Joseph’s trip to Havasu, April 2021:

After 23 long months of not seeing ANY of our family, Joseph came for a visit!  He arrived at 10 p.m. on Monday evening, 4/05/2021.  We spent the night at the Aquarius casino in Laughlin, NV. 

We played for a while on Tuesday and got home to Havasu on Tuesday evening.  On Wednesday, we went grocery shopping and did some laundry.  On Thursday, we called Gene and Fran and spoke to them and the kids (unable to video-conference them).  Joseph and I went to the movies and we saw “Nobody” – it was a pretty good movie (suspense) and we both enjoyed it.  Then I took Joseph down to McCulloch Boulevard for their weekly car show. He seemed to enjoy it and took LOTS of photos. 

On Friday, Joseph and I took the boat across the lake to the new Indian casino.  Nice boat ride. We played for a short time and then came back.  Joseph was able to capture photos of some hang-gliders while we were on the boat. 

The boat disembarks at the London Bridge area.  Joseph took photos there and got to see the brick that had been dedicated to dad for being a 9/11 First Responder. (We had already showed him nana and poppy’s memorial bricks at the library).

Afterwards, we went to Burgers by the Bridge for lunch.  I had been wanting to try that place out for some time and was not disappointed.  Joseph had the burger, fries and a coke.  I had the fish and chips and a diet coke. 

On Saturday morning, Joseph came with me to my TOPS meeting.  He stayed outside for a while and then waited in the lobby of the Quality Inn for our meeting to end (he didn’t want to hang out with us at the meeting).  ☺  We then went for breakfast.  I’m glad that my TOPS friends got to meet him (and Marge came for breakfast so she got to meet him, too).  Then we headed straight home because Joseph didn’t have cigarettes with him (and I didn’t want to torture him – I know how smokers are).  Then Joseph took a nap while I straightened up a bit, checked my emails and Facebook and did some more laundry. We went to Grace Arts Live tonight to see “The Marvelous Wonderettes” about a singing female quartet singing music from the 50s and 60s.  It was pretty enjoyable.  Joseph said that his hopes weren’t too high but that it exceeded his expectations.  (That is a HUGE compliment from Joe).  ☺  On Sunday, we went to mass together (that was very nice), then we went to the Swap Meet and walked around a bit and then did a little thrift store shopping.  Joe picked up some games for Gene and he also picked up a telephone that he will be able to make some money on by selling it online.  Then home to relax, have lunch, and then dinner.

  Trying to keep Joe’s days busy and happy but not run him too ragged.  He is having some fun and also having some quality time with dad and I, together and separately.  It seems to be going well for all three of us (I hope Joseph would agree).  

At some point during this time, Joseph met our neighbor Jason (June’s son, recently retired from Las Vegas Police Department and just purchased a home here in Havasu).  Also, during this time, Marge fell and broke her neck and was air-vac’ed to Sunrise hospital in Las Vegas.  I’m so glad that Joseph was able to meet her before her accident.  She’ll be hospitalized for some time and then go to rehab and probably won’t be returning to Havasu anytime soon.  Joseph thought she was a “cool old lady who doesn’t take crap from anyone.”  He’s a pretty good judge of character.  (She told him that if he got bored with dad & me that he could go and hang out with her.  He said that that would have been fun).

Monday:  Ran around all day; met dad at the Chinese Restaurant for dinner and after dinner, dad took off with Joe for a while, riding around and showing him some of his favorite places.

Tuesday:  Pretty quiet day.  Didn’t do much except for some thrift store shopping.  Trying to find some games that Gene would be interested in.  Joe was able to pick up just a few.  We went to Rebel BBQ for lunch.  I had the brisket sandwich and Joe had the ribs.  We were not really impressed.  It was ok and the price wasn’t bad but the BBQ sauce wasn’t good at all and we expected it to be (since it is just a BBQ place – not any other kind of restaurant).  Probably won’t be going there again.

Wednesday: Hung out at the beach today.  Saw the replica of the Fire Island lighthouse.  Tom made chicken parm and spaghetti for dinner.

Thursday:  Tom made us French Toast for breakfast and then Joe and I headed out for a mini-vacation.  We stopped at Seligman, Arizona (birthplace of Route 66);

went to Williams, Arizona

and to Bearizona (drive-through and then walk-through zoo);

had BBQ for dinner.  Joe had the BBQ chicken and I had Pulled Pork Sandwich.

Friday: Took the Grand Canyon Railway to the Grand Canyon.  Train left at 9:30 a.m. and returned at 5:45 p.m.  We took a few shuttle buses to see more of the Canyon than we would have been able to if we had walked all the time.  Had BBQ again for dinner.  Joe had the sampler platter (pulled pork, brisket, beef rib, pork ribs, French fries, cold slaw and beans) and I had the beef soup.  Joe shared some of his pulled pork, brisket and corn bread with me.

