Coyotes

I've been trying all day to behave and look adorable.
The coyotes were outside last night and Mary Ann had
to sleep with me on the couch to protect me.  She didn't 
get much sleep, so I've been trying to be nice today.

We had our walk this morning and ran into the lady from Michigan who helped me two years ago with geneology and getting DAR information.  I'm sure I will be seeing more of her in the next few months.  In fact, they will do the Santee Shuffle next month and move to a spot directly across the street from us.  

We ventured into downtown Santee for lunch and to finish our grocery and errand shopping.  Hit the Costco, the Target, and the local whole foods-type place, Sprouts.  I hope the crowds and traffic are due to Christmas shoppers and will thin out after the holidays.  It was crazy.  Driving the big blue truck and trying to park it in full parking lots was part of the problem.  We usually don't park close to the door, anyway, but today we ended parked way out in the tules.  Ahh, it's good for us to walk, right?   The shopping trip wore us both out, but now I think we have a full compliment of food for at least the next week.  I'm not sure I could stuff any more in the pantry or fridge, anyway.  

Rog crawled under the RV and plugged up some air leaks around the sliders so we shouldn't be quite as drafty and should stay a bit warmer. 

OK, we want to know if there is something special in the water down here.  We saw three sets of identical twins today.  One set, two girls about 10, live across the street in their RV, one set of men at the lunch place who were in their early 30s?, and one set of men in the Target who were at least our age.  Kind of like being in the Twilight Zone.     

Weather today - 63, cloudy, and a little breezy.  Sweatshirt weather.  The next several days are forecast to be in the 70s. 

Plans for tomorrow - our walk, our exercise routine, and a trip to the library. Fun, yes?  

We Had a Busy Day

Yesterday

You can see we made progress today.  After a long walk with Maggie to the south end of the RV park and back and then lunch, we set about putting together our outdoor living space. We even put up a few holiday decorations.  Starting to feel right at home.






















As we write this we are having a major problem.  Maggie has lost her green ball.  We can't find it anywhere in the house and it's too dark to look outside (although it shouldn't be out there). It's like a kid losing its security blanket.  She's walking around with her ears and tail down looking at us all sad and confused.  


On our walk this morning we noted this map on the door of an RV.  It caught our attention - look at it and see if you notice anything a bit off.    



We decided with our map that if we drive the RV in a state for even a nanosecond then we get to put the state on the map. Therefore all of our states connect.  If you zoom in on this map and look closely you will see Indiana all by itself with no neighboring states filled in and Pennsylvania and New Jersey set off alone. So, how did these folks get to the other states?  If anyone has any ideas as to what these folks use as a criteria for putting a state on the map we would love to hear it.  Maybe it's only states they camp in? Post your comment below with any explanation you have that might explain this phenomena.  

We had to do laundry again today (yes, it's been a week) and discovered, much to our pleasure, that no one was in the laundry room and all the machines were empty.  Yay!  Our pleasure quickly diminished when we saw that one load of wash was $2.50 and one load to dry was $1.75.  That's pretty pricey laundry if you have 3-4 loads a week.  The good news is you don't need to save up your quarters because you swipe your debit card instead.  What a pain that would be trying to get enough quarters every week. We are going to investigate a laundromat we've seen to see if it will be any cheaper.  It will be a lot less convenient and how much would we spend on fuel to get there?  So, shall see what we decide.  Something tells me some outfits will be worn several times if possible.  

Weather today - cloudy and 60 with a slight breeze.  

Crisis averted.  Roger just found the ball.  It was under his hat on the counter top.  I think we are going to have to investigate getting a spare for these emergencies.  

We Are Settling In for the Winter

What a day yesterday.  We knew it was going to be a long drive as we've done it so many times before.  But, weirdly, yesterday's drive was/seemed as if it were longer than usual. We aren't sure what the story was, but we are thinking we got away later than normal from Las Vegas.  That's the only explanation.  We left around 9 and got in just as the registration office was closing at 5.  We both remember earlier arrival times in the past.  It has us baffled. 

About two hours away from here we realized we were up against the clock and Roger drove a little faster than his normal pace.  It was unnerving for both of us.  It felt as if we were barreling down the road at 150mph but we were only doing 65-70 on highways that have 70mph speed limits.  Since our normal speed is between 55 and 60 (vehicles towing another - 55 is the limit).  At about the same time as this "speeding" started, Maggie's pill wore off and she insisted on sitting on my lap with her head tucked under my arm.  So the last few hours were a bit stressful.  We set up in the semi-dark - the sun was just setting.  Rog only hooked up water and power - the basics.  

But, up until that time, the drive was OK.  We had a constant stream of California plates passing us on the left the minute we got south of Las Vegas until we reached San Bernardino area.  No delays or real slowdowns, but the road was full of cars all heading back to the LA basin after a weekend in Vegas.


The solar panel farm just at the Nevada/California border has expanded big time and they have three towers with some high velocity reflectors that catch the sun's rays and shoot them down to the panels.  It really was kinda spooky looking as you could see the rays of the sun (look carefully at the pic and you will see an umbrella shaped display of the refracted light.)  Very futuristic looking.  Very impressive.  It looks like we are trying to contact another planet. Maybe we are letting them know this is a good spot to land.  

The further south we got the warmer it got!  We were sooo glad to leave the cold behind us.  We just couldn't adjust to the fact that the weather was so awful in Vegas in November.  

We are here now and setting up and psyching up for the next four months.  Rog was in shorts today and I had my sandals on. It was mid-60s with intermittent sun.  More importantly - No wind. 

