Tuesday April, 19, 2016 Lake Havasu City, AZ

No wind this morning.  We had our coffee and did computer chores.  In the morning I worked on making some reservations for the upcoming trip.  I want to have them pretty firm before we leave here on May 7.

I made a trip to Walmart and looked for caches around midday.  I found 4 and DNFed 1.

Gerri spent the day in the coach.  Tonight Gerri is making dinner for us and the Kerslakes.  She made Tuscany chicken, rice and garlic bread.  We ate a great meal at the Kerslake's out door dining area.

The sun put on a good show in the west and the moon was nearly full in the east.

We were in bed by 10 PM.

Monday April 18, 2016 Lake Havasu City, AZ

Another windy night and morning.  We had our coffee and caught up on computer chores.  The park wifi is nearly useless and at least on my computer Keith's wifi comes and goes.

I spent more time planning our trip. Some of my planning had to be redone since we now plan to visit Neva while she is in Flagstaff.  We also now plan to attend a cousin's wedding in the Dallas area at the end of May.  After leaving Dallas I planned two routes north east to Charlotte, MI. and on to St. John, New Brunswick.  I planned the last part of the route via Toronto and Montreal, later Gerri mention it might be better to drive further south and stay in the USA most of the drive.  I may have to replan.

I called for reservations in the more critical areas, Flagstaff, Kyle, and Dallas.  I then had to replan the Kyle and Dallas portions as some of the places I had planned to stay weren't available.  Tomorrow, I will start trying to make reservations after Little Rock and up thru the midwest.  I may have to do more re-planning.

In the later afternoon we drove downtown to the post office and to do some shopping.  I tried to find 3 caches and was only successful with one.  At least the one I found took a 5 year old DNF off my list.

For dinner Gerri prepared pork chops and home fries.

All day I could see Keith working around his place.  They are packing up, they are buying a house in Mennefee, CA and putting their place here up for sale. They plan to leave here on Saturday.  I feel a little guilty about not being much help.  With my balance and endurance, I would be more of a hindrance.

Today's picture is of a gift from Montyne and John, Just Flowers, made to decorate the motorhome.  We hung them just behind the driver's seat after our travels were over last fall.

We were in bed before 10 PM.

Sunday April 17, 2016 Lake Havasu City, AZ

It was still windy during the night and pretty much stayed that way all day.

We had our coffee and then tuned into the worship services net cast from Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ.  Randy's message was, Stay Out Of Prison.  It was a reminder that governments are instituted by God and meant to protect law abiding people.  Of course my observation is that many governments have strayed from God's purpose and need to change courses.

Our lot with motor home and Jeep

I spent most of the afternoon planning our up coming trip.  I was severly handicapped because a large portion of my mapping program isn't working properly.  I can't zoom into street level between Kingman, AZ and Little Rock, AR. That means my routes only show from point to point and don't follow the roads.  We will be leaving here on May 7 and plan to join our Maritimes caravan on June 27 in New Brunswick.  I made some reservations and will work on that more tomorrow.

Keith's daughter and family arrived for a visit.  They are on the way from Flagstaff, AZ to their home in Marin, CA.  Just visiting overnight.  We joined them for hors d'oeuvres and then for dinner.

Back at our coach, I spent some more time trip planning while Gerri read.

Saturday April 16, 2016 Lake Havasu City, AZ

We had spent much of the last couple of days getting ready for a week long visit to Lake Havasu City.  We will visit our friends Alice and Keith Kerslake, staying at our lot in Havasu RV Resort.

We were ready to travel by 11 AM.  We got as far as Buffalo and Russell Road and the alarm was activated at the house.  I pulled over and deactivated it and then reset it.  We had just entered I-215 east and the alarm activated again.  John went by the house and took care of contact with the alarm company.  We have had trouble with sensors shifting out of range.  The alarm company will have to come out and check them.

This short trip is also to be a check run for the coach in preparation of our long trip this summer.

The trip to Lake Havasu City is about 160 miles. The only problem was the wind.  Much of the time we were limited to about 50 mph.  It was especially bad when driving east on I-40, of course it has been years since US-94 from the Laughlin turnoff to I-40 had been improved.  It is rough, winding, has dips and not very good shoulders.

