HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

.........and all that stuff to everyone. Been getting my days and nights mixed up lately so I'll probably be awake when the New Year rolls in tonight. Nothing planned, as usual, did too much partying in years past............maybe I can drive into the desert and empty a clip into the air as a means of celebration. Only time will tell.

Weather has decided to be nice toward the end of the year and we've been enjoying 70s the last few days, maybe even up to 75 today. Attended an Open House held by friends Jim and Linda yesterday. A very nice group showed up to offer congratulations and tour their new pad. I had a double order of ice cream and cake and since we had the RZR "B" and I opted to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine by driving off into the desert. We had no plan in mind; but, of course you have to carry your GPSr where ever you travel. If was getting a little late to hit the Bombing Range so we opted to tour the trails NE of where we stay. Quite a few caches tucked back in the hills that we haven't found so started looking for some and we managed to get skunked on three "Old Guy" caches before we found the first one. Other than the one cache we found all I did was leave some blood on the thorns and branches of gnarly old trees.

Came home when the sun was setting, grabbed some supper and settled back to watch reruns on the tube.

Nothing planned for today except try to stay awake to bring in the New Year. W&B

Three Days After Christmas..............

and not much happening...........except we got a "Heat Spell" coming up. Supposed to reach 73/74 this weekend. My kind of weather!

We headed to Robert and Char's for Christmas Dinner; but, we had to make a geocaching stop before dinner. Becky forgot the general rule of caching that is to "look for an obvious hiding place" before trusting your GPSr. She started off following the arrow so I let her go while I walked over to the "obvious" place to secure the cache. Signed log and we were on our way to dinner.

Small group for dinner consisting of McNeece family, kids and grandkids and a few other friends. Turkey, ham and all the fixins and we overate as usual. It was a nice quite afternoon and when the sun started to dip below the horizon we hopped in the RZR and headed homeward. Nearly froze our buns off on the way home.

Monday was "kinda" a shopping day, mall not too crowded and we hit a couple of stores but Becky couldn't find anything that grabbed her. On the other hand, we stopped at Harbor Freight and I picked up a bunch of good "deals". Grabbed a cache he had previously not found and kicked back the rest of the day.

Yesterday we had to head for the Commissary to pick up some Orville Reddenbach Poppycock...........we tried a can on our last visit and both of us pigged out on the stuff. We figured it'd be on sale after Christmas and it was marked down to half price.............I think we picked up a dozen cans. Not much else going on except we're enjoying the warmer weather............almost had to turn on the A/C today! All for now. W&B

A Little Warmer Today So..............

we hopped in the RZR and headed for the Goldwater Bombing Range. We thought it'd be much greener because of the rains and it was. Too bad it's not the time of the year for blooms to start bursting out.........they will later. We only drove about 18 miles on the Range; but, that was enough to take a few pics. Sure beats fighting the last minute shoppers at the mall. Really quite on the range today.........we only met one jeep in our travels.

The two pictures at top were taken when we were geocaching a week ago. This is the old defunct motel that's located off the freeway in California west of Yuma. There was a cache stashed in the back of the motel that B managed to find.

We've been taken it easy due to the cooler weather and I think we managed to take in a couple of movies in the last week or so...............only go to the movies for the popcorn. You buy a big bag and get a refill..........we eat one and fill our bag on the way out to take home. It generally lasts a couple of days and stays fresh in a ziplock. We had a good laugh when we left the theater...........two old folks walked past us carrying their popcorn in a couple of ziplock bags too.

All of our Christmas shopping is done..........we didn't buy anything for anyone so it didn't take long. This is in keeping with the theme of "It's better to receive then to give!"

Christmas dinner at JJ and Char's tomorrow afternoon. They fill up the house every year with family and friends and Becky and I are their "token" snowbirds. Should be another great Christmas Dinner.

All for now............here's wishing everyone a very "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year". W&B

Still Freezing...............

as daytime temps remaining about 63-64 for the high and dipping into 40s at night. Got electric heater running so we'll be OK in the short term.

Didn't make it down to the Tamale Festival on Saturday so Becky will have to do without..........or maybe someone will drive by hocking home made tamales. We usually have some sellers stopping by but haven't seen any so far this year. Of course it might help if we spent a little more time here during the day.

We've been picking up a cache here and there and spent most of Sunday in California near Holtville's desert area. I think we ended up with 60 or so finds. That's a lot of climbing in and out of the car and we were both dead tired when we got home. Something to eat, hot showers and then we both crashed early last night.

Made our first trip into the Goldwater Bombing Range today as several new caches were placed a couple of miles South of us. Recent rains are really helping to green up the desert. Will give it a little more time and then go picture taking.

Finally got some neighbors late this afternoon as Nate and Phyllis showed up. Medical problems slowed down their "leave home" date...........when you get "ancient" the old doctor appointments sure have an influence on what and where you do things! We met several friends in the desert today and after standing around and shooting the bull for a while one of the guys said "I gotta go, knees bothering me". We all jumped in our cars and left.

Not much planned for this week......except making a laundry run. Later. W&B

Drove Up To The Corner...........

to view the Lights Parade of ATVs, dune buggys, etc. Unfortunately my pictures just didn't turn out due to low light and speed of vehicles. I tried; but, these are the only ones that look like something. Two more days of these guys and if I can figure something out I might try again.

Some of the rigs were decorated quite nicely............others had a "few" lights. Heck I could through some lights on the RZR tomorrow and join them. Wouldn't take much.

B gave me hell for shouting out "HAPPY HOLIDAYS' in response to their "Merry Christmas"..........geez I had to do something to make it interesting. I finally ended up with "Mele Kalikimaka"..........which I presume was nicer than Happy Holidays. Oh well..........W&B

Just Trying To Stay Warm................

the past few days...........Yuma finding it difficult to break 65 and nights are really getting cold........dipping down into the 40s! Horrors.

We'll try to survive. Haven't been doing too much, just making our regular rounds.......commissary, mall, gas station and picking up a few caches when ever we get close to one. Our friends, Jim and Linda, have been in a RV park for the past several years and the other day we get an email inviting us to stop by their new house! Seems they found one for sale, made an offer and the owner quickly got together with them for a price they could agree on. Really nice with lots of room and the owner included all the furniture in the deal! Not much for them to do except move their clothes from the M/H.

Tomorrow is "Tamale Festival" in Sommerton, a little town south of Yuma. Since Becky is hot into tamales we might head that way..........or she can if she looks for someone to go with her. You go to one "festival" and you've been to them all.....at least in my humble opinion.

I think 3 nights of the local Holiday Lights parade starts this evening in the Foothills. Every year ATVs, Dune Buggys, Golf Carts, etc. etc. owners guzzy up their vehicles and parade around the Foothills with a Police excort and lights flashing for several hours. I kinda thought about putting lights on the RZR; but, haven't been able to find the right people with information. Guess we'll just watch them again this year.

That's about it for us this week. W&B

Tried to Resize Pics Again.................

Will post to see how they turned out..........if any different from earlier post.

Here's Some Pics I Recently Took...............

Took the rainbow this afternoon..............other pics are from
Glamis when we visited on Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Whoops, sorry about the size. New computer and I'm having some problems with resizing the pics.........eventually I'll figure it out (hopefully). These pictures were taken last Sunday when we were geocaching after breakfast. This is the end of the trail where we found the last cache of the day and of course we had to stand around the shoot the bull. We were about 40 or so miles north of Yuma.

Monday And Here We Sit...................

with nothing to do! Well, nothing immediately comes to mind, except we gotta head out to the Proving Grounds where I had the Post Exchange place an order for me. It's in. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday as we passed right by...........twice. After SWAG breakfast several carloads of us headed North to pick up a string of fairly new caches. I think we picked up 32 before we headed for home. Boy, was I ever beat......had to get up early for breakfast and since I never go to bed before midnight I didn't get much sleep. Got home and crashed for about 40 minutes after we got back. Managed to survive the rest of the day.

We're still trying to learn more about Becky's new GPSr and also trying to learn the new GSAK program. So I sat at the computer yesterday afternoon for far too long trying to figure it out on how to log our newly found caches and then get them deleted from the computer. Finally gave it up and called the "JJ GSAK Help Line". He's our local GPSR/GSAK resident garu. Took my computer and stuff over to his house and he got us straightened out............that is until next time, if I don't use the new stuff more frequently I'm sure that I will have forgotten how to go about using GSAK and the Oregon gpsr. At $85.00 per hour for help.......this could get expensive!

I finally remembered to take a few pictures yesterday; but, haven't downloaded them yet. If they are decent I'll post some later.

