March 27th - This & That

Once in a while ya just gotta take care of biznus. We took the Roadrunner into this place for an oil change. Great concept. Just like a quick lube place for your car but big enough for motorhomes and trucks of all sizes.  We didn't even have to get out of our home.

Yes, that "IS" Tony Orlando. Contrary to rumors about his death from old age he was live and in person and we had free tickets. Get this... the show was at 3:00!! They know we can't stay up late.

There's a place in town called the Yuma Indoor Market. It's like a flea market inside an old Walmart or Target store so it's got AC. This guy is Mr. Garlic. Everything made from or with garlic.

Great hat.

Rental RV, Tight but cute.

You can buy working slots at the indoor market for $1,050.00

Great  idea for hummingbird feeders.

Hatband made out of beer can pop tops.  We saw these at another craft fair in
Tucson.  Some are very fancy with beads & sparkles.

Cool plate they use in the Northwest Territories, eh?

And a late afternoon balloon passing by.

Didn't buy one but we loved the shirt.

MG - Original. Makes you think of Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story.

Art on the Tower.

With new Nike's firmly knotted up he is able to leap tall buildings with a single bound.
(I think they are really UnderArmor and they are an early birthday present.  We will be
in Borrego Springs for Kirt's April 5 bday and they don't have many stores in that little
town.)

Another miniature display box done by one of the gals in Holly's craft class.  This
was her first attempt.  All these gals were really into miniatures.

This gal found this old lantern box at Goodwill so she created a small display in
in, using her tree on the rock that we made last week.

Another view of the miniature box.

The lady in yellow is Susan, our teacher, from Missoula MT.  She has a museum
in her house in Montana.  She has over 200,000 miniature "things."  I want to make
a stop there someday. 

The girl on the left is from CleElum, WA.  She has a second home in the town of Yuma.
She brought cookies for our last day :-)

We were to create cacti, using Femo clay.  They baked it during class and we
decorated them with flowers and paint.
 

This is Roger, Susan's helper (also from Missoula)

Another early evening in Paradise!  It's dinner outside every nite.  (But one night
it dropped down to 75 and it was too cold to eat outside.  I had to wear a jacket
for our evening walk.)

March 21st - A Mexican Adventure

We had an excellent day for crossing the border. There was a layer of clouds to keep the temperature down. To get there we had to go over to California and then south to the border.

Unfortunately, Eric Holder didn't see the sign.

This is the HUGE parking lot where most folks park and then walk across the border.

I was a little nervous about taking pictures.  I didn't want to get attacked and have my camera taken away.
(Like you see in the movies :-)

There was weird stuff everywhere.  And at first it seems unique but the more
you walk around, the more you realize you keep seeing the same stuff!

This guy was definitely a "paint can sniffer." 

I asked every one of these shop keepers if I could take their picture.  They
were all happy to pose :-)

This guy gave me a free pair of silver hoop earrings.  He figured he would get
me to buy something from him.  (It worked!)

I bough some sandals from this lady.  Now I wish I would have
bought one of these metal cacti with flowers. 

Just imagine trying to pick out a piece of jewelry to buy from this display!

The bougainvillea and other flowers were everywhere! 

This guy could pick up a piece of wire and twist into any name you wanted
in a matter of minutes.  No cuts.... just a continuous twist.  He was good!

Let's see.... what do I look at first?

"I give this to you for $5."  "Yes?" "You want?"
You won't believe it but I DIDN'T BUY A BAG!!!!

Give a kid a box and he uses his imagination to play.

If we're near here next year, we will get some glasses made, for sure.  One guy we met
said his glasses would cost $850 in Canada but cost him $150 in Algodones.

Outdoor eating area but tree & lots of flowers. 

Shrimp tacos are a big thing down here.  Our neighbor goes to Algodones, waits in line
for over an hour to come back across the border - just to have their shrimp tacos!

A ceramic tiled sidewalk!!!!  In Algodones, Mexico

He'll shine your shoes or.....  make your sneakers white again!
Remember when we used to polish our white "tennies?"

I will shine your shoes AND... I will fix your back pain (or any pain)!

I did buy a small metal flower.  This guy sits here and paints them, as you wish. 
I was glad to see he's smart enough to wear a respirator mask.  But if you stood
too close, you could kill brain cells from the fumes!

Gorgeous painted plug-in lanterns.

Kirt said you aren't allowed to take pics at a border crossing.  I snapped this quickly
just as the folks behind me were telling me the same.

On US soil I decided I had to take one shot at the crossing!

Hovering over the border crossing just in case.........

Let's play, "Where did the Gringo leave the car."