Actually, Diane drove us uphill to the northern edge of Tucson to Western Way RV Resort. It’s about 20 miles out of Tucson proper and around 3000 feet higher. She’d seen an advertisement and was thinking we might want to move there from Davis-Monthan AFB in January.

The Park was very nice, filled with a combination of park model homes and a few open spots suitable for RVs. The trick is that they typically don’t allow RVs older than 2013 vintage. We were told this after driving all over the park and seeing many RVs that were obviously older than 2013. There was a 1970s model Winnebago, for instance. It looked pretty nice, I’ll admit, and the lady did say, “send me a photo of your RV and I’ll see if we can accept it.” So, it’s a general rule that can be broken if they like the way the RV looks. We asked about availability in January, and she said they had only one spot that would fit our rig for that time frame. We haven’t officially made up our minds about moving, but Diane’s checking our options. We have time.

For lunch we stopped at a McDonald’s and had chicken sandwiches and fries. We had Max with us, so we ate in their parking lot. Max didn’t mind. I offered him a fry, but he graciously declined. I know he really wanted a bite of chicken, but he knew he knew that wasn’t going to happen, so he just sulked a little.

Got back to the base and stopped at the Boneyard Vista office to get some brochures about things to do here. You know, like basket weaving, ceramics, line dancing, beer pong, yoga, stuff like that. We’ll digest our choices and maybe try some of them.

Diane dropped Max and me at home, and she toddled off to the base exchange to get some essential things. Max and I sat on the patio for a while enjoying a nice breeze in the shade. The temps have dropped from the 100’s to the low 90’s and it’s noticeable. I guess winter really is heading our way.

Before Diane got up this morning, Max and I took a walk all the way around the park. I think on one of these trips, I’m going to count all the spaces to see how many there are. Just a quick glance makes it evident that there are lots of them. Also, I’m sure I could check the map and count the spaces, but that’s the easy way.

Anyway, on that trip, I found this.

I think it used to have something to do with phone lines until squirrels and rabbits got to it. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work anymore.

Adjacent to the RV park are some of the base housing units. There are hundreds of them, mostly duplexes, and pretty much every roof is covered with solar panels. This is certainly the place for those things.

And finally, I’ve mentioned the color-coded rocks they use for landscaping here, but haven’t had photos previously. So, here you are.

Stay safe.

Today started out nicely. I hooked Max up for a walk and when I opened the door he dragged me out in his attempt to visit a little dog that just happened to be passing by. Her name is Ally. I didn’t have my phone so there is no video proof. You’ll just have to trust me on this.

The morning breeze about 0700 is nice and cool and lasts well into the morning. It’d just after 1000 and the windows have been closed and the A/C is on. According to the temp displayed on my computer, derived from an unknown source, it’s 88 out there. Supposedly, the temps are going to drop a little before zooming back into the “bake you where you stand” level.

There is an upside for Diane with regard to the atmosphere here. She reportedly has been able to stop taking her asthma medication and is strongly considering taking walks with Max and me. That’s huge. We just need to get up early to get that done.

I’ve taken a few walks in the evening, after it gets dark, but I stay close because there are reports of coyotes visiting the area in search of snacks. Also, there are javelinas roaming the area. Those are animals that look like pigs but are really hoofed mammals. Who knew?

Now it’s time to travel so we can get a wagon for Diane to haul our laundry back and forth to the wash shed. I’m too weak and feeble to assist with that any longer and she doesn’t need the stress of all that manual labor in this hot sun.

See you later.

It’s 1400. We’ve been home from our trip to the VA Hospital and Costco.

The trip to the VA Hospital was just a practice run because, guess what, today is Columbus Day and the only services available were emergency services.

That ruled us out, so we just turned around and went to Costco from there.

Diane got the wagon she’s always wanted so it was a good day.

Max was happy to see us back so soon and he helped me unwrap the wagon with much joy. I’m pretty sure he’s going to want a short ride, and I’ll happily give him one. I said “short ride” because I believe that’s all he can handle. He’ll want to get out and sniff everything. Can’t do that in a wagon.

This is what the wagon is for.

 Hasta la vista

Yes, “Me and AT&T”. Sounds kind of like a song title, doesn’t it?

It’s 1410, and 99 degrees out, and I’ve been chatting with various AT&T employees for the past 2 hours trying to get my bill squared away. You don’t want to hear all the details but don’t be surprised if I forget where I am and head down that road.

