We wish you all a happy and healthy 2014!

We have had a very quiet week since Christmas so have had nothing to write about.  We are still avoiding the shopping lines and the tourist places with all the kids on vacation so we have hung out around the RV park and caught up on reading, emails, end of year financial stuff, etc.  

We are both well and working hard at eating right and walking for exercise.  Not being a creative cook (or any kind of cook for that matter) it does get a little boring, but we are healthy and maintaining a good weight, so I guess it is working.  We have our "ache du jour" most mornings as do most folks our age but that is expected, I guess.  When we think about how old we are we marvel that we are in as good a shape as we are.  

We've had a great year, starting with a visit by our kids and grandkids last January.  (It was a good visit until daughter-in-law, Pam, shattered her upper arm bone on her first attempt at snowboarding.  It took a while but she is all healed up now.) After everyone left, we dug the RV out of the snow and ice and headed south!  We added our Maggie to the family in April after returning from our "wintering" here in Santee.   Roger did his woodworking during the summer and we kept busy with our trips to the gym and projects around the house.  We took a two month RV trip starting in late July, returning in mid-September. We visited our Colorado Springs family as part of the trip.  We then left again mid-November to come here so that we wouldn't have to dig out again this year.  (It worked well, as we got out before the nasty Arctic storms brought the frigid temperatures and snow and ice to Sparks.)   We are looking forward to our trip east  to Florida when we leave here. (Except the part where we have to cross Texas.)  We probably won't make any summer trips this year since this current one will be about 6 months long.  We plan on heading back here late November next year if all goes well.    

Our kids and grandkids are doing well and we enjoy hearing from them when they email or text!   

The weather has been awesome here since Christmas!  We have had sunshine every day with temperatures reaching the high 70s.  We do start out cold, though, with Maggie's first trip outside around 8am at about 40 degrees.  (The furnace is still running at night!) We turn the fireplace (aka space heater) on while we have our first coffee/tea and breakfast.

 We start our two mile exercise walk between 9 and 9:30 and it's about 50 degrees by then.  We start out in sweatshirts but by the time we turn around and head back home we are ditching them because it is already in the mid 60s.  By the time lunch and showers are done it's warmed up to the low 70s outside with the inside of the RV already in the 80s.  (ALL our big windows face the sun.) Then the sun sets about 4:30 and the temperature starts dropping precipitously!  Back into sweatshirts and long pants for the evening.  The space heater goes back on about 8:00 until bed time and then we start the cycle all over again.  Several changes of clothes are required per day!  But, that's OK.  The forecast for the next 10 days is the same, so we are quite happy!  That is why we are here.  

The neighborhood has been busy with families that came for the holidays but we suspect by the weekend it will be back to just us old geezers again.  Across the street the lights have come down, the inflatable decorations and the snowman have disappeared.  We still have the shrine to the Virgin Mary and the fallen soldiers, but it is so much nicer to look at.  (Next year they tell us they will be in a spot along our row behind us so we won't see their site except passing to get to ours!)  Several people went out and bought new motorhomes and 5th wheels for Christmas. There is one two spots down that we checked out on the web. $389K.  Wow!   In contrast, yesterday a tow truck hauled away a motorhome that caught fire on Christmas Eve.  It was a burned out shell.  Fortunately the people were away at the time and no one was injured.  A very sad sight.  

The "shrine people" have a dog named Maggie and she comes over to play.   The two of them chase each other back and forth between sites running at top speed.  They tussle and play and have a great time.  Yesterday our Maggie grabbed her ball and was teasing the other Maggie with it.  She was not sharing very well and at one time actually curled her lip and bared her teeth when the other dog attempted to get it.  Eventually she did get a hold of it and took it back to her home and it took forever to get it away from her!   They are funny to watch and the exercise off leash is really good for both of them.  

Our Maggs still hates her coat which she wears on the first trip outside in the morning, but she tolerates it.  Today I decided that with it on, her head and tail down, and with a slow gait she looks like an armadillo going down the road!  She is funny!!

Again,  Happy New Year, everyone.  May you have only good things come your way in 2014!!!

Merry Christmas from Santee!!

Waiting for Roger to catch up.

It's been a while since we have posted an entry.  Just nothing to "write home" about.  We were staying in the park and trying not to go anywhere near the stores or main traffic areas, so it's been rather quiet on our part.  We've enjoyed some warmer weather (although it starts out cold first thing in the morning, the afternoons are wonderful!) and lots of walks. We start out with long sleeves on our morning exercise walk, and most days even sweatshirts but with sun hats!  By the time we are on the return leg of the journey, I've got my sweatshirt wrapped around my waist and Maggie has her tongue hanging out!  We did go off "campus" one day this week to get haircuts and a few groceries and it was a mad house!  The haircuts were partially successful (she got mine a wee bit too short) and, as always, we bought more food than we intended!  We did go to the library and pick up some DVDs to watch and discovered a cupcake shop two doors down. Oh, my, oh my, were they good!!!  We have books and DVDs to return soon and I think another visit to the cupcake shop will probably happen.

Neither of us really knew what to expect as to how we would feel about not being in Reno on Christmas Eve.  For the last 26 years we have celebrated the evening with our oldest, Mike, and his kids. A few times our other kids, Pam and Andy, joined us but it wasn't often due to distances and time off not being available.   We missed Cookie Day this year and our get together on Christmas Eve.  Well, it was OK!  We had our moments but overall we did well. Stephanie sent pictures of the cookies (and mess) that were baked last Sunday; then last night we were able to FaceTime (Apple's Skype) with them as they opened their gifts from us.  It was fun!!  We were a little sad to miss things but very happy to see our traditions (cookie day and apricot/walnut balls for Christmas Eve dinner) were carried on!   We also got to FaceTime with Pam and Ben in Colorado Springs as we opened our gifts from them and we had a long phone conversation with Andy and Pam in Pensacola.  We also talked with our sisters and so we connected with everyone! It was a very nice evening!!!

