Fetch Kitty (and new camera)

As promised here is a better photo of Sandra, our fetch kitty, aka the 'cutest cat ever', bringing back the blue safety ring from a Fuze beverage plastic bottle. Another good safety ring is from the distilled water you can get at Wal-Mart. A lot of the water or milk jugs have a safety ring that does not remain a single piece and Sandra just does not like them as much.

There is a downside though to these single piece safety rings as they can fall into the heating vents. You have never heard such a pitiful sound as Sandra realizes that the ring she was just playing with is now gone. She then looks at you like you are supposed to fix it. We have taken the vents off and have been able to retrieve a few but mostly they bounce out of reach. We now place towels to cover the vents when Fetch Kitty is in the mood.

Bob was able to take this picture with our 'new' camera, or actually the camera that we finally got after Bob dropped the then new camera on our visit to Tortilla Flat. The repair facility was having a hard time getting parts so the finally just sent a brand new camera.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

2011 Royals Spring Training

As we learned last year when we went to our first Cactus League game Baseball can be fun again! The sky was blue and the temperature was in the low 80's so it was a little warm in the sun for us. Lucky it was not too crowded so we scooted into a shady portion and enjoyed the game.

Although the Kansas City Royals have the best record of the American League teams in the Cactus League it looks like it is going to be another long year for the Royals. Like the Kansas Jayhawks there is always next year :-)

The future for the Royals looks promising as some of the younger players that will probably play for the Triple-A team in Omaha do have some potential so Royals fans should not lose hope.

We have uploaded some of these pictures and others from our stay in Goodyear to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Phoenix Light Rail

We had never ridden the Phoenix Light Rail so we went on an adventure yesterday with our friends Bob and Wilma. We drove to the closest station at the west end and parked and bought an all day pass. Our only planned stop was at the Old Spaghetti Factory which we knew from a previous visit was right across the street from a light rail station. Since the Phoenix Light Rail is not as extensive as say the Washington DC Metro and is one legged down and back we decided on the trip to eat and then get back on it and ride it end to end.

The Old Spaghetti Factory in Phoenix is on the site of an old home and they have added on a huge restaurant keeping the same look and feel from the front view. Nothing says spaghetti quite like palm trees! Our favorite meal is anything with the mizithra cheese and browned butter which you can get by itself or with another sauce in the Manager's Favorite. Wilma got it with marinara, Bob with mushroom sauce while Wilma's Bob got only meat sauce and Jo got spinach cheese ravioli. Jo recently had some dental work and is still on a soft diet because she has trouble chewing although she was able to eat part of Bob's mizithra and mushroom sauce combo which was good news. The Old Spaghetti Factory offers a full meal deal that includes salad, bread, iced tea and spumoni for dessert. The creamy pesto salad dressing here is also one of our favorites. Bob got the hearty platter which is extra food for a little extra money. With all the bread and the salad most of the spaghetti was leftovers that was finished that evening.

After the meal we got back on the light rail and did some sightseeing. Wilma wanted to show us downtown Tempe so we got off there. Much to our surprise we walked right into the Tempe 'Festival of the Arts', rated one of the nation's best. Mill Avenue and other side streets were closed to traffic and lined with tents. We didn't buy anything just walked down Mill Avenue and back which was enough although probably less than half the exhibitors. There were some really good artists on display and the weather was perfect, mid-70's and sunny with a slight breeze.

We really had a good time and plan to use the light rail again for more sightseeing and food of course!!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

In-N-Out

We have visited In-N-Out and Five Guys and can now say without a doubt that In-N-Out is better, at least to our tastes. No matter where we have visited In-N-Out, and we have been to quite a few different locations, and no matter what time of the day, it is always busy there. That should tell you all you need to know, except that the double-double with grilled onions is the best thing on the menu.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Rock Springs Cafe (again)

Our friends Bob and Wilma may be the only ones in our park that have not been to Rock Springs Cafe. We were already going back since you get a free piece of pie with your old receipt and an entree purchase so the four of us went for lunch or should I say PIE!

Jo got the cream of potato soup as did Wilma. Wilma's Bob got the Augie Doggie Dawg and Bob tried the Chicken and Biscuits which on the menu said was a 'Local Favorite since 1924' and we can see why. Although it is basically chicken pot pie filling over a biscuit but both the chicken portion and biscuit portion were really good. The pie was good as before. This time our table sampled the rhubarb crumb, peach, and chocolate cream.