We’re on a long trip. That’s long in time, not so much in distance. I wanted a mobile hotspot for us to use because wi-fi in RV parks isn’t always very reliable or it’s difficult to keep it going. So, I wanted our very own and was willing to pay for it. Sadly, I couldn’t buy the unit I wanted from an AT&T store in Imperial Beach, CA because they couldn’t verify my identity.

OK. Now it’s getting detailed so buckle up. . .

I got deep into a chat session with AT&T. Almost had my desired solution of getting rid of the number for which we had no phone. I may have touched on that previously. The phone was returned and accepted. While waiting for a response from the lady chatter, I apparently touched my computer in the wrong way that caused my chat session to just disappear. I got logged back in to AT&T just in time to see her check out. Buoyed with confidence from the first session, I initiated another one and made it all the way to the end when the lady chatter admitted she couldn’t help me, gave me a phone number to call, and ended our session. You can imagine how happy that made me.

So, with a chip on my shoulder I called the number and put myself in a que for a callback that would happen between 49 mins to 1 hr 1 min. Odd times, I thought, but at least I didn’t have to hang on to the phone all that time.

Got the call back and talked with Mac for about an hour. We hit it off nicely and he filled me with all kinds of confidence. He gave me a military discount, which no other AT&T employee ever did. He also whittled down my bill to a reasonable number and educated me at length about how the system worked from his end. It was nice to hear what he had to say. He explained that yes, the phone number with no phone was mine because I paid $35 to activate it. No take backs. So, I should dwell on what I could do with the number before the next bill comes due in November. The solution I felt more strongly about was to get Diane a new iPad to replace the bent one I kneeled on and make it a 5G wi-fi unit instead of just wi-fi. Yes, I really bent it and gave it a nice curl, but it still works.

After all was said and done, we parted ways and promised to write often. There was no talk of a reunion but I’m sure if I ever met Mac in person, we would get along nicely.

Shortly after the successful end to my tech call, Diane buzzed off to the base commissary. On the way she dropped Max and me at the fenced dog park so Max could run free if he wanted to. It was 99 degrees, and he wasn’t interested in running anywhere.

There was a drinking fountain inside the fenced area so he got a drink and looked around a little,

then we just picked up and walked slowly back to the bus. Slowly because sniffing things on a hot day is just fine. No running, though.

Near the fenced dog run, there’s a dog wash. Pretty nifty. Max can’t wait to try it out.

This is where we live. Our rig is behind those trees on this side of the road, just above the sign. Max had to check it out to make sure we’re in the right place.

Back at the bus our neighbors were out so I stopped and visited with them a bit. He’s Leroy, retired Army, and his granddaughter is Katy. I can’t remember Leroy’s wife’s name. I told him that was a distinct possibility.

Once in the bus I turned on the TV in time to catch the #3 Oregon vs. #2 Ohio football game. At the half its Oregon 22, Ohio 21. Interesting game.

The view looking east from our patio. I’d tell you what those hills are, but I don’t know them.

This is the view looking west. This is a good place in early morning – 7-ish.

Unless you haven’t already figured it out, they don’t waste a lot of money on lawn mowers. Everything is covered in gravel.

See you later.

We took a trip downtown to the Southern Arizona VA Hospital to see what they could do for me because I can’t count very well. Yes, I have a math deficiency. You see, we had a plan in place to have our meds mailed to us from home but, one of my main pills runs out tomorrow. We checked the cost of overnight shipping and it’s prohibitive. So, in an attempt to delay my pending demise, we decided to take a chance and see what the Tucson VA Pharmacy could do for me.

We got there shortly before noon. Upon arrival, Diane luckily found a parking spot near the entrance, in the shade, so she and Max stayed in the car with the A/C running while I did all the leg work. In the heat of the day.

The first thing I learned from the first person I talked to was that my VA card expired in September. How handy is that? I had no idea, but I hadn’t used it for a few months. I had to register and get a new card ordered.

I was directed down the hall, past the coffee shop, to the registration area. I took my number and joined the Conga Line of people waiting for help. I think there were two people ahead of me, so it went quickly. They took the photo and everything. It will be mailed to our home in St. Helens. I should receive it in 2-5 weeks, just in time for my next projected visit.

