While in Mesa, we got to have a couple of great visits with some of Daless cousins from Alberta. Mel & Connie Olsen (from Drumheller) and Ed & Esther Morgan (from Airdrie. While we have been fortunate to be able to see Mel& Connie each year, either here or "back home", we hadn't seen Ed & Esther since the Olsen family reuinion in Buck Lake, Alberta three years ago.
The last few days we were there the weather turned quite cool. Beautiful bright blue/sunny skies but cold north wind. Actually had ice around the water taps in the morning..nothing like desert cold tho... biting and brutal.
However, over all it was a great 10 days in Mesa, said our goodbyes to Del & Karen, who were/are spending two months more in Venture Out Resort, and then we once again hit the road and turned southwest for Yuma. It was a beautiful day for travelling and the traffic was light so made excellent time. We stayed with our friends, Al & Brenda from Logan Lake. They bought a modular home out in the Foothills and have room for not only their Prevost, but one other coach as well. Perfect fit. Dale had some container business/customers to see so was off afor a few hours each day and in between the four of us hit the flea markets and toured about. Brenda and I got some "girl time" in with some great shopping (more looking than buying), a few good cribbage games or Mexican Train and a few nice long early morning walks.
Once we left Yuma we pointed the nose of the bus northwest and made our way back to Palm Springs. It is only about a 3 hour drive so we took the east side of the Salton Sea and enjoyed the vistas along that shore..plus a lot less traffic than on the west side. Once again so good to be back "home" amongst all our friends and into all the activities.
Our new awning finally arrived so had to take the bus over to Marathon Coach in Beaumont and leave it there. The painting had to be done first and then the awning installed. We took it in on the Monday and didn't get it back until the following Wednesday...10 days later!!! So in the meantime, we rented a 5th wheel here in the park as thought it would be easier than commuting back and forth from a hotel. That worked out so much better; Dale was able to putter at ease in "his" shed and I could visit friends or putter in my own way. Even at that tho', we were still living out of a suitcase and there is always something you forgot. We made several trips over to Beaumont (about 30 min away so not too far) to check on progress and then continued on to Hemet to Dale's favourite toy store. Harbor Freight...similiar to Canadian Tire but much much better!
In Hemet we also found a wonderful little Thai Restaurant so were able to get our favourite Beef Noodle Soup...almost as good as home. That alone was a good exscuse to make the trip.
Finally, we got the bus back and able to enjoy our last remaining days/weeks on our lot. The new awning matches the rest of the awnings...the older ones have no fading at all...Sunbrella fabric is really awesome! We also ordered new deck chairs to match so we don't look quite so uncoordinated.
During this time my right knee/leg was really bothering me, so much so that I made a Doctor's appointment as it was getting quite worrisome. After a consult, the Doctor sent me for an immediate ultrasound to rule out the possibility of a blood clot (negative thank goodness) and then an MRI. Turns out my knee is falling apart and there is some osteoarthritis in it as well. No more pickleball, power walking, hiking (uphill OK..??)..can't walk too far anyway without a support of some kind as it hurts too much. So now wait until we get home and see what can be done about it. Really annoying as I am used to doing a lot of walking and physical activities. Between Dale and I we can't even do a decent three legged race!!!
Last Saturday, in between windstorms and cool weather, decided to have our last big BBQ of the season (and actually our first as we really haven't been here that much). Did a couple of turkeys..one in an electric roaster outside and the bigger one on the BBQ. Both turned out moist and delicious and got rave reviews. I did the turkeys, gravy, dressing and desserts (apple pie, apple/raisin pandowdy and a frozen lemon meringue torte) and others brought the potatoes,vegetables, appetizers, buns etc. A delicious community effort. We started around 3:00 and had thought everything would probably be done around 6:30 or 7:30. Wrong...the last ones were here until 10:30!!