Christmas Day usually finds us on our own as the Reno group spends it with other family members so today wasn't so different for us. What was different was that we didn't go to a movie, but, instead we went to the beach!  

This morning Roger googled "dog friendly beaches in San Diego" and it seems almost all are listed as "dog friendly."  So, we picked one we had been to before in La Jolla and liked.  We packed up our beach umbrella, chairs, a blanket, water, a snack, sun hats and sweatshirts!  It was 79 degrees in Santee but we knew it would be cooler on the water. 
 

As I was packing up the truck Maggie decided she didn't want to be left so she climbed in and stayed there while we got ready to go.  I could not coax her out for anything!  We had no trouble finding the beach but had a rude awakening when we got there.  It was packed.  Wall to wall people.  I suspected that it might be the case when we were driving on the side streets of La Jolla.  It's an old town with very narrow streets, but with parking on both sides, leaving a small lane to drive in.  With our truck it was a treat - no way could two vehicles go down the street!  

Anyway, we got to the parking lot and did find a space without too much trouble but,  

it wasn't easy. We didn't unpack everything but figured we would do a recon mission first to figure out where we would go.  Good thing we did. 



It seems that, yes, the beaches are dog friendly, but only between 6pm and 9am!  Thus, no dogs allowed between 9am and 6pm! We were so informed by many signs and one very rude man!  So, back to the truck to regroup! 

Another google search led us to Mission Bay where there is a huge island (Fiesta Island) that is devoted to dogs.  The beach and a huge trail system are off leash areas for dogs!  The "beach" wasn't really a sandy beach - just dirt/sand - but there was water, birds, kayaks, canoes, and dogs!!  We pulled off the road and let Maggs wander.  It was a bit breezy and cool, but we enjoyed the afternoon out.  

Now we have a place we know we can take her and next time will probably try the trail system and do some hiking!  

For dinner Roger cooked salmon on the grill, we had some Trader Joe's butternut squash/spinach gratin, and fresh green beans. Then there was the pumpkin pie filling for dessert.  Yes, filling.  I attempted a pumpkin pie in the toaster oven yesterday.  It was semi-successful.  It took almost an hour and a half to "gel" and then the crust didn't cook on the bottom, so we have been eating the filling!!  I've decided that my 7 year old toaster oven needs to be replaced!!!  

All in all, a very nice holiday week!!  Hope you all had the same.  

There is something inherently wrong with this picture!

Taken on Tuesday. Temps in mid 80s.

Rainy Day Fun!

There hasn't been a whole lot happening today.  Cloudy and rainy (lots of it) and a bit on the chilly side today.  Indoor activities were the order of the day.  Some soup simmering in the crockpot, with good smells emanating, helped to make it feel warmer.  Roger watched movies on my phone, Maggie napped, and I worked on my sweater.  

I started this sweater in October!!
Speed demon I'm not when it comes to knitting. My excuse for taking such a long time is 
stopping to make hats and a gift. 

 

We did get out this morning between downpours for our walk, though, which was good.  Maggs came back with very wet and dirty feet and a wet belly from the tall grass! It has been raining steadily since around noon and we are getting some pretty good sized ponds in our space!  Unfortunately, I can't upload any pictures of them tonight for you.  😁

Today the internet has been very iffy and frustrating - even more than usual.  Probably everyone staying at home streaming movies or the like.  The system they have set up, like in motels and other public places, limits the bandwidth so it is often slow when there's lots of traffic.  It's not been bad here until the last few days.  (We've also noticed a lot of previously empty sites are now occupied. Not many left to fill to make it a full house. The snowbirds are flocking to Southern California!)

Roger will start watching a movie on his laptop and when his bandwidth gets to the point that the buffering is at a creeping speed, he changes devices.  He then goes to his Kindle and watches until he hits his limit and then he goes to his phone and then to mine if he needs it to finish what he's watching.  Today, though, he couldn't get on Netflix via the internet at all because the  WIFI was down or extremely intermittent.   He doesn't have enough data on his phone to use his 4G, so he ended up watching his movie on my little iPhone w/3G but with unlimited data!  Do you think maybe, just maybe, he's part of the problem?????  

Maggie was hoping he was
watching "Lassie."

I'm working on the phone with one-finger typing so if there are typos that's my excuse!  Back to the knitting. Soup was good!!

We've been gone a month now!

Osprey

Wood ducks, Mallards, and ?

Egret

Our walk this morning was lovely as you can see!  The day started out cold, but we had sunshine and 84 by mid-afternoon!! By Thursday it is supposed to be barely 50 and rainy. We enjoy the nice days as we get them!!  It's hard to believe we have been gone for a month and been in Santee for two weeks already.  Seems like a lot longer :-)

I spent a good portion of the day dealing with the USPS and with Nevada DMV!  Our rent for the post office box is due.  The invoice is sitting in our box!  Because they dropped it in there it never got mailed, thus, never got forwarded.  I had a note on my calendar for today to remember to pay it.  I ended up doing it on-line, but only after a conversation with a Sparks post office employee who was slightly helpful.  The DMV - our notice for the truck tag renewal hasn't made it to us, either.  Not forwarded? Sitting in the mail box?  Who knows?  I emailed DMV late yesterday and got a very helpful reply this morning!  They will accept California smog certification, so once that's done I can fax all the info in and we are good to go.  Bureaucracy!  Love it!!

