Tuesday, November 30, 2004

NOVEMBER 2004

Winter is the time that we can order "stuff" online and have it shipped to us (this is a bit more difficult to do when on the road).

One of the things I ordered when we got home was a small Zip Code book. Back in 1998 when we had started to fulltime, we had purchased a set of two large Zip Code books from the USPS. Not only were they several years old, but they took up a lot of room (and weight) because they were so large. The new book is a much smaller one--it's only 7" x 9." It doesn't contain quite as much information as the big USPS Zip Code books, but it will do fine for what we need it for (particularly in light of the fact that we now have Internet access pretty much on a constant basis, so I can always look up any additional information I need at the USPS website).

More things that we ordered were updated Benchmark Atlases. These are great atlases! The only problem with them is that they only have atlases for seven western states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. We like them much better than the Delorme Atlases.

And then, of course, there are the Christmas presents. One of the things I ordered for Earl was a Daiwa Spin/Fly combo from Cabela's...now Earl will be able to carry his fishing gear with him in one small, compact package!

Shortly after we got back to Quartzsite, we drove out to Plomosa Road to meet and visit with fellow Boomers, Steve and Pam Ritchie.

On the 23rd, we had an overnight visit with new Lazy Daze owners, Ross and Beverly Taylor. We took them to dinner at Taco Mio, our favorite restaurant in Quartzsite.

Since Lazy Daze motorhomes are factory direct, one has to go to the factory to pick them up. For out-of-state residents, in order to avoid paying California sales tax, one must hire the services of an ICC driver who drives the motorhome across the California border to either Ehrenberg, Arizona or Las Vegas, Nevada (the location is at the new owner's choosing). Since Ross and Beverly live in Fredericksburg, Texas, they took delivery of their new motorhome in Ehrenberg, which is only about 15 miles east of Quartzsite. After a long day doing the walk-through (where an employee of Lazy Daze thoroughly explains the workings of all the systems in the motorhome), and the long drive from Montclair, California, our place in Quartzsite makes a convenient first-night stay. Therefore, we have made an open invitation on the Life With A Lazy Daze RV Yahoo Group for any new Lazy Daze owner to spend the night at our house. This invitation also extends to other Lazy Daze owners, too, not just new owners.

We also took a day to drive down to Yuma to do shopping at Sam's Club, have lunch, and pick up refills at Wal Mart for Earl's prescription (he was able to get the remaining three months worth of pills, so we won't have to make another trip to Yuma just for pills).

We had Thanksgiving with fellow Boomers Sarah and Richard Shong, Mickey and Karen Bennett, Mick and Ann Meilicke, and Bill and Kaaren Payne. They were all parked out on BLM land near Quartzsite where the Boomers hold their annual Boomerang. We loaded up the Lazy Daze, went out, and spent the night. We all had a fun time, and it was great spending Thanksgiving with friends!

Another day, fellow Lazy Daze owner, Shirley Fritz, came by to visit us for awhile.