The trek to Cottonwood, Arizona, in the Verde Valley, was only 93 easy miles. We are staying at the Thousand Trails preserve there. We've been here before, and like the place a lot. We'll be here for four weeks, then move to another park for a week, then return. We usually stay in the "A" section, which is two miles from the entrance, and near the pickleball courts. The only 50-amp site available was in the "H" section, near the entrance, so we were forced to try it. Turns out we really like the site. And, since I have to go to Sedona every day for my radiation treatments, being close to the entrance will be convenient.
The "communication" problem with our DirecTV system spread to the living room TV on Sunday. But it went away quickly in the living room, and later went away in the bedroom---but returned a few hours later in the bedroom. How annoying. On Monday morning I contacted a local TV person who replied that he had some ideas how to help, but was currently "slammed" and was too busy to come immediately. Ostensibly, he will call on Tuesday to follow up. We'll see.
I had my first radiology treatment Monday morning. The place is in Sedona, about a half-hour away. The process involved my stripping down, donning one of those dandy backless hospital gowns, lying on a table while the nurses took a couple of x-rays, having the equipment positioned based on the x-rays, and the equipment then taking about a minute to do its magic.
After this first go around, the process will be
simpler and will take about 15 minutes from walking in to walking out. It’s a piece of cake on my part. But I have to do it 39 more times in
the next eight weeks. That will
undoubtedly become very boring very quickly.
But it’s for a very good cause, of course.
While Becky played pickleball Tuesday morning with a number of our old RV friends, Ramsey and I went to Sedona for my treatment. No surprises there. The rest of the day was mostly relaxing. The TV man did not call.
Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday, except that Becky joined us on the Sedona trek. We stopped at the Cottonwood Recreation Department on the way back, and joined the gym there. We’ll see if we follow through on our mutual promises to get in better shape. We then stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a bunch of stuff.
Thursday mornng, we stopped at the rec center on our way to Sedona and worked out for about an hour. It was the first time for me in 14 years---since we left Denver. It felt good.
After my treatment, we hit Wal-Mart again. It looks like that will be a daily stop, since it's right on the road between us and Sedona. In the afternoon, Bjorn, the TV man, called. We ran through a series of tests, and he then scheduled himself to be here Monday to see what he can do about our intermittent signal problem.
Thursday night was the first episode of the new season for The Big Bang Theory. I love that show. The first episode was very funny, as usual.
Saturday, we rented 42
and Disconnect at the Redbox. Disconnect
was awful; I didn’t bother watching it. 42 was excellent. Since I went to UCLA, I knew Jackie Robinson
was a Bruin alum. That fact is beaten
into you if you attend UCLA. But I
didn’t know he was from Pasadena.
Saturday, there was a small car show at the RV park. It is always fun to look at old cars.
Saturday was also a day to watch football, of course, and a day off from the radiation treatments---and from the gym. I went there on Sunday, though, but just did some cardio.
Saturday was also a day to watch football, of course, and a day off from the radiation treatments---and from the gym. I went there on Sunday, though, but just did some cardio.
Monday was a day for getting back into the routine. Becky, Ramsey, and I went to Sedona for my
treatment, then stopped at the rec center on the way back---for some cardio and
weight training. At noon, Bjorn stopped
by and spent the next hour analyzing our TV problems and attempting to solve
them. He seems to be the most qualified
tech I’ve seen. We’ll see how it works
out. He also has an interesting past. From Sweden, he has had a number of careers
in the US since coming here as a student, including being a placekicker on a few
teams in the NFL for a couple of years until he had too many concussions.
Monday night, I watched the Dodgers beat Atlanta to advance to
the National League Championship Series.
Their opponent (either St. Louis or Pittsburgh) has not yet been
determined. I’m not a big fan of baseball,
but I watch an occasional game. The one
Monday was very exciting.
Tuesday, I returned to Sedona with Ramsey while Becky played
pickleball.
I slept very poorly Monday
night, and was too tired to go to the rec center on the way back from my treatment. Essentially, I napped Tuesday afternoon. Later in the day, Rick called to say he and Joell had bought a 1973 Airstream trailer which, after restoration, they plan to use on family camping trips. Who would have thunk it.
Rick also told us that, for the second year in a row, the Austin Business Journal reported that he was ranked as one of the top 10 mortgage brokers in Austin, based on the dollar value of loans made. Congratulations, Rick.
The highlight on Wednesday was a hair job for Becky at a local salon.
Otherwise, it involved just the usual trip to Sedona and a stop at the rec center on the way back. Thursday was the same, but we did spend a few minutes with Dr. David. There was nothing new to report.
After the
Sedona and rec center adventure on Friday, we risked having lunch in the tiny “Homestyle Grill”
in the “family” lodge here at the RV park.
I had a ground sirloin patty with mashed potatoes and overcooked green beans. It was all quite tasty.
Becky gave Ramsey a frozen "raw meaty" bone we bought at a pet store in February. He had totally ignored the first
ones a few months ago, but really got into this one. He spent hours with it.
Late in the
afternoon, we sat by our rig in the fading sun and had a glass of wine. Very bucolic.
Saturday was
filled with football, of course, including a very exciting four-overtime clash
between Michigan and Penn State. (Michigan
lost.) Several of the top teams were
upset, including Stanford and Georgia.
And Texas beat Oklahoma, featuring a stellar defense overseen by Greg
Robinson, the brother-in-law of Gene Walsh, an old friend of mine.
Greg was hired as the defensive coach by Texas just a few weeks ago to replace the former “D” coach who was fired after the second game of the season.
Greg was hired as the defensive coach by Texas just a few weeks ago to replace the former “D” coach who was fired after the second game of the season.
