Decisions…Decisions…Decisions…

Our event was at the Maricopa County Fairgrounds for 5 days and they were all very long and slow days but we made it through. We had lots of time to meet some great people and to just enjoy it all. We tasted some fair treats…

Eegee’s is a fruity slush with big chunks of fruit throughout, we partook in several of those because it was in the high 90s all days and the slush chilled my inners. Thank goodness we were inside with a well working swamp cooler.

We also had a burger, fries and chicken tenders on our last day and it was tasty but costly…small portions at high prices, not good.

Since the Fair was over 100 miles away we had to get a hotel, rates were extremely high, but we found one in Tempe, just under 10 miles away.

The Tempest Hotel was a preppy hotel located by ASU. Our King bed was comfortable, the air conditioning was perfect, the shower was a walk-in with light water pressure, no free breakfast included, in our photos we should have had a couch but instead there was only one very uncomfortable chair. We have Gold Status and are usually able to get a free upgrade and check in early if there is availability. Instead we were informed that check in time was 3pm and because it was 2:47pm we would be charged an additional $50, we chose to wait the 13 minutes instead. Not happy with the terrible customer service everywhere nowadays, she wasn’t rude, just matter of factly with no wiggle room.

On our week off in between the 2 fairs, we rested but we also did a lot of honey do’s in preparation for our next leg of our journey…we are headed to Maine with our truck and using a cargo trailer that we will pick up in Virginia once the Pima County is completed the first part of May. We have events lined up in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Upper State New York, we even have a NASCAR race on the agenda at Pocono Raceway in July…we are beyond excited! We will be staying in hotels and AirBnBs until we return to Arizona in December where we hope by then the outrageous prices will drop so we can get our next motorhome.

Time is Flying

We are at the Park Model for a few weeks since our events our nearby. 

Our first event was at the Pima Fairgrounds where we will return next month for the Fair, but this event was the FMCA. Nice to be back amongst our people, RVers. It was a 4 day event with long hours and it was hot. Even though we were indoors, unfortunately they don’t have or would not turn on the air conditioning, instead they used the swamp cooler which usually is sufficient this time of the year. We know because when we lived in Phoenix, we had one and it worked fantastic, but you have to keep the water running and they kept making excuses why the water continued to be turned off, so it was hotter indoors then the 90+ degrees outdoors. It was a good event but none of these out west events even come close to comparing to the ones we worked back east.

Our next event was at the 4th Avenue Street Fair held in Old Tucson which for us was a total shit show. We were stuffed in like sardines and for our booths location, it was right on the trolley tracks with a step up to half of the booth…it was very difficult to walk around safely. The heat was tremendous especially since our booth had direct sun in the afternoon from noon until after 5pm.

Police, Sheriff and even the Bomb Squad were constantly patrolling around the event. There were many homeless people just hanging around all day, a few fights and incidents occurred near our booth, it was really uncomfortable. There was  trash everywhere throughout the entire event and the staff were not keeping up with it all. There were piles of bodily waste in corners as well as urine spots everywhere…it was a cesspool. 

It had more of a party atmosphere, like a block party event with lots of alcoholic beverages beginning as early as 9am, it was not a selling market. As much hype that we got about this event, it ended up being a huge disappointment except for some delicious eats.

We ate corned beef and pastrami sandwiches from the 4th Avenue Deli that had a great spicy mustard on them.  

We also had Chicken Strips that were so juicy and flavorful at The Drunken Chicken. The Cole slaw was fresh and crunchy with the perfect amount of sweetness verses vinegar. The burger was fresh and flavorful, but the Mac n Cheese was disappointing.

Now we have one day of rest before heading to Phoenix for the Maricopa County Fair 5 day event. It will be indoors in a climate controlled building that will be a blessing since temperatures are already rising into the 90s here in Arizona, and we’re in a hotel that has great working air conditioning.

We only have a few events left here in Arizona and we will not be able to secure a motorhome to continue our dream. We are so disappointed and discouraged but as usual we will prevail and figure out our next adventure. 

Things Are Coming Together

Since this 2 day event was 150+ miles away in Litchfield Park we stayed at My Place Hotel. We had stayed in one of these many years ago and this one was really nice. The customer service was excellent, the room was roomy, the shower head was exhilarating, the bed was super comfortable and they even had a full kitchen. No dishes or cookware but a refrigerator with a slow making ice machine so we had to buys bags of ice since they do not have one on any floor.

The Litchfield Park Arts & Wine Festival was fun and much better than last week.

