Tuesday February 28, 2012

This morning Doris, who is parked behind us,came over. She just came back from a trip home to see her family. I told her about our awning issues and how we were ripped off  by Ron's RV. She told me to check with Hilco in Yuma as she had them work on her awning last year. She said she thought they might have the part in stock. When we found Hilco they told us they do not work on power awnings and did not have the needed part. We also checked on a sink for bathroom but they did not have it either. A wasted trip but glad we checked anyway. 

We decided to drive up to Martinez Lake which is located in the Yuma Proving Ground area. While we were on RT 95, we stopped at the vegetable market to buy Jicama's(pronounced Hih-kuh-muh). Last night after dinner Judy came over to bring us a sample of a Jicama and we both liked it a lot. It is a Mexican vegetable and has a taste like a mixture of a turnip, potato and a hint of apple. It is just a very unique flavor and is very low in calorie count. We looked around the market but they did not have any today. Tomorrow is the farmer's market located on the frontage road in the Foothills so will check there tomorrow.  



Parchuters at Proving Grounds

  

We drove toward the proving ground and found the road to the lake. When we drove on this road we found it winds back behind the military base. While driving, we noticed a group of Army Paratroopers coming down so we stopped to watch them. There were about 25 of them and it was amazing to see them land without even a stumble.

Martinez Lake at Yuma Proving Grounds

We drove on and found the lake area. The area was like a small town and we were surprised that there were so many RV's parked in this area as well as several beautiful homes on the lakeside . Arizona obviously has no zoning code as there are million dollar homes interspersed with RV's everywhere! I would be pretty upset if I had an RV parked next door to a home of this value but it seems to be acceptable here. There was a building with a restaurant, bar and store that set on the lakeside. We stopped at the restaurant and had lunch which was pretty tasty.

We left town and found a road leading to a nature center. We stopped and looked at all the displays and information about the dessert plants and animals. We drove back to the main road and headed back to Yuma.  

Our Canadian Friends at Parrish's Bar from left: Al, Ken, Jan, Nellie, Judy, myself and Larry

We met Ken, Judy, Jan and their friends from Canada, Nellie and Al at Parrish's for dinner. After dinner we all went to Nellie and Al's place as they are parked on a private lot in the Foothill's. We are trying to find a lot to rent next year rather than staying in a resort. The lots rent for about 1/3 the price of our site here in the resort. We really do not use any of the resort amenities so there is no reason to pay the price. Nellie and Al's lot is very nice with a lot of landscaping and is in a very quiet area. Los Quintas is a nice resort but we are very close to RT 8 with constant traffic noise so would like to be in a quieter area as well.

Monday February 27, 2012

I didn't even leave home today and basically finished the laundry and relaxed in the sun.

Larry went over to Al's RV to check on a new sink to replace the one in bathroom as I noticed it now has a crack in the bowl. Not sure how this happened but seems every day we have a new issue with something. While he was gone, Jan came over and was going to help me re pot my flowers but I realized Larry had my potting soil with him in the back of the car.

I walked over to look at the sewing project that Judy and Jan have been working on. Judy and Ken's son spent many years as a cub/boy/eagle scout and also has been a scout leader for a number of years. He has saved all of his badges and scarves from his scouting and they had been sewn on a campfire blanket. The blanket has been washed and used so much it is threadbare. They have been working on the new blanket since they have been here, removing all the badges and scarves and placing them onto the new blanket. The blanket is very colorful and they have put in a lot of effort re-making.

Larry came home and Jan came over to help me  pot the plants. I got everything to help her and she insisted on doing it so Judy and I sat on the patio and watched Jan do the work. Jan loves to work in the garden when she is at home. Ken is also a great gardner and he is getting very anxious to get home to start his planting. They have a huge greenhouse on their property in Canada so he starts planting usually in February he says.

Jan split all of the flowers into the two pots and they look beautiful. When I bought the potting soil I also bought two solar lights so we placed them in the middle of each pot. I could not believe how many plants were stuck into the one pot that I bought when we arrived here. They diffently look better after being split.

I cooked a meatloaf in the crockpot today and we had potatoes, gravy and a vegetable for dinner tonight. I think I need to make more crockpot meals as it seems we wait so late to start dinner that we end up eating out way too much.

Sunday February 26, 2012

I started laundry this morning when we got up, showered and then we left for the flea market. We decided to return our RV patio mat and also wanted to buy a lighted palm tree before leaving Yuma as we have not been able to find them in Mesa.

We went to return the patio mat and found they have no cash refunds so we exchanged the mat for 2 new patio chairs. The fabric on our patio chairs are tearing as they are pretty old and have been setting in the Arizona sun for too many years.

We left the flea market and decided to stop for lunch at Burgers and Beer. We were told this is a great place to eat by several people. Ken, Judy and Jan ate there earlier this week and thought it was good food. When we walked in it was like a sports bar/restaurant with TV's everywhere and even had small TV's in each booth. Today was the Daytona Nascar Race so Larry wanted to catch up on it but we found it had been rained out.

We ordered a french dip to share and each had a salad. I'm assuming a hamburger would have been a better choice since that is their speciality. The french dip was fine just a disappointment after the one I had at Parishes Bar last night. While we were there, Terry from La Mesa RV called to find out if we were still interested in the motor home we talked to them about yesterday. Larry told him no because their price was too high.

When We left the restaurant we drove over to the Yuma Mall to look at the motor home again that we liked. When we got there it was gone from the lot so assumed it was sold. We tried to dodge the salesmen as we did not want to talk to them again. We looked at a couple of the other motor homes again but none of them were anything I felt was worth the price as the floor plans were the same as what we have.

We stopped at Walmart to pick up a few items and then drove to McMahon's RV. Guess we are still looking for a new motor home!!@! I was not in the mood to look and was pretty nasty with the salesman, which Larry apologized for. Oh well--If we aren't buying the one we like, what is the point of looking at the ones that look like what we have??? The salesman told us McMahon's is the 2nd largest RV Dealer in the U.S., which I found hard to believe because this dealership was small and looked rather shabby. The salesman said they carry the Tiffin RV, which is what we wanted, but just not at this dealership because La Mesa has the Tiffin contract for Yuma. We were told they have several dealerships in California and most of their motor homes were at a show in L.A. this week.

