Monday, January 9, 2006

Since this would be our last day in this area for this year, we had decided that we were going to make a few stops today that would finish up our stay.  The first stop would be at the 99¢ Store and pick up a few things that we would need in the next couple of weeks or so.   We found on our first visit that they pretty much have everything a regular grocery store has, although not the name brands for the most part.  But we found a few things and then pointed the car towards Trader Joe's where we pick up the Charles Shaw wine (2-Buck Chuck) for $23 a case.  We picked up some Gamay Beaujolais and Shirazz, two wines that were not available at the time we left last year.  We'll check with our daughter Jessica and see if she wants wine this year before we go home.  If she does, we'll save a couple of bottles of each of these wines because we couldn't get them for her last year.

We made it back home by lunch time but we only had a snack to hold us over.  We were going to the Fantasy Springs Casino for their lunch buffet at two o'clock.  Fantasy is the buffet that we get two for $11.99 and it's fabulous.  Phil and Joyce were bringing Jerry and Marlene, a couple we met last year when we attended their Music Jam at Mountain View Resort.  We brought a snack or two and then sat and enjoyed the music for a few hours.

By the we got back home Sharon felt it was too late to go to the pool so we didn't.  She had also decided that she would try to do laundry tonight.  So after we got settled we got the laundry together and headed out.  Through "blind stupid luck" we managed to get to the Laundromat just before the place filled up with patrons.  By the time we got done and left, people were still streaming in.  We had timed our job perfectly and got out of there before everybody came.

We had new shows on the tube tonight so we sat and watched them.  We were home late so both of us surfed the net tonight.  We had gotten a couple of e-mails from friends that we had to answer, but shortly after our TV programs and e-mail correspondence we took our leave and sailed into the sheets.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

It was moving day today and we got ourselves ready this morning with that in mind.  We only had 27 miles to travel back to Desert Hot Springs and we wanted to be there early but not too early. We had to give the daily evacuees a chance to move out before we got there.  As it turned out there were slim pickings when we arrived.  We met Phil and Joyce on I-10 on the way over here.  We wanted to arrive at the same time so we'd have a better chance of parking together or at least close by.  By the time we got settled in we were only a couple of sites from each other so that worked out rather well.  Not as good as in the past, but rather well.

Phil and Joyce left this afternoon to go over to Mountain View Resort where Jerry and Marlene were parked.  They'll be leaving for Yuma tomorrow and this will be their last chance to see them.  Me and the Mrs. headed over to the pool this afternoon hoping to see Terry and Diana Brown and Roy and Maryann Parent, friends from Lower Michigan.  They were slated to come into the park yesterday so we'll see. 

We were at the pool for a couple of hours before the Browns and Parents arrived.  Actually we were about to leave and go back home just prior to them getting there.  We stayed and then left before them just before Dinner.

We had an experiment tonight for Dinner.  We have them quite often and sometimes they turn out just fine.  It was boneless Chicken Breasts with a cheese filling,  wrapped in bacon.  We also had a lettuce salad and sliced beets.  It was all quite good.  Sharon did not give it a rousing cheer so I may not see that entree' again n the near future.

After Dinner we decided to go to Wal-Mart to drop off some pictures for developing.  Sharon forgot the pictures on the way over so we came back and I got stopped for failure to stop for a red light.  I admitted having not stopped for the light thinking that the cop would give me a break, but the badge toting, ticket happy, over officious jerk, just handed me the ticket.  I didn't suspect how much the ticket would be until I talked to Phil, and now I'm unhappy I didn't argue with him.  It was certainly NOT a blatant disregard for the red light.  I was more concerned with the guy stopped at the crossroad whether or not he was going to pull out on me.  By the time I glanced back at the light it was too late to stop.

After completing our business at Wal-Mart we came back home and watched TV for the night.  I had to get on the Internet on my website to correct some difficulties with my website that Phil pointed out to me.  I had a couple of  links that weren't working like they were supposed to.  It took awhile to get them straightened out cause I was having trouble connecting.  But I think I got them working again and turned the magic box over to the little Mrs. for the night.  In fact I was ready for the "horizontal happening" and sent myself to bed.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Patio sales in the campground today.  Sharon is sleeping late however and will not be setting out her wares.  It was a little nippy out this morning but Phil and Joyce sat out for their usual cup of coffee.  I sat inside with a blanket on my lap to keep me warm.  Joyce stopped over to see what time we would be going to Taco Wednesday at the VFW Hall.  We manage to go every Wednesday that we're at Catalina Spa.  We just relaxed for the rest of the morning and I watched the Judicial Hearings on the Sam Alito nomination.  The Democrats on the committee are looking like buffoons trying to trip him up and get him to say something out of the ordinary.  Fortunately he's quite a bit smarter than they are.

