I miss New Jersey....

Apr. 18 - Apr. 24, 2013 Meteor Crater RV Park - Winslow, AZ

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NOT! I do miss Spring in NJ though. I'm sure I can find the same kind of Spring in other areas of the country, but here in Winslow, AZ it's all brown and some green. Sigh.  I've been seeing photos of Spring Flowers on other bloggers posts. Sigh.

Lily in my NJ garden

NJ Garden

NJ hostas

I really miss my hostas. I sort of gave up flower gardenings when we adopted Setters. They are not good off leash, so they couldn't be in the front yard with me gardening. I lost the heart for gardening when there were no dogs to keep me company. But hostas are easy care, great edging, great ground cover and come in thousands of varieties. They start showing in April and within a week are huge. I had them all along the edges of our yard.



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PETS: 
I met a nice young man (don't I sound OLD?) at the dog park here in our campground. He is taking some time to travel the country. Sort of his "bucket list" before he has to settle down with a real job and real responsibilities. He purchased an old Bounder Motorhome and has a scooter. He's from MA and headed West and is now heading back East.  His friends are very envious. He says he invited them along. But they were not adventurous enough to leave their "cook" jobs that they've had since high school. Opportunity lost and may never be possible again, until MAYBE retirement.
His roommate is Rocky, a really nice 110 pound rescued black lab. Devin is thrilled to have a playmate again!

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RV LIFE:
We are having plenty of down time this week. There isn't much to do in this area.  We visited Meteor Crater (review below), and went into the actual town of Winslow, AZ. Rt. 66 passes through there, so of course there are plenty of places with that theme. Sorry folks, I couldn't care less.

There is not much area to walk or hike here either, so this will be a very sedentary week. I do not have the discipline enough to just walk around this small park over and over and over, just to get 10,000 steps in a day that is recommended.


Another thing I don't miss in NJ, my job: 
Ya know what's nice about our RV life? I'm retired and away from the crap at my job.

This is from our APWU (union) facebook page.

Ex Co"worker" Sue's post : APWU Sucks. I had my issues, yes. But my Union Rep got me fired. The union rep (Ed: name deleted) sucks. She called me an F'N C---- I responded and got fired. Thanks for taking my money, Red Bank Local, the most "dangerous local around" (Ed: the union's motto)the only ones you have to look from are the Union Reps. They kiss ass
Ann's reply: So nothing you did was what actually got you fired? They just fired you because a Union Rep said to do so? I'm confused.
My reply:  I guess you don't know Sue.
Sue's reply: Neither do you Debbie. There are always two sides to a story.  Mind you own business Debbie, you never talked to me before, oh yeah, you were another ass kisser,/ supervisor wanna be.
Ann's reply: OK. I see now why.

Perfect!!! Sue showed her true colors in her reply to me. Ann also saw and understood.

Ahhh, those pleasant memories. Do you know how I was an ass kisser? I did what my supervisor's told me to whether I liked it or not. Yep, that's kissing ass and yep, I got along with most of my supervisor's. I had an uneventful 32 yrs in the postal service and glad for it. I put in my time and my work ethic and was blessed by being able to retire early at age 53!

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SIGHTS:
Meteor Crater, Winslow, AZ $16.00/per person admission
My rating 1 out of 5
Scott's rating 3.5 out of 5

Scott really liked it and would have rated it a 4 out of 5 if the price was cheaper. I would have rated it 2 out of 5 if the price was cheaper.

This is the best preserved and first proven meteorite impact site on Earth. It is about 1 mile across, 550 feet deep, and about 2.5 miles around. In the museum is a detailed history of the founder and how it was eventually proven to be a meteor crater and the money spent and possible wealth in iron, blah, blah, blah. Glad I brought my Kindle to read!

Scott was a Geology major at Catawba College in NC, so he's really interested in this and can understand it better than I can. He really enjoyed the museum. What turned me off was there was a replica of a piece 3' long, 2' wide piece of a meteor (Helsinger meteorite). The real piece was on display just outside the museum. Artists can make things look and feel so real, I become very skeptical of anything on display. I'm outta here. I sat on a bench reading, while Scott enjoyed the museum.