During the time we were looking our salesman brought out the sales manager, which just happened to be our neighbor from Los Quinta's Resort, where we are staying. He introduced himself as Patrick and we talked to him for a long time. He looked at his inventory sheet for motor homes that might interest us but even though the price was reasonable, they had nothing on the lot to look at. Patrick said they also have a dealership in Mesa so when we get there they should have more of a selection. He also guaranteed us they could give us a much better price than La Mesa. WHATEVER---!!

We came home and I started the laundry again and we sat out on patio, drank beer and read for awhile. I came in to change over laundry and Larry yelled to tell me that Judy was outside to see me. When I came out she had brought me a pack of cigarettes because she has bummed a few in the past couple of weeks. She quit smoking within the last year and I felt bad that I had been giving her cigarettes when she wanted but as her sister Jan said--she is a big girl so not to worry.

Judy stayed to talk and then Ken and Jan came over to visit. Ken brought his beer and Larry and I drank a few more with him. Patrick, from across the street, that we met at McMahon's today, came over and also drank beer with us. He told me earlier today that his wife has been in Tucson for the past week visiting their children and grandchildren. They own a home in Tucson and are here for a few months as Patrick is working the Yuma RV store. He told us his wife is a retired teacher and taught K-3rd grades in Tucson. Patrick talked to us a little more about the motor homes and told us there is a used one coming in tomorrow or Tuesday that he would like us to look at. When he described it I thought maybe we had looked at it today. He said it was a bath and a half and had the rear bathroom like the one we wanted. I told him I'm probably not rich enough to be so picky but every used motor home we have look at so far had been shabby and something I would not give up our RV for. He assured me this one was in very good shape and said when it comes in to dealership, he will let us know so we can look at it.

Jan is such a unique person and pretty laid back. She loves to garden and she loves animals. While we were visiting, I noticed she had Tucker on the leash walking him out in the street! We could not believe he was walking with her as all he does for us is lay down when we try to walk him on the leash. I jokingly called her the 'cat whisperer' as the cats love her. Maybe if we spent another couple of weeks here, she would have both of the cats walking for us.
We all sat on patio, talked and drank toooo-- much beer until around 7:45. We had a good time and a lot of good laughs.

Thursday February 23, 2012

Nothing much happening today so we went to the flea market again to exchange our paperback books for something new to read. We looked for an new RV patio mat at the indoor market but they were out of the size and color we wanted. After we exchanged our books we drove over to the outdoor flea market and ended up buying our mat there.

We went to the food court again and had a beer and chili dog while we listened to the entertainment. The singer today was ok but not as good as last week so we didn't stay too long before heading home.

Ken, Judy and Jan came over to Happy Hour. Happy hour for Judy and Jan consists of Pepsi but Ken, Larry and I had our beer and all sat around and talked again for a long time. We really enjoy visiting with all of them and Judy keeps us all laughing.

Friday February 24, 2012

We drove into the Yuma Mall to look around for awhile and Le Mesa RV had a big show going on in the parking lot. Our first mistake was stopping in to look at the motor homes and of course, we found one right away that we both fell in love with. We talked to Robert, the salesman, for a long time about the motor home and were pretty disappointed when they threw out a figure they were willing to give us for our RV as a trade in. The motor home we looked at was made by Tiffin and the quality was unbelievable. All of the cabinets were solid wood and it had at least 2 times the storage of ours. It was a 40 ft bath and a half and was so much larger feeling than our RV. We finally left and Robert was suppose to call us later to talk to us more about the trade.

We came home and visited with our Canadian neighbors again and Judy and Jan asked me to go garage sale shopping tomorrow. I told them if I decide to go, I'd be at their place at 7:00.

We talked a lot about the motor home but at the end of the evening, my thoughts were that we would be crazy to pay what they were asking when we end up living in the RV 3 to 4 months out of the year. If we were full time RV'ers, I would not hesitate to make the trade.

Saturday February 25, 2012

I did not go with Judy and Jan this morning as I hardly slept last night. I hate it when I have these type of sleepless nights but don't know how to prevent them. I fell asleep just about 20 minutes before Larry got up and ended up awake again.

We talked to Ken this morning about Martinez Lake where they went on Thursday. We left the RV park with the idea of driving up to the lake and ended up at Le Mesa RV! Larry saw on their TV commercial that they advertised Fleetwood Motor Homes and wanted to stop in at the dealership to look. Of course, they were at the car before we even got out ready to talk business! We found they do not sell Fleetwood but they had another Tiffin similar to the one we looked at yesterday at the RV Show. Terry, who was the salesman  showing us the motor home asked us to take it on a drive. When we got back to the dealership, we found the amount they seemed to be willing to give us on a trade today was even less than they had thrown out yesterday. We went through the next hour talking to Terry and then the the sales manager and were both so upset when we left, we didn't even want to hear anymore of their BS.

We went by Walmart to pick up some groceries and came back to the RV. Judy and Jan had gotten home with all their  'treasures' of their shopping trip and they bought me a flower pot to re pot my flowers. Yesterday the flowers were so wilted down when we came home they almost looked dead. Judy said they needed to be separated into two pots and more dirt put in them. Jan is going to help me re pot them tomorrow when I pick up some potting soil. 

Ravens new glasses



Last night when we were talking to them, I told them I thought Raven, our cat, had a vision problem because it seems he cannot see anything close up. Today during their shopping spree, they found some tiny  doll glasses that they bought for Raven. We had a good laugh when we put them on Raven and they took pictures. Raven was a little less than thrilled with our attention to put it mildly!

We decided to eat at Parish's Bar and Grill here in the Foothills tonight. Last week when we were at the Daybreaker Cafe we talked to a guy who told us Parish's was a good place to eat. When we arrived the parking lot was filled and when we went in the restaurant and bar area were very busy but we found a table in the bar right away. Larry ordered a steak sandwich and I ordered a french dip. I asked the waitress when I ordered if it was good and she said it was. I'm a little funny about ordering this anyplace I have not had as it can be very good or very bad. When our meal came my french dip was wonderful. Pretty close to being the best I've ever had. Larry sampled my sandwich and agreed it was the best.

We stopped on the way home and I bought potting soil so Jan and I can re pot  my flowers tomorrow.

Sunday February 19, 2012

Our weekend was pretty relaxed and the only thing we did basically was go down to Yuma for the Mardi Gras Festival on Saturday. It was held in 'old town' on 4th Street and was pretty packed with people and vendors. We ended up eating again at Lutes Casino rather than eating outside at the food tents. We waited awhile to get into the casino but with only 2 of us, found a table in a reasonable amount of time. The food was good but as before, I would not give it rave reviews, such as others seem to say.

