Holiday Cheer and Shopping

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

Shopping with Tammi and Sandi at Woodburn Outlet Mall

I have had a little difficulty sitting down and writing a post.  No, I take that back.  I’ve had a lot of difficulty sitting down and writing a post. At the end of each full day, my brain has stopped functioning.   This is my attempt at keeping current.  After all, we just arrived back in Washington for the holidays and we’ve been running ever since.  We’ve been visiting.  We’ve also had to work on our Christmas shopping  AND we’ve had to wrap all the presents.  Actually, that’s the last two days in a nutshell and there’s only one word to describe that …. busy.

Do you think these need replacing?

Found a Merrell Outlet ... my new shoes

Our first two nights were spent at our son’s house.  We spent yesterday and today shopping, wrapping gifts and moving back to our daughter’s house for another two nights.  Our plan is to move back and forth between the two houses every other night.  That’s work but it’s a good type of work.

Gifts

With Christmas one week away we’ve been doing a lot of shopping.  Today was no exception.  We made a trip to the outlet mall in Woodburn which is south of Portland.  Then, a little stop at Fry’s Electronics and on to the FedEx Office to get supplies for shipping.  Then, back out again .... at yet another mall.  Shopping is work but someone has to do it.  It's not that we were really in a place to do much shopping before we got here.  Quartzsite doesn't have many malls.  Actually, Quartzsite doesn't have any malls!

Driving in the fog is no fun.

It’s been foggy in this area … really foggy.  I remember when we lived around here some 20 odd years ago that the fog was a dreaded thing during the winter because it often froze on the roads.  Ever drive in black ice?  That’s exactly what it can become.

In about nine days we’ll start our trek back to Arizona.  We’ve started watching the 10-day forecast.  Again, we’re certainly hoping that the weather forecasters are as right-on in their forecast as they were on our trip north.  At this point, roads look dry with no snow over the mountains.  Our fingers and toes are crossed that it just stays that way.

‘Tis a tad of a break from life on the road.

Arrival in Phoenix - An ATV RV Park

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

Isn’t it amazing that when we go to bed knowing we have to get up early that we wake up often and many times very early?   I had a flight to catch Wednesday morning.  It was an early flight.  I used to like early flights but now even though I get out of bed early, I don’t like getting ready before it’s even light outside.   Just to be sure I wouldn’t oversleep my iPhone alarm was set for 3:00 AM, 3:15 AM and 3:20 AM.  That should do it.  Right?

My intended flight departed from the Portland airport at 6:00 ... about 40 miles away.  I still had to park and go through security and that obviously takes time.  At least that’s what I planned.  I’m sure you know about my planning and sticking with the plan.

First of all, by 2:30 AM, I was wide awake.  It wasn’t too much after that that I was on the way to the airport.  By the time I arrived at the Portland airport I had decided I didn’t want to fly to Phoenix via Dallas.  My task was to find a flight that would go non-stop and move my arrival time up by several hours.  Not a problem.  I found one flight after another.  Just as soon as I put my name on one airline’s list, I’d find another I liked better.   By 10:30 AM I had arrived in Phoenix on Alaska Airlines.

I took a picture of the picture on the wall of a prior ATV event.  This was a photo of everyone getting ready to take off from the back of the resort.

Sometimes it pays to be flexible.  It took four separate airlines and four separate listings to secure myself a seat but I was flexible and obviously it paid off.  What a morning that was but I was several hours earlier than planned and everything worked out.

As mentioned a few days back, we had originally planned this trip to check out a couple winter destination RV parks.  This is what we wanted to do.  There were several reasons for changing our mind about wintering in Arizona over Texas.  One of those reasons was that Terry would be close to his mom.  You know what they say about the best-laid plans.  Well, our original planning for the trip was changed and Terry was already in Phoenix when I arrived due to a medical situation with his father.

Yes .... the temperature was a chilly 103 !

The temperature was HOT.  It was certainly a bit warmer than we had been experiencing in Washington State. 

Gold Canyon is just a tad east of Apache Junction.  Now Apache Junction is a tad east of Mesa and even a bigger tad east of the Phoenix area.  That’s actually not a bad thing.  This time it is exactly what we wanted.  We wanted to be outside of all the traffic.  Gold Canyon is definitely outside of all the metropolitan traffic.  That’s where we went.

A little putting green at the park ..... the green will be greener once the temperatures go down.

There are a few other RV parks in the Gold Canyon area and lots of them in the Apache Junction area.  If one were to choose Apache Junction over Gold Canyon, there would be so many choices from super fancy to super drab.  And, as you might guess, the monthly cost varies according to the park.

We had a few necessities and a few wants.   As you know by now, we were actually looking for a park where ATVs were welcome and there were lots of areas to ride without loading and unloading them all the time. On top of that I really wanted a pool and a hot tub plus a paved road for riding my bike.  That’s a few of the things we were looking for.  Well, the park also had to welcome Duchess.  Perhaps, that was our #1 priority.

Yippee!  A pool and a spa is available.

