Hearing Aid Update

When I went to the Audiologist yesterday to have my "problem" hearing aid repaired, I fully expected to have it shipped to the factory for repair (or replacement). For that reason, I took my old hearing aid to use in its place while being fixed. I was pleasantly surprised when my Audiologist discovered that the wax trap didn't completely do its job and there was wax under the trap that she removed with her dental tools. Wow! She also cleaned out my other hearing aid and they both are now performing like new. I feel confident now in knowing that my hearing aids are ready for the summer in Jackson. A very pleasant outcome.

We also stopped at JoAnn's so Josie could look at other yarn options and we then drove home to spend a quiet afternoon in the fifth wheel.

It looks like an exciting weekend in store with some great basketball at the Final Four Tournament in Glendale, AZ. I don't know much about the teams that will be playing, but I hope Oregon or Gonzaga wins. I don't follow basketball until the Final Four weekend when the games really mean something.

Enjoy the final day of March today...

Wrapping Up March

As we wrap up March, we had another day of several stops to complete errands. Josie went to the flower shop in Glendale to pick up an Avon order she placed with one of her coworkers a while ago, then went to the Women's Care Center at the Del Webb Hospital for her Mammogram (successful) and then made a final stop at Michael's to get some yarn for her afghan project to be started soon. Meanwhile, I did some computer work and a lot of work on my cross stitch project. All in all, it was a very productive day.

I am having another problem with my left hearing aid. It is the one that I have had repaired twice before for the same problem. It keeps cutting-out and becoming either very low volume, or no sound at all. I will take it to the Audiologist today and try to get them to replace the hearing aid entirely, as this will be the third strike for this same problem. We'll see how that goes.

Only one more day remaining in March before turning the page to April. Time will fly from now until we leave in May, so it is peddle-to-the-medal to get everything done...

Errands in Surprise

We drove to Surprise yesterday AM to start a loop of stops to complete errands. The first was at the doctor's office for Josie to have her blood samples taken for the exam scheduled for next week. That was followed by a stop at the Surprise Stadium where we turned in our uniform shirts and badges to officially end Spring Training for us. There is actually one more game scheduled for today, between the Royals and Rangers, and then it is over for another season.

The next stop was at Michael's in Surprise where Josie wanted to check some yarn for an afghan that she is looking at starting very soon. Finally, we stopped at the Del Webb Women's Care Center so Josie could make an appointment to have her Mammogram done. That is scheduled for today at 11:30 AM. Whew! We made it back home by 1 PM to get some things done around the fifth wheel.

I am feverishly working to complete a cross stitch project before leaving for Wyoming. It will need to be completed, cleaned and framed before we leave so that it will be ready for the Teton County Fair in late July. I have to attempt to keep my streak going by winning the cross stitch class of the Fair for a fifth consecutive year. As mentioned in a previous post, I had a late start on this project due to some manufacturing problems with the original, chosen project in November and December. It is going to be a close call...

Life After Spring Training

It was our first day of "do nothing" following the Spring Training heavy schedule. Josie attempted to do some laundry but discovered the water line was out in the laundry room. That will have to wait.

The schedule for other appointments starts today with a visit to the lab for Josie to give some blood as a prelude to her appointment next week with the doctor. There are many things to do around the fifth wheel before leaving in May, and some of those projects are long overdue. We'll just get to them one at a time.

One of the most important details to work out is our mail forwarding situation. As we have given up our space here as an annual, we can no longer receive mail at this address after we leave in May. It appears, at this point, that the best option is to have our mail forwarded to our PO Box in Moose, WY, until we can get a longer term address to use. We always have the Florida address, but that means changing our insurance and driver's licenses and we don't want to go down that path again unless it is absolutely necessary. I'm sure we will get it all figured out before May...

Visiting Friends in Snowflake

With our early departure from Spring Training, we took advantage of the opportunity to visit friends in the small town of Snowflake, AZ. We left our home at around 9 AM yesterday, and arrived at Snowflake shortly after noon:

We always thought that the town was named after the white stuff, but discovered that the name is derived from two individuals, both Mormon, named Snow and Flake.

