I fixed it

Finally got the car fixed.

I suppose you probably didn't know it was broken.

Well it was.

The top would not go down all the way.

Arrived at the dealership 8am as per my appointment.This of course is the middle of the night for me.
Amber,my service advisor said it would not be too long and sure,I can wait.
9am Amber says she's sorry but my car has not been taken in because my technician has gone home sick.
Whoopee!
She will get me a ride home
10:30am my ride is here
There are 5 of us,4 reside real close by and 1 does not
Dumb Dumb takes the guy that lives out by Superstition Mountain home first.That way the rest of us get to ride around and enjoy the view.
11:30 I am home.
12:30 They pick me up cause the car is ready
12:37 I am there and I get the car.
12:45 I'm at Lowe's buying glue to repair some wood stuff on the coach

Anyway! The car is fixed and the wood is fixed.Went shopping for chairs again and again never found any,Had a couple,BBQ'd steak,relaxed and Bob's your uncle.

Golfing

Wednesday we went golfing.

It's been a while,but didn't play that bad.
With these cataracts I don't see the ball fly too well but there are 3 other guys with eyes to help.

Had a great time.Golf was $32.00 for 18 holes with a cart and it included lunch

What a country.

After that it was back to the Fishers for texas holdem and this time we didn't loose our shirts.
Maybe just our socks.

Another great day in the lives of old retired folks.

A couple of quiet ones

SUNDAY

Twas a little fuzzy.

Watched tv

Went to bed

MONDAY

Worked around the coach

Did a little shopping

Home in time for the game

TV,Bed

Typical old people day

Visiting

The Kosh's picked us up and off we went to the Friel's

Drinks,great food and awesome company.

What a Country!

Miss T even supplied a little entertainment.

We also had a visit by a Hummer.

Then they took our money again.

Oh well.We had a great time.

Really!

Yesterday right here in the area
                                                     A home invasion with violence
               
                                                     A shooting with the guy left in critical condition

                                                     A Murder

WOW!

It's safer in Mexico.   We got to get ready and go.

That's only one place in the USA.What about the rest of the country?

But you know what?      IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY TODAY"

The sun is shinning and it's hot,hot,hot.So after running around getting nothing done, we decided to hit the pool

They have a very nice pool

And a very big toilet.

Nice bar and restaurant

We also had a friendly bar tender named Ginger.That just might be the name she used to use when she was a dancer but I don't know.
Large glass of wine-$2.00 Can of beer-$2.00 Jug of draft $5.00
what a country!



For Happy Hour they bring in live entertainment and Horses Hooves every day.Yesterday there had to be around 80 people show up.

Old People Party Time!

Still Trying

We had a healthy breakfast and then ran errands.

Had a healthy lunch

We actually had a successful day getting shit done.

Soon it was "Happy Hour"


OH DEAR!



Some people we met in The St Albert campground,Jim and Debby,stopped by,then the Fisher's stopped by and the next thing you know we have blown our WW points for the day.

Oh well you can't win them all.

Maybe tomorrow.

Trying

We must try and get back to our old routines as we are not losing any weight this way.

Peg worked around the coach all day and I was out running errands.In a whole day I accomplished 2 things.1.We now have a US phone
          2.We now have mobile wireless internet for the US
That only took 6 hours.

Then it was over to the Fisher's for cocktails and a BBQ

                                 John did a mighty fine job on some ribs in his new outdoor kitchen

So much for the weight loss-Maybe tomorrow.

We got to meet up with the Kochs and the Friels and of course a little Texas Holdem

The cards were not good to us but we did manage to escape with our underwear.
Better luck next time Rick and Peg.

Mesa

We left Vegas and headed for Mesa,AZ.

T'was an uneventful trip but a gorgeous day for a drive.

Arriving in Mesa in the late afternoon we got mostly set up and then tootled down the street to the Fisher's.We had a couple there and then went for Chinese food,back to their place for another and then home.

Still tired from Vegas,need some more shut eye.

Normal

It's time to get back to normal.

But what is normal?

Anyway,Boy went back to work and we hit the Outlet Mall after crawling out of the fart sack at the crack of 11:30am.

It was shop,shop, shop but we didn't buy much.I don't think we were in the right mood.

Had a few beers while BBQing dinner but other than that it was a quiet last day here in Vegas.

Vegas is Vegas

Enjoying the sun,drinking and gambling.

What a life

We hit the Stripburger in the afternoon for drinks followed by PF Chang's for dinner and then on to the casino again.

Three late nights in a row.This old boy is tired.

It must be this guy's fault

We are normally just quiet folks.

Las Vegas

Vegas is bad

Surprised boy in Vegas.

We had a few with Chris as we sat out in the sun in the gorgeous weather.We also got to meet his new friend Jen!

