Apr 07, 2015
Symphony of song & a cascade of water
Every morning in Yuma we started the day with birdsong. Such a variety and so pronounced. It was time to rise and shine when the symphony started 😉
Sunday was to be my shopping day. Part of the reason for our time in Yuma was for me to so some serious shopping for thinner summer clothes. I did my due diligence and discovered that the large stores only opened at 11AM on Sunday so off I went to Walmart, just down the road. We needed important things like a can opener ( ours had simply stopped functioning ) and food.
I often bring back a toy for each of the girls. Carmeh is always sniffing out all bags that come into our house or the RV just in case it is her lucky day.
She is a toy dog and the louder the squeak the happier she is.
Caeli has only 2 toys she plays with and one is an old sprinkler head. I keep trying though. She looks at this new one and says “what am I supposed to do with this’?
Food in the fridge and the girls are happy, so Colin and I decide to head out to the mall together. We were somewhat dismayed to discover that all the stores like JC Penney, Kohls, etc were all closed. Yes it was Easter Sunday but I am pretty certain that stores like the Bay and Sears were not closed in Canada. So now what? Brilliant idea, let’s go find the best taco stand in the area as discovered by my friend Lynne. You can read her blog post here about her quest to find the perfect fish taco place between the Baja and Arizona. It is very interesting post and entertaining. So we headed to El Cositas here in Yuma which was a tad difficult to find as we just were looking for a lot across from Fry’s. I somehow missed the SW part of the directions but we did find it. Guess what? They were also closed. More disappointment. So we finally settled for a small soft ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. We couldn’t go home without spending some money 😛 I then spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with laundry. I did make us a great dinner and once the dishes were done I was ready for bed.
Good thing I went to bed early as the birds started their symphony at first light and they had quite the artistic director. Good thing the birds woke us up as the RV washers Colin had hired showed up early at 7:15 AM.
Soon the sounds of water pouring over the roof had Carmeh shaking like a leaf. I finally just had Colin take her outside of the RV. I have no idea why she gets so upset when someone is on the roof.
Apparently while I was at Walmart on Sunday a woman had come up to the RV with a flyer offering both interior and exterior cleaning. She told Colin they could do the entire exterior of the RV for $40.00. Colin asked if that included washing the window screens. She said yes and for another $5.00 also washed the car. Our window screens were filthy due to the sand and humidity. The RV and car look great. Such a deal. The screens are so clean that you can’t even see them. They washed them twice by hand and also power washed them. All of this was completed by 8:15AM Monday morning.
Soon I was off to do my shopping while Colin stayed back at the RV and did many chores. He really is a very hard worker and he goes non stop. He is happy to get these things done as he knows when he gets home he will be busy with our company business. I did have a successful day at the mall and you will see the results over the next few months. Of course all the purchases will be declared when we cross into Canada. Quick question? Do you declare the entire amount of your purchases or do you just declare the amount spent? I do the latter. Why should I have to add a state tax to my maximum duty free allowance which by the way is now $800.00 CAD?
I had also ordered a few items online which were delivered to the RV park and held for me. Sadly for the first time in years of doing this, an item never arrived.
On March 11th I had ordered 18 of these miniature hot air balloons and they still had not arrived. I discovered that they had been shipped via Singapore Post. You might say a slow boat from China. So it is a loss, but a very small one. I told the office at the park that they could keep them, if and when they arrived and enjoy them next winter at their functions.
This is a close up of the dog stroller I had ordered for the future.
No longer will Colin have to carry the girls down the beach if they can’t walk. I love it. The wheels are strong and did well here in the gravel as well as the sand along the canal. Both of the girls fit side by side and they can also lay down. The cover also zips closed so they can’t jump out. I don’t think that will be a problem with these two. They already love it. I am so happy to have this for down the road. This is where I got it on Amazon. I only paid $39.99 and it is much better that I thought it would be.
Yeah Colin, he made dinner. A great thin crust spinach and feta pizza compliments of Dominos Pizza. Life is good.
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Not was open here on easter Sunday either. Not even Walmart.
Enjoy your fun times there in Yuma.
I had no idea that Easter would see the closing of stores. It seems that most other holidays everything is open. I guess I was lucky to get to Walmart then.
I so enjoy your blog, and can’t get enough of your girls!
Thank you Marcia. I will endeavor to put then in more often, I haven’t of late.
Can’t wait to see your purchases!
You have to declare the full value of your purchases, whatever’s on the receipts as being the total. Buying clothing in the US, unless you’re under your allowance, is often not a good deal because it’s one of the few things you have to end up paying duty on unless it’s US-made in addition to sales tax. The last time I I went over to Montana to pick up an Amazon order, I only had my 10% tax to pay on $300 piece of US-made electronic equipment (yay for NAFTA), but I wound up paying more for a dress in customs fees than the purchase price AND tax combined! 🙁
I only shop in the US or Mexico. I like to be wear something different than the limited choices I see in Canadian stores. However I never go anywhere near my maximum duty free allowance. If you shop at 45% off sales, a little goes a long way.
I’m with you on that, shopping in the US or Mexico only! Mexico has more unique stuff since so much is handmade and the US just has more choice! Sales are great, but I guess they barely make up for the horrible exchange rate right now, don’t they. 🙁 I have a US shopping list as long as my arm right now, but I’m not convinced it’ll be worth filling it next month.
My US dollars are “old” money at 1.09 so all is well but next year will be a very different story.
Right! You’re fortunate that you could do that!
Hope you still have time to get back to the taco place before you leave Yuma…it was sooo good! Wow, did you get a great deal on RV washing! The going rate in February for our class C rigs was $100 each. I’ll have to remember to go to Yuma in April now instead!
Glad you found some new clothes for Spring, but just as well that you missed getting those Chinese lanterns. As beautiful and fun as they are to watch, they really are pretty bad for the environment and for any wildlife who get tangled up in their litter (do a search for “Chinese lantern litter” to see what I mean).
Sorry to say the taco place will have to wait until next April as we had to move on. $100.00 for a smaller RV, robbery. Was that in the Baja or the US?
We might have launched about 1/2 dozen lanterns over the beach and ocean this past winter when Chris & Juan were visiting. During New Years Eve we saw dozens and dozens launched in the city of Mazatlan. I honestly never ever thought of the consequences as I read about when I Googled Chinese lantern litter. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. I was surprised to read about how many places have banned this product.
Looks like you are getting lots done while in Yuma. The girls look so cute in their stroller. We have one for our cats but have to zip up the top – they are jumpers! Can’t wait to see your new wardrobe!
Yes we did get a lot accomplished which was our goal. I can hardly wait to use the stroller, this one even has a rain shield. Just for the fun of it I might take them for a stroll when we get home but I do want them to keep walking as long as they can.
You had us laughing out loud about Caeli and the sprinkler head. So typical of kids. What a deal on the rv wash! Yikes. More reasons to follow you home next year. Have fun, hi to Colin and be safe.
Caeli does have that ability to make you laugh or cry or to just love and hug. Well actually it was cheaper to pay Ishmael to do it at Tres Amigos but for the US it was a great deal.