Well, Roger finally gave in!  My Christmas decorations are complete now that I have a snow person!!!  We were at Goodwill looking for a rug for the dog to put under the RV where she likes to be and he spotted Mr. Snowman and bought it for me.  What a guy!!!  This is why I like him so much!!  Just realized that the snowman is designed to sit on a mantel and hold a christmas stocking - no wonder the thing is so darned heavy - duh!!  It's perfect, though!

Roger: the new Mike Rowe!

It has been a pretty mundane week.  We've been taking long walks, shopping, wrapping, shipping, and doing laundry.  That is until today when Roger did his Mike Rowe impersonation.  It was a dirty job and he volunteered to do it.

As you know RVs have a waste water tank called the black tank. For the two of us it needs to be dumped once a week.  When we were in El Centro Roger dumped it for the first time on this trip but the flush mechanism didn't work.  It sprays water into the tank to wash down the sides and help clean out the waste. We thought it was because the water pressure was so low there that there wasn't enough oomph to get the little sprayer spinning. Well, we got here and it still didn't work despite decent water pressure.  Rog has been fretting about it for a couple of weeks now trying to figure out the problem.  He first tested the check valve which sends the water from outside to the spinner mechanism.  It was working but no water was getting into the tank.  After another few days of ruminating on the issue, he decided to tackle it today.  It took him several hours to dismantle the underside of the RV, trace the water line to the black tank and hope it had a screw on connector.  It did.  He put water in the line and it flowed out.  Hmmm.  Where is the blockage?  Problem is now IN the black tank.  Does he call a repair guy at $100/hr or try to tackle  this gross project himself? Well, he went for it, albeit with trepidation. It turns out that there was "stuff" plugging up the mechanism openings and with some effort, and an old toothbrush, he was able to clean it off enough that water would flow and rinse off the rest.  It was an ugly, dirty job, but he did it! Then he had to reassemble everything, put the undercarriage insulation back on and fasten it back to the frame. It probably saved us several hundred dollars by not calling in a mobile RV repair person.  It's not something Rog wants to tackle ever again and has been reading RV articles this evening on how to prevent the problem from recurring.  His motto is he will try to fix things if he can before calling a repair guy as a last resort.  Mr. Fix-it saved the day again!  Unfortunately, he wouldn't let me take pictures to share with you.  

I took the last of the Christmas packages to the post office this afternoon. There were two lines.  One about 30 people long for the clerks at the counter, and one about 3 people long at the kiosk.  I always use the kiosk if it is working, so getting in that line was a no brainer.  An "older" woman standing in the long line asked if she could mail her stuff at the kiosk.  She had two large envelopes.  I told her that she could but got  "I don't know how to use it" response.  I offered to show her. Immediately three other people of an age that is generally indicated by gray hair, jumped out of the long line into the kiosk line and watched intently as I processed my package.  I then stayed and helped the lady behind me with everyone looking on. When I left I got a hug and a "you're an angel," and "the post office should pay you for helping us."  I am sometimes amazed at how frightened older folk are of trying technological conveniences. Anyway, today's good deed done!  Good karma passed on!

We will be sticking around the 'ole homestead this weekend.  We don't want to be anywhere near the highways or the stores. I'm guessing it's going to be a madhouse. It is supposed to be warm  (low 70s) and sunny (with some Santa Ana winds tomorrow) for the weekend so should get some nice walks with Maggie and some sitting outside time.  

Dog Coats, Christmas Tree Redo, Coyotes, and Neighbors

We got out for a long walk today after two days of not being able to.  Saturday it rained all day and yesterday we had company.   It was a bit nippy this morning but the sun was shining and we all felt better being outside.  From the looks of the avian population we saw we weren't the only ones!  The egrets and herons were hunting for breakfast! We didn't see them catch anything, but they were so intent on watching for fish that Maggie didn't even phase them as she passed by.  She really doesn't seem to take

 any interest in doing anything but sniffing where they have been.  She will pretend to chase the ducks for a split second as they waddle away from us but that's about all she does.

Dog Coats - After the journal entry the other day about Maggie and her new coat, I received an email from an anonymous reader that was intriguing and informative. Intriguing because I didn't know you could send anonymous emails and interesting because this person kindly sent a link to an article about whether dogs really need coats.  Thank you, Reader, for taking the time to share the information.  The article confirmed what I had been thinking might be the case - dog coats (for most dogs) make the owners feel warmer!!  The picture in the article is of a Doxie and does look an awfully lot like Maggie.  Here's the link if anyone is interested:  Do Dogs Need Coats?   It was 32 degrees when Roger took Maggie out this morning at 7am - with her coat on!!!

Christmas Tree Redo - Last week when we bought our little fake tree, lights and ornaments Roger picked up a package of teeny tiny white lights and handed them to me.  I immediately put them back and grabbed a set of multi colored ones as I am not a real fan of one color of lights on a tree.  We got home, I put them on the tree and they twinkled!!!  I am even less a fan of twinkling lights.  They drive me crazy because they are distracting.  So, our next trip out to a different store I picked up a string of small, frosted LED lights.  I decorated the tree.  The lights were really too big and too bright.  In the evening with the room darker you couldn't see the ornaments - just the lights. Today we were back at the first store, I returned the twinkly ones and bought the original ones Roger had picked up!!  This afternoon I took off the larger lights and re-decorated the whole tree.  Should have listened to Roger in the first place (not something I normally do)!!  He's the creative one in the family and usually knows best what looks good.  The little tree with teeny white lights and small ornaments now looks good.