The drive was beautiful as we drove from Phoenix to Payson on the Beeline Highway which is a road that we haven't been on for many years. It was perfect timing as the wildflowers were in bloom, and we took these photos, all of which show the large population of saguaros:

We were pleasantly surprised as Caroline and George had prepared a huge meal for us for lunch when we arrived:

After stuffing ourselves with steak, baked potato, beans, asparagus and rolls, we went outside to chat:

They have lived in their home for about five years now. They moved to Snowflake from a small town called Trona which is close to Death Valley National Park in CA.

Their son, David, lives not far from them and we drove to his home which is on 2.5 acres and is where Caroline grows all her vegetables for canning. They also raised a cow and a pig there which occupies their freezer at this point.

We had a wonderful visit and enjoyed talking about our days working together at 49'er Ranch in CA in 2010. We left their home at 4:30 and arrived home close to 8 PM.

We are now set to line up our schedule to get everything done before we leave for Wyoming in mid May...

Early End to Our Season

On our way to the game yesterday AM, Josie and I were talking about volunteering to end our participation in the Spring Training Games. See, we are running so low on merchandise we closed down one of the stores in the stadium last Monday and have absorbed all of that staff at our store. With the low volume of merchandise remaining, we are almost tripping over each other during the games. We approached our manager and discussed ending our participation early and he was agreeable. In fact, he thanked us as he really had a problem trying to assign so many people. Wouldn't you know that leaving early yesterday, we missed the best game of the season - the Royals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 in 10 innings.

While coming home, we decided to try to connect with our friends in Snowflake, AZ, whom we worked with at 49'er Ranch several years ago. They used to live near Death Valley and moved to Snowflake a couple years ago. We have been trying to get together with them since, but something always came up to ruin the reunion. We connected, and we will see them today.

It is unfortunate that we then received an invitation from Amy to visit with them, George and Cheryl and David and his family for a barbeque today. David is visiting during Spring Break with his family and it would have been nice to see them again.

We want to wish our beautiful daughter Patty a very happy 50th birthday today. It seems like yesterday, that on Easter Sunday in 1967 she was born, weighing in at 3 lbs, 13 oz. Have a great day Patty, we love you sooo much...

Squeeker

As we get closer to the end of Spring Training, the teams appear to playing their 1st team players for longer periods. The game yesterday was a pitching duel between the Rangers and the Padres, won by the Rangers, 4-3. It almost got away from the Rangers as they allowed 3 runs in the top of the eighth inning. We're glad they held on for the win.

With only two games to go (for us), we have the Milwaukee Brewers in town today to play the Kansas City Royals. It might be a ho-hum game. As long as it is a good and fast game, we'll take it. We are certainly ready for the season to end.

We received our work schedule for the beginning part of the summer in Jackson. We start on the 24th of May and will work 5 days each week with Mondays and Tuesdays off. That will be the starting schedule for the year and we expect some changes along the way. We will go to a 4 day work week, when possible, but are happy with the starting schedule. We take a breather in April, Josie works the first week or so in May, and then we will be on the road again...

Strange Game

It was one of the strangest games I've seen in Spring Training. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Texas Rangers, 10-2, in a game that was not as close as the score. The pitcher for the Dodgers - Clayton Kershaw - pitched over six innings of 2 hit, shutout baseball while the Rangers were ushering different pitchers in and out trying to stop the Dodgers from scoring in every inning. Kershaw was near perfect while the Rangers stunk up the place. With only a week left in Spring Training, I would say the Dodgers are ready to go, and the Rangers need to start over.

It was cool (71) and windy yesterday with rain in the AM. The rain has moved out and it will begin to warm up today. The game yesterday started at 4:05 PM - very rare. We are back to the normal starting time of 1:05 today and with only three games left for us, we are ready to see the games end. This is a tough time for us as we are both tired of standing all day and look forward to some normal activity for the month of April.