Nice and warm for the weekend and last night we some rain......woke up a few times and heard it pattering on the M/H roof. A littler cooler today and right now it's 61 at 1230. Guess we can't complain too much. Later. W&B

Warmed Up A Bit Today............

and I think it made it to about 68. Sun shining and sure felt good to be out and about. Had my eye appointment today and although I have cataracts the doc ses they have a long way to go before he would consider surgery. He said my double vision is caused by weakness of the eye muscles I need to focus. Ran me through some eye exercises that I should do 2-3 times a day, said to use eye drops and then have things checked out in two months. If my ability to focus hasn't shown any improvement then I should consider a change of my glasses to a lens that would help my right eye to focus. Just wait and see..........no surgery sounds good to me.

Stopped by the outdoor market place and boy was that place ever deserted.........no customers and lots of unfilled spaces for venders. Even the food venders haven't shown up...........used to be able to walk down the food strip and have lots of choices.........no more. Saw a friend who was baby sitting a vendor booth, he said he had made one sale all day long. Not my idea of a way to spend 4 days.............that's a loooooong weekend to give up.

Stopped by Wally World and made our way home. Didn't even look for a cache today. W&B

Taking It Easy For...............

the last few days......picking up a few caches here and there, still searching for the best biscuits and gravy (tried the Golf Course again this morning...........gravy better than the last time); but, still searching.

Took a little drive to Mittry Lake yesterday and boy has that place changed since the last time we were out there.

Got an appointment with the eye doc tomorrow morning and it'll be interesting to see what he has to say about cataracts. Been having problems with double vision in right eye and had glasses changed last April.............doc said then "you'll know when it's time to take care of the cataracts"...........I think it's time...............particularly before hussein screws up medicare any more.

Still remains kinda chilly; but, latest weather report ses it might start warming up a bit........at least it'll be on the upper side of 65 through the weekend. That's about it, except the old casino bruised me up pretty good today. W&B

Out Caching Today With the "A Team"..............

consisting of Crzoldy, JJ, Limegreen and myself. Moving too fast to take any pictures so there ain't none for this post. We had breakfast at our favorite "Choke and Puke" in Ligurta and then headed to the desert south of Wellton, AZ. I think we picked up about 58 caches for the day.

Just kicking back now while the temperature drops to near Artic freezing levels. It might hit as low as 38 tonight!!!!!!!!!! Got two electric heaters, one still in the cubby hole so might have to run out there and get it set up for tonight.

Yesterday I made the mistake of allowing Becky to be in charge and we ended up going to the movie Jack and Jill. It turned out to not be as horrible as I expected and it even had a few good laughs. Other then that the story line didn't have much value. We were close to the casino so I made the mistake of being in charge after the movie and gave my red brothers most of my weekly allowance. Too broke to stop for dinner so we came home and I feasted on leftovers............just finished the last of the leftovers tonight. One little old pot roast lasted three meals.

Hope we get out of this cold spell..............need to get out and run the RZR; but, been a bit chilly for that. Hope everyone stays warm. Later. W&B

Just Ate Dinner At..................

the Yuma Rotary Kaumann Sausage fest..............under coercion. We stopped at JJ's Office after we had breakfast at the Mad Chef and he "reminded" us of the sausage fest..............a fund raiser for the Rotary. He's one of the cooks and has been doing so for 25 or so years. So we put it on our "maybe" list. We got our shopping done so headed that way about 1600. Stopped by the Bar B Que area and had a sample sausage fresh off the grill. A tad spicy but pretty good so we went in, bought some raffle tickets and had dinner. The "fixins" took a bit of the spicy edge off for me..............all in all very good. They were also drawing a very nice crowd when we left.

Been trying to stay warm the last few days...........temps in the lower to mid 60s!!! Horrors! Got all of our running around done today, got haircut and made $7.00 contribution to my "red brothers" and that was about it.

Finally got the cable internet installed on Wednesday and my new computer arrived Wednesday evening via UPS. Got router hooked up and now we're both surfing at "high speed"................what a difference. Now I gotta learn Windows 7; but, new computer is great..............like dying and going to Heaven..........shudda got a new computer a year ago.

Not much going on tomorrow; but, we're going caching with JJ and Leon on Sunday after breakfast at Ligurta. Someone placed about 60 new caches so that'll keep us busy for awhile.

That's about if for us...............we'll try to stay warm the next few days and hope everyone else does too. W&B

Warm Day Today.......Probably In 70s...........

and only a gentle breeze blowing. My kind of "almost" winter weather. Not doing too much the last couple of days, Sunday was a bit windy so after breakfast at Ligurta we headed back home and spent most of the day indoors. Monday a bit better so we did venture out.

Keep hearing a "clunk" when Jeep shifts gear.........intermittent; but, it was driving me nuts so took it into a transmission shop and left it overnight. Today they checked it over and told me everything was OK...........didn't need to change/flush trans fluid and electronics checked out so guess we'll just drive the crap out of it. The Man said that Jeep transmissions are well built and they seldom have major problems. Maybe I'm just paranoid and the old hearing aid makes those clunks seem much louder.

Becky said she wanted to visit Wally World on the way home so I buzzed home in the RZR and she finally pulled in a couple of hours later. "Shopping" is what she calls it so I'm happy we weren't in the same vehicle. She did bring some grub home and Pepsi for me so guess it all works out.

Still waiting for the cable people to arrive and they are scheduled to be here sometime tomorrow so guess we'll have to wait around for them.........I know they can't install the system 'cause a line still hasn't been ran from curbside to our electrical box..........this is what stopped the last "install". Maybe they'll do it all at once????????? Well, all for now. W&B

Drove Up To Glamis Today.............

to pick up some 2011 Glamis Thanksgiving sweatshirts. Dang, they were nearly sold out; but, we managed to find a couple that filled the bill. Expensive sweatshirts.......$90.00 for an annual pass to the dunes (hope to use it a lot more before we leave Yuma), half a tank of gas and $52.00 + tax for the shirts. Always pisses me off when they charge sales tax..........no receipt, cash sale so I'm sure it goes into the vendors pocket. Oh well..........

Becky took a bunch of pictures which she will probably post on her Blog.......I snapped a few and here they are. Never did see any scantily clad Glamis Babes; but, did see some "not to bad lookers". Guess the "Old Days" of glamorous babes and nudity are long gone! Bummer.

Drove around a bit; but, didn't spend a lot of time there. Wind was picking up and sand started to blow so we headed back to Yuma kinda early. On the way back we turned on the GPSr and saw that we could do some geocaching on the way back. I think we picked up 19 or 20 of the easier ones........the ones we didn't have to walk more than a couple of hundred feet from the road. Anyway, we quit before the road did, headed back to the highway and had a late lunch/early dinner at the Mad Greek restaurant. They usually have pretty good soup and Saturday is beef barley soup........it's normally very good; but, in this batch I was constantly asking.........."WHERE'S THE BEEF???" Told the waitress it wasn't up to par and she said she'd tell the cook. I'll give them another chance before I write off the beef barley soup.

Yesterday, we finally ventured out on Black Friday........I was kinda looking for a new laptop...........still too crowded even in the afternoon so we didn't spend much time shopping. After we got home I started browsing the internet and ended up ordering a new laptop from Toshiba. My old one is between 4-5 years old so it was about time and it's given me some pretty good service.

The guy arrived to install cable internet; but, couldn't get it done on Friday. The lot required a cable to be run from the box to our electric box so another crew will come in next week to install that..........then maybe we'll have cable internet in another 10 days or so. I'm sure it will be worth the wait...........this Sprint air card kinda sucks in this area. Just barely better than nothing.

That's about it for now. W&B

Turkey Day Over...........

so here's wishing everyone had their fill of turkey, dressing, smushed taters, gravy, etc. etc. I know we did.........except Becky who couldn't scoff up on the dressing because of her gluten free style of eating. Not to worry, I polished off enough for both of us.

This year we headed out to Josh and Megans, JJ & Chars kids. A bunch of people from both sides of the family showed up and Becky and I were the "token" snowbirds. More food than you could ever imagine............two turkeys, ham and someone even brought a prime rib......plus all the traditional goodies. Everything was delish and I thought the prime rib was outstanding! Becky pigged out on that and licked her platter clean.

We ate outdoors as the weather was most agreeable..........until the sun started to drop below the house line, then it began cooling down pretty quickly. We weren't too far from the Cocopah casino as Josh and Megan live South of Yuma in the countryside so we said our thank you's and goodbye and made the mistake of visiting Cocopah.

Someday I'll learn to stop gambling when I'm ahead...........no matter how little the amount is.........well maybe. Anyway, we made our contribution and came on home. Gotta set the alarm for midnight so we can join in on the Midnight Madness at the local emporiums............yeah right. I told Becky she could join in the festivities; but, don't wake me.

