Well, we slept the night through and were not bothered by any creaks on the stairs or visitations by by white night gowned women. Somewhat disappointing (in retrospect) as I would have loved to be woken up in the night by a cold chill passing over the bed or a moaning in the hallway. But the only untoward thing that happens is a somewhat cold shower in the morning that Rudy has to endure. This is perhaps because of old plumbing instead of ghosts as by the time I shower the water is deliciously warm. We head to Safeway to get some fruit and bacon to augment breakfast that is being hosted by Wes and Bridget in their camper. It is nippy again this morning and we are happy to have a cosy camper to have breakfast in. Wes has discovered a screw in one of his tires that is now flat so he and Rudy set to work to make that right (take it off and bring it to a tire shop) and Bridget and I head into town for a walk and to look into some shops. Nothing is open but the walk is fine and when we get back the tire is being put on the camper and we bid each other goodbye and safe travels.

We head out on the road towards Tucson which is a short drive and we decide to go to the Aviaton Museum and Boneyard. The Boneyard has approximately 4,400 aircrafts and covers an area of 2,600 acres. Basically this place is where old planes go to retire or just to sit until they are put back into use. Because of the hot dry climate the planes do not degrade. We get to the museum and pay for the entry and decide to take the tram tour (Rudy and Sue were here quite a number of years ago and found it fascinating). The museum is great. There are so many planes from so many different eras. All the US airforce planes are here (ones I have seen on the news and ones used in movies). The blackbird high altitude surveillance plane is fascinating. We listen to an old guy talk about it. From using titanium that was imported from Russia (through front companies so the Russians didn’t know) to how fast (2200 miles per hour), how high to flew (85 to 90 thousand feet) and hot (600 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit) it got. Anyway after some looking around we get on the tram for our 45 minute tour. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! The tour guide just reads facts off a print out sheet. And much to Rudy’s disappointment the tour does not go into the boneyard. When he and Sue were here and had the tour they had had a great tour guide who had all sorts of personal stories about planes he had flown. Anyway next we go into the World War 2 museum and it is great. There are lots of old guys who have lots of stories and we are able to look into areas in the planes where the gunners sat (in the tail and under the belly of the plane) and hear stories about flight jackets and how each flight crew individualized theirs.

After this we head across town to our hotel. Each day we wonder about our sleeping arrangements. In some ways they are all the same. Bed, desk, TV, bathroom and, almost always, a fridge, microwave, and coffee machine. Today we totally lucked out on our best accommodations so far. The hotel is named the 3 Palms and this does not sound that promising as far as hotel names go. It costs 51 dollars (US dollars but still it is cheap). We arrive and are blown away. The room is SOOOO nice. Clean, comfy, all the amenities. Not to mention there is a HUGE courtyard in the centre with a pool and hot tub and gardens and space. I immediately don my bathing suit, grab my book and head to the hot tub. Ah! Warm! And there is a lovely couple from Wisconsin that I visit with. After they leave I enjoy my book and dream of how it will be in Palm Desert a few days from now when I will be doing the same thing.