Dec 29 - 30 - we made it to the Pacific Ocean!

The drive from Yuma to San Diego was eventful! You will see in the pictures above the sand dunes, looking like little ants on them are dune buggies & very souped up machines driving all over, with 1000's of RV's parked everywhere in the desert. Apparently this is the site of lots of movies, just like driving by a ski hill! Then our drive thru the mountains, which are really piles of rocks - Laguna Mountains I think. Leaving Yuma you arrive in the sand dunes, then the mountains then you are right smack into city & freeways. We are settled here at Chula Vista for a week. Lots to see & do around San Diego.

Sat. Dec 30, if you look us up on Google Earth you will see that we are next to the marina on a bay (address in last post). There is a bike trail/route that makes a route around the circle to Coronado Island, so that is what we did yesterday - 41.39 km, but mostly level. It was very cool, thru several naval bases, a biological preserve, an ecology park with lots of great snowy egrets, then past Silver Strand State Beach (see pic of G), naval amphibious centre, then onto Coronado Island which has lots of little shops & restaurants at the waterfront & expensive housing! We hopped on the ferry across to San Diego at the cruise ship terminal, lots of bikers on the ferry. Then we biked to Seaport Village which is more shops & restaurants (75+). Had lunch at the Edgewater Grill, you can tell where it was! Busy little spot, sailboats & lots of families out for the holiday weekend. Then back to our park & a big shrimp salad for late dinner. The weather here is awesome, just what we have been looking for, to be able to bike in our shorts & sit outside at night abit. We are in winter heaven!

Dec 23 - 29 - Life in Yuma, AZ

Where did the last week go, golf, walking, biking, reading for Gerry; sewing, walking, biking, swimming & reading for Sherri. We got our new motorhome all organized, had some work done on the brakes courtesy of the dealer/seller. All cleaned up, filled with groceries & wine ready for our trek to California. Went on a bike ride while the work was being done to our home, caught in a dust storm! The sky looked just like rain, but it was dust, came up suddenly, very odd, good thing we were in the city, not along the dirt canals.

We had a quiet Christmas, with a great web cam visit with Dean & Anne, before they left for Anne's parents' & then with Chantel & TJ before they left for TJ's sister Lee & Steve's. We then had to go & set up our tables in the Rec Center for our Christmas dinner. Then get ready for dinner, with our neighbors Max & Shirley from Halifax. The meal was very good, cornish hen & pork loin, over 100 RV'ers, followed by a gift exchange. We came home with nice red wine & a candle with a faux stained glass cover & lots of laughs. The afternoon was one of the warmest we have had so we suntanned & read at the pool. Then it was shrimp, salad & pizza for a light dinner. In the evening we web cammed with the Gallant gang gathered in Edmonton, as well as calls to Wade & Donna in Moose Jaw, Uncle Lawrence, Mac & Edwina & several Gallants in PEI. Also were able to converse with Dan & Joanne in Victoria on Christmas Eve, so glad to hear everyone is well!

Each Tuesday, our neighbors George & Lorna from Washington had happy hour at 3 - 5, so have enjoyed those visits with 5 or so couples. Everyone that we have met at this park has been so friendly & helpful, we have learned so much about what to see & do & so much about RV'ing & lifestyles!!

Arizona is very dry, desert, of course, so we really had to slather the lotion on alot, when we get to the ocean, that should be over!

We left Yuma today, & are now in San Diego at the Chula Vista RV resort, 460 Sandpiper Way, Chula Vista. Look us up on Google Earth, we touched the Pacific Ocean today! We are planning our week & New Years Eve. We love smelling the ocean again & seeing green trees!

Dec 18 - 22 - Well, most of this week was consumed with details of our Christmas present to ourselves, a 2003 Fleetwood 26 ft motorhome we spoiled ourselves with. We traded ours in. The picture above is the old on the left & G by the new on the right. It is 2 ft longer, has a queen bed we can walk around, bigger bathroom, lots of storage & is 16 yrs newer. It feels like we moved from a bachelor pad to a luxury 1 bedroom apt., & we love it! There are a few issues with the licensing & importing it to Canada, which thank goodness Gerry has taken on as a project. It is all do-able, just takes some paperwork & proper timing.

Sorry Adam, I know you thought your old uncle & auntie were pretty cool travelling in a hippy-mobile, but we sold out & opted for more comfort for our next 4 mths!!!

We took the rented car back, so its back to the bikes.

Gerry has been golfing twice this week, (though I guess that's happening in PEI, too!)I'm working on a quilt in the sewing room, between swimming laps, running, biking & some reading. The new motorhome has a TV, so that's been a treat for us, watching the ongoing crazy saga of Rosie & Donald & all the other US "news"!