We left for the VFW at noon, our usual time for getting over there.  We always try to get there after they draw the 50-50 raffle.  Before that there's no place to park or to sit down inside.  We ate and stayed for 4 pitchers of beer today.  We don't usually stay that long but Phil opted out of playing pool today, so we just ordered another pitcher.

We got home in time to go to the pool and float for awhile.  We bought new noodles last night at Wal-Mart and would get a chance top try them out today.  They were a little larger than the ones we brought from home.  They worked out quite nicely indeed, and after a couple of hours we made our way back home again.

There was no need for Dinner tonight so we both took a little nap.  Phil called after we woke up and was wondering if we were doing anything tonight.  We invited them over for Dominoes and they came about a half hour later.

We snacked on some Cheese popcorn tonight while we played along with peanuts and a box of Jalapeno/Cheese Poppers.  They were pretty good and we played til about 10 and Phil and Joyce left shortly after.

We booted up the computer and Sharon checked e-mail and read her newspaper before we finally "went to the mattresses."

Thursday, January 12, 2006

We were up this morning with nothing much to do today except relax and enjoy being here.  Our weather of course has been just fabulous and certainly doesn't merit any complaints.

We usually find something to do during the day, but I believe this will be one of those official do-nothing days.

We had spoken to Phil and Joyce this morning to find out what time we would be going to the Family Motor Coach Rally tomorrow.  We'll leave in the morning so that Phil and Joyce can meet a friend over there.  That way we'll have a chance to look around before we meet up with them.

Sharon spent the morning reading and I spent it writing in the Newsletter.  I haven't done any stories yet for the January Edition but it looks like the Balloon Festival will be a large part of it.

By this afternoon we were headed to the pool.  Phil and Joyce were the only ones there when we arrived, but several friends showed up shortly afterward including the Browns and Parents.  We, of course, were the first ones to leave as we always are.  Once we exit the Hot Tub we usually leave and come home.  I can't go back into that cold (90 degree) pool a second time.

After we got home I checked out the broken refrigerator vent cap that I noticed was broken.  I made a couple of phone calls and found another one that I'll pick up tomorrow morning.

We had Play-Mor burgers for supper tonight.  It's one Hamburger patty and one Bratwurst patty grilled to perfection with cheese between the layers, onions and Horseradish sauce on top.  They are quite yummy.

We settled in for TV tonight but it was all re-runs.  We watched a couple of shows that we never watch and saw why we never watch them.

We had trouble hooking up to the Internet tonight and it took several tries to get connected.  We finally got connected and Sharon took over the magic box, although it's becoming not-so-magic over the last couple of days.  We both trotted to the south pasture at the same time tonight but she stayed awake doing puzzles.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Friday the 13th today and I'm hoping nothing bad will happen since I've already had some bad luck over the last couple of days.  I went into town early this morning to pick up a refrigerator vent cap that I noticed was broken.  The $14.95 price I was quoted by one dealer was not the same as the actual price of 24.95 that he wanted to charge me.  When I whined about the discrepancy he only charged me $20.  What a break, he only overcharged me $6 instead of $10.  What the hell, I needed the cap so I bought it.  Besides it was supposed to rain tomorrow and I would need it.

We (Phil and Joyce) had decided to go to the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) rally today and we were debating as to what time we would leave here.  It would take us about 20 minutes or so to get there and we decided on 9:45.  It didn't open for the public until 10 so that would be about right.  We managed to find a great parking place right behind one of the exhibition buildings, thanks to Phil.  Phil also paid our way to get in which was generous of him.

We entered the exhibition buildings when we first started wandering around.  We managed to finish them up quite quickly and even tried out the Segway People Mover.  The Segway is the device that looks like an upright golf cart without the pull handle.  We all tried it except Joyce.  She opted out but I was surprised when Sharon tried it, cause she's usually not the pioneer to try something new.  But she got to zipping around on it.

We started looking through motorhomes and most of the stuff that was there was pretty high-end, although most of the stuff that's out there is pretty high-end.  What I noticed first off is the full-body paint instead of vinyl graphics.  Almost all the coaches are manufactured this way now, and they look fabulous.

