Monday, March 24, 2008

I have another therapy day today which translates into another day we go to the Spa Casino for Breakfast.  We were worried about whether we would have enough time to go for Breakfast after I got out of therapy.  I usually get out right at 10 and they stop serving at 11.  As it turned out, we made it just fine which means we'll probably do it again before we leave, a week from tomorrow.  We both got a chance to try the Huevos Rancheros which are a tasty little number.

After Breakfast we went to the Palm Springs Air Museum.  It's a place that I've wanted to visit for years., but we never really got around to it.  We've been to quite a few Air Museums including the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian.  Here we saw one of the biggest displays of WWII aircraft that are still flying.  Often they have flight demonstrations during the year on special occasions.  I didn't have much moxy left after therapy to walk around inside the building, but we did see everything they had to show and even saw the movie depicting the Dolittle Raid on Tokyo.

By the time we finished at the museum we returned home to go to the pool and hot tub.  All the usual participants were there except Terry and Diana.  They've been gone over to Palm Springs for the week cause their son and his wife and family are in town.

We got home tonight just in time for Final Jeopardy.  After that we got the full version of "Wheel" and then settled in for the night.  We were on our own for supper tonight and I was still full from Breakfast after a little help from Peanuts and Coke right after we got home.

The TV fare for the night was a couple of new shows and the rest repeats.  We did manage to move from network to network tonight with enough success not to complain about being bored.  We stayed up until 11 before we finally headed for the feathers for the night.  It had been a beautiful day today for anything we wanted to do.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

We awoke to another gorgeous day today and I had a couple of jobs to do today which should keep me busy all morning at least.  As soon as I was ready I got to changing the oil on the motorhome.  I have to do it somewhere out here every year to stay within the 3000 miles of my heavy duty use of the motorhome engine.  The actual job wasn't that tough but getting up and down off the ground was a real chore.  By the time I finished, I was aching.  I still had to dump the holding tanks but I decided to wait until later in the day.  At least then I would be semi-recovered from the oil change. Sharon got right into washing the car this morning. That took about an hour and after that she made a half batch of pasties.  We would be eating good for supper. By the time I got everything cleaned up and the oil taken care of, it was around noon, and time for lunch.

Not long after lunch we went to the pool cause it was now too warm to dump the tanks without working up a sweat.  I work up a sweat doing anything now-a-days.  It's just the extra effort that it takes for me to do it.

The pool was delicious today and it seems I'm getting a touch of a sunburn every day when were at the pool.  My skin has taken on a constant state of pink.  Something I haven't noticed in the past.  It must have something to do with old age.

By the time we got home we were into the Peanuts and Coke for a little snack before supper.

We gave Phil and Joyce a call, and left a message, to see if they wanted to come over for Taco Wednesday, or go to the casino for breakfast on Thursday or Monday.  They didn't seem interested except to inform us that they were going to the casino tomorrow.  We've found it impossible to read their signals this year, as we have in the past.  They wonder why we can't get together, but turn down the opportunities to do just that, and never offer a counter solution.

It was easy for us to read Len and Rose Schultz.  They only wanted to get together when we went to the VFW for Taco Wednesday or the casino for Breakfast, and that's the way we dealt with it.  But we both enjoyed traveling together either on the way out or the way back.

With Phil and Joyce we're at a loss to figure them out.  We quit playing Dominoes because they turned us down one night, and thinking they would let us know when they were ready.  The next night we almost lost out to Judge Judy to visit for a few minutes.  So then we sat for a week and a half while they were here at Catalina and never got together at night.  If it wasn't for the pool in the afternoon we wouldn't have seen them at all.  We've become fatigued trying to figure them out.

I dumped the holding tanks tonight before it got dark.  It only took a couple of minutes and the temperature had cooled off considerably.  My jobs were finished.

The wind started to come up again tonight but didn't affect our dish significantly.  With the cable out here at the park we don't have options except for pre-recorded movies that have come from home.  But tonight we watched the dish all night without a pause.  We surfed during the repeats but for the most part had TV all night.  At 10 we ambled off to bed having completed a very nice day.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Today we awoke to some wind but not enough to make a difference until this afternoon.  It was a regular therapy day for me, albeit my last while I am here in Desert Hot Springs.  On the way home from therapy I tried to find a couple of places to eat that Paul told me about during my therapy.  I didn't know the address of either so I checked them (Fatburger & Guacamole's) out on the internet when I got back home.  I managed to find both of them and marked them down for future reference.

