Spring has finally sprung (05/23/2021)

And the flowers are in bloom. Yes, this plant is in our yard!

I was hoping that the weather would go from cold to hot, but it has been taking its sweet old time getting there. Ok, I will stop whining.

The projects continued, as they usually do, with more of them being outdoor projects.

 Several years ago Paul and I replaced the decal on the nose of the trailer. This time it was Mike’s decal that needed replacing.

My favorite project was the new Dozer Memorial Bocce Ball court.

All the guys worked together on this project, which was very much appreciated.

Paul and I played Bocce Ball for the first time last year and we both really enjoyed it. We were glad we found room in the yard to put in a court.

We’ve used it quite a bit already, and those who aren’t actively playing, enjoy relaxing in the chairs and watching.

I was very happy to welcome my friend Steve to the PPP for the first time.  Since he is working remotely, he was able to stay for two weeks.  Steve and I have known each other since I was 14- lots and lots of years, haha.

He fit right in with the gang, and we had a great time showing him many of our favorite things to do.

Probably one of the highlights for me was the day it was finally nice enough to take the boat up through Topock Gorge. It’s such a beautiful ride.

May brought with it a final visit from Jess, and the realization that summer is fast approaching.

Mike and Julie left in early May, and Liz and Randy weren’t far behind.

They did wait until after the last race of the season at Havasu Speedway, however. After all of the car races were done for the night, there was one more, special race.

A waterless boat race.  Yep, these cars, about a dozen of them, drive around the track, dragging a boat.  Not a boat on a trailer, just the boat.

This race is hilarious. The winner is the one whose boat outlasts the others.

Once Paul and I were alone at the house, we focused on getting ready to leave for the summer. We are headed to Massachusetts, so we were looking to leave a little earlier than usual.  Part of our reasoning was that the weather STILL wasn’t good- windy almost every day, and not all that warm.

We took time out to do our favorite things …

..the Jet Ski got a few more hours put on it….

And we ate at our favorite restaurants one more time…

Once the trailer was packed and the house “summerized”, it was time to leave.

Goodbye 2020, Don't Let the Door Hit You On The Way Out...

 I don’t think there are very many people who are sad to see 2020 end.  Will 2021 be better? I don’t want to jinx it by saying it couldn’t be any worse. The shirt I ordered for Christmas summed it up I think…

In fact, we all ordered shirts for Christmas, and in true 2020 fashion, only two of them arrived BEFORE Christmas! Ugh.

I am getting ahead of myself though.

Soon after we arrived home in early October, our daughter Jess came over from L.A. with a few of her (quarantined) friends.

 

It was a great weekend, swimming in the pool, and spending time on the lake with the jet ski and boat.

After what seemed like a very short time, they were on their way back to L.A. and we hunkered down and started working on projects.

The weirdest one was probably us trying to convince our palm tree that it does NOT want to grow straight up.  It grew a lot over the summer, putting it a little too close to the wires above it. It took a few hours, but hopefully the wedge we created will keep it safe from the wires.

The most fun project was picking up and outfitting our NEW truck.  Over a year after we ordered it, it finally arrived.

If we thought our F450 was a beast, this F350 is beyond amazing. The power, and features are incredible.

Part of the delay was due to the fact that this is the ONLY color we wanted. Even when we knew it would be a long wait for it, there was nothing else we would be happy with, so we waited…and waited.  Covid shutdowns also played a big role, but we finally got it!

It wasn’t long before our first winter guests arrived.  Liz and Randy recently bought a Mobile Suite, the same 5th wheel brand that Paul and I, and Julie and Mike have. Can’t wait to line them all up!

We anticipate many joint projects this winter, as we work to get our rigs modified to our liking.

In mid November,  “2020” type issues once again reared their ugly head, and we had to scrap our Thanksgiving plans.  Instead, Paul and I had to get to Boston to deal with an urgent family situation.

There was no way we were going to fly, so we put the camper on the new truck and drove. After doing what we could, we turned around and came home.

