It rained all night. At 5:30 AM there was a little pause.
I moved the motorhome and attached the car. Since I was
up already I decided to leave. It started to rain again and it rained until I
was over the mountains on Interstate 8. On top of the mountains I also
encountered fog and a terrible wind. I had to slow down. The motorhome was
moving sideways.
As soon as I came down the mountains the sun was shining. It had not much rained in the desert.
I stopped at the Rest Area neat El Centro and ate
breakfast and I shaved. Because of the fog I missed the Rest Area in the
mountains.
I stopped at the Q Casino west of Yuma. After I set up
the motorhome I drove to the Escapee RV Park in Yuma and visited Bob and Donna.
I had not seen them for a while. They both are doing fine. Bob showed me some
of his new toys.
December 17, 2016.
I usually sleep through storms, falling trees in the
street and other big noises. Last night I woke up at 1:00 AM.
The motorhome was shaking and one solar panel was making
a big noise. The wind lifted it 3/8 of an inch and let it go again constantly
for almost two hours.
I did not feel like moving the motorhome into the wind; I
just waited it out.
The latch on the solar panel has to be moved to avoid
this happening again. One of my neighbors lost his big awning. He had it closed
but the wind lifted the drum and unfurled the awning and tore the brackets out
of the wall of the motorhome. The drum ended up on the roof and the neighbor
had to use a knife and cut the awning from the drum, because it acted like a
sail and did damage on the motorhome.
The wind stopped in the morning and we had blue skies and
the temperature was about 70 degrees F.
Early afternoon I drove to the Foothills library and from
there to the VFW. Only two WINs are there now.
December 18, 2016.
Today I went to Fry’s and bought some groceries. I bought
the specials, like red, seedless grapes for 99 cents a pound.
From there I drove to the Arizona Markets.
There are rows of stalls with vendors who sell all kind
of items for the snow birds.
At the food court is also entertainment.
I bought kettle corn and some small items for the
motorhome, and twelve dozen socks.
The temperature dropped today. It was 60 degrees F. only.
The rest of the country wishes they had that temperature. It is super cold in
Chicago.
Gasoline costs $ 2.01 here in Yuma.
December 19, 2016.
This morning I went to McDonalds and did my computer
work. The library is closed on Sunday and Monday.
Then I got propane and went to the Post Office. My mail
has not arrived yet.
Since I was near the VFW I went there and checked who has
arrived already. A lot of WINs are there now.
December 20, 2016.
I moved this morning to the VFW (Veterans of Foreign War)
Lodge. Behind the lodge is BLM land where we can park for fourteen days.
Today is the official start of the WIN Yuma Christmas
outing.
At 2:00 PM some of us went dancing at the lodge. They
have a band every day, except Wednesday.
Dancing is from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Besides the WINs there were only three couples. This is
unusual, normally the place is filled with dancers.
I got gasoline for the motorhome and paid $ 1.96 per
gallon. I had given the clerk $ 120.00. When I was done I got back $ 36.00. I
was still calculating with the price of $ 2.65 per gallon.
December 21, 2016.
On my morning walk I took a picture of our motorhomes and
trailers at the VFW. There are a few non WINs also.
In the evening some of the group went dancing at the
beautiful, large Golden Roadrunner Ballroom. The music was great and we had a
lot of fun.
December 23, 2016.
I went dancing from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the VFW. We
cannot dance until 5:00 PM because of our 4:00 PM circle meeting.
I also danced from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Moose Lodge.
Staying until 10:00 PM would have been too much.
The rest of the day I spent with shopping for a one
dollar gift and a ten dollar gift for our group activities.
I also went to the library and the post office. My mail
finally arrived and I was able to send the payment for my new prescription drug
plan.
A large group went to Algodones, Mexico for margaritas,
lunch, massages, and one member saw a
Chiropractor. I went two years ago and
had a lot of fun. Getting my mail was very important; I did not want to miss
that.
December 24, 2016.
Yesterday we had a wonderful sunrise.
This morning it started to rain and did not stop until
noon. We went dancing for a while and after the 4:00 PM meeting we put our one
dollar gifts in a large bag and received a playing card.
When the card was called we could pick up a gift out of
the bag. We had to unwrap the gift and show it.
The next person or the people after that person were able
to get a gift out of the bag or take away a gift from people who had received
one already. Gifts could change owners three times. Candy was the favorite to
get. It was a lot of fun.
After the game we had finger food.
Then we sat around the fire and listened to Christmas music
and had conversations.
We used a bush as a Christmas tree.
Because of the rain and very little sun today it was a
bit cool.
December 25, 2016.
It was a cold night since there was no cloud cover. It
was a beautiful, sunny day though.
After the 9:00 AM Hugs and Mugs meeting we had the ten
dollar gift game. It was with the same rules as yesterdays game but a lot
funnier because the gifts were a lot better.