We were set up in our lot by 3.  It was windier than in Las Vegas.  I didn't put up the flags.  I also didn't put out the awning although that meant keeping the blinds down on the west side of the coach.

Keith and Alice came over, they have the next lot east, and we visited for awhile.  At 4:30 had Happy Hour with neighbors on the next street north.  They had crackers and smoked salmon snacks.  Later Alice made dinner.  We had delicious old fashion cheeseburgers with macaroni salad.

Back at our coach I tried to get on the Internet.  The park Internet was slow and for some reason I couldn't get logged on to Keith's system.  Gerri was able to get on with both her iPad and laptop.  I tried rebooting and  I turned off my computer and it started installing 65 updates, this computer hadn't been used since September.  I gave up and went to bed at 9:30.

Found this picture on line, minus the wind 

April 8, 9 10 and 11, 2016 Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico

Friday April 8, 2016

Today was clear, overall the whole day was the nicest we had all week.  During our coffee time Gerri tried to get pictures of the birds coming and going from the hole in the saguaro behind our villa.  She used her iPad and didn't get the quality she wanted. Her camera was left behind in Las Vegas.

At the pool area we read and played the daily Loteria games.  Gerri won another game today.  Like I said this was one of the nicest days we have had recently.  The Gulf of California or La Mar de Cortez was back to it's beautiful shades of blue and turquoise.  We stayed at the pool until after 5.

Back at our villa, it was more reading and Sudoku puzzles.  Our dinner was the left over macaroni dish that Gerri froze last week.

Gerri did get a picture of the children's pool in front of our building.  That pool opened last year and a restaurant, Las Fuentes opened this year,  The children' activity center and another water play area are out of sight to the right of the picture.





Saturday April 9, 2016

Another nice day, plenty of sun but not too hot.

Of course we started the day with coffee and reading.  Then it was off to the pool for Loteria, ocean and people watching, and more reading..  Gerri won another game.







During the afternoon Gerri walked up to the hotel area and took pictures of the other pools in that area.













For a late lunch we shared an order of lobster tacos and onion rings.  The food was very good, three tacos.  They were very filling.

We went back to our villa at about 6.  Some reading, TV and Sudoku puzzles brought as to bed time.














Sunday April 10, 2016

This started as another clear day, our last full day in Cabo this year.

We started our coffee and tuned into the worship service at Oakey Boulevard.  Randy delivered a message on the importance of continued teaching and learning.

There were some whitecaps but the Sea was beautiful all day.  I prefer the clear days but they make it harder to go home.  I won one of the Loteria games.  All in all we have been pretty lucky this month.  Over all I think Gerri has won 11 and I have won 7.

We were back in our villa for the night by 6 PM.  We are quite the night owls.  We have been out 3 times after dark, finishing dinners, twice here at the resort and once in Cabo.

Gerri made breakfast for dinner.  We also finished up the last of the left overs.

We read some and did computer chores. We also watched to birds come and go in the cactus behind the villa.  We were hoping for a treat at sunset.  We got more color than we expected.

Our shuttle to the airport leaves at 1:40 tomorrow.  We need to get some things packed and will ask for an extension of our check out time.  They normally give us an extra hour.

Monday April 11, 2016

This morning was unusual in that I set an alarm to get up.  This is check out and go home day.  Gerri had started packing last night, but the bulk of it had to be done with checkout time looming at 10 AM.  I tried to get another hour, but there was a $50 US per hour.  We had our coffee, but our time on the internet had expired.

At 9:40 I went to the office to settle a discrepancy in the bill.  Gerri met me there after having a bell man bring down our luggage.  We went to Tomatoes Restaurant in the Sheraton Hotel for breakfast.  We had a good meal even though I don't care a lot for buffets.  The weather was very pleasant and we had a good view of the sea from our table.

After breakfast we waited in the Vacation club lobby for our shuttle to the airport at 1:20.

More waiting at the airport in San Jose del Cabo.  Our flight to Phoenix didn't board until 3:40.  I got really lucky and was chosen for an extra security screening before boarding.  After an excruciatingly slow time going through customs and immigration, we had another 4 hour wait for our flight to Las Vegas.  Gerri bought us dinner at Panda Express.

