CASA GRANDE Friday December 26, 2008

Well hello all. It is boxing day and we spent the day relaxing and trying to digest the amount of food we ate yesterday. I spent the day playing a little poker, watching a litte TV and of course catching up on the Blog. Kathy was a little more ambitious as she got up a lot earlier than I did and I will be having home made turkey soup tomorrow. Thank you, thank you.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day have come and gone for another year and it is nice to be with some of my family again this year.

Christmas Eve Kathy and I spent Christmas eve doing a little shopping at the outlet mall in and fortunately not much damage was done to our pocket books. It was very nice weather wise and as a result quite enjoyable walking around the mall as it was an outdoor mall. We left the mall and headed over to the grocery store to get the necessities for Xmas breakfast and Xmas dinner. Kathy spent the evening making pies for Xmas and I did my part by watching her do it.

On Christmas morning Kathy and I had our traditional breakfast of Eggs Benedict with Canadian Back Bacon with hash browns. This year however we had guests as the Cribbs and the Howards joined us for our tradional Xmas breakfast. It was a little cozy in the RV but went a lot smoother than I expected. Nobody got hurt from the closeness and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I know anytime I am getting eggs benedict I am enjoying myself.


















We spent the remainder of the day trying to digest our breakfast quickly so we could do it all over again at supper. The breakfast crew met at the Cribbs for Xmas dinner or should I say feast. The meal was stupendous and most of us ate too much and it was funny watching every one of us waddle around. We tried to find Christmas Crackers or Pary Crackers or whatever they are called, you pull both ends and they go off like a fire cracker and inside you will find a party hat. Ricky Donny was very pleased we couldn't find any until he found out Kathy had made party hats for everyone. However he was a good sport and wore one. It was an excellent meal and start to the evening.





























Once dinner was over we did a tacky gift exchange with no gifts costing more that $ 10. The premise of the gift exchange is that once you pick a gift you can then exchange it for any gift already picked. As it turned out we all ended up with the gifts we brought. It was still good for some laughs as the gifts were pretty tacky.





























After dinner the girls challenged us to a rematch of Cranium and you can judge from the picture below who came out victorious again. In fact it was another runaway as the boys cruised to finish late with no pressure. Then to add insult to injury we played a game of Trivial Pursuit with the same teams and of course with the same results. I don't think we will be challenged again.

CASA GRANDE Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008

We hit the links again today and the highlight of the day was that ROD beat RICK. Again let me repeat Rod beat Rick. I believe that the last and only time was in 1990 in Whitby, Ontario. I know, I know, it is embarrassing to admit that it has been that long since I last won. However I believe the trend has changed and it will be a common occurance in the future.

The weather was a little colder but we dodged the rain and it turned out to be a good day especially because Rod beat Rick. The course was nice, it wasn't that long but the greens were very fast making putting very tricky.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We returned from golf to do a little barbequing on Rick's real BBQ with charcoal. There is no better way to cook a steak. After dinner we just relaxed and Kathy watched a little TV and I replayed the day of golf in my mind. The day where the trend changed and Rod beat Rick.

Relaxing after Golfing















This is Rick, the guy I beat in golf

CASA GRANDE Monday Dec. 22, 2008

It's Monday and it is a workday for me and after spending some time on the phones I was able to take a break and update the blog. We had a wonderful day on Sunday, the weather was good, we spent some time outside and then got together with friends and family for a wonderful dinner.

The day started with Kathy getting the RV all decorated for Xmas and it does look very nice. I'm not sure where she stored the tree and all the decorations but it does give the place a very xmasy feeling. I guess that means that Santa will have to show up now.



































While Kathy was decorating I was outside and spotted the same almost extinct, very rare belliusbeerus that is usually found in warmer weather at this time of year. In fact I think I saw the same one in South Texas last year. He was chasing shiny yellow cans. You have to be careful around this time of year because if the weather changes for the worse, he tends to be very cranky and cantankerous. I am not sure but in cold weather he could be dangerous.



