After we finished lunch, we sat outside and listened to some of the music. They had 3 stages with various performers playing throughout the day. We walked by one of the stage areas and the guy playing was really great. He went by the name of Cougar and he played everything from Jimmy Buffet to Johnny Cash. Pretty wide variety of music but he had a great range to his voice and was very entertaining. It was such a perfect weather day and We sat in the sun for a long time listening to him. A young man sat down next to Larry and started talking about how great the music was and as they talked he told us he was from London, Ontario. We told him that during our travels on the motorcycles, we have visited London several times. He told us he is here for 6 weeks at the Yuma Military Proving Grounds as a Data Technician. He is employed by a private firm and works on the machinery that is used in the field testing.

Sunday I decided to go into Walmart early to get a pedicure and manicure. Every time I walk by the nail salon it is absolutely packed with people. I had Larry take me and drop me off around 10:00am. Surprisingly, I was the first customer but that was only for about 10 minutes. By the time I finished my pedicure there were at least 10 people waiting for pedicures. I had my nails done with the gel polish, which takes extra time. I picked out a color when I first arrived and choose the coordinating color for my feet. When my pedicure was done I was very pleased with my choice but when she did my nails, she used a darker color and nothing matched. I told her one or the other had to be changed so she added a darker color on my toes. When I walked out I was less than happy with the result but since we don't speak the same language, I figured I'd leave it alone! I sometimes get very crazy trying to communicate with the Vietnamese -- who seem to have the 'edge' on the nail market! I will have to say---there is no one like Angel who does my nails in Peoria. She is absolutely a perfectionist when it comes to doing my nails. 

We grabbed lunch after Larry picked me up from my appointment. I came home and spent the rest of the day on laundry. The laundry never lets up and always takes the majority of the day to complete.
Charlie has had a very bad weekend. Actually since we had him to the vet 3 weeks ago he has eaten very little. I have tried to feed him 2 to 3 times a day and have been giving him the kitten food the vet recommended. He is so week and very much out of the main stream. He has been howling and moaning non- stop all weekend. He has also been wanting outside, which Larry believes he wants to get away from us to just die. My heart is breaking for him.

Monday February 20, 2012

We made a decision to take Charlie back to the vet this morning. I knew in my heart this would probably be his last ride and I was very emotional when I got up this morning.
We called the vet and they told us to bring him in at 10:15 this morning. I picked Charlie up and we got in the car to drive over to clinic and he hardly moved on the ride over. We went into the clinic and it was packed with dogs and again, Charlie did not respond to all the dogs around us. I sat in the waiting room and could not hold back the tears as I am sure what we are about to hear from the doctor.

When they called us in, the assistant took Charlie to weigh him. He had lost another 1 1/2 lbs. since we were here 3 weeks ago. The doctor checked him over thoroughly and as suspected, she said she thought it was time to put him down. He laid on the exam table and hardly moved a muscle and I just felt we had lost our battle with his health. He is 19 years old and a very tired old man. It is impossible for me to face this without a well of emotion. We made the decision to put him to rest. He has fought for the past 6 months to a year and I felt it was the only humane thing to do. we become so close to our animals and it is so very difficult to make these decisions! I signed the forms and could not spend another minute in the office. Poor Larry was left to settle the remaining issues.

We left the clinic and my heart was breaking. We stopped at Daybreaker Cafe to have breakfast but I couldn't make myself eat. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's like loosing one of the family and I'm just extremely sad.

We came home and decided we needed to do something to divert our thoughts from our sad morning. We drove to Wellton, about 12 miles east of Yuma. I had heard from several snowbirds that Wellton was a wonderful place to winter. We turned south off of RT 8 and found several nice RV Resorts and a beautiful golf course. Since neither of us golf anymore, I couldn't see a great appeal in this area. We then drove across to the North side of RT 8 and it was like the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. The North side was old and dirty and a very poor area. We drove back on a blacktop west toward Yuma and drove though Dome Valley. This area is surrounded by the mountain range, heavy in agriculture and was spotted with very nice homes, obviously owned by the land owners. As we continued driving we came to RT 95 and decided to drive back up to the Yuma Military Proving Grounds. A couple we talked to the last time we were there told us there is a private RV Resort located in the recreation area of the proving grounds.

We found the resort called Hidden Shores and the gate guard gave us a pass to drive through the resort. It is a beautiful place but highly populated. The guard had also given us a price sheet on the different sites within the resort. There was a large section of permanent park models, some single and others were double wide homes and all had a look of beach houses with large decks overlooking the water. The RV portion of the resort had sites both overlooking the water and those located several streets back. We stopped in the clubhouse and looked at the pool which was very nice. When we exited the resort we talked to one of the gate guards and he told us that in order to reserve a site he thought they required at least a 4 month reservation. I don't think we will be considering this resort as it is about 25 miles out of Yuma with few accommodations in the way of grocery's, etc.

Squaw Lake Yuma Proving Grounds

We pulled onto the main roadway and drove back to another park owned by the recreation area with an RV parking area. Basically it is a blacktopped parking lot that sets on the water's edge. The area is called Squaw Lake and was quite a pretty setting. I believe they allow you to stay 14 days for a minimal charge, however, this is strictly dry camping. They do have nice shower houses so would not be as bad as desert camping offered in the rest of the recreation area of the proving grounds.

We drove back out of the proving grounds and came in the back side of the Foothills. We decided to go to Applebee's for our very late lunch/dinner. We shared a hamburger, had a salad and a beer. I decided when we arrived home that my energy was spent with all of the emotions flowing through my system today. I watched 'The Voice' and headed to bed to read for awhile before calling it a day.

Tuesday February 21, 2012

Today I have another appointment with Dr. Garcia, the Periodontist that placed my implant last week. He is going to do a Periodontal Cleaning which I'm badly in need of. I originally planned to return to Dr. Juan to have a cleaning but opted to have a deep cleaning by Dr. Garcia instead. I see Dr.Cusak, the Periodontist, in Peoria every 6 months so can move my normal appointment with him up a few month. I should be having at least 3 Periodontal Cleanings but it has become so expensive at home, that I've cut my appointments to 2 a year with an additional 'Mexican' cleaning when here.

