Quartzsite Yacht Club Bar & Grill

1070 W Main Street

Quartzsite, AZ  85346

928-927-5628

1/29/2014

We have been visiting the Q area for almost 10 years but have not patronized this establishment until this visit and it wasn’t even our idea.  We were meeting up with fellow RVers and Bloggers Kenny and Angela Harper creators of RV LIFE IS GOOD and they suggested this place.  Many of the reviews called it a “Dive Bar”.  You could call it that but we prefer to call it a quant place to gather with friends and have some good eats and great conversation.

It is not a restaurant, it is a bar.  It has pool tables, a betting window for the horse races, Karaoke, music, dancing and other things a bar would have but they also serve food.  Being from that type of environment growing up it was not foreign to us and we enjoyed our time there.  

They offered sandwiches, burgers, salads, typical meals for a bar and grill and it's history is interesting.

We started with Margaritas that were prepared perfectly, just the right amount of Tequila with the other ingredients.

Adding a cup of New England Clam Chowder to our meal was the perfect beginning.  It was obvious it was not can soup but prepared in the kitchen.  Very flavorful and creamy with the exact amount of seasoning.

Our main dish was the Fish & Chips.  The fries had a seasoning coating and was fried to perfection.  The fish was a meaty cod with a really great coating.  They have a special price on Friday’s but it was worth the extra we paid.

Good company, great service and scrumptious food, what more can you ask for?  When we visit again we will put this place on our places to eat and we would highly recommend it to others.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Work, Crowds and Pain…All Gone

We finished up our 10 day work at Big Lou’s BBQ on Sunday at 5pm and in all of the years we have been working for vendors in Quartzsite, this has been by far the BEST experience of all.  Jerry and Blake are a father and son team out of Fresno, there was no drama, no screaming, no yelling or dysfunction.  They are who they are and they say what they mean and mean what they say.  It was a pleasure to work with them and if we are ever in an area that they are doing a show we are invited back and we would definitely work with them again.

Along with the closing of the Big Tent on Sunday, the crowds are leaving.  We will stay for another week since we are paid and the weather to the east is not appealing, we will take our time leaving here and heading east.  We do not have to be in Charlotte until April 1^st so we have two months to just relax and enjoy the travel and try to avoid all that terrible weather along our way.

We do have a little more shopping to do in Quartzsite, a few meetings lined up with fellow Bloggers and some work on Maggie to keep us busy.

Now for the pain in my knee...

It has been excruciating for about 3 weeks, it came on suddenly without any injury at the time the pain began.  I am not a weakling when it comes to pain and I can tolerate a lot of it but this, this was so bad it brought me to tears several times during the past few weeks.  The pain was on the inner part of the knee cap, there was other pain along with it but the pain at that point was so strong it covered up all the others or I would have realized where it was coming from a lot sooner.

We are NOT doctor people so the hospital was never an option.  We try to stay away from drugs as much as possible and I knew if I went to them that is what they would give me so we looked for a more natural approach.  We iced it, heated it, massaged it and tried all sorts of natural things to ease the pain but nothing was working.  Advil was bringing the pain to a more manageable level but I was taking 8 to 10 doses per day which was making me loopy. 

During this time we were working 8 hour shifts for 10 days but those guys were so good to work with they allowed me to work the window sitting down.

Just a little note here about the Emu Oil…it didn’t seem to help but we did notice that the oil doesn’t sit on the top of the skin, it penetrates into the skin without leaving an oily film on the skin which was nice and we do plan to continue using what we have left but we will not be purchasing any more.

One of the vendors noticed my pain and told me to come down and see him and it was the beginning of a fantastic adventure. 

Ray and Pam McCutcheon are owners of McCutcheon’s Products, which is Magnetic Therapy.  I have always been quite interested in this type of therapy so I went to see what they might have to offer.  He wrapped my knee and I rested for 30 minutes…I could feel a difference but it still hurt but I went back and then I bought a wrap.  Expensive does not begin to describe these products but even though it was not taking the pain totally away, I could feel some difference.  After a few days the excruciating pain on my knee cap was gone for short periods of time throughout the day which opened up my awareness to the other pain.  All along it was my Sciatica that was causing my pain so I switched the wrap to the lower back area and within two days the excruciating pain is GONE.  It will probably be awhile longer before it is completely gone but it is now manageable.  I no longer scream in pain or am taking so many Advil that I am a Zombie.  LIFE IS GRAND!!!!!

On our last day of work Jerry decided to wound himself…he cut the tip of his finger off, a good chunk is missing.  I tried to explain that we worked at a Tri-Tip, not Finger Tip place and also if he needed to STOP washing dishes that all he had to do was ask me since I was feeling so much better…but NO instead he had to slice off the tip.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Quartzsite Update

Shopping…shopping…and then more shopping!  No major purchases just things that we can’t find anywhere else…like Emu Oil.

