Saturday, February 21, 2009

Today was overcast and cooler but it didn’t rain so I guess we can be thankful for that. We drove around Morro Bay for a bit this morning (very touristy) then decided to drive south to Solvang, a Danish village located in the heart if Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country.

Solvang is a very pretty town but again very touristy and very expensive. We wandered around the shops for a while but found nothing that I needed so badly that I would part with my money, although we did enjoy browsing and taking pictures. There are a lot of places that have wine tasting and that would be fun if you weren’t driving, but seeing how we were driving we felt it best not to do the wine tasting.

Solvang





We came across this pretty fountain in a courtyard while walking around.





From there we went to Buellton, home of Anderson’s Split Pea Soup, and as John loves Split Pea Soup it seemed like a logical place to have lunch. I don’t’ care that much for it but I had a bowl and as it was all you could eat John had two bowls. Thanks Pat for telling me about both Solvang and Anderson’s.

We then came back to Morro Bay on Highway 1 most of the way and what a scenic drive. We passed acres and acres of vineyards and the same for vegetables, and a lot of the vegetable growing land looked like the black muck in the Holland Marsh back home.; also there were lots of cattle grazing on the slopes of hills. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and everything is so lush and green.

Back at Morro Bay we drove down to Morro Rock in the harbour which is the focal point for the town; Morro Rock is a dome-shaped volcanic peak and stands 578 feet high and covers 50 acres at its base. There were a lot of people out there walking the beach and just enjoying the scenery, we even saw a couple of hardy souls heading out on their surf boards. The natural harbour provides protection for boats of all sizes so there is a marina here and also a small commercial fishing fleet. They have whale watching tours out of here and I inquired about them but they are only on Sundays at this time of year and that didn’t work for us so no tour this time.

Beach at Morro Rock



Looking Into Morro Bay



Morro Rock



We came back to the motel for a while before heading out for dinner. The evening is now just about over, by the time I download my pictures and get some ready for my blog it will be about bedtime, we have a long drive tomorrow so want to get to bed early and up and out of here early in the morning.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the not so sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, February 20, 2009

What a wonderful day we have had, the weather was beautiful, a little on the cool side but I was comfortable just in my top without a jacket, and the scenery today was spectacular.

We had the breakfast here at the motel, fruit, juice, coffee, bagels, muffins etc. – nothing fancy but it was okay. We headed up California Highway 1, which runs along the ocean and the scenery is stunning.



At one of the lookouts we saw a lot of these little prairie dogs and they sure weren't shy.



We had reservations for a tour of Hearst Castle at 11 a.m. and when I picked up the tickets the fellow said they had room on the 10:40 tour so we took that, most of the tour was a group of high school students from Ventura and they were a great group of teenagers.

A bus takes you from the Visitor Centre to the castle which is on a site he called The Enchanted Hill – a five mile drive up the mountain and my, what absolutely beautiful views. We took Tour No. 1 which is recommended for first time visitors and we saw the outdoor Greco-Roman style Neptune Pool, absolutely beautiful and the tour guide said that most of Hearst’s visitors couldn’t swim so the pool didn’t see a lot of use. We then walked around the esplanade that featured marble sculptures and gardens – gorgeous. From there we toured Casa del Sol, an 18 room guesthouse facing the Pacific coastline, we saw four of the bedrooms and fours baths plus a sitting room – just a small sampling of the guesthouse!

Looking Up to the Guest House



The Esplanade



View From the Esplanade



Outdoor Greco-Neptune Style Roman Pool







Looking North From the Esplanade



Entrance to the Guest House - Notice the Tiles and All the Gold is at Least 23 Karat



We then went into Casa Grande, the main house and saw five ground floor rooms – the Assembly Room, the largest of 14 sitting rooms; the Refectory, the only dining room on the Enchanted Hill; the Morning Room, another sitting room; the billiard Room that features two 1920’s era billiard tables and the Theatre, which is the largest room in Casa Grande. The furnishings, tapestries, statutes etc. in Casa Grande are stunning to say the least, it is just mind boggling to see how the rich lived. We finished the tour at the indoor Roman Pool with blue Venetian glass and gold tiles – I have never seen such a gorgeous pool in my life – it was very tempting just to jump in and enjoy it! The tour guide said there is a $750 fine for “falling” into the outdoor pool so heaven only knows what it would cost for a swim in this beautiful indoor one. I didn’t get any inside pictures as we weren’t allowed to use a flash so the only ones I got were the indoor pool.

Front Entrance to Casa Grande (Main House)





Indoor Pool (Can You See the Diving Platform?)



When we returned to the Visitor Centre we ended our tour by seeing a 40 minute Imax film – Hearst Castle – Building the Dream.

From there we headed north on Route 1 and what an absolutely stunning drive, the road is very twisty and turny with awesome views of the ocean and at some spots the ocean was very calm and at others the waves were just crashing in, it depended on how protected the beach was at that point. We stopped at pretty well all of the view points including the beach where all the sea lions spend their days – an amazing site.

Sea Lions





Views Along the Coast











We drove up the coast through Big Sur to Carmel and Monterey then cut across to Highway 101 to head back – a long drive but one we will never forget.

