We're glad we went to bed early and missed Obama's speech. The numbers we saw on the news were staggering. We saw that 93% of the blacks in the US voted for Obama, and 73% of the Latinos voted for him. Duh! It was a racial vote regardless of what any black says. I mean, even when a staunch Republican like Colin Powell votes for him - twice - tells you that the vote is along racial lines. If the 30% of the whites that voted for Obama had voted along racial lines he wouldn't have won even the first term. It's a shame that the people impacted the most by his non-performance put him back in office again. Four more years of the same.

While waiting on a couple deliveries yesterday, I was able to get just about everything organized in my new files:

We can once again see the top of our table and can finally use the second chair for something beside holding papers. It is especially important in a small living area like the fifth wheel to keep the clutter to a minimum. It feels good anyway to have a nice and neat home.

We got our cartridges delivered yesterday for our water filter. We had placed the last one in the container during the water pump replacement activity. We also received our toaster oven that we ordered online at a great price ($69)- the Cuisinart TOB 40. We got free delivery and paid no sales tax. That nice benefit - no sales tax - will probably soon go away from online purchases as the states are losing lots of revenue.

No deliveries are expected today so there is a good possibility we will get out to do something. We always do our workout in the AM, so the day is pretty much open for some other activity...

Voting

Of course the main activity for the day yesterday was to vote. The Recorders Office said we should vote right here at Happy Trails using a Provisional Ballot, which we did. We went to the Town Center at around 9 AM:

where we located the area that contained the voting activity:

There weren't many people there at that time so we didn't have to wait at all - unlike many voting places we saw later on the news.

The ladies working the voting area found our names on the voters rolls so we know that our ballot will be counted. Too bad it wasn't significant enough to change the outcome. We all know why Obama was re-elected, and we also know that not much will be fixed during the next 4 years. I won't go off on a tirade about the election, so let's just say we hope things improve.

The whole evening was spent watching the election returns and even though it began as a wishful upset, it didn't take long to see the states that would swing the outcome. We went to bed shortly after 9 PM knowing that the sad results were only moments away from being made official. We do have an interest in some of the local issues and results, so we are anxious to discover those outcomes this morning.

Nothing is planned so far today following our election update so we'll see what happens as the day develops...

Water Pump Installed

We were pretty much held hostage yesterday AM while waiting for the Tech to come to install our new water pump. When he called on Saturday to tell us he would be here on Monday, he only indicated it would be around mid-day. At 11:40 I called him to get an idea about his arrival. He said he was 10 minutes away and was coming right away. Talk about timing.

The pump was installed in about 10 minutes and it only cost me the $80 to swap out the pumps. The thing that baffles me is the way ShurFlo is now handling their warranties. The new pump has a 3 year warranty, but the start of the warranty goes back to 2/25/2011, when we had the failed pump installed. It seems that they replaced it under a parts warranty instead of a pump warranty. Geez, this is a different model altogether - how could it be considered a part? The company must be attempting to eliminate all their warranties on these pumps as quickly as possible. Anyway, we are back in business with a new water pump - for the fifth time.

We stopped at the Town Center to pick up our mail and then we went to Red Robin down Bell Rd for some lunch. It has been a few years since we last ate there and we really enjoyed our meal. That is another fine place among the many in Surprise to have a good meal at a decent price.

It was then back to the rig where I started - or should say, continued - to sort through the clutter for putting my new files to use. Josie clipped coupons while I filled up the fifth wheel with boxes and bags of files and papers that we have been carrying around for at least the last couple years and had stuffed in our closets and under the sofa. She baked a cake late in the day and, although it's very good, it's something that we don't need if we are serious about our diets. Oh well.

Our plan this AM is to go to the Town Center to vote. It's the first election that we can remember where we had to actually go to the polling place to cast our vote. It's always been an early ballot for us, but this is the first presidential election that we've been gone from a physical address in AZ. I contacted the Maricopa County Recorder's office and they instructed us to vote right here using a "provisional ballot", and the woman I spoke with said that would be OK, as long as we brought the proper identification with us. Here goes...

