Monday, December 17, 2006

We were off this morning to parts south after a short delay trying to get our mail.  It seems that the US Post Orifice is up to it's usual low standards in time for Christmas this year.  Sharon filled out a mail forwarding card and we'll see if our priority mail gets to us in the next 7 days.

We missed our turn and we ended up in Vallejo this morning as I was rambling on about the incompetence of the Post Office.  We had no idea where we were and by the time we got back on track it had taken us an hour and fifteen minutes to go 26 miles.  Just lovely!!!

We had no further problems until we tried to find the Super Wal-Mart in Bakersfield that Wal-Mart said was on White Lane and Dick Smith had said was on Hwy 58.  Needless to say we didn't find it and here we sit in the Flying J Truck Stop in Frazier Park after climbing the Grapevine at night.  Oh well our turn off is that much closer for tomorrow.

I can usually sleep at least a couple of hours in these truck stops but last night was truly atrocious.  It is now 4:30 in the morning and I sit here typing my Journal.  Our generator batteries are dead and we've already decided they need replacing before we head out to Quartzsite in a couple of weeks.  Our engine battery is now supplying the power for everything.  I'll start up the generator as soon as the engine battery puts a little charge in the generator batteries.  It should be about a half hour or so.

I'll probably see if I can catch a couple of winks after I get the generator started, but I'm not too optimistic.  I think I'm up for the day now.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

And I was up for the day indeed.  We went in to the restaurant in the Flying J before we hit the road this morning.  The food was really good, and of course we certainly had our fill before leaving.

We were much closer to our turnoff today having driven a few extra miles before calling it quits last night.  Gorman was only a few miles up the road and our turnoff was a few miles after that.  There was no traffic this morning and the trip to Palmdale took hardly any time at all.  We took a shortcut that avoided the City of Palmdale altogether.  Phil Bach told us about the shortcut a couple of years ago.

We stopped in Beaumont at the Wal-mart Supercenter to pick up a few things for next week.   I was so tired I reclined in my chair and took a nap.

We rolled into Catalina Spa & RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs about 1PM.  We took our time just settling in and putting up our Christmas Decorations.  We checked the office for mail but as usual it wasn't there.  But then  it's the Christmas Season when all the mail sucks.  At least all of OUR mail.

We just relaxed for the rest of the day and checked out the bulletin boards and picked up the papers over at the store.

TV wasn't any good tonight but we managed to find enough to get us through the night.  We made it until 10 and then we both just folded up our tents.  This day was a nice end to the last 3 weeks of troubles and cold and rainy weather.  Hopefully the next 4 months will treat us a lot nicer.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

We woke up with the idea that some of our mail would have arrived by today.  I did get a letter from my sister from Virginia with a paper that I was supposed to sign.  I signed it and got it back in the mail for my daughter Jessica.

We watched the weather today and there's a huge storm blanketing I-80 on the exact route that we came across 3 weeks ago.  We would have been miserable if we had hit that white stuff, along with the cold, even though we had expected to.  Not a storm this size however.

Not having the last name of Jack and Rosann (Derlein), friends of Corky and Deb Zimmermann,  we decided to see if the office could help us out.  They were very good and helped us track them down.  We thought we'd invite them to go to Taco Wednesday at the VFW with us today.  We got their site number and went up to see them but they weren't home so we left a note.

We were off to the North Palm Springs Post Office to mail some stuff before we headed to the VFW.  It was closed when we got there, for lunch.  It's closed between 11:30 and 12:30.  Weird time.

We went to the VFW and never saw a soul we knew except for the waitress.  We had our usual lunch and 2 pitchers of beer and then came home and napped-off our outing.  By the time we woke up Jack and Rosann were knocking at the door.  They informed us that they were headed out to the VFW for cocktails.

We settled in for TV tonight and Sharon was cross-stitching and I tried to print the Newsletter.  I got one side of half the pages printed than I ran out of ink.  I will need to refill my black cartridge before I finish up.  The rest of the night was taken up with repeats on the tube.  We both folded up our tents before 10 and went happily to la-la land.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

I got up this morning and started working on the Journal and Newsletter.  After filling the Black cartridge, I tried to print again, and found that the Color cartridge needed ink also.  It seems that this Newsletter is destined for the graveyard before it's even printed.

Sharon got up while I was filling the second cartridge.  She ate Breakfast and then announced she was going for her walk this morning.  I was content to stay home and see if I could get the Newsletter printed while she was gone.  It was then that I realized that the blue ink that I overfilled was causing a problem with the colors being printed.  It looks like this one (cartridge) has outlived its usefulness.  It's only been refilled about 6 or 7 times saving me approximately $100 but now it looks like I'll have to spring for another one.  All good things must come to an end eventually.

Sharon got back and told me she had stopped at Jack and Rosann's for a few minutes while she was on her walk.  They were getting ready to leave tomorrow so she didn't stay for very long.  She did find out that they would be at the pool this afternoon and we would see them up there.  Only the second time in 6 years that we went to the upper pool to swim.

