My dog, Neal, part 2

Well, Neal had another and his last seizure (for now) at 7 a.m. Fell right into his food dish. When he was able to eat, it took forever. He wanted his food right then, and since his meds are in the food, I wanted him to eat it. He couldn't stand up, he dumped his water bowl and scattered food all over. I ended up picking most of it up and hand feeding him today. We've seen enough of them to note a pattern and that's why I say he is done for now. They are really nasty, but he seems to recover quicker. He is considerably weaker afterwards however. I had been giving him ice cream afterwards, but it's hard to keep it in our freezer. The ice cream helps to boost the blood sugar. The seizures are the equivalent energy-wise of running a marathon. A neighbor suggested honey since it is natural and said that is what her daughter gives her dog. So I tried that. Course Neal loved it and I had to clean his face, my hands, etc., when he was done. And that was just a teaspoon!

We are in for the night, stopping just south of Birmingham. Had wanted to get further, but decided to get some much needed rest and start out fresh tomorrow.

Thanks for all your kind words everyone, but I'm nobody special. I just love my dogs, same as you. :-)

Till next time. . .

Dale

My dog, Neal

Those of you who follow my blog know I travel with two Scottish Terriers. Bailey is black and Neal is my wheaten Scottie. Neal is handicapped with a condition known as cerebellar abiotrophy which presents itself a lot like Parkinson's. There is no pain associated with it, just gradual loss of voluntary muscle movement.

Neal also has the misfortune of being an epi-dog, one with seizures. It is 4 a.m. and I have been up since 1:45. He is clustering, having the first one at 5:00 p.m. as we were getting ready to go to the potluck. Then another at 10 p.m. and then this one at 2 a.m. This time, he manifested the post-ictal phases very prominently. . . lots of pacing, needing to go out, thirsty, etc. He has added a new one, and that is barking. Not exactly what I want to hear at 3 a.m. I have taken him out twice. He also seems to have the munchies and I think that is why he is barking. He wants fed. But that is not going to happen. I gave him a treat, and now. . . some 2 hours after it all started. . . he has finally laid down his weary head. . . and I for some reason seem wide awake.

With tomorrow a travel day, I know I will be wiped out. I made Terry stay in bed and told him he would be driving tomorrow. . . er. . . today. Oh yes, and on top of this, we had to turn our clocks up one hour, which actually gives me one less hour of sleep. But our travel days are no more than 200 miles and that is all that is planned for tomorrow, so I can make it through that.

Here's hoping Neal is done with the seizures for now. It's been over a month since his last and we had boosted his meds. Just no accounting for these blasted seizures, though.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Light my Fire!

As we were getting ready to leave Rainbow Plantation, a fellow blogger, Susan, stopped by to meet us. She and I have been following each other's blogs for several months and we are so glad she stopped to introduce herself. We got to meet her husband, Jack, as well.
Meeting up with fellow fulltimers you read about on the web is one of the perks of traveling like we do. Eventually we said our goodbyes and we were on our way. We headed out toward I-10 to make the lower Alabama RV.net rally in Dothan.

We crossed Escambia Bay around Pensacola around noon. This bridge was taken out during Hurricane Ivan, I think, and the last time we were here, parts were missing. We were on the side that got hit and they just had open grating down, so it was a little nerve racking.
From the bridge we could see smoke and knew they were having wildfires in Florida, but we just crossed the bridge by about a couple miles and they closed the interstate in front of us. It was I-10. We were about 1/4 mile from where the fire was working toward the interstate and we had a few anxious moments.
The cops were letting people turn around in the median, but in Florida they don't have any crossovers. I got out and was talking to some of the truck drivers and they recommended at our weight, we not try turning in the median. As luck would have it, we could see back behind us many trucks had made the turn, but one was now stuck. It was a car hauler. The one trucker was really nice. . . he was right beside us and he asked if we had to be anywhere. I said, "Nope, we are good to stay." He said that's what he was doing because he was too heavy to go through the median. Eventually all of the car and small truck traffic in front of us turned, but we stayed where we were. After about an hour, the smoke started to thin, and they started letting traffic go through. So we got through and we passed by the fire. It didn't look like a forest fire, but looked like a grass fire, although it had at one point leaped across the road and burned on the other side too.

We arrived in Dothan at the Peanut Festival Grounds and set up camp. Got to meet up with Mark and Patsie (2stepr) Not sure how he spells it. Our rally here starts tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Stars Fell on Alabama!

