And so it goes....enriching the local economies, one city at a time

So we settled in to our temporary site yesterday afternoon, grateful for a spot, any spot.  Bonus - this spot had a TREE, 50 amp electricity, water, sewer and a concrete pad, AND was large enough to hold our tow dolly, our car, AND our camper.  Whooohoo!  We were in fat city!  Being only a temporary site, for two days, max, we didn't bother to hook up the sewer or the water, preferring to just work off our holding tanks for a couple of days, to make hookup and disconnect easier.  We ate a quick dinner of corn on the cob and pre-cooked ribs (from Sam's Club - awesome!) and I whipped up some coleslaw real quick.  NOOO, not the tequila-lime-cilantro, just regular.  😏

Night passed uneventfully, but we did get to see lots of stars when we walked puppy around 11 pm.  Morning came bright and early, and we had plans!  I was going to sew, and Dick was going to wash up the front of the camper and do some work on our water system.  We were due for a filter change, and today was to be the day.  

Dick set about cleaning the bugs off the front, and dealing with the water filtration system.  I spent about 40 minutes getting all my sewing stuff out, set up and organized, and was juuuuust about to start the first luggage handle wrap, when my phone rang.  It was Theresa, from up at the office, letting me know that our site had unexpectedly come open a day early and it was vacant and ready for us to move into.  Soooo, I sewed up Marie's wraps and got started on Annie's new-baby items.  The gown went well.  Turned out adorable, if I do say so myself.  

Then came the beanie.  The teeny tiny, itsy bitsy beanie.  I had the monogram ready, and hooping really wasn't so bad, but, boy, was the stitchout crappy.  Probably the worst results I've ever gotten,  on anything, no exceptions.  The worst.  Lots of jams, thread shreds and just generally, the monogram was shrunk down too small to be legible on stitchout.  Noooo, heck no, I'm not gonna show you a picture of that!  You think my work is perfect, and I'm going to let you CONTINUE to think that!

I gave it up after that and put everything back in its traveling place & we called the office to get an escort to our new site.  Got all set up in about an hour, fed & walked Bailey, ate one of our delicious Colorado peaches, and went into newer Santa Fe, to visit Verizon and Walmart (we found out the hard way, we were totally out of windshield washer fluid in the camper, which makes it really hard to clean the windshield while traveling!).  The visit to Verizon was to get help for my poor old phone.

Its internal storage is just about full up, and its reaction times are getting slower and slower and slower.  (like me, I suppose) And when we're out and about, and I'm navigating, I'll often get a blank screen, while poor Driver is trying to figure out which lane he's supposed to be in and where to turn!  More often than not, I'll tell him, I just don't know yet.  We've tried all the usual fixes, dumped all the photos, cleaned up all the unnecessary apps, restarted, you name it.  Not only that, but even the brand new battery doesn't last very long.  Well, heck, let's see what the geeks have to say...

We were greeted, not so warmly, truthfully, by a young man who projected an air of despair and dejection.  It almost seemed like we were imposing on him when we walked in.  He registered us and tapped our little problem into his tablet and sent us over to the waiting area.  After about 10 minutes, he came to get us and brought us over to his counter.  Now, this is a corporate store, not a franchise, so it was pretty busy, and I guess he was at the end of his shift (not to mention, his patience).  But, geez, if he had shown any less personality, I would have had to check to see if he was dead.  We explained the problem (again) and he took the phone and started tapping icons.  Dick asked if we could just dump the stuff onto the (NEW) SD card, and he said yeah, sure you could.  But we didn't know how, so he said he'd show us.  Tap, tap, push, push, oh wait, that's not right, push some more other things.  Boy, was I confused by now!  So he pushed the phone back over to me and said, and I quote!  "ok, then you do it so you'll understand it."  ????  Anyway, he slowed down and explained it again, but ya know what?  I kept dumping the stuff, but it still didn't change the amount of storage used and remaining.  Nothing changed, and ya know what, nothing was GOING to change.  There just isn't enough stuff "stored" to move or copy that would make a difference.  His only alternative solution at that point, was to purchase a new phone.  I'm pretty sure that's the only resolution they're taught; it's the only one that earns a commission, I suppose.  After looking at a few phones and payment options, as well as purchasing plans, we thanked him for his time and walked out.  At least, I *think* we thanked him.  Did we thank him, honey?  I don't really know.  I just walked out.  