The other pictures are the canals that are all around us, for irrigation of the lemon, orange & grapefruit trees. Harvesting is taking place now & the propellers you see in one picture are turned on to create airflow, to stop the frost (that we've had a few nights) setting in on the fruit. Now you know why citrus is so expensive! They make alot of noise like a helicopter flying low. Gerry just puts his good ear down & I have my earplugs!

We think the canals are awesome for biking & walking, nice flat hard surface!

Dec 14 - 17 - We have a rented car for a few days, so doing some shopping & touring, since there is really nothing close to us. Went to historic downtown Yuma, they are renovating the pedestrian street, so all torn up. Ate dinner at Lutes Casino which is not a casino at all, but a great hamburger joint with a personality all its own. Lots of old movie memorabilia & old metal signs, very original!

On Friday, we went for a gruelling 2 hr + hike up the Gila (pron. Hyla) Mountains, it is a cement road for the workers to get to some communication towers & is very steep, but nothing like real mountain climbing. The workers were all leaving for the weekend, so had to stand aside when they drove down. I made it to the top, Gerry found a rock to sun on while I continued on. Thank goodness for the hot tub after that, we were both pooped! But we went on a date to the movies after, "Borat", a waste of our seniors rate (5.)!!!! Parts of it were very funny, but generally very disappointing :-(

OK, I am here saying to Gerry, what did we do Sat., he says, this is Sunday, so that was yesterday, hmmm, this is not good, LOL!! oh yes, Gerry installed the green slime tubes & mountain tires for our bikes while I went to the big shopping mall, to look around for a few things. He tried his bike & it works great, no chance of a cactus spear now.

Today we drove to Algodones, Mexico. They have parking on the California side (we are only miles from each border), & you walk across. The first signs you see are for Dental offices & Opticians. Both are very cheap here & people come from all over to get the cheap rates. We did not do either, but got the 3.00 Kahlua & 7.00 Brandy & had to have the picture taken above of Gerry in front of one of the Pharmacies. Drugs are very cheap, too.

With no TV, we are doing alot of reading & occasionally catch Compass (6 pm news in PEI) or the 10 pm news online. The internet is prominent of course, for all kinds of info & communication, our lifeline!

Sun. Dec 10 - Wed. Dec 13 - Del Pueblo RV Park

Gerry played golf with George next door & 18 other guys in the park, at Desert View Course on Mon., had a great day, bad golf for him.

We have played tennis together twice, & I played this am with Mary Beth, who lives here for 6 mths & then with her twin sisters the rest of the yr in Texas, (the golden girls!). Gerry has walked & gotten fresh lemons (bad, bad) again, we've each got a flat tire on our bikes now, have to get special tires & tubes to withstand the cactus' & other evils hiding in the sand! We had happy hour last night at our neighbors' - it starts at 3:00, cause by 5 it is cool for sitting out & dark by 5:40ish. I have been sewing in the craft room (hemming pants & starting a quilt), all the quilt supplies are there as long as you have a machine, Gerry has made a stained glass cactus with the all male glass class, I've been taken shopping by Barb, we've been offered a car to use if we need to go shopping & a drive to Mexico with a couple from Halifax just across from us. We're also invited to play shuffleboard with Ron & Dee from Ottawa.

There is another Gerry & Shari in the park, that was of interest to many people!! The park is not full yet, but all the spaces are reserved for people on their way, it will be full in Jan., then it might feel like Sardine Land, but now there is lots of room. I have included pictures of our lot & the view to left & right out the front. Gravel & pavement all around, but it keeps the dust down from the roads. The lemon trees do that too. It's like a mini city, with no shopping, but all kinds of activity. Everyone is very friendly & helpful & lots of fun. I have likened it to a commune, with your own private space, but many opportunities to be social with lots of activities & events going on. If you don't like being social, you would not like it here!

We put up Christmas lights last night & have tickets for Christmas dinner which is at 12:30 with a gift exchange. Dinner is pork tenderloin & cornish hen, the owner is a former caterer & it is very good, apparently.

Chantel & Dean have been sent web cams & we'll get ours this week, so we'll be having a web cam Christmas....it was the best we could do this year, but should be fun. If anyone else has one, let us know, so we can set up times to "chat".

We have rented a car for 3 days to do some touring & shopping around the area, so went to Red Lobster for dinner tonight & brought home enough seafood for another meal, burp!

There is really no excuse for us not to be physically active here, there are so many possibilities, so we have been taking advantage of that & we are slimming down (if we can stop eating so much!). The month should be good for us, as we are outside most of the time, so looking forward to the weight loss.

Thanks for all the email comments & news, we love all of it!

