YEP, I'M STILL BLOGGING

I know it's been a long time since my last post and I won't give you any excuses. We've had a wonderful winter and have counted our blessings many times. We've caught up with traveling buddies, made some new friends and explored new places.  We learned new things, like becoming a ham operator, how to play cards and backgammon, how to eat healthier and make good food choices when joining friends at a restaurant, we sang Karaoke and the icing on the cake, sort of speak, is I've toned and re-shaped by body with a new 20-minute a day workout video.

I'd say we've been keeping pretty busy this winter.  Before heading back east, we'll be joining our daughter Christi and Phil in Vegas for a week.  We're looking forward to spending time with them.  But we are also anxious to head back to New England and Quebec to spend time with the family.

Here's some photos of what we've been up to.

Tiny Church - Pause, Rest & Worship - Yuma
This chapel was built in 1995 by farmer
Loren Pratt in honor of his deceased wife Lois

The irrigation system in Yuma I find interesting

Pumping water for irrigation

The Garden Cafe in Yuma - Relaxing garden
setting, good food and fun friends

Tony & Mieke looking good

At George and Suzie Yates for happy hour
and they introduced us to new friends
Jim and Judy 

The King of Karaoke - Alton King

My handsome cowboy husband

Singing was fun and entertaining

A little history about Betty's Kitchen

A bit about Laguna Dam

Thanks all for stopping in to say hi.  Until next time, enjoy life's journey.

LIFE IS GOOD

Just spent an hour putting together this post and didn't realize I was logged into Denis' Google account.  Do you know what happens when you do that?  Well, my post ended up in his blog and I can't figure out how to move it into my blog. So now I'm retyping this post from memory.  Ugh!

Thursday we biked 10-miles.  Riding through the area, we learned first-hand why Yuma is referred to as the winter lettuce capital of the nation.

Denis loving his new bike

The science of irrigation in the desert

Stopped at Luz's Cacti Ranch for a rest

Luz's has wonderful snacks and we bought
some pistachios, chia coconut bar and
some grapefruit gummies

Yesterday was a very enjoyable day with a laid back morning of coffee, breakfast and reading while sitting outside under the sunshade.  The direct sun is burning hot but sitting under the awning is lovely with a slight breeze.

I'm loving the exercise program that Christi turned me on to and beginning to feel the benefits of the 25-minute daily workout.  Denis has his own stretching routine that he does daily before I join him for practicing the 24-form tai chi.

Our mornings go by pretty fast and we often wonder how people have time to go to a job every day.  But I do remember putting in a full day at work, coming home to cook dinner, do laundry or shop, and clean house, before going to bed and doing it all over again the next day.

That afternoon, we pulled the picnic table under the awning and brought out the gun cleaning kit to field strip our pistols.  I've been wanting to learn how to properly maintain and clean my Glock .380 auto.  It was a good learning experience and I feel much more comfortable handling it.

Our friends, Larry and Gail called to invite us for dinner.  They surprised us by hunting us down at our campsite and bringing Randy and Sherry with them. They've been to the Eatery before but this was our first time.  They recommended the all-you-can-eat fish dinner which Denis ordered but I went with the gluten and dairy-free filet mignon dinner.  The food was excellent and the prices cheap.

Family-owned good food at great prices

Larry & Gail

Randy & Sherry

Randy enjoying his 99 cent Margarita

Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

ENJOYING THE GOOD LIFE

We were not happy with how the coach was leveled and spent some time figuring out how to re-level manually.  Poor Denis was out there with a pick and shovel digging and moving dirt around.  It paid off and we are now level with all tires on the ground.

We invited Tony & Mieke over for happy hour, followed by hamburgs on the grill and a movie.  We put up our privacy screen, fired up the propane fire pit and played the new 007 movie on the outside TV.  It got a little cool with the breeze blowing in off the lake but we put on an extra layer and watched the movie to the end.  It was different and fun.

This afternoon Tony & Mieke treated us to lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory. We went there because they claimed to have a gluten friendly menu, which they did.  It's not easy to prepare gluten-free pasta and they did an excellent job and their marinara sauce was very good but not enough (so I asked for more in a side dish).  You can Google it on Yelp for my review.  

Looking good

I do enjoy our walks around the lakes and never know what creatures will come out to visit us.

The Canadian geese have been flying
in V-formation to visit the lake

These two are not afraid of humans.
They walked right up to me looking
for a treat - I disappointed them

I'm still trying to figure out why Facebook posts the same picture all the time. I'm working on it, please bear with me.  Thank you for stopping in to say hi.  Hope you had a nice day too.

