Arizona 2012 Thursday (Jan 26)

Thursday January 26, 2012

I am scheduled for my first dental appointment in Las Algodones this morning. We took showers, left home at 8:30 and stopped down at Daybreak Cafe for breakfast. We finished eating and headed to Algodones around 9:30.

We stopped at the 'Q Casino', which is just before the Mexican boarder, to use an ATM Machine. Taylor called while we were there and I talked to her awhile before heading down to border. Kyle is in Florida for the buyer's mart where he purchases his merchandise for the Pro Shop each year. Taylor and Addison are picking up Morgan from school at 3:00 and heading for the airport for their Florida flight to meet Kyle. Taylor and Kyle have planned a surprise trip to Disney World for the girls. Taylor said Morgan kept asking her this morning why she was picking her up from school so early and wanted to know if they were going to the doctor. I'm sure they both will be very surprised to find out they are spending the next few days at Disney World!!

We parked walked across the border and went directly to Dr. Castro's office to check in. My appointment is not until 11:30 but from past experience we know that it's basically first come -- first served! The receptionist told us there were two people ahead of  me so come back in 1 1/2-2 hours, which is basically 11:30 or 12:00!

We walked over to the Purple Pharmacy to pick up medication, that my friend Cathy ask for, and cigarettes. When we left, we looked at the sidewalk vendor's merchandise and I picked up a few items  and then stopped at the stained glass shop. I talked to the guy who makes the stained glass and ordered a St Louis Cardinal and a Chicago Cub stained glass piece. He said he would have them ready in about two weeks.

I reported back to Dr. Castro's office and we went outside to sit in the courtyard to read until they called me in. I actually am seeing Dr. Juan today who works for Dr. Castro. I saw him last year and like him a lot as he speaks wonderful English. Next week we are both scheduled to see Dr. Castro on Thursday but I will probably continue with Dr. Juan since he will be setting up a treatment plan today.

We sat outside for only about 20 minutes before they called me in. Dr. Juan checked my teeth and took several xrays of the area where the bridge is to be replaced. After looking at xrays, he explained that I have a considerable amount of gum recession and bone loss in certain areas, so he gave me two options. He showed me the xrays and suggested that an implant might be a safer way to replace teeth. He said if I had a bridge attached to the two most posterior teeth, I could loose the entire bridge if the abutment teeth had to be extracted a few years from now.  My tooth in the front that had been part of bridge has been drilled down almost to the gum line so he suggested I see the endodontist to have it evaluated as to whether it could have a root canal and posts. He told me he would decide the best treatment plan based on whether this tooth could be saved.

So from past experience, I was sure I was destined for a very long day of dental work. Dr. Castro's office called Dr. Gaspar, the endodontist, and they told me to come in at 1:30.  Dr. Castro's office told me to be back to their office at 1:00. In Mexico someone walks you from one dental office to the other, so one of the office girls would take me over to Dr. Gaspar. Two years ago, Dr. Gaspar did a root canal and post on Larry and 3 root canals and 3 post on my teeth. Dr. Castro then replaced the lower right bridge after I completed the root canals. Dr. Gaspar is very competent and quite 'easy' on the eyes as well--at least MY eyes--I doubt Larry noticed!! Ha!

The old 'farts' at El Paraiso








We had more than an hour to kill so headed to El Paraiso's Bar and Restaurant. This is located in the plaza with outdoor tables and they always have a band playing. It is our favorite place in Los Algodones and they have margaritas to die for!! We both ordered a margarita and a plate of nachos. Decided we should eat something as the remainder of the day could get very busy with dental appointments. We followed our margarita's with a bottle(quart size) of Pacifica beer. The choices of beer were limited to Corona, which is like drinking water or Pacifica. The Pacifica is pretty strong but tasted soooo-- good since our normal beer choice these days is Michelob Ultra!!

We returned to Dr. Castro's office and Dr. Gaspar's office girl walked me across town to their office. When I arrived there were several people waiting. I assumed it would be some time before my name surfaced to the top. Two years ago when here, I became quite friendly with Vanessa, one of the office girls. She was pregnant and during my visits we talked a lot. She speaks such beautiful English it was hard to believe she is actually Hispanic. Vanessa remembered me but made the comment that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight since 2000, when I was last there. We discussed the South Beach Diet, which she was not familiar with. I would imagine living in Mexico, it is not so popular considering their high carb offerings.