When we got back we stopped for a pizza slice and salad for dinner and now are back in our room relaxing. By the time I finish this and download my pictures I think I will be about ready for bed. There is still no wi-fi so don’t know when I will get this posted but it is done in word and ready to go as soon as I get a connection.

As always, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

We wanted to take Linda & Jim out for breakfast this morning before leaving so they suggested the Spa Casino in Palm Springs, they had a wonderful buffet breakfast for $5.99, how can you beat that! It was really good and we all left there stuffed. We said our farewells in the parking lot and thanked them for a wonderful visit then we headed west. Going out of Palm Springs there were hundreds of windmills and the mountains with snow on them were absolutely gorgeous.





It was about 300 miles from their place to Morro Bay and what a beautiful drive it was, there was a lot of traffic around Los Angeles but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. All the places we went through that we have heard of for years – Pasadena, Hollywood, Santa Barbara, etc. etc. After a few months in the desert it was so nice to see so much green and the ocean – wow we haven’t seen a body of water in a long time and it was so good to see the ocean. We passed through areas of market gardens, farming and lots of vineyards. We would have loved to stop and explore along the way but just didn’t have the time, but now we will have lots of time to explore this area. The weather today was gorgeous, sunny and in the 70’s so hopefully it will continue for a few more days for us.

We arrived in Morro Bay about 5:30 and got settled into our motel room then headed out for dinner. Neither of us were starving because of the large breakfast so we ended going to the Great American Seafood restaurant and splitting one of tonight’s specials – Alaskan Haddock Piccato which was really delicious. We had a table overlooking the harbour so it was dinner with a view.

I am quite teed off as the motel advertised wi-fi but I can’t get on the network so I don’t think they have a very good system – grrrrr!!!! I will try to find a hot spot sometime tomorrow so I can get the blog for the last couple of days posted.

Again, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

wednesday, February 18, 2009

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and warm. We left about 10 a.m. to head to Desert Hot Springs to visit Linda & Jim. I drove over and we had a good trip but were slowed down by three stops at Border Patrol checkpoints, the worst was the one on I-8, we were stop and go for about 1-1/2 miles – grrrrr.

When we got to Linda & Jim’s they did barbecued burgers for lunch that were very yummy, then we visited for a while before heading down to the pool, wow, was that nice. The pool is a mineral hot spring and it was so nice and warm, we were in for about an hour, then headed for the hot tub. Both the pool and hot tub are filled from the hot springs and all of a sudden the hot tub was regenerating and boy was it hot, everyone headed back to the pool real fast!

We finally had enough, plus it was cooling off as the sun was going down, so we headed back to their place for more chin wagging and a yummy chicken casserole for dinner. All in all it was another great gift of a day in the sunny south, with a wonderful visit with these very great people, and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Today was a nice sunny day but there was still a cool breeze, I tried to sit outside and read but couldn’t get out of the wind and found it quite cool so ended up retreating inside.

This morning John went and got fuel and I took advantage of his absence and did some cleaning. Around noon I went over to do some laundry and it was busy but not impossible, I wanted to get everything clean before going away tomorrow so that is done, now I just have to pack.

I went for my walk this afternoon and that is about it for today. We are looking forward to our trip into California tomorrow and now just hope we get some nice weather.

Again, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Today was what I call a real down day, we stayed home and did very little. The weather was pretty crappy, overcast, windy and cool all day, we didn’t even see a peak of the sun.

Today was the start of taking reservations here at the park for next year so this afternoon I walked down with our application and deposit and then stopped at Brenda’s for a few minutes. She had been saying she would like to see pictures of our “cottage” in Kincardine so I put my i-Pod Touch in my pocket and stopped to show her some pictures. She fell in love with the Touch, thought it was really neat and so do I. Actually I spent a lot of time redoing the photos on my Touch today and also reorganizing them on the computer. I also downloaded a couple of new games on the Touch so will have to try them out, so far my favourite is Bejeweled but I also like the Sudoku – makes me have to use my brain and give it some exercise – LOL!

Tonight we watched Keeping Up Appearances and again it was one we haven’t seen before – we are really enjoying seeing all these new ones as we thought we had seen them all. It is on Saturday and Monday nights, but the same show both nights, so as we had missed it on Saturday we got caught up tonight.

Again, today was another great gift of a day in the not so sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Today was pretty cloudy and cool, for the first time since I can remember I had on a sweatshirt all day.

This morning we took a quick run over to Mexico with Brenda & Steve, we wanted to get a painted lantern and some Kahula and I also got a cotton jacket. We were finished about 11:15 and when we went to come back we were about 5 minutes in line before we were through customs, we sure like that as we have been hearing that the waits have been 2 hours plus lately.

Brenda & Steve had to get home because of their dog so after they dropped John and I off we decided to go out for lunch and make a quick trip to the mall. We ended up at Cracker Barrel for lunch then I got a pair of running shoes at Marshall’s while John checked out Circuit City and Best Buy.

By the time we got back home I was feeling kind of crummy so I laid down and had a nap while John went for a bike ride. We had a light dinner after going out for lunch and now it is time for TV or reading. Again, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, hope you all had a lovely day.