Saturday: Went to Denny’s for breakfast (worst service ever – all of the waitresses were being trained at the same time by the same person – trained to be waitresses, cashiers and bussers – all at the same time, which meant they weren’t able to concentrate on one task.  It gave us something to giggle about); Went to Sedona (took the long, windy road there – Route 89A but then took Hwy 179 to 17 back – much less stressful route); had some rain and snow on the way; went to Wendy’s for lunch in Flagstaff and then to Chili’s for dinner.  Joe had the chicken fajita and I had the Margarita Chicken with black beans.  Joe had a cup of tea and I had a cup of hot chocolate (from the hotel) in our room.

Sunday: Had breakfast at the hotel (hard boiled eggs; mini muffin; coffee and hot chocolate – Joe also had some power bars).  Went to Meteor Crater.  Ended the tour with a movie/ride-type thing.  Very entertaining.

Went to Winslow, Arizona (Joe took my photo “standing on the corner”); had lunch at Sonic; drove around downtown Flagstaff; micro-waved the leftover fajita for dinner in our room.  We watched a cute movie (called “Nebraska”) about a son who was taking his elderly (and possibly senile) dad on a cross-country trip.  We enjoyed it during our little mini cross-Arizona trip (which Joe is taking with his elderly but NOT senile mom).  ☺

Monday: Breakfast at the hotel (hard boiled eggs and mini muffin, coffee, hot chocolate and tea – Joe also had some Frosted Flakes). Had some frost on the car this morning.  44 degrees.  Heading back home with lots of nice memories (and Joe took LOTS of photos); stopped at the Coyote Café in Bullhead City.  Joe had a steak sandwich with fries and I had the meatloaf with mashed potatoes.  Joe was pleasantly surprised that they served Pepsi products (we’re simple people and easy to please, what can I say?)  93 degrees when we arrived in Havasu.  (That’s more like it).  We had Chinese for dinner – chicken lo mein and steamed dumplings.  Dad was out most of the day so we didn’t get to see him until late evening (9-ish).  Joseph cleaned out the sunroof in the hallway for me – it had been driving me crazy because I thought it was full of bugs or something like that and we were unable to get to it to clean it out.  Turns out it was just some insulation because the metal part of the sunroof wasn’t in place.  Joe fixed that.  Thanks Joe.  

Tuesday:  Pretty tired from running around the last few days and Joseph isn’t feeling too great today (headache and nauseous).  We just went to CVS to pick up dad’s prescription and had some photos made; picked up mail at the post office; went grocery shopping.  Dad made us brownies.  Joseph did some BBQing tonight.  He and dad had steaks with baked potato and corn on the cob.  I had a boneless pork chop with a baked potato.  Delish.  

Wednesday:  Joseph helped dad clean all of the screens and windows today.  Dad made us grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Joseph and I just went out for a little while to pick up two prescriptions for dad; have a quick drink (he had chocolate milk and I had Strawberry Dragonfruit drink from Dunkin Donuts); then we picked up pizza for dinner and came home.  Joseph met our neighbors, June (Jason’s mom) and Rod tonight.  They stopped by for a quick minute.

Thursday: I had an appointment for my bone density test.  Was a bit nervous having a doctor’s appointment on the day that mom died (at a doctor’s appointment!).  Joe came with me but waited in the car.  He didn’t realize how nervous I was but I just gave him a kiss and a thank you for coming with me.  Joseph and I had lunch at Bad Miguel’s (he had taquitos.  I had pulled pork sandwich).  Then we took a quick trip to the “Desert Storm” – boat exhibit on McCulloch Boulevard. 

Just walked 1 block.  Stopped off at 2 Goodwill thrift shops – weren’t able to find any games for Gene but Joseph got a belt (it’s actually an old Chevy seat belt made into a regular belt – so cool!).  Dad met us for dinner at La Vita Dolce.  Joe had manicotti; dad had thai shrimp and linguine with clam sauce; I had gluten-free ravioli.  Then Joseph and I went to the Aquatic Center for a Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) tribute band concert.  It was pretty good!

Friday: I had a doctor appointment so Joe stayed home and hung out with dad.  I brought in lunch.  Dad and I had In N Out Burger and Joe had a Quarter Pounder from McDonald’s.  After lunch, Joe and I just took a drive around the island and he took some photos of all of the boats that were out in the channel.  We had a quiet day.  Came home early and just had pork chops with broccoli and cheese.  Dad and Joe hung out most of the night talking.

Saturday:  Joe came with me to TOPS and hung out outside.  Then we went to breakfast with some of the TOPS group.  Then Joe and I went for a pedicure.  I thought that the warm water and massage might make his foot feel good.  He seemed to enjoy it.  He particularly liked the massage chair and leg massage but didn’t care much for the emery board portion.  After that we came back home for awhile and hung out while dad napped.  Then Joe and I went to the Thai restaurant for dinner (we skipped lunch today).  Joe seemed to like the restaurant.  It’s a real small restaurant but the food wasn’t bad.  Joe is the Thai expert so I asked his opinion.  He said that the food was good; the restaurant was good but the wait staff was not very professional (the female owner? Of the shop was on her cell phone dropping a few “f” bombs).  After that, we met Charles by the Grace Arts Live theatre.  He was going to see the show that Joe and I had seen the previous week and said it didn’t seem right not to be going to the show without me so we just stopped by to see him (and so he and Joe could meet).  Then we picked up a pizza for dad and came home.  Pretty wiped out so I headed for bed around 10 and Joe around 11.