I had my eyes on a two pound fancy box with German cookies.
Alan, the person who picked it up from the table, had several gifts stolen from
him before. I knew when my term came I would steal it from him.
He still had it when my card was called, and it went to
me.
Unfortunately I had it only for a short time, and then stole
a box of liquor cookies from somebody.
The game lasted 90 minutes and it was a lot of fun.
After we were done I was able to exchange my box of
liquor cookies with the person who had the box of German cookies.
At 1:00 PM we went for the Christmas dinner at the VFW
lodge. Most of us brought side dishes and people who did not bring a dish paid
five dollars.
The main dish was ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and
peas. There was also roast beef and a ton of salads and other side dishes.
After the meal we danced until 5:00 PM. Once in a while
there is a line dance. Some men seem to enjoy it too.
Many former WINs came to the Christmas dinner. It was
wonderful to see some of those old travel companions again. They spend about
six months of the year in Yuma. Some of them bought houses.
This was a wonderful day.
December 26, 2016.
In the morning I drove to the Refuse Collection Center. I
had to get rid of some garbage. The place is in the country side. Here are
giant farms which grow vegetables.
I stopped at a red
cabbage field. The field is very large. The harvesting is done like in a
factory. A tractor pulls a wide machine were about six people are lying on
their stomach and cutting off the heads of the cabbage. The heads go on a
conveyor to people who put the produce in a box and from there the boxes go on
a truck which follows the machine.
At noon I went Down Town Yuma to the Lutes Casino, which
is not a casino anymore, just a famous Yuma restaurant.
I met a large group of the WINs there. We had lunch.
When we came back to the motorhomes we went dancing at
the VFW.
December 27, 2016.
After Hugs and Mugs we spread out and cleaned the area.
There was litter under the bushes and along the highway.
We like to leave an area cleaner than we found it.
Margret’s pick- up truck was filled with trash bags.
During the day a group went to the Visitor Center and to
the Yuma Territorial Prison, which is a museum now.
In the evening we went to the 55th Street
Christmas Lights. Homeowners of a section of 55th Street decorate
their houses and gardens really elaborately.
December 29, 2016.
Yesterday a group of WINs went to the Imperial Date
Gardens for a tour. Since I have been in Yuma many times I have been at most
tourist places.
In the evening we went dancing at the Golden Roadrunner
Ballroom.
Today a group went for a long hike. I did not go because
I had my motorhome washed and the rubber roof recoated. The roof is finished
but the sides of the motorhome have to be sanded and a new gell coat applied. I
had hoped that a power buff would improve the finish on the fiber glass, but it
did not work.
The workers will return on Saturday and work on the
sides.
In the afternoon we danced again at the VFW.
In the evening we danced at the Moose Lodge.
December 31, 2016.
This is the last day of 2016. It was a strange year. My
life changed and so did the political landscape.
I tried to stay away from political discussions. The
little people argue about things they cannot change and the big people in
Washington argue one moment and the next moment they go together to parties and
social gatherings.
Yesterday we danced at the VFW. As soon as we started to
dance the rain came down and the sun screen over the dance area is not
waterproof. The outdoor dance floor was wet and slippery. A lot of people left
and the inside dance floor was then large enough to accommodate us.
Today only a few people came to dance at the VFW. There
are a lot of New Years parties in town and everybody is busy preparing for
that. I danced for an hour.
In the evening fifty six WINs went dancing at the Golden
Roadrunner Ballroom. We started out with a meal consisting of a large backed
potato, chili, green beans and a salad. Dessert was served at 10:00 PM. It was
cake and ice cream.
The food was served at 6:00 PM and dancing started at 8:00
PM. Most of us lasted until 11:00 PM.
It was a wonderful way to end the year.
One group redecorated the table. The women gave it their own touch.
Donna is my major dance partner. She knows my moves and
it is easy to dance with her. She is trying to teach me the cha cha.
January 1, 2017.
I woke up this morning and noticed that the motorhome was
not level. I had leveled it when I came here.
I should have gone outside and checked the hydraulic
jacks, instead I tried to readjust them. When I came to the end of the piston
stroke nothing had changed.
It had rained really heavy last night. I was so tired
that I slept through the storm. My
motorhome was sitting in a river, which made the soil soft and the front wheels
of the motorhome had sunk seven inches into that muddy mess. The jacks could not
work because they were in the mud too.
My neighbor Diane had just left our area and I was able
to take her spot, which was on higher ground.
After the 9:00 AM meeting I went and did two loads of
laundry and did my computer work at Burger King. A whopper meal helped me to
get strong and go back to the VFW and dance for two hours.
I danced a lot lately and my knees are letting me know.