After everyone had gone, tidied up somewhat outside and then did the big cleanup inside which took until 1:00 a.m.!! More mess with large carving boards and pans than quantity. Then the next morning, the wind was starting to pick up so scurried outside early and did the rest of the clean up. Good thing we did that too as it blew for a solid two days with gusts up to 75 MPH. Roads closed all over the city and power outages, trees down everywhere! Our power in the park was out for a full day and the power surge blew out our inverters (which are now in the process of being repaired). Quite a storm.
We are now in the last few remaining days of our time in Palm Springs. Starting to pack up small things and get BBQ etc cleaned ready to store. One of our neighbours has offered their shed for us to use.This is wonderful and will save us having to pack up stuff in our little trailer and make several trips to a commercial storage place. Our plan is to leave on Tuesday (March 15th) and work our way north. Have one stop to make in Williams, CA to get one windshield replaced and then we are on our way. All being well, should be back by Friday or Saturday
So that brings this little story up to date....Hard to believe our eight month journey is coming to an end, certainly have covered a lot of territory! Till next time, keep well, travel safe.....
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Palm Springs, Quartzite and Mesa, Arizona Dec 29/10 to Jan 25/11
HAPPY NEW YEAR and here we are already well into the first month. Again, where has the time gone!!??
New Year's was spent firstly with four other couples at Billy Reid's Restaurant for an eventual delightful dinner (after some confusion when the restaurant had lost our New Year's Eve reservation...chaos in an already overbooked, overcrowded, harried restaurant trying to find seating for ten!!) Then back at Two Springs we went up to the clubhouse for the Two Springs New Year's Eve party/dance. They had a very good crowd and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, I developed a very bad headache so we left about 11:30...missed bringing in the New Year but it was still there when we woke the next morning!!
During the first couple of weeks we had a wonderful, but far too short of a vist, with Penny & Rob from Kelowna who were passing through on their way to explore more of Arizona and points east; then Norm & Jan from Vernon stopped by. They have a place in Blythe and were on their way back after having just returned from A) a cruise through the Panama Canal and B) a week of golf in Laughlin.
In between, we had two yards of rock delivered!! The rock that we had around the perimiter of the lot was called "Palm Springs Gold" and it contained obvious yellow overtones which we really didn't care for. The pavers and cement around our lot are the more southern terra cotta mixture of colours. So this new rock was to go over top and to also fill in areas we hadn't yet done. Dale, bless his heart, bought me a new wheelbarrow, so started in shovelling and spreading rock. Our friend, Patricia (from Maryland) walked by, saw what I was doing and joined in!! Believe it or not, we had the full two yards shovelled, wheelbarrowed and spread around the whole lot, finished by 1:00 pm!!! After sweeping up and re-organizing the lot, went up to the pool for a swim but by then the wind was up and it was a wee bit cool. So jumped into the hot tub for about a half hour to soothe the aching muscles. It worked, woke up the next morning with very little soreness! And, the lot looks so much nicer.
While in Two Springs, a group of us walk each morning around the park and through the park etc for a total of between 3 and 3 1/2 miles. A good brisk walk and a nice way to start the day. We see the beautiful sunrises and enjoy the peace and quiet and beauty of the park.
Also during this time we have had appraisers over to the bus to look at the awning and paint damage which occurred during the tornado in Ontario in August. The new awning has been ordered and should be waiting when we return to Palm Springs. When the old awning comes off, then the paint work needs to be done before the new awning can be installed. It will be a matter of timing and, I fear, several trips to either Beaumont (first for the awning) or Mira Loma to get the painting completed. We will be living in chaos for two or three weeks before all is said and done. Would be nice to have one trip south where we didn't require repairs to be done...I know...dream on!!
We left Two Springs on Saturday, January 15th and went as far as the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio (about a 40 min drive east from Two Springs). We took the bus as we were continuing on to Quartzsite and this saved having to double back. Our purpose at Fantasy Springs was to see the Jay Leno Show that evening. It was a most delightful show. He started promptly at 8:00 pm and went for a solid hour and a half. Funny, gregarious, outlandish and good clean humour. No foul languarge, some innuendos but nothing vulgar, truly a family show. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After the show we made a small donation to the casino and then headed back to the bus.
