Home, But Not Alone

We left Apache Junction on Saturday the 16th with temperatures forecast for the mid 90's. We arrived home on Thursday the 21st with temperatures in the low 50's! Saturday was fairly nice with the daytime high hitting the mid 60's. So far, this was the warmest day of the year. Today was so cold when I was up on the roof cleaning the roof drains that it felt like I should be putting up the Christmas lights. The forecast does have the temperatures back in the low 60's over the weekend just in time for our company (Ron & Diane) from Tulsa.
We had a good trip back home. We stopped in Cotati, Ca. to visit with relatives there for a day. From there we went to Crescent City and stayed overnight on the edge of Redwood National Park. Then it was on up into Oregon where we spent the night just south of Tillamook. From there it was about a 5 - 6 hour drive home.
On Friday the motorhome went back to the dealership to get the issues that we discovered repaired under warranty. We have no idea how long they will need to get everything fixed, but we're not going anywhere for a while.
On Saturday we went up to Keith and Sheilas to visit, and pick up Hairold T. Cat.
Hairold got back into his regular routine as soon as he got out of the cat carrier. He's about a pound or so up from his normal weight, as he spent his entire visit indoors. After his 6 week outdoor adventure last year he probably thought inside was a better idea!
The house seems to have survived without us quite well. Another day or two and all should be back to normal. We're looking forward to our company, and just hope that the weather cooperates. We will have indoor and outdoor options on our to do list.
Apparently we left the camera accessories in the motorhome, so we can't download picture for the blog. When we pick the coach up from the dealer, we'll get some pictures up. Ernie

Cooling Down

That's All Folks

The "Welcome to Apache Junction" sign with the setting sun

The Hitching Post (Literally) just outside of Apache Junction city limits

One Last Shot of the Superstions at Sunset

Crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge

Peacocks or "Here We Go Again"

Here we are in Petaluma California (40 miles N of San Fransisco) on the 105th anniversary of the San Fransisco earthquake. There is a definite chill in the air, with a little moisture on the ground, and fog in the air. We will be here for 2 nights to visit with my cousin Bob and cousin-in-law (?) Mabel who live in Cotati.

The trip here was an interesting one as it took us through the high desert of California to the Pacific coast. We left Apache Junction Saturday morning with the temperatures predicted to reach the mid 90's. We spent the night in Lancaster California where I believe it was in the upper 90's. We arrived in Petaluma about 4:30 Sunday afternoon to partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 60's. It may be time to put the shorts back in the closet.

I had a South Dakota flashback this morning when I opened the curtains to find 3 Peacocks/Peahens walking around outside the coach. I'll be keeping a sharp eye out to see if they bring more of their kind tomorrow! At least there's no snow on the ground.

Tomorrow we will be heading north up the coast on 101. With a little luck the weather will be good as it's a beautiful drive. We will probably roll in on Thursday, but we could get in late in the evening on Wednesday. So, this will be the last post until we get home.

Stay dry, Ernie

Golf, BBQ, and Cactus

Sunset

Dinner for 12

It looks like the sky was air brushed into the picture

Sizing up the putt on her first time out

The Golfer

Joyce has been out on the golf course twice since the last blog. The crowds are thinning out now, and you can walk on without a tee time and not have people breathing down your neck. I believe that she's doing better than she thought she would. We just need to keep it up when we get home.

Monday we had a BBQ and had a total of 12 people here (including us). Several of the people we hung out with most were leaving later in the week, so we had one last get together. We had ribs and chicken, and now we will be working on the leftovers for a while.

Wednesday I got almost everything squared away in the storage compartments for our departure on Saturday. We will be going to the Bay Area, so will probably make it to the Bakersfield vicinity on Saturday. From there we will head up to Santa Rosa for 2 nights, then head north on hwy 101. We will most likely make it home on Thursday.

That's all for now, and the next update will be from somewhere on the road. Ernie

Where are we?!?! (Or, DeJaVu)

hmmmmm. This looks strangely familiar

No Explanation needed

Tortilla Flat General Store (Gift Shop)

Prickly Pear Cactus Blooms and Canyon Lake

We woke up this morning at 4:30 to the sound of "rain on the roof". The good thing is that we don't leave until next Saturday. It's about 50 degrees with steady rainfall as I write this at 11:00 a.m. There are supposed to be showers all day, so we are going to a movie.