Today was another nice sunny day but there was a cool breeze out of the north. This morning John went to Best Buy but I decided there was nothing I needed at the mall so didn’t go with him, instead I stayed home and talked to my sister.

This afternoon we had a tee time for 3:35, when I was getting ready to go I couldn’t decide whether to wear a t-shirt and take a jacket or wear a sweat shirt, thankfully I decided on the t-shirt route and I didn’t even need my jacket. Had I worn the sweatshirt I would have been very hot and uncomfortable!! We played with a couple from Brandon, Man. and enjoyed their company but neither John or I had very good games, hopefully this is not a trend that will continue!!

On the way home we stopped at Fry’s to pick up a few groceries, then it was home and make dinner. Again, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Today was again sunny and warm in the sun but cool in the shade. This morning I did some cleaning and a bit of this and a bit of that, nothing too exciting. This afternoon I sat outside enjoying the sun and did some crocheting and reading then about 4 I went for a nice long walk.

When I came back John was next door having a beer with John so I went over and joined them. Irma was out shopping but came back while we were there so we enjoyed a visit with her also for a bit then it was time to come home and think about dinner.

Where oh where do the days go!! As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Today was sunny but still on the cool side. This morning the wind picked up and at one point there was one really good burst of wind that rocked the trailer pretty good, fortunately it was only the one blast. Needless to say the long roadside awning came up and the big awning never got put out.

This afternoon we went to the market again, John wanted to look for something so I decided to go with him but that was the only place we went, it was there and right home. Late this afternoon I went over to do some laundry, it wasn’t too busy when I got there but it was real busy by the time I was done, guess we can expect that with the park full.

Tonight is a quiet evening of watching TV or reading, it depends on what is on the tube. As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Today was a nice sunny day but a bit on the cool side with a high of about 62F. This morning we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, which was yummy as usual, then we headed north towards Quartzsite to see if there were any blooms in the desert yet. I guess it is still too early for blooms but the desert sure is green, I don’t think we have ever seen it so green.

We headed in towards Castle Dome and the ghost mining town out in the desert, we drove about 6 miles in but there were no blooms to be seen and the road is gravel & dusty so we turned around and headed back out. The surveillance balloon was down today and we got the best look at it ever as usually it is high in the sky. We have seen these balloons here and near Fort Huachuca and apparently they have all kinds of high tech equipment in them and can read a licence plate on a car at the Mexico border that is about 50 miles away.

Balloon



Mountains



Castle Dome



Cholla



A Double Saguaro



The Desert



We decided to drive on up to Quartzsite and boy is it ever dead now that the big shows are over, there are a few vendors left but not many. We wandered around for a little bit and I did get John a nice T-shirt for $4 – the last of the big time spenders.

By this time we were ready for a washroom break so we stopped at Carl’s Jr. and I got a mint oreo milk shake, not really what I needed but it was yummy and John, not being a real big milk shake fan, got an iced tea.

We decided at this point to drive over to Blythe, CA and come back through the Imperial Valley rather than returning the way we came, a new route for us. We went through a couple of little burgs in California and they were pretty sad looking, mostly abandoned buildings and it didn’t look like there were too many people still living there. There are still lots of RV’s out in the desert boon docking, both around Quartzsite and near the sand dunes in the Imperial Valley.

When we got back we stopped and picked up a cooked chicken and salad for dinner. As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Today was sunny but quite cool again – where or where is our nice warm weather! The weather forecast is for this cool trend to last into the weekend, which doesn’t make me particularly happy but as there is nothing I can do about it I will just have to grin and bear it.

John went out this morning and got fuel and propane and it was a good deal for both – propane was $1.95/gallon and diesel was $1.889, wow that is the lowest diesel price we have seen in years.

This afternoon we went to Wal Mart to pick up a few groceries and John found a pair of pants and a couple of pairs of shorts so he is all set for the summer, other than he needs a couple of new t-shirts. Hopefully we will find a California one when we go there on our little trip.

We are watching the Rick Mercer show and I love this year’s ads for Newfoundland, they bring back memories of a wonderful trip and a beautiful province.

As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Today was a cool, windy and mostly overcast day, a good day to stay in and do nothing which is exactly what we did.

Around 4 the sun came out for a bit and the wind died down so I went for a long walk and that was about it for the day – not very exciting.

As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Today we were back to nice sunny skies but it was cooler with a high in the mid 60’s, still not bad and we aren’t complaining.

This afternoon we played golf and I walked and did just fine, I had a better game than last week and even beat John. It was quite slow going, we had a real slow foursome ahead of us so we had to wait at every hole. We weren’t paired up with anyone and there was a twosome behind us so at the second hole we asked if they wanted to join us as we were all going to be waiting at each hole but they declined, I think they were just beginners and felt more comfortable playing alone.

After golf we had planned on going to Daz Boys for pizza but when we got there it was just before 6 and there was a huge lineup waiting to get in so we decided to go to Texas Roadhouse – got there and there was a 35 minute wait so we tried Famous Dave’s and said if there was going to be a long wait there we would swing by Fry’s and pick up a steak and go home and barbecue. Turned out there was no wait at Famous Dave’s so we enjoyed a nice dinner there and I didn’t have to cook.