Yes, you read that correctly…Emu Oil.  It really sucks to get old and for the past week or so my knee is making me feel so very old.  It hurts like no other pain I have felt before.  I didn’t do anything to it but I even had to buy a cane so I could walk which it is still hard for me to walk.  I have tried it all, cold compresses, hot compresses, drugs (Advil…about the strongest I can take without feeling like I am in another world), Icy Hot, Aspercreme, Heating Pad, walking with a cane.  But nothing seems to help, so while out shopping yesterday we came across Emu Oil which it claims it benefits many conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sore Muscles, and Arthritis, Muscle and Joint Pain and so much more.  The list has about 50 conditions that benefits from its use.

It is very expensive so I had to think really hard about purchasing it but after some careful thought I bought a small bottle of it and immediately rubbed some into the affected area of my knee.  The afternoon and evening went well and it felt great so I thought I was cured but then mid-morning the pain came back strong as ever but I will continue rubbing it into the area and hope it takes the pain away.

Work started for us on Friday, the 17^th and we will be working through the 26^th.  This year we decided to go back to work for a vendor instead of the show and we are very happy once again.  We are working at Big Lou’s BBQ and the guys could not be better to work with, they are a father and son team and are just the nicest people we have met in our travels.  We work 8 hour shifts and it is not hard work, no grease buildup since they serve Tri-Tip and Pulled Pork sandwiches that has been smoked for hours then sliced and served.  They do offer French Fries but that is done outside and I work the window from the inside of the trailer…so much nicer not being in the elements of the outdoors.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

17 Years Ago…

My entire world changed when I married my best friend.

It’s not the fairy tale romance novel that many folks have…it does not have us living happily ever after but what it does give us is the best life either of us could have ever imagined.

We no longer have photos to share or friends and family to share those moments with us but what we have is in our hearts and those memories are clear as if we are actually looking at the photos or reminiscing with someone who was there.

We had both been in several dysfunctional relationships, Jerry was even married once before but I was waiting for “the one” before I married but that didn’t stop me from having one bad relationship after another.  I was going through a two year period of celibacy, trying to understand why I continued to make the worse choices in men and decided to be friends before even starting an intimate relationship with any man when I met Jerry.

We became friends and would hang out together and with others for over a year before one day in June he asked me to go to the lake with the “guys” but as his date.  We drove to the lake together in my convertible and we talked and laughed and had a great day.  Things went badly wrong throughout the day within our group of friends that we both just made the best of and continued to have a fabulous time in spite of all the drama.  Our ride home together was even more about us getting closer to one another with our talking and laughter.  I dropped him off and he kissed me on the cheek and we both agreed to have another date soon and we did.  We dated for almost a month before we decided to go for a midnight swim in my pool and that is where our first kiss happened.  Under the star filled sky, under the diving board I can still feel the sparks that were ignited with that first kiss. 

Many of our dates consisted of us taking road trips, we would drive someplace for a day and just hang out.  There was so much of Arizona we had not seen that together we wanted to share it all.  Our friendship was growing stronger every date and when he proposed after only 6 months it felt right so we set the date for January 18, 1997.

To say we lived happily ever after would be such a crock…two weeks before the wedding everything began to crumble but as we did on our first date, we pulled together and worked it all out.  Our friendship carried us through so many difficult times and this was one of them.

Was there dysfunction?  Oh, hell yes!  We were of course still living the life that neither of us wanted but believed was the American Dream…a house, vehicles, our own company and working 24/7 to keep up the appearances.  We began making some major changes in our lives that would finally lead us to the life we so wanted to live, together exploring this wonderful country of ours.  But those changes cost us a lot, it cost us many of our friends and family but we could not continue to live a life that was not our authentic lives.

We both had a dream and that dream mirrored one another and we both knew we would have some really tough times getting out of all that dysfunction, but our friendship did and continues to get us through it all.  If we never made the decision to begin living our dream we would not have seen all the wonderful places and met the great people we have met in these past 10 years.  Life does not always turn out exactly as you plan it but if you live the life you love then all things will come to you in time.

Taco Mio Mexican Restaurant

130 Main Street

Quartzsite, AZ 85346

928-927-5440

1/9/2014

The server brought the Chips & Salsa to our table and we could not get enough. The chips were crisp but light and the salsa was hot which made us want even more.

The Margaritas showed up just in time so we could cool our tongues from the heat. They were fresh but not extremely strong with alcohol, just the way we like them. We liked them so much we had seconds.

I ordered the Taco Grande Salad with Shredded Beef and it was seasoned exactly as it should be. The freshness of the greens and Guacamole along with the sour cream combination was so refreshing. The bowl was not greasy, but was light and crispy.

Jerry had the Carne Asada Platter that included perfectly prepared Refried Beans, a great blended Guacamole Dip, a fresh Pico de Gallo Salsa, a nicely seasoned Spanish Rice, soft tortillas and very tasty strips of beef.

From the outside of this restaurant you might think as I did that it’s a bit rundown but once you step inside and the friendliness of each staff member welcomes you that thought escaped me. The service is quick and very accommodating, we never had to wait for a thing.

We would highly recommend this establishment whenever you are in the Quartzsite area.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Going With the Flow

We left Vegas and landed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona where we were going to stay for a week before heading to Quartzsite but our reservation got messed up and we could only stay 2 days.  We decided we would at least cross the London Bridge and we did that much but for the rest of our plans those would have to wait for another time.

