Today was our last day of work, in fact what was left of the crew all worked this morning. More about that later.
Monday I began some of the prep chores in getting the camper ready to travel. I aired the camper tires, cleaned the wheels etc., I wanted them to look good going down the road and I greased the MorRyde suspension system. Actually, I not too sure how much grease was in the system because I believe I used a half a tube of grease on them.
Tuesday saw me cleaning the truck. It takes me a bit over an hour to do that mostly because I don't work to fast, but the truck looks good and that is the goal. Later that afternoon we went to Bill & Luddella's to visit with them and have dinner. We went to Texas Roadhouse and had a good meal. It was a good time we will miss them but hopefully we will see them in November.
Thursday after work we stopped by Happy Hour and enjoyed the appetizers our boss Mikki bought for everyone. We said our goodbyes with hugs to all those who are leaving before we are and especially to those who are not coming back next year. To all of our fellow Decor Team members it has been a wonderful and memorable experience for Sarah & I, we will not forget these past four months. So we would like to say to our fellow workampers as they get back on the road:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.
As I stated before today was our last day of work. We finished at noon and said more goodbyes to our team. We then went to Wendy's for a fish sandwich, I remember liking them and had not had one for a long time so we tried them and they are still good. Then it was time to grocery shop for the road.
The rest of the day has been spent doing very little. I did get the ladders secured to the camper and lubricated the bike rack locks. Other than that I read the rest of the day.
Tomorrow I am taking Steve & Teresa to the airport at five am, then fuel the truck, come home and load the bikes, check the air in the truck tires, make sure the fifth wheel has air in it and put away a few more items and we should be ready to go Sunday morning.
Dreams Do Come True
Our Home
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
12 Days Left in Mesa
I know I have said it before but “Where does the time go?” We have two more weeks of work and then back on the road. I am ready for it, I have enjoyed the time here, we have met a lot of great people and hope to stay in touch with them and hopefully work with them again next year. In this life style, the tendency is to meet a variety of individual personalities, some you like some you don’t. I have to say though, like Will Rogers, I haven’t met anyone I didn’t like in our traveling so far.
To bring you up to date about our doings we go back to April 4 and a delightful dinner with Nikki, Jack and Meredith. We went to Sweet Tomato restaurant, now I am not one for a full vegetarian meal, ST is mostly veggies, but they do have a few things that are more to my liking. If you have never been to one, I don’t know what the Midwest has to compare to it, but it is one big salad bar plus soups and breads and it is all very good. We had a great time and have enjoyed being with them. Nikki, Jack and Meredith we hope to see you next winter.
Monday, the 5th, Colleen and Darrius came over and we had lunch at Midwestern Meats. They have the best tenderloins you will find down here, in fact I believe only two places, MW and the Iowa Café, have tenderloins, that rival any I have had up north. We had a good time and I am glad Colleen has finally made it to the East side.
The 6th we headed for Casa Grande to see John & Kathy Evans, friends we met in Des Moines, they have been going to Casa Grande every winter for the last 10+ years. They took us to Eloy, AZ to the airport there to watch the skydivers, http://www.skydiveaz.com/. This was something I had wanted to see and I was not disappointed. So no one will ask, there isn’t enough money in the world, well it would take an awful lot of it, to get me to jump from a perfectly good airplane. I watched in amazement at the control the jumpers had with their chutes. The wind began to pick up around noon and so the powers to be suspended further takeoffs but there was one plane still in the air. Evidently when the wind got too high to safely send more jumpers up those, already up had a choice to jump or not to jump. We saw about six come back on the plane. Those that chose to jump had a tough job landing. We saw some land about a quarter to half mile from the landing zone, so a vehicle was dispatched to pick them up, others landing in dust clouds, I don’t know how they knew where the field was but they made it back. It was quite a sight to see the jumpers skid across the grass before coming to a stop and it always looked like they were coming in to fast to avoid injury but they all made it safely. A few pictures:
The rest of the week, it was nothing but work, work and more work. Actually, we still like doing the job and the great group we work with makes it even better.
Friday night found us going to Colleen & Darrius’ for dinner and the next day a trip to Tucson. Colleen fixed a great dinner of cod with panko, a Japanese breadcrumb, the salad had prosciutto and melon and of course wine. As always, it was delicious. Saturday we headed for Tucson, we left exactly at 8:30; we wanted to be in Tucson by 10 am. Darrius’ sister Deb lives in a gated community for 55+.