As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Today we had a real change in the weather, around 9 a.m. the wind switched to the north, the temperature dropped to the high 50’sF and it rained this morning for a bit, stopped, then about 1:30 it started to rain again and has rained steadily ever since.

This morning John, next door, came over to tell us that their neighbour’s cactus had flowered and it was beautiful so we went over and looked at it and as you can see it is pretty.



This afternoon we went out shopping for a bit, I had seen that Kohl’s had their towels on for half price so wanted to go and get a new set and I also wanted to get a new shower hose as ours was all discolouring at the top. We made a few other stops while out and our last stop was at Wal Mart to buy some CLR and we had to make a big detour walking into the store as the parking was a big pool in one large area, sure haven’t seen that here before.

When we got back I gathered up the laundry and headed down to get that done and oh dear, it was busy. I had to wait for one washing machine and again for a dryer, so had two loads done quite a bit before the third one. It poured the whole time I was in there but thankfully let up a bit when I was ready to leave so I got the clothes into the truck and then into the trailer without getting them wet. I was chatting with a gentleman from Pennsylvania while folding the laundry and he was saying he stores his RV in an old mine, he said it is huge, a fellow on a golf cart leads you to your parking spot and leads you to your RV when you come to get it out. The beauty of it is that the temperature is a constant 57F so you don’t have to winterize it and there are no mice etc. to worry about. He was also saying his wife has had the same hip replaced 4 times, the first one lasted 13 years, the second one lasted nine and then the shaft broke, they put in a new one but she got a staph infection and they eventually had to remove the hip, then she was three months in bed without a hip while the infection cleared up, before they could put in another one. Boy, I thank God that I didn’t have to go through anything like that.

Fortunately I put a pot roast in the slow cooker this morning so dinner is ready, I just have to do the veggie. Tonight is Keeping Up Appearances on TV then we will see what else is on. Today was another great gift of a day and we look forward to another good day tomorrow and hopefully we will be back to sunshine!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Today was another beautiful day, not what the weather forecast was so we enjoyed their mistake. This morning John went for a haircut and to pick up our awning shade so I took advantage of his absence to give our little home on wheels a good cleaning.

After I finished the cleaning I walked down and paid our electric bill, which was exactly the same to the penny as the one for December, and then stopped at the veggie guys trailer (he comes to the park every Friday). I got grapes, red potatoes, orange peppers, romaine and asparagus so we are all set for a few days.

I was going to sit out when I got back but it was too sunny and hot, fortunately John got back shortly after me and got the awning out so I was able to grab my book and chair and kick back and enjoy a nice afternoon. Late in the afternoon I went for a walk while John went for his bike ride.

Dinner is over and tonight is another quiet evening of watching TV or reading – it all depends on what is on TV. As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Today was another nice day but I think that is about to change – they are calling for cooler temperatures, cloud, wind and possible rain on the weekend, oh well, we have had such a nice run of beautiful weather we can’t complain if we get a few crummy days.

Today we went to Kneaders for lunch and had soup and bread which was really good, we went to the new one at the mall as there were a couple of stores we wanted to stop at; while John went to Circuit City to see if there were any deals (there weren’t!) I did a quick run into Target, then we stopped at Sports Authority to check out a shirt Mike had asked us to look into.

From there we went to the market and I got some books which I really needed and while I was browsing in the book store Sherry called me to tell me the outfilt I wanted was in so I was happy to go pick it up. After the market we drove through a couple of RV parks in the Foothills, we didn’t see anything that impressed us, they were all old parks with small sites. A stop at Fry’s and a stop at Wal Mart finished our shopping day.

Dinner is over – wings which were really yummy, and we are now watching the “A” news out of London. As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Today was pamper Carolyn day, I headed out this morning to Wal Mart for a pedicure (there is a fellow who does a really good pedi at the Wal Mart on Avenue B) and then after my pedicure I decided to get my hair cut. After that I wandered around Wal Mart for a bit (boy, did my feet feel good!) and picked up a couple of things then I went to J C Penny.

I spent a long time there and ended up buying a couple of pairs of capris and a couple of tops – I find trying to buy tops very frustrating with my arm but finally did find a couple that were okay. John wanted a memory stick from Circuit City so I stopped there in hopes of getting him one but they were all gone so that was a waste of a stop. From there it was home as I thought John would be wondering what happened to me – I was gone for about 5 hours! I got back just in time to talk to Mike so I was happy about that.

We sat outside for a bit after talking to Mike, then all of a sudden it was time to think about dinner – where or where do the days go! As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Today was another really laid back day. John went for a couple of bike rides, I went for a nice walk and stopped for a quick visit with Brenda then a stop at the library to pick up a couple of books, now how exciting is that!

I spent most of the day lazing in my chair and reading but, as usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday - February 2, 2009

Okay, I won’t bother with weather reports until we get something other than these beautiful sunny days, we will just enjoy them as they keep coming.

I did some cleaning this morning then we did a shopping run this afternoon. We went to Sew Masters and ordered a shade for the end of our awning, it will take a week to 10 days to make so we are glad we got it ordered now. Then we went to Staples to make a couple of photocopies, then to the mall to get something in the mail. While there I went into J C Penny’s and they had a real good sale on but I didn’t have a lot of time as John was waiting for me so I just got a top, then it was a stop at Circuit City where John got a new camera bag then on home – no Wal Mart again today.

