Jan 21 -27 Post race recovery at Pioneer RV.

Jan 21
We didn't do much after our take out meal yesterday. We both crashed pretty early from being up early. I'm actually moving pretty good after the race which is good news because we have an issue with the rig. A not so glamorous part of RV life is dealing with the black and grey water tanks. We have a plugging issue in our toilet and black water tank, ooooh yuck. We bought some "fancy" toilet paper last week and wondered if it might cause an issue. We thought if we were careful and flushed lots of water it would be okay.... nope. Without getting into gory details our onboard tank flush line cleared the drain line to the sewer. That's a big relief right there. Then just bringing a hose inside and flushing copious amounts of water down the toilet cleared that out as well. Phew! That operation took a couple of hours of flushing and valve operation and even a phone conversation between Leslie inside and me outside by the dump line. One thing I found online that I think is a good maintenance idea while on full hookups is to fill the toilet bowl full and then release it quickly. Repeat that several times with the dump valve open and we are good to go. Literally haha. We donated the rest of the fancy TP to the public bathroom at the office.
Well that's more information than anyone needed right?
We cleaned up and had showers then decided to go out for lunch. After a race or after lots of training you can eat like a bear out of hibernation. We have driven by an Irish pub several times and today we are going there to check it out.

Race recovery, big one is mine.

Connolly's on the Carefree Highway in north Phoenix.

Leslie said she would drive so I had a second Guiness. Man, they were good there! The food was great too. Leslie had Shepherds Pie that she said was fantastic. I had a clubhouse and it was also really good. It's a good stop in north Phoenix if you are up that way.

We went back to the rig and just took it easy for the rest of the day. We walked Margaret around the park and then sat outside in the sun for a small happy hour by ourselves. Not many others do happy hour here at Pioneer??

Jan 22

We can play pickleball together again! I basically stopped playing pickleball after I tweaked my left calf in December but now I feel I can play again. We warmed up a little by ourselves and then the fellas that Les normally plays with showed up. I was able to join Leslie, Marshall & John for a couple games until my legs felt like they had enough. Another fella took my spot and Leslie stayed for 8 games! At least they had a water bottle this time.

Pickleball at Pioneer. Nice court.

After some lunch at the trailer we got busy with some chores. Leslie did a bunch of laundry and house cleaning and I went and got filtered water and propane. We just took care of things at the rig and another quiet evening. 

Jan 23

We both noticed a bit of a sore throat last night before bed and this morning we both feel like we are coming down with a cold. Leslie feels a tiny bit better than I do but we have zero energy. I worked on blog posts and Leslie managed to go get some groceries before we both felt terrible. We got a little work done to pack up the rig before we came inside and stretched out for the night. Full on sick now :(

Jan 24

We're both still really sick and not doing much at all. I blogged a little and we both just lounged and watched TV. It was a big deal just to make something to eat. We cancelled a hike with Barry & Ailsa which really sucks because we won't see them for a while now. They are heading back to work and we're moving back to High Chaparral on Friday. Sorry guys but we definitely don't want to share this cold.  By that night we at least felt a little better. Hopefully a good nights sleep will bring us around.

Jan 25

We both feel much better but we are still stuffed up and sore throats continue mildly. Way better than yesterday. We made some calls earlier in the week and got a site at Chaparral for a week starting today. Pioneer is a very nice park and people are friendly but it just isn't as much fun as Chaparral. We don't get any money back for leaving a week early but we're okay with that because we will be happier in Casa Grande. We got the rig hooked up and ready then Leslie walked to the office to pay the power bill and we can leave. Again the process to check out was almost as bad as check in. The lady at the desk said it's a new computer system but everything seemed like a chore to them. When we moved onto the site there was a new power meter that read all zeros. The reading they had was different. They had to ask the manager what to do now because they don't know what to charge us. I had pulled the rig out front and joined Leslie at the office by now. I mentioned again that it was new meter and read zero but they need to verify that. Umm the meter reads 00333? You think we wrapped it while we were here for 3 weeks.

We even showed them  a picture of the meter.

Anyway, to shorten this story, another lady found a paper showing a new meter install and the reading from Jan 1, all zeros!!!

