December 13 to 19, 2007
Yuma, Arizona & Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Thursday ; Yuma to Los Algodones & return
Today was sunny and warm. Whew ... I'm tired. I played tourist guide all day in Los Algodones, Mexico. This was the first time into Mexico for everybody except Joanne and me. This morning we headed to Los Algodones, with Tom and Ruth-Anne in our truck, and Terry, Donna, and 7 year old Oslo following in theirs. A few miles west into California, then a few miles south into Mexico. First destination after parking the trucks and walking across the border was Algodones Optical. Ruth-Anne was getting an eye examination and 2 new pairs of glasses. We left Tom and Ruth-Anne at Algodones Optical and the rest of us went shopping and sightseeing. We returned to pick them up 45 minutes later. Ruth-Anne's eye examination was completed, she had ordered her 2 new pairs of glasses, and had already bought a new purse. HA HA HA ... a fine start to the day. We wandered and shopped a bit more before heading for lunch to El Paraiso, a restaurant Joanne and I have been to before, and like. We had a great Mexican lunch, including a jumbo size Margarita for most of us. Tom and Ruth-Anne were apprehensive about trying Mexican food, but thoroughly enjoyed lunch, as did everybody except Oslo. He refused to eat "strange" food. After lunch we went to Dr. Camacho's office where most of us made appointments for dental examinations and cleanings next Tuesday. Then more shopping. A huge tub of Joanne's beloved Cremino chocolates. Mexican dresses for all of Terry's and Donna's granddaughters. A neat, wooden spinning top toy for Oslo. A new cowboy hat for Terry. A Christmas tablecloth for Ruth-Anne. A Mexican dress for Donna. We picked up Ruth-Anne's glasses. An eye examination, and 2 pairs of prescription bi-focal Sun Sensor glasses ... for $89 ! Tom got his eyeglasses repaired, new nose pieces, and new ear pieces ... no charge ! We got comparison prices at a few different pharmacies. Upon my recommendation, Tom went into 2 walk in dental clinics to get an assessment of his dental needs, and quotes. Tom's dental needs are extensive and complex. I suggested he get a couple of different quotes before we go to Dr. Camacho next week. Dr. Camacho is a bit more expensive than the walk in dental storefront clinics. The second walk in clinic that Tom went to impressed him greatly. Last stop was the Mexican bakery, for a ... ( ahem ) few ... Mexican pastries for me. WOO-HOO ! Oslo wore a fanny pack filled with little candy canes. All day long he was passing out candy canes to children, wishing them Feliz Navidad. What a sweet little guy ! Every time one of us would call him, because he was getting too far ahead of us, or too far behind us, the Mexicans around us would look at us puzzled. Finally one of the vendors explained to us that "Oslo" in Spanish means "do it now !", a command frequently used with children. HA HA HA ! By 4:00 P.M. we were ready to start heading back towards the border. Big line-up ! Took about 45 minutes to get to the head of the line. We got back to Kofa Ko-op about 5:30, just as the sun was setting. Everybody was tired, but seemed to be very pleased with their day in Mexico. Well ... except for Joanne pouting about not being able to find any Nugs Crujiente chocolate bars. HA HA HA !
While we were waiting in line to cross the border back into the U.S., and in response to something less than worldly that Donna said, I laughed and said, jokingly ( sort of ) "Oh, boy ... another American finally comes to the realization that the United States doesn't set the standard for the world." WHEW ... did that ever earn me a lot of dirty looks from the people around us. Sorry ! I had forgotten how sensitive you Americans are about your parochialism. HA HA HA !
Friday ; Today was sunny, warm, and windy. This morning we went shopping for my Christmas gift to myself. A full size, wrap around the headlights, chrome, grille guard / brush guard / Toyota pusher for Lanoire. HA HA HA ! I had phoned some truck accessory shops a few days ago, so I knew which two shops I wanted to go to. Well, neither shop had anything near what I wanted at a reasonable price. Guess I'm not getting a honkin' big grille guard for Christmas < sniffle >.
After lunch we went shopping at Arizona Market, the nearby huge flea market. We bought some stuff. I've always thought that the neat thing about flea markets is you end up buying stuff that you didn't even know existed. HA HA HA ! Like Joanne's new batteryless, LED flashlight with the built in generator handle that you pump to fill the battery with power. HMPH ... I should have let her buy the little LED flashlight with the tiny solar panel on it that she wanted when she saw it in Quartzsite. At least then I could have just let the damn thing sit out on the picnic table all day so it would be charged up for night time dog walking. Instead we end up with this flashlight with the little squeeze pump handle that I have to squeeze and pump as I walk the dog at night. HMPH !