When we paid Bob forgot to use our coupon so we'll just have to go again, oh darn :-)

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

NCAA Tourney

Bob spent the last two days immersed in March Madness. This year all four games are on different networks (CBS, TNT, TBS, Tru). A few years ago when we had DirecTV in our old sticks and bricks Bob signed up for "Mega March Madness" from DirecTV which was basically the same thing but you had to pay for the option plus you were at the mercy of CBS who sometimes switched games so the same game may have been on all four channels. This happened rarely but enough to be annoying.

With the four networks Bob can control which game he watches and catch all the exciting endings and man there have been some from made last second shots (Butler, Temple) to rallies that succeeded (George Mason) to a couple that were furious that fell short (Oakland, Michigan State). Bob's bracket is in pretty good shape as he picked 25 of the 32 games correctly.

It has been fun but exhausting, oops, better hurry, the games are starting again!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Movies: "The King's Speech" and all time favorites

We try to see a movie at least once a week and we recently saw "The King's Speech" and it was excellent, so good we would add it to our all-time favorites list shown below. It truly was the Best Picture and Colin Firth was amazing. We highly recommend this movie.

We have developed a pretty good routine as the Gateway Pavilions where we see the movies has a loyalty t-shirt that you buy and then get a free medium popcorn for all of 2011 and also a loyalty cup where we can pop get refills for $1. Just outside the theater is a Yogurtland where you can get 3 oz free with your movie stub, with about 20 varieties and free sample cups it is an adventure. So we have a weekly routine of a movie with popcorn and a pop and then top it off with frozen yogurt.

So here in no particular order is our list of all time favorite movies, although we are sure we may have missed a few:

The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
The Thin Man (1934)
The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Citizen Kane (1941)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Secondhand Lions (2003)
Rear Window (1954)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
On the Waterfront (1954)
North by Northwest (1959)
My Favorite Year (1982)
Murphy's Romance (1985)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Gandhi (1982)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The King's Speech (2010)

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

For those that like to read

We have a great gadget for all those that like to read a lot. It is a book cover we got at the Vendor Day at Happy Trails Resort in Surprise Arizona. Vendor Day is the first Friday of the month from November to April and it is pretty neat. To use the cover you slide the book into the cover that comes with a bookmark when it is closed and a clear strap that serves to hold the cover open for reading. The clear strap is also used when closed by using strategically placed clasps for reading and for when closed. The neat thing is when you are reading the book is open and flat and held in place by the strap so you can even read outside when it is a little breezy. Changing a page is easy you just start to close the book and change the page under the strap. Here are pictures of it opened and changing a page. They come in many sizes from paperback to medium sized hardback to even larger and many, many fabrics.

Here is the website, http://www.bookcoverstogo.com/, where you can see the fabrics and get ordering information.

It is hard to describe but easy to use and we like them so much we have three, two paperbacks and one hardback so both of us will always have one. They even have cookbook covers, now if only either of us cooked :-)

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

For those that love pie!

Thanks to fellow Escapee George Stoltz who recently started a thread on the Escapee Discussion Forum called, "PIE, Did Someone Mention Pie" we learned about the Rock Springs Cafe in Rock Springs Arizona. Just off of I-17 North of Phoenix it is about 60 miles from our park so we decided to eat there for lunch and get some of the pie that we have heard so much about. Truth be told Jo's brother and sister-in-law wanted to go to the Anthem Outlet Mall so Bob suggested the Rock Springs Cafe which was just a little further. Turns out we made a great choice.

The Rock Springs Cafe was founded about 50 years ago in a very historical area in the Bradshaw Mountains. Yavapai and Apache Indians camped near the springs. After the California gold rush was over word spread that "there's gold in the Bradshaw Mountains". Rock Springs became a military stopover and a stop for the Black Canyon Stagecoach which ran until 1917 with some famous passengers as the Earps and Doc Holiday. During Prohibition more than water flowed in the area and the 30's saw many movie stars like Tom Mix and Jean Harlow as visitors. The Cafe and Saloon and General Store are a museum of sorts with lots of memorabilia.

Enough about the Cafe let's talk about PIE! Since we knew we were getting pie for dessert we all decided to eat light. Bob and Jo's brother Rick both got the Augie Doggie Dawg which was a 1/4 dog deep fried and smothered with cheddar cheese, onions, diced tomatoes, green chile, deli mustard and served with fries. We both agreed it was probably the best hot dog we have ever had. Both Jo and her sister-in-law Frances got the cream of potato soup which was excellent.

