Happy Halloween to All

We are having a great time here at Val Vista in Mesa where we were last fall. Friends from Vernon are here as well so we're really enjoying their company and many activities together.
Today the group met in the Courtyard before

going to the Halloween party and dance in the ballroom.

                                Great costumes.

Supersition Market

This is Mesa's answer to the Palm Springs and Yuma flea markets. There were many stalls with metal art, photos, cleaning products, all the usual stuff. 

Everyone was in costume today so it was quite entertaining. I got a new watch since mine broke about 4 months ago and I'm still a wristwatch girl, not an I phone reader. What an antique I'm becoming.

Quartzsite AZ

O/Nighted at the back of the Arco station here today. We sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather when 2 Walgreen semi-trailers roared in beside us. Half hour later 2 more raced in on the other side. The first had dropped their trailers and the new crew were picking them up to continue to deliver them so the goods stayed fresh while the drivers took their rest. It was pitch black by the time the drivers were backing in and hooking up the 5th wheels. No idea how they could see them.
We went out for breakfast and I saw this Ann in town. Pray this is not my future.

Arrived and settled in to Val Vista Tuesday, good to be back. Roger and Myrna are here and they invited us for a delicious dinner with them.

Kept on Trucking.

We kept going down I 5 until we went East on 58 through Kearn County. I always love this drive with fields of rose bushes, cotton and many fruit and nut trees.

We O/Nighted at Flying J beside another RV in Bakersfield on the 99. We were out the back so we could pull around in a big circle into the lot and didn't have to unhook the car. Works for us, very safe.

Wilsonville to Phoenix ORE.

Beautiful sun all day. Mt Shasta had no snow on it. We were wondering if they'd drained the lakes a lot to build the new bridge they are working on.You can see how far down the waterline is.

We got Diesel at 7 Feathers at Canyonville, ORE for $3.96.9 with 3 cents off for our Players Card yesterday and paid $4.13.9 at Corning Calif today. We played hopscotch with 2 garlic trucks up and down the hills today.

Overnight at Rolling Hills Casino today and when we joined their Players club they gave us a 2 for 1 meal for our wedding anniversary and it was delicious.

Down to Wilsonville ORE

We had the best dinner with our siblings last night in Tsswassen, celebrating all our birthdays, our 31st wedding anniversary and left the next morning. We cleared Aldergrove border by 10:00am and had an easy trip through Seattle but foggy in the distance. Mike came up from Wilsonville and joined us for dinner.

We overnighted at Les Swabb's, had the tires checked in the morning and off we went.

 It took until noon for the fog to burn off.

Then we had beautiful sun and colours.

Time to Leave Them Again.

Time to leave our dear friends for the winter down south again.

2nd Thanksgiving Dinner

What a wonderful way to say goodbye to family and friends. Chris, Julie and Isaiah picked Ron up and they arrived at noon. When dinner was organized we went for a walk down at a new beach.

 We have such a wonderful family.

Had a wonderful time and got a ride home with them. That was nice having that time together on the ferry.
On Monday we had our 3rd Thanksgiving dinner with Glen and Leah plus 2 other couples. Couldn't have been a better celebration with wonderful people.

1st Thanksgiving Dinner

We're having an entire weekend of Thanksgiving.
    George Gibson dressed for the occasion as usual.

We stopped at a cute cafe in Madiera Park yesterday.

                    We enjoyed a great dinner with Shannon and Adam and family and all spoke about what makes us grateful. a beautiful time.

Madera Park 5 Km Turkey Trot.

Four schools competed today with a ton of fun.

     The runners had beautiful views through fall leaves and around the Marina.

   A busy working mom, after we'd directed traffic and kids.

This school has the most amazing outdoor classroom and the prizes from turkeys to pumpkins were delightful, amidst cheering, laughing kids filled with joy.

Trip to Gibsons

Another gorgeous sunny day. Another workday on the water.

Did you know that even horses take ferries, down in the bowels of the ship with the trucks and foot passengers.

                                        Art class after school at Maggies.

Old and New Friends

I first met Mardie at St. Ann's Academy in New Westminster in the 50's where she was in Rosemary's class. I really got to know her when I borrowed her maternity bathing suit in June 1968 and convinced her to move down to Crescent Beach in the 60's to raise her family.

Then we met Kathy and Bill here in the campground about 2007?  What really connected us was that they were sailing in New Zealand where they became close friends with my cousins Laura and Dave.
It's such a small world. I put them in touch with each other as they both took the same Cruise through the Panama Canal this month and here we are reminiscing.

Greek Night

Noreen came up with the idea to do this using our pop and beer can money from the social fund. It was a teat to all of us before the snowbirds went south. We walked into our outdoor tent and she had it decorated with Greek columns, vines and the ocean behind.

                                                   I thought I was on a cruise ship.
                                

                 What a great group of friends we have. thank you Noreen and Claude and all the helpers.

Still updating the Condo

We have been the luckiest landlords in the world. We've had 3 sets of tenants in 12 years who've left the condo almost cleaner than it was when they moved in. Now we've done a 2nd cleaning of the deck, carpets and inside. Paul has redone the grout in the entry hall which had a dark red stain and couldn't be removed with a caustic compound or any other measures.

We've also painted all the white heritage doors, baseboards and trim and touched up all the painted walls.
 Do you know what awkward it is to remove, clean ( at $3 a strip )and rehang all 54 strips in the vertical blinds for the LR and den?
It's finally looking good and we're proud to rent to our new couple and know they will love it.