When I got home Sharon took off with the car to go downtown to take care of some shopping.  She got back just before noon and in plenty of time to get to Taco Wednesday at the VFW.  It was funny but the VFW was booming again today.  Catalina Spa looks like a ghost town but this place was still thriving.  Before we left today we said good-bye to all the girls that we knew there.  Alice, Dotty and Daisy said they were all sad to see us go.  They all live here in Desert Hot Springs. 

By the time we got back home it was about 2 o'clock and time to go to the pool.  The wind was starting to play havoc with the temp of the pool.  It was down a couple of degrees from yesterday.  If the wind keeps blowing it'll be down some more by tomorrow.  The groups that were supposed to be coming into the park have now started arriving.  The pool had filled up with strange faces by the time we got ready to leave this afternoon.

We were both on our own for supper tonight.  I had a couple of Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches about 9 tonight, and I don't even know what Sharon had.

We sat in front of the tube all night, although Sharon was sporting a John Grisham book while I just settled on the TV.  The wind was still blowing pretty hard but it hardly affected the dish at all.  It will, however, affect the temp of the pool by tomorrow.  I'll be whining about how cool the water is.

We stayed up tonight til about 10:45.  We were mesmerized by the shows on TruTV.  We haven't seen a repeat yet and they're all police action shows featuring criminals and they're antics.  It's quite entertaining actually.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

We were up with a plan this morning.  We were going to the Spa Casino again this morning for their wonderful buffet Breakfast.  By 9 we were headed toward Palm Springs and the casino.  We were met this morning by quite a crowd when we arrived.  I think the new price of $5.99 has now made the rounds of the old people across the valley.  It's nice that  my cane almost guarantees a spot at a table near the buffet stations.  With that accommodation I can walk easily without the cane to pick up my food.  I don't need Sharon to carry my plates any more.  Another job that I've taken back on my own.

On the way home we looked again for Fatburger and Guacamole's.  We saw Fatburger's and now know where Guacamole's is located.  We might hit one or both on the weekend, but if not, we'll put it in our memory for next year.

By the time we got back Sharon had decided to clear up the laundry and get ready to leave next week.  We'll have to dump again before we leave on Tuesday even though the tanks won't be full but we want to be okay while we're at Quartzsite overnight.

It took Sharon an unusually long time to get the laundry done today.  She didn't make it back until 2 PM.  We got ready for the pool and went over there immediately.  When we got there we realized that one of the groups that were coming in had arrived.  They were flinging a ball around the pool and splashing everyone in it.  There was only a couple of members in the water but they were sequestered in a corner.  When the ball landed by Sharon and splashed her, I told the guy that picked it up, that if it hit me I would throw it over the fence.  The game calmed down after that and eventually the ball disappeared.  It'll be back again tomorrow, I'm sure.

After getting home we weren't ready for anything substantial for supper again tonight.  Big surprise.  I think we actually save money on food when we go to the casino for breakfast.  We sure don't have to eat another meal for the rest of the day.

Before we settled in for TV tonight I went outside and filled a low tire on the car.  I was going to fill it this afternoon but Sharon had the car at the laundry.  I only had to fill one tire and it was the same one that picked up a drywall screw in this park earlier this year when we were visiting Corky and Deb Zimmermann.  I had to have Sharon come out and read the pressure on the sidewall of the tire cause I couldn't get down far enough to read it.  "Old Helpless" always manages to find another job for Sharon.

For the rest of the night there was enough on TV to keep us entertained for the night.  We even stayed up until 10:45 before we headed south for the night.

Friday, March 28, 2008

I was awakened last night by a blood curdling scream from you-know-who at 2:30 in the morning.  I don't know what the dream was about but it sure woke me up.

My last therapy session was on the agenda for this morning.  I had Paul for a therapist this morning as has been the case all this past week.  I completed my usual hour and was on my way home by 10.  Paul bragged up Fatburger and Guacamole's again today.

