Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 28, 2012 From Sugar Barge, CA to Gila Bend, AZ

We are back traveling. This post should be called: Again!


Larry’s lab work was better than February’s results, so we snuck off Bethel Island a few days early. It was hard to leave while the state was in full-spring mode. Nothing says spring like tulips and daffodils.


IMG_2126


However, across the street, the wild mustard flowers say “It’s time to get out of Dodge”—before the dreaded hay fever sets in…again.


IMG_2127


I spent 10 miserable days sneezing and blowing my nose round the clock when the park trees dropped their blossoms on us. I wasn’t ready for another bout. I went to W-M to buy some allergy medicine. I read the directions: One brand said do NOT to use if you have kidney disease and the other said, Do NOT use if you have liver disease. Yikes, something that harms our kidneys or liver isn’t something safe to use. I decided sneezing and blowing my nose was preferable to the other options.


Larry celebrated his 83rd birthday with dinner at my dad's house. In case you missed it, here is the dinner:


IMG_2128


My dad on the left—who will be the same age in May and Larry on the right.


Yum yum. Diane brought macaroni salad and Karen brought a fruit plate to complement ham and sweet potatoes—again.


IMG_2131 And of course, desert!


IMG_2132


It’s official: Larry is in pretty good shape at 83 for the shape he is in, smile! Way to go, honey. My Timex watch…he keeps on ticking!


Sugar Barge changed out one of the electrical transformers while we were there. After 6 weeks of full hook-ups, it was difficult to realize we were without electricity for 10 hours. Everything I wanted to do that day required electricity. Here are the guys and their toys:


IMG_2134 IMG_2137


Because Sugar Barge is in a flood-zone (The river is higher than than Bethel Island’s ground—held back by levees) the electrical services are installed about 10 feet up in the air.


We left last Saturday morning. We stopped a night in Bakersfield, CA and then another night back at Quartzsite, AZ. We pushed on ahead of a storm to Gila Bend, AZ. And that is when our trip plans went into neutral—AGAIN.


Larry’s BP has decided to climb into an uncomfortable range—again! It went from okay to very NOT ok over night. So, we are spending a few days and tinkering with his BP meds to get his BP back into safe range.


Will we ever get back to Texas for a few weeks this year? We miss our Texas friends! I miss my pottery studio and the shower with 40 gallons of hot water and my own washer and dryer. I have boxes to open from Amazon—sent last time we thought we were headed there in February there as well as more boxes ordered last week.


In the meantime, we are trying to find beauty in the life around us here at Holt’s Shell RV Park in Gila Bend.


IMG_2152


It is spring in the desert. The days are warm and the nights are delightful.


We drove through Gila Bend and were impressed with this little town. I have heard about a fantastic Italian resturant and it looks inviting from the outside, however, we are sticking to home-cooked meals for a bit. We may sneak out to the local DQ for a Blizzard this afternoon. We are good--but not so good we pass up good frozen treats, smile.


IMG_2151


IMG_2149


Whoops, this blooming cactus is a metaphor for our life—beautiful to look at, but be careful, there are some very sharp thorns hiding in among all that beauty. These darn health issues are worrisome. It is difficult to know exactly what to do……and how to keep on living while working to keep on living!


Stay tuned for our next decision. Is the BP low enough to continue east or do we have to stay out west for the summer?????


In the mean time, I noticed these two trucks this morning and had to take photos. This is the way to be a long-haul trucker:


IMG_2153


He has better living accommodations than we do in our shoe box--at least more space!


Behind him, was this luxury RV—tractor—again, with a lot more room than the shoe box.


IMG_2155


That his his trailer on the left. Notice the size of his tractor hauler?


IMG_2156


That is a full-fledged RV pulling a trailer; no, not a racing-car trailer, but a commercial trailer with a load:


IMG_2157


Gee, if they had had RV-haulers like this 20 years ago, we could have been talked into working, smile! The best of both worlds: Actually paid to drive a RV around the country and see new sights.


Check back soon to see if we head east.

1 comment:

  1. Sorry your trip has been interrupted. Hope the health problems improve soon. Big Hugs to you both.

    ReplyDelete