Catching up With Family

Prior to leaving for Brian and Amy's home at around 3:30 yesterday afternoon, we spent most of the day going from store to store looking for my files solution. We went to Surprise Furniture, R C Rattan and Wicker, Surprise Crossing, Fry's Marketplace and Pier 1 Imports before ending up back at Office Max where we started the day before. I ended up buying one of the first solutions I saw two days ago at Office Max. But I feel like I searched enough to feel satisfied that I have the best solution. Below is a photo of the two wire mesh file cabinets with a smaller, plastic container sitting on top for my loose items:

They are very light and do a good job of hiding the files inside. It also fits nicely in the space we had planned for the files. Now, I just need to do the work to fill them with the stuff I have been keeping in boxes and just lying around the table area.

We received an email from the owner of our space we are renting telling us that the previous owner, Carole, will be emptying the storage shed as soon as she is able to but it seems there is an issue with the shed not being in compliance with Association rules. It may end up that we don't get the use of the shed while we are here and we were hoping that we could use it to help us sort through our goods from the 2 storage units we have. We'll have to work out a plan B, I guess.

Our dinner at Brian and Amy's was a lot of fun and we caught up some more on what the families have been doing since we last got together. I took several photos, but the one below has everybody but Jason in it and I think he was somewhere inside watching a football game on TV. Just let it be said that those kids are growing very fast, and Jesse is almost as tall as Jason:

We were able to get some good information on how our (George and I) father died in WWII. Brian has been doing research on the Internet and established contact with some individuals who were fighting very close to him during the time he was killed. Hopefully, we will be able to get enough detail to close that unknown chapter in our lives.

Today we will get what we hope to be the final water pump we will ever need for our fifth wheel. More on that tomorrow...

Searching and Pizza With Family

I never thought it would be this difficult to locate lightweight file solutions. I can buy a regular, heavy, metal file cabinet anywhere, but the search for something lighter for the fifth wheel is turning out to be a challenge. There are some that come close while searching the Internet, but by the time you add shipping, most of them are out of the question, price-wise. We went to Office Max, Walmart, Target and Lowe's, before we called it a day and decided to save the search for today. I'm really looking for something like wicker, or rattan file baskets and a frame to put them in. We should be able to locate something similar in this area, so we'll keep searching.

Our evening was a very nice time with George and Cheryl over pizza. It is nice to catch up on what everybody has been doing since the last time we saw them which was in January this year. I took this shot after the meal:

I'm sorry that I didn't take more photos like I usually do, but we were so engaged in conversation that I only got this one. We get to see them again tonight as we have been invited to Brian and Amy's home for dinner. We look forward to seeing them and their family and we understand that Jesse is involved in a play - The Wizard of Oz - for each of the next 5 or 6 days. Maybe I can get a shot of the "Munchkin" tonight.

The news from Naperville is once again very good. Austin's team won again, 28-7, and Austin rushed for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns. Now, they get to play their Nemesis this year, Neuqua Valley High School, which gave them their only loss of the year in double OT. I have to be believe that Austin and his team will be ready for payback time next week. It should be a great game...

Vendors Day

An event that we had forgotten that was held on the first Friday of every month is Vendors Day. That is an event where anyone can rent a space to sell their goods, just like a flea market. Actually, we were on our way to the fitness center to do our workout and we couldn't find a parking spot - anywhere - and we saw the tents and the Fair right away:

We finally found a place to park and we pitched our workout to walk around the Fair. The golf carts were lined up all along the driveway:

The Vendors were a mixture of local folks selling their crafts and local companies offering specials and other services. It was a lot of fun walking around the entire Town Center grounds where all the booths and tables were:

We didn't buy anything - this time - but it sure got us thinking about the days when we rented a space at similar shows where we marketed Josie's flower arrangements and center pieces. Of course, she's out of the business now, but we thought maybe George might be interested in doing the one day Fair each month with his Bonsai items.

Speaking of George - and Cheryl - we are going to their home tonight for pizza and to catch up on what we've all been doing the past year or so. It's always nice to see the family again and is one reason why we love coming back to this area.

Even though we missed our workout yesterday, we got some other things done. Josie did some checking on local Florists for work and did some things for herself - a manicure and haircut - while I tried to find solutions for a couple situations - the computer issue and finding a way to eliminate the clutter that I always get around the table area in our rig. As for the computer issue, I have put that on hold until I see what the Christmas season does for prices. The clutter issue, I believe, can be solved with rearranging the area, slightly, and placing a small file cabinet behind the table. Now if I can just find a lightweight, 2-drawer cabinet.