After a few minutes deliberation, we decided to continue on and head to Quartzsite. This would save Dale from driving directly into the rising sun the next morning. Even at that, the truck traffic travelling at that time of night was astounding, but traffic for us was relatively light and we arrived in QZ at 1:45 a.m. Parked in an empty lot and then found a RV park the next morning.
We spent until Sunday, Jan 23 there and during that time, Del and Karen, who had flown down and picked up their coach in Phoenix, joined us for a couple of days. The evenings were very cool so we didn't spend much time outside after 5:00 p.m., but the days were bright and sunny, if not a little breezy. In my humble opinion, the flea market days are gone...it is mostly overpriced new retail and now far too organized and regulated. It was a lot more fun when "stuff" was being sold out of backs of pickups and trunks..a true "flea market". However, we did our rounds, went to the BIG RV show on Saturday with about amillion other folks, and then left.
We are now in the Val Vista RV park in Mesa. We stayed here last year as well and quite like the park. We are close to the salt water pool and one of the activity centers and it is a great place to walk. It is fairly central to everywhere we want to be..as much as you can be in a city of this size.
Yesterday, Monday, we drove over to Surprise, on the west end of Phoenix and 1 1/2 hours drive from Val Vista, to watch Karen play in a pickleball tournament. Unfortunately, there were only three teams in her group so it was a short "two games out of three" elmination and then it was done. Karen & Del are in a mixed doubles tournament on Friday, so we will head over there again to watch them play. There are more teams in this tournament so will be fun to see them all play.
We have had some very wonderful news during this time as well. Dale's second oldest grandaughter and husband (Jamie and Steve), are expecting!!! This will be Dale's second great grandchild so he (and I) are absolutely thrilled with this news.
Dale's knee/hip has healed from his last bad fall but he is still having problems when he is on his feet too long or sitting too long. When we are travelling, he has to stop every couple of hours to stretch his legs...which is actually a good thing anyway! Feeling pretty good otherwise. He and I make a good pair. My right knee has gone (somewhere..don't know why or where) and I just lately have been limited in how far I can walk and can only, on occasion, play low impact pickleball. Just has been happening gradually, is constantly swollen and can be quite sore. We can only look at each other, laugh at our ailments and carry on!!
We're here in Mesa until February 2nd and then will probably head to Yuma for a few days before returning to Two Springs. Always subject to change depening on whim and weather ("whether").
A brief update to catch up on our comings and goings. We hope whoever is reading this is enjoying it. Till next time, keep well and travel safe!!!!
New Year's was spent firstly with four other couples at Billy Reid's Restaurant for an eventual delightful dinner (after some confusion when the restaurant had lost our New Year's Eve reservation...chaos in an already overbooked, overcrowded, harried restaurant trying to find seating for ten!!) Then back at Two Springs we went up to the clubhouse for the Two Springs New Year's Eve party/dance. They had a very good crowd and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, I developed a very bad headache so we left about 11:30...missed bringing in the New Year but it was still there when we woke the next morning!!
During the first couple of weeks we had a wonderful, but far too short of a vist, with Penny & Rob from Kelowna who were passing through on their way to explore more of Arizona and points east; then Norm & Jan from Vernon stopped by. They have a place in Blythe and were on their way back after having just returned from A) a cruise through the Panama Canal and B) a week of golf in Laughlin.
In between, we had two yards of rock delivered!! The rock that we had around the perimiter of the lot was called "Palm Springs Gold" and it contained obvious yellow overtones which we really didn't care for. The pavers and cement around our lot are the more southern terra cotta mixture of colours. So this new rock was to go over top and to also fill in areas we hadn't yet done. Dale, bless his heart, bought me a new wheelbarrow, so started in shovelling and spreading rock. Our friend, Patricia (from Maryland) walked by, saw what I was doing and joined in!! Believe it or not, we had the full two yards shovelled, wheelbarrowed and spread around the whole lot, finished by 1:00 pm!!! After sweeping up and re-organizing the lot, went up to the pool for a swim but by then the wind was up and it was a wee bit cool. So jumped into the hot tub for about a half hour to soothe the aching muscles. It worked, woke up the next morning with very little soreness! And, the lot looks so much nicer.