We arrived in Los Algodones around 10:15am and the parking area was already quite full. We walked over to Dr. Garcia's and there was another couple waiting in the office that told us the doctor had not yet arrived. We assumed he was not there because his big red SUV was not parked outside the office when we came in. We talked to the other couple for awhile and they said their appointment had been scheduled for 9:30am and they had another dental appointment for 10:30. The lady was not happy and went up to ask Monica, the office girl, when the doctor was due to arrive. Monica said he should be there soon but the couple ended up leaving before Dr. Garcia got there. I'm happy because that means I'm first in line now and we should be able to get back across the border before the crowd forms.

Dr. Garcia arrived and they called me into the operatory. He started my cleaning and was using an ultrasound instrument with water to scale my teeth. This is new to me as, Dr. Cusak at home. has his hygienist clean my teeth the old fashion way with hand tools. The ultrasound was somewhat uncomfortable because I have so many exposed roots and I knew every time he hit one! I'm thinking to myself that even this was more uncomfortable than my implant! He finished my cleaning and I was amazed at how clean my teeth felt. The charges were $45 and just about $100 cheaper than home. I'm so happy I choose to have Dr. Garcia do my cleaning over Dr. Juan and I only paid about $20 more for a wonderful cleaning.

We walked over to the border and the line was not too bad yet but we saw that the bicycle taxi line was also very short so we stopped there. The little Mexican guy who takes care of organizing the line and collecting the money said that the driver was not there yet. He left to call the driver and came back to say he'd be there soon. We waited about 15 minutes and the guy left again to call and when he came back I asked when he would arrive. The guy said he had not been able to contact the driver by phone yet! Well---why didn't he say this the first time I'm wondering! The line for the border was still fairly short so we decided to just walk across. We got in line and probably only waited 20 minutes to get through. While standing in line, I could see the bicycle taxi driver had still not arrived.

We drove back into Yuma and stopped at Kneader's, a restruraunt located within the Yuma Mall area. We had talked about trying it before so decided to do so today. When we walked in and read the menu, I could pretty much tell that it was like Panera's. Their sandwiches and soups were the same and they sold many bakery items as well. We shared a sandwich and each had a cup of broccoli soup and both were very good.

We drove back toward the Foothill's and stopped at an RV Parts Store. Larry wanted to check on a sunscreen for the inside windshield of motorhome. I waited in the car and when he came out he said it would have to be ordered, which I assumed would be true. We only have about 10 days left here in Yuma so would not have time to receive it before we leave.

Drove back to motor home and talked with our neighbor Ken for awhile. They left Sunday morning and drove to Las Vegas to meet Jan and Judy's nephew. They came home last night and Ken was telling us how much their meal cost on Sunday night, which we were not surprised. Last year when we met Pete and Leslie in Las Vegas, I felt we needed to rob a bank as everything is horribly expensive. We are meeting Leslie and Pete in Vegas again on April 4 on our way back to Illinois.

Larry noticed Walmart now has a 7 ft. ladder in stock so decided to return his 6 ft. to Home Depot. We loaded the ladder and made our way to Yuma to Home Depot. After returning the ladder, we drove over to Sam's to exchange some shorts that Larry bought earlier that were too big. I picked up some coffee and we made the exchange and headed back to Walmart for the much desired ladder!! We do need a taller ladder to reach the top of the RV Windshield. Since we purchased our sunscreens we will need the ladder to detach them for traveling.

As always, a walk inside Walmart does not result in just 1 purchase! Larry went to find his ladder and I picked up a few needed grocery items as well as some chicken from the deli for dinner. When we got home we attempted to eat our chicken. Mine I was sure had been cooked sometime in the A.M.--hopefully today! What garbage it ended up being and so bad I could not even chew a couple of pieces. I cannot believe Walmart does not offer better quality, especially in the land of snowbirds! I am convienced that a trip to Frye's is far more desireable as their quality is 10 times better. As always--the longer you Live and more you (SHOULD) Learn!! 

Friday February 17, 2012


We had a very laid back and relaxing day today. We didn't even leave home and during the afternoon Ken came over and he and Larry sat on the patio all afternoon talking. I messed around on the internet most of morning and early afternoon. I had so many pictures on the camera that I decided to unload and copy onto my flash drive to free up space on the camera storage.


By the time I went outside the day had turned into a beautiful afternoon. The temperature was around 75 degrees and the wind was calm.  It seems that Yuma has it's share of windy days and many more than the Mesa area. When the wind is up, the temperature seems cool and not too enjoyable setting outside. The weather has been pretty cool the past week with the high around 65 to 70. I know my friends and family in the midwest would kill for a day of 65 right now but without the humidity, it still seems quite cool at times here.


Ken told me that Judy and Jan were at their weekly computer class that meets at the clubhouse here in the resort. He said they have been going for a few weeks now and each time they come home they try to apply something new to the PC and end up with nothing working properly! He also told us they were going to the clubhouse  on Thursday and Judy was driving. He told her 2 times to slow down as she was driving too fast. She told him she was going 20 mph and he said the speed limit in the park was 10 mph. She proceeded to argue with him but when they came back to their motor home, David our next door neighbor told her she was driving much too fast in the resort. David and Cynthia, his wife, are part of the 'security force' for the resort and I might say, David takes his duties pretty seriously! He would like to believe he is a modern day Barney Fife!


Later, Judy and Jan came home from their class and joined us to visit. I so  enjoy Judy as she reminds me of my dear friend Sandi! She has a ' take it or leave it attitude' and is so funny with all of her stories! I HAD to mention that I heard she was on probation for speeding within the park and she directed a look at Ken and said she KNEW he could not wait to tell us. We all teased her and had a good laugh about her being warned!


We ended up having a few beer and came inside about 5:30 to prepare dinner. Judy said they had not planned anything for dinner so they were going to make Ken --'the old tightwad'--take them to dinner. We cooked hamburgers on the grill and called it dinner!

Tuesday February 14, 2012

The time has arrived for appointment with Dr. Garcia for my dental implant. To say my anxiety is high would be putting it mildly! My appointment was rescheduled from yesterday to today at 12:00, which only allowed me another 24 hours to stress.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast before going to Los Algodones. Either the Yuma Cracker Barrel's food is extremely bad or I have just grown very tired of Cracker Barrel. Our breakfast was ok--just nothing special today. Possibly it is my nerves playing havoc with my appetite!