When I got home I suggested we go to Fatburger today since Sharon didn't have anything planned for lunch.  We had to drive over to Palm Springs near the airport to get to Fatburger but Sharon had an additional plan after we finished eating today.  The Fatburger meal was very good but also quite pricey.  We paid about $17.50 for the two of us including our drink.

After lunch Sharon had decided that we would take in the new 99¢ Only store in Cathedral City where the old Wal-Mart was located.  I had to tell her how to get there however.  It took us about 20 minutes to get over there.  It took us longer to get there than I spent in the store.  My good leg was acting up so I just went back to the car.

By the time we got back home again it was time to go to the pool.  We got ourselves changed and headed toward the water.  The wind had been blowing since this morning again and continued on into the afternoon.  I was hoping that the pool would be a decent temperature, and in fact it was 90 degrees.  More than warm enough for this time of year.  Terry and Diana Brown were back from their week in Palm Springs, and the usual group was in the pool today.  We stayed until about 4 when we came back home.

The wind had picked up just enough that the dish was not going to be functional tonight.  Sharon went out and plugged in the cable.  There wasn't too much on TV but we did find the Dog Whisperer that we watched for a couple of hours.  We were ready for the farm by 10 so we didn't fight the feeling any longer.  The wind blew all night with-out letting up.  By morning it was still howling.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Today was pretty much going to be a "do nothing" day.  The wind was still blowing like a hurricane and Sharon seemed to be coming down with a cold yesterday.  We'll have to see how she feels today but it doesn't look good for doing anything today.  And by the time she got up it was pretty apparent that most of the day would be taken up on the couch with her eyes shut.

I pretty much didn't care if she spent the day on the couch since the wind was blowing very hard and it wasn't going to be any fun at the pool today anyway.  We found out later, however, that everybody was in the pool today.

Sharon felt well enough to go to church tonight so she took off at 4:30 heading into Desert Hot Springs.  She had decided before she left that she'd stop for deli chicken and potato logs on her way back to the campground.  She was back home again about 6:15 and the Chicken and Potatoes turned out to be quite good.

Sharon seemed to be feeling much better tonight since she was reading for most of the night while she watched TV.  That's pretty normal for her, since TV can't hold her attention for very long.  She's either reading or stitching to keep herself occupied.

We just barely made it to 10 tonight.  For some reason the Wi-Fi died tonight and we couldn't check our e-mail.  If it's still out tomorrow we'll be back to checking our e-mail with the phone again.  Not our first choice but a wonderful back-up in times of need.  We may not get the Wi-Fi back before we leave now.

The wind has not let up all day today and it appears it will continue on into and through the night.  Sharon has become quite disgusted with the wind.  She's even taken to putting a "W" on the calendar for each day that the wind is impossible.  I think she may be building a case for going somewhere else next year.  I haven't asked.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

We woke up this morning to the wind that blew all night last night.  We've both become totally disillusioned with the trip out here this year.  It seems as though every aspect of why we come all the way out here has kicked sand in our face.  We haven't been in the pool or even tempted to go in, for two days and tomorrow will be our last day here.  Texas or Florida is starting to look real good about now.  My brother and sister both go to Florida and the rest of our camping friends from home go to Texas.

Sharon got up and was feeling under the weather again for another day.  Feeling "under the weather" here this year is depressing as all get out.  And with everything else that's gone on, we'll be hard pressed to return here in the future, but who knows.  Next year will be another year and by the time we get home, 7 months in the future.

By the time Sharon felt like doing anything it was to get ready and drive down to the Thrift Bread Store on Indian Canyon Road.   We drove down there and picked up several items that we'll use up next week.  After we came back home we plunked in front of the TV for the afternoon, and Sharon divided her time between the couch and the bed.  That was where I stayed for the rest of the day, listening to the wind, and rocking back and forth.

The weather stayed crappy all day but at least the cable here at the campground is fixed.  I watched TV all night since there was some kind of marathon of Mythbusters was on all day today.  I was surprised that several of the shows I hadn't seen before.  I actually stayed up until about 11:30 watching.

By the time I got into bed the Mrs. was sleeping pretty soundly, which was surprising since she slept most of the day already.