Thursday, February 21, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
The temperature and humidity met just right this morning to leave the Jeep windows and top covered with water. That means that later the Jeep will catch any dust in the air and water from the coach roof will streak the sides. I have been told that a coat of Mop and Glow will slow down the streaks from the roof. I will have to find someone to go up there and do the job, I don't trust my balance enough to go up there.
A group of about ten or more four wheelers and dirt bikes gathered across the street and later left in a group. There are a lot of trails in the area and access doesn't seem to be controlled or prohibited in any way.
Since we had fish last night, I got dressed and put the bag by the curb for trash pickup. I then noticed that no one else had trash out, I had missed the pickup. So later I took the bag over to the dumpster.
Gerri gave me a list of things needed for tacos tonight at Alice and Keith's. I went to Safeway and did the shopping. I did one geocache while out.
The sky had clouded up and the temperature dropped.
I got my work out done during the late afternoon. As I walked back to the coach, at about 4 PM, the four wheelers were returning. I got cleaned up before going to Keith and Alice's for supper. Alice had prepared taco shells and meat. Gerri fixed the salad items to go on the tacos. Another great meal with good friends.
We got home about 8 and finished off the night with computer and TV time.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Wednesday, February 20, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
We were up by 7:30. I don't know when the rain started last night but it was still raining when we got up. The rain lasted until about 9:30 and by 10 the sun was peeking through, it may turn out to be a nice day. Looking east from my seat at the desk I can see the dusting of snow on the mountains about two miles away.
I turned on the new coffee maker. When it was finished the first taste told us it was better. Since the new one worked, I put the box and the old coffee maker out for the trash pickup.
After the rain stopped and the sun was peeking through I wiped the water spots off the Jeep and as high on the coach as I could reach. I hope I was overly optimistic about the rain having stopped.
I did part of my exercises at the coach and then walked up to the activity center for the part on the equipment there. I hope to have my left leg in better shape for that operation than my right one was. My balance is still poor. I have made 10 seconds on my right leg only twice. I have been told that if I can't balance on one foot for 30 seconds, I am a high fall risk. Of course taking Coumadin I don't want to risk a fall.
In the late afternoon it was off to the Walmart for items needed for tonight's supper, we are having Keith and Alice over for salmon.
By 4:30 the sun was fully out and the sky clearing with no wind, I guess I made the right choice in wiping the water off the coach and Jeep.
At 5 PM Alice and Keith came over. We visited for awhile and the had supper. Gerri prepared salmon, green beans and quinoa. We also had grape tomatoes and mushrooms on the side. Alice brought a lemon meringue pie for dessert.
Every dinner with Keith and Alice seems to be better than the last.
Plans were made for the rest of the week and Keith and Alice went home about 8 PM.
After I washed the dishes I decided to have a go at replacing the light bulb under the microwave. The bulb burned out last year and I tried replacing it then. That try at replacing the bulb didn't work out. The bulb is a small one with two prongs that go into holes that you have to be close to and upside down to see and the package has a warning not to touch the bulb with bare hands. I bought two bulbs at Lowe's day before yesterday. Tonight I got the bulb in just like I knew what I was doing. It wasn't over, I dropped the screw that hold the cover over the bulb three or four times. Once the screw fell on the floor and it took a lot of searching to find the tiny thing. I finally got the job done, now Gerri has her favorite night light again plus it makes it nicer when using the stove.
As usual our night wound up with TV and computers.
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| Snow to the east |
I turned on the new coffee maker. When it was finished the first taste told us it was better. Since the new one worked, I put the box and the old coffee maker out for the trash pickup.
After the rain stopped and the sun was peeking through I wiped the water spots off the Jeep and as high on the coach as I could reach. I hope I was overly optimistic about the rain having stopped.
In the late afternoon it was off to the Walmart for items needed for tonight's supper, we are having Keith and Alice over for salmon.
By 4:30 the sun was fully out and the sky clearing with no wind, I guess I made the right choice in wiping the water off the coach and Jeep.
