January 10 to 16, 2008
Yuma, Arizona
Thursday ; Today was another beautiful, sunny, warm day. We spent the entire day with Tom and Ruth-Anne down in Los Algodones, Mexico. We hadn't planned to be down there the whole day, but that's how it turned out. We headed down there for Tom's appointment at noon. He had an adjustment of some sort made to his lower denture plate. He has another appointment in a week and a half, and it might be the last appointment he needs to complete his "loaner" teeth. HA HA HA ! I have dubbed the product of his dental work this season to be his loaner teeth, because they are only intended to last him for a year, when Dr. Camacho will be doing more permanent dental work on Tom, like implants.
While Tom was at the dentist, Ruth-Anne, Joanne and I went to get haircuts. Gee ... great value, but Mexican barbers / hair stylists are determined to cut hair shorter than the client wants. Mine was determined to expose the tops of my ears. This is the shortest my hair has been in about 40 years. I certainly got my money's worth, having that much hair trimmed off, and my beard trimmed, for $4.00. Yeah, you read that right ! We went back to the dentist's to pick up Tom, then went for lunch to Pueblo Viejo ( Old House ) Restaurant. Tom and Ruth-Anne prefer Pueblo Viejo to El Paraiso ( The Paradise ), which Joanne and I prefer. Lunch was good. The Margaritas were watery.
After lunch we went shopping for what we came for ; a stained glass window for the door of our trailer. A new neighbour of ours has a gorgeous stained glass window in the door of his trailer, and when I went over to find out where they got it, they told me it was in Los Algodones. So ... we went shopping for one, and bought one today. There are a few stained glass artists in Los Algodones who are making some pieces specifically the size of the windows in RV doors. I was intending to buy one with a desert scene, like our neighbour's. But we bought one with cardinals on it, appropriate since our trailer is a Cardinal brand. I drove a hard bargain, based on the price our neighbour said he paid. But perhaps I should have found out how many years ago he paid that price, because I really had to "negotiate" hard to get my price.
We returned to Dr. Camacho's for Ruth-Anne's first dental appointment in 18 years ! She was impressed with the results of Tom's work, and she broke a tooth the other day, so she reluctantly submitted to seeing a dentist. She was expecting to have an examination and quotation on having her broken tooth repaired, and having her dentures replaced. Well, at the first of her two appointments this afternoon, Dr. Mr. Camacho examined her, a hygienist cleaned her teeth, then Dr. Mr. Camacho repaired her broken tooth, and Dr. Mrs. Camacho took imprints for dentures. They asked her to return for another appointment in a couple of hours. Ruth-Anne was extremely impressed. The charge for the examination, cleaning and tooth repair was $60.
So, we had another couple of hours to kill in Los Algodones. We went shopping for ... of course ... new and exciting forms of chocolate for Joanne. And ... to be fair, I must confess ... Mexican pastries for me. We went to El Paraiso to sit in the warm afternoon sun and drink Margaritas. Good Margaritas. Not like those watered down ones at Pueblo Viejo. We returned to the dentist where Dr. Mrs. Camacho fit Ruth-Anne with the toothless denture plates which were already back from the lab. Ruth-Anne said they fit great. In 2 weeks they'll be ready, with teeth in them.
My doofus wife forgot to bring our passports ! Returning across the border with only Canadian driver's licenses was not a problem. As we arrived back at Kofa Ko-op, another pair of friends of ours from the SKP B.C. Okanagan Chapter 33, Barry and Jackie, were arriving.
Friday ; Today was sunny and very warm again. I guess the chilly part of winter is over, here in Yuma.
This afternoon we invited Tom and Ruth-Anne to join us on a shopping trip to Yuma Park & Shop, also known as the "dog track flea market", because it is located at the Greyhound racing track grounds. I was disappointed. Most of the vendors' booths were vacant. We didn't know that most of the vendors only show up on Saturdays and Sundays. HMPH ! Joanne bought some produce. I bought about a bazillion pairs of socks for five bucks. HA HA HA ! Every year about this time I buy about another bazillion pairs of socks for five bucks. Standard Mexican flea market prices for socks. HA HA HA !