We were invited to turkey dinner with Tom and Ruth-Anne at their trailer, along with Lynn and Micha ( Meesha ), the owners of Bo's new best friend, Gypsy. We had a lovely dinner, and I spent a good part of the evening giving Lynn some basic dog training and behavioural tips. Lynn, Micha, and Gypsy are leaving tomorrow morning.
Saturday ; Today was a beautiful, sunny, warm day. We sat around enjoying the sunshine. We played in the dog park. I trimmed my beard. Joanne signed up as the hostess for a Christmas dinner table of ten. She went to offer assistance to a neighbour whose husband had heart surgery a few days ago. We visited with neighbours. A perfect "unemployed and homeless" kind of day.
Late in the afternoon I went to the clubhouse to get on Wi-Fi and retrieve updated investment statements. There was a group of about 8 park residents having an exceptionally heated argument that raged on for about 45 minutes, about some minor violation of protocol / courtesy / park bylaws. Those old folks sure can get riled up. Somebody must have missed their nap this afternoon.
I spent the evening working on my investment files.
Sunday ; Today was sunny and warm, but a bit windy. I got up in the middle of the night to do something I've never done before. I wrote a letter to the editor of a magazine. That's how miffed I was at an article I read yesterday that I felt exhibited irresponsible pet ownership.
This afternoon we drove to Foothills, a subdivision on the east side of Yuma, to look at RV parks and RV lots for sale. We didn't find anything particularly appealing. We returned to Kofa Ko-op just in time for the Sunday evening ice cream social. After the ice cream social we spent the rest of the evening watching the 3 hour season finale of Survivor. Seeing Todd the gay flight attendant win the million dollars reminded me of a line in a Dire Straits song on the Industrial Disease album. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
Monday ; Today was sunny and warm. This morning Joanne went to see all the people signed upon our Christmas dinner table to schedule a meeting for tonight to discuss and plan Christmas dinner. Each table of 12 has space for 10 people to sign up, with 2 spaces at each table left available for people arriving at the park just before Christmas. GREAT ! That's exactly how Christmas dinner should be planned at Escapee parks. Somebody here should give a lesson to those a******s at Jojoba Hills in California where we spent last Christmas. Of the 10 people signed up at our table, 8 are Canadians, 6 are from British Columbia. Gee ... it seems as if there are more B.C. license plates in Yuma at this time of the year than there are Arizona license plates.
We went shopping this morning. First stop was the nearby peanut farm to buy some fresh peanuts for the cookies Joanne is making for tomorrow's cookie exchange. Then it was off to Wal-Mart. I bought myself a Christmas gift, but couldn't find what I wanted to buy Joanne for Christmas. I don't really like Christmas shopping. Last stop was Albertson's for groceries. Poor Joanne ... she couldn't find her beloved Cajeta ice cream. Guess we'll have to go look at a Mexican grocery store for it.
This afternoon I took a propane tank to be refilled. While I waited for it to be refilled we played and walked with Bo in the dog park. He certainly behaves well off leash when he has a regular opportunity to be off leash.
While I was installing my new CB antenna on the truck, a big stray dog showed up. Great ... just what I needed ! Her tag indicated that her name was Carmel, and it had an address that we thought was local, although the phone number was a different area code. We loaded her in the truck and drove a couple of miles over to East Fifth Avenue. Nope ... no such address. Must be East Fifth Avenue in a different city. We drove back to Kofa Ko-op and I phoned the telephone number on the tag. Got voice mail < sigh >. Left a message, then phoned the Yuma Humane Society. Carmel also had a 2007 Yuma Humane Society tag. It was late afternoon and the Humane Society was closed. I left a message with their answering service, and told them they could send an animal control officer over to pick up Carmel. A little while later, Carmel's female owner phoned. Somewhat of an idiot ! Said she'd be over "soon" to pick up Carmel.
An hour and a half later, I phoned the bimbo. The moron boyfriend answered. "Yeah, we'll be there soon to pick up the dog, Bud". I thought, but didn't say ... first of all, a*****e, my name's not Bud ! And second of all ... and I did say ... what exactly is "soon"? Ten minutes later they showed up in their very old, very beat up pickup truck. The bimbo didn't even get out of the truck. The moron got out and said "Thanks for the help, Bud." I let him have it with both barrels. "My name is not Bud. Do not address me as Bud." That shut him right up ! He unhooked Carmel from Bo's tie out and left. I hate returning nice dogs to stupid people !
We spent the rest of the evening in the clubhouse at Joanne's Christmas dinner planning meeting, first planning Christmas dinner with all the people at our table, then chatting with them.
