Our Mesa Family Get Together March 2015

Rudy and Bev arrived in Yuma on 3/5 to stay at our park for a week before all of us going to Mesa.  While here, Bev and I went to " Girls Night Out" here at the Palms.  There were vendors, wine and/or margaritas.  We had a decent time. Entertainment would have helped.  While here, Kirk and Rudy got in some golfing, we all went to MATO (Midnight at the oasis), a huge car show with tons of vendors, food, and entertainment.   Having them here, we enjoyed Happy Hour every night and food.  Prison Hill Brewery was a fun restaurant. Kirk had to miss it though as he was working :(.

 On 3/13 we all drove our RVs to Mesa.  I was fortunate to have 5 days off work.  We stayed at Valle del Ora RV resort.   The sites are nice, but weird how no one in the office knows what is going on.  There were one or two staff that were helpful, I think.  The rest of our experience there can be found on Tripadvisor.   After settling in, we headed over to Angela's place.   She had bought a condo on a golf course about a year ago and is completely remodelling it.   She's doing an excellent job.  The place looks great.   I absolutely love the backsplash in the kitchen.   We all ate supper at Willeys, the course restaurant. Highly recommend it if you're ever in the area.

Jim and Elena flew into Mesa Saturday afternoon (3/14).  Kirk grilled brats and burgers at Angela's place.  Dan and Juanita ( uncle and aunt) stopped by to visit with us all.  The weather was gorgeous. We sat on the patio the entire evening.  The next day we all drove to The Olive Mill in Queen Creek and took the tour.  Our tour guide was a slender, young ginger reminding me of my awesome DIL. of course, no one left without buying some olive souvenirs. FIY, there are no black olives.  They are black because they are soaked in lye.  This Olive Mill does not promote or make black olives.  No more black olives for me!!   After the tour, we picked up our sister, Stacy ( as she worked that day)  at her house in San Tan Valley. We all went to Bears and had a great meal and visit.

On 3/16 we all did our own thing in the morning and got together at noon to head to Top Golf.   Talk about a fun place!!! This is a must do when in Gilbert, AZ.  Even if you're not a golfer, you will have a blast.  Afterwards, pizza at Sals Gilbert Pizza as seen on Drive Inns, Diners, and Dives.  Not quite sure how it made the show as it was nothing to brag about.   Back to Angela's for relaxing, visiting, and drinks.    Kirk and I returned home St Patrick's Day after breakfast and goodbyes at Angela's Villa ( she has a sign above her garage door saying that).  I love our sibling time together and will miss them all terribly till next time.

 Fun times in Downtown Yuma...Love these guys.

 Girls Night Out at The Palms

 MATO car show....this one reminded me of San Antonio, TX

At Lutes Casino in Yuma

 Enjoying a beautiful night on Angela's patio.

 Olive Mill tour guide....looks a little like DIL Nicki

 Kirk taking a swing at Top Golf....this is a must do when in Gilbert, AZ

 Enjoying sister time

 Nothing but trouble at Bears!

Three sisters and a brother....sounds like a movie title :)

San Diego Birthday Weekend February 2015

Every other Saturday here at The Palms (our RV Park), a Burger Bash is put on.  This consists of grilled burgers, condiments ( no cheese....don't ask, also no lettuce or tomatoes).  What I don't understand about not having lettuce and tomato available for the burgers is that Yuma grows 90% of all the lettuce sold here in the U.S.  You'd think they'd give that stuff away.  I digress!  Anyway, a lot of people go to this thing, and enjoy each others company, drinks, live band, and swimming if desired.  It is held near the pool.  It is fun!
On February 8, Kirk and I were sitting quietly in our RV about 1850 and felt 2 tremors.  First time either of us had ever felt one.  Now that was weird.  At first I thought it was the washer in the spin cycle (which can shake the entire motorhome ), but quickly realized, neither of us were doing any laundry.  I found out later, that Yuma sits on a fault.  Earlier that day, my co-worker and boss, Molly Jo and I met at the local flea market to look around.  We had a good time.  This is where I bought my "Girls Night Out" wine t-shirt.  Molly is a good friend and a lot of fun.
On 2/14 (my 60th birthday), I treated myself to a haircut....a badly needed one.  Later that evening, we rode the Harley to Carnivores, a glorified BBQ restaurant.  I believe this place is a step or 2 down from a Brazillian Steakhouse.  They grill all their meat outside, have a side dish buffet, and desserts.  The meat is brought to the table and you pick what you want.  My favorite was the prime rib and the grilled pineapple.  Great place to eat if you're not expecting the typical Brazillian style steakhouse.