A Rare Site - A belliusbeeris getting excercise

In the late afternoon we went over to Cliff and Gayle Cribbs place for a wonderful dinner. Gayle cooked up rack of lamb with baked potatoes and asparagus. It was superbly prepared and there was lots so needless to say I made a pig of myself. I almost didn't have room for the Strawberry Rhubarb pie. Almost.

I would like to thank our hosts Cliff and Gayle for a wonderful meal. I was also informed by the belliusbeerus that the Cribbs are from Camrose and not Edmonton. My apologies.







Our Hosts - Gayle and Cliff Cribb










After dinner, the inner child in all of us came out and we pulled out the game Cranium. This game gives everyone a chance to make a fool of themselves and believe me we did. The women challenged us men to a game and dispite our telling them it was a foolish idea they proceeded with the challenge. They just didn't realize that we men had been making a fool of ourselves all our lives and therefore this game was a piece of cake. The men took an early lead and then just continued to roll over the women. Dispite the runaway victory it was still a lot of fun with many laughs by all.















































The Victorious Team

CASA GRANDE, AZ 2008

We travelled from Tombstone to Casa Grande on Friday, December 17, 2009 and arrived in the middle of the afternoon. We met up with Peg and Rick and set up at the Fiesta Grande RV park and I think our arrival lowered the average age in the park. After setting up we went for supper at the Olive Garden with Peg and Rick and got caught up on all the family news and gossip. She is the disignated Mother Hen for the family and all news and gossip ends with her. It is good to be travelling with them again as it was exactly one year ago that we meet up with them and travelled around the southern part of Texas.

Prior to going to dinner on Friday we met friends of Peg and Rick that are staying at the resort for most of the winter. Their names are Cliff and Gayle Cribb, two very nice people from Edmonton who are retired and enjoying the good life.







Peg and Ricks Motor Home and our 5th Wheel set up at the RV Park.

Saturday turned ou to be mostly a day of rest with the exception of a few chores that had to been done. I spent a fair amount of the day on the phone with customers and got a lot accomplished. We went for a bike ride in the late afternoon, had an early supper, watched a little TV and then called it a night. I needed to have an early night as we are going golfing on Sunday.

Sunday was a fun day. We headed out to the the municipal golf course for an 11:00 AM tee off and the weather was being very cooperative and it turned out to be a fabulous day. Any day I can wear shorts is a good day weather wise. The course was very forgiving so I scored a little better than I normally do but I still lost $ 3 dollars. Again like last year Peg was taking care of the money management and again like last year her husband got all the money. Hmmmm seems like another pattern is developing here.

Overall it was a great day and the only problem was getting Rick's head back into the truck for the ride home. He shot 36 on the front nine which is par. I know the score was real for two reasons. 1) I was riding in the same cart with him and 2) Cliff was keeping score.
He did come back to earth or as he put it, the wheels fell off on the back nine. I guess he really did deserve my three bucks.


After we finished at the golf course we had to hurray back because we were registered for the Saturday Poker Tournement here at the resort. Peg, Rick and myself played but none of us came in the money, Peg was the last one to get knocked out. It was still a fun night and a fun day.




Cliff and Rick getting ready to head out.

%#$*&^%$# Stupid Game







What a Putt!












If only I could putt.!!!!!






I hate these sharp corners

BISBEE, AZ 2008

Well it happened again. We had planned to get an early start this morning but it was 10:45 AM before we got moving. Hmmm seems to be a pattern.

Our first stop this morning was the San Pedro Riparioan National Conservation Area which is said to be home to more than 4o species of mammals and retiles and hundreds of species of birds. However as a result of our late start most of the birds had left for the day and the same with the animals. Therefore I was only able to one shot of a good looking bird ( see picture # 1 )

Upon completion of our tour of the wildlife sanctuary we headed into Bisbee, AZ. Bisbee is a small tourist town but at one time was a booming mining town that produced huge amounts of copper. It started with tunnel mining and as the density of the copper dimished strip mining became the method of operations. At one time there was over 40,000 people in Brisbee.