We arrived in Las Vegas on time and Montyne picked us up.  We were home by 10 PM.

It was a great trip.  The water was a little unusual in Cabo but overall it was good.  I managed to find 2 traditional caches and attend 2 geocaching meet and greets with a couple I met last year, GeoNavPros.  Our first 2 weeks was in a 2 bedroom unit with Gerri's mother.  The next 2 weeks was just Gerri and I in a Studio.  Even though we missed Neva's company and the nightly domino games, the studio units really wouldn't be comfortable for more than 2 adults.  The kitchen is small and the only dining area is a counter that seats 2.

We have made reservations for about the same dates next year in one bedroom units for the entire 4 weeks.  We have to check back and see if we can get one unit for the entire stay.

Our next adventure is a week in Lake Havasu City visiting our friends Keith and Alice Kerslake.  This will be a short shakedown trip in our motor home in preparation for our trip to the Maritimes starting in May.

April 4, 5, 6 and 7, 2016 Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico

Monday April 4, 2016

Well I could just say ditto yesterday but that wouldn't be correct.  We tuned into worship service from Oakey Boulevard yesterday.  That was really one more activity than we did today.  It was a normal morning of reading before going to the pool area.  Although it wasn't crowded neither of us won a Loteria game.  We did meet some people from the Atlanta area.  Turns out they are in the same building we are in.

After Gerri went back to our unit, I stayed at the pool for awhile and then walked toward the north end of the property.  I took some pictures of the emptying beach.

Our supper tonight was the rest of our leftovers from Salvatore's, plus we cleaned up the beef and bean dish from a few nights ago.  We had an interesting if not spectacular sunset.  It changed colors a couple of times as the sun sank over the horizon. My pictures don't do justice to the change from the bright gold to the gold and red,  Obviously I am not an artist like our Creator.

Tuesday April 5, 2016

Today was overcast with very little breeze.  It was also warmer and more humid than the past few days.  The Loteria games resulted in one win for Gerri.  We talked to the people we met from Georgia and another two ladies that were sitting next to us by the pool.  Conversations here always seem to get to favorite places to eat.  I should make a data base for them, because we seldom remember the names until they have been recommended several times.

Because of the time change the owners welcome party wasn't until 6 PM.  Today they featured Chicken Empanadas and BBQ Ribs.  We had a repeat of our not winning any of the door prizes.

The food at the party was our supper and we finished off the evening with reading and computer activities.

Wednesday April 6, 2016

The sky was overcast all day.  Even without the sun it was a warm day.  A normal morning and afternoon for us.  We had our coffee and then went to the pool area.  Gerri won one Loteria game.  We talked to some of the other guests, read and worked on Sudoku puzzles until about 5.

We sat on the balcony for awhile before Gerri prepared dinner.  We have noticed a Saguaro Cactus on the street behind our unit.  It has a hole near the top and occasionally a pair of birds will go in and out. Between the overcast, the fading light and the birds' quickness we haven't been able to get a picture.

Stay tuned for birds

Tonight Gerri made a beef and rice dish with sauteed peppers and onions for dinner.  Reading took us to bed time.  I finished reading Tom Keller's 2nd and 3rd book.  Tom is a retired Sergeant from Metro that I have known for a number of years.







Thursday April 7, 2016

Today was overcast.  In the early afternoon there were sprinkles, just a few spots on the ground.  There were also a lot of black clouds to the north over the Gulf.

Gerri won another Loteria game.  That brings her total to 7 and I have won five.

Tonight we had dinner at Pitahayas, http://www.pitahayas.com/.  This is an exclusive restaurant here at the resort.  It features Pacific rim fusion.  As entrees we both had grilled red snapper.  Gerri had a bowl of cream of cilantro soup and I had seafood tortilla soup.  Although the meal was good, neither of us thought it compared to Savatore's.  The good thing was that we had coupons for the meal and it only cost us a little more than the coupons were worth plus tips.