Having fun in Quartzsite

My poor husband flew back from his mom's funeral from the east coast to the west coast and was both physically and emotionally exhausted.  That night he had a fever and all the flu symptoms. Unfortunately, he's been sick for the last ten days and is just starting to feel better although that nasty cough is lingering.

Even though he wasn't feeling very well, on January 13, our wedding anniversary, we went to morning mass and renewed our wedding vows.  It was a nice celebration of our commitment and love for each other.

Yes, we got all dressed up for our special occasion

Time for a nice breakfast

A couple of days later, Denis felt well enough to make the drive to Quartzsite.  We've never been there when the big event takes place and we were looking forward to it.  It's amazing to see thousands of RVers scattered all over the desert on BLM land.  Although we prefer full hookups, it's quite an experience to be out in the desert conserving water, using solar panels with generator backup and taking part in the activities.  Because we were newbies at this, it took us a while to learn about all the seminars that take place.  We attended a beginners ham radio seminar and another seminar on how to cook in and care for cast iron cooking pots.  We were just getting the hang of where everything is located when it was time for us to leave because our holding tanks were full, fresh water was dry and we were looking forward to the luxury of electricity and washing our clothes.  It was nice to bump into friends while we were there.  I love the way everyone circles their motor homes like wagon trains and build a campfire in the center for enjoying the evenings.

Located in La Paz County, AZ - 2010 population 3,677 - Area 36.3 square miles

Attracting 1.5 million people annually mostly in January and February

Gem and mineral dealers and vendors of every kind come here to sell their wares

On our last day, we went to the Quartzsite Yacht Club for lunch with friends Larry and Gail Rasmussen, Randy and Sherry Cederlind, and Virgil & Karen Werner.

Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

UNEXPECTED CHANGE OF EVENTS

We had planned on attending 10 o'clock mass nearby but discovered it was going to be in Spanish. Denis quickly found Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Havasu City and that set the day off in a different direction.  The GPS brought us to church on time and we enjoyed the deacon's homily.  Today being the celebration of the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, we learned that this is the pope's church not St. Peter's.  The first church building was built in the 4th century but the present Lateran basilica was erected in 1646.  Would you believe that underneath its high alter are the remains of a small wooden table on which tradition claims St Peter celebrated the Eucharist?

This being our first visit to Lake Havasu City we needed to visit one of Arizona's biggest visitor attractions, the London Bridge.  Yes, I'm talking about the bridge designed in 1799 by Scottish engineer John Rennie and opened in 1831 spanning the River Thames in London, England.  Long story short, the London Bridge was for sale in 1967 and in 1968, Lake Havasu City founder Robert P. McCulloch purchased the bridge for $2,460,00.  Each block was numbered before the bridge was disassembled.  The blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona, where the bridge was reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.  The final expense for relocation and reassembly was $5.1 million.  True story!

View from the top of the London Bridge - off in the distance is one of the 24 actual navigational beacon replica lighthouses 

Following mass the Knights of Columbus was offering a pancake breakfast for $5.  We thought that would be nice, paid our $10, got to the counter and was told they ran out.  We got our $10 refunded and went on Yelp to find a nice place for brunch.  We choose the Red Onion which was once Lake Havasu's first bank building.  Denis said his pancakes were the best he's ever had, big, light and fluffy.  I went for the veggie omelet which everyone on Yelp gave 5 stars and I was not disappointed.

His three stack was almost too much for him to handle

Our last stop of the day was Parker Dam, the deepest dam in the WORLD.  Would you believe that 73% of it structural height of 320 feet is below the original riverbed?  It spans the Colorado River between Arizona and California, 155 miles downstream from Hoover Dam.

Yesterday we did one of my favorite things especially when it's one of the few things I can beat my hubby doing.  Yes, mini golf.

One of the hotter days and we decided to play mini golf

Too cute

We saw about eight burros walking in the road and this one was walking along the side of our car

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoyed our little adventure.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HUBBY

Denis and I celebrated his 64th birthday by sharing a candlelit Italian dinner.  Vince's Little Star Italian Restaurant got five stars on Yelp.  First we had to find Cornville, AZ in Yavapai County with a population of about 3,500.  Cornville's best known resident is John McCain (you know, U.S. Senator and 2008 Republican Presidential candidate).