Seeing the crater itself was anti-climatic. Is it because we just were at the Grand Canyon the week before? Or was I truly able to judge this crater on it's own? Either way, it is difficult to realize the size of it from their 3 viewing posts. Yes, they state the rim is about 2.5 miles around, so we were prepared to walk the rim. Not gonna happen sucka! You are not allowed to walk around it, and can only view at their 3 lookouts.

Can you tell I'm not a fan? They are spending 20 million dollars!, yes, 20 million dollar$!$!$ on a "Sustainable Visioning Masterplan" to renovate and expand the visitors center. I did not see a railing and walking path around the rim in that plan. What a waste!

A definite tourist trap at $16.00 per person. 

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FOOD:

On to a much more enjoyable topic. Lunch! Ever since enjoying the home made tortillas at Verde Lea Market in Cottonwood, AZ, I am so hooked on putting almost anything between them.

I stated before my coleslaw mix, pica de gallo in a tortilla. Today I added sliced cucumber and some Tuscany Herb olive oil. I bet it would taste good with cucumber or ranch dressing also. Maybe add sliced avocado, hmmmm.

A healthy lunch.

Eat those veggies!

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FOOD PRODUCT REVIEW:

Philadelphia Indulgence, Cinnamon

My rating 4.5 out of 5 

I rated the chocolate flavor in a previous post. Now it's time for my second sampling. This is also delicious, although it won't satisfy my chocolate "needs" like the chocolate cream cheese does. This tastes almost like the Cinnabon frosting, only thicker.  I'm not sure what to use this on other than maybe a sweet roll, or...tortillas! I told you I was using all kinds of things to stuff a tortilla! 

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RECIPE:

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

Soft Tortillas

1 pkg. Philadelphia Indulgence, Cinnamon

Sliced apples or bananas (optional)

Spread cream cheese (and fruit) on tortilla, roll up and eat or layer, then roll up and slice for a nice bring along snack while visiting friends.

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CRAFTS; 
My 6"x9" rectangles have been shipped off the the HAP (Handmade Afghan Project) to make into an afghan and sent to VA hospitals.

1850 Old South Gown This is a crocheted outfit for a "Barbie" type doll. This is for display on your bed. I've had these patterns for years and years.
When I had to purged my craft room to get ready for RVing, I had to decide whether to keep these supplies or give them away. So I brought the material for one project and have been working on it for the almost 2 yrs we've been RVing. My heart is not in this project. What am I going to do with it? I guess try to sell it on Ebay or Etsy or find a nice Grandmom who would want it for her Grandchild.
So far I've completed the base of the skirt. I'm now ready to crochet the ruffles. I am a project crafter. I hate to have a project unfinished. So this project is my outside craft project because the sun give excellent light for this thin thread and tiny crochet hook use.

Sample

I'm also experimenting with a sun hat pattern. I've seen so many sunhats for sale in this area. They are crocheted and I KNOW I could make them, but...what is the material they use? It's not cotton, it's much stiffer so the hat holds it's shape. So I'm experimenting with some twine I bought at Walmart. I plan to make the brim wider and hopefully curl up a touch. Well see.

Cable Jacket

Sample

 I've been a good girl knitter and knit a swatch, soaked and blocked.

Yes, it is full of cables, but it is made with worsted weight yarn, so the bumps and jolts riding in the truck will not be too much of a problem. Come back next year to see the finished project. I hope it doesn't take that long! But it could.
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WHERE WE ARE HEADED:
Apr. 25, 2013 (Tentative) Calizona RV Park, Needles, CA
Apr. 26, 2013 (Tentative) Sierra Trails RV Park, Mojave, CA

Apr. 27 - May 5, 2013 (Tentative) Sequoia RV Ranch, Three Rivers, CA

June 14 - 24, 2013 Armitage County Park, Eugene, OR 

NV, CA, OR, ID, WA, MT, ND, SD, WY, then south for the Winter of 2013/2014