While in Two Springs, a group of us walk each morning around the park and through the park etc for a total of between 3 and 3 1/2 miles. A good brisk walk and a nice way to start the day. We see the beautiful sunrises and enjoy the peace and quiet and beauty of the park.
Also during this time we have had appraisers over to the bus to look at the awning and paint damage which occurred during the tornado in Ontario in August. The new awning has been ordered and should be waiting when we return to Palm Springs. When the old awning comes off, then the paint work needs to be done before the new awning can be installed. It will be a matter of timing and, I fear, several trips to either Beaumont (first for the awning) or Mira Loma to get the painting completed. We will be living in chaos for two or three weeks before all is said and done. Would be nice to have one trip south where we didn't require repairs to be done...I know...dream on!!
We left Two Springs on Saturday, January 15th and went as far as the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio (about a 40 min drive east from Two Springs). We took the bus as we were continuing on to Quartzsite and this saved having to double back. Our purpose at Fantasy Springs was to see the Jay Leno Show that evening. It was a most delightful show. He started promptly at 8:00 pm and went for a solid hour and a half. Funny, gregarious, outlandish and good clean humour. No foul languarge, some innuendos but nothing vulgar, truly a family show. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After the show we made a small donation to the casino and then headed back to the bus.
After a few minutes deliberation, we decided to continue on and head to Quartzsite. This would save Dale from driving directly into the rising sun the next morning. Even at that, the truck traffic travelling at that time of night was astounding, but traffic for us was relatively light and we arrived in QZ at 1:45 a.m. Parked in an empty lot and then found a RV park the next morning.
We spent until Sunday, Jan 23 there and during that time, Del and Karen, who had flown down and picked up their coach in Phoenix, joined us for a couple of days. The evenings were very cool so we didn't spend much time outside after 5:00 p.m., but the days were bright and sunny, if not a little breezy. In my humble opinion, the flea market days are gone...it is mostly overpriced new retail and now far too organized and regulated. It was a lot more fun when "stuff" was being sold out of backs of pickups and trunks..a true "flea market". However, we did our rounds, went to the BIG RV show on Saturday with about amillion other folks, and then left.
We are now in the Val Vista RV park in Mesa. We stayed here last year as well and quite like the park. We are close to the salt water pool and one of the activity centers and it is a great place to walk. It is fairly central to everywhere we want to be..as much as you can be in a city of this size.
Yesterday, Monday, we drove over to Surprise, on the west end of Phoenix and 1 1/2 hours drive from Val Vista, to watch Karen play in a pickleball tournament. Unfortunately, there were only three teams in her group so it was a short "two games out of three" elmination and then it was done. Karen & Del are in a mixed doubles tournament on Friday, so we will head over there again to watch them play. There are more teams in this tournament so will be fun to see them all play.
We have had some very wonderful news during this time as well. Dale's second oldest grandaughter and husband (Jamie and Steve), are expecting!!! This will be Dale's second great grandchild so he (and I) are absolutely thrilled with this news.
Dale's knee/hip has healed from his last bad fall but he is still having problems when he is on his feet too long or sitting too long. When we are travelling, he has to stop every couple of hours to stretch his legs...which is actually a good thing anyway! Feeling pretty good otherwise. He and I make a good pair. My right knee has gone (somewhere..don't know why or where) and I just lately have been limited in how far I can walk and can only, on occasion, play low impact pickleball. Just has been happening gradually, is constantly swollen and can be quite sore. We can only look at each other, laugh at our ailments and carry on!!
We're here in Mesa until February 2nd and then will probably head to Yuma for a few days before returning to Two Springs. Always subject to change depening on whim and weather ("whether").