By the time we got home it was time to start thinking about dinner. Tonight is TV and reading. As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday - February 1, 2009

Today was another gorgeous day and was pretty laid back – we didn’t do very much. When John was out for his bike ride this morning he stopped for a minute at Steve and Brenda’s and Brenda gave him a large bag of salad mix – thanks Brenda. We also talked to Nan & Kel today which I always enjoy.

I finished my book this morning – Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, it is almost 1000 pages so took a while to read but I really enjoyed it (I will bring it back for Derrick to read). I went looking for another book and only have one left, a Robert Ludlum, so will definitely have to go to the market this weekend and replenish my book supply.

This afternoon about 3:30 I headed to the Laundromat hoping it would be a good time and most people would be finished and getting ready to watch the Super Bowl, and it was good timing so I was happy as I hate it when it is real busy.

When I got back John was watching the Super Bowl so I continued reading but did watch the half time show – I wasn’t really impressed with it. Our son was in a pool and if Pittsburgh won by either 8 or 9 points he would either win all or half the pool, depending on the score but that didn’t happen – sorry Mike we were hoping you would win it.

We had had a late lunch so had a burger after the game was over. As usual, today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Wow, the end of January all ready, where on earth does the time go! Today was another gorgeous day with a high in the mid 70’s and no wind – perfect.

This morning we didn’t do a lot, spent some time on the computer, talked to my sister and then sat out and read for a while.

This afternoon we went golfing for the first time, I rented a cart so that I wouldn’t overdo it the first time but my hip was fine, no problem so I will walk from now on. We had not bad games considering it is the first time I’ve played since last March and John only played twice last summer. We were teamed up with a really nice couple from Colorado who don’t play a lot so we all played about the same and enjoyed each others company. We finished our game about 5:30 and it was still about 70F, so very pleasant.

John and I went to Applebee’s for dinner and then made a quick run into Fry’s. We are now watching TV and I am hoping to finish my book tonight. Today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Today was another gorgeous day with a high of about 75F but it was still breezy – maybe tomorrow we will have no wind.

I did some cleaning this morning and then this afternoon we went back to the market for a bit, I had noticed some nice Capri sets yesterday and wanted to go back and check them out. I found one I really liked but it was sleeveless and with my arm that isn’t good but the lady said she is ordering more so hopefully she will get one with sleeves. I left my name & phone number and she will call me and set one aside if she gets it in.

After the market we went to Sew Masters to check out a sunscreen to put on our awning, John thinks he has figured out how to put one on so we wanted to check them out. We talked to the lady and she said they could take out the thingie most people use to put them on their awning and they could put in some grommets instead so we wanted to come home and do the measurements before buying one. While there we got talking to a couple from Port Hope, real nice people and we enjoyed chatting with them, hopefully we can get together for a drink some time. After Sew Masters we went to Staples to do some photocopying, Steve had lent John an article on solar systems so John wanted to copy it and figured it was easier to go there and do it than to drag out the printer and get it set up.

Just after we got home Steve & Brenda stopped by for a drink, Steve had worked today so had just got home, he was driving cars for one of the local dealerships down to San Luis for a show and is hoping they will need him to drive them back on Monday. He has his name in with a local agency so is picking up odd jobs here and there, tomorrow he is helping set up and tear down for a chocolate show.

Tonight will be the usual, TV or reading. Today was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Today was another nice sunny day with a high of 73F but it was still windy.

This afternoon we decided to go to the market as there were a couple of things we wanted to get – Margie, I finally got your wipes for you. I also picked up some Avon night cream and some foot cream as I don’t have enough to last me until we get home. From there we went to Fry’s and picked up a few groceries (no Wal Mart today, Kel), then back home.

After I got the groceries put away I went outside to read but we ended up visiting with John and Irma instead, so by the time we finished chatting with them it was time to come in – too cool to sit outside.

Tonight is TV and reading – the news on TV and the big payouts to Wall Street executives is too depressing to watch, my book doesn’t p----- me off so much!

It was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Today was another nice sunny day, but there was still a cool wind which made it too cool to sit outside and read.

This morning I did some cleaning and just fussed around and this afternoon I read, not a real exciting day but pleasant. There was nothing we needed to go out for so it was a quiet, stay at home day. It was another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Today was a repeat of yesterday weather wise – it was sunny but there was a cool north wind and the high again today was 62F. Oh well, it is still better than at home and a warming trend is starting tomorrow so life is good.

Today we decided to try the Brown Bag Hamburger for lunch, we had heard it was good so decided to give it a try – it was excellent but oh so filling! They have 7, 10, 14 and 20 oz. burgers – can you imagine eating a 20 oz. burger? You can split any of the 10 to 20 oz. burgers so we split a 10 oz. and it was huge, can’t imagine trying to eat one on my own. It came with French fries and a drink and for the 2 of us it cost $13, not bad for what we got.

After hanging up the feedbag we headed for Welton which is a town about 30 miles east of here, we thought we would check out the RV Parks there after talking to our ex neighbours at Wal Mart yesterday. We decided to head over through Castle Dome Valley as we have never been through there. We took Hwy. 95, the road to Quartzsite, north and our first stop was at the McPhaul “Swinging Bridge to Nowhere”.





