5/18/10 Hi from Yuma, AZ. Yes, this is the wrong time of year to be here because it is starting to get hot, but we drove down for Elaine's final dental appointment. She was supposed to get her permanent implant installed yesterday but because the lab wasn't working yesterday afternoon, we have to go back today. It was kind of eerie to experience Algodones at this time of year because we are used to it being full of gringos getting dental work, new glasses, cheaper prescription drugs, cheaper booze, and a long line at the immigration line to get back into the USA. But yesterday the place was fairly quiet and it took about 5 minutes to get through the border. The good news is that our car had been successfully repaired and returned to us on Thursday, so we were able to drive down in our car, and stay overnight on Sunday with Darran & Marielle in San Diego, and last night in Yuma with our cruise friends, Rick & Denice Osborne. Hopefully, the dental work will be done this afternoon and we can head back north. It was only about 95 degrees here yesterday, and we were mostly inside buildings, so the heat didn't bother us.
Last week, while waiting for our car to be repaired, we mostly stayed at Park Sierra and tried to go through accumulated mail, take care of paperwork, clean out our shed, etc. Had a couple of doctor appointments and learned that yes, as Elaine had suspected because of my snoring situation, I DO have sleep apnea. Now I have to pursue treatment options. I thought this was mostly related to being overweight, which I mostly am not, so this was a surprise. But it does explain why I have morning headaches when I wake up. We both will be having other appointments in the coming weeks, such as colonoscopys, etc. I won't bore you with any other age related health complaints....
In downloading pictures from my camera, I came upon a few from the past few weeks that I want to share with you:
On our last day in Barcelona, our friends Duane & Dorothy McCarthy came in on the Voyager of the Seas so we were able to have a wonderful afternoon and evening with them. We went to the Picasso Museum (free on the first Sunday of the month), had appetizers and wine at our apartment, went out for a nice meal at an outdoor restaurant, and took them to the Plaza Espanya where the magical fountains had so entranced us the night before. It was just as fabulous when we were there with them and the weather was better so we stayed longer.
Here we all are at the restaurant:

Here is another look at the fountains:

When we finally arrived back in San Diego, we stayed with Darran & Marielle and one of the activities was joining Darran when he walked Daisy, Marielle's sister's dog. You can see that it was a sunny, beautiful day and Darran & Elaine both look healthy and cute:

Almost as soon as we arrived back at Park Sierra, some Australian friends, Kay & Brian Blinco joined us there. They had been in the USA for 2 weeks and had spent part of that time finding a big van and a trailer that would sleep 6 because they are traveling for 6 months with their adult daughter, and her 3 children. Here is a picture of us all which was taken on Mother's Day at the brunch which was provided for all of us in our park clubhouse.

It was wonderful to reconnect with them again because we met them 10 years ago on our Intrepid Travel tour in China, and we have kept in touch through e-mails. So far they said that they have been very well treated in America and we hope that continues as they travel everywhere, since we were very well treated in their country when we were there in 1999.
Saturday there was a dinner at Park Sierra to honor all the volunteers who do so much to keep the park functioning well and keep the costs down for all the residents. We helped our friends Ken & Janice Ryder who did a wonderful job planning and executing all the cooking for the meal. There were also lots of activities, such as a cakewalk, where Elaine won a cake to take to Darran's the next day. The emphasis was "hats off" to volunteers, so everyone wore decorated hats, and here is a picture of our great neighbors, Alan & Carol Rodely wearing their hats.

Carol loves gardening, so her hat has that theme, and Alan got his Rastafarian hat on their last cruise in the Caribbean. They are so cute! It is social events in the park, and all the delightful neighbors and friends there that make this such a great place to live whenever we are back.