We left Gary and Jo's yesterday morning and arrived at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama, around 2 p.m. Set up camp and wandered into Foley, Alabama, to the outlet stores. Did a little shopping and found a pair of shoes.

This morning we headed west to Fairhope for Terry to get his blood work done. We had no trouble locating the LabCorp and he was the only one in there, so he was out very quickly. We drove around Fairhope which is a quaint little town. They have a downtown area and we saw NO stores boarded up out of business. There apparently is a push by Wal-Mart to open a store in Fairhope and people are divided as to whether it should be permitted. We saw "Welcome Wal-Mart" and "Say NO to Wal-Mart" signs all over.

We visited the outlet stores again and found more shoes for me and Terry and I both got some new jeans. . . retired attire. :-)

When we returned to the camp, we washed the motorhome. . . big, big job. Makes we wish we had a van-camper. Hah. We also washed the little car. Hosed down the awning mats and now everything is ready to go tomorrow. We are breaking camp around 9 a.m. tomorrow and heading for the Peanut Festival Grounds in Dothan, Alabama, to the Lower Alabama RV.net rally. Yay. Rally Time.

Till next time. . .

Dale

On the go with Gary and Jo!

We are in Zachary, Louisiana, at cousin Gary and wife Jo's. We arrived Saturday and set up camp in their back yard. They have 40 acres, I think he said. Since we were here last fall, Gary wired us a 50 amp plug. How's that for service? So plugging in is a breeze. Gary is a charter fishing captain who hasn't fished since Katrina wiped out the fishing camp, but things are slowing getting back to normal down in Leeville, about 20 miles from Grand Isle, Louisiana. Part of the state park at Grand Isle is open. . . there is no longer any beachfront camping and I think the bathhouses were destroyed. I believe a lot of people have left the island for good now, but they did have their own school system and Gary is not sure if the school is running yet or if the students have been relocated. I would like to go see it right now, but we are heading to a rally is Alabama next weekend, so we won't make it this year.

Yesterday we went to the park here in Zachary for a reenactment. We have been to a few in the past, but this one was different and it was quite large. We got to see some demonstrations and visited with a lot of the reenactors. They are really quite passionate about portraying history and most are very well versed about the role of the various companies in the battles.

Today Jo has to go to work :-( so we will probably hang out with Gary and get our mail. We will leave here tomorrow (if the mail comes today) and head toward the Alabama rally.

Till next time. . .

Dale

One-Armed Bandits

Yes, that's right. . . we are at another casino. . . heh, heh, heh. Left Beaumont yesterday and drove about 100 miles to Kinder, Louisiana. We are camped at the RV Resort at the Coushatta Indian Casino just north of town. The campgrounds affiliated with casinos are for the most part very nice. They are spacious, full hookups with all the amenities, nice facilities and usually a very good value. They hope, of course, that you will go spend all your money at the casino. But that doesn't happen with us.

We set up camp yesterday around noon and just hung around here, getting a walk in and letting the dogs out to get some air. The only problem has been the weather. WHERE IS THIS COLD COMING FROM? Ever since we left Victoria, the weather has turned cold. Had to have the furnaces on. Last night we put the boyz in the bathroom, so we only had to run one furnace. They don't mind. It's nice and cozy that way. It did rain yesterday too, which made it cold and wet, but we have seen so little rain, we weren't really upset about it.

Today dawned cold again, but not wet. Even the grass was dry when we got up. We had breakfast and took our time getting ready to go to the casino. We left just before lunch. We spent several hours there. We didn't win too much. In fact, we were in danger of losing our entire $20 we allot ourselves, so we decided to take in their buffet. After dinner, we hit some machines on the way out; and, as luck would have it, Terry had a hot machine. He won back $20, so it was about a break even day. I figure we had about 4 hours of free (or near free) entertainment. Not bad.

We will be here till Saturday then we are going to travel to Zachary, Louisiana, and drop in on Terry's cousin, Gary and his wife Jo. We saw them in the fall and will stop for a night or two to say hello.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Leaving Victoria, Arriving Beaumont, Texas

While we were in Victoria we took time to do a little siteseeing. We drove down to Port Lavaca one afternoon. We got to see the ocean and we weren't disappointed. We drove out to Magnolia Beach and found several RVers boondocking on the beach. Most of them were Canadians. Boondocking on the beach really intrigues us, but we aren't quite sure about the salt spray on the coach. Don't want to purposely subject it to corrosive materials.