April 1,2 and 3, 2016 Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico

Friday,  April 1, 2016

We started our morning coffee.  At 10:30 I went out to the drive and waited for my ride to a geocacher meet and greet in San Jose Del Cabo.  The GeoNavPros, Derek and Karin, picked me up.  They were the organizers of the event.  I had met them last year on Pi day at another meet and greet.  There were just the three of us at the event, two other cachers had posted that they couldn't make it.  We had coffee and breakfast, we were at the restaurant for about an hour.  Derek took me to another cache in San Jose that I hadn't found.  It was an easy find and I signed one of the last spots on the log.  Karin replaced the log.  They come to Los Cabos every year and make it a point to maintain other people's caches in the area.

No Clouds!

We got back to the Hacienda Del Mar at about 1:20.  I had them drop me off nearest the pool.  I joined Gerri at the pool in time for the daily Loteria games.  We both won one, the final game only with one different cards.

As usual we stayed at the pool area and read until about 4:30.

When I checked the computer before dinner, I found that two other cachers from Holland had signed the log of the meet and greet as having attended.  I don't know how or if we missed them.  I was wearing a geocaching shirt and Derek had a GPS unit and several travel bugs on the table.  In the spirit of April 1st, I posted a note that it had been good meeting and talking to them.

Gerri made a bean and beef dish for dinner and served it on tortillas, tostado style with avocado and carrots on the side, delicious.







More reading, Sudoku and a little TV brought us to the end of the day.










Saturday April 2, 2016

Our usual morning, coffee and reading.

We went to the pool area and played Loteria.  I won one game.  We left the resort after Loteria and headed downtown to attend a geocache meet and greet,  Derek hadn't included the name of the restaurant so I had to look up the names of the streets at the coordinates so we could tell the taxi driver where to take us.

Derek and Karin were already at the meeting place when we got there.  They had a sign in on a blackboard.  The third cacher was there briefly.  He dropped Derek and Karin before he had to take care of some business at one of the rental homes he manages in the area.  We had snacks at the La Taquiza.  It is a hole in the wall, while on a main street into town from our resort, it is away from the more popular restaurants in downtown.  Beside the chips and dips we tried a Costras, cheese crusts.  This is kind of like a quesadilla without the tortilla. The cheese is fried crispy and then stuffed and rolled.  Ours was stuffed with shrimp.  Very tasty.  This restaurant isn't as sophisticated as Pancho's and others, but we will be back.  It is the item in the upper right of the La Taquiza menu.

After the meeting broke up we said goodbye to the GeoNavPros, they return home to the Vancouver, BC area on Sunday.  We will probably see them again next year.  We walked to the Cabo Coffee Company and then to Salvatore's Italian restaurant a few blocks away.  On the way we saw a shrimp restaurant named Maro's.  We took a picture because Gerri has a friend by that name from high school.

Salvatore's had been recommended to us by people we have met in Cabo over the years, but this was the first time we ate there.  The restaurant is in the courtyard of the Siesta Suites Hotel on Calle Emilio Zapata.  It is not far from Pancho's, just around the corner and down about a half block.  The food was excellent, the portions were large.  Gerri had Lasagna and I had a dish called Mamma's Sunday Gravy.  We split a salad.  Probably because it had only been a couple of hours since we had snacks at La Taquiza, we had a lot of left overs.

Gerri's lasagna

We hailed a taxi in front of the restaurant and returned to the Hacienda Del Mar.

We called it a night after some reading.  This trip I have finished 7 books plus one I started last November.




Sunday April 3, 2016

There was a time change during the night, spring ahead.  We are now on Mountain Time.  We had our coffee and then tuned into the worship service at Oakey Boulevard via the internet.  Mark West delivered the message.  Randy Mabe, our regular preacher, was in southern California.  He officiated the wedding of one of the young men, Brandon Green, that we had help send to the Memphis School of Preaching.  He now preaches at the Church of Christ in Lemoore, CA.

We went to the pool area and played the Loteria games.  I won another one today.  Years ago when we started coming here there was a large Iguana that used to hang around the shrubs around the pool and sun it's self on the rock.  We saw it briefly a couple of days ago and didn't get a good picture.  This afternoon Gerri spotted a smaller one and did get a picture.

Since the time changed we stayed later at the pool.  Back in our unit Gerri warmed up some of the left overs from Salvatore's.  As usual, Italian left overs are even better the second night.  We now have leftovers again for tomorrow.

Some reading and a little TV finished off the evening.