Being as our birthdays are only 3 weeks apart, Kirk and I decided to celebrate by taking a 3 day weekend to San Diego in February.  So, from 2/21 to 2/23 we took the 3 hour drive from Yuma to San Diego through the mountains.  We had booked our stay at the Moonlight Motel in Encinitas near Moonlight Beach.  Our trip included a stop at The Hotel Coronado, on Coronado Island where we met The Sandman while walking on the beach.  A very talented and interesting man.  His sandcastle's are phenomenal.  We took a self guided tour through the hotel.  Kirk is going to get me into trouble someday.  He walked upstairs (only registered guests past this point), so of course, I had to follow him.  We saw a few of the rooms being cleaned by housekeeping.  Very nice!  We definitely can not afford to stay in this place, unless we win the lottery or someone else pays :).
Our next stop was La Jolla Cove.  This is where we saw the sea lions and seals sunbathing on the rocks.  There was a cave to tour, but we weren't interested in that at this time.  Just for fun, as we were driving right by it, we stopped at Torrey Pines Golf Course.  You all know how much Kirk loves to golf, so this was a fun stop for him.  We walked around, and visited the Pro Shop.
After checking into our hotel, we took a short walk downtown Encinitas for lunch at the Beachhouse Bar and Grill.  Later, we walked over to the Moonlight Beach to watch the sunset which never happened because of all the cloud cover.....so sad!
The Gas Lamp District downtown San Diego is famous for many reasons.  It is an interesting place, and has something to do for everyone, from entertainment, restaurants, shopping, etc.  We decided to go there for supper, and waited 1.5 hours to eat at the Crab Hut.  Well worth it though.  The next day we took the 2 hour Flagship boat tour at the SD Navy shipyard.  A great, interesting, and informative tour.  Afterwards, we ate lunch on the pier at the Pier Cafe.   After lunch, we took another tour of the Midway Aircraft Carrier.  Another must see/do when in San Diego.  Please thank all our military for what they do!!  We ended the day eating supper at Las Olas, a fun Mexican restaurant in Cardiff by the Sea, CA just down the road from Encinitas.   We left Monday morning, but not until having breakfast in Oceanside on the bay, and going to the local Costco there (how can you drive by a Costco and not stop! ).    What a wonderful Birthday weekend.  Happy Birthday Honey!

 Driving through the mountains on our way to San Diego!

 We are so cute!

Torrey Pines Walk of Fame....I believe you'll find Mr Nelson's name on there :)

 My birthday breakfast...made and eaten by Kristy in MN....nice thought though!

 Sandcastle, by the Sandman on Hotel del Coronado beach.

 La Jolla Cove sea lions, what a life

 Great tour of Navy Ship yards.

 Coronado bridge....yucky fact - 3rd deadliest suicide bridge in the U.S.

 USS Midway Museum....highly recommend!

Gas Lamp District....gotta go there!

January in Yuma 2015

Angela and her friend, Maryann came to Yuma for the weekend on 1/3-4.  They had been wanting/needing to go to Los Algodones, Mexico, and so we were able to enjoy their company also.  Anyone that knows my sister, knows she is a hoot, and a sweetheart.  So are most of her friends.  Kirk and I drove them over to Mexico, the Imperial Dunes, From The Farm, downtown Yuma, and any other place they wanted to go, or we thought they should see.  We had a ball!  Kirk grilled supper while the girls and me enjoyed our wine.   Can't wait to see Angela again in March when we take the RV up to Mesa for 5 days to meet with 3 of my sisters and brother, Rudy and his wife Bev.

You all know how Walmart turned out for Kirk!   Well, he didn't give up.  Kirk talked to the manager at the golf course where he was playing here in Yuma at the foothills and got an even better "job".  He's working at Mesa del Sol 1-2 afternoons a week, getting minimum wage AND all the $5 golf him and I want to play.  A sweet deal indeed !   So needless to say, Kirk is really enjoying his time in Yuma.  :). This will also get him into other courses around the country that this company owns. YAY!

On 1/22 a very dear friend of mine, Toni,  passed away.  I hadn't seen her for over 25 years, and had actually lost all contact with her over those years, despite trying to find her.  However, funny how names pop up on Facebook. Through several links I found her, friended her, and we kept in contact daily for over a year through texting, and an occasional phone call.  Toni was very sick with a disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).  We knew her time was limited, but never gave up hope.  She was a blessing in my life.  I miss her terribly!

On 1/23 Kirk celebrated his 61st birthday.  We drove over to Quartzite for the day to the RV show and brought  back our first set of bamboo sheets ( they won't be the last), and a couple of pillows.  Kirk and I will be celebrating our birthdays together in February in Dan Diego.   Can't wait!

We had purchased concert tickets here at the park to see Garth Brooks and Faith Hill impersonators on 1/29.  It was a decent concert, but not very long.  Not much more to say about this one.

Look what I got....I'm happy now!

Okay.....but he's my dork!

RIP my dear friend Toni!