This is the description from the Yuma Points of Interest Web Page: “Once bridging the great Gila River, this oddity now spans only shifting sands of the desert. An engineering feat, completed in 1929. The Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay follows this style. Given the name Dome Bridge, it was later renamed honoring an old timer, Harry McPhaul, who came to Arizona in 1897. He was a guard at the Yuma Territorial Prison, later a city police officer, then went into mining. It was because of his mining properties in the vicinity, the bridge bears his name.”

From there we headed north for about 5 miles then picked up the road east through Castle Dome Valley, what an interesting drive - it was miles and miles of veggie crops which we had no idea were out there; we also passed a large feed lot and a flock of grazing sheep and all of this was surrounded by mountains so it was a nice drive.

A picture of Castle Dome Rock from the Valley



The town of Welton is a pretty depressing looking place located on the north side of Interstate 8, we couldn’t find too many redeeming features about the town but there are a lot of RV parks there, most of which are pretty old and crowded looking. The one the people we met yesterday are in is the nicest park in Welton, with large spots, but location it does not have as it is located between the interstate and the railroad tracks, which are very busy! Also, the lots have a cement patio but the rest of the lot is dirt so it would be a very dusty place to stay, especially if it was windy. There was another RV park on the same road and it was totally depressing but beside it was this beautiful area of flowers which helped to brighten up an otherwise totally drab place.



On the south side of the interstate is a fairly new golf course, Coyote Wash, with a large housing development around it, and there is a small shopping mall and a large hotel, much nicer than the Welton side.

We took the interstate back to the Foothills and stopped at Desert Paradise RV Park so John could buy another airplane. This is the third one we have bought, we keep giving them away, so hopefully this one we will keep; they are made from beer cans and this one is a type of beer we have never heard of and the fellow said he had only made a couple of these so it is a bit different.



After a quick stop at Wal Mart, which was a zoo, we came home. I had put chilli in the slow cooker this morning so dinner was easy to get on the table. We are now enjoying a quiet evening of TV.

And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Well, we are getting the cold front coming through here but it sure isn’t anywhere near as bad as at home, the high I saw today was 61F, which is still pleasant but the wind was out of the north and quite cool.

This afternoon we went out looking for new running shoes, John managed to find two pairs and I didn’t get any so I will just have to keep on looking. We made a quick stop at Wal Mart on the way home and that was our excitement for today. At Wal Mart we ran into the couple who were behind us last winter, this winter they are staying in Welton which is about 30 miles east of here and they seem to be enjoying it there but the RV Park is right on the Interstate so I imagine it would be quite noisy.

Tonight we talked to our son Mike and then to our friends Mike & Margie who just got back from 4 weeks in Florida. They had good weather the first two weeks, so so the third week and they said the last week was downright cold – what a shame but at least on the whole it was fairly nice.

We are watching the news, they are doing a piece on the Ottawa transit strike and it looks darn cold, sure am glad we are here and not there!

And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Today was another nice day and for us it was a totally do nothing day!

I was on the computer for a while but spent most of the day sitting out reading and enjoying the nice weather. John actually relaxed and didn’t do a lot today either, not a bad way to spend the day.

And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Today was a beautiful, warm, sunny day – just perfect. I don’t know where the day went but it did go by quickly and we didn’t do a lot.

This morning I wanted to do a good cleaning while John was outside working around, I wanted to wash the floors and need him outside to do that, well, it was 2:00 this afternoon before I got around to the cleaning – we had people drop by to chat, chatted with the neighbours, etc. but I finally did get the cleaning done. Brenda & Steve stopped by and brought John a bottle opener, we were looking for one at Quartzisite but couldn’t find just a plain bottle opener, they were all bottle and can openers or bottle and corkscrews etc. so they brought us one as they have a couple of them. In return we gave them our 2 gallon water jug as with the R. O. system we don’t have to buy water any more.

Around 4:15 I went over to do laundry and picked a good time – it was busy but not a zoo like last week.

With that all done it was time to think about dinner. Tonight is a quiet evening of TV and reading, and so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Wow, I woke up a couple of times during the night and could hear a bit of pitter, patter of rain on the roof, it wasn’t a hard rain and when we got up this morning the roads weren’t wet but nonetheless, we did have a smattering of the wet stuff.

Today was mainly cloudy, with a few sunny breaks, but warm. John went out this morning and got some chicken fixings for the R. O. water system while I stayed home and did a bit of this and a bit of that. This afternoon we went to Lowe’s and Home Depot looking for a timer for the R. O. system, no luck, and we also went to Target and got a Rubbermaid box to put it in to try to keep it cleaner than just having the system sitting out on the ground. Then it was a stop at Fry’s for a few groceries then to Wal Mart for the rest of our groceries and voila, John found his timer there, so he is happy.

When we came out of Wal Mart the parking lot was soaking wet so it must have rained pretty hard when we were in there, but a block from there everything was dry so it was a pretty localized down pour! We didn’t get any rain here at the park but I had bought a barbecued chicken at Wal Mart for dinner so John didn’t have to worry about going out and barbecuing in case it did rain.