Bisbee claims to have the worlds best climate with the average yearly low of 34 degrees and the average high being 89 degrees.

We spent the afternoon touring the mining museums and walking along the main street. We did a little shopping and stopped for coffee before heading back to the RV. All in all it was a good day.

Tomorrow we head for Casa Grande to meet up with Peg and Rick.

Picture # 1 - A shot of a good looking bird.

Pictures # 2, 3 & 4 - Shots of downtown Bisbee

Pictures # 5, 6 & 7 - Remains from strip mining just outside of downtown Bisbee.

TOMBSTONE, AZ 2008

We headed into Tombstone for the day but not before we stocked up on fat with a hearty breakfast of Eggs, Pancakes and Jimmy Dean Turkey sausages topped off with authenic maple syrup. As a result it was not the earliest start but it was a fun day. We spent the day in the city of Tombstone and I was amazed at how well they had maintained the authenticy. Most of the buildings are originals with as little change as possible when having to do any kind of up keep.

We started off taking in a 25 minute documentary narrated by Vincent Price about the start of Tombstone, how it was rebuilt after 2 devastating files and started to get the name of "The town that was too tough to die". The town was originally started due to huge finds of Silver but flooding forced the mines to close and then the only thing that kept the town going was that it was the county seat. When that moved in the late 1800's there wasn't much to keep it going and it finally transformed into a tourist town.

We then headed down to the Crystal Palace Saloon for lunch. This saloon was a favorite of Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp and others. It was said that Doc Holiday ran a Faro game out of this saloon. Again they have done a good job of keeping it as original as possible.

After lunch we headed down to the OK Corral for a 35 minute show of "The gunfight at the OK Corral". It was pretty well done and worth the nonimal fee that they charged. The amazing aspect was how close all the shooters were to each other and the fact that not everyone was killed. There is still an argument going on over whether the Earps were good guys or bad guys.

Upon completion of the Earps killing everyone we walked the town doing a little shopping, well actually looking before heading out to Boot Hill. It is not actually a boot hill as much as it is just their cementary. The people who dies in the OK Corral fight are buried there.

We are now at home resting up for another day of the touristy thing tomorrow.

Picture # 1 - Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. Well at least the actors who portray them in the daily show.

Picture # 2 - This stagecoach still runs up and down the main street of Tombstone and people can get off and on.

Picture # 3 - A shot of the main street of Tombstone

Picture # 4- A grave in Boot hill. Actually it is the grave of the three people killed at "The Gunfight at the OK Corral" The main one being Billy Clanton.

HEADING FOR ARIZONA

It's Monday, December 15th and we have just arrived at Tombstone Territory RV park which is outside of Tombstone, AZ. We arrived here after three days of travel through some pretty severe winds which had a huge effect on our mileage. We only were able to get about 7 miles to the gallon for the first two days but then the winds softened and we get back to normal. Good thing as I was tired of going from gas station to gas station. The only good point was the diesel is down to anywhere from a low of $ 2.09 to a high of $ 2.29

We did not get as good a start as we wanted so we only got to Odessa the first night and then with the time change made it into Deming, NM the next day. We stayed at the Little Vineyards RV park which is just off the highway. It is quite a nice little park for the money.

Today we had a short drove of about 190 miles and during our drive we came to Texas Canyon which is just inside the Arizona border. It is located in Cochise Country, Arizona about 20 miles east of Benson, AZ on I-10 and lies between the Little Dragoon Mountains on the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south.

