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.....
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