Yesterday we drove over to Goliad which was the site of a massacre of Texas Revolutionary militia under the command of Fannin by Santa Anna. We visited a mission and then the presidio, where the doomed prisoners were kept. The entire presidio has been reconstructed to appear as it was in the 1800's. It is quite impressive and the church is beautifully restored.

This morning we left Victoria at 9 a.m. We headed toward Houston and arrived there around 11. We chose to take the toll road around Houston which turned out to be a good choice. Total cost was $15.75, but the piece of mind with Terry driving was worth it. He doesn't normally drive the big cities, but he was at the wheel and decided to stick with it. The toll road was not heavily traveled and we got around Houston easier than Indy. We are in the Gulf Coast RV Resort at Beaumont, Texas. Tomorrow we head toward Kinder where we have reservations in the casino campground.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Victoria, Texas!

We enjoyed our stay in San Antonio. We met up Janice and Dean (luv2cruise) and the six of us had a great time there. Janice fixed red beans with rice and sausage one night. Patti and I added a salad and cake, so we really enjoyed a feast. One of the greatest things about full timing is the friends you make along the way. Mickey and Patti, Janice and Dean are good examples. We never knew them before, but now we share this great lifestyle and we meet up periodically and do things together.

One day I took Janice and Dean and Patti and drove the Mission Trail. This is the site along the San Antonio River at which these missions were built. It extends for several miles. There are five including the Alamo. They are located south of the city proper and are in various stages of restoration. All four of the churches are quite impressive and masses are held regularly.
You can also book them for baptisms and weddings, etc. The missions all were built as compounds with walls, quarters, granaries, etc. They are definitely worth a visit. They are not generally crowded. It is one of the most impressive and inspirational visits I have made to an "attraction" and it is free. It is not a tourist trap, but remnants of life long ago.

We left San Antonio this morning and arrived in Victoria, Texas, around noon.
We had planned on going to Corpus Christi, but our experience with spring breakers in San Antonio convinced us we didn't want to chance running into crowds out on the Gulf.We plan to be here until Monday when we should get our mail.

(Bailey takes time to smell the roses.)

San Antonio Rocks!

Yesterday afternoon we took Patti and Mickey to San Antonio to see the Alamo. Man, oh, man. Talk about a crowd. No parking anywhere, every lot was full. I guess spring break is in full swing. (Note to self. . . must plan better when it comes to the working man's vacation schedule.) There was a long line outside the Alamo, so decided to try to find something else to do. Another place on the list was the El Mercado. We were able to find a "reasonable" parking spot for that and walked a block. I have no idea what they were celebrating, but we saw at least 4 bands in the 1-2 block area and they were really rockin'. Wow. (See if you can find Terry in the picture. I am totally obscured.)
Really good Mexican music. . . and the food. . . wow, the food smelled so good. But we were raisin to raisin walking through the area. We did stop at most of the shops and did a lot of browsing. There were so many people.

When we left there, we drove toward the camp and found a barbecue place to eat at. It was very good and we enjoyed a good meal.

I didn't take my camera with me this time, but because I had been to the Mercado twice before and had pictures. But I should have. Patti was smarter than me, so maybe I can pilfer some pix off her blog.

Till next time. . .

Dale

San Antonio!

We arrived in San Antonio yesterday in the early afternoon. Janice and Dean (luv2cruise) were here waiting on us. We had reservations for a week at a campground and to say the proprietors had lied about ALL the amenities there would be an understatement. She said they had pull throughs, 50 amp hookups, big rig spots, etc. We tried 3 different spots before we finally settled on one and then could only put 2 of our 4 slides out. We can still negotiate in the coach, but I was NOT a happy camper. We all just paid for 1 night and morning could not come quickly enough. Before yesterday was gone, we had reservations at another park on the south side of town. We arrived here this morning at about 10:30 and got in our sites. Janice and Dean had to move once because of faulty electric, but we got settled in and are enjoying this place much more than the other.

The campground here had smoked BBQ ribs for dinner tonight, so we three couples got tickets and all went down there. It was very good and when we walked back, we all gathered outside Mickey and Patti's trailer and talked and planned the next couple days. Tomorrow we are going to visit the Alamo, then go down to the Riverwalk and maybe take a boat ride.

I am including a picture of our rig, Phaeton Place, that Patti took while we were on the road.


Till next time. . .