At 5 PM Alice and Keith came over. We visited for awhile and the had supper. Gerri prepared salmon, green beans and quinoa. We also had grape tomatoes and mushrooms on the side. Alice brought a lemon meringue pie for dessert.
Every dinner with Keith and Alice seems to be better than the last.
Plans were made for the rest of the week and Keith and Alice went home about 8 PM.
After I washed the dishes I decided to have a go at replacing the light bulb under the microwave. The bulb burned out last year and I tried replacing it then. That try at replacing the bulb didn't work out. The bulb is a small one with two prongs that go into holes that you have to be close to and upside down to see and the package has a warning not to touch the bulb with bare hands. I bought two bulbs at Lowe's day before yesterday. Tonight I got the bulb in just like I knew what I was doing. It wasn't over, I dropped the screw that hold the cover over the bulb three or four times. Once the screw fell on the floor and it took a lot of searching to find the tiny thing. I finally got the job done, now Gerri has her favorite night light again plus it makes it nicer when using the stove.
As usual our night wound up with TV and computers.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Tuesday, February 19, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Gerri got up at o'dark 30, 5:30 AM. I stayed in bed until the decent hour of 8. While drinking coffee the wind started blowing, it isn't awful but the forecast is for more wind and possibly rain by tomorrow. The coffee hasn't been as good as at home. I think the coffee maker in the coach isn't working very well, not getting hot enough. We will shop for a new one today.
I downloaded some caches in the area and may get around to hunting a few later today.
It started getting breezy at about 10 AM. I walked down to the activity center and used some of the equipment there to get in part of my prescribed exercises. I rode the semi recumbent stationary bicycle for 15 minutes then moved to a leg press machine. I did some wall slides using an exercise ball and finished the gym part of the work out on a leg extension/flex machine. At the therapy place I had been going to these were two different machines, but the work out was about the same.
After getting back to the coach, I got my GPSRs loaded with nearby caches. I use one on the dash of the Jeep to get me near the caches by road and then the handheld to close in on foot. The Nuvi I use in the Jeep has a pedestrian mode. I may try it out, The DeLorme hand held has the advantage of being able to read all the cache information and the logs of five previous hunters. I also want to tryout Gerri's new phone, but she hasn't downloaded the geocaching app yet.
I found two caches, one was a DNF from last year when we were visiting Lake Havasu City. I also bought a new coffee maker at Walmart. It is a ten cup with a thermal carafe, Mr. Coffee brand. We will see in the morning if it makes better coffee. I don't think the old was was getting the water hot enough. I also stopped at Lowe's and bought a new bulb for the light under the microwave. I'm hoping for better success than I had the last time.
By late afternoon the wind was blowing and had a cold edge to it and the prediction for rained looked like it was true.
Before supper we visited with Keith and Alice for awhile. Keith had bought some new outside chairs and a table and was busy doing the "some assembly required." Because of the wind we didn't have a fire in their fireplace tonight. They have a covered area with table and chairs, it also has heat lamps and screens that drop down. So we were pretty comfortable around the table with cheese and cracker snacks.
Back at the coach, Gerri fixed ham, cheese and egg burritos, I checked out the new coffee maker, cleaning it up and testing the carafe with hot water. The water was still hot several hours later when I emptied the pot. I have high hopes that it will make for better coffee in the morning.
I re-installed the printer which for some reason had lost contact with the computer since I last used it. I think I was successful at least it printed a couple of sheets I sent to it. Tomorrow I will try to connect Gerri's laptop with the computer, something I never was able to do at home.
As usual TV and computer time rounded out the evening. Sometime during the night the rain started. So much for the newly washed coach and Jeep.
All in all another good day.
Gerri got up at o'dark 30, 5:30 AM. I stayed in bed until the decent hour of 8. While drinking coffee the wind started blowing, it isn't awful but the forecast is for more wind and possibly rain by tomorrow. The coffee hasn't been as good as at home. I think the coffee maker in the coach isn't working very well, not getting hot enough. We will shop for a new one today.
I downloaded some caches in the area and may get around to hunting a few later today.
