Mornings are tough...

Nothing to do with getting up early.

I was up before 5:00 again today.  Izzy and I had a morning routine: I would get up, change the cat calendar, and start preparing her first meal of the day.  She would give me a thank-you rub on my legs; then before digging in, she would look up at me and wait for a pet before she would eat.  I miss it so much.

This blog has been about the fun times and will continue to do that.  Writing is therapeutic for me, and making these remembrances of our sweet little furry girl is going to happen for a while.

Today, we move to our "winter destination."  You're thinking, "Isn't South Padre Island a wonderful winter destination?"  Yes.  It has good weather (this year so far has been an anomaly), a spectacular beach, great water access, and plenty to do.  What it doesn't have: our darling daughter and son-in-law.  So, off to the Phoenix area to spend time with them.

We left Tucson at 9:30 this morning, with easy traffic getting out.  The tough part today: the solo driving.  Oh, I can drive without help, but I don't have my lovely wife with me because we have to drive separate in Arizona - double towing isn't allowed here.  So, I am driving the motorhome with the cargo trailer behind.  Joan is behind me, driving the CR-V.  The coach seems especially lonely today, but I keep a close watch on my mirrors to see the while Honda behind...

We communicate with our phones and Airpods; hands free, and we look out for each other.  She can "block" a lane, allowing me to move over, I let her know about any traffic ahead.  Hearing her voice is comforting.  We are able to have a conversation - at one point she said to me, "I have come to like the desert again.  It has a rugged beauty."

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No, but our first RVing experiences here back in the early 90s were great.  Plus, look on the hill: saguaro cactus.  Remember the first time we saw those?"

"Indeed I do."

"It was warm here, a nice escape from the South Dakota winter."

I asked, "Are you telling me you want to move here?"

"Maybe some day when you are ready to be done boating."

"They do have boating here, in the lakes - what they don't have are dolphins.  Salt air.  Huge expanses of water all to yourself.  Ship traffic."  I was interrupted when I sneezed... ah, the desert air.

A look ahead as we approached Picacho Peak...

We rolled through the Phoenix area by noon, turned off I-10, and headed towards our "home" for the next week.  Pueblo El Mirage is a beautiful park: lots of pretty landscaping, a great pool area, every kind of activity a retired person could want.  It is a bit of a drive to get to Steph's house, so we will be moving to a closer park for February and March.

The staff at Pueblo El Mirage is friendly and helpful - they assign a couple guys to escort you to your site and explain where they want your RV positioned (uniformly lined up, even with your concrete patio), where the utilities are, etc.  We have been doing this for decades, so we have this stuff down pat.  The guys parking us were impressed as Joan and I dropped the cargo trailer from the motorhome, and while I backed the coach in, she hooked up the CR-V to the trailer so we could get it where they want it on the site.  Some of these "uniformity rules" are silly, since there are all kinds and sizes of RVs in here, but it isn't a big deal.  We come equipped, so we can handle what the situation calls for with our utility hookups (extra hoses, sewer accessories, an electric cable extension if necessary).

I am just happy to have a place to be for the week, before we can get in to the other park.  I need to hug my sweet daughter.  She has "lobbied" for us to move to the area... maybe because she knows we wouldn't?  ;-)  Not sure when the role reversals happen, but your kid starts to worry about you, instead of the other way around.

They don't get out of school until early evening, so we have time to get settled in before heading to their place.  Anxious to see them, plus we have some grand-kitties to pet.