Dale

Remember the Alamo!

We spent 2 nights in Deming, New Mexico, after leaving Tucson. We met up there with friends Mickey and Patti and spent a few hours looking over a couple state parks near Deming. Saw some beautiful sites, hills, valleys, etc.

We left Deming and headed east on I-10 stopping for the night in Van Horn, Texas. There we decided to depart from the usual route across I-10 and take the scenic route down US 90 toward Del Rio. We left yesterday morning and embarked on a journey that at first didn't hold much in scenery, but as the miles went by, we started to see more hills. Even though the landscape was scrub, there were several species of animals we saw. We saw a bobcat walking alongside the road. As we approached, he turned and I got a good look at his face. We saw the usual hawks, but we also saw a lot of antelope. Then my favorite, the javelina. They are really cute when they get spooked because they try to run so fast on their short little straight legs and their hair looks like it stands straight up. Hah. We saw a couple of them. We stopped for the night in Sanderson, Texas, which really has not much claim to fame although the campground was adequate. A couple owns it and is building an adobe house on the grounds. The house was really interesting looking with a "dogtrot" separating the main house from the bedroom. They are building it much like a cabin, with wood plank floors, exposed ceilings, etc. The adobe block were 16 inches, serving as the outer and inner walls. Porches ran all the way around the house. It was really neat and they were very gracious to show us around.

Today, Tuesday, we left Sanderson, Texas, and arrived in Brackettville, Texas, around 1:00. We crossed the Pecos River
today which was a beautiful aqua color and then crossed over part of Lake Amistead, which borders the US and Mexico. The lake was beautiful.
It was nice to see water again. We are here for a couple days. Our goal is to see the Alamo Village. It is the Village and replica of the Alamo that John Wayne had built for his 1960 movie, The Alamo.
We are staying in a campground at Fort Clark, which is a decommissioned fort with a lot of buildings here still intact. They have in most cases been restored and used for other things, but when you drive through, you certainly get the feel of an old military fort here.


We see a lot of wild turkey in the camp. They wander through at will and we are told there are a lot of deer in the camp at night.


We are experiencing a lot of wind. We may decide to stay an extra day as we have no desire to be on the road with really strong winds. We shall see.

Till next time. . .

Dale

The Tucson Experience

Well, we have been there and gone. . . Tucson that is. We arrived Wednesday and set up camp at the Pima County Fairgrounds. Not a bad place to camp. Full hookups for $17. Everything else in town was in the $30+ range and since location wasn't real important to us, we managed quite well. The fairgrounds is on the far east side of town, so it made leaving there easy.

We only stayed there for 2 nights, so we didn't get to see much, but we went to the west side over the mountain and visited the Sonoran Desert Museum. It is part zoo, part museum. . . and a living desert museum.
They had some displays behind glass, like the reptiles and spiders, etc., which was fine with me. Although it would be highly possible to see those in the wild at this location as well. You take off hiking along a path and things are marked. It is very well laid out, easy to follow, and a good source of information about life for plants and critters in the desert. We ended our visit there with the hummingbird aviary, which is a walk through area. Once the school kids left (wow, what a screaming bunch) the hummingbirds ventured out from their hiding places and put on a fascinating display. One was nesting.

After leaving there, we drove next door to the parking lot of the Old Tucson studios. We didn't have time to take in the activities, but we did get to see a coyote. He was in the nearly empty parking lot just strolling around.
Imagine he might be used to handouts, although we didn't give him any. We just took some pictures. He didn't let the car get too close.

Friday morning we left Tucson and drove east on I-10. We arrived in Deming, New Mexico, around 1:30. We are parked right behind Mickey and Patti and got an invite for supper. Doesn't get any better than that! We had English Muffin pizzas and they were delicious. Thanks Mickey and Patti.

We got all set up at this Escapees park. It is a nice easy park to navigate and we frequently use it when we are passing through. There isn't a lot to do around here, at least, not that we have found in the immediate area. But we are here for a couple days to regroup before heading east. Our goal in the next week or so is to arrive in Corpus Christi and spend some time there. Patti needs to see water again and we are moseying over toward lower Alabama for the rally the end of the month.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Yuma is almost history!

Well, today our good friends Mickey and Patti left. They headed for Tucson where they are going to have a little work done on their 5-er. We are going to follow them there, but we still have a few days left here. Wednesday we will leave and stay in Tucson for a couple days before moving on to Corpus Christi.

