(Tucson, AZ)
We’re still in this parking lot. But hey, we’re making the best of it.
Our neighbor John left to continue his adventure. He had been here since December. We’re hoping for his sake everything is finally fixed.
Exit John. Enter Fred. Fred had been here a week or so but we didn’t see much of him or his wife as they spent the time that she was here exploring the area. Cyndy had to go on to California as she is a traveling nurse and has an assignment. They are full-timers but I believe she has taken on an apartment. They have quite the story about their motorhome and I will share it, but not until we’re outta here. Watch for it, its one helluva story!
So Fred is staying here in his motorhome and it is truly a shelter only right now. He can’t empty the tanks so he can’t run the water for anything, kitchen, shower or toilet. He does have electricity so he can keep his beer and water cold and he can keep his phone charged. That’s about it.
Bob and Fred spend hours talking about the downfall of the RV industry and service bays as far as customer service is concerned. This will all make sense later.
Our temps are reaching the high 90’s and from everything we’re hearing the 100’s are just around the corner. The interior of the truck is sometimes 100 degrees already if parked in the sun and closed up.
Tires. We finally got a handle on the tires we need for the truck. I had called Glenn Jones Ford in Casa Grande and was told the same thing that I heard from the Ford dealership in Tucson, “Those tires are not available in any Ford dealership in the state of Arizona.” I thanked him for his time and went on to the next phone call to make. I called Discount Tires and found that they could order them in from Nevada but that I would have to go to another place to get them installed at the price of $40 a piece. Now granted, they could sell me the tires for $756.00 but add in another $80 for install,,,,well this Queen of Cheap wasn’t happy about that at all. I told the guy I would call him back. I just had to keep shopping around. No sooner had I hung up and the fella from Glenn Jones Ford called back and said that he found tires and could have them in by Thursday. He told me the price and I negotiated it down to $730.00, installed, all costs included, out the door. It was the best we were going to do.
I’ve been working on my tan but you should see Bob! Oh my gosh, he is so darn tan and its still only May.
Update on the 5th wheel: There is still a leak in the hydraulic line but the service department is aware of it. We’re scheduled to be in the bay next Tuesday. In the meantime we’ll put a set of jack stands under the rig just in case. We’ve been here for 71 days as of the 23rd. It’s all good, free rent and utilities, we’ve got our dish, new friends, pool close by and everything we could possibly need within a 10 minute drive.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
5/15–5/20/2013 Livin’ Life in a Parking Lot
(Tucson, AZ)
Yep, we’re still here at Lazy Days. I spend some of my days at the pool, Bob sits with Dennis and John.
We go shopping to pass the time too. Oh my, do we ever go shopping. We don’t go to Sears or Penny’s or even Walmart. Nope, not us. We go to……drum roll please……FRY’S GROCERY STORE! You see, I’m active on Facebook and everyone is posting these wonderful recipes and we’re trying them out. So we run to the store to get what we need and we always seem to go when we’re hungry and we end up spending seventy five to a hundred bucks. Each time. Then take into consideration that things that we use are on sale and we’re stocking up. I don’t know why, its not like these items are never going to be on sale again. However, that said, there is such a huge sale on beer here right now and my Pepsi’s and we’re buying the maximum we can every time we go. It’s not often you see a 30 pack of Bud for $17.00 here in Arizona. Our basement is full but Bob is giving it his all to stay ahead of the game.
I’ve been spending considerable time trying to find tires too. The tires I found for just under nine hundred? They aren’t in stock, they have to be ordered. So I keep looking for tire stores and I call and keep getting told they can order them. I called the local Ford dealership to get tires for this Ford truck and they don’t have them in stock. They can special order them if I choose to go that route but we’ll have to pay for shipping because of the special order status. That ain’t happening! What baffles us is that these are the tires that Ford puts on the trucks so we can’t understand why we can’t get them. The fellow we’ve been talkin’ with says he’s checked every Ford dealer in the state of Arizona and there isn’t a set to be had. Oh great!