Sunday:  Joe didn’t wake up until 9:30!!!!  That’s the longest he’s slept since he’s been here.  We had a slow start to the day so we weren’t able to make mass this morning.  Joe and I went to the Bill Williams Refuge (but only partially in because it’s too much walking and was pretty hot out there),

and then we went to the memorial of the Japanese internment camp (in Poston, AZ),

and then we went to the Parker Dam (deepest dam in the world).  Joe took some photos. 

Afterwards, we stopped at McDonald’s because Joe was craving a milk shake.  He had chicken nuggets and a vanilla milkshake and I had a cheeseburger and still had some of my Dr. Pepper left over from earlier.  We ate at the Rotary Park beach and it got pretty windy by the time we were finished, so we headed home.  (Perfect timing).  Dad made us spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread for dinner.  We watched the Oscars and headed off to dreamland.

Monday:  We had a late start to the day.  Dad and Joe were relaxing and talking in the garage and then when Joe went to take his shower, Cate called us and wanted to video-call so we did.  She performed her new “movie” for us (It’s the “Four Little Pigs”).  She is so talented.  So expressive with her lines and such a wonderful actress and performer.  Then she gave us another make-up tutorial (she did that the last time, too).  She’s getting so big!  Tommy was outside playing with his dad and uncle Nick but when he saw Cate on the screen, he came over.  He wanted to know if “Nuncle Joe was still at my house”.  I told him yes and he was pretty disappointed (he wants his nuncle back).  Nuncle Joe told him that he’d be home soon and he will indeed stop by Tommy’s house because he has to pick up his car, anyway.  We also got to see Gene for a few minutes. (Fran was still working).  After we got off of the video call, Joe and I headed out to Kingman.  We had lunch at Mr. D’s 50s style diner. 

Joe had a buffalo chicken sandwich with ranch dressing and French fries and I had a Philly cheese steak with French fries.  We both had some of their delicious homemade root beer.  After lunch, it started to rain but Joe was able to take some photos of the old cars that were in front of and behind the diner and some from a nearby lot.  Then we went to the Route 66 Museum and then the Electric Car Auto Museum downstairs.  Joe took many photos in both places. 

At the souvenir shop, Joe was able to pick up the (outdoor) thermometer that he has been hoping to find. Then we went to the Goodwill store in Kingman and Joe was able to pick up a Batman clock and a Batman hat for Gene (for his collection) and a game for Gene (that he can resell) and also a telephone for dad for the garage, which dad was just asking him about a few days ago.  All in all a pretty nice day, despite the rain.  Once we got back to Havasu, we stopped to pick up some groceries and Joe chose a London Broil for our dinner.  Good choice – it was delicious!  (He picked out some ribeye steaks for tomorrow’s dinner for he & dad and chicken cutlet for me).  

Tuesday:  My friend Jennifer and her husband Dale came in from Florida.  I hadn’t seen Jenn since she left Arizona, 11 years ago.  Joseph and I met them for lunch at the Black Bear Diner.  Joe had a BLT with fries and a Pepsi and I had a tuna melt with fruit and a diet Pepsi (Dale had pancakes and Jenn had a club sandwich).  We had a nice visit and took a photo or two.  Then they were headed out to Parker to meet up with Jenn’s former co-workers and so Joe and I headed home.  Quiet, relaxing afternoon.  Joe BBQed for dinner.  He and dad had the steaks with a baked potato and I had a chicken cutlet with a baked potato.  Yummy.

Wednesday:  Dad had to go for his CAT scan.  Joe went to Jason’s house to wait for the WiFi people (Jason is at a fishing tournament on the lake).  Dad and I both had to get our second COVID vaccine shots.  Dad finished up and got to Jason’s house when the WiFi guy was there so he and Joe locked up the house and I ended up meeting up with them at Dunkin Donuts.  Then dad took off for awhile with Joe.  We met up at the new Asian buffet for lunch/dinner.  We met our friends Lisa and Everett there.  Joseph liked the place.  I thought it was ok.  Would prefer to stick with the Chinese Restaurant that we usually go to.  Joe says you can’t compare a buffet to a restaurant.

Thursday: Slept in. Quiet morning.  Headed to Vegas.  Stayed at the Strat.  We were hungry and tired when we got there.  Joe had chicken parm; dad and I had pizza.  Joe and I played $20 each and then headed up to our adjourning rooms.  We relaxed and watched our separate tvs.  I went to sleep early.  Dad got to the room a bit late.  Joe went downstairs at around midnight and ended up with $6 more than he went down with.

Friday:  We left at 4:30 a.m. for the airport.  I went in with Joseph.  Left him at the terminal with his bag checked and he was in a wheelchair being taken to his gate.  Joe texted me to let me know that he arrived safely at 11 a.m. our time.  Gene picked him up at Newark airport.  

I hope that he enjoyed his visit.  I know that we did.