On our way back from Yuma Park & Shop we stopped at an RV parts dealer where I bought a new trailer door window frame. Joanne wants me to change the trailer door window frame in conjunction with installing our new leaded stained glass window. The existing door window frame is very "yellowed" from years of sun exposure. The new one I bought is black, so it won't discolour from sun exposure, and hopefully will "frame" the stained glass window nicely.
As soon as we returned to Kofa Ko-op Joanne took Bo to the dog park. Teddy wanted to go outside because he could see that it was a beautiful day. I took him over to the dog park and left him in there with Joanne and Bo. Teddy didn't seem impressed with the dog park. I guess he just wanted to sit outside in his tent. We spent the late part of the afternoon sitting out in the wonderful sunshine, munching on tortilla chips and freshly made guacamole. Nice work if you can get it !
We did some minor maintenance and “home improvement” work, then went to see tonight’s entertainment in the clubhouse. The entertainer was an < ahem > elderly gentleman, suffering from a cold, wearing an oxygen canula, and singing along to recorded instrumentals. Kind of a one ( old ) man Karaoke show. Gee, Pops, once you have to start taking oxygen full time, maybe it’s time to consider giving up the “professional singer“ gig. We snuck out halfway through his show, and headed off to El Pollo Loco to buy some take out dinner.
Saturday ; Today was sunny and very warm again. This morning I installed our new leaded stained glass window into the outer half of the new door window frame, using silicone. Tomorrow I will remove the old window and frame from the door and install the new frame and stained glass window.
This afternoon we went to the Gunfighters Gathering at Yuma Territorial Prison State Park. The Gunfighters Gathering is an annual event. About a dozen or so "re-enactment" amateur theatre groups from Southern California and Arizona come to compete. They each stage a short play / skit, dressed in period costumes, and are judged by a panel of judges. The venue is the ruins of the old Yuma Territorial Prison which is now a state park / museum. We watched three of the interesting short plays, then walked around the grounds and museum.
Sunday ; Today was sunny and mild, with an extreme wind resulting in a desert sand storm.
Well, after 13 days without smoking, I have just gone out at 11:00 P.M. and bought a package of cigarettes. I can't tolerate the misery any more. Joanne, everybody else around me, and I are fed up with my miserable behaviour.
This morning I worked on the installation of our new stained glass window. First I removed the old window and frame from the trailer door. Much easier said than done. Then I installed the new frame and stained glass window. Much easier said than done ! And the job isn't finished yet. The new frame is for a door not quite as thick as ours, so the inside of the frame doesn't quite squeeze against the outer frame and window. Maybe our door is a little thicker than standard because our trailer has the "arctic package" option. Or maybe the stained glass window is not quite as thick as the standard piece of glass in a trailer door. I will have to install some manner of gasket on the inner frame to secure the window in place. Perhaps foam weatherstripping tape will do the job. I guess it's not really surprising to me that a trailer "home improvement" project does not go as easily as expected. But the new stained glass window in the door looks superb.
This afternoon Sandy and Peachy came over for a barbecue hosted by Tom and Ruth-Anne. We spent the afternoon and evening visiting. We drove Sandy and Peachy home because of Sandy's inability to drive after dark. I drove their van and Joanne drove our truck.
Monday ; Today was sunny and warm, still a bit windy in the morning.
I spent much of the day shopping for trailer suspension parts. The RV caravan tour company we are going down the Baja with advises that trailer suspensions are the most common cause of breakdowns and delays on their caravans. So, since Harvey is about 10 years old, I decided it would be prudent to carry spare suspension parts on the trip down the Baja. A few days ago, I got underneath the trailer to identify and measure all the suspension components that seemed vulnerable to breakdown. Buying a new leaf spring, shackles, bushings, nuts and bolts, u-bolts, mounting plate, equalizer, and all associated hardware seemed like a good idea. But I didn't know exactly what and where to measure. I had determined by phone a few days ago that the most likely place to get what I need would be American Spring. We found our way to American Spring, a grungy little company operated by Mexicans in a grungy industrial park area of Yuma. The man serving me thought that the best way to ascertain exactly what I need was to send one of his employees back to Kofa Ko-op with me so that he could identify and measure what I need. I kind of like the Mexican approach to doing business. We loaded Enrique ( Enreekay ) into the truck and drove back to Kofa. It was a kind of quiet trip. Enrique "no habla ingles". He crawled underneath the trailer, identified and measured, and we drove back to American Spring. I bought everything I need, except for 2 parts. One they have ordered for me and it will likely be in tomorrow, and one I will have to shop for elsewhere. I hope they sold me the right parts. I'll crawl underneath the trailer tomorrow with the new parts and try to verify that they are correct. No sense carrying spare parts that don't fit !