Coyotes - They were out in force last night!  At 4:30am it sounded like a whole pack had found some prey and were howling their thanks to the coyote gods.  It also sounded as if they were in our site but I'm sure they were further away. Roger heard them again around 6am but not as many nor were they as loud.  The guy across the way said that he had raccoons under his coach last night and thinks maybe that the coyotes were after them.  Needless to say, taking Maggie out for her evening wee after dark is a bit scary.

The Shoe People
live in this RV

Neighbors -  Roger and I have always had the habit of giving people we see, and don't know, nicknames that match some characteristic of that person or persons. Examples:  one guy the first couple of years we were here got his morning walk as he shaved with an electric razor.   He was dubbed "Razor Man."  We haven't seen him yet this year.  Then there was the guy who rode his bike every day with zinc oxide on his nose, thus earning the  "Zinc Man" moniker.  Or, last year's favorite - a guy who wore a white hat like Pinky Lee.  "Pinky's" not here this year either.   We do have some neighbors down the way, though, who leave what looks like all of their shoes outside.  Lots of shoes.  As you probably have guessed - "Shoe People." Wouldn't it be interesting to know what other people call us - NOT!!

My response to comments posted on the last journal entry:  I guess I can never deny that little Kinsey belongs to me if she loves shoes and snowmen!  She's her grandma's girl for sure!!!  I can't wait to see her in April.  

Speaking of grandchildren, we had a great visit from our other granddaughter, Stephanie, and her boyfriend, Pierce, yesterday. It had been a long while since we had seen them and we really enjoyed the visit!  Thanks, kids, for making the long drive to see us!!!!  Hope to see you two again soon. 

Tomorrow the agenda is the post office and laundry.  I'm sure it will make for an exciting day! 

Time Does Fly When You Are Having Fun!

I can't believe it is the end of the week and half way through the weekend!  We have been going out for a few hours every day since we got here to do some Christmas shopping!  By yesterday afternoon we were totally exhausted - but finished!  The stores have been busy during the week and the traffic has been heavy but we wanted to make sure we didn't leave it for this weekend. We need to get stuff mailed early next week.  Rain was predicted for today and we didn't want to be out in it with all the other folks who have to do their shopping on the weekend.  It's done, though!  It took some work finding gifts for loved ones that were smallish, light weight, and within our budget since we still have to box everything up and ship it. We did it, though, and hopefully the gifts will please the recipients!

Today that "lovely" winter storm that is hanging around the west made it to us and we had a day of rain and cold blustery wind.  I got caught up on some computer/office work and got the Reno presents wrapped while Roger watched a movie and then he and Maggie snoozed in the chair!  It was a hot cup of tea kind of afternoon with some quick walks with Maggie between downpours.  Tonight when Roger took her out after dinner they got down to the end of our row when she heard the coyotes.  Roger said she just turned back toward home and double-timed it all the way with no stops for anything!  

Tomorrow our oldest granddaughter and her boyfriend are visiting!!  Yay!  They are living in Long Beach while she goes to school there at Cal State - Long Beach.  She's in her junior year majoring in history so she can teach high school students.   I am sending the Reno presents home with her as they will be driving up to Reno for the holidays and she can deliver them - thus the hurry to get them wrapped today! We are looking forward to the visit very much.  It's a long drive down here (about 2.5 hrs) but they don't seem phased by it.  You can tell they are young!

This year Roger and I will be spending the holidays on our own. I got to thinking about it today and I believe that it will be the first time since we've been married! (In January that will be 46 years!)   We just don't have the energy nor the budget to drive two days back to Reno to a cold house with an empty refrigerator, spend Christmas Eve with our kid and grandkids, and then turn around and drive two days back down here.  Nope - it's not a happening thing this year.  We will Skype, or FaceTime, or whatever they call those video chats!   We put up a little tree (18") and some outside lights this week.  That with a pretty poinsettia on the counter makes the place look holiday-like.  

I know I promised a photo of our neighbor across the road from us but I've not been able to get out there and take one on the sly.  It's pretty obvious when you look out your window and see someone with a camera aimed at your RV!!    I tried to get one at night, but all I got were these two with blurry Christmas lights so I will try to describe the scene.  

First of all, they have an older motor home that has seen better days and the area under their awning is cluttered.  They have built a shrine to the Virgin Mary on the right side front of the site - fenced in and lighted. On the left side of the site they have a flag pole - not lighted - along with a plywood cutout (painted black) of a soldier with his rifle kneeling at a cross with a helmet on it.   (He is a disabled Vietnam vet and gets around in a wheelchair.)  The entire site is outlined in a red rope light.  Now, if that's not enough, the motor home has Christmas lights strung from front to back on both sides along with Christmas decorations.  At the back of the site is a plywood snowman and a blow up Santa with a penguin sliding down a sled.  In addition they have two vehicles in addition to the RV . They are fortunate it is one of the larger sites and they are at the end of the row with open space.   Lots of this will go away in January - I hope.  They seem like nice enough people when we briefly spoke with them the first day and we introduced ourselves.  They have a Puggle named Maggie who is very cute and doesn't bark much.  It's an amazing sight! It takes all kinds, I know, to make life interesting.

Maybe if I hide in here no one
will see me.

Are you sure I look good?

