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!!