We are looking forward to seeing the Final Four basketball tournament come to the stadium in Glendale. It is probably good that our house is being rented as there will definitely be some traffic jams around the stadium during that time. We are sorry that Arizona was eliminated last night by Xavier in a close game, but the tournament will still be exciting to watch...

Four to Go

After yesterday's game which was won by the Kansas City Royals over the San Diego Padres, 6-2, we have only four games left. Today's game is a later start - 4:05 PM - and should be a large crowd with the Dodgers playing. The game yesterday was another example of Spring Training team objectives. The Royals started one of their ace pitchers and he went 6 innings, pitched 2 hit ball, and allowed only one runner to reach second base. He sailed through the Padres lineup. The pitchers that relieved him almost allowed the Padres to catch up and were all terrible.

We had rain overnight but I don't think it will impact today's game. It is suppose to pass through the area and be done by this afternoon. One other  change is the hot weather has disappeared - for now - as it will only be in the low 70's for today's game.

We have a lot of appointments scheduled in April before we begin to get ready for our Jackson trip. We hope to be on the road by May 15, at the latest, and arrive in Jackson around the 19th. We are so looking forward to getting back to our favorite summer location...

Colonoscopy

I arrived a little early (8:45 AM) for the 9 AM check-in for my Colonoscopy. After filling out the usual forms and paying my co-pay, I sat in the waiting area with Josie for almost a half hour before being called in for my procedure.

All went well with the Colonoscopy and the doctor took a couple samples of some small polyps to be analyzed. His opinion is that they are benign, and it is only a formality to have them tested. I don't remember any of the procedure as I was knocked-out and didn't know about anything until in the recovery room with Josie. I'm good to go for another two years.

We arrived at the JiMichaels restaurant down the road almost exactly at 11 AM and had some breakfast. It sure was good! It's back to normal again with eating and medications.

Today begins our final week at Spring Training. We will work the next five days and wrap up on Sunday the 26th. The season doesn't end until the 29th, but we will not be working the final three games. It has been a so-so season for us and we are not yet sure what we will do next season should we return to this area in the winter. There are lots of decisions to make between now and then...

Prep Day

Of course, my day yesterday was spent drinking liquids and taking the prep steps for my scheduled Colonoscopy today. I think I am ready to go.

Josie worked the game without me yesterday so I can't give too many details on the game except to say that Cincinnati beat Kansas City, 10-8, as the Reds scored 8 runs in the top of the eighth inning. She rarely gets any chance to see what is happening on the field, so that is the summary from the game.

I started my medications at around 3 PM yesterday and didn't finish taking the "power mix" liquids until 6 PM. It was after 9 PM by the time I took my last trip to the john. There were a couple short trips after I went to bed. I can't wait for this whole thing to be over. I lost 5 pounds according to the scale this morning.

One thing I neglected to mention in yesterday's post was that the Texas Lakeside Resort RV Park has placed another ad in the Working Couples employment newsletter looking for another couple. They are still saying that the area is within "minutes" of beaches, fishing, shopping and golf, and the job has only "light" housekeeping duties. We believe that one, or both, of the couples that took our place came to the same conclusion as we did. Too bad.

My date with the Arizona Digestive Health Clinic begins at 9 AM with check-in. The procedure begins at 9:30, so hopefully, I will be eating some breakfast by around 11 AM...

A Good Game

The Texas Rangers defeated the Seattle Mariners, 3-2 yesterday. The Mariners scored both of their runs in the first inning and then took the rest of the day off. The Rangers pecked away and finally pulled it out but it was a fairly quick game in front of around 6400 fans. We had more Mariner fans coming into the store than we had Ranger fans. They were mostly disappointed that we didn't carry any Mariner merchandise, but all of the Cactus League teams only carry the home team apparel. All of the teams will be at full strength once the World Baseball Classic ends and the Mariners will see a couple of their big bats return when that happens.