It has really been nice having friends to pal around with. We fixed breakfast for them this morning before they left so they wouldn't have to mess up their kitchen. It was nice to spend just a little more time with them.

Later today we went to the post office to mail our taxes in. The post office is not a trip I wish to repeat. We got there and took our number, which was 06. They were currently on 75. This was the second post office we had stopped at so figured our chances were better if we just stayed put. By the time they got to us, they were passing out numbers in the 60's. Hah. Oh well, at least ours got sent in.

Then we treated ourselves to another round at the casino. Once again, we stayed true to our word and ended up losing about $7 total. Spent a couple hours there, so it is still cheaper entertainment than the movies. The biggest disappointment was that I had a scratch off ticket for a new shirt which I got as soon as I got there. I put it down at one machine and failed to pick it up. It was gone when I went back. :-( So if you see someone with a Paradise Casino shirt, it is probably mine.

Tomorrow we will get ready to go. Oh, yeah, we actually have rain forcasted for tomorrow. Makes Terry happy since I finally got him to help wash the motorhome yesterday after nearly a month of pleading.

Oh well. Till next time. . .

Dale

Good Friends. . . Good times.

Last evening. . . it being pizza night according to Mickey. . . we drove to the strip plaza a couple exits west and ate pizza at Da Boyz Pizza place. What a sleeper. I was expecting a quiet little place with dimmed lighting, etc. We walked in and it was more like McDonald's. Order at the counter, then find a seat. The waitress does bring your order to the table. They serve pizza, spaghetti, salad, and an assortment of beverages. The lady across the aisle graciously took our picture.
Then she asked if we had been there before. We said no and she said, "Well, the food is really good."

We were not to be disappointed. The pizza was among the best I have had. Better than any we have had on the road, that's for sure. We stuffed ourselves and brought half of it home. It was wonderful as were the breadsticks.

It appeared to be patronized (at least last evening) by snow birds. . . at least I assume they were.

Today we are up early (6:30 is now early for this retired person) and leaving after breakfast for the MCAS, the Marine Corps Air Station. They are putting on an air show and we are excited about doing something really different. We have only been to one other air show. They fly over our park every day so we have been anxiously awaiting this.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Still alive and kickin'

Thought I should let you all know we are still here and doing well. Enjoying the mild weather here in Yuma. And I am enjoying the Olympics for the first time in decades because now that I am RETIRED, I can stay up as late as I want because I don't have to go to work the next day. YAY!

We have been taking in the flea markets occasionally, which has been fun. Picked up a few (very few) items. We finally found a stroller for Neal, our handicapped Scottie, so now he can go for walks when we take Bailey. He is getting used to it, but riding in the cart certainly has a learning curve for Neal.

Last Saturday we went north of town and toured the Imperial Dam. It is a dam in the desert built as a control system to divert water from the Colorado river and desilt it for use in the irrigation systems in Yuma and the rest of the Imperial Valley.
There is a lot of farming here and Yuma is known as the Lettuce Capital of the world. They have 3 growing seasons and everywhere you see large scale farming of vegetables, citrus and dates. We walked along the dam. It is not a tall dam, but it is impressive nonetheless. We drove around the lake on the other side of it. There were some pleasure boats and fishing boats, but it was clear the lake was down. There has been no rain here for 150 some days, so it was definitely affected. They are predicting rain again for the weekend.

After viewing the dam, we drove through Bard, California, where we saw a couple wild burros along the road. They looked good and well fed for being wild. They are the ONLY wild animals we have seen. On way back down 95, we passed the McPhaul Bridge which is a suspension bridge which once spanned the Gila River, which is all but dried up now--at least there. It was a crossing point when the river was wider. It is this bridge after which the Golden Gate bridge was fashioned, and it looks odd just out in the desert with no water around.

Back closer to Yuma, we stopped off at a date farm and Terry and I shared a "world famous date shake." It actually was quite tasty and good. The date farms are interesting as there are rows and rows of date palms towering above the landscape. There were several groves in the area.


