The Holler Moon

25 th Feb


This week we have a Full Moon and every year one particular  Resident and his wife host  the Holler Moon Party. The host is Charlie Cobb from Shilo , MB and incidentally, he taught our son Clark his basic Fire Fighting. I believe  Charlie named it the Holler Moon Party and he and his wife provides the Music which is set up in front of their home. He must have been a DJ in his other life. There are 3 streets that converge in front of Charlie's home so it a natural place to host a street party for a crowd of nearly 500.
The RV Park provides all the food , beer and wine at no cost, and when you offer something  free to a senior you are basically inviting everyone but the dead.
We sat  with 3 couple from Saskatchewan or as I call them " Binder Pilots ".  It is the first time we have been to the Holler Moon party so it was very interesting to us. The party was over at ten because once to feed and water the Seniors they have to go to bed. cheers

Dinner for Eight

23 Feb.
Today I have a ball game and later tonight we are hosting a dinner for 8 at our Motorhome so we do have a busy day. I leave at 8 AM for the ball game and I won't get home until after 11 AM, mainly because most guys ( Girls ) move at glacier speed. I just right it off as a bit of exercise for me. Since I was busy this morning Carroll had the menu prepared by the time I got home.  I told her to wait until I got home and I would help,  but I didn't really mean it and I'm sure she knew that. The meat for supper was a "Stuffed Pork Loin " which will be done on the Bar-B-Q.


We originally  intended to eat on the Patio but today was very windy and 3 of the guest  attending where playing Golf and would not be available until 6 PM . By the time we would finish the "compulsory " cocktail it would be 7 PM and with the wind it would be  too cool to eat outdoors. Therefore we moved the dinner into our Motor Home, and yes, it does hold 8 people comfortable for dinner.
The Stuffed Pork loin was relished by all the guest and some of them had never had it before. Also they were surprised that we cooked it on the Bar-B-Q. There was 1/2 a loin left over so we now get to eat it for the next week. cheers

Went to MX for Glasses

I've noticed lately that I was having a hard time to see some small print on the TV so I thought I might need new glasses and Mexico prices are much less that the "Bandits " in Canada. With that in mind I send a email to my eye doctor in Med Hat, asking for my latest eye test.  Apparently  my last test was May of 2013 and I'm sure it was also a  few years since my test showed a significant    change. I know some people say that the glasses from Mexico don't meet our standard but once I tell them that the doctor is an American and that my glasses come from Phoenix,  they quickly realize they have lost the argument.
My plan was to get an eye test, order new glasses and then visit the Dentist to have a Crown installed and be home by noon. I clearly forgot I was going to MX.  No, I did not have an appointment because an  appointment doesn't  mean anything to the Dentist or Eye Doctors in MX. As we entered the Eye glass office there was one lady waiting on her husband and the clerk said it would be 10 minutes. I assumed that would be 1/2 an hour since the doctor was only doing an eye test but it took 3/4 of an hour and then he started B.S. with our friend Linda who was with us and knows the doctor.
Finally I ask the clerk if he was my doctor so she took the hint and told him I was his next customer. They never sell you glasses without doing a test even when you have your prescription from your own Dr. as they like to compare the test. Incidentally , they do not charge for an eye test in MX.


My test proved that I needed  new glasses so I picked out a pair of Titanium frames. So I got new frames with transitional , bifocals ,  with anti-glare glasses for 300.00. Since the doctor wasn't busy,  Carroll decided that she would have an eye test and she too needed new glasses. I knew she needed glasses because she can't seem to find the dish towel when I'm washing the dishes. Her glasses cost 380.00 because she has Tri-focals.


By this time I decided against going to the Dentist since it was early afternoon, so we headed for the bakery for a coffee and a donut. After that we called it a day. cheers

Alberta Party Day

20 th Feb.
After having breakfast with Harold and Cheryl we had to head back to our RV Park in Yuma as the Alberta  Group was hosting a Pot Luck "get together " for those residence of AB and for  "those who left AB for BC but wish they had stayed in AB.". ha ha .  While driving along I-10 at 120 KLM we heard  3 loud bangs which to us sounded like "Gunshots " or either that, or our car was about to explode.  We were shocked, so I immediately cruised to the shoulder and inspected my car to see if I had blown  a tire or if I had hit something. I even checked for bullet holes but could find anything wrong so we motored on without a problem. We are still puzzled but the noise.