Wed. Dec 6 - driving south around Phoenix, stayed overnight in a very clean, 88 Shades RV Park. Our first time seeing the large cactus that you think of when you think of Arizona. Mostly barren flat land with cactus & some low deciduous trees. Roads very straight, flat, mountains off in distance. Lots of trucks on this route, but good roads.

Thurs. Dec 7 - We arrive in Yuma, check in at our park, no tables at sites, & once we are parked, & hooked up, we don't want to leave, so need some supplies. Propane, a fold up table & groceries. The park is beautiful - Del Pueblo RV Park, only 4 yrs old, large lots, quite a few empty, must be reserved as we got the last one in the "no pet zone". Large rec center, lap pool, jacuzzi's, craft room, tennis courts, many other activities available. If you look us up on Google Earth, you will see that we are outside the city, surrounded by fields of lemon trees. There are no services very near, so we will be doing alot of biking! Enjoy the hot tub after dinner & Eva & Floyd playing pool. They are full-time RV'ers, no property anywhere, we had no idea people did that!!

Fri. Dec 8 - our 1st full day at the park. Laundry takes all morning, G walks treadmill, I swim laps, then we go to find him a small golf bag, 27 kms round trip on bikes. When we lock up at one sporting goods store he gets a flat tire from a cactus spear! I have a spare tube, but not the proper tools. Play It Again Sports has tools & the golf bag, & is only blocks to walk. Our shopping trip is cut short, we have to get back before dark about 5:30, another adventure! After that we need a hot tub immediately, meet another full time RV couple in the hot tub, intriguing life, they live in Barrie, Ont in the summer. Barbecue in the limited light, but it is good to have "barby's" again!! There is a dance in the rec center, we check out later. C & W, small group attending, the real dancers who know the 2-step! We meet Lyman & Charlene from Victoria, very informative about the park & let us know about dance classes on Tues.

Sat. Dec 9 - When we meet people no-one talks about the weather, it never changes here! We have not seen a cloud since we entered Arizona & it is cool at night, great for sleep, but every day has sun tanning possibilities & is not too hot for anything outdoors. I check out the craft room where sewing happens 3 days/wk, stained glass available for G. We play tennis, awesome courts, G goes for a walk thru the lemon fields, I go biking for veggies & a small shelf for the bathroom. I check out the flea market which is really a huge marketplace inside white tent booths all in a row. The one nearest us is very modern & clean & huge! I look thru about 1/3 of it, then head to the grocery store at Walmart, 24 km round trip, so another sore butt heading for the hot tub! Barbecue catfish & fresh beets.
We meet 2 ladies, more RVing discussions. People are very friendly here.

Dec 4 - Off to Flagstaff to a shopping mall, find a few gifts. Drive to Sedona our destination for today, 28 miles but winding roads up & down. Stop for a hike at Slide Rock State Park where the rocks are smooth for a natural waterslide in the summer. What a neat place! Get a site at Rancho Sedona near a creek, very nice park. Find a "trailhead" up the hill for a hike in the canyon. Amazing rock outcroppings here, that beautiful red as the sun goes down. Finally a shower! Walk toward downtown, find a restaurant, Oak Creek Brewary & Grill for salad & homemade pizza. Then we partake in the "Festival of Lights", 40 homes (townhouses) in close proximity that apply to be part of the competition for very original, elaborate lighting & decorations for Christmas. Quite amazing work & everyone votes, then there is hot apple cider afterwards. (& they try to sell you a timeshare, quite a marketing concept!).

Dec 5 - decide to stay here another night, such a beautiful place, lots to do & tons of unique native & craft shops downtown. Gerry takes the Pink Jeep tour "Broken Arrow" adventure in the pm, while I opt for a relaxing afternoon of walking around town & shopping. Lots of pottery & glass ideas. He had a ball, check it out - www.pinkjeep.com up into the outback, canyons, climbing rocks with 4 women, & a guide in a super built jeep.! We meet for a beer & shrimp ceviche. Then back to the motorhome to cook asparagus & chicken, yum.

Sedona is known for its 4 meditation sites, or"vortex's" - energy centers with remarkable spiritual powers, or an area of enhanced linear energy flow. So, before we left town, we visited one of these sites, looking for our vortex's....very uplifting, like looking out at the ocean... great view of the city on both sides of the rock hills!

Today we are on our way to Quartzsite, AZ for the night, bypassing Phoenix & will arrive in Yuma tomorrow. We have reserved a spot at the Del Pueblo RV Park & Tennis Resort, for a month, hurray a temp home! www.delpueblorv.com So, Margo, you won't need to wonder "where in the world is Gerry Gallant?"! We may have to buy a newer motorhome, this RV Park has to have mgmt approval for anything older than 10 yrs, we're really old!! There are over 170 RV Parks in Yuma, many with more than 1000 sites each! We had to do alot of research to make a decision....we're excited about this one, though.

