Monday, March 7, 2011

We got up this morning with a very busy “eating” week ahead of us.  We had decided that today we would go to the Cottage Too for Breakfast, Almar Acres for soup tomorrow, the VFW for Tacos on Wednesday, To the Spa Casino for Breakfast on Thursday and leaving Friday still open.  I’m sure if we tried, we could find something to eat on Friday.

We left just before 9 to pick up Phil and Joyce, not remembering they said they would pick us up.  They were just getting in the car as we drove up.  But we just continued on heading for the Cottage Too for Breakfast.  The restaurant was moderately busy but it seemed like there was only one waitress working this morning.  It took us a little bit to get our food but she was working very hard to keep up.  Our Breakfast was good, as usual and we got out of there about 10:15.

We stopped at the Sav-A-Lot on the way home so Phil could pick up some bananas, and we also needed to take a side trip to the Post Office to mail out our tax information.  We were late mailing it out this year because my 1099 was lost in the mail between here and Iron Mountain.  We just received the new form from the City.

When we stopped at the Post Office we realized how hard the wind was blowing this morning.  A light post in front of the parking lot was twisted about 30 degrees from the force of the wind.  The trees were also bent over pretty good.

We left as soon as we arrived home, to go to Michael’s Craft Store and grocery shopping at Wal-Mart on the way back home again.  We managed to get all that done before noon and by the time we got home we realized how hard the wind was really blowing.  Chairs and tables were blown over and debris was changing sites almost as fast as the wind was blowing.

We actually thought about not going to the pool today but changed our minds, and as we realized, not many of our friends were scared away either.  The pool was now filling up with dirt however.  There was crap almost everywhere on the bottom.  But we all toughed it out and we came home in time for Jeopardy on tape.  Surprisingly the wind had not bothered the dish all day today so our reception was good.

The wind stuck around tonight but it still didn’t bother our dish for TV reception and we managed to watch all our regular shows tonight before we caved for the night at our usual bewitching hour.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The wind was still blowing this morning as we got up and got ready to get on with our day.  Our plan for today was to go to Almar Acres for their “Soup Day.”  They usually have at least 3 different soups and bread and it’s all you can eat for $3.  I’m not much of a soup guy but a lot of the people in this park have raved about the soup.

Just as we were leaving we got a call from Bill and Carole Lawson from New Hampshire.  They surprised us walking up on the camper just as we were leaving.  They almost outwitted themselves because in two more minutes we would have been gone.  We spoke briefly to each other promising to get together later that day and then we left .

The “Soup Day” was a large success judging by the number of people that attended.  The clubhouse at Almar Acres was full and the soup was very good.  Phil managed to try all three soups while Sharon, Joyce and I only tried one.  But the bread was very good and almost worth the price just for that.  After we got done with the soup they came around with a dessert rack that offered several different kind of baked goods and even ice cream.  This was quite the lunch for $3 plus 50 cents for a can of coke.

When we got back home we called Bill and Carole Lawson and arranged a meeting at Applebees around 3 o’clock.  We had just enough time to sit around and digest our soup, but not enough time to go to the pool this afternoon.  We had to start heading out to Applebees in enough time to get there in a timely manner.  We got in the car about quarter to three and left our campground for Cathedral City.

We didn’t know exactly where Applebees was, but when we found it, it was a little difficult to get into the parking lot from the direction we were coming from.  We had to wait on Date Palm until somebody would let us turn into the lot.

Bill and Carole were sitting at the bar when we walked in, but we quickly settled onto a table along side.  We were at the restaurant for a couple of hours and we had some chicken wings for a snack while we were there.  The wings were very tasty even though we weren’t too hungry having eaten lunch a couple of hours ago.  Bill and Carole are leaving tomorrow so it was a shame that we only got a little time together today.

When we got home we called Phil and Joyce to see if they wanted to get together for a few drinks tonight.  They said yes and stopped over about a half hour later.  We had a couple of drinks and some conversation and discussed the rest of our “eating week.”

After Phil and Joyce left we settled in for some shows that I had taped for the night.  I taped them this afternoon before we went to Applebees.  The shows took us nicely to our bedtime even though Sharon crashed and burned at 9.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011ASH WEDNESDAY

The wind was gone this morning when we got up.  It was beginning to look like a very nice day today.  In fact the forecast was for it to be hot today as well as tomorrow.  It was another Taco Wednesday today and we would be headed out around noon for the VFW to eat our lunch again today.