No shopping for me.........might venture out later as I'm in the market for a new laptop. Have the cable company coming tomorrow so we can get hooked up to cable internet. That outta be nice as our old air card from Sprint really slows down in Yuma. Last year they let me put the air card on vacation while we were down here so that will offset the cost of cable. And, don't have to sign a contract.....just month to month hookup.

Have been doing a little bit of caching with JJ on Sundays. Last Sunday we headed to Californy and picked up about 115 or so caches. My old left knee paid the price on Monday and Tuesday; but, doing OK now. JJ and another friend left after Turkey Time for Las Vegas where they'll spend the night and then on to Rachel, Nevada where they'll spend 2 1/2 days or so hunting down the 1500 + caches on the ET Highway. They said I could go along and just "drive"..........even that wasn't enough to tempt me. Temps expected to range from 30s to low 50s.........that ain't for me!

Other than caching we've been eating out, "shopping", took in a couple of movies; but, we haven't gotten hooked on BINGO...........yet. Later if anything happens. Expect temps to jump up into low 80s after the upcoming weekend. W&B

We're Officially Here................

'cause I got my "53rd Lane" geocache planted, published and already been found. Thought I might have a semi-nasty one this time; but, guess these cachers are tuned into my methods. Was published about 1530 and found about 1830 in the dark.

Finally got RZR off the trailer yesterday, cleaned up, gassed up and we're ready to hit the trails..........tomorrow morning as a matter of fact. Had dinner with JJ and Char last night at the Outback and made plans for breakfast tomorrow morning and then we'll take the RZRs out to hunt down some caches in the Foothills areas. People have been planting a few more than usual this summer it seems so we'll try to hunt down a few that JJ hasn't already found.

Watched the space station fly over this evening..........have seen it before; but, this time it was in view for about 6 minutes and was nice and bright. Thanks to John, one of the 53rd Lane seekers, who gave us a heads up on the space station fly over.

It's cooled down, rain and thunder last night and that made Becky happy to hear the thunder. I thought we journeyed South to avoid that crap! Oh well, the desert needed the rain..........it might green up a bit now..........always like to see a "green" desert.

More later..........hopefully I'll take a few pictures. W&B

Arrived in Yuma Yesterday Afternoon............

.....it was HOT, DAMN HOT yesterday; but, cooled down today.........plus windy. Haven't checked temps; but, believe it never got outta 80s today......which was nice.

We got up late and finally started our travels about 1100. First stop, Sam's Club, where we renewed membership and picked up a few goodies. Filled up with gas, gas price was $3.27 a gallon at Sam's Club, haven't seen it that low in quite awhile. Next we headed to the Marine Base to renew our Bombing Range Passes, stopped at exchange for a haircut, visited snack bar and then drove home, via the RV store where we picked up some stuff to hook up the M/H to sewer line. Now just kicking back and enjoying cooler temperatures.

"JJ" stored my little enclosed trailer for me and said he would drop it off later this week. I can then unload RZR, gas cans, tool box, sand tires, etc. etc. and store then in enclosed trailer. No one else on the lot............and there's a "For Sale" sign on it. Guess the little old lady from Michigan is tired of dealing with her lots and wants to move herself to an RV Park. Less hassle for a little old granny lady who is older than me!

That's about it...........we arrived safe and sound, although a little lighter in the wallet from our Laughlin excusion. So it goes. Later. W&B

Almost Ready To Head South..........

.....about 99% loaded so just gotta throw in the last minute stuff and we pull outta here tomorrow. Won't get very far the next two days.........98 miles to Woodland. Becky and Rhonda have scheduled Thursday as a Mother/Daughter Day.........the last one cost me some $$$s; but, they are on their own for this one. I'll probably head out to the Cache Creek Casino for awhile and lose all my gas money. Lucky plastic is still working so we should make it to Yuma by Nov 1.

Stops at Lost Hills, Barstow and probably 2 days in Laughlin. Taking I-5 South and then crossing over and heading East at Bakerfield so we'll miss Reno and Las Vegas. Doesn't break my heart at all!

That's about it.........will let all know when/if we arrive in Yuma. Later. W&B

Haven't Stopped Blogging.............There Ain't

nuttin going on around here. The weather has cooled down and is downright pleasant! If it stayed this way the year around we wouldn't have to leave.

FINALLY all the parts to fix the M/H jack have come in so the rig is in the shop right now. Expect it back this week and then we can start making plans to head South. Right now it looks like we'll leave toward the latter part of this month and drive directly to Yuma.........maybe 2 days in Laughlin........anyway plan to be in Yuma on November 1.

Beagle39, Wayne and Phyllis, stopped by on their way South and we had breakfast with them at the casino buffet and then they were on their way to Fresno. They should make it to Yuma a few days before we get there.

Sold my Honda (or did I already report that).........anyways it's gone. Will look for another second car (one with A/C) when we get back from Yuma. Too bad RZR not street legal in CA............this liberal assed state lets everything else pass through the cracks........but they won't recognize the fact that I'm licensed and insured for street driving elsewhere. Go figure.

Been keeping my Red Brothers happy at the casino.........they'll miss me when I'm gone. Win and bit and lose a bit; but, in the overall scheme of things they are ahead of me.

Well.............more later, probably much later. W&B

Heat's Gone........Now Freezing...........

our buns off! Well, not quite; but, it's been dipping into the 50s the last few days and even had a few sprinkles this morning.

Still waiting for new M/H jack from Winnebago.........called the shop and they don't know nothing except it "should be here shortly". Yeah right. It's not critical since I generally just use the front jacks to level things up.........depends on how one parks.

Got two more dental appointments to take care of.........Becky done with doctor visits so we're getting closer to heading South. Right now I think "leave date" will be around the week of the 24th..........unless temps drop in Yuma before then. Gotta start rounding up goodies that we'll take with us..........fortunately I can put a bunch of stuff on the trailer with the RZR; but, still gotta put it together in one pile for loading. That outta keep me busy for the next couple of weeks.

Think we're going to Woodland next weekend for the Twerp's BD and probably for the other Twerp's football game. Cassidy has BD too in a couple of weeks............have to remember to send her a dollar. That's about it for us. W&B

Cooled Down Over the Weekend............

and we almost froze when it dropped to the 60s all day Sunday. Good time to cool down for me as I massacred the oleanders........an unpleasant task that has to be done before we head South for the winter. Went out and bought a little electric chain saw on Saturday and slaughtered the oldeanders.............then I got a call from a kid who wanted to know if I still needed some help with the yard work. A little too late I told him. My problem now is getting rid of the residue.........filled up the yard debris container and it was hauled away today; but, they only haul yard debris every other week. Guess I'll have to fill it up again and again and maybe again; but, we'll be gone before that last "again".

Not moving too fast today...........all that bending and stooping to cut and pick up the oleanders sure tightened up my leg muscles! I'm so out of shape that I'm mostly deformed! Old age sucks.

As you can tell by lack of "blogging" nothing much is going on around here...........just trying to beat the heat the last 10 days or so and now we have a little bit of a cool down. Still gotta get one of the M/H jacks fixed and waiting for a call from the repair shop so I can take it over to Chico. Finally sold my Honda (on an "easy pay" plan with one of the neighbors) so actually I'll simply be "trading" my Honda for a new jack...........money for Honda will about cover price of fixing the jack. So it goes.

Becky went shopping in Chico yesterday while I watched Sunday football and she came back having "saved" a ton of money. She added about 10 new shirts to the 65 or so that's hanging in the closet...........at least it was quite and peaceful while I took in Sunday football.

Been "bruised" a little at casino; but, not too badly. Win some and lose some...........my goal is to break even 'cause I "need" the money. Later. W&B

Here We Sit Sweltering Away..............

in triple digit heat! Good thing the old A/C is still grinding away. Trying to sell my Honda before we head South and this is not the time to do so..............it doesn't have A/C. Had some nibbles on it and one firm offer........but firm offer was not enough. In a couple of weeks I'll probably wish I had accepted the low ball offer...........so it goes.

Was sitting in the casino the other day and this month they have a drawing every hour if you're playing a machine. Lo and behold, Becky's machine was picked so she "earned" a hundred bucks. Only catch is............they don't pay you, they just put it on your account to play. Still, that's better than a stick in the eye............she plays ten dollars at a time and when the ten is gone she cashes in whatever play she has left on the slot. Eventually she might collect her hundred bucks in cash.........and it keeps her out of trouble.

Too hot to do anything so guess I'll go back to the tube and bask with the A/C turned up. Later. W&B

Still Hot, Still Nothing..........

happening in Corning. We (I) travel from one air conditioned spot to air conditioned car to air conditioned store, to air conditioned car and back to air conditioned house............and then do a repeat the following day. Looks like I'm in a rut!