Tuesday ; Los Algodones, Mexico
Today was sunny and warm. This morning before we awoke, Carmel the Husky was back running around Kofa Ko-op. Three people were walking their little dogs early in the morning, and concluded that she belonged to us, since they had seen her tied up to our rig yesterday. They caught her, brought her over, and hooked her up to Bo's tie-out. Imagine my surprise, when I opened the door this morning to take Bo out, and saw Carmel sitting there ! My first thought was that the moron owner had returned in the middle of the night, and "dumped" Carmel. But within moments, three people came over to tell me what happened, proud that they had rescued "my" dog and returned her to me. < sigh > I had to explain ... she wasn't mine !
I had no intention of returning the dog to the moron and bimbo again. Before leaving for Los Algodones, I reported to the park's manager that I had a stray dog tied up to our trailer, and asked that she phone animal control to come pick her up.
We went to Los Algodones, driving there in Tom and Ruth-Anne's truck, with Terry, Donna, and Oslo following in theirs. First destination in Los Algodones was the veterinary pharmacy, about 6 or 8 blocks from "downtown". On the way we stopped at the bakery and each bought a pastry to munch as we walked. At the veterinary pharmacy we bought some heartworm medication for Bo. Donna bought a syringe and parvovirus / distemper vaccine for their dog River. I didn't know one could administer the parvovirus / distemper vaccine to their dog themselves. I asked Donna to allow me to watch her administer the vaccine to River, so that I can learn to do it myself in the future. On our way back downtown I accepted an offer to try a free tacoat an open air restaurant. We returned downtown to buy medications at a variety of pharmacies. Donna went for an eye examination and to order a new pair of glasses. We went to buy some Coconugs chocolate bars. Tom and I each had three free samples of different tequilas. So ... before we even got to lunch, I had a pastry, a taco, and 3 shots of tequila. HA HA HA ! We had lunch again at El Paraiso. We headed for Dr. Camacho's office where we all had dentist appointments. Joanne and I got examinations and cleanings. Donna got an examination and was sent to a neighbouring endodontist because of some kind of root canal problem. Tom got an assessment of his very extensive dental problems and needs. Dr. Camacho's recommendations included work this year, requiring 3 or 4 visits over the next couple of weeks, then completion a year from now. After some discussion with Ruth-Anne, Tom decided that he liked Dr. Camacho and his approach / recommendations better than the other 2 dentists he saw last week, and decided to go for it. His first appointment is for early tomorrow morning. I think the hygienist used dental bleach to clean some stains off my teeth. My lips feel burnt tonight.
Tom and Ruth-Anne eat their meals much earlier than Joanne and me. By the time we were ready to leave Los Algodones, they wanted supper. It was too early for Joanne and me, but we sat and munched on some appetizers while Tom and Ruth-Anne had supper. Driving back to Yuma, all I could do was keep thinking “I sure hope that there’s no Husky tied up to our trailer when we get home”.
Carmel was gone when we got home. Good luck, sweet girl.
Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm. Well, of course ... it's Yuma !
Early this morning Tom and Ruth-Anne brought Emma over to spend the day with us while they went to Los Algodones for the beginning of Tom's dental work. The bed seemed a bit crowded this morning with Teddy, Bo, and Emma all in bed with us. Bo and Emma were playing. Teddy was looking disgusted with 2 dogs playing on the bed. I gave up trying to get back to sleep.
I installed my new CB radio this morning. Mounted but not wired. The beauty of this lifestyle is that I can turn the installation of a CB radio into 3 days of work. HA HA HA ! One day to install the antenna, one day to mount the radio, and one day to wire it. This afternoon we went to the park's cookie exchange. What a great idea ! A dozen people each signed up to bakeand bring 3 dozen cookies. Then each person got three of each kind of cookie to take home. Oh, boy ... 3 dozen assorted home made cookies for me and Teddy ! HA HA HA ... Teddy loves cookies. At the cookie exchange I mentioned that I was a juggler and magician. Guess who's now the headline entertainment for the New Year's Eve party ? ! ? HA HA HA !
One of our neighbours recently had heart surgery and is having a bit of difficulty getting out with their dog, Sonny. We took Sonny and Bo over to the dog park for a play session, and were joined by Emma and River. And Oslo. What would a doggy play session be without a 7 year old boy to lead the fun ? After an hour of play, all the dogs were tired. Oslo wasn't !
Got a fly in the trailer this afternoon. I tasered it with my new electronic bug zapper tennis racket. HA ... take that ! After supper we went Christmas shopping ... to PetsMart ... with Bo. Sheesh ! And you thought Christmas shopping with children was a challenge ? !
DSK
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