Instead of laying around this morning and taking my shower at the last minute, we were both ready and waiting at 10 this morning.  I actually got bored with nothing to do so I picked up a Family Motor Coach Magazine and started reading it.  That took me up to noon so ai had to rush to get my shoes on and get going.  Man, it seems like I can’t win when it comes to getting ready on time this year

Phil and Joyce picked us up and we left for the VFW right at noon and by the time we got there the parking lot was full but the clubhouse wasn’t.  It was probably the result of Ash Wednesday.  We talked to Daisy later and she said they only served 200 today instead of the usual 350+ that they’ve been getting.  We figured it was probably the result of Ash Wednesday and the business will pick up again to its usual activity next week.

We got back home and we went to the pool immediately today instead of sitting down for a few minutes.  Last week a few minutes turned into a nap that extended into our pool time and we never did show up.  The pool was quite crowded today.  I guess with the warm weather they thought the pool would be refreshing, but the water is so warm it really isn’t.We stayed today til well after 4 before we finally came home.

We got a phone call from Terry and Jo-Anne tonight reminding us of our date for the casino tomorrow morning.

We took off for the Lower Clubhouse tonight to play some cards for a change.  Daphne Garrett, Dot and Jerry Pittsley and us were planning on playing Crazy Shultz tonight.  It’s a rummy game that was quite fun to play.  It doesn’t require much thinking so you can still carry on a conversation while you’re playing.

We got back home about 9 and watched a couple of taped programs before we folded up our tents and put away the animals for the night.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

We blew our electrical cord today while I was up typing my Journal.  We had the same thing happen in Yuma this year and don’t know if the problem is us or the park.  I couldn’t fix it immediately, so I’ll have to wait until we come back from Breakfast.

We were off early today to the Spa Casino for the Buffet Breakfast.  Phil and Joyce picked us up   The casino’s variety of food is so vast that we don’t like to do it too often.  But that’s not to say that it isn’t good.  We’ve never gotten any bad food there yet.

After coming back I knew I had to do something about the electric problem.  Phil suggested that I rewire my electric cord through my first connector and that sounded like a good idea since I could defray about a $40 charge at least for now.  I left for Blair Station (RV Store)to check and see what they could provide for me. I managed to pick up one 30 Amp male plug which I’ll wire into my extension cord while I rewire the plug that connects to the motorhome.  I found the terminals in the two plugs to be absolutely impossible to work with.  I’ve rewired my whole house in Iron Mountain and never had this much trouble with electrical connections.  All I had to do was make 6 connections and it took me an hour and a half to do it.  I was wringing wet by the time I finished, and I finally got to turn on the air conditioning.

We basked in the cool air for awhile and then headed for the pool. The pool was almost empty today unlike the situation yesterday when the crowd had gathered in the pool.  Even though the outside temperature was warmer today it was apparent that the crowd might be at the Upper Pool today where its cooler water.  We might even consider that possibility if the temps get much warmer.  We stayed at the pool late tonight til well after 5 o’clock.  We wouldn’t be having supper tonight so the time we spent at the pool was immaterial.

We got home and dove into the Diet Coke and Peanuts for our first course of the night.  We’d snack later on since we wouldn’t be having a real supper anyway.  We squatted in front of the tube for the rest of the night trying to catch up on the taped shows from last night as well as the original programming for tonight.  It didn’t keep us up past our regular bedtime though.

Friday, March 11, 2011

We had no place to go and nobody to see this morning so we made ourselves Breakfast and settled in front of the TV to catch up on news from last night.  Japan had an 8.9 Earthquake last night with a tsunami that killed hundreds of people.  They’ve also got a Nuclear Plant that is in trouble this morning.  The news will be all about the earthquake and the tsunami that’s headed for Hawaii and the states.  With the news being what it is the price of oil may go up substantially over the next few weeks.

Sharon stopped at the office this morning and picked up a package of drugs that was for me.  I had ordered it a couple of days ago and it finally arrived.

Later on this morning Daphne stopped over and reported that the office was selling outweeks for $99.  We were due to move out of Catalina for a week on Monday but with the sale of outweeks, at that price, we’ll stay here for our outweek.  Sharon took off for the office to check and see if we could buy ours.  We had already bought an outweek and this would be our second.

When  Sharon came back from the office she not only bought the outweek but had another package of drugs for me.  This time it was the Insulin that usually comes overnight express.  The girl at the office had put it in the refrigerator because it was marked perishable.

We went to the pool this afternoon and it was quite crowded to say the least.  I announced as soon as we entered the pool area, “Everybody whose been here since 1 o’clock out of the pool.”  Nobody left.  I may as well have been talking to my kids.  Surprisingly after about an hour the pool cleared out some, except for our group of regulars.