It started getting breezy at about 10 AM. I walked down to the activity center and used some of the equipment there to get in part of my prescribed exercises. I rode the semi recumbent stationary bicycle for 15 minutes then moved to a leg press machine. I did some wall slides using an exercise ball and finished the gym part of the work out on a leg extension/flex machine. At the therapy place I had been going to these were two different machines, but the work out was about the same.
After getting back to the coach, I got my GPSRs loaded with nearby caches. I use one on the dash of the Jeep to get me near the caches by road and then the handheld to close in on foot. The Nuvi I use in the Jeep has a pedestrian mode. I may try it out, The DeLorme hand held has the advantage of being able to read all the cache information and the logs of five previous hunters. I also want to tryout Gerri's new phone, but she hasn't downloaded the geocaching app yet.
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| The new coffee maker, in place ready to go |
By late afternoon the wind was blowing and had a cold edge to it and the prediction for rained looked like it was true.
Before supper we visited with Keith and Alice for awhile. Keith had bought some new outside chairs and a table and was busy doing the "some assembly required." Because of the wind we didn't have a fire in their fireplace tonight. They have a covered area with table and chairs, it also has heat lamps and screens that drop down. So we were pretty comfortable around the table with cheese and cracker snacks.
Back at the coach, Gerri fixed ham, cheese and egg burritos, I checked out the new coffee maker, cleaning it up and testing the carafe with hot water. The water was still hot several hours later when I emptied the pot. I have high hopes that it will make for better coffee in the morning.
I re-installed the printer which for some reason had lost contact with the computer since I last used it. I think I was successful at least it printed a couple of sheets I sent to it. Tomorrow I will try to connect Gerri's laptop with the computer, something I never was able to do at home.
As usual TV and computer time rounded out the evening. Sometime during the night the rain started. So much for the newly washed coach and Jeep.
All in all another good day.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Monday, February 18, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
This was a lazy day, even for us. I did make a phone calls to clear up a confusion over an appointment to have our taxes done. I thought I had made the appointment for March 18 and the company had us down for Feb. 18. The appointment is now set for certain for March 18.
I also sent e-mail reserving our Mexico timeshares. We don't plan to go to Mexico next year but want the dates to deposit for a trip to Hawaii.
In the afternoon I walked around the park and picked up a list of lots for sale. Later Gerri and I both walked around the park looking at the lots for sale. There are lots of various sizes , some with improvements such as Casitas and some that have no improvements.
I talked to a couple of neighbors and we later went to Keith and Alice's to visit.
We returned to our coach for supper. We rounded out the evening with TV and computer time.
This was a lazy day, even for us. I did make a phone calls to clear up a confusion over an appointment to have our taxes done. I thought I had made the appointment for March 18 and the company had us down for Feb. 18. The appointment is now set for certain for March 18.
I also sent e-mail reserving our Mexico timeshares. We don't plan to go to Mexico next year but want the dates to deposit for a trip to Hawaii.
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| Horse shoe pits at the RV park |
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| Boccie ball courts |
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| Looking east up the wash in the park. |
I talked to a couple of neighbors and we later went to Keith and Alice's to visit.
We returned to our coach for supper. We rounded out the evening with TV and computer time.
Sunday, February 17, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Sunday, February 17, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
It was quite cool during the night, a big contrast with the daytime temperatures.
It's amazing how an one hour time radiance can cause so much confusion. We were up and having coffee by 9 AM according to either Nevada or Arizona time.
We did manage to log on and get the net cast from the Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ. The connection worked fine until near the end of Bible Study. The connection broke intermittently. We don't know if the problem was with equipment at the Church or the internet service at the RV Park. We got most of the net cast and enjoyed the message and the singing.
By the time Church service were over I think I had the time thing figured out, It was about 1:15. We had nothing planned until dinner with Keith and Alice. Gerri spent a lot of the day trying to get use to her new phone. She did prepare a dish to go with the Sausage Ragu that Alice was preparing. I don't think she made much progress with the phone. She did manage to get temporarily blocked from FaceBook.
I went to a Safeway store downtown to pickup some items we needed.