The site looks a bit bare and lifeless right now, but tomorrow we plan on making our patio and set up some shade for the picnic table.  I did put up a couple of Christmas wreaths and the Santa flag outside this afternoon after we returned from getting groceries and making our reservations for next year!   I'll be sure and post pictures once we get all set up.  

We've noted several familiar looking RVs around and this afternoon we were greeted by our Danish friends from across the street. Last night we saw our friends, David and Eileen. David is a severely injured Vietnam vet who gets around in a wheel chair. (He was 18 when he got shot out of a chopper.)  He is about the happiest person we have ever known - at least that is how he presents himself.  Well, Maggie just loves David.  Two years ago when we were here with her for the first time, she took a shine to him.  She hears his voice and she goes running, hops up in his lap and kisses him incessantly.   Well, last evening as I got out of the truck with her on her leash, she headed straight for their RV (they are in the same spot as before).  She saw David and went wild.  It was amazing.  Their Puggle, also a Maggie, was trying to play with her but all she wanted was David.  It just blows us away.  When we go out to do business, she wants to go by their place every time.

Another Maggie story - Well, you know we spoil her and she is absolutely rotten, but we've inadvertently created another bad habit.  When we started traveling she would wake us up at her usual 6:30ish time to go outside.  At home we just open the door and let her out, go to the bathroom, let her in and everyone goes back to bed.  Well, neither of us wanted to go outside with her in the cold and wind, so Rog picked her up and put her on the bed.  After wiggling all over, giving us kisses, she curled up between us on top of the covers and went back to sleep.  Well, you guessed it.... it's a happening thing.  Only now she wants to put her head under the covers or in my armpit and she wiggles around till she gets comfy and then goes to sleep. This morning at 3am she decided it was time to get in our bed. I spent 15 minutes tucking her into her own bed, re-tucking her over and over until she gave up.  And, at 6:30 this morning, when Rog picked her up, she squirreled herself under the covers with her head towards the foot of the bed and wouldn't be moved.  We have created a monster.  

We are glad to be here and look forward to a nice winter.

We are in Santee

We had forgotten how long a drive it was from Las Vegas, but, trust me, it was long.  We are here, though, at Santee Lakes RV Park. We are safe.  We are tired.  Will write tomorrow.  

Prep Day

The wind calmed to below 10mph, the sun was out and it was about 55 degrees today.  What a relief.  If I'd had to endure another windy day like yesterday, I would have become VERY grumpy.  We got out for walks and enjoyed the outdoors a bit. Tonight when I took Maggie out after dinner it was dead calm, the sky was clear with lots of stars and a crescent moon. Absolutely beautiful.  

We both spent the day doing our respective duties to prep for being on the road tomorrow.  Rog washed the truck, checked and aired the tires on both vehicles, put away the sewer hose, and generally did outside stuff.  I, in the meantime, vacuumed, mopped, put stuff in hidey holes and drawers so they wouldn't fall off counters, put bungee cords where necessary so cupboards won't fly open en route, etc.   Felt good to have a purpose and to know we will be out of here in the morning.  It's an all day trip for us, but is straight down I-15 until we are about 5 miles from Santee.   Piece of Cake.

Rog wanted a nap after his chores, but Maggie had other ideas for his time:  

We will check back in tomorrow night and let you know we arrived in Santee Lakes safe and sound.  

One More Day!

The weather today was as predicted - cold, windy, and miserable.  Thank goodness we only have one more day before we head to Santee Lakes.  The wind is enough to drive one totally batty.

I tried last week to get us into Santee earlier than our planned date.  We could go, but would have to change sites every day and pay the day rates each time we moved - no weekly rate - as our site was booked right up until Sunday.   Also we would forfeit what we paid here - no refunds.  So, we opted out.  And that is why we are still sitting here in the cold and wind.  As I said earlier - next year we will have a different plan.

  

Red Rock Canyon

We took advantage of a nice day with no wind to see some outdoor sights.  We took a drive to the western side of town and back into  Red Rock Canyon, an area of desert and mountain beauty on the outskirts of a not so beautiful city.  (For more info on the area, click on the link in blue above.)


We packed a partial lunch - fruit and chocolate for us and fruit and dog food for Maggie - and stopped for a Subway sandwich on the way.  Now, living in the desert surrounded by mountains, you would think we would realize that even a few feet in elevation changes the temperature.  We dressed for where we were at the RV park at 55 degrees and anticipated at least a short hike after lunch.  Well, at 45 degrees, and only wearing lightweight sweatshirts, the hike didn't happen.  There were lots of folks there hiking, though, but they were dressed appropriately.  Cars were lined up on the side of the road at every trail head.  


We had company for lunch. Maggie and the company had staring contests. Surprisingly enough, she didn't get all hot and bothered by them and try to chase them.  She sat calmly (more so than when she was riding in the truck) and just kept her eyes on the critters.  
They occupied her attention enough she didn't even want her lunch.

  
Red Rock Canyon is a beautiful work of art by Mother Nature and I'll just show some pictures rather than try to describe what we saw.  

The weather gurus are predicting 50 degrees and 40mph winds for tomorrow and Saturday.  We won't be going out much. (Fortunately, Roger's Audible credits showed up today so he'll be plugged in and entertained!)   Two years ago when we stayed here for two weeks before going on to Santee Lakes, it was warm and we had some wind, but we were able to be outside, so the time passed quickly.  Not so this year.  It's been a very long two weeks as the temperatures are below normal and the lower jet stream has caused some mighty unpleasant windy days.  We are re-evaluating our plans for next year!