We then turned our attention to the PIE menu and it was a tough choice. Bob got the Jack Daniels Pecan Pie which is less sweet than regular Pecan Pie, Jo got the Tennessee Lemon Pie, Rick got the Peach Crumble Pie and Frances got the Lemon Meringue. We of course sampled everybody's pie and everyone was excellent.

The Rock Springs Cafe is worth a drive just for the food, as we mentioned before probably the best hot dog and best potato soup ever. Then you have some of the best pie we have ever had, plus like a museum with all the memorabilia and you have a great place to visit. We will have to visit a couple more times just to make sure that the one visit was not a fluke before we can add it to our 'Our Favorite Things! (Food)" list. But that will be easy since the receipt from this visit is worth a free piece of pie for your next visit.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Full-timing with Cats: Fetch Kitty

As promised another entry in our continuing saga of living full-time in an RV with three cats.

We wish the photo was better but here goes. Believe it or not we have a cat that fetches. Bob's sister taught Sandra, aka 'cutest cat ever' to fetch when we lived in our old sticks and bricks. Being a cat Sandra does not fetch often and only when she wants to but when she does it is quite a treat. Yesterday was one of those days. Jo threw the safety ring from a milk jug and Sandra would run and grab it, put it in her mouth and bring it back to Jo to throw again. It happened so fast it was hard to get a good picture.This happened quite a number of times with a few variations. Some times Sandra would play with it before bringing it back which caused problems a couple of times since she would bat it underneath the couch or refrigerator.

This brings up a couple of pet peeves about cat toys. First, why do they always bat them under the couch or recliner or refrigerator or .... We have probably 2 dozen toys of which usually only one or two, if that, are visible, the rest are under something. Digging out the safety ring to continue playing fetch yesterday allowed Jo to find a lot of the toys.

Our second big gripe about toys is why is it always the cheap ones they like the best. We have balls with bells in them, things that look like jumping jacks squashed, catnip balls and others that we have purchased. But the ones they like the best are the safety rings from milk jugs, or the caps from milk jugs. We have quit buying toys because we always will have milk around for the rings and caps.

We should be receiving a replacement camera soon for the one Bob dropped on our trip to Tortilla Flat and this camera is supposed to have better image stability than our current one so maybe on the next 'Fetch Kitty' event we might have better pictures.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Wickenburg Gold Rush Days

Advertised as western fun we went to the 62nd Annual Gold Rush Days in Wickenburg Arizona on Saturday, February 12th. This event celebrates the town’s origins as a ranching and gold mining center in the days before there was a Phoenix.  Gold Rush Days draws tens of thousands of visitors, and it seemed like they all showed up the same time we did because man it was crowded.

The official opening was on Friday with gunfights followed by the opening ceremony and the opening of the main festival area on Valentine Street in the historic district which had over 200 arts/crafts exhibitors, a family fun carnival, photography exhibit, art show, free stage entertainment, panning for gold and much more.  We got there Saturday for the tail end of the parade, tail end get it! The parade is one of the largest in Arizona, with over 100 entries including 1,000 horses, classic auto’s, floats, marching bands, and youth groups participating.  We walked around the exhibitors for awhile but then decided to beat the crowd at the Western Barbeque put on by the Saddle Club. We had some pretty good beef and slaw and beans. We then walked through all the exhibits until we left so we did not see the Rodeo which is also a part of Gold Rush Days.

We had a great time and can see why American Cowboy Magazine lists this as one of the 'Best of the West' events, but we really want to go back sometime when it is less crowded as this looks a neat historic town to visit. There is an excellent museum, the 'Desert Caballeros Western Museum', along with historic buildings, an old 761 Santa Fe Steam Locomotive, a nearby nature preserve and a nearby shrine, the 'Yarnell Shrine of Saint Joseph' with statues and plaques following the Stations of the Cross. All this plus a couple of good places to eat and you could not ask for more.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Abuelo's and Phoenix RV Show

One way we get restaurant recommendations is from our friends and Abuelo's was mentioned by more than one as a good place to eat. Even though there is a location in the greater KC area we somehow did not find the time to eat there until we were on the road, funny how that works.

As mentioned previously we recently ate at Abuelo's and loved it. We had to eat at it a few more times before we could recommend it though. We have a rule of three, if we go to a place three times in a row and it is good every time and we want to go back then we feel like we can recommend it. Well we have eaten at Abuelo's many more than three times and really like it. When we mentioned to some friends who had recommended Abuelo's how much we liked it they said they have quit eating there because to them it has gone downhill. Well if what we have eaten is less than before then it must have been really good back in the day. Everything we have gotten there has been good with some standouts like the chile relleno and the spinach quesadilla.

