Monday, July 21, through Sunday, August 3, 2014: In Williams, Part 3:

There is a new restaurant in town---Kicks On Route 66---which is a converted Denny's.  The owners let their Denny's franchise lapse and, after a serious remodel, opened their new restaurant a month ago.  We had lunch there on Monday.  The restaurant is actually pretty nice, and the food was very good.  I had a yummy BLT and Becky had a delicious salad.

Also on Monday, the new remote control arrived from DirecTV.  I followed the usual instructions and found that the new one had the same problems I had been experiencing with the old ones.  I decided to dig deeper into the 49-page set of instructions, and found an alternative method of programming the gizmo.  The new method was specifically not recommended, but I decided to try it anyway.  It worked!!!  I tried it on our other remotes, and all of them now work properly.  I then decided to see if I could use the new method to program them to operate our VCR/DVD players, as well.  That also worked.  As of now, all seven of our remotes can operate all of our DirecTV receivers, TVs, and VCR/DVD players,  Wow, what a difference.

Monday night, we realized we both had slept through a part of the Breaking Bad marathon Sunday night, so we watched the last disc again.  Now we're ready for Season Four.

Tuesday was a nice, relaxed day, involving the usual dog walks and navel contemplation.  On Wednesday, Becky went to Prescott to have lunch with Sandra Sarles, a former co-worker at the South Rim. 

While they were gone, I was in charge of the dogs, of course, which went very well.  It's no surprise, but when Becky's not here the dogs just sleep for the most part.  The first time we went out, Ramsey dragged me back home after only three minutes.  On her way back from lunch, Becky naturally had to stop at the Costco in Prescott to load up on things.  (There is no Costco in Williams or Flagstaff.)

Thursday was a day to re-visit the one house in Williams we've seen, and to watch Heaven Is For Real from the redbox.  It was an excellent film, religiously oriented (which rarely interests me) starring Greg Kinnear and a great little kid named Connor Corum.

Friday was a lazy day with just the usual routine.

On Saturday, after discovering some mysterious water collecting in the carpet under the computer desk, Becky took the dogs and went to the canyon to visit Dorthy Westmoreland

and some other friends, while I stayed back to deal with the Cordova people who came to finish the weather-stripping project.  They finished the project and also informed me that the water was due to a deteriorated seal in the roof.  They will come back and deal with that in a few days.  In the meantime, we need to be careful about letting water collect in that corner of the roof.  Of course, when it rains, which it does daily---some days it pours---we can't do much.  We installed a sort-of dam to divert water from the air conditioner to the other side of the roof.  So far, it's not working.  But, we'll keep trying.

On her local walks with the dogs, Becky found a Harlequin Great Dane that lives a block away.  It's quite impressive; looks like a Dalmatian on steroids.

I still haven't started the Nu-Finish project, but I finished The Fly On The Wall on Saturday.

Sunday we headed to Prescott to see Becky's friend Sandra Sarles.  She knows we're thinking of settling down and wanted us to see the 55+ community she lives in---Pine Lakes.  Interesting place.

We had lunch at Murphy's before heading back.  As usual, it was yummy.  I had a Cobb salad.

Sunday evening, we went to the bar (Spenser's) at the railway hotel to have an adult beverage to be served by Lisa D'Arpa, the wife of the hotel manager.  She only works on Sunday.  We've known Lisa since our days at Zion where her husband (Jeff) was the lodge manager.  They have been on a month's vacation in Florida and we haven't seen them since we got here.  It was fun seeing her again.

Monday afternoon, we looked at another home in Williams.  It was beautiful but not our style.  We then re-viewed the earlier one and spent quite some time discussing it with the realtor, Danielle.  This may be it!  We tested the water with a verbal offer.

Tuesday morning, we (Becky, that is) went up on the roof and modified our dam.  The water diverter is now working!

Tuesday, we went back and forth with Danielle regarding the home on which we had made the offer.  In the meantime, she and her husband, Andy, who is a builder, came over to determine whether our rig would actually fit in the door to the RV barn at the new place. 

It looks like it will fit.  We then had a few more conversations with Danielle, and, after the seller responded with what we thought was an insulting counter-offer, we told Danielle we were no longer interested. 

On Wednesday, we threw the dogs in the truck and went to Prescott to see a few possible homes.  Not too exciting.  On the way home, we heard from Danielle that the sellers would accept the last offer we had made on Tuesday for the home in Williams.  We told Danielle to prepare the paperwork!  That change of circumstances led us to celebrate with filets mignon from Safeway and a nice Silver Oak cabernet sauvignon.

We met Danielle at the property Thursday morning to take pictures of the contents in the home to help finalize what we are getting and what the sellers are keeping, and for future reference.  In the afternoon, we went to Danielle's home (in the same neighborhood) to sign the paperwork.  Yippee!