At noon we met up with Irv and Linda, old friends of Phil and Joyce's, originally from New York.  They both have an accent thick enough to cut with a knife.  We stopped over to their Mini-Motorhome so Phil and Joyce could finally see it.  It had 2 slides and it was quite roomy inside for a Mini.  We left them at their camper and went back to the main area where we decided to peruse a few more motorhomes and the we called it a day.

It was still only about 2 o'clock so we all agree to go to the Pak Inn for lunch.  The Pak Inn is a Chinese place that we absolutely love, and feel quite miserable by the time we leave there.  Today was no exception and although we still had enough time to go to the pool this afternoon, we opted for a nap instead.  It would be a fitting end for a very nice day.

By the time the nap was over with, I just felt like lazing around and watching TV for the night so that's what we did.  The shows were still re-runs so we didn't catch anything new.  My leg was a little out-of-sorts from climbing in and out of motorhomes today, and it felt good to just rest it.

By 10 we were both ready to call it a day and settled in between the sheets for the night.  Nighty-nite.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

We were going to the Street Fair at The College of the Desert this morning.  We left about 9:35 and according to Sharon and Joyce I was late.  Phil didn't go with us this morning.  He's not a shopper, but I guess he was going to the "Garage" sales in the area. 

The College shopping has been completely revamped from last year.  The whole shebang has been moved adjacent to Monterrey Avenue and restructured for the best I might add.  They have plenty of bathrooms and plastic lawn chairs between some of the rows for the old guys to sit down while they wait for their wives.  It's really quite friendly for the people attending.  We were over there for at least a couple of hours and we had a quarter-pound hot dog before we finished up for the day.  We don't usually buy much while we're there but Sharon made a couple of purchases.  Nothing earthshaking, but she did pick up a gift for Jennifer's Birthday.

We got back home in time to go to the pool but I had a little fix-up job that I had to take care of first.  The refrigerator vent cap that I picked up yesterday morning would have to be put on and that took all of about 5 minutes to do, except hat I had to get up on the roof to do it.  I was already tired from walking around the College so I rested a bit before I went up there.

When I got back down we headed over to the pool for awhile.  Because the wind was blowing, which it hadn't at the college, we expected the water in the pool to be cooler which it really wasn't.  It has been a couple of degrees cooler for this time of year already.  It's not cold, but it's just not warm enough.  We stayed until our soak in the Hot Tub and then left.  Everybody else keeps going back and forth from the Hot Tub to the pool but I can't hack the cold and hot variations of doing that maneuver.

We came home and had our leftover Hamburgers from last night for supper.  We made a couple of extras because we had extra meat.  Besides they taste just fine after they've been nuked.

The Bach's called and asked if we wanted to play Chickenfoot Dominoes tonight and we said that we'd be over in about a half hour.  We stayed over there until about 10:30 and by the time we came home after a couple of nectars I was ready for the sack.  Sharon logged on to the Internet and I folded my tent and headed south.  I did not Pass Go, and did not collect $200.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Sharon was off to church this morning while I disassembled the compartment under the bed to see if I could figure out why parts were coming out from underneath.  We had noticed a 2 X 3 inch metal plate with two holes in it, and a  X 2" bolt, which could only mean there's another bolt loose under there somewhere.  Not to mention whatever the metal plate was holding.  It didn't take much to get to the compartment and open it up ans see exactly what was being held by the plate/2 bolt combination.  It was a mechanism that keeps the room from tilting when the slide goes in or out.  As I opened the compartment I also found the nylon slider that needs to be put together in conjunction with the metal plate to allow the mechanism to slide smoothly.  By the time Sharon got back I had the problem diagnosed and was ready to go to Lowe's to pick up some bolts.  By lunchtime I was back with the parts and ready to complete the project.

This afternoon we sat and watched the NFL Playoff games that were on.  We didn't have much interest in any of the teams playing except Chicago, and they lost.  I was basically biding my time until the 2 hour season premiere of "24" tonight.  Although we didn't have to give up on any of our regular shows Including Cold Case, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy.  Because of the satellite we were able to watch them all in their entirety.  Thank God for satellite TV.

By the time 24 came on we were both keyed up to watch it.  The wind came up so I switched the TV over to cable halfway through to finish watching it.  It was ripper of a show and the premiere will finish up with 2 hours tomorrow night.

We watched TV and Sharon was online until our usual bewitching hour of 10 o'clock.  It didn't take long after that for the cave to go dark, and the occupants to go darker.  Sharon is attempting to cease reading in bed for the next week or so to see if that's contributing to her sore back.  I'm guessing it was the FMCA Rally and the trip to the College of the Desert that's probably had more to do with it than her reading.  But we'll see.