Hello everybody. We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and we hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did. (Obvioulsy I’m really late with this blog.) We had planned to spend Christmas as we had spent Thanksgiving: in our RV with a special meal, but, before I could even plan some special meal, some friends of ours invited us to spend Christmas with them, in their RV. There was just one catch: their RV was in Yuma, a 3-hr drive away. Now, 3 hours really isn’t much but - then we would have to drive back. Hmm. 6 hours. But, our friends were definitely worth it and we accepted.
But, then we began to noodle out how to do this.
Of course, we could just drive 6 hours. Hmmm, not our cup of tea.
Should we leave our current campground early and drive the RV down and then just hang out on the desert? Nah - why do that when we have a perfectly good place here in Mesa with full hook-ups, lots of places to hike and - well there are lots of reasons why this idea didn’t end up as a winner
Well, how about driving to Gila Bend in the RV, parking it and then driving to Yuma? Huh? How does that make sense?
Ah - I’ve got it: let’s take a VACATION, drive to Yuma, stay overnight in a motel and drive back on Saturday, stopping at the Petroglyph site outside Gila Bend on the way back? Hmmm, let’s work on this idea.
How often do we take a vacation? You know, time away from home (which, in our case, happens to be our RV.) People who live in RV’s don’t take ‘vacations’, they just drive to the next location. But - they’re still in their home. What kind of vacation is that?
We have a winner!!! And I set about getting a hotel room. My way is to use Priceline. I’ll have to admit that we usually don’t take vacations in hotel rooms so my knowledge of how to go about it might be really obsolete these days but I like Priceline over the other sites I’ve used because there is the element of suspense. After you’ve chosen the area and the star quantity you want in a hotel, you make your bid, give them your credit card info and they the little ball spins and maybe some hotel will accept your bid and - maybe not. Not only do I get a room for half-price but I’ve got the cute little element of suspense all added in. A fun little game. But, that’s just me.
So, I went onto Priceline, saw what the prices were for hotels in Yuma, the star quantity, some details and the customer ratings. OK, looks like $69 is what we might spend on a Best Western with 4 star-reviews. Then I looked off to the side and saw this little box off to the side that said:
Sounds like my kind of deal. No bidding and no suspense but, what the heck. So, I clicked, gave our credit card info and voila, the hotel that accepted us for $49 was - Best Western. Same hotel, $20 savings.
Great deal.
So, today we got up at 7:00, scurried around to get the last of our packing down, had a quick, very small breakfast (we know how well Shirley and Jerry cook) and we were off. Beautiful day for a drive: sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and - LOOK - no traffic. Well, of course, it’s Christmas Day. Look at this picture of route 60 through the heart of the valley here - hardly anyone.
Usually it’s bumper to bumper at 65 - 75 mph. Usually there are lights at the ramp to allow one at a time to enter the highway. Usually, there are 2 lanes of cars on the entrance ramp waiting for their light to change. Usually. Not today. We’ve almost got the highway to ourselves.
We drove through the small town of Maricopa, south of Phoenix and noticed that the price of gas was $1.73. Note to selves: let’s stop here on the way back. We noticed massive solar fields and several massive cow lots on our way. Note to selves: let’s stop for pictures on the way back.
We arrived in Yuma about 11:00 and hugs all around. We see Shirley and Jerry one month a year when we are all in Iowa. Shirley and I worked together for 8 years, we bought RV’s the same year, we retired the same year and went full-time almost the same year. We all return to Altoona, IA in September after our last years journeys and before our next years journeys. Family, annual medical appointments and a return to the familiar are what draw us back. And, that’s it. We talk all the time but never see each other.
What fun to see each other after 3 months. And, Gary and I know how good the meal will be. Pork roast from the grill, potato casserole with buttered corn flakes on top, hot rolls with home-made apple butter and corn. I think I’ve listed it all. Afterwards, they gave us a tour of the foothills section of Yuma, we returned and - OMG - they asked if we wanted dessert: Oreo cookie crust, strawberry fluffy filling on top, and crushed candy canes with a peppermint mint on top. If you think that Big Gar and I will turn those down - you aint’ been readin’ the blog.
We had a great time with them. But, it was getting late, the temps were turning cooler and the sun was falling behind the mountains. Time to head over to the hotel. We arrived, checked in, toted all to our room and then walked back over to the office for a small bowl of tomato soup which they had in a crock pot by the front desk. Now, I’m sure it had been there for a while but, it was so nice and hot. We were very full when we arrived but a small bowl of hot soup just hit the spot.
Oh, yeah, so did the cookie.
Time for showers. I was sitting in bed reading after my shower when the phone rang. Huh? Who knows we’re here? Who would call us on the hotel phone? I almost didn’t answer but was too polite and intrigued not to. It was the front desk asking if everything was ok and if we needed anything. Nope - but thanks for asking. A nice touch.
But, of course, it was Christmas and lots of families were at the hotel - I think they were sitting right outside our room talking and laughing loudly - until 11:00. Well, they were actually around the pool which was one flight down below us but they sounded like they were pretty close. Every now and then they would quiet down and we’d think they had gone to bed but - no - they were soon back at it.
We don’t go to sleep until 11:30 so it didn’t bother us much but others? I guess no one complained.
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