As I mentioned earlier, the winter storm has come pretty far south and it is in the low 40s when we get up to take Maggs out for her early morning business.  As she is short-haired and gets the shivers when she goes out in the cold, we bought her a coat. She hates it.  We put it on her and she pouts.  Won't move. Yesterday she hopped in her pen and wouldn't come out. (She can be quite willful.)  We have been trying to tell her it's a nice coat and makes her look pretty but she's not buying it.  She is quite subdued when we start the walk.  After about 10 minutes, though, she forgets she has it on and her tail goes up and she acts like a dog on a mission - she does love the walking trails here and checking out the ducks along the way. Until then she trails behind hoping it will go away!   

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Yesterday - sunny and 79 degrees.

Today - rainy and 60 degrees.

We got our first walk along the lakes yesterday morning.  It is a 1.5 mile walk down to the office through the campground and along three small lakes.  It was perfection yesterday!  We walked Maggie's little legs off.  She was one tired puppy when we got back!  With all the sniffing she did, her nose muscles must be pretty sore.  we couldn't walk 10 feet without her "discovering" something to inhale and the walk was nearly 3 miles and two hours.

Yahoo!!!

We are settling in.  We have some of the same neighbors as last year including the Danish couple across the street and the couple right next to us who are retired military.  This year we have some interesting neighbors behind us who seem to live here full time.  Fortunately they go off to work every day but they are quite active on the weekend, oh yay!  Across the way, next to the Danish couple, are a couple who have just retired and are starting their new full-timer lifestyle.  A photo of what their site look like tomorrow!!  You won't believe it.  

We started our Christmas shopping today and hope to finish by week's end and get everything in the mail.  We didn't bring any decorations so we get to buy all new for the RV.  Those of you who know me know that I like snow persons as decorations. Rog is being a stinker and won't let me buy anything with snow, snow persons, etc.  He says they are entirely inappropriate for southern California.  So, I'm having to make do with other decor.  I'll figure it out!

We went out to the Marine base at Miramar (about 10 miles) to the base exchange and commissary.  We got a late start this afternoon and then I fooled around looking at shoes and Christmas stuff so we were late coming back.  We hit 5pm traffic.  Oh, was that fun! It was four and five lanes of traffic each way going at about 5 mph with multiple merge points which then stopped traffic.  No accidents or incidents - just normal going home from work traffic.  I tried to photograph it for you, but with the rain and it being dark, all I got were fuzzygraphs.  The traffic was mind boggling but Roger's patience held and we made it back to poor Maggie who was waiting in a totally dark RV.  She was happy to see us to say the least.  We will have to remember when we go out:  1) leave a light on just in case; 2) don't go out so late in the day.  

This really doesn't do the situation justice but it was
the only photo that wasn't totally out of focus.  

Tomorrow more Christmas shopping is on the agenda and with any luck at all we will finish up.  I'll also be looking for a tiny, tiny tree for our winter home.  

Santee Lakes Home

We feel at home already!  We have the same spot we had last year and some of the same neighbors as well.  The folks at the registration desk recognized us and gave us a hearty welcome back.  We had some mail waiting that had been forwarded so I would say we are pretty well set for the next three months.  

I am so excited - my computer recognized the WIFI signal and I had an easy sign on.  My phone, on the other hand was a bit contrary and Roger had to set it up for me.  What this means is I can now finally answer the long emails from friends, post more than a paragraph in the journal, and do some shopping and banking!  I could do it all on the phone with the cell coverage when we were in El Centro, but it was slow and cumbersome.  I am glad to be back into the fast paced world!!  

PBS - how we missed you!  It was so nice to turn on the TV and have it come up on the channel lineup.  I won't miss Masterpiece now!! 

We left NAF El Centro at 50 feet below sea level and 70 degrees.  In less than one hundred miles we were at 4000 feet and it was 55 and very windy where we stopped at a casino for lunch.  When we reached Santee which is at about 200 feet above sea level it was 79 degrees and no wind.  What a nice welcome!  Next week the weather supposed to be not so nice - 60s - so we really are appreciating what we have now.

The parking lot of the casino where we stopped for
lunch - along with lots of other RVs!

There were lots of folks on the road today!  It didn't dawn on us that the first of the month was the last day of a long holiday weekend. There were lots and lots of cars and RVs. The RVs were mostly heading west and were what we call toy haulers -  they have a "garage" to store ATVs, motorcycles, etc.  Near the Arizona border are the Imperial Sand Dunes and apparently LOTS of people take their ATVs and have fun in the sand.  Well, they were all headed back home today!  

Border patrol station along I-8 

We encountered a Border Patrol check point on I-8 which normally means waiting in lines of traffic while the cops decide who to hassle. Fortunately, the border patrol just waved people through today.  We saw one car being searched but if they had stopped everyone or even half of the vehicles, the line would have been backed up for miles!  

We have three months to think about what we want to do next year for wintering.  We have come up with a couple options, but we need to think it all through and make sure we will be happy.  We have some ideas for making technological life better in El Centro and how to get mail, but no final decision has been made. The big draw for El Centro is it's CHEAP.  $300 a month and the electricity is free compared to more the $800 a month here in Santee plus $40 a month for electricity and $20 for Maggie.  El Centro is 7 miles from the base and doesn't have much to offer by way of shopping/entertainment/sigtseeing so we saved a bunch of money there, too.  Got to think about this.

We are happy to be here and looking forward to all the things the area offers to keep us occupied as well as being able to visit once in a while with our granddaughter who is in college in Long Beach.  Hopefully we will have some adventures to write about. Lunch at Rubio's tomorrow- YES!!  

Headed for Santee Lakes Tomorrow

We leave tomorrow for Santee Lakes and will be there 3 months. 

 I did housework chores today including laundry (while it's cheap). Sheets, towels, the whole works.  

 Roger spent the day wiping down the truck and rig, airing tires, tightening lug nuts and other guy stuff on the outside.  