Becky, on the other hand, doesn't think it's hot until temp reaches upper 90s.

Found water leak in bathroom the other day.........leak is back in the wall so it looks like "plumber time"..............that'll put a dent in our gambling funds.

Went to "old folks" breakfast this morning and slots beat me up again for the third trip in a row...........looks like I'd learn my lesson; but, I doubt if I do. After breakfast we headed to Red Bluff and back home now basking with A/C.

Put my Honda car up for sale on Craig's List; but, not too many nibbles..........received one offer for half my asking price and then another guy wanted to put $500 down and make payments. Told them both I didn't think so! Guess I'll go down to the dollar store for some "For Sale" signs and park it in the street. That's the way we sold Becky's Pontiac.

Well, that's about it for us since nothing exciting seems to happen in Corning. W&B

As you can tell.............

by the lack of Blogging..........not a hellava lot going on in Corning!

Our friends, Frank and Suz, were here for about a week and now they are on the Loniest Highway (50) heading East in Nevada. While they were here they were able to drive down the road about 90 miles to visit Suzannah's brother and we did spend a little time caching and made a few runs to the casino.

Damn hot weather has returned so that slows me down quite a bit...........better to stay in the A/C if possible. Got a dentist and some doctor appointments out of the way and then I get a call from the orthopedic doc who wanted to check my knee that he fixed last year. Get him out of the way and hopefully no more doctor appointments until we're getting ready to leave for the winter. Doc who did my gall bladder ses everything doing great..........come back and see him if I have any problems. Hope I don't see him for a looooong time.

Been giving some business to my "Red Brothers", win a little bit, lose a little bit and staying about even...........good thing I'm about "even" 'cause I need the money.

Olive festival in full swing this last week; but, too hot to take in the festivities, even missed the "Mixer" and last night they had a parade; but, didn't attend that either. Today activities at a park about 1/2 miles away and we might amble over that way later..........Becky always sees people whom she hasn't seen in quite a while so it's a nice social event for her. We met some people (at the casino, where else?) who also spend the winters in Yuma and of course we all marveled at how we never run into each other down there. Different activities I guess.

Well, guess we'll go check out the events at the park. Later. W&B

Wednesday, I Think.............

we got home on Monday afternoon, partially unloaded the M/H and Tuesday I made it to my dental appointment. Got a tooth prepared for a new crown. Then Frank and Suzannah pulled into Corning about mid afternoon. Got their rig set up and off to the casino for Old Folks dinner.

Not exactly the best time for them to arrive, or for us to get home for that matter, as the old temp has been hovering in the low 90s..........with more heat to come over the next few days. Today we did a little geocaching then Becky and Sue had hair appointments and Frank and I hauled the trailer back out to our friend's place where we park it when not in use. Becky and Suz finally got home mid afternoon...........no difference in their appearance and we thought they would return home looking "gorgous".

This evening was "wallet day" at the casino so Becky and I headed back to the casino, stood in line for about an hour and walked out of there with out wallets, both of which contained $5.00. Just like working in the good old day..........five dollars an hour!

Tomorrow is Old Folks breakfast and then Friday or Saturday Suz and Frank will drive down the road about 90 miles to visit her brother and stay for a couple of days. Becky and I "might" head for Woodland...........it all depends on what the Woodland kids have scheduled for the weekend...............fair week in Woodland and we're just about "faired" out so haven't decided what we wanna do.

All for now. W&B

SHOWTIME At The Fair Today...............

and here are the results of the competition.............. The kids, Cassidy, Chelsea, Hailey and Trace, received the Top Herdsmen Award for keeping a well maintained home for their cows. (I guess Moms and Pops can share in the award too!) The M&M Milkshakers, their first year as an independent 4-H Club, did an awesome job this year. More about their awards follows........

On to the competition and in the Intermediate Class Cassidy received the top award........Intermediate Champion for Fitting and Showing, Hailey, in the same class, received a Blue Ribbon. Good Job Cassidy!

Chelsea and Trace competed in the Junior Class and Chelsea received the Junior Champion for Fitting and Showing. Trace competed in the same class and received a Blue Ribbon. Way To Go Chelsea!

All of the kids worked long and hard to reach this point and their hard work paid off.........Congratulations to All!

Trace's cow, Peanut, showed up to compete against all the 4-H cows for the entire fair........and guess what, Peanut was awarded the Reserve Senior Champion! A Fine Job turned in by Trace and Peanut.

It was a long day and Becky and I gave it up about 1700 and returned to the motor home. One more fair day tomorrow and then Becky and I will be heading back to California on Sunday. Check Becky's Blog for more pics...........I'll probably post a few more of the kids/cows in action later. W&B

First Official Fair Day Today............

and I started out by taking pictures of the M&M Milkshakers area of the dairy barn. Looked pretty good to me and there is an award for the "Best Decorated"; but, won't know who won that until tomorrow.......or maybe Friday. Anyway, Tami gets thumbs up for all her hard work making up the decorations.............I'm sure she didn't get much help in making them.

Took some more pics of the kids working before the masses arrived. We were still at the M/H this morning and we get a phone call......or text or something........ asking us to get an inner tube for one of the wheel barrows. Seems that they came up with a flat somehow or other. We got the tube and Dug fixed the tire before things really got busy.

Becky and I took a little break at 1400 to watch the Truck and Tractor pull preliminaries. They were kinda of interesting and some old fart who was 75 drove the tractor in pic #3. I think he was the crowd favorite. The big multi engined tractors were a sight to watch and they completely overpowered the short track..........and they left us about half deaf. Fun to watch.

The restrooms in the Exhibition building are kept pretty clean........think they are the best kept secret at the fair! About 1800 we went to watch a K-9 show...........all German Shepherds. One came out wearing sun glasses and they put on quite a demostration of attacking crooks and finding drugs. Also fun to watch.

The kids got in a little bit of practice before they put the cows to bed for the night. It was about 2030 before we left the fair...........after having a deli sandwich. Also managed to get in our milkshakes, baked potatoes and other junk food. Will do it all again tomorrow! W&B

Took Twerps to Fair Yesterday.........

so they could enjoy the rides, food, etc. before their work starts on Wednesday. Also had a wrist band for Becky so she could ride too.............at least on the rides that she could climb up into. Kept telling the kids that they had to help the Old Granny Lady get in and out of the rides............sometimes they remembered; but, more often then not they were off the ride and running to the next one. Old Granny did a pretty good job of keeping up with them though. I becme the "official" cap, cotton candy, purse holder for the group. I did a good job!

Becky has been doing a great job of keeping up with her Blog and I haven't done much with mine. Check her Blog for more fair stuff.

Later...........looks like we'll be attending the fair daily until we leave on Sunday. W&B

Still In Lincoln City..........

and enjoying the weather!! Upper 60s and sunshine. Still pigging out on fish n chips, gambling at casino, picking up a few caches yesterday and generally just loafing the days away. Casino will keep us in fish n chips until we leave.........unless I hit an unlucky streak. Yesterday I left with over $160.00 of their money, maybe I outta just stay away until next year. Probably won't though.

Been trying to call Paradise Point to see if we can come back a day earlier; but, so far haven't received a return call. Park Rangers probably out mowing weeds. If I can't get a hold of them looks like we'll have to stick to our original schedule and go back on Friday. No biggie, just wanted to get back so we could take in opening day of the Clark County Fair.

Think we'll take in Cowboys and Aliens this afternoon........critics only give it a 3 star rating and Captain America was given 4 1/2 stars! We really didn't think much of Capt Am. so maybe we'll enjoy C & A since the critics don't think too much of it.

That's about it for now......more later. W&B

Finally Arrived At Devil's Lake State Park...........

this afternoon and should be here until Friday.........then back to Paradise Point for the Clark County Fair..........then back to Corning around the 15th..........then to Yuma about the end of October.

Nice to have unlimited water and electricity and a place to dump after living at Sand Lake and the parking lot of Chinook Winds for awhile. Only BAD thing is I don't have my satellite TV!!! To damn many trees here and can't get a Sat signal. I hooked up to cable TV in the park; but, I can't get the TV to go out and find all the channels that are available. Spent an hour connecting and unconnecting cables, cussing DISH network out; or, at least the new receiver I have. Finally, I was able to get the local channels and nothing more.........and two of them are shopping channels! Oh well, I was going blind from watching TV anyway.