I sat so long waiting that my beer was taking it's tole. I pulled the chair next to me away from the wall to rest my head on the back-- I think I actually caught a short catnap. I finally went out to the courtyard and decided I should send Larry a text message to let him know I was still waiting for appointment. He decided to wait for me at Dr. Castro's office so figured he was wondering what was going on. I went back into waiting room and after another 30 minutes was called into office.
I was placed with Dr. Hernandez, which I'm not sure of his position in this office. He was here two years ago but did not work on me. I have the feeling he is on an ' OJT'  position or he just has not practiced long enough to be out on his own. Hmmmm- not sure I'm happy with this but as he proceeded, I felt confident he knew what he was doing. He consulted many times with Dr. Gaspar about my progress. Vanessa was his assistant and she explained what was going on since Dr. Hernandez does not speak the best of English. She showed me the xrays and said I had one root that was calcified and the doctor was having a hard time getting into the canal. After an hour of having my entire upper extremities malled by Dr. Hernandez, Vanessa told me to go back into waiting room until Dr. Gaspar could see me. Vanessa called Dr. Castro's office to let them know my progress and they said they would bring Larry over to wait with me.

Another 30 minutes passed before I was called back into see Dr. Gaspar. He again explained that my tooth was giving them some issues trying to break through the calcium to get into the canal. He said I still might end up having it extracted. He worked on tooth for another 45 minutes and finally got into the canal to clean and medicate. Dr. Gaspar sealed the tooth and told me I would need to return next week to have posts set. I think the reason for waiting out the week is to find out if the tooth is going to respond to treatment or if in the end will be extracted. Vanessa called Dr. Castro and coordinated my appoint times between their office and Dr. Gaspar's. I will see Dr. Gaspar at 8:15am and Dr. Castro(or Dr. Juan) at 11:00 next Thursday. Larry has an 8:30am appointment with Dr. Castro on Thursday as well. Sounds like another full day in Mexico next week.

Electrical Pole in Las Algodones. A favorite term of our daughter, Leslie, comes to mind when looking at this------
'Hot MESS'!!




By the time I was finished with Dr. Gaspar and picked up his prescribed medication from pharmacy, it was around 5:00. WOW, what a full day and when we looked at the line waiting to cross the border we assumed it would be at least another hour or more to get out of here. We checked out the bicycle transport and the line was pretty long there as well. Oh well, figured we could enjoy drinking beer over standing in this massive line waiting. We headed back to the plaza and ordered another Pacifica and relaxed while the band played. There were still a large number of people in the plaza for this hour of the day. We have never been here past 4:00pm so we asked our waiter how late the border was open. He assured us they would be open until 11:00pm, Arizona time. We finished our beer and ordered another. Hope we don't end up spending the night here behind bars for being intoxicated! My mouth was so swollen from the anesthetic, I could hardly drink out of my glass. By the time we left my head was pounding. I wasn't sure if it was from the beer or being malled all day from dentist.

We walked back to border line. Still a couple hundred people in line so we walked over to bicycle taxi line. This year they have added two new taxi's to the mix. The two new taxi's are two man taxi's verses the 6 man original. The small taxi's were powered by women, one in her 50's, the other early 20's.

When our turn came up we rode the the small taxi driven by Ruby who was 24 years old and told us her father-in-law owned the service and her husband and mother-in-law was driving the other 2 taxi's. She was such a beautiful young lady and spoke flawless English. She shared that she was born in Mexico but had lived in San Diego since she was 1 year old. She and her husband bantered back and forth, teasing each other about who was going to reach the border first. She told us they have an 18 month old daughter and they live near Yuma from January through April to help run the taxi's. It cost $5 per person to ride the taxi so I can imagine the profits are quite good. I'm also sure that the border receives a portion of these profits as the taxi's are allowed to go ahead of the cars and waiting line of people. We were delivered to the entrance of  the parking lot and our entire wait was less than 30 minutes verses probably another two hours in the normal walk-thru line. Ruby said today was the busiest day of the year so far which I believed judging from how many had already cleared customs before us.

The weather today was absolutely beautiful and it was still 73 degrees by the time we got home at 7:00pm. There was no wind, for a change, and the sun was shinning bright all day. The temperature was so perfect in Las Algodones that I could have sat in the sun all day.