Tonight is the usual quiet evening of TV or reading. And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

We woke up to sunshine this morning which was a surprise as they had been forecasting an overcast day with a chance of rain, thankfully they were wrong.

Steve & Brenda picked us up this morning for a trip to Quartzsite, they have never been there before so we asked them if they would like to go with us. That was fine but Steve said he would drive so we picked up lunch in exchange for the free ride! We were surprised that there was no line up to get into town, other years we have hit stop and go traffic for about the last mile into town but today we drove right in, finding a parking spot was another issue but we finally did find one.

We split up, guys one way gals the other, then met up after about an hour to head for the big tent and find something for lunch. After getting our tummies filled up we headed into the big tent to check it out, I bought a couple of little things but nothing too exciting, Steve ended up finding himself a job for the summer – he and Brenda will be camp hosts at a state park in Oregon for July & August, we are real happy for them as it sounds like it is exactly the kind of job they were looking for.

While Steve was doing the job thing in the big tent John checked out the place where we bought our dash cover last year and got one for Mike & Margie, I am sure they will be happy that we were able to find one for them as they really liked ours and hoped we could get one for them this year. While all this was happening Brenda and I enjoyed a dish of homemade ice cream and then I just sat and people watched while she went back to stay with Steve and hear about what they will be doing during the summer.

By the time Steve got done it was after 4:30 and time to hit the road for home, we got back to Yuma about 6:30 after a fun day in Quartzsite. We had a couple of rain drops on the way home, sure hope that is all the rain we will see. We were surprised at how green the dessert was today, I guess it is from the big rain they had in November but it is greener than we have ever seen. I had asked John to grab my camera but that didn’t happen so unfortunately I have no pictures from today.

John and I had a chicken burger for dinner and now it is time for TV or reading – it depends if there is anything worth watching on TV. And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Today was nice but the sun was playing hide and seek most of the day, no big deal as it was still nice and warm. They are forecasting a chance of showers for tomorrow, hope they are wrong!

John spent most of the day setting up the R. O. system, he had to clean out the hot water tank as it was full of crud (no surprise) so at least it is nice and clean again; with the water here it gums everything up real fast!! We were without water most of the day but by late afternoon we were using the R. O. water, now we will see what kind of difference it makes. Later this afternoon John made a run to get fuel and propane, I passed and stayed at home reading.

I didn’t do a lot today, did a bit of this and a bit of that this morning then I went for a nice long walk. After that I came back and got out my chair and settled in and read for a few hours – tough life!!

Tonight is another quiet night of TV and reading. And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Today was another gorgeous day but I think we are supposed to have a couple of cloudy days coming up with even a possibility of rain – we will see what happens.

This morning we watched the inaugural of Barak Obama, I certainly don’t envy him the road ahead but hopefully he can make changes that will help the economy etc. Because of the time difference it was about 10:15, after his speech, that I headed out to meet Brenda and go to the craft show here at the park. There was lots of stuff but nothing that I needed to part with my money for, the vendors were saying that they weren’t having a good day so I don’t know if it is because of the economy or what but I didn’t see a lot of people buying. There was a fellow out front selling fresh fruit and vegetables so I got a couple of nice looking peppers for John and a cantelope for myself.

John felt that we definitely needed to do something about the water here, it is so salinated that you can’t drink it and it is very hard on the plumbing, so we went out this afternoon and bought a reverse osmosis water system. The couple next door have one on their trailer and love it and I talked to a man while we were looking at them today and he said they put one on last year and it is the best thing they ever did so hopefully it will do the trick. We have been thinking about this for quite a while but hated to spend the money, on the other hand we can use it anywhere we go as long as we are going to be there for more than a couple of days. We also considered a water softener but you have to buy the salt for it (salt is cheap so that’s not expensive, just a pain), but the real downside of the softener is that you still have to buy your drinking water so we decided to go with the r o system. So John has his job lined up for tomorrow getting it intalled!!

There were a couple of small adjustments that needed to be made to the system to suit what we wanted so while they were doing that we went to Wal Mart and picked up a few groceries. When we went back to pick up the r o system I talked to a fellow who works there that knows Andy Thomson at Can-Am RV in London, (where we have bought all our Airstreams), small world! Mentioning Can-Am, there are 2 other trailers in this park that were bought there, neither is an Airstream, although the one couple did have one for many years but now have a Sunnybrook. The other trailer in here is a Sunset Trail but we knew as soon as we saw the set up on it and the Ontario licence plate that it was from Can-Am as they are pulling it with a fairly small truck and a Hensley hitch.

We had a nice steak dinner with cesar salad and are now just going to have a relaxing evening. And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Today was another beautiful sunny warm day so we decided to do a bit of a road trip. We headed into California and took a highway up the east side of the Imperial Sand Dunes then picked up a highway that would have eventually taken us right across California to the ocean north of San Diego (we didn’t go that far west). We crossed the sand dunes and even though it was a week day there were a lot of people out on their dirt bikes, ATV’s etc. racing around the dunes. There were a lot of trailers camped out there, sorry but I just can’t imagine camping in all that sand and having it tracked all through the trailer – it has to be really hard on a RV. We passed more huge motor homes towing trailers with their toys and RV Toy Haulers in a couple of hours today than we have seen all winter – recession – where!!!

