"Exploring East & West of the Colorado River Caravan" Hurray! Hurray! This is another sunny day in the southwest. After breakfast, our Leaders shepherded us to the Yuma Prison where a tour guide filled us in on the 35 year Yuma Prison history. She knew her stuff, was jovial and enthusiastic, told anecdotes about dozens of inmates and unusual incidents that occurred. This was one tough prison with the hottest weather imaginable. On the way home, we stopped at Arby's for lunch. When ready to leave, the Van's starter objected slightly but did start the engine. Not wanting to begin the caravan with a questionable starter, I stopped at the Ford Dealer. Seeing he was too busy to help, I asked for a referral to a recently opened garage whose owner was a young man and had just restored his truck/car. John's Auto Service on 22nd Street was recommended. John McCloud has been in business seven months with a few friends. He diagnosed the problem, removed the old starter, installed the new one, charged the standard NAPA parts cost, used the book rate for the job and I was out of there in less than an hour. Not bad for being a first time customer, plus the starter came with a nationwide warranty. Coincidentally, John had seen the Airstreams parked in the fairground on his way to work with his father who works at the fairground. John gave me business calendars for distribution to our group. Back at Happy Hour, we learned about a device for receiving pages nationwide and sending email wirelessly. The cost is similar to what we pay for pocketmail. I'm convinced it's a full time job trying to stay current with new developments in this field. For supper, our Caravan Leaders and two other couples put together a simple meal (lasagna, salad, bread sticks, cake). I think it was designed to show how easy it can be for two couples to prepare a big meal and serve it to a dozen couples. Plans for tomorrow's day-long visit and lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Algodones, Mexico were discussed. Discussion during the meal included how to bargain, what to pay for specific items and how to have fun doing it. When our Caravan Leaders offered their cell phone number for caravaners to contact them if a problem occur while on the road, everyone shared their cell phone numbers with each other. We liked the idea of having phone access readily available to each of us while traveling. This is the first caravan where we've experienced this degree of communication capability. After supper, we learned to play a table game called "Joker." Sandie picked up the strategy quickly and with her female partner, they trounced the two guys. It's been a great day. Terry mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "Work hard at several projects. That way, no matter what is going wrong, something will be going right." Donna Hanover To unsubscribe or to change to a daily Digest, please go to http://www.airstream.net/vaclist/listoffice.html If replying back to this message, please delete all the unnecessary original text from your reply.