We'll probably do some local checking on the cabinets and maybe even check out our storage unit today before going to George's for a nice evening. Also, the second game of the high school playoffs is today and Austin's team is playing another tough team. If they win today, it looks like a showdown with the team they suffered their only loss to in OT this year - Neuqua Valley - who defeated last year's state champs on Friday. Good luck to him today...

Annual Water Pump Service

Our appointment with the RV tech was for between 1 and 3 yesterday. Usually, when there is such a wide window for service, we see the person closer to 3 PM. Yesterday, he showed up at 12:45 which was good news. I had cleaned out the basement area near the water pump access door, and he was on the problem in no time. The bad news is that the pump is dead - which we knew - and also, he didn't have a replacement pump to install. This is the 4th or 5th pump we've had since we acquired the fifth wheel. All of them have been under warranty so we haven't paid for any, but Shur-Flo, the manufacturer, hasn't made any money off of us. They have discontinued the model we have been using - it's about time - and the Tech didn't receive the replacement model in time to bring with him. So, it looks like another appointment will be scheduled for early next week to finish the job.

Another problem that we've had, and thought it might be associated with the water pump problem, was that our water pressure has dropped. The tech thought it might be a water filter problem so I changed out the water filter cartridge after he left, hoping that would fix the problem. It didn't. Even though he didn't believe the two problems were linked, I believe they are, since we've had the same water pressure problem with previous pump failures. We'll see.

That pretty much shot the day. We dug out our old Macayo Margarita mugs to take to Macayo's for dinner:

 We bought those years ago when they offered the special of buying a mug and bringing it back each time you eat at the restaurant for 1/2 price Margaritas. They still run the program and we had a great dinner and a couple 1/2 price ($3.99) Margaritas in our mugs. They clean and package the mugs following your meal so it's easy to do again. They also give you a $5.00 coupon code to use the next time if you take their brief online survey. That's a no brainer as it only tales a few minutes. For less than $30, you can have a great Mexican dinner for two, with Margaritas included. That's not bad at all.

The news coming from the east coast on the damage that Hurricane Sandy caused is still unbelievable. It's impossible to watch any TV without seeing some sad situation being reported from that area. It appears to us to be at least as bad, and perhaps worse, than the damage caused by Katrina several years ago. we are certainly thankful we are away from that area, but hope and pray that they get the help they need to land back on their feet again. It will take years, and most of those areas will never be the same again...

Another Slow Halloween

One huge difference between living in a 55+ adult neighborhood vs a family neighborhood is Halloween night. There hasn't been a time yet when we have had a trick-or-treater knock on our door. That is both good and bad. It's bad because we miss the little kids in their cute costumes and we always end up eating the little bit of candy we buy in case we do get trick-or-treaters. It's good because we have another quiet evening at home. Also, it's good that we don't get to see the big kids that stay out to all hours of the night getting as much candy as they possibly can, and doing it with little or no costumes or Halloween spirit and playing havoc with the little kids.

It always seems like Halloween greases the skids for Christmas. The time between Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas flies by every year. Actually, we have been seeing Christmas goods in the stores for a couple weeks now. I can't believe that people are putting up trees this early, but we've seen some (artificial) being carried out of the stores already. Maybe they are just buying them now while they have the money. It certainly isn't a good time to buy at this time of the year to get the best price.

We have an appointment today with an RV Mobile Repair service that is going to replace the "dead" water pump we have. This is the fourth time that we have had a pump fail and the tech told us that Shur-Flo finally has discontinued the model that we have been using. We've been forced to put in the same model up to now in order to satisfy the warranty requirements. It was the top-of-the-line model that they had and we're sure we aren't the only ones having a problem with this model. Now, we are getting the new pump under the extended warranty we purchased on the entire fifth wheel. We are hoping that it goes smoothly as this is the first claim we've had with this warranty. That appointment is early this afternoon, so we have to make sure we are home. Actually, the only thing we have planned for this morning is our trip to the fitness center, so it shouldn't be a problem...