Best Buy was right next door, so we decided we'd look over there.  Found the same phones, roughly the same price, but, no clerks to help us; they were all busy.  Well, conveniently enough, there was a liquor store right next to Best Buy!  Oh, the day is getting better now!  We crossed the parking lot (apparently, that is a game of chance in Santa Fe!), and toted ourselves right into that liquor store.  Talk about being overwhelmed.  Who knew there was that much wine in the world?  Felt like we were in a wholesale warehouse of wines!  And liquor.  But, nope, no Seagrams Escapes or Smirnoff Ice that I liked.  Right back out we went!  Hit up Best Buy again, and this time, after a bit of a wait, we got a clerk to help us.  Turns out, though, she didn't have the phone we wanted with the storage we wanted, so that was 3 for 3 unsuccessful forays.  But, on the way out, I remembered that Sam's Club sold phones!

A quick Google search (OK, quick as could be on the ancient old lady phone) turned up a Sam's Club just a mile or so down the road, and off we went.  Talk about being UNDERwhelmed.  They only had about 6 phones all together, and not a soul in sight.  Why is it that any other time, you walk in, and you get two or three clerks jump you for service.  (that sounds kinky, doesn't it?)  Well, not this time.  We walked in, we saw nothing, we walked out.  

On to Walmart, don't forget we still had to get windshield washer fluid.  Wouldn't you know it?  There was another Verizon store right there in Walmart's plaza!!  Hot diggity dawg.

Got our fluid in Walmart, checked for replacement baby hats (no such luck) and got right out, thank you Self-Checkout!  Wound our way back to the second Verizon store, where we were promptly (and WARMLY) greeted upon entering, and sat to wait our turn.  There were only two clerks, and they were both busy, but, heck, we're retired, got nuthin' but time on our hands, right?

Oh, my.  Jeff came over to see us, introduced himself and actually LISTENED to what I had to say.  He offered to help right away, then he OFFERED US A BOTTLE OF COLD WATER while we waited for him to check a few things out on my old phone.  Long story short, it's all the installed APPS taking up all the room, nothing I could do but uninstall my personal apps.  Yeah, the ones that help me find fuel and campgrounds.  The recipe storage, the pet first aid, a few games, let's be honest, and my best friends, Google Maps and StormTracker.  Not to mention, Rest Stops and The Next Exit.  The pre-loaded apps would have to stay, and I still wouldn't have much storage left.  😖 Curse of the old phone syndrome!

So, out come 3 different phones for me to handle and test out.  Also, a webpage comparing the 3 phones' specs.  After looking at the specs, handling the phones, viewing the screens and comparing the price, we finally selected a Motorola MotoZ4.  It might not be the best, but it was affordable and a whole lot better than the one I currently had, so it was the best one for me.  Plus, he transferred everything over - apps, contacts, data, photos, and then he gave me some real quick lessons on how to use it and how to organize the screens.  WAAAAY more than I got at the Verizon Corporate Store!  All we got there was a bit of an attitude!  So, there we go again, enriching the local economy.  Several hundred dollars at a time!  Happy Anniversary honey?  Now I can tell you where to exit for fuel, what lane to be in and where we're gonna spend the night.  In a timely manner.  And in between, if I can find the icon again, I can do a crossword puzzle.  Yippee!

So, today was our 2nd day here, our last "bonus" day, if you will.  Tomorrow, we'll start hitting the tourist spots and see what there is to see of Santa Fe.  I'm sure (I HOPE) we'll have a more interesting post next time!  Till then, stay safe!  Especially you, Joe & Nancy, and you, Michelle & the fur babies!