Once that was done, I returned to the helpful lady in the pharmacy who confirmed I was indeed in their system. She ordered my missing pills, and they were delivered to me in about 10 minutes. I was amazed. I think I was in the hospital for about an hour, but I remembered where the car was and found my way back. They were both happy to see me.

When we got back to the base I cooked lunch. That’s my job. I cook stuff. We had stir-fried dead chicken and veggies with rice. It was pretty good. Diane said so.

The temp was still running around 100 degrees, so we locked ourselves in the RV, turned up the A/C. After I figured out how to get the Dish wi-fi to work we watched one episode of our favorite show, “White Collar”, then all the sudden, it quit working. Diane said, “huh” and tipped her head to the left to think about it. It was only a couple of minutes before she figured out that they must have changed the password for some reason. Probably one of those unadvertised planned events.

It was getting dark, and the temp was finally dropping so we piled into the car and took a ride to the office to see if there was some information about her suspicion. There was, indeed, a note on the door reporting that the password had been changed. Good job Diane! The new password was included on the note. Later I learned that there were notes posted all over the campground with this information. So, I guess the password isn’t a big secret.

With the solution in hand, we headed back to the RV but took a slight detour to the fenced dog run to see what it had to offer. It was almost dark and there were no lights, but I took Max inside the fenced area anyway to let him have a look around. He told me he can see in the dark with his nose. Well, he didn’t actually tell me, but I’ve watched him close his eyes while sniffing so it makes sense. Making his rounds, very slowly, smelling pretty much everything in the place, he paused, looked around with a satisfied look on his face, looked me in the eye and led me back to the car. Apparently, he’d seen enough.

Many of the RVs parked around us have rope lights all around their rigs so Diane did some research as to why. Turns out that Arizona, especially in the south end, have about 700 different kinds of mice and rats that come out at night and ravage the neighborhood. So, guess what we’re doing tomorrow — we’re going shopping for rope lights.

One of the reports on mice and rats is that they burrow in the soft sand and sleep all day. I gave this some thought and concluded that we weren’t really in any danger of being consumed by rats and mice. The entire park is covered with many layers of color-coded rocks. They are small and well compacted meaning rats and mice who venture into the park have to travel over a lot of rocky territory to get to us. I shifted into “quandary mode” and wondered why any rat or mouse in their right minds would subject their tiny little feet to those sharp rocks littered with sticker burrs. Even after sharing that thought, I have no doubt we’re getting rope lights anyway. Diane said so, and Max agreed. Apparently, he’s a bit wary of rats and mice. It might be because of his small stature.

Now it’s almost 2300 hours and way past time for bed so I’m quitting.

See you tomorrow so I can share some photos of our new lighting system. I think you’re going to love it.

Now, just for fun, here’s another photo of Max and his new friend the bear rug. After they got acquainted, he gave the bear an opportunity to get a little closer by using a universal method of establishing identity.

It didn’t work.

It was a brutal day. We left Yuma about 1000 after successfully finding a couple of good horses in one of Don’s neighbor’s yards. Max wasn’t happy about the horses, because he’s never been close to one before, but he got used to them about halfway.

I took him on a few walks around Don and Judy’s neighborhood and many homes have metal sculptures in their yards that kind of freaked him out a little. His apprehension actually started the first time he went into Don’s & Judy’s home. There was a bear rug on the floor, and he was very concerned about it. He was very cautious the first time he approached it and was growling a little with every little step he took. Once he got close enough to touch it with his nose it became non-threatening, and he was just fine taking a nap with it.

OK. Now on to what really happened.

Leaving at 1000 was true but the rest, except for the bear rug, was gibberish. The bear rug is real, as you can see.

Knowing the fragile nature of our RV, regarding it’s overheating issue, we decided to not tow the car. We knew there were more hills ahead of us so overheating was a forgone conclusion. So, Diane was OK taking the stress off the RV and driving the car for 5 hours to Tucson. Leaving me and Max all alone, on the heat.

Let me tell you about the heat. We learned from Ray, one of our neighbors at Fiddler’s Cove, that when the engine heats up putting the heater on all the way will help cool it down. It’s true, that works. That’s nice, but when it’s like 110 degrees outside, having the heater on in the RV isn’t much fun. Matter of fact, I think it burned at least one layer of skin off my right leg. Having he heater on just wasn’t fun at all. It turned the day into an incredible ordeal. With each mile we travelled down the freeway, the scenery became more and more bland to the point where I felt that this was going to be this way for the rest of my life.