I checked with our service writer to get a status on the parts we’re waiting on. She said she would look into it and get back to me. Well, she did and why were we not surprised to find out that the parts are expected to arrive in six to eight days! Can you say, “She forgot to order them?” I’ll have quite the story to tell when we get out of here! I’m not saying a word while we’re still here. I remember what happened the last time I wrote something on the Internet! Remember THIS?
Our new friend Dennis will be pulling out soon. He bought a new Redwood 5th wheel from Lazy Days five months ago and had so many problems with it he brought it back and traded it for a gently used toy hauler. The small issues he wanted fixed on the used unit are done now and he’s almost got it all set up inside. He’ll spend the summer out in the open desert, mostly by himself. He says he loves it, gets the occasional neighbor but mostly by himself. That wouldn’t be for me.
Yep, we’re still here at Lazy Days. I spend some of my days at the pool, Bob sits with Dennis and John.
We go shopping to pass the time too. Oh my, do we ever go shopping. We don’t go to Sears or Penny’s or even Walmart. Nope, not us. We go to……drum roll please……FRY’S GROCERY STORE! You see, I’m active on Facebook and everyone is posting these wonderful recipes and we’re trying them out. So we run to the store to get what we need and we always seem to go when we’re hungry and we end up spending seventy five to a hundred bucks. Each time. Then take into consideration that things that we use are on sale and we’re stocking up. I don’t know why, its not like these items are never going to be on sale again. However, that said, there is such a huge sale on beer here right now and my Pepsi’s and we’re buying the maximum we can every time we go. It’s not often you see a 30 pack of Bud for $17.00 here in Arizona. Our basement is full but Bob is giving it his all to stay ahead of the game.
I’ve been spending considerable time trying to find tires too. The tires I found for just under nine hundred? They aren’t in stock, they have to be ordered. So I keep looking for tire stores and I call and keep getting told they can order them. I called the local Ford dealership to get tires for this Ford truck and they don’t have them in stock. They can special order them if I choose to go that route but we’ll have to pay for shipping because of the special order status. That ain’t happening! What baffles us is that these are the tires that Ford puts on the trucks so we can’t understand why we can’t get them. The fellow we’ve been talkin’ with says he’s checked every Ford dealer in the state of Arizona and there isn’t a set to be had. Oh great!
I checked with our service writer to get a status on the parts we’re waiting on. She said she would look into it and get back to me. Well, she did and why were we not surprised to find out that the parts are expected to arrive in six to eight days! Can you say, “She forgot to order them?” I’ll have quite the story to tell when we get out of here! I’m not saying a word while we’re still here. I remember what happened the last time I wrote something on the Internet! Remember THIS?
Our new friend Dennis will be pulling out soon. He bought a new Redwood 5th wheel from Lazy Days five months ago and had so many problems with it he brought it back and traded it for a gently used toy hauler. The small issues he wanted fixed on the used unit are done now and he’s almost got it all set up inside. He’ll spend the summer out in the open desert, mostly by himself. He says he loves it, gets the occasional neighbor but mostly by himself. That wouldn’t be for me.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
5/14/2013 Saguaro in Bloom
(Tucson, AZ)
Even though saguaro cactus is plentiful and native to this area it wasn’t until today that I noticed that they are blooming. I’m pretty sure they are just starting because it is mostly buds on the top of these thorny branches.
It was tank dumping day today,,,oh gosh, that’s sad. The most important thing we’re going to do today is dump our gray and black water tanks. Ah the life of full timers in a service bay parking lot.
These saguaro’s are very near the dump station. By the way, it’s pronounced sa-waur-o.
Tanks dumped, it was back in our space in the paring lot and I got down to the task at hand. Today’s mission is to find two front tires for The Beast that don’t cost an arm and leg. This could be a monumental task since my very first quote was totaled just under $900.00. For two tires!
