Travel Tuesday: Big City Life

What a sight to fly into Seattle with it covered in snow!

Going to Phoenix to visit friends took some unexpected turns this year. For the last several years we have parked in front of my friend's house for about a week. This year, however, there was a complaint and so we discovered that parking big rigs on city streets is not allowed at all in Phoenix. Who knew? Often we can park for 3 days in different towns, but here, not at all. The very kind officer who showed up to let us know was sorry to bother us, but explained the rules. Since we were leaving the next day, he said he'd put in his report that he had contacted us and that we were leaving the next day. It was kind of him to not insist we move right away.

Did I mention all the shoveling I did?! This was before the additional 4".

After the second (3rd?) snow. A ruler wasn't long enough!     

        Jerry then moved over to a casino in the Peoria area for a week there while I flew back to Washington State to spend some time with my daughter and grandchildren.
      I didn't expect to get snowed in! It was fun, but I was disappointed that I didn't get to see anyone else while I was up there. Snow, more snow, even more snow....! And the run to Costco to prepare for said snow was an unexpected adventure. Who knew that store could hold so many people? Or that those amazing checkers could crank everyone through so fast?! Double lines reaching the back of the store and beyond, yet I was only there about an hour. It turned out to be worth it, since we did indeed get dumped on! We had some fun walks in the snow, making snow angels, playing in the snow and trying to make a snow man with snow that was drier than I ever remember it being. Until the rain started, that is! Then there were wet and cold hands and feet and sopping clothes. Ah, I remember that feeling from childhood of hands that burned and tingled as they warmed up!
  It was beautiful and I was glad to not have to try to go anywhere in all of it. I can't go so far as to say I've missed snow by spending my winters in the Southwest, but I did enjoy it while I was there.
    Since we weren't done in the Phoenix area, Jerry scouted around to find other options for the rest of our time there. He found a wonderful place at Lake Pleasant, right on the water. So we enjoyed our week there even though it rained several of the days. We had friends join us for lunch at the Marina Diner and then returned to our rig to play cards the rest of the afternoon which was fun.

Lake Pleasant Marina, the lake, our view, enjoying sunshine again.

  The next day we went to church with some friends we've known for years from our old church and it was great getting together with them, being blessed by the music, the good teaching and the presence of God we felt there. Then off to lunch at a great Mexican restaurant where I managed to find something I could eat without problems.
  Off we went the next day to Tucson, settling in to an RV Park for a change. It was the closest place to the friends we wanted to visit and for an unbeatable price. Since it was so cold that week, we were quite thankful to have electricity. I felt pretty pampered!
  We enjoyed the visits we had with our friends, eating at their homes, eating out. Getting together with old friends and even some new ones. We are blessed with such great friends!
   Not only was the weather very cold in Tucson (it got down to 24 one night) but we woke up one morning to snow on the truck! That was unexpected. It also rained there so much the dirt roads in the RV Park turned to lakes and mud. We were content to take a day off and rest up on the worst day. It started to dry out by the time we were on our way to our next location.
    I enjoy Tucson, not only to visit friends, but also to stock up on supplies and get to some of their specialty stores like the Food Conspiracy Co-op that sells things that I can't find in a Sprouts store. Meeting up with our new friends there made it even more fun.
  After all that Big City life, we were ready to head off to Yuma Foothills to meet up with the Boondocker group on the Arizona Trust Land, and to celebrate a 50th Wedding Anniversary of friends from our home park. That was a fun gathering and we were able to see many friends from home who winter in Yuma.

New Roof in Phoenix

APR RV has great decor and antiques.

new decking applied

The shadow by his thumb shows the thickness.

       It turns out that much of the decking needed to be replaced (the wood under the rubber roof) and the leak that we had noticed in the last several months was not the only one to leave its mark. It turns out the the 'oops' I had done, going under low power lines and breaking the booster antennae had an up side. The small hole, that we had a hard time finding, did some damage and took awhile to find and patch. When I talked to APR RV and told them about the roof, they suggested I check to see if insurance would cover it. They did, and we are SO thankful! It was covered under the Collision clause, so we only had to pay for the extras that we had them do while they were at it. The Flex-All roofing material they put on is thicker than anyone else and guaranteed for life, even if you sell the rig. We got a new bathroom fan installed (included) with 2 MaxxAir vent covers, a new TV antennae, and all the solar panels replaced in a more orderly arrangement. And no more caulking ever! I love that. Now to figure out how to fix the stains inside....

Repairs are an expected part of life on the road and we seem to be having a season of 'catch up'.
    We have known for months that our roof would need replacing, and before leaving Washington, we did some research and found a place in Mesa, AZ, knowing that we'd be down here for a few months. They had good reviews and could do the work we needed. (APR RV) A bonus was getting to stay with Ruth and her new husband Tim in Phoenix while our rig was in the shop.
    We did get an estimate from RV Armour while at the Escapee RV Club Escapade in Tucson, but decided to go with our original plan since they work on it indoors. That appealed to us over having the other guys come to us in Washington
and be exposed to the elements (and bugs, birds, leaves, etc!).
   We rely on reviews quite a bit when trying to find someone to fix something. Our various forums and groups are helpful, and I also found another great resource:   RVServiceReviews.com. It always helps to see what others experienced.

New roof, all solar panels reinstalled.

Big City Livin'

It seems to take a long time in our circuit to mosey over to Phoenix where I get to catch up with my friend Ruth and restock at the stores, but we finally made it. We use her house as a shipping address, and it was like Christmas when we got there! All kinds of packages awaited us along with a sweet card from the grandkids. Anticipating our arrival, we ordered several things from Amazon to restock and replace.

We spent several days in Casa Grande at RoVers Roost SKP park and while there I drove up to Phoenix for the day to go shopping with Ruth when she was off work. It was a great day and I was able to find all I needed including 3 pairs of shoes! I had saved my sandal shopping for Phoenix and was rewarded by finding more than anticipated. It's not my favorite thing to shop for, but made fun by sharing it with a friend.

Butterfly Guy with several at once!

We were able to park in front of her house for just over a week. She went around asking the neighbors nearby if it was a problem, and unanimously they welcomed us! I enjoyed her large and lovely kitchen, catching up on some baking and other kitchen activities as well as being 'camp cook' for the week. She appreciated having home cooked meals after a long day at work. We took advantage of her loaded lemon tree as well as her electric citrus juicer--such a great thing! We started 3 batches of limoncello and used the juice to make lemon ice cubes to have on hand.

Ruth, wearing hers on her sleeve

On her days off we were able to go see some of the sights with her and Tim, her boyfriend. The nighttime Canal walk was lovely with all kinds of light displays and people strolling in the warm evening air. Another delightful place we went was the Butterfly Wonderland, A Rainforest Experience. It was an amazing time, wandering around looking at all the butterflies and having them land on us! Jerry was especially interesting to him.

Linda and Jerry sitting with butterlies adorning them.

Tim sporting a forehead decoration!

Ruth, Tim and Jerry busy capturing more pictures of butterflies