Friday morning, we spent a looooong time on the phone with the lender for our new home.  Everything is on stream for a September 30 closing.  In the afternoon, I took a picture of the front of the house.

The home is located adjacent to the Elephant Rocks Golf Club, the Cataract Lake County Park, and the Kaibab National Forest.  It's such a nature-oriented area, they left a pine tree in the middle of the driveway!

Saturday was a day to avoid the rain, even hail.  Ramsey was really spooked by the thunder. 

(Kelsey was oblivious.  She's such a calm dog.)  We just hung out, getting caught up on emails.  We discovered another water leak, this one in the kitchen.  We have no idea where it's coming from.  The Cordova people had better get here soon.

On Sunday, we realized that we should spend some time in our new home after the escrow closes---before heading out for the winter.  So, Becky rearranged our entire Autumn travel schedule.  While she was doing that, the rain came and went several times, and I finished The Beach House, by James Patterson, which I had started Saturday evening.  (It was an easy read.) 

 



It was a perfect night for chili, which we had.  Yum.   

Monday, July 7, through Sunday, July 20, 2014: In Williams, Part 2:

Becky had earlier bid on a new sunglass case on eBay, and was notified on Monday that her $17.99 (including postage) bid had won!  She was very excited.

Besides that magnificent victory, Monday started out with fluffy clouds and bright sunlight.  Maybe the monsoons are over for a while. 

Oops!  Wrong again.  Just before 2:00 PM the thunder, and lightning, and rain, started again.  Becky and the dogs were on a walk nearby, but far enough away that I had to pick them up.  Eventually, we had some hail, and the rain lasted longer and fell harder than previously this season.  We all huddled up for the evening.

Tuesday was a normal day of walking dogs, relaxing in front of the TV, and reading. 

Wednesday was a busy day.  We headed for Flagstaff early.  We dropped off the dogs at Canyon Pets, then stopped at the local Mobil station to check the tire pressure on our truck.  (The monitor had suggested that one of the tires was low.)  The tire guy pointed out that one of our front tires had weird wear and some other oddities, and was in danger of coming apart soon.  Whether or not he was correct, that was the second time I had heard that.  It was probably a mistake, but we let him replace both front tires. 

Becky had a hair appointment at 11:30, and we first stopped at Kohl's for some stuff.  (On Wednesday they give a 15% Senior Discount.)  I parked the truck in front of the hair salon and walked the block-and-a-half to the library, to spend the next 1 1/2 hours reading my current novel.  Becky enjoyed getting her hair done by Shawna Ritter at Tirzah Salon.

When it was time to leave, I noticed that it was pouring rain.  I had no umbrella or coat, of course, so I called Becky and arranged for her to pick me up when she was finished with her hair.  While waiting, I chatted with a fellow umbrella-less/coatless gentleman who was waiting for the rain to stop before setting out on a walk to his destination a mile or so away.  I offered to take him.  He agreed that was a workable idea.  He informed me that he was a homeless veteran with a wife who was in jail in Phoenix. 

She had hit a policeman while being questioned about her public drunken behavior.  It was her fourth offense and she was only two weeks away from being released.  His project in the meantime was to find suitable living accommodations for them in either Flagstaff or Phoenix---to be provided by the Veterans Administration.  He said he personally preferred Flagstaff because there was less crime there (discounting his wife's proclivities) but thought the available accommodations in Phoenix were better.  Isn't it interesting what you can learn from strangers?

Before we left for home we stopped at Oregano's for lunch (we shared the terrific Pablo Picasso Mexican Salad)

then Wal-Mart for a variety of things, then Pilot for some diesel, and then Canyon Pets for the dogs.  (They were exhausted from a full day of play.)  When we got home we watched Non-Stop (with Liam Neeson) from the redbox.  It was exciting;  a lot better than I had expected.  

At Kohls, Becky had purchased a set of 101 Dalmatians pajamas, which she donned Wednesday night.  Ramsey and Kelsey couldn't have cared less.

We took the dogs to a nearby abandoned tennis court for some free running on Thursday.  Someone had left one of the two gates open so Ramsey took immediate advantage and took off for the house across the street where a dog was calling to him.  He was quickly subdued by Becky and led back to the court.  That was the highlight of  an otherwise ordinary day.

Friday, we had lunch at the Red Raven restaurant in Williams with Dorthy Westmoreland, a former co-worker at Xanterra we hadn't seen in at least five years.  She is currently a concierge at the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon and she came down for the day.  She's a lot of fun to be with and is quite thorough in keeping up with the gossip at work.  We thoroughly enjoyed her updates on people we had known at the canyon. 

After lunch, our Keurig coffeemaker, which we've enjoyed for 4 1/2 years, seemed to die while Becky was performing some regular maintenance on it.  It had been doing some strange things for a couple of days, and now it would not even turn on.  Since we drink coffee every day, we decided it was time for an emergency trip to the Target store in Flagstaff for a replacement. 