Josie will work today's game without me as I prep for my Colonoscopy today. It is only liquids until this afternoon when I begin the real prep of taking my "power mix" of Miralax and Dulcolax. The fun will begin around the time that Josie returns from the game and I begin running regular trips to the john. I will be glad when this is over tomorrow morning...

Tie Game

The Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals played to a 4-4 tie yesterday in 10 innings. The game was a rather quick one in the 93 degree heat and, once again, the game would have ended sooner if the last batter in the ninth inning didn't hit a home run to tie the game and force extra innings. Normally, ties end at the end of the ninth, but because the game was fast and ended before 4 PM, they played one more inning. Even with the extra inning, the game ended shortly before 4 PM.

We received our schedule for the final week of the season. We will be working 5 days in a row with the final day this week and first four days of next week. Then, our season is over with three games remaining. The jury is out on whether or not we will do this again next season. Remember, we had an opportunity to work at the Peoria stadium before we left for Texas, so we may try to renew that opportunity if we decide to return next year. The Royals and Rangers are good teams, but our hearts are with Seattle.

Speaking of Seattle, the game today is between the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. Go Mariners!

I am scheduled to work the game tomorrow, but with my Colonoscopy scheduled for Tuesday morning - our day off - I will probably skip tomorrow's game. I have to begin my prep for the Colonoscopy tomorrow, and I don't want to take any chance of having to run to the "john" every couple minutes in the afternoon before the game ends or on the drive home following the game. Josie will probably work the game while I stay home and do my prep. The end of the Spring Training season is in sight, and then it is one month here before Josie works Mother's Day week and we head out once again for Jackson...

Car Treatment

My appointment to get the Escape Zaktek treatment done was at 8 AM yesterday. I arrived at the dealership on-time and they had no record of my appointment. Sheesh! I told the Tech Advisor that I had a confirmation of the appointment online and that the confirmation included other "specials" that were available and I named them. He saw that I wasn't making this up, so he wrote down all the required info and I proceeded to the waiting room while they took the car in for service. It was going to take 2-3 hours, but they finished in under 1 1/2 hours. Now, that is done for another six months.

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that we had to take Josie's computer into Best Buy to have the same problem fixed that I had on my system. She clicked on some ad on Facebook and she got the "call Microsoft Support" scam that we all seem to get occasionally. The only way to use your computer again is to call the number on the screen - and pay lots of money to someone to fix the problem - or take it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy, where in less than 10 minutes the problem is fixed - for free - and you are sent on your way. She is in business again and our friends at Best Buy get another kudo for being so professional.

Our next three days will be spent at the ballpark working Spring Training games. The final game of the season will be Wednesday, March 29, so we are about 10 days away. The next day off for us is Tuesday when I have my Colonoscopy scheduled. I think I might rather be doing another ballgame that day...

Visiting With Neighbor

It was a very relaxing day for us on our day off from work yesterday. We were sitting outside, enjoying the cool shade under our awning when our neighbor, Peter, came by while walking his dog. He is the neighbor that recently traded his motor home on a new, Big Country fifth wheel. He will be going to Maine this summer to help with his brother's Resort which is located along the shores of the Atlantic. It was pleasant conversation about a lot of things. He also gave us some foil bubble wrap that he had leftover from applying to his windows to keep out the heat. It was enough to place on our only windows facing the West where we get the afternoon sun and are sure that it will make a huge difference in our A/C use. It was a nice visit which lasted most of the afternoon.

I take the Escape in today for the semi-annual application of paint protector. It is performed at the dealership where we purchased the vehicle in Surprise and is part of our purchase agreement. The appointment is for 8 AM, so I will be leaving shortly...

Batting Practice

The game yesterday felt like we worked two games. The Texas Rangers defeated the Cleveland Indians, 12-11, in what was better described as batting practice. The game took forever to play and there many pitching changes during the game. The Rangers were within one strike (in the top of the ninth) to win the game, 11-10. The batter had a full count with two outs and he proceeded to hit a home run, forcing the Rangers to bat in the bottom of the ninth. We didn't get out of the stadium until around 5:15 PM where we normally finish a game before, or at, 4 PM. There were 23 runs scored on 31 hits. Batting practice.