We left Yuma and drove to Algodones. We headed in the direction of Dr. Garcia's office. Larry did not go with me last week to his office so it was up to me to find my way. We walked for awhile and I decided I was lost. I dug out Dr. Garcia's card about the time a guy stopped to ask if he could help us with directions. I gave him the card with the address and he directed us to Avenue B and tried to tell us which building the office was located in. I knew it was not the right building but as we found the proper street, I found the building. I was very uncomfortable roaming this area as it is not in the most popular area of Algodones.

We walked into the office and sat down to wait. I am VERY agitated by now and just trying to think ahead about when this procedure will be over. I have complete confidence in the doctor's ability but just stressed because this is something new to face.

The office girl called me and I made myself walk into the operatory. Dr. Garcia came in and froze the surgical area. I was shocked to find that the area was immediately numb and I have never had Novocaine work this quickly. Within minutes he started my surgery and I kept thinking--so far so good. I heard a few 'crunches' but no pain involved. Before I knew what was happening, he was stitching the area. I wanted to ask if that was it! It took less than 20 minutes for surgery and I was walking out to the waiting room. I could not believe I was done--no pain whatsoever! This was nothing compared to having a tooth extracted. All I had to do now was calm my anxiety that had been building for the past 3 days! The human mind can differently make you sick!

Larry asked me how bad it was and when I told him it was a 'piece of cake' he looked doubtful. I told him he should go ahead and have the implants done that he has been talking about for 2 years. He immediately refused. While I was paying for my procedure he decided to ask the doctor to look at the area where he needed implants. The office girl told him to wait until the next patient was finished and the doctor would see him.

They called Larry in and the doctor xrayed the area for implant and determined his bone support would allow the implant. Larry is missing the molars on his lower left but Dr. Garcia told him 1 implant would allow a larger crown to be placed to fill up most of the area. I was very surprised that Larry agreed to have the implant because he was not very agreeable when he walked in. They scheduled his surgery for tomorrow morning.

When we got home, the rest of our sunscreens had been delivered and they actually appeared to fit everything very nicely. Attached to the wiper blade was a birthday balloon from Judy, Ken and Jan from across the street. They are such great people and we've all become pretty close in the past couple of weeks.

My Novocaine was wearing off quickly so I took a pain pill and laid down for awhile. I didn't have so much pain as just a little discomfort. I finally got up and took some Ibuprofen and laid back down. I slept for about an hour and when I woke, I had no discomfort to speak of. I kept waiting the entire day for the pain to come but had nothing other than a little sore area in gum.


We decided to go down to Daybreaker Cafe to grab something light for dinner. I had no problems eating dinner and when I went to bed I still had no pain. I would have to say the implant was no worse than any other dental procedure I've had previously. The stress I had built during the past few days was defiantly wasted energy!

Wednesday February 15, 2012

We left for Los Algodones at 8:15 for Larry's appointment with Dr. Garcia. Today we found his office without a problem and arrived before the doctor. When Dr. Garcia arrived we went in and as we were waiting, I could tell Larry was a little agitated worrying about the surgery. I told him it was not going to be as bad as he expected but I don't think he was buying my story.

The doctor called him in and as with my surgery, he was done in 20 minutes. When Larry came out I could tell he was relieved to have it behind him. We paid for the surgery and the office girl scheduled our appointments for next year. We told her to schedule for February 2013 so she called Dr. Castro's office to coordinate Dr. Garcia's appointments with her office. She set up appointments for both of us for the same day with Dr. Castro. Dr. Garcia will place the post into the implant area and then we will see Dr. Castro to take impressions for the crowns.  

We left Dr. Garcia's office and decided to get across the border before the crowd hit. We walked over to border line and it was very short since it was only 10:15am. We cleared customs and headed to Yuma. We stopped and picked up cash at the ATM to pay for our sunscreens placed yesterday.
We found Speciality Sewing and dropped off the payment and then drove back to Frye's and picked up a few groceries and some chicken from deli for lunch before heading home.

I was setting outside later when a couple from the resort stopped to ask about our sunscreens. As we talked, Larry came out to meet them. Their names were Doris and Nick and they are from Michigan. As we talked, the subject of Mexican dentist's came up and they asked for recommendations from us. I gave them business cards from both Dr. Castro and Dr. Garcia. When they left, they asked us to stop by their 5th wheel to visit when we had time.

We watched the news and weather and talked about going to San Diego tomorrow. We've been wanting to make the trip since we arrived in Yuma. The weather sounds a little cool and there appears to be rain moving in. As we talked, we decided to go anyway  since we are due to leave here next Thursday. We would like to look for a place to move over to San Diego before we are due in Mesa on March 1.


Thursday February 16, 2012

Snow in mountains going to San Diego

We woke up at 4:45 and got ready to leave for San Diego. It is quite cool this morning so hope the weather warms somewhat as we travel west. We drove to toward El Centro and it started raining. We stopped for gas and breakfast and as we drove out of El Centro about 20 miles, we started climbing into the mountains. The farther we drove, the colder the temperature and the harder it rained. When we reached about 3,500 feet, the rain started turning to snow. We drove about 10 miles reaching about 5,000 feet and the snow was heavier and eventually turned into a treacherous drive through the mountain road. The roads became covered with slushy snow and  slick enough that there were several vehicle off in the ditches. A snowplow was traveling ahead of us and helped to clear the highway ahead.  I could not believe how terrible the weather had turned. We continued over the mountain and started descending about 25 miles east of San Diego. By the time we drove into the city limits, the sun was out and the temperature got a little warmer. We drove for awhile and stopped at a gas station to buy a city map.

 We drove along the ocean and passed Sea World and stopped several times to take in the beauty. This whole area is like a beautiful painting and seems to have a wealthy population as most of the houses are very nice. The houses along the beach area are amazing with big glassed views of the ocean. I could pick out about a hundred houses along the beaches to buy --when I win the lottery of course!!

Pacific Ocean in San Diego

We drove by the Naval Base and pulled into the gate to find out if we were allowed to tour the base. They immediately replied no and informed us where we could turn around to exit the base. Wow--I was a little surprised since we were allowed on the Yuma Military Base just last week.

When we left the Naval Base, we took the San Diego-Coronado Bridge across to Coronado Island. The look and feel of this area was much like things I've read about California. The main street of downtown area was a boulevard lined with palm trees and beautiful flowers. The shopping area was a very trendy looking area with several coffee shops and high end retailers. We found a small public park where we were able to walk down near the ocean and could see downtown San Diego from across the channel. Of course, the houses on the ocean were beautiful with amazing views.

