Our RV Adventures

We were up and out this morning a little before 9am so we could have breakfast here at the hotel before they shut it down at 9:30. Most other hotels seem to go to 10 or 10:30, so I don’t know why they quit early here.

But it is a really good breakfast – eggs, sausage, waffles, cold and hot cereals, bagels, English muffins, pastries, juices, coffee, etc. Very nice.

We had initially planned on driving over to the rig to see what was going on, but then thought about how it might just be a wasted trip when they didn’t know anything new. And we were right.

I called Affinity about 11amand was told that everything would be done by close of business today . . . or maybe first thing tomorrow.

Right.

They said to call back in two or three hours and they’d know more then.

Right.

But rather than just call back, we decided to do the ‘boots on the ground’ thing and go by on the way to supper, so about 4pm we headed over to Affinity.

And found nothing had been done. I was now told that everything would be completed by close of business tomorrow, or the first thing Thursday morning.

Right.

In anticipation of this happening, earlier in the afternoon I called the Verde Valley Thousand Trails and made a 50amp two week reservation starting this Friday, figuring there was no way we were actually going to get out of here tomorrow.

I also secured permission to stay here until at least Friday morning, no matter when they finish the rig, so we don’t have to find another place to stay before Friday.

So as it stands now, we’ll leave for Verde Valley Friday morning, stopping at the Sam’s Club for diesel at $2.43 a gallon (NICE!), with another stop a few miles down the road to get four new rear tires on the rig. The front two will already have been replaced at the shop. Then it’s on to Verde Valley about 50 miles away.

Our dinner stop was a place that our friend Barb Westerfield recommended, and boy was she spot on. The restaurant was Origin Bistro, out in Prescott Valley, and it’s a real find.

Like many of our favorites, it’s a pretty non-descript storefront in a small strip center, with only the words, “Gourmet Family Dining” belying its looks.

After all, how many places do you find Seared Duck, Pesto Seared Scallops, and Herb-Crusted Mahi-Mahi on the same menu with steaks and burgers. WOW!

We started off with an order of Trixie’s Shrooms, which are mushroom caps stuffed with Crab, Sausage, and Cheese. Really, really good, and very recommended.

After much consideration, Jan got the Pesto Seared Scallops, and after one taste she couldn’t stop raving about it.

They make the pesto in house, and the dish is served with quinoa and seasonal vegetables.

As usual, I went kind of old school and ordered the American Classic Burger.

With grass-fed beef from a local ranch, bacon, cheddar cheese, mixed greens, red onions, tomatoes, pickles, and Thousand Island Dressing on a brioche bun, it was whole new take on a burger. And boy was it good.

But strangely enough, as good as the burger was, the side I ordered, Corn on the Cob, was the highlight of the meal for me. I love Corn on the Cob, and this was really special.

They get Mexican corn from a local market, coat it in a little crème fresh and some mayonnaise, and then roll it in an herb mixture and put it on the grill. Then it’s served with a sprinkle of goat cheese for one last burst of flavor. Again, WOW!

Finishing up, we were too full to even share a dessert, but made the mistake of asking what they had. And when they said, “Fried Bread Pudding”, we knew why Barbara recommended the place. And, as full as we were, we knew we had to share an order.

They take a delicious bread pudding and then Deep Fry it until it’s crispy-crunchy on the outside, and soft and warm on the inside. Then they top it with caramel sauce and fresh-made whipped cream. it’s really hard to convey how good this is.

Everything was so good in fact, that we’ve decided that, since this place is right down the road from our tire place, that we’ll time things to eat lunch here while our new tires are being put on Friday.

I’ve already got my eye on their Sourdough Reuben, with in-house made Corn Beef, and if I’m really lucky, Corn on the Cob.

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Thought for the Day:

Now apparently, Free Speech is only Free until someone else doesn’t like it.

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Well, things are really looking up. The Duncan Glass guy showed up about 9:30 and got right to work. In fact, he had the windshield out in about 10 minutes and started cleaning the broken glass out of the gasket groove.

Since everything started earlier and faster than we had figured, and we now had a big hole in the front of our rig, I called our hotel to see if we could get in earlier, and was told we could. So we headed up to the Quality Inn just east of downtown Prescott.

By the time we were leaving the dealership, the guy had both windshields out  and was refitting the gasket in place.

This Quality Inn just reopened a couple of weeks ago after a complete remodel, and it really shows. Even though Quality Inn is not really considered a top of the line hotel, this one certainly ranks way up there. Very, very nice, and pet friendly too.

Jan and I pretty much zoned out the rest of the afternoon, me especially. I hadn’t gone to bed until after 3am and was up about 7am this morning, so I napped while Jan read and napped.

In fact I napped so good, I ‘overnapped’. I had planned for us to head back to the repair place about 4:30 to find out how things were going before everyone left for the day. But since I ‘overnapped’, we didn’t get there before everyone cleared out.

But we did find this.

A brand new windshield.

Don’t know yet exactly how long it took him, but he did in one day or less, what took 2 guys three days last year in Elkhart.

I’ll find out tomorrow where we stand on the rest of the repairs, i.e. airbag, wiring, etc. But it looks like there’s still a possibility we might be on our way by the end of the week.

Maybe.

Leaving Affinity RV we made our 3rd visit to Beijing Garden, our favorite local Chinese place. And it was still as good as ever.

But that may be because we’ve always ordered the exact same thing. Why mess with success?

Spicy Orange Crispy Chicken, extra spicy, of course. The only difference is that Jan gets Steamed Rice and I get the Brown Rice.

But when it came to dessert, Jan wouldn’t share. Last time we split an order of their delicious Green Tea Ice Cream.

But Jan very quickly told me she wasn’t sharing this time, and I had to get my own ice cream.

Well, that wasn’t very nice.

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Thought for the Day:

Climate is what you predict. Weather is what you get.

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