Today is our last full day in Mesa, Arizona. Yesterday, I spent the morning preparing for travel. I cleaned and treated the tires on the right side of the coach with 303 Aerospace. I polished the alloy wheels with Nevr-Dull. I drained the 20 gallons or so of fresh water that’s been in our tank for a while and refilled it with 100 gallons of fresh water. I checked the tire pressure on the coach and trailer.

I checked the lug nuts on the trailer. With my torque wrench set at 100 ft/lbs, a few of the nuts moved slightly. I don’t know what it is about trailer lug nuts that causes them to loosen, but I know checking them for proper torque periodically is necessary.

I cleaned the windows and installed new rubber inserts in the wiper blades. The inserts I bought didn’t match the old ones. I had to reset (that means bend) the metal blade to fit the new inserts. Next time I’ll need to replace the complete blade assembly.

Donna rode the scooter to WalMart and Staples. She was out for a couple of hours shopping and came home with the scooter fully loaded. She stocked up the refrigerator and also bought some office supplies. One of the things she bought at Staples was a Targus Lap Chill Mat for my laptop. My laptop has been running hot. It sits on our dining table. Lately, we’ve used coasters to prop it up and allow air to circulate underneath. The lap chill mat lifts it at an ergonomic angle and has a fan that plugs into the laptop USB port. Hopefully this will work better.

I made my last stop for the year at the Red, White and Brew and said my goodbyes to the crew there. It’s a great pub. I always meet interesting, friendly people there. The Offshore Tavern and Grill in San Diego is the only other place that compares in my opinion.

We’ve really enjoyed our time here. The boondocking at Phon D Sutton was a great find. We’ll go there again. We also want to return to Usery Regional Park again next year. The climate and scenery are hard to beat in the first quarter of the year. But now, it’s time to move on.

Palm trees in the neighborhood

Last night Donna and I sat outside and enjoyed the evening. We grilled an old favorite – jerk chicken with mango salsa. Later we sat with our neighbor across from us and had a nightcap. She is leaving tomorrow as well.

Grilled jerk chicken with mango salsa

Donna went out this morning for a farewell bike ride with her friend, Dara. When she returns, I’ll pack the trailer. I want to have everything in place so I’ll only need to load the scooter later. We’ll make a stop at Lucky Lou’s for lunch. It’s their 10th anniversary celebration and a few of our friends reserved tables. We’ll say our goodbyes until next year, then finish packing.

Tomorrow, Donna will do her usual job of organizing the interior of the coach while I dump the holding tanks and disconnect our sewer and power. I created a checklist to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. We’ve been stationary for so long, we might forget part of our routine.

Checklist

I’m looking forward to kicking the tires and lighting the fires. Our route tomorrow will take us west on the Carefree Highway (AZ 74). We’ll make a stop at Lake Pleasant and have a look around. We may boondock overnight there, depending on what we find. Our next stop will be near Wickenburg, Arizona at the Escapees RV Park. I’m not sure if we’ll have good Internet access in the next few days. I’ll post again when I can.