A brief update to catch up on our comings and goings. We hope whoever is reading this is enjoying it. Till next time, keep well and travel safe!!!!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Palm Springs..Dec 18 +++
"Home" again and enjoying getting back to North American food and customs. The experience of travelling in the third world, particularly Honduras was certainly a real eye opener into the poverty that exists. You can read about it, watch it on TV, but until you experience it first hand the reality really doesn't sink in. The strength of the people to survive and overcome and keep smiling is amazing. We, here in the USA and Canada, have so so very much to be thankful for! And yes, Dale and I would go back in a minute. We fell in love with the beautiful country, the friendly people and the relaxing life style. Too hot to be in a hurry so you go on "Honduran time" and enjoy each day.
On our return to Palm Springs, Joan & Paul were at the airport to greet us and get us safely home. Our travel day was not to bad, only about 12 hours, but we were travel weary and very glad to get into our own bed. After a relatively good nights sleep it was time to unpack..oh my goodness..had no idea how much "stuff" we had stuffed into our bags. I think they literally exploded when the zippers/clasps were undone. A day spent sorting, putting things away, laundry, getting groceries...and so it went.
On Monday, one of my kayak buddies (Jackie) and her husband (Jim) were passing through Palm Springs so stopped by for a visit. They are on a car trip down the west coast, across the USA, up the east coast and across Canada..will be back in BC in May!! I cooked dinner here on the bus for us and we had a wonderful evening. I know I talk a lot about food, but you'll love this menu: A choice of red or white wine; Watermelon Greek Salad, garlic/mustard crusted roasted leg of lamb, roasted white/yam potatoes, green beans,/carrots with maple syrup glaze and for dessert, chocolate fudge brownies with vanilla ice cream, followed by freshly ground Honduran coffee for those who drink coffee. Green tea for me! Now, doesn't that sound good. It was great to be back cooking with all the condiments that we take for granted and so readily available.
There is a spice they use in Honduras that is underlying in almost all the food prepartions. Haven't been able to figure out what it was but must say I didn't really care for it..sort of a cross between curry and cilantro, (and I like both), but then again, everything has a lot of MSG in it so could have been just that. Linda, on each trip from Canada/USA to Honduras, is bring more spices/condiments MSG free, to use in their restaurant. Just hard to find MSG free items in the stores there right now.
The rest of the week was a flurry of activity, getting the bus cleaned, getting some Christmas shopping done, spending a day doing some baking (gotta have homemade fruit bread for breakfast Christmas morning); visiting and reconnecting with all our friends in Two Springs.
Christmas Eve we had two couples in for a baked ham/scalloped potatoes and all the trimmings and must say the ham was spectacular in flavour. A little crowded with six of us but we managed just fine and we had a lovely evening.
After a Christmas morning of each of us being thoroughly spoiled, we were invited to an open house at 9:00 am, followed by a late delicious breakfast at another friends RV before it was time to get our offerings (brussel sprouts with a maple syrup glaze and walnuts) ready to take up to the clubhouse for Christmas dinner at 3:00 pm. There were lots of folks staying in the resort over Christmas and lots of families with visitors, so the clubhouse was pretty full. As usual, the food was plentiful and delicious and the volunteer cooks did an awesome job on the hams, turkeys, gravy and potatoes. No one went hungry that day!
At the beginning of the week we were experiencing torrential rain storms that did quite a bit of damage to some of the lots here in the park. We were fortunate to make it through unscathed, but one friend lost their retaining wall and washed a lot of the sand away, undermining the back of their lot. The amount of water that came down was astounding..a lot of roads were closed all over the city and after driving around the other day, the amount of sand that came through the washes and over the roads was unbelievable. So many people had their homes flooded and streets were impassable. Now, after several days of glorious sunshine, it is hard to believe the storm was actually here! Mother Nature is busy playing her tricks on us again.
Dale is still suffering the effects of his bad fall in Puerto Vallarta a few weeks ago. The bruising is now coming out and his left leg is bruised from mid calf all the way up his thigh and is a bright purple! He is still having difficulty with steps and says it is still very sore. Between his leg and my hip we are quite a sight! Ahhhh, the golden years!!