We had to go into town today to mail books to Nicole and Brady for their stickers that Sharon always send out to the kids.  They're almost getting too old for the sticker books so she'll have to come up with something else for next year probably.  We also had to pick up a cartridge for the printer and a few groceries for lunches over the next few days.  By the time we got to K-Mart I forgot the number of the cartridge I was supposed to pick up.  Damn!!!

We did pick up everything else we needed before coming back home.  It was after 1 by this time and we went up to the pool.  Sure enough Jack and Rosann we're still there.  We sat and talked while Rosann made trips back and forth to finish up her laundry before leaving tomorrow.  They are a very likeable couple and Jack's got a line of BS that he enjoyed using on Sharon.  He spent the afternoon trying to make her believe the most outrageous stuff.  I think he might have been testing her to see how far he could go.  I laughed because a lot of people do the same thing to her.  She must have a sign hanging on her that says, "I'll believe almost anything."

After coming home we were surprised to find out we got the NFL Network on our dish and sat and watched the Packer game.  We were on pins and needles all through the game wondering if they were going to win or not.  The stress of the game must have gotten to us because we were both in bed by 9.  Th game took it all out of us.

Friday, December 22, 2006

After a big Breakfast of  Eggs, Bacon, Hash Browns and Toast we headed out for K-mart to pick up a replacement cartridges for the printer.  K-Mart in Desert Hot Springs didn't have both cartridges and it was like pulling teeth to get someone to take my money for the one, so I tossed it on the counter and we drove over to Indio.  It was about 1:30 by now and we thought we'd stop at In-N-Out Burger for lunch.

The Indio K-Mart had both cartridges but when I got home the black ink was the wrong one.  It wouldn't fit into my printer.  I don't believe I went all that way and I still can't print the Newsletter.  The ink package was all torn up so I knew they wouldn't take it back.  It was a good thing it was the $6.99 cartridge.

We thought we'd get a chance to swim today but by the time we got back the wind had started to pick up.  Sharon had a sore back from riding all over the valley for the cartridge, so I hooked up the cable and we watched TV instead.  It was windy enough to cause havoc with the dish so it was nice to have the cable.

Neither of us was that hungry for supper so we just fended for ourselves.  We had Chicken and Dressing sandwiches.

The rest of the night was spent in front of the tube with nothing of any value to watch.  We just surfed and watched mostly cops for a couple of hours.  We did make it to 11 however, and how we did it who knows.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

After Breakfast this morning we would be going to the College of the Desert Street Fair.  I had forgotten that we had decided a couple of days ago we would be going.  I told Sharon on the way over that I had forgotten all about it this morning.  She was surprised because we both really enjoy the flea markets.  We only bought socks for me and kitchen towels.  We were still there until 12:30 but we decided not to eat there.

On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart for some groceries and I picked up another black ink cartridge for the printer.  Maybe now I can finally get the Newsletter printed and in the mail.

After lunch and getting the groceries put away we headed over to the pool for a little dip.  The pool area was mostly empty and the water was at a chilly 88 degrees but we went in anyway.  We didn't last too long cause the big wuss doesn't like cold water, so we went into the hot tub until Sharon got too warm and then headed for home and cocktail hour.

We had planned on having a couple of Filets for Dinner tonight along with some pasta and garlic bread and a salad.  We started in on the cocktails about 3:30.  I hadn't had Bloody Marys in along time so I had a couple of those before we ate.  Sharon was imbibing on Whiskey and 7up.  We opened one of her purchases from the Napa Valley while we ate Dinner.  It was a Sauvignon Blanc from the Beringer winery.  It was quite tasty indeed.  But then we went back to the pre-meal cocktails after the wine was gone.

We had already been through the entire day by 8 o'clock and had no reason to stay up any longer.  At least that's the way I'm telling the story.  And I'm sticking to it.  At least the part of it that I remember.

Sunday, December 24, 2006CHRISTMAS EVE

We prepared ourselves for a "do nothing" day today since we really had nothing to do.  Sharon was off to church and I finally finished up the Newsletter.  By the time she got home I was waiting for the stamps.  Neither of us had had any Breakfast yet so we just cooked it for ourselves.

It was also haircut day today.  I was beautiful by the time she got done with me.  I still couldn't play the violin however.

We sat and watched a little football and saw where the Lions had almost beat the Bears.  We didn't see the game but apparently the Lions lost in the last few minutes.  We know one Denny that was happy and the other Denny was sad.

We mostly just sat and watched a marathon of the "Dirty Jobs" program on the Discovery Channel.  By mid-afternoon we decided we would take a break and go for a dip in the pool.  There were quite a few people over there today that we knew.  Only by sight or first name.  We did get into a conversation with a couple from Milwaukee, WI, a lady from Texas and a Canadian couple from B.C.  We were mostly talking about Catalina.

By the time we got home it was time for Egg Nog laced with dark Rum and a sprinkle of Nutmeg on top.  Quite delicious indeed.  Sharon was making BBQued Chicken Wings, Quesadillas and a couple of other snacks for supper.  We had decided not to have an actual meal for Dinner tonight.  And by the time we were done eating it had been a very good decision.

We finished up the evening watching some TV that we hadn't seen before.  Shows that were on opposite our regular shows.  By 10 it was time to fold up the tents, put the animals back in their cages and turn out the lights.