When we got back, I immediately set up the new one.  But, the new one wouldn't turn on, either.  I determined that the circuit breaker had thrown a few hours earlier.  Most likely, that was why the old coffeemaker wouldn't turn on, and it probably hadn't actually died.  Oh, well.  It had become cranky in any event.

Saturday was Becky's day to wear out the dogs.  They went on two long hikes---From Buckskinner Park to home and from the Mormon Temple to home. 

I started a project to improve the abandoned tennis court where we sometimes let the dogs off leash.  I took down a net that had deteriorated and was a major eyesore, determined what I need to do to fix the two gates so they close properly, and hit the hardware store for some needed repair parts.  Becky watched Midnight Stallion, a movie from the redbox, and the two of us watched another, Cowgirls & Angels 2, which was a nice, family film.  We had very nice filets mignon for dinner.
   

Sunday morning (the 13^th) Becky took a picture of the Supermoon which rose Saturday night.  A Supermoon is a full moon occurring when the moon is at its closest point to the earth.  It’s not as rare as it would seem; there are five of them in 2014. 

Becky also took a picture of the two dogs enjoying the couch together.  

On Monday, I finished the first part of the tennis court gate project.  We first straightened up the corner pole, using the truck to pull a tow line. 

 

The Redbox movie on Tuesday was Endless Love, which we had avoided but there was nothing else available we wanted to watch.  It wasn’t great, but not terrible. 

Wednesday, we took the dogs to Kaibab Lake, a few miles away on the way to the Grand Canyon.  We walked almost all the way around the lake.  Fortunately, it’s down quite a bit---making it smaller as a result. 

After lunch we went to Flagstaff to see America, the sort-of documentary by Dinesh D’Sousa.  Very interesting.  I’m glad we didn’t wait for the redbox to stock it.  On the way back, we got stuck for 20 minutes when they stopped traffic completely on I-40 westbound for road construction.  We had seen the stoppage on the way to Flagstaff, but assumed it would be over by the time we returned.  Wrong.   

 

Thursday morning, on the first walk of the day, Becky went by the tennis court and noticed that someone had reattached the old, beat-up net I had removed a few days ago.  Apparently, the court is not truly abandoned as I had thought.  The movie of the day on Thursday was The Grand Budapest Hotel, which was so “artsy” I stopped watching after just a few minutes. 

Even though she didn’t like it, Becky stayed with it until the end for some reason.  We had pizza for dinner.  Yum.

Thursday morning, Becky noticed a home for sale in a nice neighborhood not far from our RV park.   She made me drive by it that afternoon.  We had not thought seriously about buying a place, but this started a conversation.  

Because of the wall-to-wall, non-stop TV coverage of the shot-down passenger plane in Ukraine, we watched a bunch of recorded episodes of Castle and The Mentalist instead.  We had ordered a new (additional) remote control for our living room TV, to take advantage of a function that was not working on one of our current ones.  The new one had arrived on Thursday, and on Friday I determined that it had the same problem as the old one. 

I called DirecTV and talked for a long time with one of its agents.  It was a frustrating call.  I eventually got transferred to her supervisor who, unfortunately, confirmed what she had told me---it was extremely rare that the function I wanted would work at all.  Now we’re stuck with only one living room remote room that has all the functions.  DirecTV is sending me a (free) new one anyway, on the off-chance that it will satisfy my obsession.  (Three remotes for a 120 square foot living room?)      

During one of her dog walks on Saturday, Becky noticed that a new net had been installed at the "abandoned" tennis court. 

We spent the afternoon talking about exploring the idea of settling in Williams.  After spending almost 1 1/2 months here, we feel very comfortable with it.  We've always thought Prescott, Arizona, would be our ultimate home, but Williams has a lot to offer.  Among other things, it's only an hour from the Grand Canyon, it's located on a major highway corridor (I-40), and there are daily Amtrak trains to and from Los Angeles and points in between. 

The idea would be to continue using our RV, spending winters in southern California or the warm areas of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and the warmer months in Williams or travelling around the country.  Eventually, we intend to put the road behind us and act like normal people.  To that end, we arranged for a Sunday showing of the place Becky had seen---near the Elephant Rocks golf course in the Highland Meadows area of Williams. 

It turned out that the home has serious possibilities for us---including a special garage in the rear of the property that was designed to hold an RV, and, since it is currently used as a seasonal rental, the furniture could be bought, as well.  (We have no furniture or furnishings at all, having disposed of everything when we left Pasadena more than eleven years ago.) 

We will be viewing other homes as well, in the coming days.  Danielle Worthington, the realtor, is originally from Huntington Beach.  It is her family that began developing the Highland Meadows community in 2000.

Sunday evening, we started another Breaking Bad marathon.  We finished the third season.