It figures. We left cold, rainy Alabama and went to Texas, where it was just as cold and rainy. So we left there and came to Arizona, where it was in the 70s, with plenty of sunshine. So guess what the weatherman says we can expect this coming week? Temperatures in the low 60s and up to seven inches of rain by the end of the week!

It’s that darned cloud that hangs over my head. I managed to outrun it for a few days, but it’s caught up with me. Like they say, I can run, but I can’t hide.

After having some of Miss Terry’s delicious homemade bagels for breakfast yesterday morning, we celebrated our anniversary by wandering through the huge Mesa Marketplace indoor swap meet. It took over two hours to see everything, though after the first row or two, it was pretty redundant.

There are a lot of vendors, but most of them seem to get their merchandise from the same wholesalers, because stall after stall had the very same things on display. The same sunglasses, the same clothing, the same CDs, the same kitchenware.

We were looking for a Pegs and Jokers game, having gotten hooked on the game when Ron and Brenda Speidel introduced us to it a few months ago at our Ohio Gypsy Gathering rally. There were a dozen or more vendors selling Mexican Train and several other games, all the same at every stall, but nobody with Pegs and Jokers.

Terry did wander through a couple of kitchenware booths and found a few things that she’s been looking for. I get bored pretty quick looking at spatulas and sifters, so instead I stood outside and watched the girls go by. But I didn’t complain, because I know an artist like Miss Terry needs the proper tools to create the delicious food she does, and I get to eat it. And besides, some of the girls strolling by were very pretty!

After doing a little more shopping at a couple of other stores, we stopped by Terry’s parents’ house and spent some time visiting with them. Then we went out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, and talked about all of the good times we’ve had together, and all the good times we look forward to sharing in the years to come.

We appreciate everybody’s e-mails and blog posts congratulating us on our anniversary. You all make us feel very special.

Today is the last decent day we’re supposed to have for a while, and we want to try to install the engine bay fire suppression unit and refrigerator compartment fire extinguisher we got from Mac McCoy at Fire and Life Safety. You’d be amazed at how many diesel coaches are destroyed every year by fires that begin in their engine bays, and in their refrigerator compartments. We want to prevent that from happening to our motorhome!

Thought For The Day – Life may not be the party we hoped for…but while we are here we might as well dance!

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Yesterday was a day to enjoy the company of good friends.

While Terry and her mom ran some errands in preparation for her sister Dani’s birthday dinner on Monday, I picked up our friend Ann Pruitt at an RV park in Mesa and drove her to Scottsdale to retrieve her car.

We first met Ann when she was a student at Life on Wheels a few years ago, and we both hit it off with her right away. Besides the fact that Ann is a real sweetheart, and darned pretty too, it didn’t hurt that she has a great dog named Curlie Sue that I love to visit with. For us, having a pet while we fulltime doesn’t work very well, so I have loaner dogs all over the country that I go play with when I need my puppy fix.

Back at the bus in Apache Junction, I did some work on my websites while Terry made up a batch of her signature pico de gallo salsa and her guacamole, which is always a hit. Then we drove a couple of miles to Sunrise Resort, where our pals Ed and Alice Allard have a park model trailer. When he heard that we’d be in the area, Ed had promised to throw some burgers on the grill, and you know me… if there’s a free meal involved, I’ll be there!

We first met Ed and Alice early in our fulltiming days, and we’ve enjoyed crossing their path all over the country. Sometimes our meetings have been planned, while other times it was pure whimsy that put us in the same place at the same time. Whatever the reason, whenever we get together, it’s always a lot of fun.

Our mutual friends Terry and Terri Michael, owners of Country Roads RV Park in Lake Delton, Wisconsin, are staying at the RV park next door to Sunrise Resort, and they joined us for dinner.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen Terry and Terri, and though we have stopped at their RV park a time or two when we were passing through on our way to Life on Wheels in Idaho, they were away both times and we missed them. So it was nice to have an opportunity to visit.

If you ever visit the Midwest playground of Wisconsin Dells, make sure to stay at Country Roads. We’ve sent a lot of people there over the years, and they have never been disappointed. Those folks make you feel right at home. It’s one of our favorite RV parks in the entire country, and we hope to get back again this summer in our travels through the area.

Thought For The Day - History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstance.

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