Tucson and Beyond...

Since last we spoke, things have - well, let's just say, this trip hasn't been going as expected.  Let's go back to Yuma.

Part 1 - Tuesday, February 2nd

When we left Yuma, things were (seemingly) fine with the motorhome.  We had a great time there, I finished the half marathon and didn't die.

We stayed for a few more days, then headed east toward Tucson.  The plan was to have a tire checked that seemed a little "off", spend a couple of days in the sun and head toward Central, AZ, where The Gila Valley Temple is located.

While in Tucson we were able to find the Tucson Temple site.  We talked with the senior missionary couple there and learned a bit more about their work there on site.

In Tucson, the tire guy we went to told us that not only did the one cracked tire need replacing ALL EIGHT HUGE tires needed to be replaced.  Turns out they were not two years old, as we had been told, they were NINE years old and waaaay out of date.  Too dangerous to continue on the long trip we had planned.  So, we bit the bullet and had all the tires changed out for new ones.

Thinking we were set, we headed out of Tucson and started driving toward Safford, AZ.  Our plan was to get there, Walmart camp, go the The Gila Valley Temple in the morning, then head out for San Antonio.  However, along the way, it was clear the tires needed an alignment.  Why hadn't the guys in Tucson done it?  No clue.  But, the shimmying told us, we needed it.  So, now what.  We were close to Safford, but it was Friday afternoon and there was NO ONE in the town that would touch our rig.  So, we made the painful decision to turn around and head to El Paso where we finally found someone who could do the alignment on a Saturday morning.  BUT, we had to BE there at 8am.  That meant driving 4 hours either that night or getting up at 3am to get there in time.  We opted for the former and headed out.

When we arrived in El Paso, it was around 9-10pm.  We were in a Walmart parking lot and didn't feel comfortable opening the slideouts.  So we were pretty cramped.  We fed the cats, got some dinner at Chick Filet and got ready for bed.  We went to turn the heat on (it was around 30 degrees there) and there was no heat.  WHAT?? We JUST spent a boatload of $$ in Las Vegas getting it fixed!! It was too late to do anything, so we just grabbed extra blankets and slept fitfully throughout the night - very glad we brought more blankets than we thought we needed and had a 20 pound cat that liked to sleep on the bed.

To be continued...

The City of Yuma's 1,010 Day Flight

In 1949, Yuma, Arizona, was a little city in trouble.  During the war, the Air Guard and the Proving Grounds had facilities there.  With the end of the war, however, they pulled up stakes and left, leaving a dying economy.  But, the citizens knew something about their part of the country - they have about 365 days of sunshine a year - more than just about anywhere else - perfect for flying airplanes.  So, a plan was devised to bring the Air Force back.

Take a few minutes and watch this video.  It tells the story better than we can and we think you will like the vintage film used to help tell the story.

We took the opportunity to go to Yuma City Hall and see the Aeronca Sedan aircraft that was used in the flight as well as a replica of the Buick refueling car.  What this video doesn't tell about is the 1999 50 year celebration the city put together with the newly restored plane.  In addition to our pictures, we have added couple of pictures of the celebration and reenactment from a website about the feat.

The pilots at the 1999 50th Anniversary of the flight of The City of Yuma

To Disneyland and Beyond!!!

So, one thing leads to another.  Here's the train of events that lead us to spend two days in DL.

Most of you know, I have started run/walking half marathons.  Since last June I've done 12 half marathons, in and around Utah and in 6 additional states (prior to June I had completed 7 in 4 states). I am scheduled/signed up for and additional 10 half marathons in as many states on this trip.  But truth be told, there is one series that I just really want to do.  Yes, they are expensive, but they are So. Much. Fun.  Those would be the Disney races.  So, in discussing this with Derrick, we decided to have me go ahead and do the Disneyland Half Marathon in September and then several more Disney races in 2017.  In looking at how that all stacked up dollar wise, it turned out that getting an annual pass made sense.  Tried getting one online, but that proved confusing, sooooo, we DROVE UP TO DISNEYLAND!!!  When Derrick suggested we go up, I started jumping around and screaming and crying (WHAT is wrong with her???).  Anyway, long story short we drove the hour and half to Disney and had an absolute blast.  I posted on Facebook that we were there - blatantly torturing my Disney-loving children (so sorry).  With the pass came a perk we were not expecting - free downloads of all the pics taken by the on-site photographers (which I can also use DURING a race to get pictures :-)  ).  So, here are the pictures from our day at the happiest place on earth.  For more, see our Facebook page, The Two of Us Travel

Chula Vista RV Resort, Temples and Museums

We made it through late afternoon San Diego traffic (no thanks to two road rage engaged drivers!) and arrived at the Chula Vista RV Resort around 5pm.  The resort sits on beautiful San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, a few minutes south of downtown San Diego.  We got set up quickly and settled in for a sunny couple of weeks in California.

One of our goals while on this trip is to take in as many LDS temples as possible.  Southern California has four, so we spent a few days seeing the San Diego, Redlands and Los Angeles temples. We happened upon the Newport Beach Temple quite by accident as we were driving back from the LA temple.  We tried to go there on Friday, but it was so busy we decided to head up to the LA temple for a second visit.