We continued our journey, traveling west on I-8 looking for the Algondones Dunes. Boy were we surprised. We were expecting a few hills, but as we traveled west, we began to see the hills on the horizon. It was awesome. Here is where they filmed movies like Starwars, Return of the Jedi, Stargate, Scorpion King, and others I am sure. There were so many four wheelers they looked like ants on the hills. There were hundreds of RV's and several campgrounds. Camping (boondocking) was available for $25 a week.
The campers all had 4-wheelers they were toting to ride the hills. I have to say, it looked like it would be the best fun. Unfortunately, people are not always careful and deaths do occur. In fact, last weekend, two people were killed in accidents at the Dunes. They extend for several miles west on I-8, but also extend way north to Glamis and beyond. Glamis is famous for the Dunes, but I guess there are some problems erupting due to the trash that people generate. People must always remember to follow the rules of boondocking--take everything you brought with you and leave nothing but footprints.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Roll the dice!

Well yesterday we decided to take in the casinos. Patti, the casino virgin could hardly contain her excitement. Mickey decided he was going to have to keep a tight rein on her. She loves games and he was afraid she would get carried away. Fortunately we had a great day and lots of fun and nobody is much poorer as a result.

We started at the Cocopah Indian Casino south of town. It is a smaller casino but not very crowded. We took in their buffet lunch before we started gaming. Then we hit the slots. Now Terry and I take only so much "gambling" money with us. Today it was $20 in ones. When we left there a couple hours later, I still had $16.00, so we had won/lost not too badly. I consider gaming entertainment. The guy sitting next to Terry hit the jackpot on his machine which was $2000. When we got up to leave, he took over Terry's machine and calmly pulled a $100 bill out of his pocket and started on that machine. I just don't think I could do that.

We drove across town to the Paradise casino. Patti was pretty pumped at this point and I think all Mickey was doing was following her around! Hah. The Paradise casino has the unique distinction of being built on the border of Arizona and California. So when you walk out the back door, you follow the "path" to the "California" room, crossing the border as you go. So the two buildings comprising the casino are in two different states!

Terry and I went to "California" and found a couple machines that allowed us considerable entertainment. Patti and Mickey eventually caught up with us and as we were strolling out, we decided to hit a couple machines before leaving. Terry hit for $23, so we actually broke even in our quest for financial stardom.

All in all it was an entertaining afternoon. I figure if you go to the movies here you spend $14 a piece. We played slots all afternoon and broke even, so we were happy.

A great day with great friends. Lots of laughs and excitement.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Yuma Territorial Prison

Today we went with Mickey and Patti and toured the Yuma Territorial Prison. It was built by the prisoners themselves in the 1800's and parts of it have survived to present day. It is now an Arizona state park. Part of the main cell block remains
and it is quite impressive when you stop to think about being confined there for even a brief period of time. The main cell block has many cells which are about 9 x 12 in size and would house 6 prisoners at a time.
There is a "dark cell" which was used for punishment. It was carved into the side of a hill basically and you had to enter a long hall to get back into the "room" which contained a cell which was like an iron strap box. You could stand in it, but at any one time, there might be 14 prisoners inside the box, with only standing room. While that may sound harsh, that was about the worst of the punishments and prisoners had excellent medical care and a library where they could read and study many things. The prison was self sufficient and each prisoner received training in a trade to make them less likely to return to the prison once they had their freedom.

The museum had a very informative film which we watched as well as many artifacts which were nicely displayed and easy to follow.

Anyone planning a trip to Yuma should consider taking in the Yuma Territorial Prison. While only a small part of the original prison remains, it still gives one a glimpse of prison life in the 1800's.

An interesting note is that during the early 1900's when the prison had been abandoned, the site was used as the Yuma high school. According to the information we received, the sports teams then were known as the Yuma Criminals and even today are still called the "Crims." Hah.

I remember many times in my teaching career various students complaining about rules set upon them. They would exclaim, "This school is just like a prison." Hah. Perhaps they would have liked to attend Yuma high school in the 1900's where school was indeed a prison!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Los Algodones, Mexico

Today we went with Mickey and Patti and visited the quaint little Mexican town of Los Algodones. We parked on the US side of the border in a Quechen Indian Reservation parking lot. Very nice lot. All fenced in and paved. Walked across the border without a problem and were immediately accosted by locals hawking their wares, which were primarily pharmaceuticals (sp?) and dental work. We managed to get through the lines and the crowd at the border and walked around. There were so many more dental and optical shops than we are used to seeing in Nuevo Progresso. After the first hour and a half, I began to think that was all there was to the town. But then we turned a corner and we saw many more shops which had other items like glassware, wood crafts, food, blankets, etc.
It was interesting, but I didn't find anything I couldn't live without. I did by some more antibiotics that I have found useful, but we mainly looked.