Known for its giant granite bolders, the canyon frequently attracts rock hounds and photographers. The stagecoach route of the Butterfield Overland Mail passed through Texas Canyon from 1858 until the outbreak of the Civel War in 1861 when the stage line suspended operations. Historically within the range of the Chiricahua Apache. Cochise made his last stronghold near hear in the Dragoon Mountains during the mid 1870's.

Tomorrow we head into Tombstone to do the touristy thing.


TEXAS CANYON

THANKSGIVING IN TEXAS

Hello everyone. I haven't been on much as we just continue to carry on waiting for the end of March and then we head north. I had planned to post some pictures and talk about the excellent Thanks Giving Dinner we had at Eddie and Anna Melissari's house but unfortunately my flash card was not in securely and therefore no pictures.

However as I said earlier it was an excellent dinner and fun was had by all and our thanks go out to them.

We are heading out next Saturday ( Dec 13th ) and are heading for Casa Granda, Arizona to meet up with my sister and her husband and will be there until the 7th of January when we head back to Dallas.

Will post more of our trip to Arizona starting next week.

THE CAMPER

Hello All. Not much has been happening in the last couple of months as we are just waiting until March and total retirement. Our first major trip after March is going to be Alaska and as we do not want to take our 5th wheel up there we had decided the best method would be a truck camper. Therefore the reason for this portion of the blog. We have a truck camper.

We purchased a used 2002 Lance on ebay and then we had to go to Frankfort, Michigan to pick it up. It was a nice supprise to arrive and find out the camper was everything it was advertised to be. It has hardly been used and is very good shape. The plan is to use the camper on more rugged territory and for dry camping where there are no campsites.

We had to pick the camper up in upper Michigan in a town called Frankfort. We arrived on a Saturday morning and met with George and Kathy Sorenson, two very nice people who were selling the camper for their dad. It was not a good time for them as their Dad had recently passed away but still they gave us all the time we needed to learn and understand everything about the camper. George and Kathy if you read this, our thoughts and prays are with you both.

The town of Frankfort is on the east side of Lake Michigan and has a fantastic little harbor. Unfortunately it was a rainy and foggy day so I did not get any real good pictures. The drive up to Michigan was an exercise in endurance as we drove 710 on a Thursday and the balance of the trip (550 miles ) was done on Friday. Most of Friday was driven through torrential rain and at time was quite scary. We spent Saturday working on the camper to get it ready for travel and then headed home on Sunday.

THE CAMPER

FRANKFORT, MICHIGAN

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VISIONS OF GRANDEUR IN LAS VEGAS

A few ( four ) of the boys from the Thursday night, sometimes Monday night, poker group invaded Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker over 50 Texas Hold Em tournement. We all arrived full of enthusiasm and with visions of grandeur AND this lasted until about 11pm on the first day when the last of us was eliminated. Personally I was knocked out around 10pm in 490th place out of 2218 entrants. I was not displeased.

However, it was amazing to walk into a series of rooms and see up to 4 tournements going on at the same time with upwards of 5000 people milling about, both participating and observing. The tournement was very well organized and well run allowing everyone to get the most out of the experience.

Overall, a good time was had by all. We got to play in a few tournements, ate some good food and enjoyed one anothers company. We did spent most of the time indoors as the average daytime temperature was 105 degrees.

I met a lot of very nice people from all over the world and I hope I run into them next year as I will definitely return next year. A good time was had by all.

The Combatants: Mark, Mohammed, Eddie, Yours Truly

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR (so far )

We have had a pretty uneventful spring since returning from Mexico ( aside of the tornado ). We are still staying at the Vineyards in Grapevine for now but we have to move for 11 days and we are going down to Arlington KOA and then back to Grapevine. We plan to stay here for the balance of the year.

NOW, for the highlight. ROD HAS A NEW BBQ.

I know, sad isn't it. However you just can't cook a steak properly if it isn't on a BBQ.

As we are not travelling much at this point I won't be posting until I return from Vegas near the end of June. I am playing in the over 50 World Series of Poker which is being held on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June. Wish me luck.