Monday to Thursday, December 2 to 5, 2019 (La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite, AZ)

We were both awake super early Monday (Dec. 2) morning...for some reason neither one of us could sleep, so it was 5:00 a.m. when we got up and put the coffee on. Our first of many beautiful Arizona sunrises...

We headed off to Parker shortly after 9:00...about the last thing we felt like doing after being on the road for five straight days! But we had no cell, internet or food!

Our first stop was at the Verizon dealer...after waiting for our turn, I explained to the fellow what I wanted to do. I had already researched on-line so knew exactly the plan I wanted and what it would cost. Should be straight forward, right? Wrong. Apparently both of our devices had been put on a "lost or stolen" list (no idea how or why...they have been in our trailer cupboard since April 1 when we returned to BC) so he had to call Verizon Customer Service. What I don't get is why authorized dealers are put on hold and have to wait for their turn just like "Joe Blow public".  Anyway, they do...and he was bounced around five times, each time having to wait a good half hour or more until a rep came on the line. It was bad timing on our part because it was Monday and the first working day after the long Thanksgiving weekend. He had absolutely no luck in getting anyone to help...so after 3 hours, we gave up and left. It was 1:00 by this time and we still had grocery shopping to do! We'll try Blythe tomorrow...it's closer to Q and where we have usually gone in the past.

Steve dropped me off to stock up at Walmart while he went for gas at the Running Man gas station. There was road work around there so when he went to leave the only exit out of the station was out of town so he had to drive to the casino to turn around. Upon his return, he pushed the shopping cart for me...I was almost done anyway. Then it was time to go wait in line at the till. When we got to the cashier we were delayed about 5 minutes because she was handed a pouch of money and needed a supervisor with a pass key to open her cash drawer...Geez! I had been planning on going to Safeway too but by that time, I had had enough (actually both of us had!), so we headed home. It was basically a "day from hell"...not exactly how we wanted to start our stay here!

Tuesday (Dec. 3)...and another gorgeous sunrise!

Blythe is only about 25 minutes away but it is in California and in a different time zone, so they are an hour behind us here. The Verizon store didn't open until 10:00 a.m./11:00 our time, so we headed off just after 10:00 our time. We wanted to make a quick stop at the Smart and Final Grocery Store on our way.

I went into Verizon while Steve popped into the Ace Hardware right next door. I was still waiting for my turn when Steve came in...seems they only have a couple of reps to start the day off. Two more eventually arrived. Callie, the rep who took care of us had much more luck than the one in Parker yesterday...it still took 2 hours but at least when we left, we had an operational cell phone and jetpack! So that's 5 hours in two days we'll never get back!

We were home around 2:00, had a bite to eat and then spent the next couple of hours puttering around...until it was time to get ready and go out for dinner. Earl and Allison had arranged a birthday dinner for me at our favourite Quartzsite restaurant...Silly Al's Pizza. Left to right, around the table...Art, Jan, Allison, Earl Steve, me, Terri and Fred...

Silly Al's has the best pizza! And come next month, there will be a line up of folks waiting for a table. At least when that time comes, if you have 10 or more in your party, you can reserve. Earl said that when he called to make a reservation for us, he was told he was the very first person to call for a reservation this season! What a fabulous evening...thanks for all the birthday wishes too!

Wednesday (Dec. 4) with rain in the forecast for the afternoon, we thought we'd get out on our quads and visit some friends that are already here. We started with Doug and Sue...the couple we had worked with a few years ago, at both Monck and Tunkwa Provincial Parks in BC. This is their first winter travelling south and seem to be really enjoying it.

Next, we stopped to see Colin and Marilyn, a couple from Iowa who full-time RV while Colin does RV repair work. We first met them at a Boondocking Rally a couple of years ago, but got to spend more time with them while here last year.

With our visiting done, Steve decided to take advantage of the calm wind (calm before the storm?) and fly his RC glider. He tied a ribbon to his old quad flag pole for a wind sock and planted it. The plane is up there somewhere...good thing he could see it, because I sure couldn't!

During his third flight he was forced to stop due to a malfunctioning elevator which made for an erratic decent. Within minutes the wind came up and the rain started. So we basically hung out relaxing inside all afternoon.

By late afternoon, the rain had subsided leaving a rainbow...by the time Steve got out to take a picture, it was fading.

And a nice sunset...

We were just finishing up dishes Thursday (Dec. 5) morning when Roberts RV Wash called...they will be here in 10 minutes. It surprised us because we weren't expecting them until this afternoon...but this worked out much better.

Just before they arrived, a big fog bank came in...

There were two fellows working and about an hour or so later, all of the road salt and dirt had been washed off both the fifth-wheel and truck. We were also $150 lighter! After they had left, Steve took his rags to wipe off excess water from the truck. It was a beautiful, warm day with lots of sunshine! We even had shorts and flip flops on in the afternoon!

I worked on the blog most of the day, going out to help Steve when needed...and fitting in a little housecleaning too. Steve finally got everything set up outside and I took a couple of pictures...home, sweet home for the next few months. That's Earl and Allison on the right along the wash...

That's Fred and Terry between the trailer and truck. Art and Jan are hidden behind our trailer...

At 4:00 we had our first happy hour... Earl and Allison, Colin and Marilyn an Dino and Lisa, who had just arrived today, joined us in the late afternoon sunshine. Dino and Lisa are friends of Jim and Barb's that we met here 3 years ago. Neither one of us thought to take a picture! Too busy catching up with everyone...we're definitely slipping LOL!