We left Seattle in less than ideal conditions. Unless of course your destination is a warmer climate. Then the conditions were very motivating. Thankfully for us it was!
Our plane was delayed about 90 minutes do to de-icing proceedures at Seatac.
We could not get to San Diego fast enough! We have done this drill before so it did not take us long to deplane, grab a rental car and get on the road heading East. Destination Yuma. We were there for a week of visiting with Pop, soaking up some sun, getting some chores done and maybe, if we were lucky, throw an adventure or two in along the way.
We arrived a little later than planned due to the de-icing in Seattle but still in time for Pop to treat us to dinner before settling in for the evening.
Next morning we were up and checking chores off our list. We got the rest of the grapefruit and tangelo’s off the trees. The trees fought back and although we came away with a few reminders of the struggle, we came out victorious although short a few band aids!
Pops is always concerned with the great grand kids and the goofy “selfies” they post for the world to see on Facebook. We felt it important to fight back with one of our own.
Linda got busy and applied a coat of paint to the car port Nate and Frank worked on a few months back. It came out great despite the paint being a little (very very) old. Oh it is just fine was the response we got when we tried to apply the paint with used not so clean brushes….. LOL,
With chores done we felt it was time for an outing! Mariners Spring Training was only about 3 hours up the road so early the next morning we headed out for a game day.
ROAD TRIP! 
We stopped in Gila Bend for breakfast. Little did we know this is a hotbed for Alien activity. We escaped by the skin of our teeth!
It was a beautiful day at the ball park. The complex is amazing and everyone was so friendly and accommodating.
Linda got to check one off her bucket list.
Pop said he could not remember the last time he was at a ball game. I think he had a really good time.
By the 2nd inning a lot of the seats had filled in. Good crowd on hand.
Pop was such a good boy for the entire trip, Linda got him a shirt
We rested for a day and got some misc chores done around the house while Linda did her shopping thing in Yuma. In the mean time, after a little research, we found an old ghost / mining town about an hour out of Yuma to explore. So the next day after our morning breakfast of biscuits, sausage and grapefruit, we loaded up and headed north on highway 95. About 45 minutes out of town I realized I had missed the cutoff and we had to double back a ways on a gravel road. We were soon to find out most of the road was gravel…. Of course we are not lost…..
Not that I’ve ever given cause to question my navigation skills….. my passengers were starting to question my directional stability. You drive for 15 miles and this is all you see, people start to wonder.
We did see some pretty cool looking cactus along the way. I got out to take a picture but had to watch for traffic….. NOT
After about 30 minutes up a gravel road with no visible signs of civilization we came up on something resembling a small town.
This was Castle Dome City. One of the longest operating mines in the country.
Here are few pics we took along the way.
Our time was limited as we had an appointment back in town but the trip was fun. We would like to go back sometime and take the mine tour. Pop bought us a book on the history of the mine so that will be good reading during our next adventure!
We finished off our trip with Pops taking us out for steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
All in all it was a great week of visiting, adventure, and reminiscing about Mom.
We are very close to closing yet another chapter of what has been an incredible novel thus far. Not only are we writing an new chapter but this will be the beginning to a second part of our story. We are retiring at the end of March to begin our cruising adventure on Pellucidar. This is a major change for us and we hope you will follow along as we experiance these events together. This first chapter will begin with a run up to Friday Harbor the first weekend in April and a trip down through Hood Canal. We know it has been a while since we’ve been on the water but it’s coming! We promise.
Keep your fork! The best is yet to come!
Walt and Linda
S/V Pellucidar
SV Pellucidar 