Fortunately, we have the next two days off again as our schedule begins today for the new week. There are two weeks to go before the season ends. Our merchandise in the store is beginning to dwindle as we removed, and consolidated, several clothing racks. There will be no additional shipments of merchandise, so what you see is what you get. I was told that this year's sales are higher than last year which is becoming obvious with the rapid depletion of inventory.

The inspection of our home took place yesterday and, although we have not yet seen the report, we were told that everything looks fine. That is good news and will allow us to accept the renewal of the lease for another year. We will get the report before the end of the week.

We have no definite plans for today, our first of two days off, but have an appointment for the Escape for tomorrow at 8 AM. The heat continues, but we are looking forward to some relaxation...

Big Day for Appointments

It was a banner day for setting appointments and establishing time frames. First of all, our eye appointments were rescheduled, my colonoscopy was rescheduled and Josie's doctor appointment was rescheduled. She also gained a commitment from the 19th Ave store at Phoenix Flower Shops for Mother's Day which indicates we will remain at the Pioneer RV Resort through May 13. She will begin working sometime around May 3.

The other important details from yesterday are that we committed to retain our current insurance provider (Liberty Mutual) after long exchanges with GEICO which was a close second in our evaluation. The big reason for not switching to GEICO was that their homeowner policy premiums were much higher than we have now. Speaking of homeowner, we also found out that the inspection of our home for the lease renewal will take place this morning at 9 AM. We should see results by this evening. Assuming all is well there, the lease renewal will be signed very soon.

So, it was a very good and productive day.

We start back to work today - for one day before getting two more days off to start our new week on the schedule. We have an appointment on Friday to get service on the Escape. The calendar is filling up. Our game today will be played in record heat - expected to be about 92. That's much too hot for this time of the year in AZ...

Enjoying Off Day

A few of our coworkers at the Spring Training games have RV spaces located within 20 minutes of the stadium at a park we had never seen. We decided to take a drive yesterday to check out the park and to see some of the wildflowers blooming in our area. The drive, from our Pioneer Park, did not disappoint:

The park, located just outside of Surprise, did disappoint. The folks that told us about it stated that monthly spaces were only $207 per month, plus electric. That is about half of what our park charges, and we could see why. It was old, and very run-down with spaces very close to a main highway (Grand Ave) which could be especially noisy. I think we will remain where we are now located. The drive was terrific though.

We have a second day today to continue catching up with phone calls we need to make for appointments. I also spent a good portion of yesterday researching and discussing insurance changes for our vehicles. One thing I discovered was that it is difficult getting insurance quotes where you can compare coverages, line by line. We'll keep trying.

The temperatures appear headed for record high territory this week, so it looks like we will crank up the air conditioners to stay cool...

Another Home Team Loss

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Kansas City Royals yesterday, 5-4, in a close game. That makes the home team record 1-5 since we started. It could just be a coincidence, but it now looks like the Royals and Rangers need some pitching help. Things could easily turn around though, as the Spring Training season is meant to sort through young talent to decide who stays and who goes to a minor league assignment at the end. But don't the visiting teams do the same thing? Hmm.

The game yesterday was attended by 9197 fans - easily the largest attendance to date for us. This is a shot taken during the fourth inning which shows the crowd and the beautiful, but hot, weather we had:

Folks that we talked to that were visiting from Kansas City said they just had a snowstorm at home and felt sorry for friends and family left behind. It was near 90 yesterday!

We are off for the next two days and have lots of tasks to accomplish before we work again on Wednesday. Josie has calls to make to find out about Mother's Day schedules and doctor's appointments. I have to work on establishing a workable mail forwarding situation for our insurance and health care coverages. I also have to try to reschedule appointments that were cancelled as a result of our Texas stint. We sure are sorry that we had that interruption in our schedules, but life goes on...