We got back to our RV Park by 12:30 so we got busy to make a pot of potatoes for the Potluck which started at 3 PM. When we got to the AB party area we chose to sit by people we had never met just so we could get to meet others and to hear about their travel story. These "get together " are a good way to find information on new places to visit.
I drummed  up a conversation with a couple from Okotoks so I mentioned that our son lives 15 KLM east of Okotoks at a rural area called Davisburg. They shocked me when they said they never heard of it so I assumed they where new to Okotoks so I ask how long they had live there. They said 25 years so then I thought they did not hear me say " Davisburg" so I repeated it; still they never heard of it. So I explained exact how to get there; drive on a certain road which I know they have driven on as that is how you get to Calgary. I said keep going and  you will pass an Arena, then a school and then to 96 th ave and there is a 4 by 8 sign you can't miss. Still the answer was never heard of it.


Please, think about this : Is there any town, rural area or subdivision , within 15 KLM of your home  that you never heard of .  I thought, surely, I hope  we don't allow these people to Vote.? I almost ask how they found Yuma?


Rather than  wasting  my afternoon speak with this couple, I found 3 couples from the Edmonton area to talk with.   As it turned out it was a good Party  and we met a few more friends. Cheers

Cave Creek, AZ

19 th Feb


Harold and Cheryl are taking us to the Town of Cave Creek this afternoon but more about that later. Friday morning is time for ball games in the subdivision where  Harold and Cheryl  live and this area is a Sports Haven for just about any sport you care to play. However, it would be fair to say Golf, Slow Pitch and Pickle ball are the main sports. Harold is playing at noon but 3 other players from Med Hat , whom I play with/or against at home,  are playing earlier so we went down to watch them. These guys are younger than Harold and I  ( if you can use the word younger when they are 60 years old) so they play in a different division. After Harold's game he had a quick shower and then off to visit the Town of  Cave Creek. Other friend , Bob and Karen joined us as they had never been to Cave Creek.


Cave Creek was an Old Western Town   location about an hour north of Phoenix and is still considered a "Town " but is grown fast as people are moving out of the Metropolis areas to the more peaceful lifestyle . However, Cave  Creek  has "those with money"  building beautiful large homes in and around the Town. Apparently the Ice Age left Cave Creek with small mountains of large Rocks surrounding the Town and those with " Wealth " have built mansions in these rocks. It is simply amazing how any construction company got the equipment into the Rocks to built these Mansions. I wish I could send pictures of theses houses built in the rocks in the small mountains because it is fabulous area.


After a tour of this area we went to the  "New " Town site and luckily there was a 4 day  Art show display in the Town Square area , with mostly  very beautiful but expensive Artwork,  which included Art, Jewelry, Wood Carving and the like. One booth was selling cookies for 5.00 each. Anyone care for a dozen home made cookies as they are going for 60.00 a dozen. Did I mention that is Town had wealth.  After spending and hour  browsing over the Venues of Artwork ( and buying nothing ) we moved to the Original old Western Town site and it has kept the  Old Western Motif  and it too has lots of stores for the tourist to spend money and the ladies did just that. It also kept the Original Bars and restaurants and of could the parking lot of the Bars have replaced the hitching rails with parking areas for the Bikers.
If you are in the Phoenix area , I suggest you spend a day touring the Town of Cave Creek. Once you see it you will definitely recommend it to others. Cheers
 

Trip to Surprise , AZ

17 th Feb
We are going to  Surprise, AZ  tomorrow morning to visit friends so Carroll packed a few clothes for the trip. Then  we finally made it to the swimming pool for the very first time this year. Actually , Jan and the first week of Feb were just to dam cool ( not cold ) but cool to laze around the pool. The pool is heated so some brave folks did visit the pool but it was not for us until now. We will have more pool days from now on as the temperature is in the high 70's and and the low 80's which is more to my liking. Cheers




18 th Feb
We are leaving today for  a 2 day trip to Surprise, AZ to visit friends from Medicine Hat. Harold and Cheryl Enslen have invited us for a visit and have offered us to stay with them as they have a beautiful 2 bedroom condo. The subdivision  , where they live ,was built mainly for Senior who golf, play ball and any other craft that you can think of. The Condo complex where Harold and Cheryl live has its' own swimming pool and a great party area.
Harold and Cheryl hosted a potluck Bar-B-Q at the pool for us and invited 3 other couples who are also our friends from Med Hat. We haven't seen any of these folks since Oct so it was a good time to catch up on the latest "gossip " and or some real news. Cheers

Not much Happening from the 14 th ,15 th and 16 th,

Sunday


We have been in this RV Park for over a month so I  thinks are getting pretty much into a routine. On Sunday we went to the Flea Market to return the 4 by 6 carpet ( actually 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 ) which was too small and to replace it with a 5 by 7 ,  that we bought last week . The price of the larger one was the same price so obviously  the larger one was of lesser quality.
 On Sunday evenings we went to the Show to see the movie " Brooklyn " . If you haven't seen it , it is worth seeing. .  It is about a young  girl who left Ireland and immigrated to Brooklyn because of the lack of work and hopefully a better life in the USA.


