My Trails

Ready to whack!

Posing

Yesterday, Richard and I played golf at a nearby par-3 course. I tried to get Dianna to play also but she wouldn’t have any part in that and opted instead to be our caddy. We actually came out with pretty close scores. I attributed Richards play to beginner’s luck and my bad shots to being rusty from not hitting a golf ball for several years.

It was a fun time that I had been thinking about every since I discovered the golf course in the little community of Hidden Shores, only a few miles from where we are camped. My golf clubs are still at my son’s house back in New York so I have been on the lookout for a few inexpensive, used irons. Par-3 golf courses are easy to play with a minimal amount of clubs. The longest hole was 122 yards, easy to reach with a well hit 7-iron.

One day when we were in Yuma I suggested we stop at Goodwill and see if they had any used golf clubs. I picked up a pitching wedge for $2. We couldn’t find a putter so went across the street to another Thrift store. The clubs were 3 for $2 and there was a half-price sale going on. I purchased 3 golf clubs for 33 cents a piece!

When I was in Why, AZ last month I found several golf balls while walking along a wash one day. Now, we had everything we would need for a fun round of golf. We found out that the course charges $10 greens fees and you can play around the nine-hole course as long as you want. We went around twice until fatigue started to set in and the day became too warm to continue.

We didn’t have a putter so had to use a driver’s flat face to putt. Dianna carried our extra clubs and golf balls and kept score. I feel bad because we forgot to tip her for a job well done! I’m not sure if we will play again before we leave but it was a good time for an enjoyable morning.

Going to get water from a nearby stream with my tanker trailer.

Dramatization

Washing by hand is easy!

Hand wringing

Watch them dry.

It is a very nice camp so I will stay for a while.

Big Boy

This guy walked by my camp yesterday.

Can you see Minnie?

My camp with Minnie almost hidden. She is on this side of the road.

Selfie

I recently bought a new phone. I had been eligible for an upgrade for quite some time, but due to travel and the fact thar my Galaxy 2 was still working fine, I put the purchase on the back burner. For my lifestyle Verizon is the carrier of choice and I debated about switching to a prepaid plan that would let me use their towers. The options for phones and data packages were too limited however, so I stayed with AT&T where I am grandfathered into unlimited data.

I rarely use my phone as a phone. I probably make fewer than one call a week, preferring to text or email most of my communication. What I do use it for is: reading, writing, surfing, movies, video, maps, camera, and miscellaneous other apps. I realized that my phone is used more like a tablet than anything else, so armed with that knowledge I bought a Samsung Galaxy Mega.
So far I like the phone a lot. It is a inch wider and almost 2 inches taller, allowing me the advantage of a much larger viewing screen for these tired, old eyes, and still the convience of slipping it into my pocket when I go someplace. I thought that with such a large screen and quick processor the battery would run down fast. But I have to say that the battery last much longer than any of my previous phones.

It usually takes me quite a while to figure out all the things my phone can do, and to be honest, I never find them all. But one feature I particularly like is the ability to split the screen and run two processes at once. There is also a feature that allows you to move controls to one side for easier one – handed operation. I’ll update my opinion after more experience but so far so good.

When I was at Dave & Lisa’s this weekend, I bought a new phone.

Karen calls me a traitor!

I couldn’t be loyal anymore after taking a look at Dave’s new phone and the Android operating system. If Apple would have upgraded to 4g, I probably would have remained with the iPhone, but the speed and power of this phone is amazing.

The phone is a Samsung Galaxy II Skyrocket, just a short generation above Daryl’s Thunderbolt. It has a 1.5 g dualcore processor, support for the newest 4g speed, and a gazillion more electrons flying around in a frantic frenzy.

I don’t know enough about it to judge every feature but I think it should work for me. The screen is a lot larger than the iPhone and its incredibly thin. I thought maybe it wouldn’t fit my pocket but I don’t notice any difference.

Dave and I were concerned about loosing our unlimited data plan, but I think AT&T is trying to keep customers happy and still supporting those of us grandfathered in.

One thing that I lost was the ability to toggle my laptop. I could still do it but would have to switch to a different data plan or install a third party program not legal with our provider. David and Lisa use very little data because they are connected to WiFi most of the time. I, however, used 85 gegibites last year- they charge $10/g for anything over 3/Mo.

Ill let you know how I like it in a month.