Only good news is...........the casino, so far, has been keeping us in Fish 'N Chips.........or at least paying for them. Got to our fish place too late this afternoon for clam chowder..........they must have had a big run on the chowder during lunch time. Gotta stop by a little earlier tomorrow. If you ever get to Lincoln City you gotta try the Fish 'n Chips and Clam Chowder at "J's".........a little hole in the wall that serves the best damn fish and clam chowder on the Oregon Coast!! Still got 3 more days of getting our "fix" so will enjoy for a while longer.

Computer kinda slow; but, will download some caches to occupy our time tomorrow..........weather has been just outstanding the last 6 days and will continue to be in the upper 60s for the next several days. Sure as heck beats the hell out of triple digit temps. Will probably try to find some easy caches the next day or so. More later if anything interesting happens...................other than great weather and pigging out on fish and chips! W&B

Been At Sand Lake.......South of Tillamook, OR.......

trying to escape the "heat" that seems to consume other parts of the U.S. Eat your hearts out Midwest, Southwest and just about every other part of the U.S. Temps in the mid and upper 60s, no rain, gentle breezes, beautiful ocean views and storming up and down sand dunes racing anything that comes along!

Took a little time out from the dunes to travel some of the coastal roads...........I didn't take many pictures; but, Becky will probably be posting a ton of them on her blog. Right now we're sitting in the parking lot of the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City. Dug and Trace drove their pickup down yesterday evening and when they left today I talked them into hauling the trailer and RZR back with them. We have reservations at a State Park in Lincoln City from Sunday through Thursday so without the trailer and RZR we'll fit much better. Lottsa fun in the dunes!!

Not sure what we'll be doing the next few days........except we'll be enjoying fish N chips at our favorite joint..........already been there twice........and tomorrow the cook will be making his "Universally Famous" Seafood Chowder. Becky hopes to be there when they open at 1130 and then visit it again before they close around 1800.............it'll probably cost me a small fortune just for her to get her seafood fix. Maybe the casino will help foot the bill.

More later now that we have left Sand Lake and now have telephone and internet service. W&B

Picnic At Alderbrook Park..........

sponsored by Dug's company, Waste Connections. Lottsa food and more food!

We arrived early and wandered around.........at least the rest of the group did, I mainly stuck close to the hot dog stand and "free pepsi" stand where there was shade. Tami and Becky were the first in line to take a train ride so I had to join them. They were sitting behind me so I took a picture with my camera held upside down.............somehow or other they look better that way, especially after also being "first in line" for Daisy the face painter. I pitched them a bunch of crap while they were getting assaulted by the painter; but, one one seemed to care. I may have wasted my time.

Check Becky's Blog for more pics..........as usual she had her camera out and was busy clicking pictures all afternoon.

Nice get together and I'm sure everyone had a super nice time. W&B

4-H Cows Delivered Yesterday...........

for the M&M Milkshakes, the 4H Club the Twerps belong to. Tami's dad hauled them to the farm where they are being housed until after the Clark County Fair is over.

The M&M Milkshakes consists of Cassidy and Trace and Hailey & Chelsea Miracle, and of course Mom's and Dad's, grandparents and a list of sponsors. We've seen the cows before at the prevous year's 4H Club venue and there they were around people so weren't very "wild". These cows came directly from the pasture and some of them gave new meaning to "Mad Cow"..........boy some of them were really pissed off to find themselves in new surroundings and to add insult to injury they had halters placed on them for the first time! The 4 Twerps were kinda leery around them and Tami, April, Kevin and Dale (Tami's Dad) did most of the work getting halters on them. To early to do much more except the kids spent time with them getting used to having people around and them they ended up the session by "bribing" them with grain. Some of them scoffed up the grain while others still weren't too comfortable with the situation. Lottsa work left for them before "showtime".

Becky, as usual, took a ton of pictures so check her blog when she finally makes a posting. Should have some pictures posted shortly.

Got some rain last night and looks like today will be another lazy day. Yesterday we went out and picked up few caches around the Orchards area; but, it looks like it'll be damp today so don't know what we'll do this afternoon. Later. W&B

Saturday Evening And We Made It To...........

Three Rivers Casino in Florence, OR. Was going to go back to Vancouver with Dug, Tami and kids; but figured I'd let them get their toys cleaned up and put away and we would pull in tomorrow and do the same.

Yesterday was "play in the sand briefly" and then the big event was the Seafood Buffet at the Mill Casino. I've been to sea food buffets at casinos from Marysville, WA to Yuma, AZ..........I'd estimate a dozen or so and the Mill Casino in Coos Bay is positively the BEST!! Fresh dungeness crab, prime rib, scallops, shrimp, crab cakes, fried chicken, etc., etc., etc., and an array of desserts that would boogle your mind. We walked in and waddled out. Then some gambling and more gambling. I walked into the casino and in 10 minutes I was cashing in $75.00. After dinner I gave it all back, plus some. Easy come easy go!

Becky checked the weather report for today and it said 70% chance of rain..........which usually means it will rain 70% of the time. When we got back to camp we scurried around, loaded up the trailer, motorhome and Jeep so we wouldn't have much to do this morning. Good thing 'cause it was still lightly raining when we got up. Didn't take us long to get ready to go, so Doug, Tami and kids headed out and we left for Florence. Stopped at our favorite sea food cafe for lunch, the fish and chips were excellent and then we browsed Old Town. I found a "Pegleg Pirate" windsock to fly from my RZR so will be set to fly it next time in the dunes.

We gambled a bit before heading into town and I recovered some of my lost money from a week ago; however, we went back in and gave back twenty dollars.........at least I'm still ahead this time............but probably won't be after we have the casino "senior special" breakfast in the morning before we leave for Vancouver.

We've got the little generator running, parked the Jeep so it ties in everything on the trailer, my satellite dish is working and Becky has her internet so we're settled for the night. Next stop....Washington. W&B

Horrors! ..........It Dared To RAIN............

last night and we awoke to a little moisture still on the ground! So today was a slow day in getting out of the blocks. Since it was still damp, Trace and headed to town to try and get an exhaust bracket welded on his little Suzuki. Got the job done and we hoped that it would last the next two days..............unfortunately it didn't so guess the Suzuki will have to stay home tomorrow.

Weather cleared up about noon so off to the dunes went Dug, Trace and I. I found a couple of other XPs to play with and promptly got beat racing up the hill by an XP with 10 paddle sand tires...........mine has 9 paddles and with the added exhaust pipe I continually get too much wheel spin. The kid with the 10 paddles got a good bite and jumped out in front of me by a carlength and stayed there until we ran out of room. His friend in another XP was trailing both of us. Guess I'll have to learn how to drive or get some 10 paddle tires. Then I was dumb enough to follow these two characters into the wooded area and I managed to break my flag off in low branches. Then to add insult to injury I high-centered the RZR and got STUCK. I was digging myself out and a group of ATVers came along and gave me a hand in getting unstuck. Dug and Trace found my flag so I called it a day a went back to camp. Not the best day in the dunes! Fortunately no one was around to take pictures when I was stuck.

Made a casino run and contributed to my Red Brothers and then we met the rest of the troops for a run to Baskin Robbins.............Baskin Robbins was closed for 3 days so ended up at DQ. Then Char, Becky, Tami and I made another casino stop (it was on the way home) and all of us made more contributions, except Char made a few bucks.

End of day, tomorrow has to be better since it is Seafood Buffet at the casino and time to pig out on fresh Dungeness Crab.

Still have taken any pictures..........that's the way it goes. Later. W&B

Been Kicking Sand In The Faces Of............

Dug and John, and anyone else dumb enough to test the XP900, which hasn't been too many!! The sucker goes..........enough to scare the crap out of myself!

Woke up to a little rain yesterday so made our annual Bandon run with Tami, Becky and Cassidy. Trace opted to sit around in the rain; however, I think he and Dug took the RZR out into the dunes when were were gone.

Weather cleared up today and we're going to take run up to Spinreel after awhile. Here's some pictures of the dunes, trees, lakes and sand for my Yuma friends!!

More pics later if I manage to remember to take my camera! w43

Three River's Casino Near Florence, OR...........

...........we got here about 1430, parked and had a late lunch in the casino buffet. Not too bad considering they were closing at 1530 for the evening buffet. They still had brunch going so Becky and I both found stuff to our liking.........me breakfast and then loaded up on pie and ice cream..........not sure what "B" had, looked mostly like rabbit food; but, she was happy.

First pic is our "free" spot for the night that cost me $40.00 in the slots. I was losing, came back to where I was only losing $4.00; but, not enough sense to pay just $4.00 for the RV spot.........had to lose it all back!

Got our first look at the sand a few feet from where we parked. Also parked next to the original casino, a dinky quonset hut. Last pic is pointing to the hotel/casino. These "old injuns" have come a long way since the first time we stopped here!