Before we left the pool Daphne and the Pittsleys asked us if we wanted to play cards tonight, and Phil and Joyce invited us over for a drink or two.  We agreed to both propositions and then headed for home.

We ate a couple of quick Scrambled Egg Sandwiches for supper and then left for Phil and Joyce’s.  We stayed over there until after dark when it started to get a little nippy outside.  We stopped at home for a few minutes before we headed over to the clubhouse to play cards. 

We played Pegs and Jokers tonight.  We had played before with Norm and Sue Jones from England a few years ago but we didn’t remember the rules.  But after a quick review we were back into the game again.  We played until about 9 o’clock before we returned home and plopped in front of the Telly.  We watched TV til just after 10 and then assumed our usual spot in the horizontal position in the padded room.  We were done for another day.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Today was going to be our big day since we’ve been here in Desert Hot Springs.  Tonight is the night we go to see Franki Valli and the 4 Seasons at the Fantasy Springs Casino.

Except for the concert at the Casino, today started out pretty normal as most Saturdays do.  We didn’t have anything else planned for today except to go to the pool this afternoon after lunch.

Sharon got up and went to the office to purchase Wi-Fi for the next 2 weeks.  We’re still not convinced that Verizon can replace Wi-Fi yet so we still need to have an internet connection.

We went to the pool early today and the pool was empty so to speak.  None of our friends had shown up yet.  It wasn’t long before they started to arrive and the place was crowded to say the least.  Because we needed to leave early for the concert we left the pool about 4 o’clock and came home to get ready to go.

We had planned on eating at the casino tonight in order to get a good parking place so at least we wouldn’t have to have supper before we leave.  We had intended to leave at 4:30 and meet the Bertamini’s at the casino at 5.  Our plan was to go the back way (shortcut) and arrive at 5.  Unbeknownst to us was the closure of our road and a detour which sent us back at least 10 miles away from our destination.  We still managed to get there only 5 minutes late.  We still had plenty of time to eat and get ourselves to the Event Center.

The concert was absolutely wonderful.  An hour and 45 minutes of music straight out of the 60's.  The 4 Seasons were one of my favorite groups growing up in the 60's.  Actually being in High School in the early 60's.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we couldn’t have asked for better seats.  We were halfway back on the side and about 15 rows above the floor.  Where we were sitting there wasn’t a bad seat.  It was the perfect place for the volume of the music.

By 9:45 we were headed toward home.  As luck would have it, as we exited the building our car was parked directly ahead of us about 150 feet away.  Or the next 30 minutes we were headed toward home.  As we turned off the Interstate we got a call from Terry and Jo-Anne saying that they saw us turn off on our exit.  So they must have gotten out the lot quite quickly also.

By the time we got home we only had time for one TV show but Sharon went to bed to read while I sat up.  But when that tape was done I went to bed also.  There was no point in staying up any later since we would lose an hour tonight also.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

We got up late this morning having stayed up late last night and losing an hour in the process.

The weather was very nice this morning with the sun shining and looking like it was going to be very warm today.  I’m sure it will be reflected by the attendees at the pool today.

When Sharon got up she was off to church, and later on the way home, to do some grocery shopping.

I sat in front of the TV and wrote the story for the Newsletter, about our concert last night.  It was an easy task having had such a good time.

By the time Sharon got home it was almost lunchtime.  We still had some shows taped from the last two nights that I was watching to catch up.  It’ll probably still be a couple of days before I get completely caught up.

Sharon whipped up a batch of Ground Pickle and Bologna for lunch today.  I like that for sandwiches on occasion.  That along with Chips and Diet Coke makes for a pretty good lunch.

We took off for the pool after lunch around 2:30 and the pool was only semi-crowded at the time.  But it didn’t take long for it to fill up to the brim, so to speak.  It’s funny how the weather determines the amount of people at the pool even though the temp of the water remains constant.  As a matter fact when it’s warm out, the water is almost too warm to be refreshing with a dip.

We invited Phil and Joyce over tonight for a little cocktail hour after we left the pool today.  Today is their last day here at Catalina even though they will still be here in the valley for another two weeks at Thousand Trails. We’ll actually see them again on Tuesday when we go out for Breakfast at Bristol Farms.  They stayed at our place until almost dark which is now an hour later since we “sprang forward” on Saturday night.

Afterward we camped in front of the TV still catching up on taped shows.  It was easier tonight since Sunday is a relatively bad night for TV anyway.  And we did still have the limitation of 10 o’clock to consider.