 View of San Diego from Coronado Island

 Bridge to Coronado Island

We left Coronado Island and drove downtown to Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. We walked around a portion of the ballpark but could not find a gate open to enter. It was lunch time so we continued walking around the park area and stopped at the Tilted Kilt for a sandwich. We ordered a french dip sandwich and garlic Parmesan french fries to split and a beer. I am not a lover of french fries but these were delicious as well as our sandwich and of course, the beer.

                                                  Petco Park--Home of San Diego Padres

The waitress told us the ball park should be open so we walked over to find out. We were able to walk into the bleacher area and had a good view of the park. When we left this area we found the Padres gift shop was open so we stopped in to look around. We did not buy anything as their prices were horribly high. This, of course, was not shocking but if I spend the money it will be on my Cubbies and not the Padres.

San Diego Convention Center and Steps going to Top Level

We walked from the ballpark down to Harbor Street to the San Diego Convention Center. What a HUGE place with about 200 steps, which we climbed, to get to the top where we were able to view the ocean. There was a harbor with many large and expensive boats docked. People in this city have a lot of money or are hocked to their ears because the boats are as impressive as the real estate.
The area across the street from the Convention Center is a historic district called Gaslamp Quarter and looked much like I envision the New Orleans district would look. 

We talked to a lady who told us that the Maritime Museum was about 2 miles down Harbor Street. Larry wanted to see this area so we walked back to retrieve the car. We found the museum which was also located on Harbor Street. This was a very busy area and when we found a parking meter, we emptied our pockets for enough change to feed the meter for 1 1/2 hours. We walked across the street and bought tickets to tour the 5 ships open to the public. The ships are all historic ships from the 18th Century with only the Californian, a schooner, still sea worthy. We toured a B-39 Soviet Attack Submarine, The USS Dolphine, which was the deepest diving submarine in the world, HMS Surprise, Medea and Berkeley. All of the ships have been beautifully restored and many movies have been made using the various ships.

                                                                 Maritime Museum

Our meter was running close to the time limit so we walked back to the car and drove farther down Harbor Street to find our way back to RT 8 to Yuma. While driving down Harbor, I saw the Caterpillar Solar Plant. Had the traffic not been so horrible, I would have ask Larry to turn around and possibly stopped in at facility. It looked to be a nice facility and sat just across Harbor Street from the ocean. I remember several of my friends from Caterpillar who transferred to Solar and fell in love with San Diego.

We found our way back to RT 8 and the traffic was very heavy even though it is only 2:45pm, California time. We both felt we had seen most of the points of interest in San Diego so decided to not move the motor home here next week. It's a highly populated and busy area and most importantly, VERY expensive. The cheapest gas we saw in San Diego was $4.38 and surprisingly, Diesel was not much more. The gas prices between Yuma and San Diego probably range around 80 to 90 cents difference.

                                Mountains leaving San Diego on Route 8

We drove out of San Diego and the view of the mountains was just stunning! The entire city is nestled among the mountains and the shape, sizes and texture of the mountains are so varied it's hard to believe. The houses are built all among the valleys and mountains with many of the houses precariously hanging on the sides and edges of the mountain.

We climbed into the mountains again and our bright, sunny day started to become somewhat overcast as we made our ascent to the top. We saw many things traveling at the top of the mountain road that we did not see early this morning because of the bad weather. We came into one area that had a great number of windmills strung along the crest of the mountain. The terrain of each mountain is so varied it appears they have been snatched from another area and dropped here. One mountain is nothing but huge boulders and the one next to it appears to be covered with green grass and vegetation. Some of the mountains have terrain of small white rock and from a distance appears to be covered with snow. Regardless, the trip home was much more scenic since the car was not covered in snow and we could see out of the windshield.

The sun was shinning again when we descended the mountains and we stopped in El Centro again for gas around 6:00. When we reached the Imperial Dunes about 20 miles west of Yuma, the campers and dune buggy's were everywhere so everyone must be starting their weekend early. If we lived in this area for long, we'd be purchasing a dune buggy as there is very little else that would hold my interest.

We arrived home around 7:30 and realized it has been a VERY long day. I headed to bed around 9:00 and was glad to be home.

Thursday February 9, 2012

Larry --my faithful maid -- decided to run the vacuum. I cleaned some in the bathroom area to at least make it look I was helping.

I showered and dressed and sat on the patio in the sun for awhile. The people parked across the street are always outside and I thought the lady was working on some type of craft so I walked over to see. I introduced myself and she told me her name was Judy and her husband was Ken. Her Sister, Jan is traveling with them as well. Judy said they live outside of Vancouver and her sister lives with them. She and Jan ran a grocery store for years while raising the kids. Ken was a master mechanic for heavy equipment, primarily for Wabco, and has been to Peoria several times for training at Wabco. Larry came out of RV and came over to introduce himself and we all talked for a long time.

We left to go to the flea market around 1:00. I have almost used the entire bottle of the JoJoBa oil that I bought last week so wanted to pick up more today. I found the vendor and bought a large bottle of the oil. While talking to the guy who sells it, he told me the oil stops the itch from mosquito bites almost instantly. He said he and his wife use it on their grandchildren all the time for their bites.

We walked through the flea market for awhile and bought a chili dog and beer and sat down to listen to the music. They always have live music and there was a guy playing guitar and signing today that was very good.

We left the food area and both bought a pair of sandals for wearing around the house. They are advertised as 'Birkenstock Ripoff's', Larry bought a pair last week that he really liked so I decided to give them a try myself.

We came home and I laid down for awhile to read as my back was bothering me today. There is no pattern as to when I have the back pain but when it starts, laying down is the only thing that relieves it.

We sat outside and had a beer and Don, our next door neighbor stopped by to chat. He and Cynthia are on Security Duty for the park tonight so he was in the golf cart when he stopped. Earlier today I offered the rest of the tamales we bought on Tuesday to Doris, who is parked behind us, but she said she had some frozen. I saw Cynthia outside when we were leaving so I gave the tamales and a couple of the tomatoes to her. She told me Don loved tamales and would appreciate. We talked to Don for quite awhile. Since we arrived here, the park has had a problem with a sewer smell that comes our way when the wind blows. Tonight we started smelling it again. Don told us they were changing out some pumps on the sewer tonight to try to correct the problems. Will be great to get rid of the smell as at times it gets very bad.

Again we opted to skip dinner. We are like a couple of kids about eating, I guess. We seem to have a late lunch each day so never seem to be hungry at night. 