Then we would whiz by a bit of greenery so fast that it seemed to be an illusion. Then another would go by giving us hope and it was more noticeable because we were looking for it.

Eventually, the landscape changed with the addition of more and more green, mostly trees, then grass would show up, then orchards would appear. It was obvious that civilization was creeping into our view giving us hope for a better future.

Then the freeway wound its way quickly from the desert into the middle of an actual city. There were tall buildings, and everything looked promising. Signs appeared giving us directions to validate the GPS instructions, pointing us in the proper direction until, finally, we arrived at our next home. The Family Camp on Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson.

This is one of the views from the Family Camp area. We’re well protected.

Initially we were concerned about getting a site because this is Snowbird season and we’re new to it. But, the weather has been unseasonably hot, so folks who normally do this aren’t showing up as early as they normally do. That’s good for us. We got a site with no problem. It only took us about 30 minutes to find it. Most of the signs indicating which sites are in each row were there, but the one for our row was facing away from us so we drove by it a few times. Diane finally found it by driving down each row and reading each pedestal. I watched from afar and when I saw her turn into a spot, I made my way to her and got parked.

It’s now 2114 and we’re tied up in #261 for the next three months. With us not usually camping for more than a week or two, considering a long term stay like this seems odd. Then I recall the 30 days we just spent at Coronado. It’s becoming a normal thing. How about that?

All the sudden we’re Snowbirds!

Today we took an extended tour of Yuma with the goal of being at AROI Thai Cuisine on the other side of Yuma for a late lunch/early dinner. This is one of their favorite places to eat and I can see why. The food was awesome and not served in annoyingly huge amounts.

I ate every bit of mine and about half of Diane’s. Not a scrap left. Then we went and had ice cream for dessert. I’m planning to eat popcorn for a snack before we go to bed.

The temperature here today was around 110 degrees. It actually felt good when spending only brief stints under the blazing sun. It’s amazingly hot. The electrical connection we have at Don’s and Judy’s is 30 amp so we can only run one A/C unit, but it kept us suitably cool last night. I’m sure it will do so again tonight.

In all, we were gone for about 5 hours which means Max had a 5-hour nap. That’s good because he didn’t have a productive walk before we left. I took him out twice, but he knew we were going somewhere, and he was staying. So, I figured he would do something completely out of character after we left and lay a log on Diane’s pillow. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, so he was rewarded for his restraint with a very long walk around a couple of blocks. Blocks here are quite long. Especially in this heat.

We’ve decided to head out for Tucson tomorrow instead of Friday because we have medicine that was delivered to the St. Helens address that need to be sent to us. So, the sooner we get to Tucson, the sooner we’ll have an address for the target. Jennie was going to Fedex it all overnight to us here at Don’s, but it would have cost almost $200 to do that. Getting to Tucson a day earlier makes more sense than spending that amount of money.

So, we’ll see you there, Tucson, tomorrow.

First, I must share with you our last San Diego Sunset. It was very nice.

I woke up at my normal time, about 0730-0900, or thereabouts and tried to coax Max off the bed for a walk. He chose to stay inside a little longer or a smarter choice, he didn’t want to take a chance of waking Diane too soon by jumping off the bed. I suspect he got that vibe from me. So, I left him alone and he stayed there until Diane got up. I honestly don’t remember what time it was.

After Max’s walk I started putting things away in preparation for our departure. I took my time because I was kind of dreading getting to the point where I’d have to start the RV and I wasn’t convinced that was going to happen. The other question mark in my head was the big slide out, wondering if it would slide in. All my stress was for naught because everything worked just fine.

Then, after hooking up the car, we embarked on the next challenge, driving up Orange Avenue through downtown Coronado to 4th Avenue, then across the Bay Bridge to I-5. Sounds simple, right? Well, it wasn’t all that easy. First, Orange Avenue isn’t all that wide when you cram two lanes of traffic between rows of parked cars on each side most of which actually parked close to the curb. That means those who didn’t create the need for drivers in the lane next to the parkers, to jog out once in a while. Not too tough in a car, but driving an RV makes it a challenge. You’ll be happy to know that we made it OK. We also made it down 4th Ave and across the bridge, transitioned to 3 or 4 different freeways until we finally wound up on I-8 East. Whew! Pretty exciting stuff.