Monday


I don't have a dam clue what I did beside visit a friend so he offered me a beer and I took it.


Tuesday


As mentioned earlier I play ball on Tuesday and Thursday  morning which means I have to leave  home at 8 AM so I'm at the ball park by 8:30 . The games last until close to 11 AM as most Senior do not run off and on the field between innings. In fact "Ambling " would better describe the guys I play with. I do run on and off the field but it is a lost cause as the inning doesn't stay until the last guy is ready.
After the game one of the players said he brought a 24 of ice cold beer and needed some help to drink it. Now, that's like throwing a raw steak to hunger wolf. After a couple of beer the story line is about how good we were when we were younger. But who cares ; the beer was free.
In the afternoon we held down the "chaise Lounge " chairs, otherwise known as snoozing.  About 4 PM we heard what sounded like a large party in the street over from us. Then we remember it was the Marai Grai   parade and went roight past our site so we did not even move from our chair. The parade consisted of about 10 or 12 floats ( from the Park ) all beautifully decorated, followed by men and women walking in the rear , all dress like the real Mari Grai , less the bare " boobs " on the ladies; which in hindsight was  probably the best move by the parade organizer. You don't want to ruin a good parade!!!!! Cheers

Can-Am Olympic

 10 Feb 
Anytime the Canadians play the American in sports in these RV Parks it is called the Olympic. In fact some of the guys/girls on my ball team are also in the Olympic games in their park. Yes we have a lady ( and her husband )  on our ball team and they are retired Sask farmers. She is an excellent ball player.
Back to the Olympic... these games are really a two day party  ( Seniors do like a party ) with the games on Sunday but they have a pre-game party on Saturday or as the Olympic called it "The opening ceremony ". The "opening ceremony " are a bunch of Senior putting on some skits or trying out their comedian act.
 There are 6 sports and anyone can sign up so it is actually a mix and match teams. I will be curling ( on cement ) : did you really expect ice in Yuma, with an American skips. Actually ,he lives in Northern Minnesota so he is practically a Cdn. This will be our first Olympic party so we are looking forward to it. I think it cost 12.00. Some people will gladly pay the 12.00 just to go to the "Opening Ceremonies "  but just remember , it comes with a meal. cheers


11 Feb;  How to Kill a day.
Since this is Thursday I started the day by playing ball. A ball starts at 8:30 by warming up followed by batting practices for both teams. Then the game starts and we play until 10:30 at which time both teams "bat around", which means everyone bats then the game is over and there is no winner or loser. I usually arrive back to the park by 11:00 .
Carroll decided we needed a  carpet for the MH so off we go to the Flea market where they have many good choices at a reasonable price. This flea market has all "new" stuff not like the MX market which more like a huge garage sale. We purchased a 4 by 6 carpet for 80.00 and when we got home it was determined that the carpet was too small so we will have to return it tomorrow and get the 5 by 7 one. Oh well,  that will help kill another afternoon.
After a quick trip to Fry's to fuel up the car and to pick up some items on sale, we returned to the park with our sights set on going to the pool since the temperature was crowding 80 F.
However, after having a snack, which I  chased down with a beer the chaise lounge chair became quite comfortable, so much so  that we dozed off for awhile... so much for the pool.
Shortly after a friend dropped by to say that a permanent park resident. whom we had met years ago ,  had passed away . It was kind of expected as he was 93 years old and was failing. Since he was a Navy veteran the Legion holds a military funeral complete with a 7 gun salute which is a nice touch. cheers