But soon they were off so we went for Pizza.I don't know if we were starving or we drank too much but the Pizza was really good.We find that to be a rarity in the US.Their pizza is not our favorite,but this one was good.

Then it was over to the machines where once again I made some $.We won't mention how someone else did.

Twas after 2am when we got home and of course we drank too much.
But we did have fun

What a country!

Hurray!

Made some more money at the slots last night and we drank our faces off and it feels like it.

The other good news is our part has arrived so we will be out of here and heading to Vegas tomorrow

It was a charged air elbow,I think!

Whoopee!

Our plans to surprise "Boy" in Vegas today are all shot to hell.

Instead we get to spend some time in Ely.
Not a hell of a lot to do in Ely.

Not a large problem with the engine but we have to wait for parts.Not sure what the part is called but it connects the piping for the intercooler to the turbo.It's cast aluminum and it looks like it has been broke for a long time and it finally let go.

The bad news is the campground is up the hill and the coach won't go up the hill,so we get to stay in the repair shops parking lot.
Bill,the shop boss man is a nice guy and will let us plug in and stay there so there we shall stay.

Tonight though we are going to stay in the hotel again and move back into the coach tomorrow.
The part is being shipped from Cummins to the distributor in Salt Lake City and then on to Ely.It will probably arrive Monday.Hopefully!

So in the meantime here we are back in a casino and making money again.

A Story

Now we have a story.

Took what we thought might be the scenic route to Ely,NV.

Not very scenic and a very high altitude.(cold)

When exiting the town of Austin,NV,while heading up a mountain at 35mph/58kph I heard a bang,black smoke started pouring out of the exhaust and we lost most of our power.Limped it barely moving to a space to pull out and shut it off.

We called Good Sam Roadside Assistance and they were going to send a tow truck.Called at 2:04 pm.

To make a long story short they agreed to tow us 90 miles to the nearest repair spot but they could not work on the coach till maybe,that's maybe the beginning of next week.I  wanted it towed to Ely about 145 miles away but would have to pay the difference.(probably $350 -$400 more) I agreed.
Get r done!

8:20pm the tow truck arrives.

After making friends and doing a little schmoozing he tow'd  it the extra for $20.00 cash.
After all he did charge them $1,480.00 for the tow.

What a country!

So now it's 10pm and it's dark.We can't drive in the dark cause of the glare of the oncoming headlights.We go back to town to get a room.3 motels,1 closed and 2 with no vacancies.

We have to drive.The good news is we are on America's loneliest highway and there is no traffic,except for the 2 deer I narrowly missed coming out of town.The next town is about 60 miles away but when we get there the nice motel has no rooms,Another motel will not take dogs and the one that has 1 room left looks like you could catch something driving by with the windows closed.

So it's on to Ely.Like I said no traffic except for Bugs,whom we hit at about 120km/75mph.Instant rabbit stew.

Then I flash my lights at this guy whom I think has his brights on and he in turn, turns on his red and blue flashers.Oh Dear!
He didn't turn around so all is good

I did notice that the temperature gauge read a high of 33/1C and a low of 19/-7C
The coach better not freeze up.

Finally we get into Ely after 1am and lots of motels are full and the rest don't answer the night bell.We find a flee bag,pay & check in.OMG it sucks,we can't stay here.It's a dump.

So off I go looking foe another place.I find a hotel,Casino that takes dogs at an extra $7.50 each.We take it.It's a nice place and off to sleep we go at 2am.The coach has of course not arrived yet.



 

Lake Tahoe

First thing this morning we said good bye to our new Oregon friends Sandy and Roger as they pulled out for destinations south.

Then we went looking for Lake Tahoe and we found it

Very beautiful.

We even found snow at 9,000 feet on Mount Rose which is just above Lake Tahoe.

And maybe a forest fire

Then what do we do?We head back to the casino.Peg lost a little but I picked up a few hundred more of those American dollars so we did ok in The Biggest Little City In The World.

After that we went home to BBQ the chicken we bought the other day but never did cause we were gambling.

Another great day in the lives of 2 old retired folks.

Slots

We planned on going to Lake Tahoe but it was cold and drizzling outside so we went to the casino instead.

We both lost in the beginning but eventually,after staying most of the day, Peg ended up almost $200.00 and me just over $2,500.00 Mostly due to a payout of just over $1,400.00 on one machine that while I was waiting for the money I won just over $1,100.00 on the machine beside it.
Whoopee!

What a country

Casino

First thing we did today was go shopping for groceries and of course Trader Joe's for booze.
Ya gotta love the US for it's booze prices.

Then it was next door to check out the casino.Peg lost a little and I gained a little and I do mean a little.
Then it was home to watch the race with our neighbours Sandy and Roger from Oregon.

We may of also had a couple along the way so after the race we all headed to the casino for dinner and of course we all left a donation for the casino cause it needed the money I'm sure.

