Back in Mesa

I am moved back down to the valley, about 6 weeks and 20 degrees of hot too soon.  The original place I thought I had reservations decided they didn’t like the looks of my rig in their snooty park, so they denied me entrance at 2:30pm on a hot afternoon.  I had to have electricity to keep the cats cool with the air conditioning.  Mike had them in the car for the move, but that wouldn’t work for the evening, and I couldn’t boondock and have air conditioning.  I was making frantic calls around for a place for at least one night with power.  At one of the parks when I gave my name I heard “(shadowmoss)!  This is (former office manager where I used to live in the mobile home).  Sure, come on over’.  I was welcomed not just for a night, but they also have a fall special and I’m here until the end of the year.

I will NEVER, EVER stay at a Cal Am resort, no matter what I am living in.

Mesa Spirit is a really nice, friendly park with better facilities and cheaper with all that is included in the base rent.  I won’t be able to afford to stay after the special price ends, but I’m good for now.

I’m hiding waiting for the temperature to drop.  It is still 100* during the day, and unlike Payson there is no shade here.  I came down early because the park in Payson is doing construction and needed me to move.  The cats have forgiven me.  They hate moving.  It didn’t help that I took them to the rabies clinic at TSC for their rabies shots the night before we moved.  Poor Rasta had to deal with a dog in line in front of us that looked at him intently, and it was obvious he was thinking ‘lunch!’.  We all survived.

I’ll be back online soon

I have not had reliable internet, other than when I was at Croft and Norma’s place in Canada, since I moved out of Mesa in June.  My Consumer Cellular hotspot doesn’t work on the weekends, I assume because of the huge influx of weekenders going through the only highway to higher elevation camping from Phoenix.  It is slow and metered when it does connect, and I blow through the allotted 4G of data within 2-3 weeks just reading emails and such.  However, I move back to Mesa on Thursday.  I’ll be camped right under the free wifi tower at the park.  I’m going to watch videos to my heart’s content, and stay glued to the internet 24/7 for awhile I think.  And, when I leave there in December I will hopefully have a better plan in place to connect to everyone.

Oh, Canada!

This is the Canada Man who is perched on the rock at the shore out from Croft and Norma’s place.  As Canada has won gold medals at the Summer Olympics the Canada Man has acquired similar ones around his neck.  I’ve been watching the Olympics with Norma and Croft and it has been exciting.  It is always entertaining to watch how another country reports on news and sports, and I’ve seen a lot I like.  I do like the spots on the Canada station that has the tag line ‘we all play for Canada’.

There is a paved walkway along the shore that I’ve taken several walks along.  This morning I took some pictures.  There is a coffee shop not far along and I stopped.  $2.75 Canadian for a small coffee that was good.  I tipped $1 because, hey, its not quite a US dollar, and I only had a credit card as I have no Canadian money. 

 

 

 

 

Further along is a small park set up by the local Rotary Club.  There are a few of the chainsaw carved wooden statues.

 

It is also a Memorial Garden, with small memorials on rocks along the sides.  I walked a bit further.  Everyone smiled really big and said hello.  I realized later that I had on long pants, a long sleeved t-shirt and a hoodie.  All the locals were in shorts and sandals.  I think they were laughing at me…  Pretty much everyone here is complaining about the heat and just how hot it is.  I’m comfortably cool.  It may be 80*.  I’m afraid if it ever got to 95* here we would lose the entire population of the Island to heat stroke.

I’m eating well.  I’ve discovered that I love smoked salmon.  Croft stopped on the way up here from Victoria at a small seafood shop and got a baggie of the stuff.  I think he may have gotten a couple of bites of it.  One taste and I’m hooked.  He took me to a dockside fish and chips for supper when I got in, and we have gone to a dockside fish and chips place here in Campbell River as well.  Turns out I do, in fact, like seafood.

This is for Al in Bayfield:

  I am in my first ever Tim Hortons eating a carrot muffin and drinking a coffee.  It was really good.  I can see why Al has a habit of getting them.  I had gone with Norma and we got haircuts at a local salon.  My hair is pulled back into a French braid.   I only got 6” cut off, so it is still down my back, despite how it looks in this picture.

That is what has gone on so far.  Eating, Olympics, walks, Olympics, Eating, and did I mention how well I’m being fed.  So far Canada is a hit with me.

Shadowmoss arrives in Canada

Picture taken by Croft as the ferry docked.

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To the ferry at last

I need a luggage cart to carry the carry on pack. My shoulders and back are toast. It really was a mile so not too bad. I want to stop and look around more on the way back, though, so I need some way to move that doesn't involve me whimpering with each step.

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Light rail agogo

Continuing on my way. Hope I can carry my stuff to the dock. It is about a mile from the light rail station. I'm traveling carry on only and using a backpack style bag, as well as a backpack. Since i only have one back it is presenting a challenge...

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On the road again - destination Canada

Once it occurred to me I suddenly had a window of opportunity to travel this summer while I'm parked near enough to Mom that I can leave the cats in her care, I started making plans. I've never been to Canada. I k ow Canadians as snowbirds who arrive in AZ as the weather starts cooling down to bearable. I floated the idea to Croft and Norma that perhaps I could come up and visit them for a week, and got a friendly 'come on up' response.

This morning, after some issues from yesterday I'll talk about when I return to AZ that will require putting the car in the body shop for a bit, I woke to my 4:30 am alarm. On the road to the airport by 5am I made my flight to Seattle with no issues. I'm in the air on the way to Seattle as I type, and I'll post this once I land there. Ongoing posts as I go.

Looking forward to studying the Canadian Snowbird in its native habitat.

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