Selfie at the San Diego Temple

In addition to temples, we spent time at several of of the museums in Balboa Park.  One of our favorites so far has been the Model Train Museum.  They had rooms and rooms of model train displays, including a Toy Train Room (my personal favorite).  Derrick took a lot of pictures which I will post, but here a few of our favorites.

WHAT?? A Stegosaurus being unloaded from the train!

Truck crossing in the model train display

Airport in the model train display

MINIONS riding the train!!

Picking up the Baroness or A Couple of Days in Las Vegas

In September, we made the decision that Derrick would retire in early January and we would take advantage of our new found freedom and get out of the Utah winter.  But that would mean driving our 40 foot motorhome through a possible snowstorm.  Not ideal.  So, in October, we drove the RV (a Monaco Dynasty Baroness, hence "The Baroness" moniker), to Las Vegas to an RV storage unit and left it safe in the Nevada warmth.

On January 9th, we loaded the Jeep with essentials and kitty cats, left our house in capable hands and embarked on our journey.  We made a quick stop at Kara's house, took a few pictures then headed out.

Since we had maintenance scheduled for the RV, we spent three days at the Hampton Inn in Henderson.  Gryffindor was less than thrilled and spent most of the time with his eyes glued to the hotel room door.  Strange voices and noises outside made for one nervous kitty.  

We did take the time one evening to go up to the Las Vegas LDS Temple grounds.  It was closed for maintenance, so we couldn't attend.  But, we were able to take some pictures of this lovely temple.  It really is a glittering jewel in the Green Valley.

Other than the temple, Las Vegas has never been our favorite place, but this trip gave us one more reason to dislike it.  On Thursday morning we went out to the Jeep and discovered Derrick's bike had been stolen.  Grrr.  Unfortunately, biking is a activity that we are planning to do a lot on this trip, so we had no choice but to buy another bike.  And TWO Kryptonite locks.  

Kryptonite lock in place

Derrick and The Green Lantern, errr, Bike

By Thursday we were on our way to the San Diego, California area.  Leaving Las Vegas, the hotel AND the black bike behind.

Retirement January 2016

Sometime in the late 1980's or early 1990's (during the Wordperfect years), we started thinking about when Derrick would retire.  We decided that somewhere between age 61 and 62 would be perfect. We would be old enough to (hopefully) have enough saved for retirement and young enough to travel and go on LDS Church missions.  At that time we were young (in our mid 30's) and had three young kids.  Age 60 seemed very far away.

But on January 5th, 2016, the day arrived and Derrick said goodbye to friends and co-workers at Domo in American Fork.  He spent the last 15 years there - first as Corda Technologies and then as part of the team at Domo.  They threw him THREE retirement parties (it isn't really common for there to be retirees in the software development field, so they really had a good time with it!)  And, yes, they DID give him a gold watch.  A gold iWatch, that is! (No, not the 15K one, but a really nice one, nonetheless).  They had a good time, from the party in house to lunch at Tucano's and another lunch at Mi Ranchito's.  

In the few days that followed, Derrick and I took two of our grandchildren out for early birthday lunches since January 9th was our target day to leave for an extended RV trip to celebrate his retirement.

With Peter at Red Robin celebrating turning 9

With Hannah at Red Robin celebrating turning 5

Hannah and Grandpa heading in to pick out a birthday gift

After saying our "See ya later"'s to our children and grandchildren, we loaded the Jeep with stuff and cats and headed for warmer climes... Stay tuned for more adventures...

San Antonio Temple

Two weeks gone by since the last post and we have been in Corpus Christi almost a month!  I have done 12 shifts at the hospital to date.  Nine weeks left in the contract.  Not sure at this point what the next move is.  We will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, here's an adventure update...

Last Thursday we traveled the 21/2 hour trip to San Antonio to attend the San Antonio LDS Temple. On the way, we had to stop in Peggy, Texas!!  Guess what's there?  NOTHING!!  Even the Post Office has closed.  So sad.  But at least there is a sign on the freeway!

You can see what is left of the Post Office waaaaaay in the background

Oh, and there were a zillion oil derricks in the area.  We couldn't resist... Derrick and Peggy... Get it? (I know - it's a really bad joke...)

Moving ON!  We got to he the beautiful San Antonio Temple later that morning.  After attending, we took pictures outside.  I have never seen so many gorgeous stained glass windows in a  temple - EVER!  Lots of temples have stained glass, but not many have pictorial ones.  There are four huge ones in the Celestial Room - one on each side  - that each depict beautiful trees.  They are an explosion of color that is stunning.  It's very hard to describe.  We were able to take some pictures from the outside, however.  My favorite one, though is in a sealing room.  From the outside, the chandelier makes the golden tree sparkle.  So, so pretty.  Looking forward to going back.  Here are some pics for you.

Tree of Life Sealing Room Window

Celestial Room Window

Fountain that...

...cascades down in front of the temple.

Sunday afternoon, Derrick left Corpus Christi to go back to Utah for a few days.  Domo (the company he works for) had a big meeting, so he flew back for that.  The trip also gave him the chance to see kids and grandkids.   He got to have dinner with Dale and Kara and their family and with Tim and Jen and their family.  Fun for all (except Gramma that had to stay here and work...)

Before leaving, Derrick grabbed the chance to see the Ogden Temple in its final night of the Open House.  I was sad to miss that, too.  But, he took pictures and texted me while he was in the (very long) line.  I am glad he got the chance to see it.

Next blog:  The USS Lexington