One more when we got home and it was time for some zzzzzzz's

Reno

So here we are in Reno.

Well not exactly!

We are in Verdi which is 10 miles from Reno City Center in a KOA Kampground with a casino.

OH DEAR!

We arrived late in the afternoon and decided to sit outside,have a few, watch Kyle win the race and BBQ a steak.

So that's what we did

No Friends

The weather is getting really nice cause we hit California.

We decided to head for Redding California cause we had been here before and liked it and we had met some friends in Mexico that we thought lived close by.
We had also met some friends on the ship in Europe that we thought lived not too far away from here.
Turns out neither set lives nearby.

CRAP!

They do have The Sundial Bridge though.

So we are heading for Reno.

Bend,Oregon

So there we are again.It's the crack of 11:30 and we are pulling out of the campground.We have decided where we are going and it's Bend,Oregon.according to the internet it looks beautiful.

And actually it is beautiful country.

We arrive late in the afternoon and the campground (Crown Villa RV Resort) is awesome,but you know it is cold.I think.

I know it's cold for me.

We are only staying one night and are just going to keep going south.

Nice country.

Mary Beth and Al

We met Mary Beth and Al when we stayed at Earp,Ca a few years back, which is next door to Parker AZ. on the Colorado river

We became friends and have kept in touch over the years by email of course.
It was great to see them again and catch up on stuff.

We had a couple at their place here in Yakima then had another at the club house,cause they live on Apple Orchard Golf Course.

Great looking course but we didn't play it.Maybe next time.

After that we went for Mexican food and of course more drinks.

Once again we had a fantastic visit.

South of the Canadian Border

We got up this morning and pissed away most of the morning before heading out.

The only thing we planned was to head south of the border and then either go straight,turn left or turn right

We stayed on 97 and enjoyed the drive through the mountains and along the rivers and lakes.
Peg remembered that "My pal Al lives in Yakima Wash so that's where we headed.

We found a campground and sent Al an E mail cause we can't find his phone #

We not only found my pal Al's phone # but we found my pal Al

And Mary Beth too!

Quiet Day

We decided to stay in Oliver 1 more day and get ready to cross the border.
So that's what we did.Nothing exciting.
Millie and Dwayne went golfing then stopped by to say good bye.
We will see them in the spring in Casa Grande.
So we are ready to head south where we hope the hell it is warmer.

I'm pretty sure we have gained back some of that weight we worked so hard to lose so today we start trying again.

Millie and Dwayne

Next it is Oliver,BC where we met up with Millie and Dwayne.They moved here from Edmonton and retired.We also see them in Casa Grande where they winter.They just built a beautiful new home(cause who would build an old home),on the golf course.
They were kind enough to wine us and dine us at their place where we had a chance to catch up.

Once again we had a great time and Bob's your uncle!

Tim and Linda

Tim and Linda picked us up at the crack of noon and off we went looking at campgrounds

We never did find what we are looking for.We must be too fussy.

We however did find good places to eat and drink.

Look familiar ?

Ate too much and drank too much but what the hell!

Fun is what it's all about.

Kelowna

On Wednesday Peg did some more visiting with women relatives so I headed up to Blind Bend to look at some RV parks.Peg had a great time but I was disappointed.They sure make things sound good on the internet.

When I got back they had dinner just a cookin so we had another fantastic homemade meal and a good visit

Thursday we drove down to Kelowna where we met up with Tim and Linda whom we had become friends with in Mexico 2 years ago.

One thing led to another and that of course led to more.

Had a great time!

It's not much warmer here than it is in Edmonton but the sun is shinning and the view of course does not compare.

We are off again!

The weather in Alberta sucks so BC here we come.

On Monday Sept 30 at the crack of 10:30am we hit the road.

There was a recall for the steering on the bus and we waited a week and a half for the part but supposedly it was on back order and was going to be shipped on the 26th and it would be at least a week before it arrived.
No way! We are out of here.They say we could loose steering capabilities at any minute but I have been driving this rig for 4 years and it has been fine.We will get it done down the road somewhere.
I wanted some new sunglasses so I went for an eye exam and they told me I have cataracts on both eyes and need surgery.
Fine!
Next year.
So I'd suggest you stay off the highways that I will be travelling as you don't want to encounter a bus that could loose it's steering at any moment being driven by a blind guy.

We spent the first night,after driving most of the day in the rain,at Valemont.
It rained most of the night too.Then Tuesday morning we hit the road again around the crack of 10:30

We stopped along the mighty Fraser for lunch and then it was off to Kamloops where we had an awesome dinner at Peg's cousin Sheila's.Actually there was a house full of relatives from Peg's side and we had a great visit.Forgot the damn camera again.Drove home in the dark and was that ever fun. I guess if you can't see it doesn't matter if it's dark or not.

We made it!