We usually bring our food but chose to indulge and split a Rueben Grilled Cheese Sandwich and some Mac n Cheese Bites…both were amazingly delicious! The Rueben’s sauce had a nice tang to it and the bites coating was light and delicious.

We found our truck…meet Steely! We’ve searched and finally chose our best option and we love it. Now we’re in search of a motorhome or trailer whichever works out best for us.

Our next event was nearby and so slow and boring, not our type of event but we muddled through it.

We also made our last move for a few months, we moved our stuff 2 sites over to the much larger park model. It has a comfortable king bed, roomy main room but the bathroom is a little smaller. Otherwise it will work just fine for us until we find our motorhome or trailer or until we head out in May, whatever comes first. We were so excited to finally be in our final move that we forgot to take pictures without our stuff. What a huge difference moving from site to site or park to park in our motorhome than having to move our stuff in and out in the park models.

We were only there for 2 nights when we got the word of a change of event plans, we would be traveling about 150 miles to our next event in Carefree. We also wanted to meet up with friends, so we made a nice road trip out of it. We met up at Harrahs Ak Chin where we spent the night after meeting up with them enjoying conversation and some lunch.

It was tough finding a hotel nearby so we had to settle for Comfort Inn & Suites right off I-17 & Bell, our old stomping grounds. It was a little rough, the area is not the best with numerous homeless people on all the corners. Our room was spacious with all the needed amenities, a comfortable bed, decent shower head, but very bad air conditioning in our room. We had them check it out a few times but it stayed the same, they gave us a tower fan which was like a mini air conditioner which helped a little but it was still hard to sleep. Our window didn’t have a screen so we weren’t comfortable leaving it open as it was much cooler outside and in the hall then in our room. It was frustrating paying such high prices and even though the staff were all very  accommodating, the issue remained the same inconvenience for us. They did compensate us a little when we checked out.

Our event in Carefree was better than the one that was scheduled, still not awesome but we are trying to get them all situated for next year and going forward. Weather was strange, on Saturday it was 87 scorching degrees and business was slow and people were cranky. Sunday was 67 cool degrees and business was much better and people were fun.

Life Goes On…

Have you ever felt your life is so disorganized that it feels as if you will never have that sense of organization again? That’s just what we are feeling right this moment and we don’t like it because we are organized people and this is so unnatural to us. Things are coming together, but at the same time we are so afraid to trust that we will get what is right for us.

Even though the first Park Model was heaven sent and came when we needed it, it definitely is not something we would have chosen if we weren’t desperate. A nice enough owner, but we are private people and she found all sorts of excuses to stop by and then there was a couple that is thinking about renting next year that was totally infringing on our privacy…too much. Plus the place was dirty and dusty and the bathroom is hardly a step up from our motorhome and it has that old home smell.

Daytona Day…we had Bloody Maria’s and the best tasting BBQ ribs Jerry has ever made on the grill. We chose to put our worries away for the day, we learned that during these stressful times, we need to continue looking forward and enjoying all that life has to offer us. That is exactly what we did all day!

Our week began on a huge disappointment, we had high hopes for a successful day with great leads for a truck and a place to stay, but it fell apart quickly. We got to the car dealership and were told the truck was at their other lot, so now more driving. But when we arrived there, we were told that truck was no longer available but they had others to show us. Really? We were upset that we got sucked into the bait and switch ordeal. It’s so simple…a truck and a home and we can just relax and once again enjoy the ride. What the hell is going on?

We did find a place to stay until May, not perfect but it will have to do and it’s saving us loads of money. Just a few more moves and we should be settled in to where we can just enjoy our time instead of worrying where we will be next week.

We did an event in Catalina, Arizona and t was definitely a small event so we didn’t have a chance to make any big bonus as we have on several others.

We moved our storage to our new unit in a better part of town…Tucson is so much harder than Phoenix to get around with no freeways, just side streets that take forever to get through. Now we are right off the freeway, not just our storage but our park models too.

We had a day between moves so we opted to have some playtime and a huge bed and shower at Estrella at Casino Del Sol and we were not disappointed. We also splurged and had the Seafood Buffet and ate lots of Crab Legs along with other goodies!

Our first Park Model is for 2 weeks before we move into the next one for 2 months. This one is smaller of the two but it’s cute and so much cleaner than our last one. It has all the necessities and what it didn’t have we got ours from storage so we are good to go for now.

We have chosen to make the best out of every situation that life is handing us right now and just go with it all and HAVE FUN!