The supper was great. Good friends and good food are an unbeatable combination.
When we left Las Vegas I forgot my cell phone. Gerri sent e-mail to our neighbor, Capt. Janet, and asked her to get the phone and send it to us. When Janet went into the house I got an e-mail with a snapshot of her entering the front door. In December I installed a surveillance camera system that can be remotely monitored. This is the first time I have turned on the alert feature. During the time of our trips since installing the system someone has been at the house, so it wasn't needed.
After supper we spent some time on the computer, the Verizon connection is maddeningly slow and we haven't been able to log on to the park's wifi.
Warm days and cool night make a great combination for sleeping.
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| We are in the site marked in red |
It was quite cool during the night, a big contrast with the daytime temperatures.
It's amazing how an one hour time radiance can cause so much confusion. We were up and having coffee by 9 AM according to either Nevada or Arizona time.
We did manage to log on and get the net cast from the Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ. The connection worked fine until near the end of Bible Study. The connection broke intermittently. We don't know if the problem was with equipment at the Church or the internet service at the RV Park. We got most of the net cast and enjoyed the message and the singing.
By the time Church service were over I think I had the time thing figured out, It was about 1:15. We had nothing planned until dinner with Keith and Alice. Gerri spent a lot of the day trying to get use to her new phone. She did prepare a dish to go with the Sausage Ragu that Alice was preparing. I don't think she made much progress with the phone. She did manage to get temporarily blocked from FaceBook.
I went to a Safeway store downtown to pickup some items we needed.
The supper was great. Good friends and good food are an unbeatable combination.
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| Attention, attention, Capt Janet coming aboard |
After supper we spent some time on the computer, the Verizon connection is maddeningly slow and we haven't been able to log on to the park's wifi.
Warm days and cool night make a great combination for sleeping.
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| The put-put course near our site. |
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
Saturday, February 16, 2013, Lake Havasu City, AZ
It has been about a month since we traveled. That trip was to Palm Springs, CA by car. This trip is in the motor home which we last were in the end of November. We brought the motor home from Bill's house on Wednesday and started getting ready for departure on Saturday morning. When we came home from our last trip, I was unable to level the coach and later discovered that the right rear leveling jack had punched a hole in the pavement. I checked the jack and the pad was still on it. I later checked the leveling system on the hard ground near Bill's house and it seemed to work fine. I leveled the coach in front of the house, it seemed fine. An hour or so later it wasn't level. As I raised the jack I saw that the pad slide up and down on the shaft, allowing the shaft to push into the pavement. I put two 1 1/2 plywood pads under the jack and re-leveled the coach. All was fine until the next morning, when I went out for the newspaper the jack had punched through the plywood. There was now time to take the coach in for repairs. I decided to get a piece of steel to put under the jack to act as a new foot. By the time I made the calls the companies I called were closing before I could get there. I got up early Friday and went to B&B Coach and Gary cut me a piece of 1/2 inch thick steel about 8 inches square. The piece of steel worked fine. I did find that I had trouble getting the piece in place directly under the jack. After a couple of tries I had it and it worked fine. By late Friday evening we were all loaded. We planned to leave at about 9 AM.
Before leaving I was shutting down systems in the house. During our trip to Palm Springs we weren't able to log on to the security cameras, I checked and plugged the cable modem into an outlet that stays hot when others are turned off.. By then I had shut down the home computers. Gerri tried to log onto the cameras from her lapop in the motorhome. By the time we had checked the cameras it was 10 AM. We pulled away from the house at 10:10 AM.
We decided not to stop for fuel since fuel level was 3/4 tank and the trip for today is only about 150 miles. Our route was I-215 to I-515 and onto US 95. There was very little traffic and we went through Searchlight and on into California to I-40. We were only on I-40 for 50-60 miles. This stretch of I-40 is as rough as the stretch through Oklahoma. As soon as we crossed into Arizona the highway improved and was quite smooth. after nine miles in Arizona we turned south on AX SR-95 on into Lake Havasu City.