Arizona 2012 Wednesday (Jan 25)

Wednesday January 25, 2012

Another beautiful morning in Yuma. A little cool early this morning with a moderate wind. If it were not for the wind, the temperature would be very nice. Seems we've had wind for the past several days, some much stronger than today.

I had a check to mail to CEFCU so I Walked up to the office to drop it in the mail. On my way home, Doris our neighbor behind us, was setting outside. I stopped to visit awhile and she said her and a few from the resort drove over to California yesterday to take the Farm Tour near El Centro. We have been wanting to take this tour mainly to find out what they are growing in all the fields around us. She said it was very nice and at the end of the tour they let them all pick some fresh vegetables. She asked if I would like a few of the items she brought home. I ended up with a head of cabbage, broccoli, red and white radishes and a head of cauliflower. The red radishes were huge about the size of a turnip.
We had a pretty long boring day today as we had to stick around the RV to wait for the repairman for the washer and for the guy to come measure for our sunscreens. The guy for the sunscreens called early and said he would be here between 11 and 1:00. He ended up coming around 11:30. He gave us a discounted price if we paid cash so I ran over to Chase Bank and drew out enough for the deposit before he left. We ordered the sunscreen for the windshield, the side window on drivers side, the door window and the window by the passenger side. We also decided to get the sunscreens for the RV tires. We have wheel covers, which we did not bring along but they are mainly for winter and a hassle to put on anyway. The sunscreens fit over the wheel wells and attach with turn screws so are very easy to put on and remove. He told us all of the screens would be done in about  2 1/2 weeks.
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We sat here all day waiting for the repairman for washer. By 2:00 We still had not received a phone call so I asked Larry to call and find out when they planned to show up. Surprise, surprise--Larry didn't remember who he had called. He said it was an advertisement in the local paper so he dug out the past 3 days of papers and looked thru all the adds but still could not find one that sounded like the place he'd called. This was not a shock to me as I figured he would not be able to come up with the name. We sat here until 4:30 and still no call and no one showed. We decided by this time no one was going to come. Larry got to thinking about scheduling the appointment, and said maybe they scheduled for next Wednesday rather than today. This just makes me crazy when he takes care of the details around here as he never seems to get a firm confirmation! We finally decided to run over to Walmart and when we returned at 5:30 there was a card hanging on the door of RV. I knew what it said before I ever read it. Yes, he was sorry he missed us and written on the card was a note saying he called our home number and it was not in service. Possibly because he failed to dial the area code which I remember Larry specifically telling the lady the area code when he scheduled. I was so mad I wanted to call immediately to unload on them. I really hope he does not plan to charge the $60 trip charge because I will come unglued on them. He had been here at 5:10 according to his card so I could have probably reached him but decided I better cool off before calling. I still have steam rolling from my ears after setting here the entire day waiting on him!

There is so much business to be had here for everyone that most of these business's could care less when they show. They make their money during the winter, I'm sure, because when the snowbirds go home it must be slim pickings for most of them. Yuma is not that large an area as far as their population so I'm sure once the winter is over,they probably are very slow on business.

We bought rope lights at Walmart for our palm tree but when Larry put them up, we defiantly do not have enough. They were so expensive, I'm not sure how many more I want to invest in. I figured we'd try one more strand and when we go to Mesa we can use them around the patio. Everyone in the park decorates their palm tree with lights and they look so festive at night. I would like to have 2 or 3 of my 20 plus strands of Christmas lights from home. Larry looked for the lights at Walmart tonight so I don't know if they had the regular Christmas lights, if so, I'm sure they would be cheaper.

   I think we need a FEW more lights!???!!

Larry went out to start the grill and two couples walked by and stopped to talk. I stepped outside to take the food out for the grill and they introduced themselves to me. One couple was from Idaho named Skip and Vicky. The other couple with them was Brian and Judy and they were from outside of Edmonton, Alberta. Both were fun to talk to and they both have been here since November. Brian told me his sister lives in Jacksonville, IL and works for one of the big chewing gum companies--I don't remember who. He and Judy are planning to visit her this summer. Both couples were retired but I thought Brian and Judy looked pretty young. I couldn't decide how old Skip is but might be close to my age.

We finally got our food on the grill and came in for dinner about 7:15. Neither of us had much to eat again today so I was starting to get the shakes from hunger. We had brats and hamburgers and they tasted good being cooked on grill.