Got the internet for Becky, I can pick up one satellite for the TV; but, that still gives me quite a few channels so we'll be content for the evening............unless we decided to visit the casino again. Little 2000w generator is running and gas should last until 2300, then I'll fill it up and it should be able to run until about 0800. We should have heat and my CPAP outta be working, not to mention the bed warmer, so we won't freeze if the temp dips too low tonight.

Beautiful day, sun has been shining and I would guess that the temperature reached the upper 60s...........no need for a jacket and it should remain this way the rest of the week. We'll sleep in until (??) and make the 45 mile drive to the sand dunes whenever we manage to get up in the morning. No hurry. Next pics from the beautiful sand dunes of Coos Bay, complete with lakes and tall trees, not to mention a few sand dunes. If anyone from Arizona should happen to check this out........all I can say is "Eat Your Heart Out!" Later. W&B

Departed Paradise Point This Morning............

and now we're sitting in front of Dug's house until tomorrow when we leave for Florence, Oregon. Originally planned on driving to Coos Bay; but, changed plan so Becky could get her gambling fix at Three River's Casino in Florence. We can either park there or drive to the Marina for an overnight. No charge at Three Rivers, except if we lose our shirts gambling, and the Marina is reasonable if I can find a spot large enough to park without unhooking the trailer. We'll have to check it out and make decision when we get there.

Then on Monday we'll have about a hour's drive to Coos Bay. Can't check in until 1300 or so and we'll be able to grab breakfast in Florence and sleep in. We had a pretty good breakfast in Florence; but, I can't remember the name of the joint..........will recognize it when I see it.

Everyone else leaving on Monday morning so we may all arrive about the same time.

Looking forward to a week in the dunes and kicking sand in the faces of Rhino drivers with the XP900 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Later. W&B

Took Twerps To Woodland.........

after lunch at Costco (cheap!!) and we did a little caching and stopped by the skateboard park so Trace could do his thing. He must be out of shape as he only lasted about 20 minutes and was ready to look for some more caches. Here's a couple of pics caching and at the skateboard park. Rather cool today and overcast; but, still had a nice afternoon.

This pictures were taken around the 4th of July when we went to a friends house and tried to blow up the neighborhood.............there was a lot of help from the neighbors also. Cassidy's "big foot" was amazing..............I thought she was wearing her father's booties; but, guess not. I had to take a picture of her feet and it looks like she completely covered the scooter. If these pics don't cause her some embarassment in later years...........than nothing will.

Finished up the day at a Chinese buffet and then waddled back to Paradise Point. Got some things to do today to get ready for Coos Bay so we'll probably be busy today. More later as Picasa is finally cooperating..........I couldn't download my pictures so maybe now it'll work better than prevously. W&B

Dang!..............

.losing my Jeep keys must have been a bad omen 'cause old Jeep been costing me money since we arrived in WA. Our friend, Judy, searched the Honda, garage and house for my keys and they weren't in sight. Getting to know the dudes at Curly's Locksmith shop pretty well.......and I should as I spent a sizeable fortune there in getting key duplicated and then the remote control also. Finally back in business again with the Jeep.............until yesterday when Dug and I were taking the RZR to go to Sand Lake. Got up about 0500, drove to Dug's house and we loaded up the trailer..........I was about ready to take off and Dug said "better check the lights"...............I didn't have any brake lights. Brake lights kept blowing fuses so we parked the trailer, found out the dealership was open on Saturday and they said they had an opening. About 6 hours later I get the Jeep back............two $5.00 resistors in the tail lights were causing the problem. These were installed when the tow lights were hooked up. It cost $250.00 for labor to find and replace the resistors!

Well, that shot the day although Becky and Tami managed to have lunch at a place where they had been trying to get to for the last 3 years. Then they went to Otto's in Portland for some Fourth of July sausages/hot dogs. Otto's was featured on Food Networks Diners, Driveins and Dives a few years ago and we've been getting some of their hot dogs everytime we're in town. We're invited for a cook out and "blow up the neighborhood" event at Kevin's and Beckys house. We've gone there the last couple of years so will take along the dogs as most of the attendees really like Otto's sausages. The Twerps hooked me for fireworks on the first day so they have a good deal of fireworks to set off..........that is if they have any left by the time the Fourth rolls around.

Weather been great the last few days......until today which is overcast cast and we've had a few rain drops falling. Nothing to get excited about and it's supposed to warm back up tomorrow. Sure hope the good weather holds for our annual trip to the sand dunes at Coos Bay.

Well, that's about it for the last few days.........I slept in until 0900 this morning, probably because I got up too early yesterday. Becky will probably be posting pics on her Blog after our Fourth outing. Later. W&B

Arrived in Vancouver ...............

early this afternoon and we're camped out in front of Dug's house. Got electricity, satellite TV working and Becky has her internet so we're both happy. We'll be here until Thursday when we have our reservation at Paradise Point.

Got things kinda settled in and then "B" and I went in search of some lunch............stopped at Goldie's BarBQue joint and it was OK. I like my ribs with the meat falling off the bone; but, these weren't.........good flavor and the sauce was good too. We might be back.

Damn, I left the Jeep keys and remote clicker at home.........think I left them in the Honda when I parked it in the garage. Anyway, we went looking for a locksmith. Found one and because of the chip in the ignition key it would cost over $60.00 for a duplicate...........still cheaper than the dealer. We'll have our friend check the Honda and mail my keys to me if that's where I left them. Otherwise, bye bye $60+

Rained most of the night at the Oregon state park and we had some rain off and on on the way to Vancouver. Right now it's cleared up; but, probably more rain tomorrow. We were going to Woodland to have dinner with the Beagles; but, now the rain is pushing them North sooner than expected so that lets dinner out. Talked to Larry and we'll get together later this week or after we get back from Coos Bay.

That's about it. W&B

Made It Through Another Week..............

without any gigantic problems tummy wise. We did go to the Casino on Friday, which is seafood buffet, and they had Dungness Crab so we had to give it a go. I pigged out on the crab.........sorta of a "dry run" for when we hit the Oregon Coast and can really pig out on FRESH crab. Had some tenderness in a couple of spots but the old system seems to be working pretty well. Haven't had the courage to try a rib eye yet; but, soon!

Got up early this morning and started loading trailer with RZR goodies and finishing up the M/H. It was nice and cool then; but, managed to warm up pretty good as noon time rolled around. Since most of the big stuff is done we took a casino break about 1400 and I managed to escape with $40 of their money. Last trip until August so left it on a good note...........

Got a few more things to secure on the trailer and then tomorrow morning we'll just pack up stuff in fridge, computer goodies, etc. and should be outta here before noon. No hurry to get on the road as we'll only be going up to Valley of the Rogue SP or else Seven Feathers Casino and that shouldn't take much more than 5 hours. Depends on how "warm" it is, if it's hot we stay at the SP with electricity. If not too warm we'll camp on in the casino parking lot.

Gonna meet up with some of our Yuma Caching Buds on Wednesday, la84fishn and Beagle 39z. Beagles (Wayne and Phyllis) are heading toward Issaquah where they'll be baby sitting a day use park and Larry lives in Gresham so hopefully we'll get together for dinner in Woodland.............or someplace. Knee giving me some problems the last few days so if I take in easy the next two days maybe we'll be able to do a little caching in the Woodland area on Wednesday. Time will tell.

That's it for now...........in a couple of days we'll be in tall tree country where it'll probably be raining. W&B

Made It To Sunday...................

...without pigging out on anything and so far so good. Old digestive track seems to be handling everything I've thrown at it the past few days. Still would like a nice ribeye; but, that's probably further down the road..........also no veggies (the fresh variety). All in all I'm doing pretty good............well pretty good for "someone my age!)

Went to the big "give away a wallet" at casino night last night and I spent 45 minutes waiting in a line for a wallet with $5.00. Well, not all that time in line as Becky and took turns standing in line and playing the slots. The first machine I played I was ahead $48.00 so we managed to play it down to where I cashed in $10 and that combined with my $5 wallet gave us enough money to have dinner at Denny's. I tried some pancakes and B had some kind of shrimp salad. First time I've eaten out in a month.

Today was Father's Day at the casino, so we filled up with gas (at least we put in over $10.00 to turn in the casino for play points) and found the casino so crowded that we didn't want to stand in line with our gas receipts. They were giving away $100 every 1/2 hour and we spent some time there playing pennies; but, my name was never called.

Finally came home, stopped at the store and picked up some hamburger and I wolfed down a cheeseburger when we got home. Hamburger from the local store and this time we had some flavor with the meat. It doesn't pay to shop haphazardly for hamburger.

