Back in Tucson

We had such a wonderful time in Sacramento visiting with our daughter, family, and friends for Christmas.  We got to spend some quality time with our girl.  Melissa had a short list of items she wanted her Dad to take care of while we were in town LOL.  Actually, the items got checked off the list rather easily which made John happy and at virtually no cost to Melissa which made her happy.  

As we stayed with Bonnie and Butch, we got some good visiting in with them as well.  I was able to set up a wireless network for them and hook up an external hard drive that they've had around for two years.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time staying in the Aliner as it was like old times and felt like having a private suite.  We could have moved in to the house after the Kinnears left but chose to stay put where we were.  Thanks again you two for opening your home up to us.

We got good check-ups from the dentist, we both were able to meet up with our former co-workers which was fun, but sadly, we didn't get to see some folks we had hoped to meet up with.  It seemed like we were always on the go and hit the bed exhausted each night.  Whew, this whirlwind visiting is tiring.

With hugs all around, it was time to load up to begin the trek back to Tucson.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated as we had good travel days.  

Dorothy said "there's no place like home" to which John and I totally agree.

From us to you

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We hope your day is a joyous one filled with a lot of love and laughter. 

Enjoying family and friends

We left Tucson at the crazy hour of 4:30 a.m. Friday morning as we knew we had an incredibly long day's drive.  All was well as we drove through Arizona and in to Southern California.  Traffic was moving well through Los Angeles until we were 1 3/4 miles from our turn to yet another LA freeway.  Traffic came to a sudden standstill.  About 15 minutes later, the CHP was directing all the freeway traffic up an onramp.  We were grateful we didn't have the trailer behind us as the turn and traffic would have made the experience very tough.  We had no idea where we were but kept our wits about us and just ran parallel with the freeway for a ways until we could get back on the freeway and let Genie (our Garmin) take back over.

As we drove over an overpass and looked back towards the freeway, we couldn't see any accident but just a lot of emergency vehicles.  Hmm.  Soon we were back on the freeway and what we saw was rather shocking considering this is the I-210 in Los Angeles about 1 p.m.:

No traffic in front of us at all.  It felt like we were some of the lone survivors of some disaster. Via my phone, I was able to learn that there was a despondent 16 year old that had climbed on the outside of a fenced overpass and was threatening to jump.  Thankfully, the emergency workers were able to talk him out of jumping but what a back-up he caused.  

As we intersected with Hwy 58 in the Mojave Desert, you could see what looked like blue water off in the distance.  What a mirage? This is the middle of the desert.

What all the "blue" was were solar panels.  Thousands of them generating power.  Probably a very good location especially in the winter when the sun isn't as intense.

After a 13 hour day, we finally landed in Bakersfield.  Boy, were we tired but at least day one was done.  As we only have a shower in our fifth wheel, we both enjoyed a long soak in the tub . . . ah such an indulgence.  John likes to say he hasn't had a bath in a year ha, ha, ha.

When we got up in the morning and headed out to get on I-5, the fog was so dense that you could barely see a few feet in front of you.  Still, the truckers and others went barreling down the road as if they had a clear line of sight.  Crazy; that is how bad pile ups happen.  We pulled off the road a couple of times to let the crazy ones pass. 

We had to stop for fuel and decided we would sit it out a bit with some breakfast.  When we we got back on the road, the fog had burned off quite a bit so that it felt so much safer driving at freeway speeds.

It was so nice to pull up to Bonnie and Butch's house and to know that the "road trip" was done for now.  We were greeted at the door by Bonnie and the most recent adorable addition to our family, Emma (almost 16 months).  It was a while later that Melissa came over to visit.  How nice to be able to visit with her in person and be able to give her hugs.