Nice weather as Arrived

Tuesday 9 Feb


Finally, the nice warm weather  arrived  last week ( 75F to 80F ) and as my neighbor said , this is the weather that we paid for!!!
Well, I went to play my second ball game since joining the league  so I  showed up at the diamond I was told too but I could not find any players that I recognized from the Thursday game.  It cost 2.00 a game so I seeked out the organizer too pay my money and ask what team should I report too. There are 2 diamonds back to back at each spotrs complex hence  there are 4 teams so he said just grab a dugout and warm up. Luckily I grab a dugout where the team  was short one player. Being the new guy on the team I do not get to chose the position where I would like to play, so they sent me to left field. I thought I would spend all day chasing fly ball back to the  300 foot fence. Amazingly enough I did not get one fly ball which is normally the busies position since  the majority of players hit to left field and to  Centre field.
After the game I ask both the coach and the organizer if I could stay with this team and the coach said definitely so he doesn't have to go looking for a spare every game. I find it odd that the players don't call the coach if they are not available. I'm glad I'm not the coach or maybe the team is glad I'm not the coach.


In the afternoon we received a visit from Bryan and Angie from Camrose , AB. We met them 3 years ago on our travels and we keep in touch about each others travels. They are parked in Yuma but they just returned from a 6 week trip down the Baja in their Van. They have never been to the Baja so they did not want  to pull their 37 foot RV down there since they did not know the road condition. A 37 foot RV is too large for the Baja.
We travelled  down the Baja about 10 or 12 years ago  so we were interested to hear about their trip and how it had chanced over the years. Incidentally, we are not interested in taking another trip down the Baja. Our 40 foot MH might not like it. cheers

MX flea Market

On Sunday we went to the Mexican flea Market. This flea market is located just outside Yuma city limits ( not in MX ) at the  old " Dog Track ".  The main customers are the "Latinos" who are from Yuma or  who live in the Yuma area,  of which there are many. All the other Flea markets ( 3 or 4 of them ) in Yuma all sell new stuff but the Mx Market sells a lot ( and I mean a lot )  of " Garage"  sale  items , mostly used and abused. However, they also sell new but cheap items like sox, underwear, unlimited clothes, beer and many vendors selling a MX menu. We usually have a bacon wrap hotdog and hope we can make it to the car without having a heart attack.


I'm not sure why us Snowbirds go there because it seems that we never  buy much. I guess it is like " Niagara Falls " you just have to see it for yourself. Actually, Carroll bought a few coralle  plates to bring our supply up to 8 of each size. After spending about 3 hours checking out each vendors " stuff "  we  called it a day.


On Monday it is RACE Day. The first Monday of each month is Horse Races followed by a Steak Dinner. Call to the Post is 2:45 and the Recreation hall is always a near capacity of a very enthusiastic crowd. The ticket go on sale 2 weeks before  race day but they are usually gone within an hour. The cost is 12. 00 per person and the steaks are huge. There are 6 horses in the race and they are moved by throwing dice ( one die for the horse number and one for the number of spaces to move). There are two jockeys so to speak. One to count out the spaces to move on the floor and one to move the horse.
The betting is limited to betting on 2 horse per customer , per race and each bet cost 25 cents. Therefore a couple is limited to 1.00 per race and there are 8 races so the most you can lose is  8  bucks. We lost a dollar. It is a BYOB and it is amazing how many beer you can consume when you are watching these races.


After the last race they hand out the steaks and it is a " Burn your own steak" style mean  however the Bar-B-Qs are already hot. The meal comes with bake potato and the salads. We had 4 couples at our table and one couple, Barb and Dick invited us over for coffee and desert to close out the night. cheers

Just enjoying our Winter

I know I have been lazy with my blog but it seems that some days , there is not much happening that is worth reporting but I will bring you up to date during the past few weeks.
I had to crawl under the MH to grease the U Joint and Carroll reminded me that I "Did Not "  pack " Work Jeans " so off to the Goodwill to find a  used pair of Jeans. Heck, all the used Jeans were just about as good as my so call good ones,  so for 4.00 I now have a pair of work Jeans that now qualify as everyday Jeans.
In the afternoon Carroll had an appointment to have a "Perm". So I get a 4.00 pair of used Jeans and  get a 65.00 perm. It doesn't sound fair to me.


On Thursday we finally found time to see the Show " The Revenant ". We were trying to arrange it to go with our friends but it seems that one or the other had some other arrangement. Finally we both had an opening on our dance card so we went the show and it cost 5.00 per " Senior ". I told Carroll that Popcorn and a Pop where out of the question because they cost 7.50 and I'm not paying more for Popcorn then the price of a ticket.