Home Team Win

The home team losing streak ended yesterday as the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1. It was a shutout until the ninth inning when the White Sox looked like they might start a rally, but they only scored one run. So, after five games, we finally have a home team win. Today's game is the final one for us for two days and we are looking forward to having the two days off.

While driving home from the game, we saw these balloons getting ready to lift-off. We had never seen so many, so close together, getting ready to take off at the same time:

This is located at a popular balloon location along the Lake Pleasant Highway in Peoria. The photo was taken from Route 303 which is our travel road to the stadium.

It was very warm at the game yesterday - 87 - and it is expected to get even warmer over the next several days. In fact, there is a chance that records could be broken over the next several days and temps will reach into the 90's. We are thankful that we will be off during those potential record heat days...

Home Team Losses

In all of the games (4) that we have worked so far at Spring Training, the home team has lost. Last night was no exception. The Oakland A's beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-7. This is the scene during the game:

The real story in this game is the 15 runs that were scored by both teams during the final three innings. What started out to be a fast, low scoring game, turned ugly in the 7th inning. The final three innings took over 1 1/2 hours to play and there were what seemed to be a half dozen pitching changes by each team. Here is a shot of the final scoreboard - not real clear as I was far away when the shot was taken:

We didn't think the game was ever going to end.

We get to do it all over again today with a regular day game. We will leave at 9:30 to be there and get set up for the 1:05 PM start time. One thing I can tell you is that we both are still tired from last night's game. Fortunately, we don't have any more of those on our schedule as the other night games will be played on our off days. Good thing...

Lease Renewal

It is the time of the year when the tenants that are renting our home in Glendale have to decide on whether to renew the lease or leave. The word we got this week was they want to renew, and the property managers are preparing the renewal documents and getting ready to do the property review which includes photos and checking everything in the house to make sure there has been no damage or other factors that might impact the lease. We elected to renew the lease at the current rate as they are good tenants and the lease market has leveled - according to the property managers. That is a relief as we prepare to go to Jackson for another summer knowing that the house is in good hands.

We had another home team loss yesterday at Spring Training as the Rangers lost to Venezuela, 6-4. The World Baseball Classic would be great to watch as these international teams are very, very good. Of course, Venezuela is one team that is loaded with very good Major Leaguers. It is almost like an all star team of the majors.

Today's game, between the Royals and Oakland A's, is a night game that starts at 6:05 PM. We have to be at the ballpark at 3:30 to prepare for the game which will end at around 9:30-10:00 tonight. Today's game is followed by another day game tomorrow.

Along with getting into the heart of the spring training season, it is beginning to warm up into the 90's which is not good news. That means we will be cranking up the air conditioners and driving up our electric bills. Fortunately, working the games during the day will allow us to keep the air conditioners off during the hottest part of the day...

Stitching Time

Our only day off yesterday was used to play a little catch up. Josie did some laundry and I spent most the day stitching my project for this year's Fair in Jackson. I usually have it nearly done by this time, but this year I had to start over with a new project - in December. That wasted a lot of valuable time, so I now have to squeeze in stitching whenever I can. I don't know if I can make it in time this year.

Our schedule has us working the next four days. One of the games - tomorrow - is a night game that starts at 6 PM, so it will be a late one, followed by a day game which really makes the days seem longer. Sleep less, work more. Each year they schedule a few of these night games. I believe it is because it is cooler at night and some folks also have to work during the day.

The late start that we had this year has caused us to miss the first 9 games. Our total games worked this year will be 17, but we are grateful that they found a way for us to even work that many games. The games are fun, the people are interesting and it is great to be outside working every day at this time of the year in Arizona...

Another Gorgeous Baseball Day

Yesterday's game between the Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies was another fairly fast and well pitched game on a perfectly beautiful day. The Rockies won, 3-2, which makes it two in a row losses for the homes team for us this season. I hope that doesn't become the trend as we would like to see the home teams win.