Hearing aids doing me some good (I think) 'cause I don't have the TV blaring out and I can actually make out some the words. I was curious about the VA hearing aids and today I looked them up on the internet and found they would have cost me $2700 if I had paid for them. It's taken a long time; but, I'm getting some returns from the VA!

Well, gonna kick back the rest of today and then get the M/H ready to roll in 8 or 9 days. Later. W&B

Saw The Doc Today...........

and he poked on my belly, asked a few questions, refilled a prescription and told me I could start on "soft food"; but, don't pig out on anything. Gotta go see him again when we get back from PNW in August. He said I'd probably have to watch my diet for the next decade or so; or, until I kiss this world goodbye..........whichever comes sooner.

We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some goodies.........among them hamburger. Well, I got home, whipped up some hamburger gravy, slopped it over a bun and had it for supper. Bummer...........the gravy was so bland I couldn't taste it......added some salt, tried again, more salt and couldn't even much taste the salt! Doc said pasta, mashed potatoes, etc. and avoid fresh fruits and vegetables as these are the things that may cause me problems. He recommended I stay on soft foods at least until I return to see him in August. Well, I'll try.

Got some goodies in for the RZR so just loaded it up and will take it to the dealer in Red Bluff tomorrow. He said he could get everything installed next week if he had it before Saturday. Got a fuel injection management system and good thing I'm taking it to the dealer as I read everything and couldn't understand anything. Guess I'm old school as I understand a carburetor system better............well a little better.

If things stay on schedule right now we should be heading North on the 27th or 28th of June. Later. W&B

Time Still Passing Rather Slowly...........

.....but at least it's passing with nicer weather all this last week and looking good for the coming days.

Still on my liquid diet.....at least until I see the Doc on Thursday and then hoping I can start adding some "soft" food to the mix. A big old juicy hamburger sounds pretty good right now.

We've been making our casino runs regularly and filling up the gas tank $10.00 at a time so Becky can take the receipt to the casino and get $10.00 of play for each slip. She's done pretty good at that and we've gotten a lot of "free play".

Gotta get out and do a little more so mowed the front weeds yesterday; but, ran out of gas (me) before I finished up the backside. Maybe I'll finish that today before it gets too hot. This sitting around is costing me money..........been surfing the web looking for goodies for my RZR and spending money on it like a drunken sailor. I've got an electric power steering kit that should arrive on Monday, a set of sand tires that I had sent to Johnny in Oregon and I'm pondering over a Yoshimura Exhaust for it. After that I won't have money to buy gas for it! So it goes.

Gotta go pick up some prescriptions in Red Bluff so better do that before it warms up too much. Still driving my old Honda and it's still running pretty good although no AC. I drove 166 miles with it, filled it up with gas and it took 4.1 gallons to fill. Damn good for an old beater! Guess $12.00 worth of new spark plugs helped it out. All for now. W

Still Surviving.............

......but, just barely. Haven't seen any "solid" food for so long that I wouldn't even know what it tastes like. Doc ses "liquids" only........at least until I see him on June 16. So, I've been drinking Ensure, making milkshakes, downing tea and apple juice and water. Went to the casino briefly today and pigged out on lemonade........Doc ses no carbonated soda either.

Been taking some little bitty pills he prescribed that are supposed to help the old innards respond........only problem is they are doing too good a job and I have to stick close to home when I take one. Oh well, can't last forever.

Becky pitching me crap today because I hopped in the car and drove downtown for the mail and some other goodies. "You aren't supposed to drive for six weeks!" Bah Humbug!

Rain finally disappeared today and it's nice, warm and sunny; however, don't know how long that will last. All the rain and sun is sure making the weeds grow...........and I'm not up to mowing the lawn yet. Just getting a bit better day by day and I think we'll be ready to head North by the end of June.

That's about it for us........later. w&b

Got Home at 1800...............

this afternoon..............now if I can just stay here for awhile. Doc ses "LIQUID" diet for the at least three weeks. And NO Pepsi or carbonated drinks. Bummer.

Ill probably lose a 100 pounds. Later. w43

Holy Crap................

...been a long time since last update so will catch you up somewhat. After I went home after surgery on May 22 I ended back in the hospital on May 25.........seems that my bowels decided that they weren't going to cooperate. So, back to hook ups with IVs and a nose tube and bed rest. A few days of that and I got unhooked from the tubes, ate liquid lunch, liquid breakfast the next day and about noon I was back to being hooked up with my tubes again.........digestive tract still too lazy to work!!

So I've been walking the hallways, eating through an IV and trying to stay warm. I finally found someone with enough "juice" to get me a space heater for my room so the last 3 nights have been tolerable. Didn't know it at the time; but, a lady asked if I needed anything...........I send yes, a space heater. She said I'd have one before she left for the day........lo and behold it appeared in my room. I was talking to the Nurse Supervisor and didn't know it. She'll be my best bud for life!

Last night I had NG tube blocked off and this morning they removed it. Had a late "liquid" lunch and right now I'm just waiting to see if everything remains where it should. My Doc came in and said I could go home this afternoon if lunch stays with me. Becky just arrived with my computer so I'm using the time to update the blog.

Hopefully, will be home this evening. More later...........it's been a long 16 days; but, think I can see a little light at the end of the tunnel. W

Been Another Long Week.....................

.....as I went in for surgery to have gall bladder removed on Wednesday and the Doctor sprang me from the hospital this afternoon. Supposed to have been an hour or so to remove gall bladder arthoscopically........no such luck. I had surgery 25 or 26 years ago and the Doc found my belly to be quite a mess from previous surgery. All kinds of scar tissue and the small intestine wasn't located where it was supposed to be. The Doc spent about 2 hours fixing those problems and then another hour to take out the gall bladder. It was in pretty bad shape........walls thickened, sludge and puss floating around in it and I had a 3 centimeter stone threatening to plug up the ducts. He took it out and I guess I spent over 3 hours in surgery. Anyway, he said it was "remarkable" that I was even walking around. I guess I could have been in serious trouble if I didn't get the surgery when I did. Good news is.......I'm starting to mend only it'll take about 6 weeks for recovery instead of 3 or so he originally estimated. Gonna slow down our exodus to the Pacific Northwest........just wanna get there in time to go duning at Coos Bay in July. Shouldn't have any problems making those date.

They have some more tests to run me through because of the gall bladder pathology report so gotta wait for those results. In the meantime Becky is acting as my "slave".........which will probably only last for today and possibly tomorrow and then back to "Do It Yourself!!" Oh well, I'll milk it as long as I can.

Anyway, that's where we are at this time for those of you who've been following our progress. More later, looks like I'll have a bit of time on my hands.............casino here I come! W&B

Big Cold Snap Hits Corning...............

and we've been freezing our butts off! Didn't get out of the 50s today and it's breezy making everything seem like it's below zero!! Well, maybe I exaggerate somewhat.

The Junior Rodeo was held this weekend and since it's held a few blocks away we could hear the loudspeaker blasting away on Friday and Saturday. Must be over with 'cause I haven't hear a thing today. Kinda considered going over; but, weather cooled down and I'm not that much into the "cowboy" scene. Maybe next year.

Friday I saw a Suzuki Vitara offered for sale in Paradise, about 40 miles down the road, the price was right...........actually very good. So away we went to have a look at it........ran out pretty nice and it had A/C; but, the check engine light was on and it wouldn't pass SMOG. Finally decided that it wasn't for us. Anyway, we checked out Paradise, got lost once, stopped at Costco in Chico so the whole day wasn't a total loss. Still looking for something with air conditoning so guess I will continue to look.

Made a few runs to the casino, lost some, won some so came out about "even" in our gambling. The casino is giving a $10.00 promotion on your player's card if you bring in a gas receipt for more than $10.00. Been filling up the Jeep and Honda a little at a time so Becky has about 4 entries in the daily drawing. They give away $100.00 a day in addition to putting the ten bucks on your card. What a gimmick to get you to stop by..............which is no biggie for us as we seem to make a daily run out there anyway. Being 10 minutes away doesn't help. So far no luck on the daily drawing.

Got pre-op appointment at the hospital tomorrow afternoon and still scheduled to go in for surgery on Wednesday. Other than that, nothing much happening here. Later. W&B

Tuesday.............

and not much happening. Coming back from Woodland I got a "check engine" light shining on the dash like a diamond in a goat's butt in the M/H. Called local Ford and they now have it and are checking it out. I "think" the power train is still under warranty as I have under 12,000 miles on it. Hopefully it'll get fixed under warranty. Time will tell.

