Livin' in Paradise !!

Well, we've been living here a little over six months now and I must say that I have absolutely no regrets and I'm loving it here ! I'm still not completely settled into any kind of a daily routine but I think that I'm getting more comfortable with the weather and finding things to do to fill my days. We got through our first winter ever without a snowflake to shovel and I don't think I wore a coat at all except for the mornings that we rode the trike down to Parker for "church". And on a lot of those Sundays, the ride home was in a light jacket or sometimes down to just a t-shirt. Ya gotta love it !!!

Even on those days that might be overcast or give us a little rain shower, we get rewarded with a beautiful rainbow like I've never seen before. The colors were so very bright and defined that it almost looked like a painting. Pictures just can't do it justice.

One of the things that we're also getting used to is the fact that you can drive less than an hour from home and the weather might change as much as 10-15 degrees. We live at a low altitude so if we want to go up to Kingman to visit the Harley shop, we have to gear up to be prepared for the cooler temps. Again, by the time we got home we were in shirts and no chaps.

So one day I'm wearing my leathers to go to the shop in Kingman and a day or so later I'm out on the lake in a friends boat enjoying a very warm day in March ! It seems that you can go down to the lake almost year round and you'll see a few boaters out cruising. But the season is starting and the waters are filling up more and more each day.

Laura came along for the ride and she had a ball. We went out onto the lake where Dick could open the boat up a bit and got it up to around 70 and then it was time for a slower cruise through the channel and under The London Bridge. Yup, that's the real bridge that was "falling down". It was bought and each block numbered before it was disassembled and shipped over here where it was rebuilt over the desert and then the channel was dredged under it . 

Lake Havasu City and The London Bridge have become one of the premier "spring break" destinations and although it's only the middle of March, the crowds are here and the partying has begun ! The channel will be filled with boats and partyers and music and of course the local police to keep things in check.

As much as I'd like to spend all of my time down by the lake to enjoy the scenery, I do have a few projects going on at home. I'm converting the garage into my "man cave " and it keeps me pretty busy. Here you can see one of the two speakers that I mounted on the ceiling and the wall where the TV and stereo equipment will be. I also enclosed the water heater and softener in that corner piece.

I made the shelves so that they look built in and behind the receiver I put in a bunch of outlets for the different components. I've made some progress since these photos so I'll be posting more soon. I think it's coming out rather well and I just hope that I have enough room for all of my trinkets and collectibles. I'm thinking of a small bar and maybe a couple of high top bar tables should be just fine.

Took a break last Saturday to go downtown to another "Big Boys Toys " day on the main street in town. Lake Havasu is chock full of street rods and I heard that per household it's got more than anywhere else. So every once in a while they close the street for everyone to come down and strut their stuff. This one was made completely out of stainless steel. Even most of the dash and interior. Absolutely beautiful !

Our first St Paddy's Day here we thought we'd invite some friends over for a corned beef and cabbage dinner. Since the garage is empty and fairly clean right now I decided to set up out there so we could spread out a bit and enjoy the company. Clockwise we have Melina, Darryl, Joe, Tish, yours truly, Laura, John and Faith. John's wife Susan was the photographer. That wall behind me already has quite a bit of work done to it and those pics are coming soon to a blog near you so stay tuned !

So to put it in a nutshell, I love living in Paradise and I'll try to keep some extra time to blog so I can share some of it with you. As John says every time I mention the great weather or scenery or a beautiful sunset or the views at the beach-----"That's why we live here !!"