Our 19th Wedding Anniversary & Other Stuff

We have been full time traveling for 11 years as of February 1^st which is more than half of our years being married and no signs of ever quitting this lifestyle…tweaking it maybe but quitting… never! We are still having the time of our lives!

We had planned a special treat in Quartzsite to celebrate our anniversary but since we had to wait on the part to fix Maggie and had to work we came up with Plan B…

This Sunday will be the last day of the Big Tent in Quartzsite which is the day they usually have some great deals so we will take off early and spend a few nights in Quartzsite shopping this week instead.

Things seem to be taking some uncomfortable but unfortunately some very familiar turns and we are not liking it at all. Maggie’s part came in but apparently the old piece needed to be pressed off and new one pressed on and we have searched all over for someone to do it and nobody has the ability. The guy that does work here at the park was leaving out of town and his press machine is down anyway. We were on the phone all morning and finally found one place that could so now we have to pay for a ride the 80 mile round trip…this is NOT at all what we had in mind…

We got so spoiled with life going fabulously smooth for us for most of 2015 that we do not like the hiccups that are happening so far in 2016 but we will stay on course, stay positive, knowing it will all get better soon.

It is so funny how when she is down like that with pieces of her under just lying on the ground for a few days as it was how uneasy it makes me feel. It’s that feeling of entrapment…unable to go if we wanted to but at the same time not planning to go anywhere. Do any of you ever get that feeling? It’s worse than hitch-itch which is something I always get just shortly after we arrive…travel is what we both love…new places…new people…love, love, love it!

Maggie is now ready for a road trip…it took some strength from Jerry but he finally got it all hooked back together and she is ready to roll. Life is good!

Irresponsible Pet Owners

Once again we are the ones who are feeling like the “Bad Guys” because we complained about an excessive barking dog. For the past few weeks the weather has been great so our windows are open and there has been this dog, a big barking dog. When the windows were closed it was not so annoying, but with them open it got to a breaking point once again this week. Jerry went over there and asked them to make it stop and they brushed him off so he went to the office to file an official complaint and the barking stopped.

But…

Then for the past few days the dog owner has been walking past our site glaring at us and then this morning after walking by and glaring a few times, she stopped and asked Jerry if he was the one who complained when he said he was she informed us that her dog only barks when someone passes by and it is not excessive and that if we do not like it we should leave.

OMG…

She was so rude and complaining that we are the reason that her dog now has to keep his bark collar on. How many of you responsible pet owners have a bark collar for your dog? To us that explained a lot…not many owners would have a bark collar unless there had been previous issues. To also say it only barks when someone walks by, well this park has thousands of people who do a lot of walking and to us again explained a lot.

But now she is making us feel very uncomfortable and she has roped in a few of her neighbors to join in on the passing by glaring little act…

We know that this is all HER issue and not ours but it brings up a lot of our own issues that we need to work on. Sometimes we get tired of all the life lessons in our lives and just wish we could just relax and have fun and not have to work on things at all.

2015 Wine Tastings

While we were traveling back east we tasted a few of the local wines but never got around to sharing them with you all...finally we have gathered the information and here are the results...

Beso Del Sol Sangria – Produced in Spain this Spanish Wine Company knows how to make a smooth clear finish with just enough sweetness for our enjoyment. It has 8.5% alcohol that we rated high giving it a 9.2 because of its delightful taste and smoothness. We paid $19.99 on sale for a box which holds 4 bottles that works out to be about $5 per bottle and we would highly recommend it to others and we will be looking for it in the stores again.

Funf Wines Sangria – The bottling caught our attention and the fun name makes this a clean, clear taste with just enough flavoring from the citrus and summer fruits that the sweetness is not overbearing. With 7.5% alcohol we gave it a rating of 8.9 and would highly recommend it and we would be looking to purchase it again.

Forbidden Fruit Winery Sangria – Made in Michigan with 9% alcohol we rated this one a bit lower at a 7.6. It was good but not great and we would not go out of our way to purchase again. There was nothing wrong with it but there was no pop, no zest, no burst of flavor.