We were happy to get out of MA, with temps dipping into the low 20s at night.  The camper handled it perfectly though- a nice perk. Driving was an all day affair, every day, with us usually  arriving in campgrounds just in time for sunset.

Traditionally, in early December we head to the lake to watch the Christmas Boat Parade. Dinner is usually hot dogs cooked on the propane fire pit, with cole slaw and potato salad.

 

This year was no different, since its easy to distance from other groups.

Before we knew it, Mike and Julie arrived for the holidays and the 6 amigos were together again.

They brought with them some new bling for the PPP- customized aprons and dish towels!

When the weather turned awesome one day, we put all the projects on hold and headed for the lake.

We stayed on the water just long enough to see London Bridge and the English Village all lit up for Christmas.

A few days before the holiday, our daughter Jess arrived from L.A. She is always a welcome addition to our party.

This year was a mix of traditions and new additions to the holidays at the PPP.  Our group was smaller than usual, but we still had a great time.

The Official Weighing of the Carrot Cake still took place…..as did the Yankee Swap.

Of course one of my favorite types of pictures of the PPP is one where someone is cooking (usually not me, haha) and the rest are supervising from the other side of the counter.  This year was no different in that regard.

New for this year was a zoom party with my family back in MA- that was a welcome addition to the day!

We also attended a concert “2020” style- by streaming it on our TV.

Just before Jess headed back to CA, she and I hiked one of my favorite hikes in the area- Lizard Peek.  I try and hike this once or twice a week in the winter.

Anyway, here’s to 2021- May it indeed be better than 2020!

October in Havasu (11-18-19)

October in Havasu is a busy time, but then again, Havasu has something going on almost all the time. Not everything is of interest to us, but there is still plenty to keep us busy. After a thorough cleaning of the house and camper, after our summer adventures, we were ready to venture out.







Events in the first week or so of October included boat races in the channel, the World Finals Jet Ski competition, concerts in the park and of course the usual car shows.

We also found out about a Meet Up on the lake of owners of Avalon boats, the brand that we own. Unlike last October, the weather this year was perfect for boating so we were happy to be on the lake as much as possible.

We spent a fun few hours chatting with other owners. We were all surprised at how much we have in common.  In addition to boating, most of us have RVs and desert exploration toys, and most of us are Elk members.

As happy as we were to be home, after a long and busy summer, you’d think that we would hunker down and stay put.  But we didn’t. Paul needed his yearly dermatologist appointment, which is in Fresno CA,  so we packed up the mustang and went on a road trip to see our friends in central California.

I think I apologized 4 times to our friends for making this a last minute trip, thereby torpedoing any plans they already had for that weekend. 

They claimed they didn’t mind, and we sure did have fun relaxing at Kirk’s cabin, helping with various projects,  and hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

On the way back to the city, I was all done with the fun Paul was having driving on the curvy mountain roads, so I rode with Karen and let Kirk be his co-pilot.












Note to self for next time- the drive to Fresno is almost 7 hours.  It would be better if we had more than 3 days to spend there.  But this time around we were expecting company back home the following weekend, so we hightailed it out of CA back to Havasu.

We were finally going to get to see our daughter Jess, who lives in L.A.  She took the weekend off to come out to see us.

Our other guests, Sharon and John, were due to arrive the day after Jess got here, but with the weatherman calling for perfect boating weather, we convinced them to come a day early, so we could all go out on the water, with both the boat and the jet ski.

As always, all too soon Jess left (at least she is coming back for Thanksgiving!) and we had one more day with John and Sharon before they took off for their next destination.
Wanting to give them a well rounded idea of activities at the PPP, we took them for a ride into the desert.

With the house quiet again, we went back to working on our projects. The water in Havasu is very hard, so every once in a while we have to drain the pool and put in fresh water. This time we decided it was also time to clean the tile of the calcium build up.  

It was a lot of work, but the end result was worth it.

The end of October brings London Bridge Days, when everyone celebrates the attraction that helped grow Lake Havasu into a town- the London Bridge.

The highlight of the festivities is a parade down Main St. This year’s theme was “life in the desert. With numerous floats, bands, and performers,  it was a lot of fun.