On Friday ( 29 Jan ) we went to a show at the Recreation Hall as there was an Irish/Canadian singer performing , doing Irish and Canadian ballets. Before the show he was walking around saying hello to several people and he spotted me at the back of the room so he stop to chat. I ask where in Ireland was he born  ( Dublin ) and then of course I said my Dad was from Belfast ( or near By ) and that I had visited Ireland 3 times . That got us talking about Beer and he ask if I had tasted Guinness. I said that I had tried  it,  but I could not drink the stuff, which made him gasp. During the show he centered me out as having been to Ireland and had an Irish father but did not like Guinness.


When I got back to the MH at 9:30 PM I seen a note on my computer to say to call home to my family in Ontario and of course I thought the worst. The bad news was that my youngest brother had died of a Heart Attack that afternoon. Needless to say Carroll and I had a bad few days.


On the weekend we spent much of the time watching the Ladies curling and trying find a flight home to my brothers funeral. I did not realize how difficult it is to get a flight out of Yuma that did not include a 7 hour wait in Houston or a 6 hour wait in O'Hara in Chicago at an over-priced cost. After speaking with my brother's wife we decided that I would not need to fly home.


I have been thinking about playing with the Senior Slo-Pitch league in Yuma so I checked the diamonds and dropped in to watch a game to make sure the quality of the players was about my level and it is. Several of the players seen me standing near the dugout and said "where is your glove" , we need players. So I called the Recreation Centre and was told to show up with two dollars and I would be put on a team. As I walked into the dugout the coach introduce himself and the guy standing behind him was Garry Anderson from Medicine Hat, and of course was surprised to both of us.


On Feb 5 and 6 we went to MX as Carroll wanted to visit a dentist  to have  some dental work checked out and I needed a cleaning. The dentist in Med Hat gave Carroll an estimate of 3,000.00 to install a bridge or an implant. Since we have had dental work done in MX several times we know the quality was equal to dental work  at home but much less expensive, hence the reason we are going to MX.
The Mexican town of Allgodones is about a 20 minute from our Camp site but you have to drive 8 miles into California to enter this town. Then you have to pay 6.00 to park and walk thru the border. Thirteen years ago we use to pay 1.00 to park but the land is owned the Indians so they got smart and realized us  Snowbird with pay any price just to get a cheap hair cut and a dollar beer.


When you enter MX there are no customs to check you into the country and this is quite a surprise to people going there for the first time. However, once you cross the border you are bombardment with people trying to convince you to visit a preferred Dentist, Pharmacist, and  Optometrist, not to mention a host of vendors trying to sell everything from ladies purse, jewelry and Sports apparel. The most prevalent apparel for a Canadian team is for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.


Carroll's dentist checked out her teeth and did not think the Bridge was required yet but they did an x-ray to check it out and noticed that another tooth had a bad cavity and would require a Crown. So Carroll went for the Crown at a cost of 200.00 ( USD ) . They take one day to prepare the tooth and take the impression and then another appointment the next day to install the crown. Try to get a Crown done in Canada in 2 days.
While I had an hour to kill I went to my dentist that I have visited several times in the last 10/12 years. She has done several crowns and two root canals for me so I have trust in her work. I had a teeth cleaning but was given an estimate for more work that needs to be done which  includes 3 crowns, a new bridge to replace the one I had installed 25 years ago and a new upper plate, again 25 years old , plus the requirement   of the two crowns at a cost of 2200,00 USD. I probably will not have any of the work done this year.  Cheers  
 

Lazy Days ; Someone has to do it

The next few days are pretty just trying to enjoy the fact that you are in the sunny south , even the weather in Medicine Hat is excellent for this time of year.
Saturday:   We just whiled away the day waiting to go to the Rock-a-Billy concert in the evening. It was a great concert that was a Salute to Sun Records. This little Recording Company produced some superstars like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and B.B. Lewis. The Band did an excellent job replicating these singers and they told some interesting stories about the life of each singer how they got to the top of their field. It cost 18.00 a ticket and was worth the admission.

Sunday:  Sunday evening we were invited to a supper by our friends ( Vi and Stan ) from Sask. They were hosting a supper for a couple who are returning to BC due to a health issue. There were  4 couples plus the host and hostess and it was a great meal of Ribs. It a great way to finish of a Sunday and to say goodbye to Ken and Lenora. You always feel bad when someone has to leave for health reasons.

Monday and Tuesday. Hell,  I can't even remember what the heck we  did so it could not have been very exciting. Well, we will just call it too lost days during our 95 day stay in Yuma. cheers