Coming Up For Air

We’ve been in the Phoenix area for a tad over two weeks now.  We knew our schedule was going to be full once we arrived.  It definitely has been. In addition to all of that, we’ve had Christmas shopping to start and finish.  Then there have been all the special meals with brothers, sisters and mother. I have to say the local restaurant that wins out is The Keg in Chandler .... oh my!  We've definitely spent a lot of time with Terry’s mother.  It's been fun for her and fun for us but we all need a break!

We do see a little relief coming but not until after the holidays when her brother and SIL will arrive from Hannibal, Missouri.  For a couple of months they usually trade the snow in Missouri for the sunshine in Arizona.

Terry ended up with a brand new electric bike.  It was one of those things I fussed about but he had to have.  It’s lightweight and will fit on the bike rack.  The swaying decision was that it was a discontinued item and a close-out.  We had items to return to Camping World and on that trip he discovered the bike with a $700 mark down price.  Once he tried it out, I couldn’t get him off it.  I was sure Camping World wouldn’t allow him to stay in the store riding it down the aisles all day. We will see how this works.

We are finally packed and ready for our Christmas trip to Portland.  We tried to fit the remaining presents into our extra “little” suitcase along with everything else we needed.  It didn’t work.  Thus, we went to Ace Hardware and bought a box.  We’ve shipped plenty of boxes before but now we’re thinking maybe we’ll go to the Goodwill and buy a throw away suitcase. Who will want to "steal" a tattered bag? Tomorrow is the day.  We’ll start our trek to someplace from the Phoenix airport.  I’m not so sure how it’ll work.  Flying standby at Christmas time isn’t a smart idea.  The good thing is we’ll have all our electronic gadgets with us for entertainment and the Phoenix airport isn’t lacking in food supplies.

This is the forecast for Portland.

This is the forecast for Phoenix.   Hmm….

I’m thinking we need a breather.  Parking in the desert for a while with only the birds, coyotes and prairie dogs around might be fun.  Hmmm …. I’d probably like that but Terry?  Well, maybe not so much.

Today we have friends moving in across the road from us.  It’ll be nice to see them again.  They’re arriving just in time for us to waive goodbye but that’s okay as we’ll connect again in less than a month.  Our adventure in Quartzsite is just around the corner.



‘Tis life on the road.

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.