Tomorrow I have my first dental appointment in Las Algodines. The appointment is scheduled for 11:30 which means in Mexican time, I might get in by 1:30 or 2:00. It's crazy how many people are there waiting for an appointment. I think they must schedule 5 people per hour and everyone just waits their turn. The first time I went to Dr. Castro I had the crazy thought that if I had an appointment, I should be seen within a reasonable time frame. This is not true in Mexico so if you want to see her, you show up and make sure you have a good book to read.

Arizona 2012 Tuesday (Jan 24)

Tuesday January 24, 2012

About 8:30 this morning the guys showed up to wax the motor home. Better late than never--I guess! Larry talked to them and showed them the areas that were not clean from the wash yesterday. He told them he did not want the wax applied over the dirty areas. The guy assured Larry that they would clean the areas before waxing. They worked for about 2 hours and when they left the motor home looked very nice, so they did end up doing a good job, which meant--they also got paid. We considered sending them the wax group on their way and telling them the wash job was not acceptable.

I gathered laundry items to make my trip to the laundromat. The machines in the laundry take a money card rather than coins. I went to the clubhouse to buy a money card for laundry and found that the original card cost $5 then it has to be loaded with the amount needed for machines. What a rip this little scheme is! I saw a sign hanging near the money machine that the activity office sometimes has blank cards that can be used to load so I headed to office to talk to them. They did have a blank card so I was able to use their card rather than buying a card. I hope to have my washing machine running again soon so couldn't see the advantage of buying my own card. I also found it interesting that the card can only have money added in $5 increments. The washers are $1.50 and the dryers are $1.25 so there is no way to use the entire amount on the card --at least with the number of loads I had. Oh well, Another 'Senior Scam' I guess--it's only money which seems to fly out our door daily! 

The repairman is scheduled to come out tomorrow to work on my washing machine so hopefully he can locate the problem. My machine is less than 2 years old and of course, only used when we are in the RV. I assume there could be issues from just setting but I can't imagine it can be a big issue. I washed a couple of rugs when we first arrived and suspect lint or whatever has plugged the drain somewhere. I guess we'll know tomorrow.

The weather was nice today but the wind was horrible. It felt 20 degrees cooler than it actually was. The sun was shinning bright and it reached 75 but I felt cold all day due to the wind.
There was a group of guys grilling on the patio at the clubhouse. Larry asked what was going on and they told him every Tuesday they have a lunch for the residence at the club house. Today for $4 they had hamburgers, salad and a drink.

I had 4 loads of laundry so I had to load my card for $10. I decided to dry 3 of my loads at the laundromat to use the money. After I switched them over to the dryer, we decided to have lunch so we paid for our lunch and headed into the club house to eat.

We sat next to an older couple from Montana who were very nice. Her name was Ava. Of course I had to share with her that my grand dog's name was Ava and she had a good laugh about that. Her husband Don plays with the band from the park. The band was set up to entertain during lunch. Ava said her and Don had doctor appointments so he would not be playing with them today.

After we finished eating, I went to retrieve my laundry and Larry stayed at club house. When I returned, the band was playing. They were pretty good but felt I needed a stiff drink to enjoy their selection of music. I had a hard time setting with a straight face as the music was defiantly from my father's era and VERY country! Made me feel like I was setting in the audience at a HEE HAW taping. As I looked around the room, I realized that the majority of the residence were 20 years or more older than us. Matter of fact, the band announced that one of the couples were celebrating their 70 year wedding anniversary! WOW! Actually in my observance of the residence here, I find they are either quiet elderly or look too young to be a resident. In order to reside here one person has to be at least 55 years of age so I think there are several men here who have 'trophy' wife's as I've seen a number of very young looking women. Men and their TOYS-----need I say more!!!!!

We hauled our laundry home and I put everything away. We looked at the paper and Larry found two places advertising windshield sun screens. He had talked to our neighbor across the street and he told Larry the name of the place he bought his screens from.

We decided to go to Yuma to check on the prices from a couple of the places that had adds in the paper. On our way out, Cynthia next door was setting outside so we walked over to see her. She told us the company they bought their screens from and that she thought they were cheaper than the other company in the paper.

We found both companies and stopped in to get prices. One of the places are coming out to RV Park tomorrow to measure and give us an estimate. The other company said if we made an appointment and brought the motor home to them, they would make the shades and install in one day. The price was a lot cheaper from them if we chose to take the RV to them. They said they could come out, take the measurements and then come back to install. We talked about the inconvenience of taking the RV to them and decided it would probably be worth the extra money for them to come to us. The problem with taking the RV to them is you have no home for an entire day and of course, the cats must go with RV!! Oh the joys of owning 3 cats!!!