We drove until Diane convinced me that we should fill the fuel tank and, maybe, eat some lunch. This finally led us to the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo where we filled the tank and bought some dead chicken. Fuel was $4.27/gal and the chicken wound up costing $27.50 after Diane added two enormous cinnamon things for breakfast. We kept one of them and ate the other one for dessert.

The remainder of the drive to Yuma was uneventful until we made it to the top of one of many higher elevations where we came across this:

We saw the smoke from miles away and wondered what it could be. A real mess. The ambulance was just ahead of us and didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry so whoever was in the car got out OK, or they didn’t get out at all.

After that, the trip turned into some extremely long stretches of straight road with a minor turn one way or another to keep it interesting.

Don and Judy welcomed us with open arms, and I didn’t take one picture of them. I’ll do that tomorrow and add it to tomorrows post.

Time to stop.

Yup, this is it. We’ll be moving along tomorrow before noon and plan to be in Yuma shortly after that. It’s only a 3-hour drive, so I’m told. We’ll see about that.

Today was pretty laid back. Diane wanted to get some more things from the commissary, and she wanted a full tank of gas in the car. So, that’s where we went and then we took Max to a Dog Beach near the back gate to NAS North Island.

He was pretty excited about that, but he has a difficult time socializing with other dogs when he’s on his leash. That makes it a little difficult for me to trust him off leash, especially after our initial visit to the dog park in Imperial Beach. Remember that one? The one where I inserted myself into a dogfight between Max and a dog much bigger than him. So, we’re a little wary about getting into a situation like that.

So, I kept him on the leash and let him run into the surf until it wasn’t fun anymore. He has just as much fun smelling everything another dog may have touched in any manner.

Max was OK with that short visit and the walk back to the car for the trip home.

The rest of this day was spent doing pretty much nothing except for Diane washing a load of sheets. We sat on our patio until it was time to get them out of the dryer.

The highlight of our sitting time was watching what I think was an AOR (an oiler for replenishment at sea) enter port then search along the piers, looking for a parking spot. It was flanked by two tugs to help them squeeze in to any spot they found where they might fit.

That’s about it for today.

See you in Yuma.

Yes, we attended a play at a small theater in downtown Coronado. It was the Lamb’s Players Theater, and we watched “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. Instead of a stage, the performance area is on the same level as the front row seats. All the other seats are situated in a way that there isn’t a bad seat in the house. Diane picked two seats in row B, center stage (or floor, if you wish). The actors are never more than 20 feet from the front row, so it was like we were all part of the performance.

Photos were for forbidden during the performance so the only shots I got were before it started. The tiled area is the stage. The ladies standing guard are there to keep paying customers from walking on the tile. I know that’s true because I asked one of them.

It was a very fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The acting was top notch and the story they told was excellent.

It was a beautiful day, so we walked along the main street back to the car, enjoying the experience. Everyone was polite, the town is very appealing, trendy, and touristy. It was fun being part of the crowd for a while. But Max was all alone in the RV waiting for us. A good reason to return.

We ate a lite meal (granola bars) for lunch with understanding that we would eat a major meal when we got home. Diane wanted fish and she bought me a huge steak, frozen french fries, and asparagus. Diane prepped and cooked the asparagus, and I did the rest. Easy peasy. It was good, too.

Like normal, when I opened the door, Max took his sweet time making an appearance. He’s usually laying in the driver’s seat and just lays there until I scratch his neck. Then we take a walk. This time he was laying on the floor by Diane’s side of the bed. Totally out of character for him. I took him for a walk anyway. I think he’s getting tired of walking around the same loop all the time. I try to change it up by going the opposite way once in a while. He knows what I’m doing and isn’t impressed, but he goes along with my efforts, and I know he’s grateful.

It’s almost 2100 and Diane is watching a Hallmark movie. I’m kind of keeping up with it but I’m progressively getting more interested in getting to bed. We just changed the sheets. I always sleep good on newly laundered sheets.

Tomorrow is our last full day here at Fiddler’s Cove, so I’ll be busy putting stuff away that needs to be put away. I might even polish up the other mirror. I only did one the other day because it was a lot like work.

Now I’m quitting.

Yippeee!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Gilligan,

Happy birthday to you.