Driving West Towards the Imperial Sand Dunes



The Sand Dunes





We stopped at a lookout part way through the dunes and there were a few trailers pulled in there and this little guy was running around on his ATV. The sand was so soft in there we were worried we would get stuck!



After the sand dunes we were in the Imperial Valley where a lot of Canada’s winter vegetables come from, we also came across a huge feed lot, I could smell it long before we got to it!

Just a Small Part of the Feed Lot



We drove through Brawley and stopped there at a Carl Jr.’s as I just had a sudden craving for one of their milk shakes - they are the best. John had a chilli burger then it was on our way again.

We drove up the west side of the Salton Sea, which is a huge inland saline sea but it is totally grungy, looks beautiful from a distance but up close it is dirty and smelly!

Here is how the Salton Sea was created according to Wikipedia:

“The creation of the Salton Sea of today started in 1905, when heavy rainfall and snowmelt caused the Colorado River to swell and breach an Imperial Valley dike. It took nearly two years to control the Colorado River’s flow into the formerly dry Salton Sink and stop the flooding. As the basin filled, the town of Salton, a Southern Pacific Railroad siding and Torres-Martinez Indian land were submerged. The sudden influx of water and the lack of any drainage from the basin resulted in the formation of the Salton Sea.”


We turned west again and drove about 30 miles through scrub country with pretty mountains around and again lots of people camping on the BLM lands. For the life of me I can’t see what is so nice about camping out in the desert dirt with no amenities, but to each his own!!

We then headed north again and went through the pretty town of Borrego Springs at which point we headed back to the Salton Sea. We also passed a lot of vineyards and date plantations on our tour.

Christmas Circle - Borrego Springs



Driving out of Borrego Springs



Looking East to the Salton Sea



Some Rock Formations



We drove through the city of Salton, a pretty pathetic place where there isn’t much happening but we did see this fellow flying around.



This is typical of the landscape outside the Imperial Valley.



At the top of the Salton Sea we turned east and picked up a road down the east side of the sea. We had heard of a RV park called Fountain of Youth and knew it was around the Salton Sea somewhere so when we saw the sign for it we decided to drive through and we weren’t impressed. The lots were crammed together, certainly no privacy to be had there, it was an old park, and the closest town to do any shopping, dining out or find a doctor or hospital is 50 miles away; but with all these drawbacks it was full.

From the Salton Sea we drove down to Holtville where we picked up the Interstate back to Yuma. Going to Holtville we drove through a lot of farm land and saw about 10 different flocks of sheep grazing in the fields.

We decided to go Daz Boys and have a pizza for dinner as it was 6:30 by the time we got back to Yuma.

And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Well today was nice but there were clouds in the sky, oh dear, we haven’t seen those in a long time, still it was a nice warm day with a bit of a wind, at least this time it was a warm wind!

I forgot to mention yesterday that I had a real grrrr moment. Before we left Ontario in November I had picked up two new sleeves for my lymphedema as you are supposed to change them every 4 to 6 months, so on Thursday I started one of the new sleeves (as it turns out it was the one I tried on when I picked them up) and then yesterday I opened the second one and lo and behold it was a glove, not a sleeve – NOT GOOD!! I sent an e-mail to the gal at Shoppers where I got them and have asked her to get me another sleeve and have it mailed to me here as I have paid for it and really need it, hopefully she can do that and I am hoping to get a reply from her tomorrow as I know she doesn’t work weekends.

We went out for breakfast/brunch again and today tried Brownie’s Café, it was good and we would go there again for breakfast or lunch but not dinner – no ambience!

After Brownie”s we were driving down 4th Ave. when I saw a Goodwill store so asked John to pull in as I had a few things to drop off, then John wanted to go in and wander around – nothing caught my attention but he bought a modem for $2, don’t know what we are going to do with it but now we have it! From there we went to Home Depot to get a couple of bolts to hold down the phone antenna better then stopped at Circuit City - they have filed for bankruptcy so we decided to see if there were any deals to be had – wishful thinking!!I

When we got back I talked to Kel and Cara (I had talked to Nan this morning) then I went outside to sit and read. Leslie & Garry came over so we ended having a drink and visit with them, nice. They are leaving tomorrow for a couple of days, going to stop at Quartzsite then on to Laughlin for a couple of nights. Garry said his friend had been looking at our old satellite stand so John said $15 and it could be his so Garry called his friend and the stand is now his, an easy way to get rid of it!!

Tonight was not much for dinner – soup but that was enough after a large breakfast at midday. And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Like a broken record, today was another gorgeous day in the south. I went out this morning and picked up a couple of groceries then enjoyed the nice weather sitting out and reading, while John did more washing and polishing, we sure are shiny!

We went to Brenda & Steve’s for dinner and had a wonderful meal of Mazillan tortillas (I think that is how to spell it – I am waiting for the recipe to find out for sure). They were really good and we had a lovely evening with great food and conversation.

We are now watching some TV before going to bed. And so ends another great gift of a day in the sunny south and we look forward to another good day tomorrow.