After dining we went to the Greater Phoenix RV Show. The best that can be said about this show is that it is free, free parking and free admission. There were not as many units as we thought there would be but that was fine as we were picky as to which ones we toured. Saw some really nice rigs but none that made us want to trade. We were kind of disappointed because we saw Carriage on the list of vendors that was supposed to be represented but there were none to be found. All in all a very enjoyable day of dining and sightseeing.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Housekeeping

One of the best things about living in an RV is that when the urge strikes to do some cleaning a lot can be accomplished. We have a storage area behind our TV in the living room and this was getting disorganized and dusty. A few minutes effort and this area was spic and span and much better organized which allowed stuff from our junk drawer (unlike our old sticks and bricks we have a single small junk drawer) to be placed in plain sight. Feeling invigorated we next tackled the island where a lot of kitchen stuff is stored. The good news is that we use all of the stuff regularly which seemed to be in the right location.

We also did some housekeeping on our blog moving some stuff around to improve the readability and adding an entry to 'Our Favorite Things (Food)' adding TJ's Homestyle in Avondale Arizona for the best oatmeal.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Greek Gyro Express

We are always on the lookout for great food at a good price and we think we have found one that we would like to share. The Greek Gyro Express in Avondale Arizona on Dysart near Sam's Club. This is fast food at its finest with large portions and fast service. They have good daily specials, a gyro and drink or a gyro salad, both with lots of meat and the gyros are excellent. We have tried other menu items like the Greek spaghetti and it was good but you have to be mindful it is 'Greek' spaghetti and not your normal variety. The meat sauce has a cinnamon accent which we found interesting but might not appeal to everyone. The best thing we can say is that we would get it again.

If this was all there was with this place it still would be great but they kick it up a notch by offering two homemade soups as a free appetizer while you wait or for takeout. The offerings usually include lentil bean and another, this time it was lemon chicken and rice and both were very good. With the large portions and the soup you will not go away hungry so if you are in the area take a chance on the Greek Gyro Express. We know we will as there is a feta burger with our name on it.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We finally got to Quartzsite

After reading about Quartzsite ever since we started researching about the RV lifestyle and entertaining the possibility of full-timing we finally visited, although it was only a day trip for the RV Show. Quartzsite has been called "Woodstock for RV'ers" and "The Greatest Show on Dirt" and is about a two hour drive one way from where we are currently parked. We went with our friends Bob and Wilma and their company and the rugged scenery mostly on I-10 made the trip seem shorter than two hours. 

You can read about it but nothing prepares you for your first look at the area. There are RVs everywhere, vehicles everywhere, people everywhere. According to the Arizona Highway Department, as many as 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RV’s, converge on this sleepy little desert town every year mostly between November and March. There is an ongoing flea market along with a gem show, an auto show, and the one we were going to, the Sports, Vacation and RV Show during different weeks. The RV show is billed as "The Largest Gathering of RVers in the World". Like Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska that becomes the third largest city in Nebraska on game days the RV Show becomes the third largest city in population in Arizona during the RV show at over 150,000.

Similar to Branson Missouri which has a small population and then swells with visitors Quartzsite has just over 3000 permanent residents but unlike Branson which has a good infrastructure Quartzsite has only two off ramps on I-10 which can make the traffic terrible. But it was worth it for us because of the RV Show. We have been full-timing since September 2009 and have yet to attend a big rally so this was our first exposure to the vendors that are typically at rallies so we enjoyed ourselves. We spent some money on some items and saw many others that we were tempted to buy. Directly outside of the RV Show tent were other RV related vendors and food vendors. We ate at a Texas BBQ place and got brisket, pulled pork, beans and fries. Not the greatest but pretty good for the setting. After we toured all the RV related booths we walked to the flea market area, and walked, and walked. Man there are a lot of vendors here in the desert. We probably only hit about 1/2 of all the vendors possible but by then it was time to go since we had a two hour drive ahead of us. We went on a brief driving tour of Quartzsite which took us by a McDonalds for a necessity break and some hot fudge sundaes to fortify us for the drive.

To be honest the day tired us out a little and it took us a couple of days but now we are ready to go back again probably next year.