We have also heard from a few different places about work, the type of work we have been wanting to do but just never quite seem to get there but we are hoping to change a few things in our lives this year.  First and foremost we are going to live healthier, not just spiritually as we have been growing but physically too.  

We are going to start doing and believing that we deserve the good life and to begin living it to the fullest.  It is all about the choices we make and how we feel about those decisions.

We arrived in Quartzsite and we are ready to do some shopping tomorrow.  Anyone who is here or will be here, please leave us a comment.  We plan to be here until the first week of February and we would love to meet up with as many as we can possibly squeeze in our visit.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Mystere at Treasure Island

Our first Cirque Du Soleil show ever and we definitely made the right choice of the many that are available.  We seen Mystere at Treasure Island.

We had 7th (G) row seats right in the middle (12-13) of the stage.  These seats were perfect, very comfortable and if they were any closer we would have neck strain looking up instead of straight at the stage.  Cost of tickets were about $250 for two including all the taxes and other charges and we purchased ours weeks ago which was a good thing since the shows sold out.  They take a vacation for a few weeks in January and we got the last showing before their time off.

 

We were not allowed to take photos or video while the show was going on so I took a few with my cell phone until it started, absolutely none of these photos do any justice to the show.
 

We were mesmerized with the extra great talent that this show offered and then the laughter with some of the skits made it very endearing.

We would highly recommend checking out one or more of these shows, look through all the trailers to see which really excites you since there are several.  Mystere was our choice after researching all the others and we were not disappointed.

Las Vegas KOA at Circus Circus

500 Circus Circus Drive

Las Vegas, NV  89109

800-562-7270 or 702-733-9707

1/1-1/4/2014

 

 

Even though we have been to Las Vegas many times with our RV we had yet to stay at this RV Park.  Our reason for this visit was to finally cross off an event from our Life List and that was to see a Cirque Du Soleil show so we opted to stay right on the strip. 

 

We paid $54.78 for a back in, electric, water, sewer and fairly level site with barely any room for any outdoor living. The first day of our arrival the park was about 95% full and it was too close to our neighbors than we really like it but then the next day it emptied out and we were breathing once again.

 

The entrance is so confusing, where to go while you register is not clearly marked and since our site was located right at the entrance we seen this with just about every person checking in, so it wasn’t just us.

 

The back in site close to the store and entrance as we were located was backed to a tree covered fence but directly on the other side of that fence was a parking lot for tour buses.  All hours of the day and night loud diesel motors are running. 

The restrooms were kept clean and the area was maintained even though there was an enormous amount of walking and vehicle traffic in and out of the park at all hours of the day and night.

 

If we ever need to be on the strip again, we might stay here again but as far as recommending it…we would not except for location…location…location.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Preferred RV Resort

1801 Crawford Way

Pahrump, NV 89048

775-727-6429
3/15/2010 & 12/26-1/1/2014

We used our Coast to Coast membership and paid $13.50 with extra surcharge for Water, Electric, Sewer and WiFi.  Another of those parks that feel they are superior and can charge an extra surcharge to Coast to Coast members. They charged an extra $3.50 for electrical charge, so we are not getting a $10 rate. What we do not understand is that for 50 amp or the bigger rigs that may use the air conditioners or their heaters it may be warranted, but we are less than 30’ and hardly ever use our heater or air conditioner. This has been the highest extra charge that we have paid and we are not happy about it, which will probably reflect in our judgment in reviewing this park.

Our site was level, wide and exactly long enough for our rig, thank goodness we learned to add a few feet when telling them our length. We were located right across from the laundry room which was very convenient for us, it was clean and the machines worked as they should. The restrooms were kept clean, they do have a pool and spa, but the weather was cold, including snow, so we did not use them.

They were located next to two casinos, Terrible’s Town Casino and Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Gambling Hall which made it convenient for us since it was our play time. We did an article on all the local casinos on our blog, check it out.

The scenery was breathtaking, even the snow on the mountains and some that made it into the park one of the days we were there.

Time to Begin 2014

We made it to the New Year if we were on the east coast, but since we were on the west coast we can’t say we made it to midnight but that is fine with us since we were with one another.  We had a great time, listening to all of our favorite music on Pandora and our Bose speakers, each sharing conversation with the person that means the most to us, sipping on a few glasses of bubbly and just letting go of all that does not work in our lives.

We do not do resolutions, but if we did it would be for us to live our lives to the fullest each and every day.  To laugh more, to love stronger, to write every day, to take more photos, to give more, to share more and to have so much fun that everyone will wonder what the heck we were doing.  To stop worrying so much about what others think, say or do.  To stop worrying so much about the things that could happen and instead live for the moment we are in and live it like no other time in our lives.

This year is going to be a year of new adventures and new beginnings and it starts now.  We are leaving Pahrump and head a short way to Las Vegas where we will begin the New Year checking off a desire Jerry has had for many years, Mystere showing at Treasure Island.  Even though it was not on my Life List I am looking forward to it as much as he is and can’t wait to share it with you all.

We hope you all have the best year ever and all your dreams become your reality!