Bob spent the afternoon sitting under the awning, talking the time away with our neighbors Dennis and John.
Even though saguaro cactus is plentiful and native to this area it wasn’t until today that I noticed that they are blooming. I’m pretty sure they are just starting because it is mostly buds on the top of these thorny branches.
It was tank dumping day today,,,oh gosh, that’s sad. The most important thing we’re going to do today is dump our gray and black water tanks. Ah the life of full timers in a service bay parking lot.
These saguaro’s are very near the dump station. By the way, it’s pronounced sa-waur-o.
Tanks dumped, it was back in our space in the paring lot and I got down to the task at hand. Today’s mission is to find two front tires for The Beast that don’t cost an arm and leg. This could be a monumental task since my very first quote was totaled just under $900.00. For two tires!
Bob spent the afternoon sitting under the awning, talking the time away with our neighbors Dennis and John.
Monday, May 13, 2013
5/132013 The Wild, Wild West
(Tucson, AZ)
Bob and I had every intention of touring the Desert Museum today. We didn’t make it. We got sidetracked. It was a good thing!
Look how blue our sky was today.
Instead of the Desert Museum we ended up at Old Tucson.
We happened to pass this on the way and Bob asked if I wanted to check it out. Heck yeah! Anything as long as we’re doing something!
The store/ticket office.
Old Tucson is a movie set that was built in 1938 as a replica of 1860s Tucson for the movie Arizona, starring William Holden and Jean Arthur. Workers built more than 50 buildings in 40 days and surprisingly many of those structures are still standing.
Of course, some of the buildings are nothing more than facades.
We followed our guide and walked the very street that the likes of John Wayne, Gene Autry, James Stewart and Ronald Reagan walked while making movies that everyone recognizes the names of. Does Gunfight at the OK Corral ring a bell?
Some of the buildings in this movie studio turned theme park.
This is a real building and stage shows are held in it each day.
Park visitors have a choice of touring the grounds by stagecoach…..
…..or train. Or walking of course.
This mountain below is in 99% percent of all westerns made here in Arizona and a lot of westerns have been made on this movie lot! Cowboys and Indians have gunfights around it, hide behind it and sometimes its just background.
It was time to take in a show. We found seats in the bleachers and sat back to watch three actors put on a comedy/stunt show.
This young fellow was pulled from the crowd and given a Tucson dollar, worth absolutely nothing, to hold between his teeth.
Now prior to this, one of the actors was doing tricks with a whip and he wasn’t that accurate with what he was trying to do, which I’m sure this boy saw too. He was told to just shut his eyes and keep them shut….so he didn’t see the blood. Of course just as the guy with the whip snapped it the fellow standing next to him pulled it out of his mouth. I still don’t know if the kid knew what happened.
The show proceeded with a showing of stunts often seen.
Having the ladder your climbing pushed off the wall its leaning it against.
And what’s a good western without dynamite being throw into a building?
By now we were getting hungry and headed to one of the restaurants on the property, BBQ sounded good to us so we chose Big Jakes.
We made a good choice! Bob had the BBQ beef and I had the BBQ pork. Even the coleslaw was good and I’m real picky about the the coleslaw I eat. The inside was typical theme park restaurant, cafeteria style, with saddles on railings, wooden tables and chairs, cowboy pictures on the walls and priced on the high side.
Some pictures I snapped…..just because.
This is the Crooked Creek Chapel. A modern day bride can choose to get married here but it would have to be a very small wedding.
Like every old wild west church it has a cemetery.
This world famous locomotive worked Nevada’s legendary Comstock Lode (silver mine) before becoming the movie star it is today.
Famous passengers and co-stars have included: President Ulysses S Grant, President Theodore Roosevelt, John Wayne, James Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood and Elizabeth Taylor.
The Reno has appeared in nearly 100 movies and TV programs including; Rawhide, Twilight Zone, Posse, Joe Kidd, Tombstone, Wild, Wild, West and The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.