There is so much to update now, should have done before we left Vegas, but, but, there was an outlet mall calling me & then we had no internet connection for days. So, here goes...

Wed. 29th - Relaxing day, out for a walk, hung out at apt. - a break from gambling, get ready for a late night. Walked to Bellagio in search of dinner, found "Sensi" at the end of the hall of restaurants, cute unique place with the kitchen in glass in the middle. No tables available, had sushi, satays & salads at the bar. Amazing presentation & tastes! Met a young couple from Australia, he was happy that we could understand what he was saying! A bit of gambling before our Cirque du Soleil show "O" started at 10:30. Gerry was blown away by Cirque, his first time seeing, awesome show, in, on, over & under water, WOW! After this we gamble some more on the slots at Bellagio & we do OK, as long as we stick with "The Gambler", Kenny Rogers' rules - "you got to know when to walk away, know when to run!..."....Find a great band playing "Michael Grimm", a bit of people watching, then home by 3:00 am, oh, we are getting so wild!!

Thurs. Nov 30th - Another sunny day, out for a run & walk down Flamingo Road. Hung around apt for awhile, then long walk to take pictures of the night lights on the strip. Ready for the evening, take free resort bus to Freemont St downtown, the old part of Vegas. Find an awesome buffet at the Golden Nugget. The street is transformed from earlier days with an overhead canopy, live band & the music & video on the canopy, quite a sight. The National Rodeo starts today, so lots of real cowboys around! Tonight we have tickets to Randy Travis at the Golden Nugget, just for our country fix! Comfortable small theatre "Showroom", he puts on a great show, has lots of hits, very personable, he hugs all the ladies in the front row at the end, one who has seen him 313 times!

Fri. Dec 1st - Had to be out of our unit at 10 am, the keys automatically expire at that time, they are serious about check out time! Not wanting to waste valuable Las Vegas time on laundry, we do it after check out, propping open the door, how desperate is that? Off to that Outlet Center I mentioned earlier, lunch, then start at one end of the 130 stores. The driver gives me till 3 pm, 1.5 hrs, have mercy, it's Christmas! That's enough anyway, then we are off as we want to get to Kingman, down Route 66 before dark. Road is winding thru the Hoover Dam, with some switchbacks, eek I have to close my eyes, but luckily the driver doesn't! Stop for groceries, Bachars, the liquor section is huge, more cheap wine! Get settled in Zuni Village RV Park & cook some chicken, Steamfresh peas inside. A chance to read tonight, both reading Dan Brown.

Sat. Dec 2nd - ***Chantel's 27th birthday*** Happy Birthday to you, ....
Off to the Route 66 Museum, very cool & quite a history of the route across the old mid-west. Here we go to the Grand Canyon, wow, what a sight. We get settled at the RV park in the GC National Park, they are all gravel in these parts with some small trees, most parks have no showers. Take a walk to the Yavapai Observation Station & along a section of the South Rim & watch the sunset. It is windy & freezing here! Cook steaks & corn on the cob inside where it is toasty warm. The air up here makes us tired & we sleep well & long.

Sun. Dec 3 - Dressed up warmer for a walk to the South Rim. Headed west, many amazing views, every turn is a new sight, the trail is fantastic, not too many people this time of year. Nice shops & lodges along the way to warm up in. Back to the mh for lunch, then drive the 7 mile route to Hermits Rest, lots of great lookouts. On to Tusayan, to Nat Geographic Visitor Centre where there is an IMAX theatre about the GC, as if you are in a helicopter & boat on the water. Shows the early explorers, etc. Fantastic show. We purchase a "mascot" for our trip, Kokopelli, "the humpbacked flute player". Native American folklore says he is a mythical character among the Navajo, Zuni, Hopi & Pueblo Indians. Often referred to as the Don Juan of the Southwest, he played his flute to announce his friendly intentions as a trader & to woo the maidens he encountered with his music of love. He represents the eternal prayer, music & dance of the universe. He brings good luck, good health & good times to all who meet him. See pic above.

Next we drove the east road of the GC out to Desert View, many more great lookouts & now the sun is setting again, so we get that nice light on the red & white rocks. It's freezing again as the sun goes down. We head to Cameron, find an RV park with a view of the San Francisco mountains. It is a gravel field, but next to a great Navajo Trading Post, with excellent diningroom where we enjoy nachos & tacos enough to feed an army. The gift shop is huge with lots of neat native crafts, very reasonably priced.