We were also hoping our first stop would be our last stop.  And, it was.  We visited the Arizonian.  Actually, everything listed above was at this park.  Perhaps, that’s why it was first on our list.  With temperatures over 100 degrees, you could guess that it was certainly empty at this time.    Not much was there.  Well, there were a few folks who had already moved in but most were smart and were still up north where it was cooler.  However, winter is just around the corner and this place will be full in a few months.  In addition to rows set aside for RVs, the park also had a dedicated row just for ATV trailers.  We thought that was pretty darn cool because we hadn’t thought of that but definitely needed it.

There was a new recreation building under construction.  Not that there wasn’t already a nice one because there was but  the new building will be huge when completed.  At the rate they are going, I’m sure it will be done way before we get there.  

Will we have to take up tennis since there is a tennis court ??? 

We were happy.  We were pleased.  It was time to pick out a spot in the pet area.  Now that took a little doing.  It’s not often we really have this much of choice.  It took a while but we finally selected one on a corner across from the ATV trailers and close to the pet walk.  Actually, Terry picked it out.  You always have to have someone to blame and he wanted the trailer close.  The only thing left to do was plunk down the bucks.  We did that too.  Whee!  I’m glad that’s behind us!  Mission accomplished.

Inside the de la Cruz Restaurant

We also found a little “hole in the wall” Mexican restaurant just a short distance away.  It was de la Cruz.  We loved it.  The food was great and cheap!  Obviously, in a few months we’ll drag Jim and Sandie there and maybe even talk Doug and Toni into joining us.  Who knows?

 

Speaking of Toni … guess what I found for her?    I believe these are close to her favorite little refreshers.  Well, we’ll throw a couple at her as they pass by us on their way south … maybe.  Since I never check luggage on an airplane, do not ask how I got them to Washington for her from Phoenix.  What we do for people!!

Later that evening it was more food.  Terry’s mom had her heart set on Olive Garden so that’s where we went.  If we’d known that, we probably wouldn’t have had lunch.  Well, maybe we would have.   On Thursday I HAD to make a stop at IN-N-Out.   I couldn’t imagine leaving the Phoenix area without a stop at IN-N-Out.  That would have been horrible.  

Leaving Terry behind, it was to the airport to catch a flight back to Portland.  This was definitely a whirlwind two days for me.    Come to think of it, it wasn’t even two days.  The trip was uneventful.  I love trips that are uneventful.  In another six days we have another trip on our schedule.  This time it will be to Chicago to watch Justin "graduate" from bootcamp.  

Terry and his mom

RV Show and Gun Show

How many roads must a man walk down before he admits he’s lost?

No.  This isn't really a man from outer space.  This is Terry trying on a new helmet before he actually purchased it.  So, if you see someone that looks like this, you'll know who it is.

I’m doing a little backtracking with this one.  There was a 4-day RV show at the Portland Exposition Center.  Sometimes these are really fun things to go to.  It’s not so much looking at the same ole type of RVs as it is checking out the different vendors and unique RVs.  Tammi, Terry and I went.  The parking lot was packed with trailers, 5th wheels, tent trailers and motorhomes.  Two huge exposition halls were also packed.  However, there were so few vendors you could count them on your fingers.  We were a tad bit disappointed.  Terry did find the sewer extension he needed without running all the way over to Camping World on the other end of Portland to buy it.

This unit had an outside patio.  I guess that's if it's muddy, you don't really have to step outside.

The only unique RVs we found were those that had added porches and outside “kitchen” areas.  Not sure why these would be popular but obviously everyone likes different things.  Thank goodness!

We also intended on going to the Gun Show in Centralia.  We had intended on going to the one in Las Vegas too when we were there.  This one was just like that one.  Something else came up and we never made it.

Remember a few weeks ago I had to visit Fry’s in Portland to get the receipt for the Sony camera I had purchased just a tad less than a year ago?  It was under warranty and I needed to mail it to the Sony repair center before that year was up.  Well, yesterday I received a call from their technician.  They wanted to make me an offer.  Oops …. I was waiting for them to ask for my credit card number.  They didn’t.  Since they had taken so long and the needed part was still on back order, they were going to offer to BUY it back from me at the original price I paid!!  No way!!  Talk about customer service … I was ecstatic especially since I was so happy with the new little purse-sized camera I had purchased. “Send the check”, I said.  I didn’t tell them I had already planned on selling it via Craigslist.  

Guess what I embroidered on a shirt?  The more I do this, the better I get.  It's just finding the time to do it.

I certainly know where that Sony refund will be applied.  It’ll go to all the ATV stuff I want.  It’s amazing how expensive everything is once it becomes a specialized item.  We all know the same products are at Wal-Mart for less than half the price. 

Today?  Well, now we’re off to visit the State Patrol for an inspection of the Polaris.  It's never been titled so that's on the calendar for today.  Then, another doctor’s appointment in Portland.  It’s certainly been a busy summer.

UPDATE:  Tammi starts her NEW position on Monday!  Yippee ... in this market having a job is a good thing.