The Reno is known as the most photographed locomotive in American history.
Bob and I next toured a replica of the General Store from back in the day. This was truly the place to meet the townsfolk and farmers/ranchers from outlying areas.
It was where one went to buy flour, sugar, a new washboard, soap, and a slate if you had kids in school.
It was usually the pharmacy, the post office and the telegraph office all rolled into one.
The General Store was the towns menfolk gathered to talk about current events, tell a joke, discuss grain prices and of course to play a game of checkers.
The womenfolk would get to the General Store once a month or so if they lived in the outlying areas so this was their chance to talk to another woman, admire the fancy dress material they could ill afford and the place to buy sturdy cotton with which to make the family’s clothes. I am sooo glad I didn’t live in the olden days.
It was time to take in another show. The same three actors that were in the first show but now a young woman was also part of the cast. It was short play about a sheriff gone bad and his son who was beginning to see the light about him. The other actor played a preacher man who in his heart could not shoot another to save his own life. Enter the young woman who is there for revenge against the sheriff. It was action packed and in the end the son ended up dead. Doesn’t it figure?
We went through a few of the stores and I bought one thing for the park model but I’m not showing it until I get it up where it belongs, so you’ll have to wait.
It was getting very hot by late afternoon and although there were a few more shops we could have looked at we decided to call it a day.
This was very enjoyable and we’re both glad we took the time to explore Old Tucson.
Bob and I had every intention of touring the Desert Museum today. We didn’t make it. We got sidetracked. It was a good thing!
Look how blue our sky was today.
Instead of the Desert Museum we ended up at Old Tucson.
We happened to pass this on the way and Bob asked if I wanted to check it out. Heck yeah! Anything as long as we’re doing something!
The store/ticket office.
Old Tucson is a movie set that was built in 1938 as a replica of 1860s Tucson for the movie Arizona, starring William Holden and Jean Arthur. Workers built more than 50 buildings in 40 days and surprisingly many of those structures are still standing.
Of course, some of the buildings are nothing more than facades.
This is a real building and stage shows are held in it each day.
Park visitors have a choice of touring the grounds by stagecoach…..
…..or train. Or walking of course.
This mountain below is in 99% percent of all westerns made here in Arizona and a lot of westerns have been made on this movie lot! Cowboys and Indians have gunfights around it, hide behind it and sometimes its just background.
It was time to take in a show. We found seats in the bleachers and sat back to watch three actors put on a comedy/stunt show.
This young fellow was pulled from the crowd and given a Tucson dollar, worth absolutely nothing, to hold between his teeth.
The show proceeded with a showing of stunts often seen.
Having the ladder your climbing pushed off the wall its leaning it against.
By now we were getting hungry and headed to one of the restaurants on the property, BBQ sounded good to us so we chose Big Jakes.
We made a good choice! Bob had the BBQ beef and I had the BBQ pork. Even the coleslaw was good and I’m real picky about the the coleslaw I eat. The inside was typical theme park restaurant, cafeteria style, with saddles on railings, wooden tables and chairs, cowboy pictures on the walls and priced on the high side.
Some pictures I snapped…..just because.
This is The Reno. The locomotive was built for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in 1872
This world famous locomotive worked Nevada’s legendary Comstock Lode (silver mine) before becoming the movie star it is today.
Famous passengers and co-stars have included: President Ulysses S Grant, President Theodore Roosevelt, John Wayne, James Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood and Elizabeth Taylor.
The Reno has appeared in nearly 100 movies and TV programs including; Rawhide, Twilight Zone, Posse, Joe Kidd, Tombstone, Wild, Wild, West and The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.
The Reno is known as the most photographed locomotive in American history.
Bob and I next toured a replica of the General Store from back in the day. This was truly the place to meet the townsfolk and farmers/ranchers from outlying areas.