We arrived at the Havasu RV Resort a little after 2 PM, Arizona time and were parked in site 4 by 2:30. Our friend Alice Kerslake came by on her way home from the store and said hello. She and Gerri set a time for dinner at their place, they own site 166. Our site was level without the jacks. I decided to put them down for stability. The site is concrete but I put my piece of steel plate under the jack so as not to make a permanent mark. My aim placing the plate hadn't improved from yesterday. Gerri helped me by turning off the leveling system as the jack came down.
Keith Kerslake came by and said hello on his way to the dog park with Chaz. I put out our carpet, all the chairs and even the table beside the coach. We are parked next to a silver sided Prevost, so we have to keep up appearances.
We went to the Kerslake site at 5:00 and visited before supper, we hadn't seen them since September in Melissa TX. From their site we could see most of the sunset. It was beautiful, first gold and then red. We didn't have our camera with us. The day had been warm but cooled quickly to the point that heaters were needed during supper. We had a great meal of grilled steak served with an onion Salad and mushrooms.
As I said before Alice and Keith are buying the site they occupy. That site has a large patio type cover, an outside kitchen and a casita with a laundry area, storage and a washroom.
The lot next door on their west is for sale by the same person that they bought from. It has no casita but has a large concrete parking area. Both lots back onto a small wash that separates the sites and those behind them to the north.
We went back to our site at about 10 PM. We retired after catching up on e-mail and Facebook messages.
It was enjoyable day and should be the start of a great week here in Lake Havasu City. So far we have had no problems with the DirecTV system, or the city water inlet filling and overflowing the fresh water tank. The new solar light I got for the flagpole is working out well. I don't know how long the batteries last during the night but at midnight the flags were still lit up.
It has been about a month since we traveled. That trip was to Palm Springs, CA by car. This trip is in the motor home which we last were in the end of November. We brought the motor home from Bill's house on Wednesday and started getting ready for departure on Saturday morning. When we came home from our last trip, I was unable to level the coach and later discovered that the right rear leveling jack had punched a hole in the pavement. I checked the jack and the pad was still on it. I later checked the leveling system on the hard ground near Bill's house and it seemed to work fine. I leveled the coach in front of the house, it seemed fine. An hour or so later it wasn't level. As I raised the jack I saw that the pad slide up and down on the shaft, allowing the shaft to push into the pavement. I put two 1 1/2 plywood pads under the jack and re-leveled the coach. All was fine until the next morning, when I went out for the newspaper the jack had punched through the plywood. There was now time to take the coach in for repairs. I decided to get a piece of steel to put under the jack to act as a new foot. By the time I made the calls the companies I called were closing before I could get there. I got up early Friday and went to B&B Coach and Gary cut me a piece of 1/2 inch thick steel about 8 inches square. The piece of steel worked fine. I did find that I had trouble getting the piece in place directly under the jack. After a couple of tries I had it and it worked fine. By late Friday evening we were all loaded. We planned to leave at about 9 AM.
Before leaving I was shutting down systems in the house. During our trip to Palm Springs we weren't able to log on to the security cameras, I checked and plugged the cable modem into an outlet that stays hot when others are turned off.. By then I had shut down the home computers. Gerri tried to log onto the cameras from her lapop in the motorhome. By the time we had checked the cameras it was 10 AM. We pulled away from the house at 10:10 AM.
We decided not to stop for fuel since fuel level was 3/4 tank and the trip for today is only about 150 miles. Our route was I-215 to I-515 and onto US 95. There was very little traffic and we went through Searchlight and on into California to I-40. We were only on I-40 for 50-60 miles. This stretch of I-40 is as rough as the stretch through Oklahoma. As soon as we crossed into Arizona the highway improved and was quite smooth. after nine miles in Arizona we turned south on AX SR-95 on into Lake Havasu City.
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| Park Entrance |
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| Our small view of the lake |
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| Our Patio area |
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| Our coach from outside the park |
We went to the Kerslake site at 5:00 and visited before supper, we hadn't seen them since September in Melissa TX. From their site we could see most of the sunset. It was beautiful, first gold and then red. We didn't have our camera with us. The day had been warm but cooled quickly to the point that heaters were needed during supper. We had a great meal of grilled steak served with an onion Salad and mushrooms.