Meier’s Wine Cellars White Catawba – Light, crispy & spunky! Catawba is a grape that is grown predominantly in the east where we are enjoying a lot of the sweeter wines! With 12% alcohol that is produced in Silverton, Ohio that we rated a 9.3 that will be purchasing this one again!

Leelanau Cellars Witches Brew – This very strong red wine that has a 12.5% alcohol content from Leelanau, Michigan is not one of our favorites but we still gave it a 7.1 rating. With a firm taste of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg it would be a perfect drink served warm on a cold evening but not as a chilled wine, more like a cider.

Keeping Up with it All

It’s not like we are busy…not even when we were traveling we were not that busy but for reasons unknown to us it has been difficult to keep you all updated in a timely manner, and for this we apologize and we do hope that changes but not likely at this time in our lives. Writing no longer seems to be a big priority and I miss that terribly but we all do what we need to do and apparently this is what we need at this moment.

Currently we are working part time in the Café at Fountain of Youth in Niland, California where the daytimes highs have been in the 60’s to 70’s and the lows in the 40’s, a bit nippy at night but what wonderful daytime highs. We have had a few days of nasty winds that are usual in this area and a few days of much needed rain, compared to other weather around the country we won’t complain!

We have been taking advantage of the soakings in the magnificent springs and hope our bodies at least feel a lot younger when we leave. My knee is NOT back to normal, whatever normal is…it still aches and being on my feet for too long takes its toll on me. It makes it really nice to only be working 5 hour shifts, 4 days a week, leaving us with 3 days to recuperate our bodies and enjoy all the area has to offer.

We are pursuing more travel in our plans for 2016 and have a few companies we can work with to make this happen. As for Maggie, she is holding her own, we had to replace her fuel pump since she began spitting and coughing and this time changing the filter and adding additives did not fix the issue and she sputtered continuously. We had the work done in Indio, California at Al’s Automotive and they were reasonable, friendly but the time it took them was outrageous. They diagnosed it quickly...

Then ordered the part immediately and said while they were waiting for the part to come in they would go have some lunch. The part arrived within the half hour but they took a two hour lunch and then when they pulled out the part they thought a piece on it was crooked so while attempting to bend it, it broke. They went to get another part which had us WAITING once again. Took only 15 minutes to install the part but over 3 ½ hours of just WAITING…

On our drive back to our site we had been discussing our plans to head to Quartzsite for a few days during our time off this week and celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. At the same time we were discussing Jerry giving the undercarriage of Maggie a thorough once over since it had been awhile, plus we wanted to check on the work they did and that is when the Universe once again kept us safe.

While checking things out he seen that the drive shaft hanger bearing was stripped and was just hanging there ready to have us stranded somewhere down the road or worse. We ordered the part from Amazon and it will not be here until next week which cancels our Quartzsite plans but we will not complain since it saved us much more hassles. Life just always works out that way for us and we are so grateful for the intervention. We continue to get better about following our guts and listening to that soft voice within that usually guides us in the right direction.

For now until we make our decision we have been purging, remodeling and making Maggie more comfortable for us…we got two new recliners, some wine accessories, created a sign holder from PVC pipes and arranged our light garden for our night relaxations.

It still hard to think about trading Maggie in since she has been the best for all these years and we are still up in the air on which direction to take, so many options and not enough clear directions. With more of the opportunities for different types of work that are coming available to us, our set up now will just not work. We are just playing the wait and see game, knowing it will all work out as long as we continue to listen to our guts and follow our hearts.

Al’s Automotive

Al’s Automotive

81-837 Oleander Avenue

Indio, CA 92201

760-347-2757

1/12/2016

Maggie began sputtering, spitting and coughing on our ride and changing the filter and adding additives did not fix the issue so we took her to Al’s Automotive for a diagnosis. They got to us as soon as we pulled in and made the diagnosis immediately after putting on the test gauge, her fuel pump was bad and they ordered the part.