Friday February 10, 2012

We left for Los Algodones around 8:30am for our dental appointments. Larry returned to Dr. Gaspar at 9:30 to have the root canal and post finished on his tooth. I headed to Dr. Juan(Dr. Castro's office) to have my crown cemented.

I discussed again with Dr. Juan my treatment plan. He told me that he is going to wait to crown my posterior teeth until next year. He also told me he wanted me to see the implant dentist today. He said if I get the implant done this year, he will place the tooth on the implant area and do the remaining crowns at the same time. Dr. Juan had the office lady make an appointment for a consultation with Dr. Garcia for 11:30 today.

Dr. Garcia's office girl drove over to pick me up from Dr. Juan's office. I had a moment of indecision when she asked me to get into her vehicle to drive back to her office. In the past the other office's have come to get me and we walked to the other office so I briefly had vision's of abduction about being in a vehicle --kinda like not trusting a stranger when I was a child!

We arrived at Dr. Garcia's office without incident. I really wondered why she drove over to get me as it was no more than 4 or 5 blocks to walk. With all the pedestrian traffic it took much longer to maneuver through the streets driving than if we had walked. I met Dr. Garcia, who was in his late 30's and EASY on the eyes, as most of the dentist's I have seen here. He was very nice and spoke very good English. He took an xray of the area and determined I had enough bone support for the implant. He explained the procedure and that he wanted the area to heal for at least 6-8 months before affixing the post and crown. I told him I would have to plan to complete next year when I returned, which he agreed would work fine. I made an appointment for Monday at 11:00am to have the implant placed. After leaving I realized I did not even ask the cost but from previous inquiries assumed we were talking about $1,000. This is about 10% of the cost elsewhere so still a bargain. Judy from across the street told me she had 3 implants about 4 years ago in Canada and paid $8,000.

I walked from Dr. Garcia's office back toward the stained glass shop to talk to Luiz about the pieces of glass I ordered 2 weeks ago. Again he told me it would be next week. I told him I was coming back on Monday and he agreed it would be ready around 1:00pm on Monday. As I left, I was doubtful that it would be completed by then but hey, everything here is Mexican minutes and Mexican days, which means it's never going to happen at the time they tell you.

I walked to the plaza to meet Larry. We planned to meet there after his appointment with Dr. Castro, which was at 11:30. When I arrived he was not yet there, which did not surprise me as it was only about 1:00. As I mentioned, in Mexico, appointments occur anywhere from an hour to two hours after appointed times. I sat down at a table outside and order a BIG Pacifica beer--our norm! Reuben, our normal waiter was breezing back and forth and I ended up with a different waiter. Reuben did, however, give me a 'high-5' as he buzzed by my table. He is really a busy man and takes his job seriously as he never slows down. I'm sure his tips reflect his efficiency!

I sat in the sun listening to the band and drank beer for about 30 minutes before Larry showed up. He had a composite filling on the tooth that had the root canal. He shared the rest of my bottle of beer and then we ordered nachos and another Pacifica. It got so warm sitting in the sun that I had to move to the other side of table into the shaded area. The town was crawling with people today so we decided not to stay too late before heading back.

When we headed for the border, Larry went to get in the bicycle taxi line and I walked over to Dr. Castro's office to make an appointment for a cleaning. They tried to make my appointment for early Monday morning before my surgery but had no room to squeeze me in. They went ahead and scheduled me for February 22, which is the day before we are due to leave Yuma. I asked Almeda, the office girl, if she knew how much Dr. Garcia charged for the implants and she told me they were $1,000, so I guess that will be my Birthday present for this year--possibly Christmas and Anniversary next year as well! I agreed with Dr. Juan, however, it is still cheaper than doing a normal bridge and then end up loosing one of the abutment teeth in a year or two.

I walked back across the street to find Larry. We waited about 20 minutes for our turn on the taxi. The guy who drives the taxi is very comical and kept us entertained while waiting in line. We made it to the car and home by around 3:30.

When we arrived back at RV, we found that the sunscreen for the windshield and wipers had been installed. We had called two times this week and left messages with Specialty Sewing trying to find out WHEN they were going to come out to install the screens but no one ever called back. The neighbor's across the street,Jan and Judy, whom we met a few days back came over to see the screen. They are Canadians from BC and are here with Judy's husband Ken. Jan is a sister to Judy and the 3 of them live together and get along wonderfully. Jan and Judy are very talented at sewing and had made a cover for the windshield of their motor home, which is smaller than ours. They looked at the wiper blade covers and we all agreed they did a lousy job on fitting them. We plan to send them back when they come out to place the rest of the screens we ordered. Jan and Judy sat on the patio and we all talked for awhile and then Ken joined us. We talked until after 7:00 and no one had eaten dinner yet. They all left and Larry and I went to Appleby's to grab something rather than trying to cook so late.

After we had dinner, we drove over to Frye's and bought a few groceries and headed home.

Saturday February 11, 2012

Decided to do the laundry today since we will be going back to Mexico Monday for my implant. Cleaned house a little while I got the laundry started.

Judy and Jan came over and we talked for a long while. We really just kicked back today and didn't even leave the RV. Larry put the awning out on the motor home and later the wind picked up and we realized something was wrong with awning as it would not retract. He found the book on the awning but could not see what the problem was. He walked up to the resort office to ask about someone to call. He called Ron's RV Repair and they came within 30 minutes. He worked on the awning and had to drill and place a screw into one of the rollers on the end. We retracted it and ran it back out a couple of times and all seemed to be working. When I wrote out the check the guy told me $175 for what he did. We both were a little shocked in the price since he probably was not here 40 minutes and Larry had to help him on the repair besides.

When the RV Repair left the awning was extended out and then the wind got strong again so we tried to retract and again it would not work. Larry called Ron's again and he came right away again. I was working on the laundry so I was not outside when he checked it out again. Basically he spent 15 minutes and picked up his ladder, told Larry he thought it was the motor and Larry would have to order a new one. He told Larry that when he got the motor, he was sure Larry could replace it. Larry told him he did not even have a ladder that tall and probably not the tools either. Ron told him he could probably borrow one of his ladder's if needed. Like sure we can do that but not exactly sure HOW we would even haul it  if we did use it. Bottom line was he helped Larry roll the awning in and left.

When I came outside Ron was gone and when Larry told me the story I was furious! I wasn't even sure what we should do as I felt we got ripped off about as bad as possible!