We drove over to the Yuma Mall and I returned the shirts I had bought in Las Cruces as they didn't fit. We decided since we had hamburgers for lunch we weren't up for anything big for dinner. We  decided to go to Olive Garden for soup and salad. Our dinner was excellent, as always at Olive Garden.

Arizona 2012 Monday (Jan 23)

Monday January 23, 2012

When I woke today, I was thinking of Sue, our next door neighbor at home. She has breast cancer again and is scheduled today for surgery.  Over the past 4 years, they have had so much happening in their lives and each time something new occurs, I just can't believe the bad luck. Don just finished with cancer treatment after having a tumor removed in his ear and throat area. My prayers are with them today!

I planned on doing my laundry today so sorted my cloths and put the first load in the washer. The washer started but soon started flashing an error message. I cancelled the cycle several times and even selected different settings and each time the message came on. When Larry came in I asked him to look at it. He pulled the washer out and checked the hoses and drain and an hour later still had not found a problem. He walked up to park office to ask for a recommendation for a repairman. He came home, called and scheduled an appointment for Wednesday. They told him it would be a $60 trip charge, which is pretty normal I guess. I'm wondering how much more we can throw into the big 'money pit' before this is over. I guess a trip to the resort Laundromat will be in order for tomorrow.

We had an appointment today for a wash and wax on the RV. At about 11:30 two guys showed up and did the wash and told Larry the wax guys would be here between 3-4:00. At 4:30 we still had not seen the wax group so Larry called the company number. He left a message but no one called back. As he looked at the wash job, he decided it was so bad, he didn't want them to wax over the dirt anyway. Guess we'll wait for them to call us back so we can cancel the wax. The guys who did the wash job didn't collect the money so will have to talk to the place about the poor quality job before we worry about their money.

I went to Frye's Grocery Store, which is across the highway. Picked up a few items, which took an hour trying to work my way through all the 80 year old's and their walkers!!! When I came home I told Larry there were so many elderly people malling through the isles, I thought I would scream waiting for them to make their selection while blocking the entire isle. I guess I need to be kinder since I will soon be in the same position but my patience was just about stretched to the limit by the time I left.

When I came home, we sat outside and drank a beer. The weather has been a little unusual today with a mixture between clouds, sun and wind.

I came in and cooked a nice dinner, which can be a challenge with my small kitchen space. We had pork cutlets, mashed potatoes, gravy and Peas with cheese sauce. No, none of these items are on our South Beach Diet, but we have learned to limit our servings size so we indulge now and then. So far, neither of us have gained any of our weight back. Actually, I think we have both lost a pound or two since we left home. We are not as restrictive with our diet lately but just try to limit our portions.
 
As we sat here tonight I thought I heard rain. I looked outside and sure enough, the rain started coming down harder. How often does it rain here anyway--I guess only when we wash the motor home.

Arizona 2012 Sunday (Jan 22)

Sunday January 22, 2012

We went to the Daybreak Cafe this morning for breakfast along with 500 of our closest friends! This cafe is just a block or two down Frontage Road from our resort and seems to be the most popular place in town. There were people standing inside and out, waiting for a table. Surprisingly, we only waited for about 20 minutes to be seated. The service was fast and the food was good so it was understandable why so many people were there. The cafe is open 24 hours and we have passed it many times and there is always a crowd waiting. Guess we will have to try dinner there sometime later.

 Mountains driving to Quartsite

We headed into Yuma thinking we would find the third flea market today. I put the address into the navigator but ended up at the Yuma Marketplace where we were yesterday, as I had picked the wrong address off Internet. We decided to forget the flea market and drive to a little town of Quartsite that we read about in one of the local papers. There was to be a large RV Show there today, which is just what we do NOT need to be looking at, but wanted to check out the town anyway. As with any Arizona trip, we drove through a million miles of NOTHING to get there. There were several proving grounds we passed along this route. We saw entrances for GM and another for a military proving grounds. This landscape would be the perfect choice for a proving ground as it is nothing but desert. There were several small mountain ranges around.  It made me think of the mountain scenes we had painted in our painting class in Mesa. Any type of mountain you choose to paint on your canvas would be fitting as these mountains were very diverse in their formations.