When we started back, we had a line at the border so we had to wait, but not too long. We had to show our driver's licenses and they punched in the license numbers into their computer, and we passed on through.

On the way back, we stopped at Bubba's barbecue and had a really good sandwich. It was a very enjoyable day and after we got home we just kicked back and relaxed a bit. Then the dogs prevailed upon us to take them for a walk. We walked Neal in his cart again. He seemed to enjoy it a little better tonight and didn't strain to jump out like he did last night. He will become content, I believe, to "stroll" instead of walk. Bailey does a good job of walking and so we all enjoyed the night air.

Terry is busy baking brownies now, so I will have to sample those later.

Till next time. . .

Dale

News and Views

We are still here in Yuma. We have been exploring and just really enjoying the mild weather. It is hot enough during the day to wear shorts and cool enough in the evenings for a sweatshirt. Our furnace runs minimally at night. If it weren't for the dogs, we probably wouldn't run it at all.

We have spent a considerable amount of time visiting resale shops looking for a used stroller for our handicapped dog, Neal. He hates being left behind while Bailey goes on walks. Usually one of us sneaks out with Bailey. He needs to walk and Neal just cannot stand up and walk. He has a condition which acts a lot like Parkinson's and he just cannot manage to walk 3 steps without falling over. So today we hit paydirt and found a good stroller that we could buy cheaply enough. We brought it home, stripped it of all unnecessary amenities and put a container on it which will hold Neal and hopefully keep him from trying to bail out! Ho Ho.

I did take him for a walk. He does want to get out and walk, but I kept him in it and he seemed to eventually enjoy the new sites and sounds around the park to which he was exposed. It is far easier than trying to walk him.

We have visited a couple flea markets. There is one. . . the Arizona marketplace which is mostly new merchandise and seems to be quite popular. Bought a few things, but didn't overload on anything. Next day we went to the Park 'n Swap. It is definitely a flea market, but did have some other things. We went with Mickie and Patti. Patti bought grapefruit, 10 for $1, and shared them with us. They were wonderful. I also found rugs quite cheap. I would like to get some matching ones for in the motorhome for when I need to change them.

We are going to Mexico tomorrow. . . Los Algondones. Mickie and Patti haven't been there before and we haven't been to that town, although we have been to Nuevo Progresso in the Rio Grande Valley several times. Always a treat.

We have to get to the casinos yet. There are 2 of them here in town. . . well one is south of town a little. Patti hasn't even been to one. We have told her to leave her money at home and take just what she can afford to lose. ho Ho. Lately we have been taking the coins in our "coin jar." Last time we took the nickels and Terry won $72 on 75 cents. Not bad.

We had Mickie and Patti over tonight for coffee and Baklava. We found a neat little bakery that had fresh baked goods. It was delicious.

We continue to have lovely sunrises and sunsets.


Till next time. . .

Work Day

Well, today became a work day. Don't know if I intended it that way, but that was the way it went. Started cleaning the coach early to get rid of the Quartzsite dust. Gave it a really good going over. You would think that wouldn't take long, but it was several hours. Doing laundry at the same time. The washer/dryer only does small loads and I really do like it, but I am trying to play catch-up since we arrived here. I could have gone down to one of the laundromats here, but people complain the machines are always breaking down, so just decided to do it here. Mopped the floor also, as that is the only way to get the dust out. I really am pleased with the laminate flooring. It doesn't take much to make it look good.

Terry was busy cleaning out the car. He also started trimming the dogs. That is a big deal, since Neal is so paranoid about having it done. I finished Neal, then brought him inside for a bath. Another biggie as this 30 lb. Scotsman will do anything he can to avoid a bath. But in the end, he capitulates and Mom won as usual. He looks so much better, smells so much better, and he would have to admit, he probably feels better too. Then I went to get Bailey. Finished trimming him, then brought him in for his bath. Always save the best for last. Bailey likes his bath, so he cooperates and it takes much less time.

While I was doing that, Terry was hosing down their mat they lay on. It was filthy from Quartzsite. They lay on it outside though and it does help keep them cleaner as well as keeps them from "rooting" in the dust here.

Once we did all that, we took showers ourselves. Nothing like a good shower after the Quartzsite showers, which must be taken using minimal water.

Steaks are thawing for the evening meal. . . having skipped lunch. Think I will just wait now. We may take a bike ride. I think I may go lay in the sun. I can do that now and not feel guilty. :-)

Till next time. . .

Dale