We are coming back here for a couple weeks in March before we head east to Pensacola.  

Had a georgeous sunset tonight!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We've had a good day and we hope everyone else has as well.  

We had dinner at the chow hall, so no trying to bake a pumpkin pie in the toaster oven!  That could have been an interesting experiment. 

We expected to be dining with the troops like you see on TV.  Well, there were three guys there that looked as if they might be active duty. In addition there were about 50 retirees from the RV park.  With all the gray heads standing in line for food you would have thought we were on a cruise ship.  We were invited to sit  at a long table with some "regulars" here at the park and enjoyed the company with our meal. 

We definitely found plenty of non-turkey items to eat and indulged in deserts!  Yes, plural!!  Not one person asked why there was no meat on our plates so we didn't have to go through the whole vegetarian discussion. That was nice.  We did have a long walk with Maggie when we got home to kinda offset the extravagance. 

Our thanks to the staff at the chow hall for their hard work on a day they should be at home.  We appreciate the effort and good food!  

Again, we hope everyone had a good day!  

Thinking about next year already!

Today we found ourselves discussing whether it not we wanted to come back here next year and, if so, for how long.  The pro list right now is outweighing the con list for returning.  We couldn't do the whole winter here (we would go totally stir crazy) but are thinking of splitting our time with Santee Lakes.  We would save a ton of money!!!  All we really need to do is figure out the technology issues. In today's world there is an answer for everything - we just have to find it.  Who knows what improvements will have been made by next winter. 

We wandered off base today to a very tiny community, about two miles in the opposite direction from El Centro, looking for a post office.  That's about all it has. Run down housing for farm workers constituted the majority of town. We did see a school and a sign for a library, though. We investigated two RV "resorts."  We have nicer accommodations here.  Most of the license plates on the vehicles we saw in them were Canadian and they both had the typical amenities for "snowbirds."

We have to seriously think about what we want to do so we can reserve a spot. In the meantime we are frequenting the gym, getting lots if walks with Maggie, and sitting out in the sun enjoying 70 degree weather!!   

Sundays are great for napping!

 

The Sun is Back!

The sun finally appeared this afternoon and Roger got his nap in his chair soaking it up!  He had his hat and sweater on, but was outside in the sun!!

We knew we had been in that major storm that rolled through here this week but didn't realize the extent of it until we went to town today.   There were crops  with water still covering them and lots of mud on roads where the water had receded. Some wind damage, too. We went to the library to use the wifi and it was closed "due to flooding."   We peaked in the windows and it was sad to see the piles if water damaged books and carpet.  We are assuming it was a roof leak as the parking lot was dry. It's a really old building that was once a large store.  Anyway, here's what the RV park looked like when Maggie and I took our morning walk.  Still lots of standing water everywhere.  

The movie last night (Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks) was good- very intense!!!   The guys who played the Somali pirates were quite scary and I'm assuming quite realistic. Very emotional at the end.  

This base is small and very quiet except when the planes and copters are training.  We hardly see any people out and about. The first movie we saw there were eight of us in the theater. Last night there were about   twenty.  One thing I'd forgotten about base movies is that they always play the national anthem before they start and show a video of sailors  (at this one) at work.  Today Roger got caught outside walking Maggie at sunset when the base loudspeaker blared "retire the colors".  You are supposed to stop what you are doing and stand at attention and face the flag. But, where's the flag??   Which direction do you face?  Needless to say we always try to be inside at 8am and sunset!!!  

El Centro seems to be a very poor town with not a lot going for it , although we have seen some pretty nice places outside of town on large farms.  A few of the big box stores have moved in and there is a mall with the usual tenants, but I'm  glad we never got stationed here. Two weeks is pushing it and three years here would have not been one of the places we would look back on with fond memories!  The town and surrounding area is 50 feet BELOW sea level which probably contributes to its mild climate. 

We had a beautiful sunset. 

Why can't we play ball?

It rained all night. It's mid morning and it's still raining but not as hard.  We now have lake front property!

Maggie does not like the rain.  At 9am (long past her normal time to go out) Rog had to carry her down the RV stairs and then I had to drag her highness' little butt across the road before she got the idea that I wasn't giving up.  I had my raincoat with hood and could outlast her stubbornness!   She was pretty wet and bedraggled when we returned. Hmmm.  I wonder if she would tolerate doggie rain gear?  I'm guessing not as she doesn't even like it when we put her harness on. 

I'm so glad I am "grandfathered" in on my unlimited data plan!  The 3G signal isn't bad here and my phone is getting a workout.  Ahh, technology - I'm an addict. 

Fix it projects kept us busy yesterday.  Rog tried to fix the black tank flusher that quit on him. I tried to figure out how to get the iPod to play through the sound system. After an hour of messing with it I googled the model number and it took me to several RV forums that said it doesn't work with iPods or iPhones. But, someone said that instead of using the USB port to get a double headphone cable and use the aux plug.  It worked!  With no TV having the music in the evenings helps!!

Going to the movie again tonight to see the Tom Hanks movie about the ship that was captured by the Somalis.  Unlike the one we saw on Wednesday, this one should be good. Can't beat the price - free- for an evening's entertainment.  

Don't know what Rog is going to do this afternoon to keep busy, but I've got a sweater I'm knitting.  

A Regular Day

Not much going on today. Gym. Laundry. A little housecleaning.  

I did get my shoe organizer hung again. It kept falling off the wall in our summer trip.  Hopefully Gorilla super glue will hold the hooks this time.  I feel better now that the shoes aren't piled in bags in the bottom of the hard to reach closet!!  

