Lake Havasu, Arizona: Dave did a one-way car rental Saturday (1st of March) and drove to Thousand Oaks to retrieve our little camper from her one-year checkup. Every item on our list was checked-off and - are you sitting down - the GPS works! The screen no longer thinks we are in the midwest. The GPS talks to us and knows where we are at all times. The RV tech told Dave there was a snipped wire in the door... no idea why the GPS is wired through the door, but really it makes no difference as we are back in business. Remember we had taken the RV to two different Mercedes dealers to get the GPS repaired and both dealers said it was a Winnebago issue. It was not. Now, can we get our money back? And will those two Mercedes dealers stop sending us flyers and emails about their fabulous service deals? Voting no all around.
Our double bowl stainless steel sink was never bolted down at the Winnebago factory, and since the tech could not find the needed bolts (laying around under the sink?), an entire new sink was ordered/installed, and a few tweaks here and there, including the wind sensor on the awning. All well.
We will have the grandkids for one week of their Spring Break later this month and wanted to take them to a place where we could camp, Leo could fish, we could ride bikes, be tourists, and enjoy some sun. Lake Havasu was chosen and reserved. However, it had been so many years since we had been to Lake Havasu, we decided to do a little reconnaissance mission. (Seriously, the last time we were at Lake Havasu was April 2000.) Sunday morning, we tossed a few things in the RV, put the bikes on the bike rack and hit the highway.
It was 180 miles from our house to this lake-view site:
We reserved the same campsite this week as the site we have reserved over Spring Break. It is a front-in motorhome site (and I guess our C-Class qualified as a motorhome... or we had $139 ridiculous dollars - we paid $51 in 2000 and I wrote about how expensive it seemed then). I thought this site would be great as Leo can fish right in front of the RV.
Since this trip was a last-minute decision, I brought the meals already planned for this week. One was Chicken and Rice with Scallion-Ginger Sauce from New York Times Cooking. It is a cheater version of Hainanese Chicken. I've eaten this dish enough to know that the oil is heated to sizzling, then poured over the topping/sauce (scallions, ginger, spices, sesame seeds and oils, chilis, etc.) just before serving. And, after reading the NYT comments from other cooks, decided to cook it in our little rice cooker. Instead of chicken breasts, I chose chicken breast tenders. It turned out quite nice, and could not have been simpler (especially since I prepped everything at home before we left). I used Cal-Rose rice.
Easy clean up as well, though I did employ a small saucepan to heat the oil. Yummy to enjoy while watching the Oscars on television. Of course, since we are traveling in a RV and something always seems to go wrong, washing our dinner dishes, there was a leak under the newly installed sink. My trusty plumber husband crawled under there and tightened the fittings and all seems well... though I will keep my eye on this.
Dave went out for a long bike ride Monday morning - more recon - to figure out a route to ride our bikes into Lake Havasu City to see the famed London Bridge. Yep, if you didn't know, the McCulloch chainsaw dude, bought a bridge in the 1960s that once spanned the Thames River in London, had it dismantled and shipped to the desert in Arizona, then had it reassembled. We had to cross the bridge to reach the RV resort where we are camped... and it did not fall down during our passage. After Dave returned, I hopped-on my trusty bike and we rode along a lovely paved bike path to the bridge. The sidewalk over the bridge is wide enough to ride a bicycle, but it was busy with walkers, etc, so we walked our bikes. Here is a photo of the touristy shops below the bridge:
We have reservations to take the kids on a sunset cruise aboard a sternwheeler/paddle boat when we return. Here is a photo from the dock:
full bar and bathrooms
Dave and I walked around and looked in the shops. It is kinda like we remembered, but there are so many more rentable watercraft docked under the bridge area and so many large hotels now. It all seemed more rustic 25 years ago. There is a fish & chips restaurant (of course) and a red London telephone booth (of course), souvenir shops and tons of stalls to reserve boat trips or tours. Burgers, pizza and ice cream shops. We bought some postcards and headed back to our campsite.
Also, there are British flags flying everywhere.
We spent the afternoon relaxing and setting-up a pair of walkie-talkies. Though we can call Leo on his Apple watch... just in case, I bought a pair of walkie-talkies. After wrestling them out of the packaging and charging the batteries, we pored through the manual (really way too much information to absorb!), and DT headed off to walk as far away from me as possible, yet still communicate. After about a quarter of a mile, I think he found a place with a bar, and shut the walkie-talkie off. (NOTE: When Dave returned, I asked if his radio silence was to due to finding a bar. He said it was due to finding a barista, and arrived with some sort of iced coffee drink.)
Dinner tonight was simple, but required lots of dish washing. I had a bit of red sauce with Italian chicken sausage in the freezer, so brought it on the trip, along with a handful of farfalle pasta. A Caesar salad (with tomato) was also served.
Anyway, we had a very busy day and have decided there will be enough here to keep the kidlets entertained for a few days in Lake Havasu, even though it is a three hour drive. Best that we have a car though, so I will follow in the Chevy (coz of bikes and fishing gear).
We drove back to La Quinta today and the RV is already emptied and back to her luxurious storage garage. Let the laundry begin!
Until my next update, I remain, your reconned correspondent.
Campground Information: The Islander Resort - Huge RV resort with spaces to rent and owned sites. Lots of park models, but we think most of the sites are privately owned. Store, bath houses, laundry. There is a nearby restaurant that may/may not be owned by the resort. We paid $139 for a front-in water-view full hookup site with picnic table and large space to park a car/tow vehicle (and I think they only have four of these).