Vince's is a family owned two-generation restaurant with the traditional red and white checkered tablecloths and Old World Italian cuisine.   Dad and mom, Romano and Patrice, make all their dishes fresh to order with high quality ingredients and their son Giuliano was our waiter.  The restaurant is very small with most tables set for two to four people.  If you are in the area and looking for a excellent Italian, this is the place to go but be sure to make a reservation.  By the way, their big glass of Chianti was only $5.

I ordered the Eggplant Giuliano and the birthday boy got the Pasta Frutti del Mare with white sauce 

It would be very easy to just drive by this place because it doesn't look like much from the outside
 - look for the flashing shining star on the roof

Thank you all for stopping in to say hi.

MY BIRTHDAY WAS SEPTEMBER 4TH

I forgot to share my birthday with you all.  So this post is a little late, but better late than never. Denis asked what I wanted to do for my birthday and we did just what I wanted.  It was a lovely day.

I wonder if he let me win because it was my birthday

This mini golf course was well maintained, fun and had three different 18-hole courses

We had a tasty Italian lunch.  I had a glass of wine, we shared dessert and I splurged and had an espresso

Spaghetti and meatballs got excellent reviews on Yelp and so did the chicken Parmesan

Thanks for stopping in.

LAST DAY ON GALVESTON ISLAND

Our first stop this morning was to the visitor's center to pick up a coupon book and another restaurant coupon.  We drove over to Harborside Drive and parked in the same parking lot we parked yesterday because it was the closest to the three places we wanted to see.

Our coupons saved us $10 for the Ocean Star Offshore Rig Museum.  We loved the audio tour of all three floors on the rig.  Great information and excellent exhibits.  The Ocean Star was built in 1969 in Beaumont, Texas by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation for the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company fleet. She worked in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast and drilled approximately 200 wells during her active life. The museum, sponsored by the Offshore Energy Center, is a non-profit organization funded through private donations, admissions, and corporate donations. The OEC acquired the Ocean Star and spent 2 years converting her into the museum. The museum opened to the public on April 27, 1997.

We walked over to Pier 21 to watch the 27-minute film about the Great Storm of 1900 but they were having technical problems and asked us to come back.  That gave us time to have lunch at Willie G's and use our coupon for a free appetizer or dessert.  We saved $12 for parking and $10.99 on the appetizer.  Lesson learned - always go to the visitor's center when visiting and don't be afraid to ask for coupons.  After a tasty lunch we were able to catch the film. Everything worked out perfectly.

This was the appetizer - lobster tails over Asian salad
We split our entree of clam chowder, grilled salmon with mixed green salad

The film gave an accurate portrayal of the September 8, 1900 massive hurricane the devastated Galveston

We all remember the news about this storm but being here and seeing the film brought this horrific disaster to life.  Here's a good link if you'd like to learn more:  The Great Storm of 1900

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

FIRST VISIT TO GALVESTON ISLAND

Yesterday we arrived at Galveston Island State park and settled in.  After lunch we took an auto tour. We drove along Seawall Boulevard with beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico, down to Harborside Drive with views of Galveston Bay and Pelican Island.  This is our first visit to the island and we were surprised at how much there is to see and do here.

Quiet campground on the beach

On the harbor side, we found a place to park across from the Jewel of Galveston - the National Historic Landmark Elissa.  Elissa is one of only four pre-20th-century tall ships in the US.  It was built in Scotland in 1877, rescued from a Greek scrap yard by the Galveston Historical Foundation in 1974 and was restored at a cost of nearly $7 million.

Denis at the helm of the Elissa

Try to imagine what it would look like with all her sails billowing in the wind

If you're interesting, here's links to some of the places we visited:

1877 Tall Ship Elissa
1892 Bishops Palace
1895 Moody Mansion
Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Grill

Bishop's Palace

Moody Mansion

Sacred Heart Catholic Church adjacent to Bishop's Palace

Had a wonderful meal at Fisherman's Wharf next to the Elissa.  It was recommended by a nice lady at the museum.   She even gave us a coupon for a free appetizer and the restaurant validated our parking ticket which would have cost has $12.  Our meal with tip was $36 but with the parking paid for and a free $7 appetizer, I figure the meal cost us only $17.  That's pretty good for grilled swordfish with pasta, the Galveston trio with seafood stuffed jalapeños, shrimp kisses and crab queso with chips, a bloody Caesar and ice cream sundae for dessert.  We did good!

From inside the restaurant we had a great view of the Elissa

This was the appetizer - it was a full meal for me

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.