Monday February 13, 2012

I have been fuming about the awning business since Saturday! I want very badly to call and give this guy a piece of my mind about the charges and the service. Larry just picked up the phone and called Ron's. Of course Ron got smart with him when he discussed the situation with Larry. Told us to sell the motor home and buy a tent if we didn't want to pay those type of charges! Jerk!

The guys came with the rest of the sunscreens early this morning and surprise--surprise--out of 3 window screens and 4 wheel covers, only 3 of the pieces fit properly. They installed one of the side windows and 2 of the wheel covers and took the rest back along with the wiper blades that do not fit. I wonder how these people make any money with all the mistakes!

We were getting ready to head to Los Algodones for my 11:00 appointment when the phone rang. The call was from Dr Garcia's office cancelling my appointment for today. His office girl said he was suffering from high blood pressure today and not coming into office. Larry said it was from a drunken weekend, which I agreed. The guy is probably only 38 years old so pretty bad if he has these problems and they are not from drinking! Anyway, I didn't want him working on me if he is not feeling well. They rescheduled my appointment for tomorrow at 12:00 so something to look forward to for another 24 hours!!!!

We drove into Yuma and both got a haircut then Larry hung out at Starbucks and I shopped at Dillard's and Penny's for awhile. We had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and drove home. It was so windy and quite cool it wasn't even enjoyable being outside. The neighbor's behind us were setting outside having their 'happy hour' but I didn't fell like joining them as it was so cold.  I did set on patio for a short while so Raven could get his outside time. He is the only one of the 3 cats who really enjoys being out this year. At home we cannot get Tucker to come in the house but he is very spooked most of the time here when he's out.

Watched 'The Voice' tonight, which is one of my favorite shows and about the only thing on TV that I bother watching. 

Tuesday February 7, 2012


We drove back out to the Yuma Military Proving Grounds this morning. We wanted to tour the Military Museum located on the Military Base within the proving grounds. We were there about a week ago but it was too late in the day to see the museum.
 Military Base at Yuma Military Proving Grounds


We drove into the main gate of and got clearance to enter the base and was directed to the museum. The museum was small but filled with the history of the proving grounds. The proving grounds were developed during WWII by General George Patton to test military equipment, explosives and various military gear. The proving ground is huge and includes many thousand acres of  chosen landscapes to closely resemble those of various war zones. We watched a video that explained how each item is put through stringent tests to assure it's endurance and effectiveness. While on the base we heard many booms off in the distance where they were testing the explosives.
We talked to one of the military personnel at the museum for awhile and he told us that we could have lunch either at the main restaurant on base or at the bowling alley. The restaurant closed at 1:00 but the bowling alley was open until midnight. He explained that the bowling alley had extended hours to provide an eating place for the personnel who worked late and provided healthy meals. It was 12:30 when we left the museum so we went to the bowling alley for lunch. We had a sandwich and a drink and then drove around the base for awhile before we left. I mentioned last week about the RV's parked on the base. As we were driving on the base we had a better idea of just how large the RV area was and it looked to be filled to capacity with campers.


                                                        Imperial Date Gardens

Date Groves in Bard, CA

We left the base and drove through the main road of the proving grounds and arrived in Bard, CA. Last week at the farmer's Market, I talked to a lady who had a booth selling dates. She told me her family owned Imperial Date Garden in Bard. We started seeing many date groves and then came to a shop owned by Imperial Date Company. We stopped and looked around the shop for awhile and ended up buying a date shake to share. Every where we go around this area, we see signs advertising date shakes but for whatever reason, just didn't sound like something I'd enjoy. The shake was thick enough that we used spoons to eat and surprisingly it was quite good. It had a faint flavor of dates but mostly just a basic ice cream type of treat. I asked the lady at the shop about public tours and she told me they require at least 7 people in a group. I asked if we could be included with someone else but she didn't really answer. Basically, I don't think she understood me as she was Hispanic and didn't seem to have a good knowledge of English. Most of the date groves, I read,  are owned by Hispanic families.

Workers in Date Field area with white suits. 

We drove down the road a little further and the date groves were on both sides of the road with various sizes of trees in the groves. I read a lot of history about the date groves and it takes around 7 years for a Mejhool date to produce fruit. We found another store owned by a different date company so we stopped in  to look around. They had 4 varieties of dates to sample. We sampled 3 varieties known as Halawy, Barhee and the Medjool. From the ones we had, the Medjool was the moistest and was my choice. The Medjool Date can be quite large and the shops dress them in many ways ranging from chocolate covered, bacon wrapped, nuts and also stuff the dates with everything imaginable. The dates are packaged and shipped all over the US. I also read it takes around 2,000 people to tend the groves in the Bard area and it is a 12 month process to prepare the fruit for harvest. Some of the groves we saw had been irrigated and had water standing in the grove that looked like a lake. One of the fields had farm workers dressed in white work cloths as if they were laboratory workers.

Migrant Workers harvesting the vegetable crops at Bard, CA




We drove back to the main road and found many migrant workers working the vegetable fields. The vegetable fields are interspersed among the date groves all though this area. The landscape is so flat that the date groves are easy to see for miles. The migrant workers were harvesting in the vegetable fields and were walking behind huge machinery where they box and bag the vegetables. There are always many flat bed semi's setting around the harvest area ready to be loaded for shipping. The fields are so well maintained, they look like a well tended landscaped yard. All of the vegetable fields are planted in strips with about 6 rows of vegetables in each strip. The spring mix fields are very colorful with alternating strips of deep purple to various colors of green.


We came back to Yuma and drove back to RT 95, the blacktop we drove out of town on. On this road, we saw several fruit and vegetables markets so we stopped to buy tomatoes. The tomatoes in the stores are terrible which is amazing since they are grown locally. We bought a basket of tomatoes and some homemade tamales. The tamales looked very good and everyone there was buying them so decided to give them a try.

We came home and had the tamales and cottage cheese with tomatoes for dinner. The tomatoes we bought looked beautiful but we were so disappointed in the flavor as they weren't much better than our store bought tomatoes. A few weeks back we talked to a guy in the grocery store who expressed how upset he was that he could not buy a decent tomato in this area. This confuses me since the area produces acres of tomatoes and can't believe they are so tasteless. If these are the tomatoes shipped into our markets in Illinois, I now understand why they are all so tasteless. The tamales were OK but also a little disappointing in flavor.