With the sun shining as brightly as it is and no wind today, it is time to get outside and enjoy this glorious weather. Hope this finds everyone hale and hearty and we hope you each had a wonderful, blessed Christmas. Till next time then......
On our return to Palm Springs, Joan & Paul were at the airport to greet us and get us safely home. Our travel day was not to bad, only about 12 hours, but we were travel weary and very glad to get into our own bed. After a relatively good nights sleep it was time to unpack..oh my goodness..had no idea how much "stuff" we had stuffed into our bags. I think they literally exploded when the zippers/clasps were undone. A day spent sorting, putting things away, laundry, getting groceries...and so it went.
On Monday, one of my kayak buddies (Jackie) and her husband (Jim) were passing through Palm Springs so stopped by for a visit. They are on a car trip down the west coast, across the USA, up the east coast and across Canada..will be back in BC in May!! I cooked dinner here on the bus for us and we had a wonderful evening. I know I talk a lot about food, but you'll love this menu: A choice of red or white wine; Watermelon Greek Salad, garlic/mustard crusted roasted leg of lamb, roasted white/yam potatoes, green beans,/carrots with maple syrup glaze and for dessert, chocolate fudge brownies with vanilla ice cream, followed by freshly ground Honduran coffee for those who drink coffee. Green tea for me! Now, doesn't that sound good. It was great to be back cooking with all the condiments that we take for granted and so readily available.
There is a spice they use in Honduras that is underlying in almost all the food prepartions. Haven't been able to figure out what it was but must say I didn't really care for it..sort of a cross between curry and cilantro, (and I like both), but then again, everything has a lot of MSG in it so could have been just that. Linda, on each trip from Canada/USA to Honduras, is bring more spices/condiments MSG free, to use in their restaurant. Just hard to find MSG free items in the stores there right now.
The rest of the week was a flurry of activity, getting the bus cleaned, getting some Christmas shopping done, spending a day doing some baking (gotta have homemade fruit bread for breakfast Christmas morning); visiting and reconnecting with all our friends in Two Springs.
Christmas Eve we had two couples in for a baked ham/scalloped potatoes and all the trimmings and must say the ham was spectacular in flavour. A little crowded with six of us but we managed just fine and we had a lovely evening.
After a Christmas morning of each of us being thoroughly spoiled, we were invited to an open house at 9:00 am, followed by a late delicious breakfast at another friends RV before it was time to get our offerings (brussel sprouts with a maple syrup glaze and walnuts) ready to take up to the clubhouse for Christmas dinner at 3:00 pm. There were lots of folks staying in the resort over Christmas and lots of families with visitors, so the clubhouse was pretty full. As usual, the food was plentiful and delicious and the volunteer cooks did an awesome job on the hams, turkeys, gravy and potatoes. No one went hungry that day!
At the beginning of the week we were experiencing torrential rain storms that did quite a bit of damage to some of the lots here in the park. We were fortunate to make it through unscathed, but one friend lost their retaining wall and washed a lot of the sand away, undermining the back of their lot. The amount of water that came down was astounding..a lot of roads were closed all over the city and after driving around the other day, the amount of sand that came through the washes and over the roads was unbelievable. So many people had their homes flooded and streets were impassable. Now, after several days of glorious sunshine, it is hard to believe the storm was actually here! Mother Nature is busy playing her tricks on us again.
Dale is still suffering the effects of his bad fall in Puerto Vallarta a few weeks ago. The bruising is now coming out and his left leg is bruised from mid calf all the way up his thigh and is a bright purple! He is still having difficulty with steps and says it is still very sore. Between his leg and my hip we are quite a sight! Ahhhh, the golden years!!
With the sun shining as brightly as it is and no wind today, it is time to get outside and enjoy this glorious weather. Hope this finds everyone hale and hearty and we hope you each had a wonderful, blessed Christmas. Till next time then......
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