Moving slowly toward Texas

Last Monday we left the Phoenix area, Avondale to be specific, after having our actuator and actuator pump replaced.  We pulled a few hills on our way to Tucson and there was no black smoke. It seems that black smoke was the only indication that there was something wrong and that started the Monday we left Yuma.  Tom checked diesel mileage along the way and closely monitored the gages and all looked normal so I guess that means we are good to go for a while (we hope).

We did miss a couple of nasty looking weather systems on our way to Tucson.  These look almost like weather systems in Kansas that we are very careful of, but these only hold LOTS of rain.  In this part of the country it really makes the roads slippery and hard to see ahead so we were happy to see the system move east before we arrived.

We checked into the Pima County Fairgrounds RV park and met up with our buddies, Nick & Terry Russell and Greg & Jan White.  We have spent the better part of the month of March and part of February with our good friends.  We always have lots of fun time and hours of laughter with this group. If laughter is the best medicine, we should all live several years longer now.

Most of our time in Tucson was spent eating with friends.  We ate at Texas Roadhouse with the Russell's, Whites, and Nick’s cousin, Bev; we ate at Ole’ with friends, Anne and LeRoy Willis, again with the Russell's and Whites at a delicious Chinese/Thai restaurant, and even once on our own at a TTT truck stop.  Unfortunately this week Terry Russell was undergoing some medical exams and procedures and then came down with a very bad cold and flu symptoms so we were not able to spend a lot of time with Terry.

We did go to the Pima Air and Space Museum, the 3rd largest Air Museum in the US and the largest non-government funded.  We had visited this amazing museum 4 years ago and it is a credit to their good fiscal management that it has grown several hundred more restored planes since then.  One of the things we discovered this time was the use of QR codes on all the planes outside so if you wanted to know more about that plane you just scan with your smart phone and your smart phone opens up the website giving all the information about that plane.

Pima Air & Space Museum VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

We took the tram to look at all the planes parked over many acres. Our guide was a retired pilot and was really knowledgeable about the planes.

Pima A&S Outdoor Displays VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We really enjoyed our brief stopover in Tucson, but Friday it was time to go.  We said our goodbyes and gave hugs all around – twice. and left for Las Cruces, NM.

That’s left to right, Greg White, Nick Russell, Tom, Terry Russell, and Jan White.

We stayed at the Coachlight Motel and RV park, a clean Passport America park. They only allow 2 nights under PA so after visiting the Historic La Mesilla square, eating delicious Mexican at El Comedor restaurant and a couple of stops at Cracker Barrel we pulled out of Coachlight this morning and will stay at Wal-Mart tonight.  We will also repeat our dining experience tonight with the Whites at El Comedor which is their favorite Mexican food in Las Cruces.

So tomorrow we will move on slowly toward Texas… that’s what retirement is all about.