There was a small change in our schedule as we have today off after reminding our manager that he had us scheduled for 7 straight days. We like the work, but we have other things to take care of and can't work the entire week without at least one day off. Anyway, the Rangers and the Royals each will play Team Venezuela over the next two days. It seems that Mexico, Italy and Venezuela will play some of the Cactus League teams over the next couple days before they play in the World Baseball Classic.

We have appointments to schedule today on our day off so that we can reschedule some of the ones we had to cancel when we went to Texas. The most important ones are our eye exams and my Colonoscopy. The off day comes at a good time...

First Game Under Our Belt

Our first day of Spring Training was a good one. We arrived on time - 10:30 AM - got checked in, received our shirts and our assignments. I work the floor in the first base tent again, and Josie works the register at the same location.

The game was between the Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. The Diamondbacks won the game, 4-1, and it was a fairly quick game. It usually is when there is a low score. Pitching duels are rare at this time of the Spring Training season, and we were happy to see one yesterday. We took some photos of the first day and our first game. This first one is of the field from our station:

Our retail area :

and this final shot of what appears to be the "Official Kansas City Royal":

It takes a lot of guts to go to a game with that outfit - we give him credit for being a great fan.

We got our schedule following the game and we work every day until next Monday - 7 days straight. For the rest of the month, we will work Wednesday through Sunday until the end, having Monday and Tuesday off. We hope that we are up to working the five day per week schedule, but the games are fun to attend, and it's nice getting paid to be there.

Day two will start today at 11 AM for the game between the Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers...

Ready for First Game

Even though there have been a few games already, our Spring Training games begin today. It would have been nice to start yesterday as the Cubs played the Texas Rangers (9-9 tie). Our game today isn't bad either as the Arizona Diamondbacks will be in the stadium to play the Kansas City Royals. Our start time is 10:30 even though the game won't start until 1:05 PM.

We had a stay-at-home day yesterday and did a few small things around the RV. The main thing was to repair a shade that had a broken string and it is now ready to go again. There are lots of other small items that need attention, but they will be done, over time, on other days. It was not a bright, cheery day, as we had more clouds. No rain, but lots of clouds. The temperatures are expected to rise this week to almost 90 before the weekend. We don't like to see that happen as once you hit 90 in AZ, the 100 degree days are not far away.

It's off to the stadium today for another year of Spring Training. Play ball!...

Finalyzing Schedule

Our Spring Training start is set for Monday at 10:30 AM. We will get our schedule for the month at that time and receive our instructions for our responsibilities. We had an opportunity, before we left for Texas, to work at the Peoria Stadium and the Mariners field, but lost that opportunity during the time spent in Texas. We still enjoy working the games in Surprise.

Josie has not yet connected with the shop manager in Phoenix for working April and through Mother's Day. She still hopes to get that finalized tomorrow AM before going to our first Spring Training game.

We enjoyed the day yesterday by going to another RV show at the Glendale Stadium, sponsored by LaMesa RV. They have RV shows on a regular basis at the stadium. It amazes us to see the hundreds of vehicles they have on display at every show. This is our shot of the show as we arrived:

We always like to see the new features and amenities of the latest model year, but we are always happy to return to our own DRV Mobile Suites. Our understanding is that they sell approximately 60 units at each of these weekend shows, so it obviously pays for them to go through the effort and expense to put on the show. We saw one guest drive off in an American Dream Motor Home that had a sticker of $375,000 on the windshield as the show price. That was obviously a $500K plus unit.

It looks like a stay-at-home day today to relax before starting work again tomorrow. We'll try to make the most of it...

Settled in Arizona

As we were very anxious to get this trip over with, we left Deming, NM, at 7 AM yesterday. There were the usual stops for potty breaks and once for gas, and we arrived at the Pioneer RV Resort at 1 PM. We set a record for gas mileage while towing the RV - 11.7 mpg - and we were running over 12 mpg for much off the trip. The one rest area stop is below:

Notice the snow on the mountains in the background.