We had a very uneventful drive from Pioneer to Chaparral through Phoenix. The check in at Chaparral.... oh hi guys, yep take site G8 like we said on the phone and welcome back! That's it. I like this park. We got a quick set up done by 1:30ish and changed our gear for an afternoon of pickleball followed by a happy hour with about 30 other people. This is why we like this park!

On our way back from pickleball we stopped in to say hi to Karen & Wayne and let them know we're back. Just a quick visit because we're sweaty and nasty but we'll be back another time. So good to see them again. John & Sandy are away in Vegas for a few days yet.

Karen & Tux, Margaret's play buddy.

Wayne with Margaret in the background.

A pickleball potluck happy hour.

Duane & Sherri's place for happy hour, they have room.

Leslie and I left the happy hour around 7pm and it was still going strong. We are tired from the move and the colds we had so we called it an early night and just watched a little TV before bed.

Jan 26

Randy & Shelley stopped by while walking their dog Jake and asked if we're interested in a Blue Grass festival and car show. Well sure, let's check it out. A bunch of people from the park are going so we'll join the Hamiltons and meet everyone there. We drove to the Pinal County Fairgrounds and paid our entry fee at the gate. There are some beautiful cars and trucks on display here. We met up with the Chaparral gang and said hi to everyone. We all drifted in different directions to see what we wanted to see. Just a couple of our faves, how did I not get a picture of the GTO!! I blame Leslie ;)

Love the paint! Beauty Mustang.

Dave with memories of the movie American Graffiti, Suzanne Summers car.

Vintage Seahawks fans haha! Nice ol' truck in the background.

We walked around all the vintage cars and trucks and we came up to a fenced area advertising pig races! They also have dog races. They are very well cared for in case anyone thinks badly of racing animals. The buildup took too long for Randy & I so we went for food. Leslie & Shelley were patient enough for the dog races at least. They also left before the pig race. The winner of the dog race is in the blue bandana and his name is Rico, just like our Shih Tzu that passed away a few years ago. Miss you buddy.

Yay Rico !!

We walked inside the fair building and checked out some of the vendors on the way to the main stage. There was a stage outside with rotating performers but the better show is inside. Leslie took a picture of a local Animal Rescue booth with some other animals on display. Looks almost like a tortoise and the hare.

Tortoise

and a monster wabbit.... or a hare.

A better explanation.

A really good band on main stage.

We stayed for a few songs but the metal bleachers were killing our backs. The band leader talked quite a bit between songs so it was longer than expected for just a few songs. We slowly wandered back to the gate and the truck. Thanks Randy & Shelley for letting us jump in for the show! When we got back we just relaxed at the rig for the evening.

Jan 27

Leslie woke up with a sore throat again this morning. Round 2 for this nasty bug or what? We had a slow quiet morning and she felt good enough to play pickleball that afternoon for a couple hours.

A casual pickleball crew.

Shelley, Dave & I no doubt saying intelligent things ;)

The weather has been just stellar for a couple weeks now and it's so great being out in the sun instead of freezing cold up north. Sorry all our Canadian friends back home but it's awesome down here in the winter!

After pickleball we had showers at home and Les wanted to just lie down. This damn cold just kills your energy and it seems to be trying again with Leslie. I felt good so I grabbed Margaret and a couple of cold ones and walked down to Karen & Wayne's place for happy hour. Their friends Mike & Linette were there but they invited us in, as always. It was instantly game on for Margaret & Tux and they chased each other around the small fenced yard. Didn't take long and they both found a comfy pillow and slept while we visited. I even got to run cleanup on some jalapeno poppers and some shrimp for snacks. I stayed for a couple cold beverages and said thank you to Karen & Wayne. They are so nice, we are really happy to have met them. Time to go see how my girl is feeling and maybe make some supper. Leslie was up when I got back and we put together some leftovers for dinner. Another quiet night and early to bed to fight these colds.

I'll post this much and start again on a new week. I managed to get in touch with Paul, that I worked with from 1990 -98, and his wife Gloria. We're meeting at their rig sometime early this week. I also worked with their son Spencer before I retired. He's an engineer at Esso and is incredibly good at his job. I remember when he was born.... I'm so old haha. Cheers everybody!!