It was where one went to buy flour, sugar, a new washboard, soap, and a slate if you had kids in school.
It was usually the pharmacy, the post office and the telegraph office all rolled into one.
The womenfolk would get to the General Store once a month or so if they lived in the outlying areas so this was their chance to talk to another woman, admire the fancy dress material they could ill afford and the place to buy sturdy cotton with which to make the family’s clothes. I am sooo glad I didn’t live in the olden days.
It was time to take in another show. The same three actors that were in the first show but now a young woman was also part of the cast. It was short play about a sheriff gone bad and his son who was beginning to see the light about him. The other actor played a preacher man who in his heart could not shoot another to save his own life. Enter the young woman who is there for revenge against the sheriff. It was action packed and in the end the son ended up dead. Doesn’t it figure?
We went through a few of the stores and I bought one thing for the park model but I’m not showing it until I get it up where it belongs, so you’ll have to wait.
It was getting very hot by late afternoon and although there were a few more shops we could have looked at we decided to call it a day.
This was very enjoyable and we’re both glad we took the time to explore Old Tucson.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
5/11-12/2013 So Long Bonnie & Steve
(Tucson, AZ)
Today our friends moved on down the road. Steve left earlier than Bonnie and headed back to Quail Run where they’ll spend the next couple of days.
Bonnie went to phone school. Sounds funny doesn’t it, but that’s what she did. It seems with the new IPhones they are so complicated and do so much that you have to school to learn all the features. I’ve already decided that my next phone will be an IPhone.
We really hated to see them leave. We had so much fun with these two this week, and hey, if the truth be told, Steve could cook for us any night of the week.
This weekend Bob spent a good amount of time sitting with our neighbor Dennis. He has been living in his RV’s for the past 21 years and loves to spend his time out in the desert, sometimes all by himself. He’s a Canadian who became a US citizen and served as a Seabee in the service. He’s very much into music and can tell a good story.
I threw in a load of clothes and they dried in no time at all. I think they hung there for a total of 20 minutes. I just love this clothes line of mine.
We made a run to the grocery store and watched TV, played on our computers and read the weekend away.
Relaxing, but we’re ready to move on. Beyond ready to move on.
Today our friends moved on down the road. Steve left earlier than Bonnie and headed back to Quail Run where they’ll spend the next couple of days.
Bonnie went to phone school. Sounds funny doesn’t it, but that’s what she did. It seems with the new IPhones they are so complicated and do so much that you have to school to learn all the features. I’ve already decided that my next phone will be an IPhone.
We really hated to see them leave. We had so much fun with these two this week, and hey, if the truth be told, Steve could cook for us any night of the week.
This weekend Bob spent a good amount of time sitting with our neighbor Dennis. He has been living in his RV’s for the past 21 years and loves to spend his time out in the desert, sometimes all by himself. He’s a Canadian who became a US citizen and served as a Seabee in the service. He’s very much into music and can tell a good story.
I threw in a load of clothes and they dried in no time at all. I think they hung there for a total of 20 minutes. I just love this clothes line of mine.
We made a run to the grocery store and watched TV, played on our computers and read the weekend away.
Relaxing, but we’re ready to move on. Beyond ready to move on.
Friday, May 10, 2013
5/10/2013 No Pool For Me!
(Tucson, AZ)
No pool for me today! I’m still a little too red to be going to the pool. Bonnie went for awhile but I just couldn’t take the chance.
Steve and Bonnie had their motorhome washed and waxed here today. The fellows who perform this service use a smear and swirl free wax which leave the RV’s looking like they just came off the showroom floor. They did a fantastic job and we have said all along that we would have ours done before we left here. (If we ever leave here.) Yes, its pricey, but worth it. I’ll be sure to take before and after pics when we get ours done.
We didn’t cook dinner tonight, we had Chinese take-out. The place we went to was quite busy when got there which was a good sign to me. We placed our orders and in no time we were heading back to Lazy Days. Mine was good, not as good as the place we used to go to when we lived in Delaware but I would eat there again.