They informed us it would be here shortly and in the meantime they were going to lunch and would replace it as soon as they returned. The part arrived within a half an hour but their lunch was almost two hours. When they finally got back and pulled out the part they thought there was a piece on it that was crooked so while attempting to bend it…IT BROKE!

They went to get another part since the first place sent us their last one, so we waited again. Took only 15 minutes to install the part but over 3 ½ hours of just WAITING.

The service was friendly, they seemed knowledgeable and the cost was reasonable but they all seemed laid back and in no hurry.

Aqua Caliente Casino Resort Spa

Aqua Caliente Casino ResortSpa

32-250 Bob Hope Drive

Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

760-321-2000

1/11/2016

The check in noted is 4pm but we called to see if we could get an early check in at 2pm and they eagerly obliged us and the check in procedure was quick and friendly.

The room was huge with all the amenities which included some goodies if you chose to pay the price…we did not indulge!

The shower was fantastic and they even had a huge tub to soak in.

The bed was so comfortable with huge soft but firm pillows.

Much pricier than our normal rate but the final price sneaks up on you when they add all the fees and taxes. The rate began at $110 and ended up being $145.06 when they added the $18.75 tax and $16.00 resort fee. For that reason we will not be staying here again even though it was a great place.

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

My First Motorcross Racing Experience

Over a week of more than 10 hour shifts working on a gate by ourselves, we were grateful that our last day was finally here. We began earlier than most of the other workers and fully expected to work a long day. About 6 hours into our shift, the other workers began coming in by the dozens and our supervisor surprised us and let us off.

We were so excited, we went to our rig, changed our clothes and had plenty of time to just be spectators. This was my first experience at a Motorcross race but Jerry had watched plenty of them back in his younger days and it was totally exciting for both of us.

It was a night race, so it did get a bit chilly, yes, even in Daytona Beach, Florida but we dressed warm. Our seats were fabulous, a bit high for my likings but once I took a few deep breaths and relaxed, the rest of the evening went wonderful. There were several different “Heats” of racing with two different classes, with the big guys at the end.

This was a perfect ending for our time here at Daytona International Speedway . Will we be returning? We really do love Daytona but weighing it all out, we end up losing money by working there and that is not how we can continue living our dream lifestyle. We would consider returning, only if there is a major change in how the workers are treated and from what we were told, that is exactly what is going to be happening in the next few months. We will speak with the new department heads and see if we get some better perks offered to us before we make a final decision.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Website

84-245 Indio Springs Pkwy

Indio, CA  92203

800-827-2946

1/12/2015, 1/4/2016

2016 Update - Not much has changed, we once again enjoyed our stay and would stay again whenever we get the chance.

Since our 18^th Wedding Anniversary is the 18^th of January and will land on a Sunday and we will be working we decided to celebrate early by getting a room on our days off. 

We had been to the casino two other times and were not impressed but it had been years since our last visit so we thought we would give it another chance and get a room.  We are so elated that we did, what a difference a few years can make on our opinion.

They allowed us to check in early, it was 10:30am.  We have always felt that if there is a room available why should we have to wait until 3pm to check in and they have the same attitude and we were pleased.  I had also requested as we do often to be on the lower floors and they accommodated our request by putting us in a King-Size Non Smoking on the 3^rd floor.  This was one of those times we would have like a higher floor due to the spectacular view.

The room was nice even though it was on the small side but a lot larger than our home so we were still good with it.  The bed and pillows were so awesome, we both had such a nice sleep.

They did have free coffee but for the first time there would have been a $3 charge for a bottle of water, thank goodness we seen that before we opened them to use in our coffee maker.

We played awhile in the casino and had lunch at the buffet and didn’t break the bank, which is always a nice way to spend our day.

The staff was exceptional in every area of our stay.  From the very accommodating check in, to the quick and smiling buffet staff, all the way to the highly attentive casino floor staff, we were well taken care of at all times.

Now that we have revisited we will certainly return and will recommend it to others.

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