Geo: 33.729, -116.38Are we going to have a problem here- there goes the neighbourhood?? For two dedicated motel types, our stay at a resort in Borrego Springs was a wonderful taste of plush comfort (although we did sometimes miss the quarter slots that would start the bed vibrating), and it also allowed us to practise our table etiquette (why do I have 3 forks??) before visiting our posh friends, Don & Jill T, in a land mine-surrounded, gated community in Palm Desert. As loyal blog readers may recall, Don had us (and our campervan) unceremoniously removed from the parking lot of a 5 star hotel in South Africa in order to maintain the tone of the property. To explain our presence in Palm Desert, I think Don has told the neighbours that he's bringing in a ... read more

Geo: 32.6848, -114.625Before heading to Yuma, we had to make a cruise ship stop in Phoenix, Arizona- for our geographically challenged friend, Deb P, this is a funny thing to do since Phoenix is land-locked in a middle of an arid desert. Our mission was to hook up with the Number 1 fan of Holland America Cruise Lines, Hal G. We had met Hal on a HAL cruise ship in Brazil and we have followed his travel ever since. Hal and Kay probably travel more than we do and the vast majority of this travel seems to be conducted via the upper deck cabin of a Holland America ship situated right next to the captain's quarters. A number of passions drive feed their travel bug but one in particular seems to make Hal weak in the ... read more

Geo: 37.2737, -107.879After a brief blog boycott, I'm back due to an overwhelming reader demand (can you call 2 people an 'overwhelming' demand?). In much the same way Carol C is always pointing out my protruding gut in photos any time the lights and shadows create an optical illusion, I'm sure Bonnie D just didn't realize how sensitive any new age male like myself can be.We're into the last couple of days of the 65 Years Young Birthday Tour and Dusty Dave has become a little more accustomed to his new diet of prunes and Pablum (OK- that probably wasn't too sensitive). We had spent a number of days in the heat and sun of New Mexico and Arizona, but we were wrapping up with cooler temperatures and even a little snow- we wanted to ease ... read more

Geo: 34.474, -114.346After the unspeakable damage Dusty Dave did to Puffy The Pillow during our ATV adventure it was time for a couple of groin- friendly (but still 65th birthday worthy) events. To that end we made the relatively long drive to Lake Havasu to visit London Bridge (without telling Dave). London Bridge?? In Arizona??In 1896 the bridge was the busiest point in London, England, and one of its most congested; 8,000 pedestrians (including Dusty Dave?) and 900 vehicles crossed every hour. Surveys showed that the bridge was sinking about 2.5 cm every 8 years. The bridge would have to be removed and replaced. In 1968, the bridge was sold to an American, Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil, for US$2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive ... read more

Geo: 33.4479, -112.083The Sixty Five Years Young Birthday Tour continued after a series of second-childhood adventures that included chasing aliens, sand tobogganing, and, most recently, stomping through an old western town playing out cowboy gunslinger fantasies. Shady Lady was starting to get a little weak-kneed every time Dusty Dave B tied his imaginary horse to the railings outside of our hotel, and now Dusty Dave almost always walks with his thumbs hooked in his belt loops- part of that is probably the new cowboy swagger he has, but I suspect it's largely because his belt doesn't fit after his steak misadventure in the Big Texan Steak Ranch. With all this renewed testosterone and estrogen flying around we think we overheard them talking about trying for more kids.Then came Buckin' Bully, the meanest, nastiest, wildest mechanical bull ... read more