Rog did some insulating of the "basement" and cleaned up the patio area and played ball with the Magster.  She is being super good about not wandering away so we can let her off leash here at the site. 

All very exciting, huh?   

We are going to the movie tonight to round out our day. . It's free - all we have to do is buy concessions to support the First Class Petty Officer Assn and their charity - whatever it us.  I'm not thrilled about seeing Arnold or Sly but I'm sure it's appropriate for all the guys on base!

Expecting weather tomorrow.  Big rain storm coming through. Will save the window and truck washing for a few days!

That's all the typing my one thumb can handle doing this on the phone😉

We Found the Public Library.....

and it has free WIFI.   It's a bit slow, but it works!!   I've managed in the last hour to add photos and publish what I have written over the last three days.   We probably won't be adding anything for a few days for two reasons - 1) too far into town, and 2) probably won't be much of interest to write about.  I'll continue to make notes at night and then next time we make a trip to town I'll download them.

I had a nice birthday yesterday - heard from all my kids, grandkids and others!  Thank you all for the good wishes.

We found the gym this morning.  It's about a block and a half away from the RV park.  Large gym, lots of equipment, and at the time we went, only two others using the facility.  When we left I mentioned to the attendant that the hand sanitizer was out.  "Yes, we know.  Budget cuts.  We don't have the money to keep it full."   Wow!   So, we picked up a large bottle of it today and will donate it tomorrow when we go.

Maggs is settling in nicely - and sleeping through the night!  Yes! Well, at least she doesn't try to get us up - which is wonderful.  

The original reason for this journal (and those that went before it) was to keep family and friends advised of our whereabouts and that we were OK.  We have had an email from "Feedspot.com" which is some kind of site that pulls together things you are interested in reading and putting them all in one location for you.  Well, it seems that we have some followers other than family!  They said that 27 people were regular followers and that we "added value" to their site and gave us a year's free subscription.  When I investigated, it seems that people from all over the world have made at least one hit on our site.  Amazing!  I can't imagine anyone "following" us other than family and friends, but it's kind of neat (and weird) to know that we are "published."   Thanks to all of you for reading!!!

Monday - 18th - The Fun Has Begun - We Think.

Monday - 18th - The Fun Has Begun - We Think.

Slept well and woke to beautiful sunshine.  It was warm enough today for short sleeves and short pants and sandals!!!   It was even warm enough to buy some ice cream bars when we went to the commissary!  Roger had one Mr. Fixit project which he was able to complete satisfactorily.  He made me blueberry pancakes for my birthday breakfast and it has been a nice day.  

I mentioned that folks have been stopping by to greet us (to check us out).   They are friendly enough and ask if we are spending the winter and when we say we are here only two weeks their interest fades.  It’s quite a clique of regulars here - many of them have come here every winter for over 10 years.  It’s more like the 55+ communities you find in the warmer climates where people come from up north for the winter, stay in the same place, have the same friends and get involved in the same activities to stay busy.  This morning I saw a group of 5 ladies out for a walk and they probably do it every day.  It’s all retired military in this park right now.  I haven’t noticed any active duty.  We are right next to base housing and there are several empty homes so I’m guessing the base is not at maximum staffing.  The Marines are flying trainer jets all day right now.  The Blue Angels and their squadron are not due to come here from Pensacola until January - long after we are gone. 

This base is very small and has a small commissary and exchange and a fitness center available.  Tomorrow we will start going to the gym.  Town is seven miles east.  We went out today to check things out and found a mall, Costco, Target, and Wal-mart - all of which were about 8 miles from the main gate.  

The town is very Hispanic.  We went to the food court in the mall for lunch today and the whole time we were there I heard no English being spoken.  The Costco was the same way.  We are close to the border and this is an agricultural area with lots of workers.  (Lettuce seems to be what we see growing right now.)  

I took the laptop up to the rec center this afternoon to try the internet there.  I got on but it would fade out after a few minutes.  No time to do anything.  Oh, so frustrating.  When we went to the office to pay for our stay this morning I noticed a sign:  “Due to the government shutdown and the budget cuts there is no WIFI available on base.”   They don’t have a library here, either.  I asked a sailor in the commissary this afternoon if there was one and he said no and he didn’t know where I could find a hotspot.  Pretty sad when our troops are having to do without. 

Anyway, tomorrow we will go into town in search of a place I can download this journal into the blog, download photos, and get everything posted.  Fortunately we can get our email on our cell data plans.  Hmmm....could be a very long two weeks.  We tried to find something on TV - about 16 Spanish speaking channels and 5 Asian speaking channels.  We did find the basics - ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.   I guess we will get a lot of reading done and we will go through our crossword books pretty fast!  

Sunday, 17th - A Pleasant Surprise

Sunday, 17th - A Pleasant Surprise

Our Maggie made herself right at home!

We have settled in at the RV Park at the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, CA (the winter home of the Blue Angels) and we will be here for two weeks.   We expected to be sitting in a kitty litter box with RVs lined up side by side despite the reviews of the place being 4 out of 5.   It was awesome to discover the sites have cement pads and are very large, there are trees, and there are grassy common areas.  We have a corner lot at an intersection with an especially large open area on both sides.  Oleander bushes provide some privacy on the door side and we back up to an agricultural area behind the fence that is the boundary of the base.  We are very happy with the site!  Every one seems super friendly and the camp host stopped to tell us about all the perks of staying here.   Within and hour of arriving we had four people stop to welcome us and to warn us about which sites to avoid walking the dog by because of aggressive dogs.  One in particular is a German Shepherd-Coyote mix and not very friendly!   