(RV's parked in desert-multiply this picture by 1,000)


As we neared Quartsite, there were hundreds of RV's parked out in the open dessert area. We could not figure out what could bring so many RV's to a place like this. I logged onto the Internet and saw where there are 750,000 to a million people who converge on this area in January and February as rock hounds!! They are all 'dry camped' in the middle of this dust pit on government land known as La Posa. Quartsite is known as the Rock and Mineral Capitol of the world. Looking at the hundred and hundreds of RV's I have to believe there is SOMETHING else besides looking for ROCKS?? Oh well, I guess I need to find a hobby that I would be passionate enough about to live like this for weeks!

Flea Market in Quartsite

We drove into Quartsite and it was packed with flea market vendors. Rows and rows of tents with hundreds of items. People were walking everywhere within about a 5 or 6 block area with vendors several rows deep on both sides of the street. The traffic was bumper to bumper and there were many quad runners and dessert buggy's driving along the sides of the street. Looking at the number of people here, I wondered if there was anyone left in the US that were NOT here.

Quartsite is very small with a normal population of about 3,400 and from what I read has a restaurant, two grocery stores, a bar called the Quartsite Yacht Club--in the middle of this dust pit--, a McDonald's and a hardware store. There are a couple of post office spots in town for 'general delivery' mail that, at times, has a line of people waiting up to an hour to claim their delivery. Wow what a culture shock this must be for the locals when this magnitude of people arrive!

There was also a huge RV Show going on near the flea market area but we didn't even walk over to this area as we spent so much time walking through the flea market. The vendor's here at least had worth wile merchandise, much different than the poverty stricken flea market we visited yesterday in Yuma. I bought my grand dog, Ava, a cute little ball hat at one of the shops today. They had some very cute pink fuzzy cowboy hats but none to fit her, so I settled for the not so unique, ball hat. We also found a vender selling sun shades for motor homes. There were several options but the ones we were interested in were one that fit the front window that is used to filter the sun when parked and also one that mounted inside to filter the sun while driving. We priced each, which were not cheap--nothing for a motor home ever is!! It seems we are always driving into the sun and even though the windshield is tinted part way down, we need the inside screen badly.  We took the guys card as he said we could measure and order later.

As we got near Yuma we saw a sign saying Frontage Road. We turned on this road and ended up within about 5 miles of our RV Resort. On our trip to Quartsite, we drove all the way to Yuma and then headed north out of town, so this defiantly was a shortcut and cut 20 miles off our trip back. We are still finding our way around this area and have found alternate routes to several areas.

When we drove back into the Foothills, we decided to go to Appleby's again for dinner. We sat in the bar and watched the rest of the football game while we had dinner, which was a plus for Larry. We had a nice meal and was surprised that the restaurant was not that crowded.

Arizona 2012 Saturday(Jan 21 2012)

Saturday January 21 2012

The weather was very mild early this morning, warmer than normal. The clouds moved in overnight and looks like we could have rain. We were suppose to have the motor home washed and waxed today but Larry called and cancelled and rescheduled for Monday. Looking at the forecast, Monday looks like rain as well.

I texted Taylor this morning and she sent back a message that she woke up sick early this morning. I hope that clears up soon as well. She has such a struggle with her Thyroid issues that she does not need something that will throw that off balance again!

Talked to Leslie about whether she had started receiving our mail and as of yesterday nothing has been forwarded to them. Larry had to order his prescription drugs and we have been waiting for them to be delivered to Pete and Leslie. We called the post office on Glen Ave in Peoria to find out if there was a problem with the forwarding. They checked and said it was finally in the system and delivery should start today or Monday. Normally we pay to have our mail bundled and mailed to Arizona but since we are planning to move a couple of times this year, decided to ask Leslie to send the important items to us.

We went to the Yuma Marketplace, which is an indoor flea market. It was not as large as the one in Mesa but had a lot of the same items. We looked around for about two hours and I bought myself a Pandora Bracelet. I looked at these when we were in Florida but did not buy it there. I told Larry he is off the hook for a birthday gift, which pleased him!

We left the marketplace and grabbed lunch. In the Yuma Mall parking lot there was a small farmer's market going on. We walked through the vendor booths and bought some radish's and a small watermelon.