We sat outside again this evening but called it an early night. Bonnie and Steve will leave tomorrow and they wanted to get a head start on getting ready for travel. I sure am going to miss them. It was fun while they were here.
No pool for me today! I’m still a little too red to be going to the pool. Bonnie went for awhile but I just couldn’t take the chance.
Steve and Bonnie had their motorhome washed and waxed here today. The fellows who perform this service use a smear and swirl free wax which leave the RV’s looking like they just came off the showroom floor. They did a fantastic job and we have said all along that we would have ours done before we left here. (If we ever leave here.) Yes, its pricey, but worth it. I’ll be sure to take before and after pics when we get ours done.
We didn’t cook dinner tonight, we had Chinese take-out. The place we went to was quite busy when got there which was a good sign to me. We placed our orders and in no time we were heading back to Lazy Days. Mine was good, not as good as the place we used to go to when we lived in Delaware but I would eat there again.
We sat outside again this evening but called it an early night. Bonnie and Steve will leave tomorrow and they wanted to get a head start on getting ready for travel. I sure am going to miss them. It was fun while they were here.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
5/9/2013 A Service Bay Day…For All Of Us!
(Tucson, AZ)
A trip to the service bay….HOORAY! These days are so few and far between that they should be celebrated.
Steve and Bonnie’s motorhome was taken first so they ran errands they had to do. Around 11:30 ours was come for.
Their motorhome also had an ongoing hydraulic problem but was finally fixed. Hopefully, once and for all.
We had our speakers replaced and the arm/ram replaced on our slide out. All is good.
This afternoon the guys spent the afternoon sitting with Dennis, our neighbor, and as all men do when they get into a group of three or more, they solved all the world’s problems.
Bonnie and I spent it at the pool talking about this and that and not even touching on the world’s problems. We’ll leave that for another day.
I spent way too much time at the pool. I got a couple shades darker than pink, that’s for sure.
Before long Steve & Bonnie’s motorhome was back in place.
We sat around for a while in our beach chairs and then ours was brought back.
For dinner we had burgers on the grill, baked beans and a squash dish I make. Steve grilled us some fresh beets. This was my first time ever, yes, ever, eating fresh beets. We have beets quite frequently but always out of the can. I don’t think that will be happening again while they are in season. We really liked them!
Dennis came pver and we sat around with him and told jokes and talked about full time RV’ing and tons of other things.
The wind picked up considerably and along with that comes dust so we retreated to our respective RV’s for the night.
An enjoyable day!
A trip to the service bay….HOORAY! These days are so few and far between that they should be celebrated.
Steve and Bonnie’s motorhome was taken first so they ran errands they had to do. Around 11:30 ours was come for.
Their motorhome also had an ongoing hydraulic problem but was finally fixed. Hopefully, once and for all.
We had our speakers replaced and the arm/ram replaced on our slide out. All is good.
This afternoon the guys spent the afternoon sitting with Dennis, our neighbor, and as all men do when they get into a group of three or more, they solved all the world’s problems.
Bonnie and I spent it at the pool talking about this and that and not even touching on the world’s problems. We’ll leave that for another day.
I spent way too much time at the pool. I got a couple shades darker than pink, that’s for sure.
Before long Steve & Bonnie’s motorhome was back in place.
We sat around for a while in our beach chairs and then ours was brought back.
For dinner we had burgers on the grill, baked beans and a squash dish I make. Steve grilled us some fresh beets. This was my first time ever, yes, ever, eating fresh beets. We have beets quite frequently but always out of the can. I don’t think that will be happening again while they are in season. We really liked them!
Dennis came pver and we sat around with him and told jokes and talked about full time RV’ing and tons of other things.
The wind picked up considerably and along with that comes dust so we retreated to our respective RV’s for the night.
An enjoyable day!
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