As I said before Alice and Keith are buying the site they occupy. That site has a large patio type cover, an outside kitchen and a casita with a laundry area, storage and a washroom.
The lot next door on their west is for sale by the same person that they bought from. It has no casita but has a large concrete parking area. Both lots back onto a small wash that separates the sites and those behind them to the north.
We went back to our site at about 10 PM. We retired after catching up on e-mail and Facebook messages.
It was enjoyable day and should be the start of a great week here in Lake Havasu City. So far we have had no problems with the DirecTV system, or the city water inlet filling and overflowing the fresh water tank. The new solar light I got for the flagpole is working out well. I don't know how long the batteries last during the night but at midnight the flags were still lit up.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013, Las Vegas, NV
Last morning in Palm Springs. We all got up early so we didn't have to rush to meet the 11 AM checkout time. Even though Neva suffered form a nasty cold most of the week we had a relaxing time spent with family. Her cold is clearing up but not completely gone.
During the week we enjoyed weather a little warmer than in Las Vegas. I visited the Air Museum and found a few geocaches. Neva caught up on a lot of reading, Gerri spent some time on the computer doing her group's administrative duties. There was enough sun on Thursday that Neva and Gerri sat by the pool for a couple of hours.
We got such a late start last Friday on the way to Palm Spring so we traveled the long way, most of it on Interstate Highways. For the return trip we took the shorter distance, but longer time, through 29 Palms, Amboy, Kelso and Cima. We picked up I-15 just south of State-line We did stop in Kelso and took pictures of the old Railway station. This was an important stop on the Union Pacific line for water and brake checks. There aren't many buildings left, the station, the Post Office and school are the most notable. I spoke to a Park Service employee who said that the last of the old railroad houses were torn down a couple of years ago, all replaced by more modern houses. Our friend Bob Rodreick lived here in one of the old houses when his father worked for the UP. Bob, no more going home. I tried to remember when we were there last, it has to be over 20 years ago,
It would be hard to describe how much sand is out there surrounded by forbiddingly rugged mountains, The old Post Office brought back memories of walking to the Post Office in Riverview, WV with my Grandfather. We didn't have home delivery. That Post Office was what had been a carriage house next to the Post Mistresses home. It was about 3/4 of a mile each way and a grand adventure for a young boy with his small hand holding his Grandfather's strong protective hand. But, I digress.
I thought it was a pleasant drive. Gerri said she would never go that way again. Too many signal lights in the towns and too many dips and curves on the highway. It didn't seem bad from the back seat, but then I wasn't the one negotiating the stops, dips and turns.
We got home at about 3:30 PM and unloaded or transferred things to Neva's car.
Neva rested while I transferred pictures back and forth between our cameras. She then drove home. This trip was not exciting but was good for the three of us.
Our next planned trip is to San Clemente State Beach in San Clemente, CA
During the week we enjoyed weather a little warmer than in Las Vegas. I visited the Air Museum and found a few geocaches. Neva caught up on a lot of reading, Gerri spent some time on the computer doing her group's administrative duties. There was enough sun on Thursday that Neva and Gerri sat by the pool for a couple of hours.
.JPG) |
| Neva at Kelso |
.JPG) |
| Gerri at Kelso |
It would be hard to describe how much sand is out there surrounded by forbiddingly rugged mountains, The old Post Office brought back memories of walking to the Post Office in Riverview, WV with my Grandfather. We didn't have home delivery. That Post Office was what had been a carriage house next to the Post Mistresses home. It was about 3/4 of a mile each way and a grand adventure for a young boy with his small hand holding his Grandfather's strong protective hand. But, I digress.
.JPG) |
| Kelso Post Office |
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| There used to be a building around these jail cells |
We got home at about 3:30 PM and unloaded or transferred things to Neva's car.
Neva rested while I transferred pictures back and forth between our cameras. She then drove home. This trip was not exciting but was good for the three of us.
Our next planned trip is to San Clemente State Beach in San Clemente, CA
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