We also went to Lowe's and I bought some more "home improvement" stuff. Hopefully the foam tape that I bought will complete the stained glass window installation. I also bought plumbing materials to replace a cracked plumbing vent pipe in the kitchen. That's going to be a very difficult job, because of the confined space that I am going to have to squeeze my arms into to cut out a cracked section of pipe and replace it. Oh, well, at least it's only a vent pipe and not a water pipe. Because it's only a vent pipe I wasn't forced to deal with the problem immediately when I discovered it a month and half or so ago. Back then I just temporarily fixed it with insulated foam pipe wrap.
Tuesday ; Today was another sunny, very warm day. Too bad our day didn't go as planned, and we didn't take as much advantage of the great weather as we should have.
We slept in and got a late start to the day. Oslo came over to tell us that his family was leaving. We spent the rest of the morning saying our farewells to Terry, Donna, and Oslo. This afternoon I crawled underneath the trailer with all my new suspension parts and spent quite a bit of time verifying that they were correct. Most were, one was not. I will have to return to American Spring tomorrow to exchange the leaf spring, and pick up the u-bolt mounting plate they ordered for me. They phoned this morning to tell me it had arrived.
I spent the rest of the afternoon removing and reinstalling the stained glass window. Installation method "A" didn't work out. Had to formulate "plan B" again ! It was one of those jobs that if I had known before I began how difficult it was going to be, I might not have undertaken to do it. Ignorance is bliss, isn't it ? ! ? Joanne spent the afternoon waxing the last side of the trailer, using a wax product that she has never used before. Her favoured product has been out of stock at Wal-Mart for the last couple of weeks, so she bought a substitute. And did not like it at all !
So we spent the day doing work, instead of going out to visit our neighbours from back home in Riverside RV Park Resort, Gil and Maria, and their dog Buppy. They are boondocked out in the desert about 15 miles west of here. Bo will likely be very surprised and excited to see Buppy. Buppy is his "best friend" at home.
Wednesday ; Today was sunny, mild, and windy. We spent the morning running around trying to find the correct spare suspension components I am trying to buy for the trailer. HMPH ! I'm glad that we're trying to buy these components before we actually need them. If they're this difficult to buy in a city the size of Yuma, how impossible would it be to buy them if we had a breakdown in the Baja in the middle of nowhere and needed them immediately ? ! ? First stop was American Spring where I was returning the incorrect size of leaf spring, and to pick up the mounting plate they ordered for me. They did not have the correct size of leaf spring, and will have to fabricate one for me. And the mounting plate was incorrect. They will have to order another one for me. Then we ran around to a bunch of other shops trying to find the correct size of shock absorber for the trailer. Tomorrow I'll phone Camping World in San Diego and check if they have what I need.
We went for lunch to In-N-Out Burger. As always, the burgers were great, but the fries were terrible. HMPH ... might be the last time we eat at In-N-Out Burger. We drove about 15 miles west on Interstate 8 into California and found our way to where Gil and Maria are boondocking in the desert. Yes, yes, Bo was very happy and excited to visit with Buppy. Gil and I took Bo and Buppy for a walk in the desert without leashes. Bo's off leash behaviour has become quite good. Whenever I commanded him to "come", he returned. Good dog, Bo ! Gil and Maria are spending their eighth winter dry camping in the desert. To each his own ! I can't say that I find the idea of camping out in the middle of the desert for extended periods without any services very appealing. For those who do, it becomes a competitive challenge to see how long they can make their fresh water tank last, and how long they go without having to dump their waste holding tanks. Gil and Maria fill ten one gallon water jugs every time they come into Yuma for shopping, then transfer them to their fresh watertank on the trailer. They dump their grey water in the desert, and only hitch up the trailer to take it to a sewage dumping station to dump their black waste holding tank once a month. YIKES ... I guess neither of them have ulcerative colitis. HA HA HA !
I spent the evening updating my investment files < huge sigh >.
DSK
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