Labor Day is Behind Us

Those who live by the sword... get shot by those who don't.

WOW!  You can really lose track of blogs when you write a whole bunch and then you set them to automatically post instead of writing them as you go along.  That’s just what I’ve done.  Well, it’s not all my fault really.  Most of it is, however.  The deal is we have been busy doing the things that most people do.  To top it off we’ve really had intermittent internet.  I’ve tried to stay off of it when we’re in the motorhome because it’s been horrible.  It seemed to have been okay early in the morning and very late at night. Taking my computer with me when we head into town worked for responding to emails and a few blogs I read but that’s been just about it.  Without good internet it’s been hard.

Our neighborhood beggars have been active.  We’ve had many deer stop by to visit.  At one time we had over a dozen looking for a handout.  I have tons of pictures.  We also have a few resident cats that visit.  We buy deer food, cat food and dog food now.  Duchess isn’t too thrilled when they actually come knocking at the door but they try to do that.

It’s still a little slow and the satellite is even acting up.  The worst culprit was that summer vacation wasn’t over and everyone and their neighbors thought they would head to the lake.  With only one cell tower around, they used up the bandwidth that had been specifically reserved for us.  At least that’s how we viewed it.  We may actually get ready to move into town to improve reception and signal.  Labor Day did roll around and the people went back to what they should be doing … work and school.  Obviously, we’re certainly glad they’ve left but our techie items still haven't improved as we would have liked them to.

The best way to figure what we’ve done is to look back at the pictures.  That little camera is always around.  The more I use the new one, the more I’m really glad I bought it.  Eventually, the other one should be returned from the factory and it’s refurbishment. 

Selection at Mongolian Grill When the kids were little we lived close to a Mongolian grill.  We loved the selection and watching the cooks toss the food around on the grill.  Well, Terry and I tried one in Vancouver.  Terry loved it and I didn’t so much.  I guess I got turned off by the shrimp that hadn’t been cleaned, the sticky floor and orange chicken that was a poor second to Panda Express.  Maybe I’m watching too much of Gordon Ramsey.

Fabulous food and wonderful company.

As I mentioned Labor Day did roll around and this place was packed. The weather around here has been absolutely crazy.  It’s been cool through most of the summer.  Then, August is over and September arrives.  Temperatures have been registering in the upper 80’s and 90’s.  There is no relief in sight!  What’s up with this?  After the cool summer, even some of our deer friends have already shed their summer coats and are fully protected for winter in their new ones.

Sandi and Sabrina taking turns feeding Mr. Buck.

Our little community even had a Labor Day craft fair that Tammi, Sabrina and I visited.  We didn’t buy a lot but did walk away with a few crafty ideas.  I guess that’s what we need … something else to do.  We did find a few treasures though.

Craft Fair -- Tammi and Sandi are checking out items.

We barbecued, ate and did a lot of talking.  The kids (teenagers and friends really) went swimming in the pool and then visited the lake.  Every place was packed.

Cool lake waters

We’re glad Labor Day arrived.  For RVers that means campgrounds will be less packed and, of course, internet usage should be better.

Flowers, flowers and more flowers

There is a really, really huge outlet mall just south of Portland in Woodburn.  It’s a gorgeous mall decorated with flowers all around.  Michael, Sandi, Jordan and I decided to visit the mall on Labor Day.  We figured there would be huge back-to-school sales.  The sales were there and so were the people.  Finding a parking spot was a challenge in itself and the temperature was soaring.  We were out of there before many folks probably even found an empty place to put their car.

They were ready to go!

(August 27 - September 5)

Portland’s Saturday Market Again

I’ve learned to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

Why does it always seem that when you have nothing going on you really have nothing going on? Then, why is it when something is happening, everything is happening?

Every year my mother’s side of the family has a reunion in Port Angeles.  This year was no exception and I fully expected to attend.  However, it just seemed everything else was going on that weekend.  It just wasn’t going to be possible.  At that point we had to start prioritizing.

To begin with that same weekend and 200 miles south was Justin’s going away party (previously posted).  We also had Tammi arriving the day after.  These are the things we chose to do.  That also meant that we had a day in the middle free.  What did we do?  We went to the Saturday Market on the waterfront in downtown Portland.  This is what Jerry and Janice wanted to do so we went with them .... or, they went with us.

The Saturday Market is huge.  It’s loaded with street entertainment, lots of crafty things and food.  Amazingly enough, no one bought anything.  There were a few items that caught our attention but nothing enough to warrant getting out those wallets. 

We did stand in line at Voodoo Donuts for a few minutes.  It was only for a few minutes after we figured out that the line for donuts was well over an hour long.  No donut is that important to me!!

Instead of waiting there any longer we walked right down the street to Dan and Louis’ Oyster Bar.   Guess what Terry had?  You’re right.  It was oyster stew … again.

This place has been in the same location for years.  It’s a unique seafood restaurant where my folks used to take out of town guests for a meal.

 

It was back to the Kelso Elks RV park after that.  The following morning the Hyders were heading north and we were staying put for a few more days.


--  August 6th