Had a Dr. appointment on Monday with a surgeon in Red Bluff. I was referred to him after my bout with diverticulitis.............he said he didn't see any evidence of diverticulitis in the test results. However, he said I had a "classic VA gall bladder"...........I said "huh" and he explained that a lot of vets come in with a gall bladder similar to mine and usually they have no complaints; but, he highly recommended that I have it removed before I really have "problems". It was probably the gall bladder that was giving me fits instead of diverticulitis. Anyway, I finally said "OK" so I'll be going into surgery on May 18th to have my gall bladder removed. I probably won't miss it too much. He hopes to use arthoscopy procedures to remove it and I should be pretty much functional again in 3-4 weeks.

Other than that, nothing new.........weather has been pretty nice for the most part and we haven't had any "heat" spells yet. Later. W&B

Happy Mom's Day All You Mothers....................

here we sit in Woodland, came down Saturday morning and since the Fairgrounds was full up due to Highland Games we're sitting behind Brian's house, a couple of miles out in the country. He ran out an extension cord for us, we got shade trees and it's just like downtown........and quite! Only problem was, after we got up and Becky was headed for the shower, we lost electricity. I thought maybe we tripped a breaker in the house so plugged in the generator so Becky could finish her shower. The coach batteries are completely "dead". Probably ran low on water and cooked them since we keep it plugged in all the time. Anway, I found we did not trip a breaker, Brian has some pups in his back yard and apparently they were tugging on the cord and unplugged our electricity!

We drove to Mather for Bryce's games yesterday evening; but, Old Granny couldn't handle the "cold" so we left during the first game. Really nice little league park; but, it was windy and the old temp dropped rapidly after the sun went down. They had back to back games and didn't get home until around midnight. Then he had another game at 1000 this morning. Whew............too much for these old folks to handle so we skipped today's game.

Met Rhonda and Jace for breakfast at our favorite diner and then both Moms and the kid headed home and later this afternoon they'll go down to Davis. I opted out and drove out to Cache Creek Casino to give them some of my money.................and that I managed to do. Was getting beat up pretty badly and finally found a kind and gentle slot machine that helped me get some of my money back............not all of it; but, enough to make the trip an "entertainment" visit.

Well, I'm just gonna kick back at the M/H until they get back from Davis..........then we'll probably head home about 1700. Later. W&B

Very Slow Lately..................

.....no geocaching since we got home, although I replaced a cache that was missing, poor old RZR still sitting in garage, weather warming up a bit and Becky is still celebrating her birthday every chance she gets. Sunday we went to the Outback in Chico and Judy went with us.........the prices are MUCH higher in Chico's Outback than in Yuma. Went out to Dani's yesterday for a quick visit and found that her BD was yesterday............so down to Casa Roma's for another BD dinner for both of them. You'll have to check B's Blog for pics. End of BD celebrations (I think). Some people can sure milk it..........well maybe we're not done yet, probably going to Woodland this weekend so maybe another BD celebration.

My "money pit" Honda still running; but, I'm going to regret no A/C later I'm sure. Even been checking Craigs List for "something" cheap, w/AC and a gas saver; but, no luck. May have to live with my mistakes; but, 35+ mpg kinda makes it worth it. Our gas prices just went up yesterday to $4.29.

Well, I've done enough whining and since I'm feeling better it looks like I'd better get some things done around the yard. Later W&B

Been A Looong Week...........

starting late Sunday afternoon when I began having "tummy" problems.......like a lot of pain in lower abdomen. Blamed it on B's cooking and tried to go to bed and get some sleep. Didn't work so I had her take me the Hospital early Monday. They ran tests, ran some more and than ran another one. First they said I was full of "poop" (I told them a lot of people would agree), they got this info from xray taken. Then they ran a CAT scan and said I had diverticulitis; but, they need an Sonogram ran also. This last test revealed a stone in the gall bladder. They prescribed antibiotics and sent my butt home. Been an up and down week and today was the first day the antibiotics really kicked in and I'll probably live another day! Saw a local doc on Thursday and she said everything looked "OK" to her and advised me of a diet to follow...........of course, return if you continue to have problems. I had a bout with diverticulities about 25 years ago so don't want to go through that again........maybe I'll follow her advice. As for a gallstone, she said a "lot" of people had them; but, they didn't show up unless tests were ran for something else. She said I was too old to worry about it........unless I wanted the gall bladder out as elective surgery. End of conversation.

Had Old Roy stop by today to fill in the space between the house and one next door. He dumped a couple loads of gravel there, packed it down and now I'll be able to park the M/H in the space he fixed up. Besides stick close to home that was the extent of our week.

Becky's BD on Sunday so we might drive down to Woodland tomorrow for an overnighter and let the Twerps help her celebrate..........depends if I feel like driving the M/H down. We'll have to wait and see in the morning.

Oh yeah, my "Money Pit" Honda was back in the shop to recharge the A/C............didn't happen, dead A/C compressor. A new compressor would cost more than the car did so looks like I'll be using the old "4/70" method of A/C this summer.

That was our week..........sure hope yours was better. W&B

Where Did The Week Go..........

here it is Saturday and I can't remember if anything happened this last week or not. I have some faint recollection of visiting the casino a few times, got some eye ball glasses ordered and have a couple of appointments with the dentist down the road, took Honda to the shop and it looks like I might have a "money pit" going. Only good news........it's still giving me 35+ mpg. Weather gonna get warm so I had the local shop check out the A/C. It needs to be recharged, compressor is working so they'll fill it, check for leaks and hope they don't find any.........kinda doubtful though since it's empty of freon, or whatever it uses. Old system that hasn't been converted; but, they have the goodies to recharge it.........only it's spendy. Gotta have that A/C though when it starts to heat up around here.

I was gonna take the RZR up to an OHV park near Redding the last weekend of the month. An off-road club out of Redding is sponsoring a Poker Run on the 30th. I gathered all the info I needed and then Becky ses......"aren't we going to Woodland that weekend?" I say, "what for???". She ses "my BD". "Oh" I ses. ?????

So, that's where we are at this time. Woodland kids always have things going on weekends so they might have conflicting plans. I mentioned my old stand by.........."we could make a speed run to Reno........if the Honda could get there and back"??? "B" ses "that'd be OK too". So that's a possibility. Time will tell.

More later. W&B

Monday...........

and just got home from a VA Eye appointment in Redding. Getting new glasses as the Doc confirmed that I was blind in one eye and couldn't see out the other. Also ordered some new sun glasses..........unfortunately VA won't pay for them........bummer! I did order a new pair and they only cost $79.00 so can't complain about that. Should have them in 2-3 weeks. We drove the little Honda to Redding and since they dialated my eyes Becky had to drive home. Boy, that was an experience as the Honda is a five speed. She hasn't driven one of those in a looooonnnngg time. Missed shifts, missed turns, jerkey starts, wrong gear, etc. etc. etc........but we got home; or I should say the casino. At Redding the VA pays you mileage on the spot after appointment so I had $33.85 cents burning a hole in my pocket. I gave my Red Brothers $6.00 of my ill gotten gains and I think Becky won a few bucks so we came on home. Filled up the little Honda and it gave us an amazing 36.5 mpg. A lot of the last tank of gas was highway miles so that's not too bad. I still have to fix the radio so I can't hear the various clunks as we tool down the road.

Headed for Woodland for the Twerp's BD, Bryce, and pulled in kinda late on Friday afternoon. Put the Jeep in the shop to get it set up for towing and after messing with that for awhile we got a late start. I asked them to change the plug on the electrical connection............which they didn't and of course I didn't find that out until I hooked it up ready to tow. Made a speed run to Napa and bought a new plug. Naturally the wiring diagram didn't match the wires in the cord so was kinda guessing until I figured out that all I had to do was check the other connector and wire it the same. I'm kinda slow about these things so we got on the road late.

Got to the baseball game a little late but we arrived in time to see Bryce's team beat a previously "undefeated" team. They were pretty happy.

Saturday was the official BD party and that was held at Brian's house out in farm country. Don't know how many kids showed up; but, they all had a great time playing volleyball and baseball. Hot dogs, ice cream and cake and then the "Old Grandparents" slowly faded away as the sun went down. We started home and Becky decided she needed her "gambling fix" at Cache Creek Casino....so off we go. Didn't spend too much time there; but, I managed to win a few dollars, about the same amount that Becky lost.

Sunday was gonna be breakfast time; but, the party goers must have partied too long and hard so Becky and I went to our favorite diner for breakfast sans the rest of the group. Gravy still pretty good. We headed home and got back to Corning about 1300. Had to mow the lawn before I parked the motor home and we finally got everything sorta squared away late Sunday evening. It was "crash and burn" time again for us then.

Got a dental appointment at the VA early tomorrow morning and after that no more medical appointments for awhile!!! Yipee!

That's about it for this neck of the woods. W&B