Now, the downside - no TV signal, no WIFI.  Both are available down the street in the  park recreation lounge so I will probably be going down there to work on this journal during the day.  If that signal isn’t strong enough, then I’m sure the base library will work.  Shall see how it goes.  

We did get up and get moving about our regular time this morning - 9am.  We ALL slept like logs last night.  I don’t think any of even got up in the night to pee, we were so tired.   

We climbed the mountain on CA 58 to Tehachapi Pass.  As we climbed out of the valley we started seeing trees next to stream beds whose leaves were just turning gold - something we have already experienced in Sparks where we raked the leaves and bagged them for disposal already!  Tehachapi has huge wind turbine fields which tells me the wind blows there all the time and it’s not a place I’d like to live despite the fact it is a nice town.  

Dropping down off the mountain into the Mojave Desert is always a downer.  We are desert people - we live in the high desert of Nevada - but the Mojave in this part of the country is just plain ugly.  The only redeeming features as far as we are concerned are the Joshua Trees.  Everything else is brown on brown this time of year and very depressing!  

We connected with US395 and headed south at Kramer Junction.  No rest areas along the way available for our lunch break.  We usually find a shopping center parking lot when that is the case, but today we spotted an even better venue.  Next to the town park in Adelanto is the Little League field.  Hmmm....empty parking lot big enough to pull into (and get out of), grass for the dog to run in, restrooms, and bleachers for a makeshift table!   Voila!   

We turned east on I-10 and passed Palm Springs and the other high end towns along the way with street names like “Gene Autry Drive,” “Bob Hope Avenue,” and “Gerald Ford Drive.”  There were lots of wind turbines in the valley along with solar arrays that we hadn’t seen last time we were in the area several years ago.  It would be a really nice area to live except it is very pricey and it sits on the San Andreas Fault!  

Going south  from I-10 toward El Centro we drove for fifty miles or so along the west side of the Salton Sea.  Now, that area is also pretty ugly for the most part - desert scrub. and dirt.  Awful.  Then, about half way, the agricultural area started and there were date palm orchards and  green fields full of lettuce.   The color of the fields matched my face as we bumped along the road as if we were driving on a washboard.  At one point and I had to have Roger pull over so I could get some Pepto tablets out of the RV!  Between the queasy stomach and the bouncing bladder I almost reached the tipping point and critical mass.  Fortunately Rog found a place big enough to pull over before I lost control!  I was surprised it didn’t bother Maggie but maybe her meds helped her combat the motion sickness as well as her high anxiety.  

I hope to post this and yesterday’s entry tomorrow (Monday) and then be able to get back on schedule.  For now we are glad to be done driving for a while and will sit and enjoy the 70 degree weather and sunshine - the reason for coming!!!  

Saturday - 16th  - Later Than Usual

As you can see by the moon-rise over the mountains, that we got into Bakersfield later than we normally like to arrive.  Setting up in the dark is no fun and we always aim to arrive no later than 4pm.  It was over 300 miles today and we did get a late start and the days are short, so we ended up arriving at twilight.  

If anyone is following us on a map, we left Vacaville, headed east to I-5 through the Sacramento River Delta.  We then turned south through the San Joaquin Valley until we turned east again just north of Bakersfield.  The roads were rough and bounced us around today.  The inside of the RV was a bit disheveled when we finally landed!  Things that normally don’t move, did.   A couple of rough railroad tracks didn’t help matters much.    I just read a book with my book group called “The American Road” about the state of roads in 1917 and the beginning of the highway system.  Well, today there were times when I felt as if I were on some of those roads that were described in the book!  A new route will be planned for the next time we make the trip through central California!  Rog wants to know if we are having fun yet!?!

Our late start this morning was due to a night as equally rough as the roads today.  We got to bed late after returning from dinner and had stuff to do which put us in bed around 11pm.  At 3am a neighbor’s car alarm went off and the dog decided she needed to go out.  We kept trying to ignore her but she was insistent.  She did do her business when I took her out so it wasn’t a wasted effort.  So, with all that going on, a different bed, different light, different sounds and not quite getting the correct weight of blankets for the temperature, we didn’t get much sleep.  

There were no adventures today, thank goodness.  Neither of us was in the mood to deal with any.  In fact, we were so selfish this morning, we double dosed Maggie so she would sleep most of the day.  We needed the break!

No matter how many times we go from northern California to southern California we are always amazed at how large the San Joaquin Valley is and how long it takes to get from one end to the other.  Orchards of citrus, almonds,  and pistachios dotted the landscape.  The grape vines were in abundance - table grapes and raisin grapes, not wine grapes.  There is one very large and stinky cattle feed lot that always grosses us out when we pass it.  We saw what Roger thought was a prairie dog town near the rest area we stopped for lunch, but I think it was ground squirrels because their tails were so long.  Are there prairie dogs in California?   Late in the day as we were turned east off of the interstate and onto a two lane state route we drove through rose bush farms. It was so pretty and a nice respite after all the nut orchards.  

We are settled in and more comfortable tonight hoping for a better night’s sleep.  We are in the middle of an orange grove outside of town and it is fairly quiet and there are no street lights.  Tomorrow we have abut 350 miles to our destination - Naval Air Facility, El Centro, CA.  It will be another long day but we will be up and moving earlier - or so the plan goes!   We are having WIFI issues right now - I hope to get this posted tonight, but will have to wait until late and everyone else stops streaming their movies!  

I took this on Sunday morning before we left.
Unfortunately the oranges aren't ripe yet.
When we usually stay here in late Dec they allow
the guests to pick all they want.  They are
very good oranges!!