Bonnie's birthday was on Sunday and it was sort of a landmark year.  No, I'm not telling how landmark.  What a joyful birthday celebration she had.  Bonnie's daughter and son, performed an original song that had all of us in complete laughter.  What fun! The only missing components were granddaughter, Jacqueline, who was home with the flu and her mom, Jen, who was tending to her :-(  Later in the afternoon, the biggest surprise was to learn that Emma is going to be a big sister sometime in August.  Woo Hoo another baby to add to the family.  Congrats Team Kinnear.

We've got doctor and dentist visits scheduled for this week along with spending time with Melissa (she has a Dad to do list) and visiting with friends.  It is going to be a busy week.  Looking forward to it all.

What a difference a year makes

We were told by the weatherman that a year ago today the day's high was 85 degrees.  Today's high was lucky to have reached 50 degrees.  It was rain, rain, and more rain.  For the first time, we actually saw the rivers (large washes) with water running in them along with a lot of street closures.  The plus side to all this moisture is that the desert is primed for lots of blooms this spring.  

Rick, Y, John, and I had scheduled our Christmas luncheon for today so that is why we ventured out and about in the bad weather.  Rick and Y were going up to Casa Grande to visit friends on Wednesday so that is why we stuck to our plans as Thursday is packing day.  We all leave on Friday for our respective destinations.  We will be heading west and Rick and Y will be heading east; oddly enough, we will be traveling roughly the same distances.   

Cold temps, holiday lights and more

The first six days of December here in Tucson set a record for the coldest days on record for December.  Even John has been wearing long pants to which everyone comments that it must be cold if John isn't wearing shorts LOL. 

We've been keeping a rather low profile but have ventured out in the past few days. We were going to see the holiday lights at Tohono Chul Botantical Garden but got rained out last Saturday evening - darn it.  Thursday evening, we went to Reid Park Zoo to partake in Zoo Lights with Rick and Y.  The zoo is all decorated up with lights and displays as well as holiday music being performed by local school children.  Other than being rather chilly, it was a nice stroll. We really didn't get to see the zoo so we might have to go back after the first of the year. We did get to hear the male lion and tiger roaring as I don't think they liked their peace and quiet being disturbed by all the people.  Here are a few pictures which really don't do the zoo decorations justice:

After the zoo, we stopped in at Denny's for some warm beverages and the guys had dessert.  It felt good to hold a warm cup of tea in my hands to help warm up my fingers.  It was a nice outing with friends.

Friday afternoon we headed out with Rick and Y and went to 4th Ave Street Fair.  They close down 4th Ave and vendors set up shop in the middle of the street and off on to side streets. We parked at nearby parking facility and took a free shuttle to 4th Ave.  So glad we did because traffic was terrible and parking non-existent or very expensive.  We saw many interesting and unique items.  Living in an RV precludes one from much more than looking but if we had a sticks and bricks home, look out LOL as I would have been really tempted by some of the creations.

Friends, Bruce and Jenna, invited us to go to Lazy Days new Tucson location (formerly Beaudry RV) as they were having RV representatives, seminars, and lots of RVs to look at this weekend.  There is a fifth wheel brand that Bruce and Jenna are interested in and wanted to talk to the representative and hoped to see a few more models.  Needless to say, we had to check it out, too.  The presentation of the rig was very nice, amenities were nice, but there were a few items of concern that only full-timers really pay attention to. It was funny watching Bruce and John crawling around the fifth wheel looking at this and that.  Thank goodness we are not in the market for another rig!!! John and I sat in on a seminar for a company that leads caravan groups to Alaska.  The caravan itself is very expensive and not really our style but the information was good.   When we caught back up with Bruce and Jenna, they were back talking to the representative.  A short time later it was time for dinner and Lazy Days had a spread available for all attendees: coleslaw, beans, BBQ chicken, rolls, and apple pie along with live entertainment which made talking/listening rather difficult. We didn't know this was a benefit to attending their weekend event and as we were all starving, it was most appreciated and tasty also. 

Soon we will be heading to Sacramento to visit with our daughter, other family and friends for Christmas.  We can't wait to see everyone.