After Yuma we will be dancing less, perhaps once or twice a week. Here in Yuma
one can dance every day or twice a day..
January 3, 2017.
I moved today to the Paradise Casino. Most of the group
moved to Martinez Lake, the next stop on the winter circuit. They want to go
kayaking.
I moved to the casino with the hope that the people who
washed the motorhome and recoated the roof will come here and sand the sides of
the motorhome and put on a new jell coat.
The promised me to come here tomorrow.
I could not stay at the VFW because my two weeks were up.
It is not easy to park here at the casino. The rains have
softened the soil and it is difficult to level the motorhome. I drove to
several spots until I found level ground. The casino does not let us park on
asphalt, that parking lot is reserved for the gamblers.
When I set up the motorhome I noticed that there was no
propane coming to the motorhome. I shut off the auxiliary tank and used the
main tank. I bought a new hose and was able to use the BBQ tank again. The hose
must have a blockage.
I visited Vicky today. She and her husband arrived a few
days ago from Idaho. They will stay for a month at a RV Park in Winterhaven.
Yesterday I went shopping and dancing.
January 5, 2017.
Yesterday morning I walked from the parking lot to the
park along the west side of the Colorado River.
I do not know whether the sign is misspelled. I think it
should be Park.
On one side I could see the motorhomes and on the other
side the Yuma Territorial Prison.
This morning I tried to walk to the prison but I could
not cross the railroad. There were fences on one side of the rails.
I walked up to the
church which replaced the Mission La Purisima Conception. The Mission was
destroyed by the Indians after they were mistreated by the Friars and soldiers.
I walked over the Ocean to Ocean Bridge. One has a good
view of the Colorado River from the bridge.
I went dancing at the VFW from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and
then drove to Mittry Lake where some of the WINs are staying.
Jeanne Fox had a little birthday celebration and there
was cake and ice cream.
It was getting dark but two anglers were still trying to catch
fish.
Richard caught a large cat fish yesterday and the little
group had a fish fry with hush puppies and other food items.
This was a perfect day. The sky was blue and the
temperature was 70 degrees F.
One of the people from Robert’s Motorhome Cleaning came
to the motorhome and sanded a two feet square area of the side of the motorhome
and covered it with a clear coating. It looks very good and on Monday they are
going to start the work. It will take two days and I have to move to the company
owners property.
January 7, 2017.
There is not much news in the last two days. Yesterday I
went dancing in the afternoon at the VFW and at night at the Moose Lodge.
Today I went to the VFW to dance but there were only
couples. I stayed only fifteen minutes.
I did some shopping and then went back to the motorhome.
At 4:00 PM we gathered at Carolyn’s motorhome and talked.
We are now eight WINs at the casino.
I will leave tomorrow morning and go to Robert’s house.
He called me this afternoon. They are going to start working on my motorhome
tomorrow morning.
January 8, 2017.
I arrived near Robert’s house thirty minutes early. I had
passed the house since I did not see a house number.
He lives in a rural area where people have large
properties. I called Robert and he sent an employee to guide me to his house. I
parked the motorhome in the back of the house where his six company vans are
parked.
The person who is doing the work brought his brother and
both started sanding the passenger side of the motorhome.
I went to Walgreens to arrange to have my medication
transferred to them from Costco. Then I drove to Home Depot to buy stainless
steel screws for the compartment door retainers. I had removed the retainers
and all the screws were totally destroyed by rust. I was lucky they did not
break while I removed them.
After doing my computer work at Burger King I went to the
VFW. I was early and did not feel like waiting. I drove back to the motorhome.
The worker was putting the clear coat on and it looked
very good. The front of the motorhome looks almost like new.
Tomorrow he will do the back and driver side.
January 9, 2017.
This morning the two guys worked on the driver side of
the motorhome and the back. Those two sides came out almost perfect.
They were done at noon.
I will never again see the motorhome that clean and
shiny.
A paint job would have cost $ 8,000.00. The sanding and
applying a jell coat cost only $ 900.00. Cleaning the rubber roof and applying
a coat of sealant, and a coat of rubberized material cost $ 550.00.
Since I am waiting for a call from Walgreen’s I cannot go
to Martinez Lake, so I went back to the casino.
Then I went dancing at the VFW.
January 10, 2017.
I did a long morning walk. Several days ago I tried to
walk to the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park and a fence next to the
railroad was in my way.
Today I walked to the Gateway Park and from there under
the Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge and the railroad bridge.
A trail goes to the prison.
From the prison one has a good view of the casino and the
motorhomes.
On the way back through the park I saw those women doing
exercises.
Locomotive number 2521 is located in the park.
In the afternoon I went to the VFW but I did not dance.
There were only couples. I left right away and picked up my medication at
Walgreen’s.
I will leave Yuma tomorrow morning.
