I swear that’s what happened- I blinked and the first half of 2024 flew off, never to be seen again. Overall, the last 6 months have been spent going back and forth from the house in Lake Havasu to El Paso, Phoenix, and several places in between. It seems that anytime we were home, we had company either coming or going. Always a fun time, but also a whirlwind. We were lucky that our friends Liz and Randy had their rig parked in our yard for the duration- they shared hosting duties, cooking, and held down the fort whenever we were gone.
So, without further ado, here is a brief (ha, I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be brief) synopsis of how the first 6 months went. I write this post now because are on the road for the summer, in the camper, and that’s the stuff I really want to write about but I have to get this over with .
January
Pretty much the first thing we did in January is buy a 2023 Ford Bronco. We actually have one on order but it doesn’t seem like it will ever show up, and Paul got tired of waiting. This one is very similar to what we ordered, but also was used, with about 10,000 miles on it.
Every January brings with it the Havasu Balloon Fest, and this year was no different. What Was different is how we attended. We elected to take the boat out before sunrise, so we could watch the balloons go up from our position on the lake.
The weather was absolutely perfect, and watching the sunrise from the lake was a real treat. Randy had made breakfast burritos for us all so we ate breakfast while waiting for the balloons.
Inside Bridgewater Channel, near the London Bridge, the balloon pilots like to perform “touch and go” or “splash and dash”. They lower the basket down to the water’s surface and then take off again. Very cool to watch!
The weather for this event can be very iffy, but this year it was perfect.
Part of our running back and forth to Phoenix was for several minor surgeries for Paul- in January he had his first cataract surgery.
February
February brought more minor surgeries for Paul, which meant more trips to Phoenix. Every time we went to Phoenix or El Paso this winter, we were also looking to check out places for our next home. We knew Lake Havasu was not going to be our Final Home, and when we don’t feel up to boating anymore, we will probably move. Our next place is likely to be in a 55+ community, so we are checking them out when we can.
Every once in a while the 4 of us have a date night, dressing up (much) more than we usually would. This time the excuse to dress up was mine and Paul’s 24th wedding anniversary. I think its very cool that next year, when we celebrate our 25th, our friends Randy and Liz will be celebrating their 50th.
Winter Blast (a fireworks festival) also occurs in February. In keeping with the Balloon Fest idea, we did things differently this year. Usually we book an RV spot at the site of the fireworks so we can either come and go as we please, or stay there for a few days. This year we didn’t.
We decided to drive in and sit in the grandstands. We were very happy we did it this way. We always knew we were missing the low altitude fireworks, but we didn’t realize how awesome they are and we thoroughly enjoyed watching them.
February wouldn’t be complete without Paul’s annual visit to El Paraiso Mexican Restaurant for his birthday, where they always make him feel special.
We closed out the month with a trip to California. Paul’s sister-in-law, his brother’s wife (also named Sue) was celebrating her 70th birthday with a 70s themed bash.
We had a smaller family party the night before, in a gorgeous suite on the ocean, a suite that Tom and Sue gifted to Paul and I for the night. It was incredible.
March
Usually the weather in March starts to warm up in Havasu, but this year it took its sweet time. We got so annoyed with the lack of boating weather that we elected to have happy hour in the boat anyway- in the garage.
Another trip to El Paso was necessary but we broke it up by visiting our friends Tony and Marguerite in Green Valley, and combined that with looking at more 55+ communities. The only picture I got of them isn’t great, so I am being considerate and not posting it, lol.
Back home, our activities included visits to the Desert Bar to meet up with friends (if you have never heard of the Desert Bar, check it out
https://soos-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2014/02/whats-desert-visit-without-visit-to.html )
…and visits from Paul’s fraternity brother, Kirk, and his wife Karen.
The weather also finally warmed up enough to swim for a couple of days.
April
April was a little different than usual. It started off with new visitors to the house. Robin and his wife Kim came to see us for a few days from their home in California. What is really cool is that Paul and Robin were boy scouts together (both made Eagle Scout) in high school, but they have not seen each other since then. Paul always talks about having helped Robin’s dad build his house when Paul was in high school- it was the beginning of his house building skills. They became friends on Facebook and Robin was interested in making the journey to Havasu.
We had a great few days with them, and the weather even cooperated enough to take the boat out.
Soon after they left, we did too. This was a special time for me actually. My brother Ray and his wife Dawn decided to retire, and within a week of their last day, they flew out from MA to spend 3 weeks with us in Arizona.
We spent the first two weeks in a resort in Mesa, AZ. This place has RV spots and park models, so we were able to have our own space (we brought our 5th wheel), but be next door neighbors.
I would say they took to retirement like ducks to water....
After two weeks there we brought them back to the house for 10 days, where we continued their “education” with Side by Side trips, boating, floating in the pool, and Bocce ball. Oh, and we made ice cream one day too.
They liked the resort in Mesa so much that they booked it for next year already. Awesome!
It was a bonus for us that during their visit, our daughter Jess was able to come from California for the weekend, bringing her fiancé Justin with her.
It was great that Ray and Dawn were able to see Jess, and meet Justin for the first time. We are always happy when Justin comes to visit- he pitches right in and makes himself at home.
May
Ray and Dawn flew back to Massachusetts in early May, a few days before Paul and I had to head to Phoenix, yet again, for more doctor appointments. We knew when we decided to settle in Havasu that we would have a 3 hour drive to our doctors at Mayo Clinic, but we are not willing to give up our doctors, so we live with it.
The rest of the month was relatively quiet- I had a low key celebration of my 65th birthday and spent some time on the computer making sure I had navigated all things Medicare correctly. Looks like I did, whew.
Now that Paul’s eyes have settled after his cataract surgery, I have to get re-acclimated to seeing him without glasses!
Memorial Day weekend is traditionally our last blast before taking off for the summer. My cousin Linda from Phoenix brings her friends for 3-4 days- and it is one wild and crazy time!
They bring all the food to cook dinner, leaving us to just provide breakfasts- nice and easy.
Most of the weekend is spent on the boat (along with a million other people) in the pool, and playing all kinds of games. Of course, there may also be drinking involved. It usually takes us a day or two to recover, but it’s all fun!
And now, we have left for the summer and I can resume my posts about our explorations