After leaving the mall we headed to another flea market that one of the vender's told us about. When we found it I was amazed that the vender's were actually paying for a spot to sell such junk. I think most of the vender's were from Mexico and the items they were trying to sell were just horrible. Even in Los Algodnes, the items for sale at the street markets are very up class compared to this place. The market was just huge and the items offered were so old and nasty they would have had to pay me to take them home. A lot of the vender's were selling silk flowers that were so faded and dirty I can't imagine anyone even looking at them. This was defiantly NOT the flea market items that are offered at Mesa.

The weather actually cleared up after we left the RV park this morning but by the time we got home, the wind was horrible. It was gusting against the motor home and the dust in the air was pretty bad. Another thing I dislike about Arizona is the dust storms. I wouldn't call today a dust storm but the dust was pretty heavy. I think this is what sets off my allergies. Last year while in Mesa, I made five trips to the doctor for allergy issues. I'm hoping to avoid the problems I had before. I talked to Dr. Adams before leaving home about how to avoid this year and he gave me some instructions of what to take if I started having issues.

We came home and cooked in again tonight.

Arizona 2012 Friday (Jan 20 2012)

Friday January 20, 2012

There was not a lot going on today but this afternoon we drove up to Yuma to find our way around the area a little. We went to the Wetlands Park area which is located along the Colorado River. The park was large with lots of area for hiking and biking paths. It also had lot of Cactus and other Arizona vegetation which is probably quite scenic in the spring when everything is in bloom.

Most every place around this area is typical dessert landscape. So far, I am not as fond of Yuma as I am of the Mesa area. Mesa is a much larger area but for some reason seems much more scenic and just cleaner looking in general. The dessert feels depressing to me many times as I am so fond of the green of the Midwest. If not for the fact that I need dental work completed, I don't have much desire to return to Yuma. In years past, we have driven many trips from Mesa for our dental appointments. It is about a 3 hour plus drive from Mesa to Yuma and a horribly boring trip so will be much better being this close.

Yuma is big into vegetable growing. Everywhere you look you see field upon field of lettuce and multiple other vegetables. When looking at all the fields, it hard to know what is growing as they all look the same. There are semi loads of boxes containing vegetables, which are being trucked to other markets. Along with the agriculture comes the migrant workers. We pass big buses filled with workers and attached to the back of the bus is a trailer hauling none other than their porta potties, which are taken to the fields during their work hours. There are probably as many migrant workers as snowbirds in this town. I feel sorry for these migrants as they work so hard for so little pay.

We drove on both sides of the Colorado River and went by many RV Parks located on the river. Most of the parks were jammed so tight with RV's it's hard to believe they could even back into the sites. One of the RV Parks that caught our interest on our trips from Mesa is called 'River's Edge'. It looks so beautiful from the road with huge palms located along each street, but when we drove back to look at the park, it too, was very overcrowded.

We were lucky to find such a nice park here in Yuma. We basically choose the RV Resort from the Internet, which is how we originally found Silveridge in Mesa. Our park here in Yuma is Las Quintas Oasis and it is located in the Foothill's. We are located about 10 miles east of the city limits of Yuma. The foothill's area is a somewhat newer area and has most of the conveniences that are needed on a daily basis, such as grocery stores and restaurants. It is loaded with RV Resorts which are all filled to capacity by the snowbirds. Our park is very neat and clean and each site has a palm tree on the lot. We have very friendly neighbors and many have offered their help in several of Larry's 'fix it' jobs around the motor home.

On our drive today we drove to Winterhaven, CA which is the exit we take when going to Los Algodnes, Mexico. I assumed Winterhaven was a pretty nice town but when we drove into the town, it was so poverty ridden it was depressing. It appears to be home to mostly migrant workers and vegetable processing plants.

I talked to Taylor this morning to check on our Addison. When they came home from their Colorado ski trip, Addison was sick with diarrhea. It was so bad she had a minor accident at pre-school on Monday. Kyle also was sick on Sunday but he was feeling much better by Monday. Monday they took Addison to the doctor and she has some type of strep that the doctor gave her antibiotics to take. Taylor said by Tuesday, Addison was acting better and the diarrhea had cleared up. The doctor said the antibiotic she gave them would not help the diarrhea so hopefully that has passed on it's own. Morgan has not been sick and neither has Taylor so hopefully it has run it's coarse.

We rounded our way back toward our home on wheels but not before funding the welfare of the Walton Family! We MUST stay out of Walmart. It seems we spend an average of $80 each time we darken the doors. Seems we are always out of something which is amazing since we really haven't cooked much. We did come home and cook dinner tonight, however.