DAY 24 Phoenix
(Photo: Nora trying to be nice to her brother while playing on the bed.)
Spent the day doing chores. We had a leisurely morning eating breakfast and taking showers in the camper. David took Nora to check in with the campground host family, where he was able to pay for the four nights we are staying here and get a permit to hang in the camper. Then we drove to the Randalls’ house and dropped off a pass so they can come back to our campsite without paying the park entrance fee. After that, we drove to a laundromat. We did five loads of laundry - all the bedding and towels and clothes. It was a bit tricky, but we ended up having the kids in there as we sorted and started the loads, then the kids and I went back out to the camper and David brought out the laundry as it finished. He made tuna salad, so Nora and I had lunch, and then Nora entertained herself while I put the beds back together and the slipcovers on. Washing all the slipcovers is quite a chore because it involves uninstalling all the car seats. I felt like the camper was littered with car seats and booster chairs and everything else, and I was quite relieved to get it put back together and smelling fresh. It was much cheaper going to a real laudromat rather than using a campground laundry. I think we spent only $8 for five loads. After laundry, we went to the grocery. It’s called Fry’s, but they carry Kroger brand and accepted our Kroger preferred card. We found free wireless Internet in the parking lot, so we both checked our email, but didn’t want to sit there long enough to update the blog. Maybe over the weekend. When we got back to the campsite, Nora looked out the window and said, “This is our campsite!“ Shortly after backing into our spot, we started filtering water again. We’ve been going through drinking water like mad, and we were down to just a few bottles. It’s in the 80s and 90s during the day here, which I guess is pretty mild if you live here, but it seems hot to me. Filtering the water is going a lot faster since we bought a new filter for the pitcher. We’re having dinner here tonight, and then Lisa is going to pick me up and take me to a party she’s going to. It’s my night out away from the kids for a few hours. Tomorrow night, David is going out with John, so it’s a fair trade.