There was a townhouse I wanted to look at, it needs too much work inside for the price they want but we will keep an eye on it. The rest of the day was spent with Deb. We ended up for lunch at a Mexican restaurant, http://www.minidito.net/main.html. President Bill Clinton ate here in 1999; in fact, they sat us at the table he ate at. The food was fabulous and very good quality for a modest price. In fact, I have paid more for Mexican food that was nowhere near as good.
We left there and went to the Anita Street Market, http://www.yelp.com/biz/anita-street-market-tucson, they don’t have a website, and I guess their reputation speaks for itself. We bought some green chili, tortillas and em piñatas, I don’t remember ever having the em piñatas but they were fabulous, they are a pastry with filling. The green chili was beef in a broth with green chilies in it and you put the meat on tortillas, fabulous. It was a good thing Darrius has GPS in his car because I don’t know if we would have found it otherwise.
We had a great time seeing Deb and I like Tucson more each time I go there. Deb we will see you in the fall.
We got home around five or so and spent the evening watching TV. Thank you Colleen & Darrius for everything this winter, we have enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to seeing you next winter if not before.
Monday the 12th was transmission service time for the truck. They changed both filters and did the service, I was in and out in a bit over two hours and they washed the truck for me.
Nothing much happened the rest of the week until Saturday. We went over to Steve & Teresa’s; along with John & Cindi Cline, Mickey & Venita Holbrook and Brad & Suzanne Abernathy, we work together on Wed, Thurs and Friday afternoon. Steve made jambalaya and everyone else brought an appetizer etc. We had a great time sitting around eating a delicious meal and some very interesting conversation, what fun, we will miss these folks, although Brad & Suzanne are working in Rapid City this summer, John & Cindi live in Omaha, and Steve & Teresa and Mickey & Venita are expected back to Mesa next winter so maybe we will get to see everyone again. As with a lot of the folks you meet on the road given enough time your paths will cross again.
Pictures of the group,
Saturday found me putting on the tailgate I bought for the truck last January. I kept putting it off and finally decided I needed to get it done so I bought some items I needed and did it. I had to drill four holes in the truck and two in the gate but I got it done and it looks pretty good.
The next time I write we will be in either Omaha or Des Moines.
Remember – Dreams Do Come True
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Mesa Regal RV Resort
March 1st, where did the time go? It doesn’t feel like we have been here four months, we leave April 1st heading for Omaha, then Des Moines. Lots of things to do, people to see in a short period of time.
I know my kids, and some others, think I talk about food too much. Well, to bad because here I go again. A week ago we went to a restaurant in Phoenix called Rustler’s Rooste, http://www.rustlersrooste.com/. We met Nikki, Jack and Meredith there, I have to get a picture of the three of them, and Terry and Nina Kletting were there also. Terry works for Penske, use to work for Ruan, and he was in town for their annual sales meeting. It was great to see them, I don’t believe I have seen either one for over twenty years they haven’t change a bit, 
Went to the movie last Saturday and saw This Means War with Reese Witherspoon, it was funny and entertaining, it won’t win any Oscars but it was fun to see.
I took the truck in for an oil change on Monday, I got a birthday deal, half price during my birthday month. When I got home I noticed something wedged between the bug deflector and the hood, it was the oil filler cap. The first thing I thought about was oil all over the engine, it didn’t happen, but I did call the service advisor and informed him of what I found. I need to have the transmission serviced before we leave so I think I will remind him of what happened on the oil and have them check the oil just so they know I am watching them. I doubt it will make much difference but I feel better doing that.
Monday night we went to the Arizona Opry, http://azopry.com/, it was a great evening. We went friends, Bill & Luddella, it was the Rock n Roll and Country show, about half and half. The performers are great, I could have sat and listen to them all night. It was a dinner show, the dinner was chicken, mash potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, dressing, roll and cake, the portions were big so no one went away hungry.
Each of the performers play multiple instruments and all do it very well. The music director of the show and the lead singer is George Staerkel who was the lead singer for the Tokens and sang “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, which he sang. I bought some of their CDs and George, we are on a first name basis, except I don’t believe I told him my name, oh well, signed on of them for Sarah.
Linda Carter, Wonder Woman for the whenever, had a show at one of the other resorts, we could have gone but decided not to. I heard the show was pretty good and for a 61 year old she still looks good. Marie Osmond is coming to one of the resorts later this month but we are going to skip that one also.
That’s about all for now and Dreams Do Come True.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)