Yesterday we took a drive to Tortilla Flat in the afternoon expecting to see lots of blooming cacti. There wasn't as much as expected. That was possibly due to the low amount of rainfall this spring, but it's trying to make up for it today! We hadn't been up there for a month or so, and it was good to see it again. Yesterday was also a golf day for me, and that went well for the most part. Only one more Friday golf outing to go. Tomorrow could be a good day to go out as the temperatures will only be in the upper 60's and sunny. Most of the snow birds have left and the golf courses aren't nearly as busy as they were just a couple of weeks ago. And I've come to realize that most people here don't play any better than I do, so if I went by myself and played with 2 or 3 others, I'd be OK. Or, maybe I can get Joyce to play!!

Only one week to go and in a way it seems like we just got here. Next year we will probably be extending our time here. We've become a lot more involved in the local activities this year and hope to do more next year. We talked about maybe staying until the Saguaro Cactus bloom around the first of June, but temperatures would be triple digits then. We shall see.

Ernie

Local Stuff & Road Tripping

B-17 Sentimental Journey. You could fly in the plexiglas nose for $700

P-51 Mustangs

1963 Ford Fairlane Police Car

Hotel Connor in Jerome Arizona

We thought this was interesting. Are those bugs in there??

The View Down the Hill From Jerome

Just a short blog to get caught up again before I forget what we've been doing! On Sunday we went to the Bass Pro Shop in Mesa. It is a HUGE sporting goods / outdoor recreation store. It makes REI in Seattle look small. It has a lot of stuffed and mounted animals. Snakes, Deer, Mountain Goats, Cougars, etc. in addition to lots of live fish. There was a catfish in one of the big tanks that must have been at least 30 pounds. We had lunch at a restaurant in the store that had a 10,000 gallon salt water tank with tropical fish. Just like snorkeling in Hawaii sideways. Coincidentally they had excellent fish and chips there. Hmmmm.

On Monday we went to check out the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa at Falcon Field. They had a fully restored B-17 and a B-25 Mitchell Bomber as well as a couple 0f P-51 Mustangs and numerous other aircraft. You can take a half hour ride for $425. You can ride in the Plexiglas nose of the B-17 for $700. We opted out. Falcon Field was a training site for pilots during WW2.

Yesterday we took a road trip to Jerome Arizona, which is north of us near Sedona. Jerome was built in the mid 1800's as a copper mining camp. It operated through the 1950's, and there was enough copper mined there to give everybody in the world (at the time) 13 pounds. that's a lot of copper. The town is built on the side of a steep mountain, and became a ghost town in the 60's. Now it's alive again and booming with tourists as it is only about 20 miles from Sedona. We stopped for dinner at an Amish restaurant in Black Canyon City on the way back. Good food. We made it back about 9:00.

Stay Tuned, Ernie

Good Golf / Bad Golf

Very interesting this game called golf is. I can already see how frustrating it can be if taken seriously. Last Wednesday I went out with another beginner and shot a 40 on a par 34. This was my best game ever, and I even had a birdie (first ever) on a par 3 hole! Then on Friday, I went out with the regular Friday group from the RV Park, and shot a 49 on a par 34 with every tee shot going off in a direction that was not relevant to the flag. Except for the ground ball that I hit up the middle that went for about 50 yards. It's clear to me that I need a lot more time at the driving range, and when under pressure I collapse. Last Tuesday we went to the Mariner's final Spring Training game played at the Diamond Backs / Rockies new stadium in Scottsdale. We went with our park neighbors Mike and Joyce from Moses Lake. They have a connection with a big league umpire who was able to get us 4 seats behind home plate for a sold out game. Great seats, nice park, and the M's won! Yesterday the temperature hit 100 degrees or close to it. A little too warm even for Joyce. Today it's supposed to "cool down" to about 95, then drop all the way into the mid 80's for a few days. Tomorrow Joe and Lindy will be here for dinner. We will be cooking the last of the salmon fillets that we brought down on the grill. We went to Lowes and bought a new outdoor table and some chairs so we have something to leave in our shed on our new (to us) site for next year. Two weeks from today we will be starting our trek back north. We're hoping that the rains ease up, and the temperature rise up a little before we get there. Until next time, Ernie