While I was
overdosing on football, Becky and Ramsey went for a hike in a river access part
of the Prescott National Forest.
Technically, the forest was closed due to the government shutdown, but
that didn’t stop my adventurous roommates.
We celebrated
a nice day by dining on a delicious “Cowboy” pizza we picked up at Papa Murphy’s.
Sunday was a "nothing" day---a little football, a lot of relaxation.
Monday morning involved a return to the usual routine: Sedona, the Rec center, Wal-Mart, lunch, and a nap. Tuesday and Wednesday were much the same, but on Tuesday we bypassed the gym and stopped at the Arizona Stronghold tasting room in the historic district of Cottonwood for a nice wine tasting.
and on Wednesday we stopped for lunch at Quince and bypassed Wal-Mart. Quince is a strange place, featuring Mexican food with a New Mexico twist. ("Quince" means 15 in Spanish.)
It serves absolutely great food, though. We were last there in April, when it was located up the hill in Jerome. The restaurant moved to Cottonwood in May. I had a most delicious Reuben sandwich and a nice glass of Chardonnay.
The rest of the week was pretty routine. Since we're here for just the daily radiation treatments, we have gotten into a routine that is not terribly exciting. And, while I'm feeling OK, I don't have a lot of extra energy. I got conned into playing one game of pickleball on Saturday, and while I wasn't great, I wasn't awful either.
Saturday was another football day, of course, and UCLA was quite predictably beaten by Stanford. The highlight was seeing Conrad Ukropina, the son of some old friends of ours, kick a field goal for Stanford in his first attempt as a collegian. We last saw Conrad at Zion National Park about nine years ago when his parents, Bill and Linann, visited us there.
Sunday started another week of our current routine. There were four highlights, though:
We finished watching our DVDs of last season's Homeland, which we loved.
On Thursday there was a birthday party for three of the Pickleball guys at the rig of one of them (his wife made delicious chicken enchiladas, etc., for about 20 of us).
Very early in the morning on Friday, Becky noticed an entry on her smartphone which looked like a wedding picture of our niece Lauren Carroll and her beau, Ryan Gould. It was immediately confirmed that the two had decided to forego the traditional marriage ceremony that had been scheduled for next March and decided to tie the knot NOW! Congratulations, you two!
And we met the Wheelers for lunch on Friday at Chilleen's on 17, a restaurant in Black Canyon City, a nothing burg about an hour South of here. Chileen's was featured on Bar Rescue a few months ago. It's an interesting "cowboy" place, with excellent food. It was great seeing the Wheelers again. They are now hanging out for a few months at Pueblo El Mirage, an RV park near Phoenix.
The definite lowlight of the week was learning on Saturday that Marcia Wallace had died. I first met Marcia nearly 40 years ago through mutual friends. She and her husband, Dennis, became two of the regular attendees at our annual Oscar parties. Somehow, Dennis always won the pool. We never figured out how.
And UCLA lost to Oregon big time, which was no surprise. It was a fitting way to end our stay in Cottonwood. On Sunday, we will leave for an eight-mile move to an RV park in Camp Verde to satisfy the standing requirement that we vacate our current park for at least a week after a month in residence. We plan to return in two weeks. Sunday was a "nothing" day---a little football, a lot of relaxation.
Monday morning involved a return to the usual routine: Sedona, the Rec center, Wal-Mart, lunch, and a nap. Tuesday and Wednesday were much the same, but on Tuesday we bypassed the gym and stopped at the Arizona Stronghold tasting room in the historic district of Cottonwood for a nice wine tasting.
and on Wednesday we stopped for lunch at Quince and bypassed Wal-Mart. Quince is a strange place, featuring Mexican food with a New Mexico twist. ("Quince" means 15 in Spanish.)
It serves absolutely great food, though. We were last there in April, when it was located up the hill in Jerome. The restaurant moved to Cottonwood in May. I had a most delicious Reuben sandwich and a nice glass of Chardonnay.
The rest of the week was pretty routine. Since we're here for just the daily radiation treatments, we have gotten into a routine that is not terribly exciting. And, while I'm feeling OK, I don't have a lot of extra energy. I got conned into playing one game of pickleball on Saturday, and while I wasn't great, I wasn't awful either.
Saturday was another football day, of course, and UCLA was quite predictably beaten by Stanford. The highlight was seeing Conrad Ukropina, the son of some old friends of ours, kick a field goal for Stanford in his first attempt as a collegian. We last saw Conrad at Zion National Park about nine years ago when his parents, Bill and Linann, visited us there.
Sunday started another week of our current routine. There were four highlights, though:
We finished watching our DVDs of last season's Homeland, which we loved.
On Thursday there was a birthday party for three of the Pickleball guys at the rig of one of them (his wife made delicious chicken enchiladas, etc., for about 20 of us).
Very early in the morning on Friday, Becky noticed an entry on her smartphone which looked like a wedding picture of our niece Lauren Carroll and her beau, Ryan Gould. It was immediately confirmed that the two had decided to forego the traditional marriage ceremony that had been scheduled for next March and decided to tie the knot NOW! Congratulations, you two!
And we met the Wheelers for lunch on Friday at Chilleen's on 17, a restaurant in Black Canyon City, a nothing burg about an hour South of here. Chileen's was featured on Bar Rescue a few months ago. It's an interesting "cowboy" place, with excellent food. It was great seeing the Wheelers again. They are now hanging out for a few months at Pueblo El Mirage, an RV park near Phoenix.
The definite lowlight of the week was learning on Saturday that Marcia Wallace had died. I first met Marcia nearly 40 years ago through mutual friends. She and her husband, Dennis, became two of the regular attendees at our annual Oscar parties. Somehow, Dennis always won the pool. We never figured out how.
No comments:
Post a Comment