We also remembered to lock the frig this time so we arrived without any mishaps.

We checked into the RV park and paid about 25% more for our space which we will occupy into May. Of course, we are no longer on an annual rate, so the we pay accordingly. It was nice to see our old neighbors and friends and we will enjoy the next couple months in familiar surroundings.

We are waiting for instructions on how to proceed with Spring Training and Josie is attempting to make connections with flower shop managers to try to get something for the rest of our time here this spring season. We just might end up leaving for Jackson earlier this year but we will be watching the weather in Wyoming before any decision like that is made...

Third Leg

It was just a few minutes after 8 AM when we started out yesterday. The 340 mile trip was once again strictly on I-10, but we went through El Paso which is one large city. These drives through major cities really make Josie nervous as it is difficult, at times, to keep up with me in traffic when we have to change lanes on the freeway. She does a great job though. The walkie-talkies do their job when we travel with two vehicles.

There were the usual stops for gas and potty breaks. I had noticed a leak under our RV while gassing up outside of Fort Stockton. It was a red liquid that was coming out where the corner of the slide is on the drivers' side. I thought at the time that we might have a hydraulic fluid leak from a hose somewhere, but I could not find anything. As we dove along the freeway, I thought that the liquid was too red to be hydraulic fluid. We stopped at a rest area further along the freeway and I investigated inside the RV. Just as I suspected - the refrigerator door was unlocked and things fell out of the frig, onto the floor, and the jar of Maraschino Cherries cracked open and spread juice throughout the front of the rig. What a mess. That was only the second time in all our travels that we neglected to lock the frig. The discovery was made at this stop:

We extended the kitchen slide and cleaned up as best we could until we arrived at our destination in Deming, NM at around 1:30 PM. Even though there was the mess, it sure was better than a hydraulic leak.

We will leave earlier today - hopefully, by 7 AM - for our final leg - 360 miles -  into Phoenix and the Pioneer Resort. We hope to arrive there sometime early this afternoon to get resettled in our old space...

Second Leg

Our drive of around 280 miles was totally on I-10. We left Boerne, TX at 8 AM and arrived in Fort Stockton at 1:30 PM. Since we were very early, we drove around the town to get a feel for the area. Although not the greatest town in Texas, it did have a Walmart and it also had a terrific Museum which is in the Historic Section of town:

The actual Fort in Fort Stockton was not a war related place, but rather used as a stage depot for all the stage lines carrying mail and passengers in the mid to late 1800's and was staffed by the military. The museum preserved much of the history of this Fort:

and we also took this shot of one the old barracks that remained in the Fort:

There was a lot of history in this place and it was an enjoyable distraction from our trip.

We have another 340 miles to drive today to get to Deming, NM where we will stay at the Deming Roadrunner Park - the same location as our trip to Texas about 2 weeks ago. We gain an hour today as we reenter the Mountain Time Zone. If we leave by our targeted 8 AM start, we should arrive in the early afternoon...

First Leg

It was a familiar journey yesterday from Port Lavaca to Boerne, TX. We are staying, once again, at the Top of the Hill RV Resort in Boerne TX and we have the same site we had about 12 days ago.

This time, we drove around the nice town of Boerne and discovered why it is considered one of the nicest areas in Texas. It is close to San Antonio and is located in the Hill Country of Texas. With the late start we had in the morning - 10 AM - we still arrived at a decent time (1:45 PM) at our stopover. Following our drive through town, we had an early dinner at the restaurant where we ate with our friends  (Rodger and Sue) the last time - PoPo's:

We had the same meal as before - the grilled chicken - and it was excellent again.

Today, we will have another familiar stop in Fort Stockton, TX. The park in Fort Stockton is not a showplace, but serves the purpose for a one night stop. The plan is to leave here around 8 AM which will get us to our destination early this afternoon. It is a 280 mile drive with the entire trip on I-10.

We'll see you from Fort Stockton tomorrow...