Till next time,


Bob and Jo

Added Google maps

We just added an interactive Google map on the left side of the blog that will show the route that we are currently on (just click the link below the map to see the entire map). We also added links to Google maps of our 2009 and the 1st half of 2010 travels.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Mimi's Cafe and Desert Botanical Garden

In case you have not noticed food is a very important part of a full-timers life, or at least these full-timers, and those that know us from before we were full-timers know that it was important then too. We try to work eating out around our errands and our sightseeing. The first question may be where are we going but the first or second question is always where are we going to eat as we sometimes plan our outings around where we want to eat.

We planned our eating out at Mimi's Cafe this time because of a coupon for free muffins with a breakfast entree. Mimi's has one of the best e-Clubs that you will find. We are always getting 'buy 1 breakfast get 1 free' coupons or '$5 off of a $15 check' or 'free muffins with a breakfast entree' coupons. We eat at Mimi's because the food is great, the pumpkin pancakes are terrific, three or four varieties of Eggs Benedict all of which are good, omelets and breakfast sandwiches are also good. With some meals you get a muffin and the carrot nut raisin is our favorite. All meals come with juice which is a nice touch.

After Mimi's we headed to the Desert Botanical Garden, a 145 acre site that provides education, research, exhibition and conservation of desert plants of the world with emphasis on the southwestern United States bringing to life the many wonders of the desert. We visited about 20 years ago and were amazed at how much more had been added. There is an additional 65 acres under cultivation and new exhibits planned so like the desert the Desert Botanical Garden is always growing albeit slowly. We really liked that a lot of the plants were labeled and we were amazed about how many agave varieties there are. This is a highly enjoyable, informative site that should be on everybody's list that visits this area.

Photos have been added to our set for our current location, Goodyear AZ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

All of our travel photos are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Paradise Bakery and White Tank Mountain Regional Park

For those familiar with the Panera Bread Co. Paradise Bakery is like Panera on steroids. Same sort of menu and the food is as good or better than Panera but with one added bonus; a chocolate chip cookie with each sandwich. Our favorite sandwich there has to be the turkey cranberry; sliced turkey and cheese with a glob of whole cranberry sauce. Our favorite soup is the tomato basil. Paradise Bakery is mostly out west but there are locations in Indiana, Kansas and Texas. We highly recommend Paradise Bakery so if you get the chance do not hesitate to eat there.

We then went to the White Tank Mountain Regional Park which has a size of 30,000 acres and offers approximately 25 miles of shared-use trails. Most of the park is made up of the rugged and beautiful White Tank Mountains on the Valleys west side. The range, deeply serrated with ridges and canyons, rises sharply from its base to peak at over 4,000 feet. Infrequent heavy rains cause flash floodwaters to plunge through the canyons and pour onto the plain. These torrential flows, pouring down chutes and dropping off ledges, have scoured out a series of depressions, or tanks, in the white granite rock below, thus giving the mountains their name.

We visited the Nature Center and walked the Waterfall Trail which is about 1 mile one way. There was some water from a recent rain but not enough for a waterfall which would have been here. There was another trail where some of the plants were identified. This park is so close we may go there again.

Photos have been added to our set for our current location, Goodyear AZ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

All of our travel photos are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Time can get away from you

Time is relative, we do not care what anybody says. When were were kids the three months of summer vacation flew by but it was forever from one Christmas to the next. When we were working and as we got older time started to speed up. Then we retired and it sped up again but time really went into warp speed once we started full-timing.

Because time can get away from you when it is traveling so fast we are glad Bob is still task oriented. We got to think about this when we wished some friends of ours a happy anniversary and the friend replied we must have had that on our task list. Those that know may be surprised when they hear that it was not on his task list he just happened to see the event on his calendar. We thought about it more when Bob recently scheduled all the maintenance items for this new year.

What he uses the task list for is mainly the recurring maintenance items like the once monthly 'exercising' of the generator and the checking of the smoke and LP/CO detectors. When it comes due on the task list Bob swears that it was just done last week but that would be incorrect. Maintenance items that happen every three months like cleaning the refrigerator and water heater vented areas at first thought were just last month until the task list is checked.

Without the task list maintenance items that need to be done regularly would be done less frequently so the lesson learned is that there always is a place for a task list and calendar even when you are retired and full-timing.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Added current location to blog

To make it an easier experience to follow along with us as we traverse the country and to keep tabs on our current location we have added our current location to the left pane of our blog via an AccuWeather.com widget.

We hope everyone has a great and fulfilling New Year!!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo