May 10th to 12th - Spokane to Missoula

May 10th – Tues - Spokane WA
Terry got up early to golf with Bill, Georgia rode with them to the golf course and walked back and I shampooed our carpets with Georgia’s carpet cleaner. I also hung Georgia’s laundry on the line and got a load of ours in her washer before they all returned.
Then we were off to run errands – mail, licenses, etc. Terry had to renew his driver’s license and was afraid that they would make him change from our mail box address as that is what happened to me last year. But the guy just verified that the address hadn’t changed and gave him a new one. We went to the social security office so I could apply for retirement. After waiting for ½ hour, I was told that they could make an appointment for me to do so and it would be in about 2 weeks – or I could apply by phone or on the internet. When we got back, I filled out the online application and when I was done it informed me that I would have to take my green card to a social security office to finish the application!!
We had another shared dinner made mostly by Georgia and then we all went for a walk to check out the sewer construction. After dessert went home to watch TV as Terry wasn’t going to last long.

May 11th – Wed - to Missoula MT
We have a fridge recall and some small warranty items to get done on the 5th wheel so we are making a trip to Missoula. We could have had the work done in Spokane but we have been really happy with the service department in Missoula and so-so with the one in Spokane. We may not get in until Friday but we are nervous about not being able to get out of Bill’s yard if excavation gets started.
It was a beautiful day for the 180 mile drive. We stopped at the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar (used to be 10,000 – guess that’s inflation!) for breakfast and set up at Bretz RV. We gave our “laundry list” to the service department and he said he could get us in on Friday.
We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with neighbors & reading, then dinner & TV.

May 12th – Thurs – Missoula
We were being lazy and watching TV in bed this morning when a guy with a tractor came to take our 5th wheel into the shop – what happened to our Friday appointment? They probably thought we were terrible as it was 9:20 local time but only 8:20 on all our clocks. After Terry was sure that they knew what the problems were, we went to find a social security office to show them my green card. We got an address from a phone book and drove 4 ½ miles to find a new address posted on the door. Wanda took us back nearly to Bretz for the new location. But it was not very busy, the employees were very nice and we were done in no time.
Next was a stop at WalMart where I ended up getting a much needed haircut. Then fuel stops – first for the truck and then for us. A bit later, Terry was antsy so we made a trip to Costco for some items that we didn’t know we needed.
Back at Bretz, I read while Terry wandered & paced. We looked at some new 5th wheels like ours and found some changes that we did not like. About 4 our rig was done & back in the parking spot. A neighbor, Steve, came by and we had drinks with him. I had him bring over his computer & camera to put a picture on his wallpaper and then had him stay for dinner since his wife is visiting grandkids and he is here alone.

May 6th to 9th - Hillsboro to Spokane

May 6th – Fri – Hillsboro
After a nice late breakfast, we went to Costco to renew our membership and buy a few items. Then we found a Chevy dealer which was really close. When we were driving here, the “check engine” light came on. A lot of the information for this light in the manual mentioned emission control so we thought it might have something to do with the new DEF. The service guy was very nice and they weren’t super busy so they were able to get the truck right in and on the computer. There were 3 suspect sensors but apparently they were all “electrical” rather than a problem so they flashed (reset?) the system, took it for a test drive and sent us on our way. It was also all covered under warranty so that was good.
I wanted to find a WalMart but when we started following Wanda’s directions we realized how long it would take us and decided to go to a closer Fred Meyer instead. It was raining when we got back so we just hibernated and watched blossom petals from a huge tree behind us fall like snow.

May 7th – Sat – Hillsboro
It was cool & rainy this morning so we stayed late in our cozy bed. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, worked on the computer a bit and then we went to see Terry’s Mom and her husband Don. They now live in a small, detached “apartment” behind Terry’s sister Cindy’s house. It was being built when we were last here and it is lovely. Terry’s Mom is in a wheelchair so it was designed – by Cindy’s husband Tim – to be wheelchair accessible. We spent a few hours with them, left for a bit to get propane and a couple of grocery items and then went back to have dinner with them, Cindy and Cindy’s friend Kimberly.
It is very nice to be staying at the Elks as we are only about 4 miles from Cindy’s rather than the 20 miles when we stayed here last year.

May 8th – Sun – Hillsboro to John Day
I got up early to make Danish Puff and Pigs-in-a-Blanket for brunch at Cindy’s. The Danish Puff takes an hour to bake so I had to get an early start even though we didn’t leave until just after 10. Terry’s nephew Trevor and his wife Janine dropped by to say hi before we ate. Of course EllaMae & Don were there as well as Cindy’s daughter Amy, her husband Ryan and their 2 month old baby boy Cillian (hard C).
After brunch, we sat around & visited and were entertained by Cillian. We decided to leave about 3:30 and also decided to get out of Portland today rather than fight rush hour traffic tomorrow morning. So we fueled up and were on the road at 4:30. We stayed at the Corp of Engineers park on the John Day river which was great for the overnight stop – especially since our Golden Age pass halved the cost to $11.

May 9th – Mon – to Spokane
We dumped our waste tanks on the way out of the park and headed east on I84. We called Bill & Georgia to see if the “Hughes RV Park” was open for the season and they said we were welcome to stay but to be aware that road grinding for a sewer project was beginning on their street today.
We stopped for fuel and lunch in Connell and arrived at B&G’s around 2:30. We had set up and had a beer in the lovely sunshine when Bill & Terry went for a walk to check out the construction and met B&G’s son Dennis coming to get his boat out of their garage. Unfortunately, it was directly behind where we parked so we had to move the 5th wheel. This took us up to dinner time which Georgia provided. After dinner, we walked down the street and watched the grinding process – yes, they were still working and didn’t stop until about 9. We watched DWTS at B&G’s and headed back to our rig.

May 3rd to 5th - Brookings, Florence, Hillsboro

May 3rd – Tues – Brookings
We made a quick trip for a few groceries and I did some dinner prep before making breakfast. Craig came to the RV park about noon and we went with him to golf at Salmon Run GC where we were joined Bill, a friend of Craig. The course is very different and, if possible, too challenging. It is narrow with a lot of blind holes, creeks across fairways, gullies and steep side hills. You have to keep carts on the paths so in several places where you want to lay up for a shot across a creek, you have to walk quite a ways to your next shot and then walk back to the carts which really slows down the game. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people on the course but with the guys constantly hunting for balls in the rough – OK, I lost some too – the round took us 5 ½ hours.
Cathy and her dogs Maya (an adorable Papillon) and Ryan (an exuberant Boxer) were waiting at the RV park when we returned. We had a lot of catching up to do so it was nonstop talking, eating & drinking until they left just after 10. Luckily, Cathy doesn’t drink alcohol so Craig left his truck and Cathy was the designated driver.

May 4th – Wed – to Florence OR
We got a fairly early phone call from Craig asking if we found Cathy’s cell phone as she couldn’t find it. Sure enough, it had dropped from her pocket when she was sitting at the table so we put it in his truck as they weren’t coming in until after we were planning to leave.
The drive along the coast was beautiful. We stopped at a casino in Coos Bay for breakfast and lost $20 in slot machines.
There were no other rigs in the Elks RV parking so we got a huge pull-through spot, registered and got set up. We found a car dealer where we bought DEF for the truck as the warning message told us we had 300 miles left before our speed would be restricted. It was quite cold & windy which, as everyone knows by now, meant a trip to another casino where we each got $10 free play. I went up & down on my free play and gave Terry more money when he lost his allowance. As often happens, he started winning and by the time I was starving and ready to go, he had more than covered our losses for the day. As we were walking out, I saw a favorite machine that I wanted to try (!!!) and he sat down at one that we had never seen before. I lost my $5 and he turned his into $25 so we headed back.
There was a Papa Murphy’s pizza right across from the Elks lodge so I talked Terry into pizza for dinner. This is one of the few types of pizza that he sort of likes.

May 5th – Thurs – to Hillsboro OR
Terry filled up the DEF and we headed north again for more lovely scenery along the coast. We turned inland at Lincoln City and stopped at Spirit Mountain Casino which is much larger than the last time – several years ago – that we were there. We were going to stay overnight but after gambling for quite a while and having lunch, we decided to continue on to Hillsboro which is a suburb of Portland. Again, we are at an Elks lodge, this time for $10 a night. By the time we set up & registered, it was time for happy hour, dinner & TV.

Apr 30th to May 2nd - Eureka to Brookings OR

Apr 30th – Sat – Eureka
We went to Old Town, wandered through stores and checked out the harbor. It was still windy & cool but not bad for strolling. When we got back, our neighbor was cleaning his 5th wheel so Terry figured he should dry wash the truck while I worked on the computer. The next thing I knew, Terry was also cleaning the 5th wheel so I took pity on him and washed the outside of the windows.
By now it was time to relax and have dinner. This RV park also includes cable TV so we can find something decent to watch.

May 1st – Sun – to Brookings OR
It was a lovely morning for a short drive along the coast. We can certainly tell that we have moved into a rainy part of the country with all the greenery everywhere. We set up – we are the only rig in the Elks RV park – registered and had lunch. We went for a little drive, stopped at Fred Meyers to pick up one small item and came out with a basket full. When we bought our 5th wheel, we had the king bed exchanged for a queen and had to buy a comforter. The one we got was inexpensive and not exactly the right colors so I remedied that today!
We came back to drop everything off and then since the wind came up we went to a casino again! Terry finally found a machine that paid some money so we left a few hours later with $40 ahead, 2 small soft cooler bags and 2 6-packs of pop.

May 2nd – Mon – Brookings
I intended to walk to Fred Meyers for doughnuts this morning but it started to rain before I was ready to go so we drove. There is a laundry room with 2 washers & dryers here at the Elks so I got a bit of exercise by walking back & forth to get 4 loads done.
We are planning to see friends Craig & Cathy while we are here. They stopped in Medford on their way home from their usual winter “south” and Craig called about noon to say that he stopped for fuel and then his truck wouldn’t start but he was waiting for AAA. A couple of phone calls later and he said they were on their way with new batteries. The old ones turned over but wouldn’t catch. We had offered to go to Medford and tow their 5th wheel to their home in Gasquet but luckily – for them – that wasn’t necessary.
The weather cleared up so we went exploring. This included a stop at the Azalea Garden for a walk & pictures and a drive along the waterfront at the Coast Guard basin.

Apr 27th to 29th - Redding to Eureka CA

Apr 27th – Wed – Redding
We checked out a small golf course nearby and thought we might play after we tracked down some reasonably priced diesel. Of course, there is no reasonably priced diesel in California – especially right now! If the prices keep going up, when a pump shuts off at $75 your tank will be ¼ full rather than ½ full!
We decided that since the bikes were already off that we would go for another bike ride instead of unloading the golf clubs. The weather remained beautiful and the trail was just as enjoyable the second time. We sat outside to watch the TV in the compartment and Terry put a couple of steaks on the BBQ for an excellent dinner.

Apr 28th – Thurs – to Eureka CA
We took highway 299 over the mountains to the coast. It was very windy and hilly with a couple of road repair delays. There is some type of tree/shrub that is covered with purple flowers right now and there were lots of them along the road. We stopped in a pullout so I could get a picture and I discovered that there are only flowers on the limbs – no leaves.
We are at an Elks club again and staying for 3 nights. I made sandwiches before we registered and then we went for a drive. We had some rain when we were driving and it remained cool & windy so we stopped at a tourist bureau and just explored in the truck rather than walking anywhere.

Apr 29th – Fri – Eureka
It was sunny but still cool & windy so we had a lazy morning and went exploring again. Eureka is not right on the ocean but on a large bay. The ocean can be accessed by driving across a couple of bridges and then walking over the dunes. Even here we found a casino to pass some time – and to get diesel at the lowest price that we have seen here - $4.54.
We stopped at a fish market and got fresh Dungeness crab for an exorbitant price, picked up some rolls, made a salad and had a marvelous dinner. Dinner was early since we didn’t have lunch which justified the Chocolate Pudding Cake I made later for dessert!

Apr 24th to 26th - Sparks to Redding CA

Apr 24th – Sun – to Sparks NV
It was nice to sleep in cool temperatures last night. We were walking to the casino to get coffee & breakfast when we noticed a sign advertising breakfast on the Elks club and went there instead. It was very busy and it was nice to see young families rather than just older members. They cooked part of the breakfast to order – choice of eggs, bacon, pancakes, potatoes – and you helped yourself to juice, coffee, sausage links and biscuits & gravy. It was a very good value for $6.00.
It didn’t matter that we didn’t leave until 9:30 as we had a short drive to the Sparks Marina RV park. It is a very nice place and the employees are friendly & helpful – and, yes, there actually is a small lake & marina nearby. After setting up and scanning over 200 cable channels on both TVs, we went for a drive and ended up at the Western Village Inn & Casino not too far away. I won some money right away and it kept me going for a long time. Terry found $2 Blackjack tables so switched from slots that weren’t good to him. There were hourly drawings for 10 $100 bills so we stayed through the last drawing at 4 o’clock (didn’t win!) and came back for dinner.
After dinner, we went to John Ascuaga’s Nugget as we had remembered it from a visit long ago. It is a totally different place now – huge & impersonal – but Terry found a $5 Pai Gow poker table and enjoyed that.

Apr 25th – Mon – Sparks – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOUG!
It was fairly cold this morning so we were slow to get going. After breakfast, we headed to Reno. We went to the Circus Circus casino – what else did you think we would do?! – and wandered and gambled for a while. Then to the Silver Legacy casino with much the same activity. There is a huge, fascinating, three-story, mechanical “contraption” in the center of the casino that is meant to represent the mining heritage of the area. On the way back to the RV park, we found a grocery store. Since we didn’t have lunch, we started with artichokes and carried on to a fairly early dinner.
I knew Terry was a little antsy so I suggested that he go back to the closest casino and play some 21. That left me to read and watch HGTV in peace!

Apr 26th – Tues – to Redding CA
We left at 9 for the 200 mile drive to Redding. The air is so clear in the Reno area and the sunny day made the drive lovely. Wanda did the usual great job of directing us to the Redding Elk’s club where we are staying. It is a beautiful facility with 20 RV sites. We set up and went into the bar to register. We had to have a beer and then very good hamburgers for a late lunch – accompanied by the second beer which is free.
We took the bikes off, put our shorts on and rode a trail right along the Sacramento River to the Sundial Bridge. The bridge is for pedestrians and has a unique construction method using a single tall, thin (sundial) support on one end with cables from there attached to the bridge deck. The trail is lovely with trees arching over in some spots and dogwood trees in full bloom. We rode 7 miles.
We sat outside for a while and then went to a grocery store for a few items that we forgot last time. Terry chatted with some neighbors. Of course, all the people staying here are Elk’s members so it is really interesting to talk to them and hear about other Elk RV parks.
The site here includes cable TV and Terry found a different, competition type show called Top Shot where people compete with different weapons – pistols, rifles, crossbows, etc. There were several episodes in a row and it was quite entertaining.

Apr 21st to 23rd - Las Vegas to Hawthorne

Apr 21st – Thurs
We hugged Claude & Val goodbye about 9:30 and then headed to a nearby casino. We were going to have the breakfast buffet but they only have breakfast on weekends. We thought about waiting for the lunch buffet, but shortly after it opened at 11, we moved on (with money ahead) to a small casino which had a breakfast special that we took advantage of. This small casino had older machines so we didn’t stay long after eating. It was quite windy and we didn’t have other plans so of course we ended up at the huge Boulder Station casino. I hit a reasonable bonus on the first machine that I played there so we were able to stay for quite a while and for the whole day we spent $40. With the price of fuel this is not much more than a day trip!
The rest of the evening was relaxing, dinner, phone calls & TV.

Apr 22nd – Fri
What we thought would be a bit of sewing to fix a sagging curtain turned out to be a job that entailed removing the valence and re-stapling a Velcro strip that supports the curtain on the inside. Since the chairs moved out, I figured it was a good opportunity to vacuum and was just finishing when Billy & Lauri asked if we wanted to join them at Arizona Charlie’s for breakfast. They moved to our park this morning and of course we said we would join them. It is hard to beat $3.99 for ham or steak, eggs, potatoes & toast.
We can’t leave a casino without playing something so we each took $10. I picked a machine and Terry sat down beside me. I lost $5 while he turned his $5 into $45. As he was cashing in his ticket, I picked another machine and cashed out with my original $10. Again, Terry played a machine beside me and turned $5 into $43. Since we were with Billy & Lauri, we actually left with the money in our pockets.
I did 3 loads of laundry and did some cleaning. Terry went to an RV supply store and got a new clip for the sliding door on the wardrobe & installed it. We went to B&L’s to get some pictures as the battery on my camera was not fully charged when we went to Valley of Fire. I ended up putting a lot of their pictures on a DVD and then showing Lauri how to backup pictures using Picasa.
Just as we were finishing dinner, Billy came over and asked if we wanted to watch “The President’s Speech” with them. We have heard a lot about it so went to watch it. I really enjoyed it and so did Terry but he prefers “action” films. Our great host even provided popcorn!

Apr 23rd – Sat – to Hawthorne NV
We headed north this morning and ended up at the parking lot of a casino for a free night of dry camping. We paid an exorbitant $4.69 for diesel in Tonopah and had lunch there.
After putting out the slides, we went for a short walk and saw an Elks club with 3 camping spots but didn’t feel like moving. We lost a few dollars in the casino and went back to the rig. Terry hooked up the generator so he could watch TV and chatted with some neighbors while he was outside. Shortly after dinner, we put away the generator and watched TV in bed for a while as the TV in the bedroom is DC.

Apr 19th to 20th - Las Vegas

Apr 19th – Tues
Another lazy morning followed by a busy afternoon and evening. Mid-morning, Claude & Val were going to WalMart so we tagged along. On the way I had to introduce Val to Big Lots where they got a couple of items and we bought a table to put between our recliners. We were using a small, “under sofa” table which was just a bit too small. After WalMart, we stopped to show them Sam’s Town and were just in time to have a beer and enjoy the water show in the courtyard right beside the bar.
We each had a late lunch and then we picked them up at 5. First we drove down and back on the strip where there were lots of people. Then we parked by Main St Station, went in there to get our parking fee refunded and went to Fremont Street. Claude & Val got players’ cards at the Four Queens which gave them 2-for-1 vouchers for the restaurant which we promptly used. We had a short wait to be seated but the long was much longer when we finished dinner.
We saw the 9 o’clock show on Fremont, gambled through the 10 o’clock show, – Claude did very well!! – watched the 11 o’clock show and headed home.

Apr 20th – Wed
Well, we ran out of superlatives again today. We picked up Billy & Lauri at their RV park at 9 and drove 55 miles to Valley of Fire State Park NE of here. It is another area of red rocks – and white rocks and striped rocks and grey rocks. It is incredible to see the nothingness of Nevada landscape change to this amazing area. We were stopping every few hundred yards to take pictures as there was a different view when you moved just a little bit. We went on one walk of ½ mile round trip to see the Mouse Hole (natural basin of water) and decided that was the only walk we needed to take as most of the trail was sand hiding treacherous rocks and it was quite hot. We found a shaded picnic table for our lunch and then wandered through the visitor’s center which is in the middle of the park.
We met a couple from Germany when we stopped in a campground and ended up giving them the name of a place to stay in Las Vegas and some information about Alaska. They shipped their small motor home from Brussels and will be touring the US & Canada for 8 months.
We made a total loop again for this trip so we came back near Lake Mead. We discussed taking a detour to walk on the new bypass bridge at Hoover Dam but we were all tired and decided to leave that for another time.
However, we weren’t too tired to have a beer when we dropped off Billy & Lauri. We had a short time to dump the sand from our shoes and I washed it from my feet before going to Claude & Val’s for a nice dinner. We came home to watch Survivor so Terry could fall asleep watching it in bed instead of at Claude & Val’s.

Apr 16th to 18th - Las Vegas

Apr 16th – Sat - back to Las Vegas
We had a short drive today so we went for breakfast at the casino after saying farewell to Bill & Georgia. It is hard to beat $2.99 for bacon, eggs & pancakes. My player card was upgraded to “silver” which included $10 free slot play which I had to use. Then we redeemed points for baseball caps.
As I mentioned, Bill &Lauri went to Las Vegas so we went to the park where they said they were going to stay. When we were checking in, we asked if we could be close to them and found out that they weren’t here. When we called them, Bill said there was no room when they got here and they were down the road at a “marginal” park with very reasonable rates. We decided we would like to be with them so we drove there, drove through the park and came back to the original park – Road Runner RV park.
After we set up and had a late, light lunch, we went to a flea market that Lauri mentioned. It is inside which was good as the weather was very warm. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back. After dinner, we went to Boulder Station Casino for a while. It is huge! We went out the wrong door when we left, walked halfway around the building, went back in and found the right door so we could find the truck!

Apr 17th – Sun – Las Vegas
We were lazy this morning and did laundry when we finally finished coffee & breakfast and got moving. After more “being lazy”, I made a late lunch and we headed to Sam’s Town Casino. It is another huge place with 3 parking garages, several restaurants, shops and a waterfall park in the center. Neither one of us did well on the slot machines. We stopped at a Big Lots – surprise!- on the way back and then had an evening of TV and reading.

Apr 18th – Mon – Las Vegas
At 9, Billy & Lauri picked us up for a trip to Red Rock Canyon which is about 20 miles west of Las Vegas. We drove into an “old west” town but there was nothing going on so we drove right back out. We did see burros – including a cute baby – on the way.
The visitor center at Red Rock Canyon state park is wonderful. We watched a 30 minute movie about the area and discovered that some of the red hills are sand dunes that fossilized and oxidized (rusted!). There are several informative areas outside the visitor center and a tortoise exhibit. Next up was a 13 mile scenic drive that ends up back at the main road. The 2 lane road has one-way traffic so you don’t have to worry about cars coming at you. We stopped at several look-outs to “ooh & aah” and take pictures. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at a stop with picnic tables. The weather was windy and much cooler than we expected so we didn’t go on any hikes. We made a large loop for the entire trip so we saw different areas of Las Vegas.
Claude & Val arrived at this park to stay for 3 days. Terry greeted them, supervised the parking and told them to come over when they were set up. I decided to make dinner for all of us and sent Terry to the store for a couple of grocery items. We had a lovely evening catching up and then watching DWTS.

Apr 13th to 15th - Las Vegas to Pahrump

Apr 13th –Wed - to Pahrump NV
We all walked to Fremont St and had a $1.99 breakfast special (2 eggs, potatoes & toast). While Bill & Georgia were getting players’ cards, I won $10 on a slot machine and when we were going to the restaurant, I found a $5 bill on the floor. We shopped in a souvenir store, went to Main St Station to check out and returned to the park to pack up.
We left about 11:30 for the 55 mile drive to Pahrump where we are staying at Terrible’s Lakeside. This park is very popular with snowbirds as it is on a route from southern California to Canada so we weren’t able to get sites together. In fact, we are on opposite sides of the little lake but there is a lovely path by the lake. I had a little extra work to do when we set up as a jar of pickled asparagus had tipped over and the juice dripped all over the fridge.
We took B&G on a tour of the town and stopped at WalMart for a few items. I called Billy & Lauri and discovered they were already here and were going to the casino so we dropped off B&G and went to the casino which is very close to our site. We gambled a bit and then B&G and Billy & Lauri joined us at our rig for happy hour(s).

Apr 14th – Thurs - Pahrump
We went to the casino for breakfast and saw Billy & Lauri there so they joined us. We gambled until I figured I better get back and put dinner in the crock pot. Bill & Georgia had flat tires on their bikes so Terry helped Bill fix them and I rode over when I was done with dinner prep. We all went riding around the park and added Billy for one lap which included a stop at the office for some information.
Points on our casino cards were multiplied by 7 today so we went back and gambled a bit more. We ended up with enough points to get 2 sweatshirts and didn’t spend too much more than it would cost to actually just buy them!
B&G and Billy & Lauri came over for dinner with everyone bringing food so it wasn’t too much work for anyone. A slight breeze kept it cool enough that we spent the evening inside.

Apr 15th – Fri - Pahrump
Bill & Georgia came over even before I was out of the shower. No, they were not that early, we were lazy! They had eaten breakfast so Georgia went back and Bill joined us for another coffee when we went to the casino for breakfast again. Billy & Lauri left this morning for Las Vegas.
We had earned points gambling and the casino didn’t have some items in all sizes so we and B&G went to Terrible’s in town to see what they had. We gambled a bit more – Bill won money! – and redeemed our points for a shirt and plastic storage containers.
Next was another stop at WalMart. When we got back, Terry helped Bill hook up a longer sewer hose and program his TV and then I helped him download pictures from his camera to his new laptop. Back at our place, Terry chatted with some neighbors and then 3 neighbor couples and B&G ended up at an impromptu happy hour here. Dennis & Judy, Larry & Donna and Hal & Sharon travel together and are all from Washington state.
We went for dinner at the casino with B&G and then stayed for a drawing at 7. There were also drawings at 8 & 9 but we didn’t go back as we were busy trying to backup pictures using Picasa on Bill’s computer. We had a problem which turned out to be a bad DVD so it took a while.

Apr 11th to 12th - Las Vegas

Apr 11th – Mon – Las Vegas
We went to Fremont St, had a breakfast buffet (not so good), gambled a bit and then walked back to the RV park as Bill & Georgia (friends from Spokane) were arriving today. As we were walking down the street, I told Terry that it would be funny if we saw them driving towards us as that is how their GPS should have taken them. Then I saw them turning around in a parking lot near the RV park so Terry took off running to catch them and direct them to the park as it is hard to find. We went to Main St Station to get them registered and changed their site to one near us. While we were there, we saw John who has a park model next to where we stayed in Mesa last fall – small world!
We sat and caught up with B&G and then walked back to Fremont St. We gambled, people watched, shopped a bit, ate dinner and watched a couple of the light shows on the overhead “canopy”. We also watched people on zip lines that are set up above the pedestrian mall of Fremont St. They start from a platform 67 feet above ground and go 850 feet to a lower platform. A couple of lightweight riders didn’t make it to the end so an employee hooks up to the line, goes out to the rider and pulls himself and the rider back in hand-over-hand. We end up back to our place for a nightcap.

Apr 12th – Tues – Las Vegas
I made breakfast for all of us before we drove to Mandalay Bay on the strip. We parked there and started walking – and walked and walked and walked! We went into every large casino/hotel, admired the décor & size and gambled a bit at some. The new Wynn property is very impressive and huge. We tried to get out a different way than we entered and ended up walking in a very long circle through all the conference rooms.
We didn’t have lunch and we were all starving so we settled for a buffet at Harrah’s – again just OK. We went to Harrah’s as we didn’t want to pay $45 for the buffet at Wynn’s even though we got $10 free play there and all walked out with money except Terry.
Now we had the long walk back on crowded sidewalks. The monorail doesn’t go far enough and would cost $5 each to ride so that wasn’t a good option. At Excalibur we could finally get on a tram and ride to Mandalay Bay so we could rest our weary feet & legs.
We were back in time to have a drink, watch DWTS and put our feet up.
Bonnie – Georgia says “HI”!

Apr 8th to 10th - Mesa to Las Vegas

Apr 8th – Fri – Mesa
Gloria came with us to the Mesa Marketplace where we had breakfast before shopping. We got a vase to fill a blank spot and Gloria got a fruit picker so we were both happy. When we got back we did laundry and stopped on the way back to visit with Phyllis who was one of Terry’s dance partners last fall. She broke her hip but is walking now and waiting for a clearance from her surgeon so she can drive when she gets home.
Dennis & Gloria came over for a drink so Dennis could see our new purchase. At 7 we went to their place to play cards with Steph & Garry as well.

Apr 9th – Sat – to Las Vegas
We got up early and were on the road at 7:15. It is so nice to travel on a weekend and not worry about rush hour traffic. We stopped to fuel up the truck and ourselves in Kingman and as we climbed a little hill out of there hit some snow. We slowed to 20 mph and put on the four-way flashers for 2-3 miles until we were down the hill and the snow stopped. There were warnings about high winds on the Hoover Dam bypass bridge and a sign recommended that high profile vehicles not go over the bridge but we had no problems at all.
We are staying at Main Street Station RV park again. It is very basic but has full hookups, is inexpensive ($19) and is within walking distance of Fremont Street. When we went to the hotel to register, we stayed and gambled for a couple of hours and came out even. After dinner, we walked to Fremont St and played slots for several hours and spent $29 which is cheap entertainment.

Apr 10th – Sun – Las Vegas
The RV park is right beside a freeway but the traffic noise is not bad especially since it was cool enough to have the windows closed. In fact it was downright cold yesterday.
We had coffee and then drove to the Rio casino and parked in their parking garage. We had breakfast there, gambled and then walked to 2 other casinos. Next we drove to the strip and found parking at Mandalay Bay. By the time we finished gambling there, I was ready to head for home and watch some of the Masters golf tournament on TV. Unfortunately, it was nearly over by the time we got back.
After dinner, we walked back to Fremont Street to gamble and watch CRAZY people. Terry won $269 on a bonus playing 40 cents so that will help even things out while we are here.

Apr 5th to 7th - Mesa

Apr 5th – Tues
Steph told us about a couple of park models that were selling for $2000 or less so Terry thought we better check them out and maybe buy one and rent it out - !? The first one that we saw was old but very clean and included only some furniture. Steph had bought the washer & dryer as hers still work but need babysitting & manual intervention. Terry called Julie (who we met here last fall) to see if they wanted to rent it and she said she wanted to buy it. She & Larry stayed 3 months here in a very small motor home and had an accident on their way home to Spokane so they didn’t know what they would do this winter.
We took Dennis & Gloria and Ernie & Dianne to Hobby Lobby to look for a small coffee table for Gloria and a couple of small items for us. No coffee table and all we got was a basket for magazines. Dennis & Gloria came over to take measurements & pictures of our coffee table so they can build one this summer at home.
After an early dinner, I talked to Julie and said we could go to the park model, take some pictures and email them to her daughter. We just had time to do that before going to play bocce ball with a group of friends. The bocce ball court is lighted and the weather from 6:30 to 8 was just beautiful.
Julie definitely wants to buy the park model.

Apr 6th – Wed
After breakfast, we talked with Dennis & Gloria and then Ernie & Dianne to get information about transferring the title for a park model. We went to see Ed – the owner of the park model that Julie is buying – but he was taking a nap so we went to help Garry & Steph move out their old washer & dryer and move in the new ones. Later, when Terry was talking to Ed and Garry was changing the dryer plug, I talked to Julie while I was in the park model so I could answer any questions. She and all her friends are so excited about them getting this unit. Their daughter Natalie and her husband are going to come down with them in August and bring all their stuff in their toy hauler.
We made a quick trip to Costco (and grabbed lunch while there) and then I put together some appetizers for later. At 4 we joined Ernie & Dianne and Garry & Steph at Dennis & Gloria’s for a farewell happy hour(s) for Ernie & Dianne. It’s a good thing we were in a covered patio as it rained - at times very hard. The wind was blowing also and we had a hard time getting Dennis’ new buddy burner to light.
At 7 we dashed back through rain, changed to long pants and drove across the park to play LCR and Chase the Ace at Dan & Carol’s place – along with the other 6 from our earlier gathering.

Apr 7th – Thurs
We went to Denny’s for breakfast with Ernie & Dianne before they headed home to Kelowna. We got tickets for a potluck dinner here tonight and then had to go to the store for a couple of ingredients to make baked beans as our contribution. Dennis & Gloria came by on their bikes to tell us about an open house to show off a park model remodel so we had a look and then showed them the unit that Julie is buying and talked to the sellers a bit.
Dennis & Gloria came over to visit for a bit before we all went to the potluck. The park provided fried chicken and we had a wonderful choice of side dishes brought by a large crowd of diners. After we ate, the activities director had a slide show of pictures taken in the park during the past season. We stopped briefly at Dennis & Gloria’s to eat part – we were too full! - of the root beer floats provided for dessert and came home.

Apr 2nd to 4th - Mesa AZ

Apr 2nd – Sat – to Mesa AZ
We got an early start this morning and were in Quartzsite to join Clem & Marlene for breakfast at 9:30. After a good breakfast and catching up, we were on the road about 11 for an uneventful trip to Val Vista Villages RV park where we stayed last Oct through Dec.
It was very hot so we set up, put on our swim suits and headed to the pool where we ran into Ernie & Dianne. After a cooling dip and changing out of our suits, we went to Dennis & Gloria’s new park model where we met Harold & Laurie and then were joined by Ernie & Dianne.
I just had time to put together cheese & crackers as our contribution to snacks for a pool party here at the park from 6-8. It was well attended by fun-loving crazies, some with water guns which meant most people got wet at one or another. There was a band, games in the pool and even dancing on the small spots not taken up by tables & chairs. Terry had waaaay too much fun so we crashed when we got home just after 9.

Apr 3rd – Sun
We were up but not moving too fast when Stephane stopped by this morning to see if we wanted to play cards this evening. We visited a bit with Dennis & Gloria and then with Neil & Robin before riding with them to Filly’s for lunch. Garry & Steph went earlier and saved tables but there were 14 of us so some people had to sit in the sun which was very hot. We only stayed for a few dances after the band started at 1 as it was just too hot.
We went to the produce market and grocery store. Terry cooked a steak on the BBQ for himself but I wasn’t too hungry after a big lunch so just had salad & garlic bread. Then it was off to Ernie & Dianne’s to play cards with them & Steph and later Garry – Arizona Rummy and Golf.

Apr 4th – Mon
It cooled off nicely last night. We have a street light right by our site so it is very bright with the window & blinds open for air. We will be avoiding this site in the future.
After breakfast, Terry took the bikes off the rack and we rode around looking at sites and reserved one for mid Sept through Dec again. Out of curiosity, we also looked at a park model for sale. Even at quite a low price there is no way we could imagine anyone buying it as it was such a mess and so claustrophobic with small tip-outs, not slide-outs.
After lunch we made a trip to Camping World as we had a gift card with an unknown balance that we thought we should spend before it expired. We got a collapsible ice bucket that Dennis had told us about.
When we got back we joined a group at the pool for “bobbing” and sunning. We had time for a drink with Dennis & Gloria before going to Fat Willy’s with them, Ernie & Dianne and Harold & Laurie.
Dennis was watching a basketball game so Gloria came over to watch DWTS. It was so nice to sit outside and watch the TV in our storage compartment. Dennis joined us to have strawberries & dip for dessert.

Mar 30th to Apr 1st - DHS

Mar 30th – Wed
While Terry played golf with the men’s club, I worked on the computer and checked out several parks as we still haven’t decided exactly where we are going when we leave here on Saturday.
Terry did some packing and I cleaned windows & screens. After lunch we went to play golf. It was too warm for a lot of people so the golf course was fairly empty which resulted in a nicely paced game.
After dinner, our neighbors Jim & Debbie asked us to join them, Eldon & Elaine and Chuck & Faye for a drink as Jim & Debbie are leaving tomorrow.

Mar 31st – Thurs
We were on the golf course this morning when Carie phoned to ask us over for drinks & burgers. We had time to do laundry and make a quick stop to see Leon & Marilyn’s park model. They got possession today and are cleaning and painting ceilings before they go home.
We went to Desert Pools RV park to see Gary & Carie at 3:30. We went to the natural mineral water pool until we were all pruney. Their site was in shade when we got back so it was wonderful to sit out for drinks, snacks and dinner – and to catch up on news.

April 1st – Fri
Terry’s team won some money in the golf scramble again. My team ended up with 3 players as someone did not show up. We did OK without a low handicap player and had a lot of fun.
There was no breeze and was very hot even at 8:40 when we teed off.
We stood around – in the shade – for a while and had a beer and chatted with other golfers. Then we called Louis & Judy and went to Agua Caliente casino for about 3 hours. I was way down, got back up and ended up losing my allowance. Terry was doing OK and finally won enough so we were $20 ahead. Sounds like a winning day to me!
I had just enough time to put together an appetizer before going to Ron & Sharon’s for our last happy hour this season. Afterwards we went out with Larry & Barb for a so-so Chinese dinner.

Mar 27th to 29th - DHS

Mar 27th – Sun
We took Moe and Larry & Barb on a tour to Anza Borrego Springs and the state park of the same name. We drove down the by the Salton Sea and made a loop through the park and back to Hwy 111 in Palm Desert. We drove around a very nice RV park with a golf course as we thought we might like to stay there. The higher rates (minimum $30 per day if you stay 30+ days) and the distance from any large city made us change our minds.
We stopped at the park visitors’ center and decided not to go on any hikes. The climb out of the park provided some wonderful views and lots of yellow wild flowers. The ocotillo plants were also in full bloom.
We ended up at the Elephant Bar for a nice, late lunch and got home about 4. The wind was blowing here so of course Terry wanted to go to a casino. He also wanted to see if he could repeat his winning streak but that didn’t happen. Moe went with us and enjoyed spending his $25 free play and some of his own money.

Mar 28th – Mon
We woke to the lovely lack of sound which was no wind. Terry had arranged to get our 5th wheel washed & waxed at 11 so I took off and got a haircut. I think the stylist wanted my cut to last until we come back next year as it is very short! Then I picked up some groceries and got back just after the rig was done. When I opened the door to get the groceries, a large bottle of Roses’ lime juice fell out and smashed on the concrete parking pad – yuk.
Moe is leaving tomorrow so he brought over groceries from his fridge or that he could not fit into his stuffed little car and I had to find room to put it all away.
Larry was going to join us for golf at 2:15 but he & Barb had played this morning and he decided not to play again. While we were waiting to tee off, we watched a group of 3 men ahead of us who waited until the group ahead of them were off the green before they teed off. We thought they were “heavy hitters” but 2 of them totally flubbed their shots and one used an iron to tee off but only got to the 100 yard marker. I wanted to cancel our game rather than be frustrated following them but Terry said we should just wait which turned out to be great as we were paired with Marty & Mary. I played scramble once with Marty but Mary thought she was not a good enough golfer to play with the ladies’ club. When we finished the game, we went to Marty & Mary’s for a quick drink before going to Larry & Barb’s for dinner.
Moe joined us for a wonderful dinner made by Barb. She called the main dish “Fiesta Chicken” and I can get the recipe for anyone who wants it.
We came home to watch DWTS and I made my usual long weekly phone call to sister Marg.

Mar 29th – Tues
Barb, Mary, Marilyn and I formed a group to play with the ladies’ club this morning and we all marveled at the wonderful weather and how lucky we are to be enjoying this lifestyle. I did some dinner prep, made breakfast and had time to read for a while before going back to the golf course.
Friends Claude & Val are staying in Indio and joined us for golf & dinner. They got stuck in a huge traffic jam caused by an overturned hay truck and just made it for our tee time at 1. I did so much worse than my game this morning – go figure!
We sat out for drinks & snacks and then moved to the other side of the rig for a larger area in the shade to have dinner outside. It cooled down when the sun disappeared so we came inside for more chit chat before they left about 8.

Mar 22nd to 26th - DHS

Mar 22nd – Tues
The normal sign up & competition for the ladies’ golf club is done for the season – not enough women left who are interested – so the pro shop just reserves some tee times starting at 8 and you show up if you want to play. I played with Barb & Carolyn. It was beautiful for the first 4 holes and then got windy and quite cool.
Moe was visiting & drinking coffee with Terry so I made breakfast burritos for all of us. At 2 we went to the hall for a function but there was a sign on the door saying it started at 2:30. Bill & Carolyn, Larry & Moe were also with us so they all played table shuffleboard as we waited while I worked on a puzzle.
In the hall, all the pillowcase dresses that we made on Tuesday evenings were on display and there was coffee & goodies. Then a pair of underpants was put with each dress and the set was packaged in a zip loc bag marked with an approximate size in preparation for distribution in Uganda. Our park made 206 dresses and the neighboring park made 60.
At 4:30 we joined Larry & Barb and Moe for happy hour(s) at Bill & Carolyn’s. We sat out until about 7 and then moved inside until we finally left at 8:30.

Mar 23rd – Wed
Terry did very well at golf this morning and finally got a score less than 40 – he got 38. He tied with another guy but they played “ghost holes” where the score from 2 random holes are thrown out and the other guy had a higher score than Terry on one ghost hole so Terry got second.
After a late breakfast we made a tee time and played with our neighbors Jim & Debbie. We had Moe over for dinner and then Larry & Barb joined us to play cards.

Mar 24th – Thurs
Another windy day and another visit to a casino – Morongo this time but it did not treat us very well. In fact it kicked our butts!
I was just about to dish up an early dinner when Moe dropped by so we had a drink with him and then had dinner.

Mar 25th – Fri
We were supposed to play in the scramble but the wind continued all night and was still ridiculous at 7 so we cancelled and then went out to breakfast. Next was laundry where I had to wait for a couple of washers so it took longer than usual but there were people to visit with and a puzzle to work on for a bit. Tough players were still coming in from the scramble but nearly half of the 84 people who had signed up didn’t play.
At 4:30 we and Larry & Barb went to Moe’s for happy hour(s). He will be leaving soon and wanted to use up food & booze so we all had too much to drink – but since laughter is good for your health we should all be fine.

Mar 26th – Sat
I am happy to hear people saying that there is an unusual amount of wind this year as I would hate to think that it will be this windy next year.
We went for doughnuts this morning and enjoyed them with our coffee. Around 10:30 we headed for WalMart but part way there figured it would still be windy when we got back so we detoured past the Spa Casino. There was a rodeo going on near the casino so we had to hunt for a parking spot but the wind had disappeared in Palm Springs so it was nice walk.
Terry covered my losses again and we came out $100 ahead. That might have been partly due to the fact that we had to get back for a dinner date so he didn’t have a chance to lose his winnings.
We went for dinner at Leon & Marilyn’s along with the couple who are renting the park model that Leon & Marilyn bought this year. We had a very nice evening.

Mar 17th to 21st - DHS

Mar 17th – Thurs
We were very lazy this morning so I was making cinnamon rolls when a newer acquaintance – Louis – came by so we could set up a time to get together with them. After eating, we went for a walk to check for tee times, made sure we were signed up for a table for the dance and visited with a couple of people for a while. We ended up walking quite a lot. Moe came back with us and sat outside watching TV with Terry while I caught up on the blog.
At 4:30 we went to Larry & Barb’s for their annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef & cabbage – of course. Also there were their neighbor Jerry, Ron & Sharon, Moe & Trish and Dave & Laraine. After another good dinner, we all went to the last dance of the season here at the park. A lot of people attended so the floor was quite crowded.

Mar 18th – Fri
Another golf scramble this morning where neither of us won any money. We had a good fried chicken lunch and then went grocery shopping. I was planning on an appetizer that included pickled asparagus which we usually buy at Costco. Of course they did not have any today and neither did any of the 4 more stores that we tried. So I had an hour to make devilled eggs for a gathering at 4:30 at Louis & Judy’s site.
Also there were Terry & Eileen and 2 other couples who we have seen but never met - Leroy & Sonia and Garth & Margie. It was quite windy but warm so we sat outside to drink & eat until the sun went down and it cooled off. We all fit cozily inside to continue the gabfest. Judy & I discovered that we had both programmed computers so we had a great time “speaking our own language”.
We came back to drop stuff off and then walked over to see Moe & Trish – and of course Moe poured us another drink! Trish is leaving tomorrow to go back to work so we wanted to say goodbye.

Mar 19th – Sat
The wind was wicked last night and continued today. Yes, according to a lot of people, there is more wind this month than usual.
Of course the wind left us no choice but to go to a casino – Spotlight 29 this time. We ended up spending our allowances but took a long time to do so. We stopped at a WinCo grocery store – still looking for picked asparagus. They had some very small jars for too much money so I decided to make my own and bought the ingredients that I was missing.
After dinner, I pickled the asparagus before getting my nose into a good book.

Mar 20th – Sun
After breakfast we walked up to check things at the clubhouse and made a tee time. Terry C. was just finishing his tennis games so he said he would join us. Moe was doing laundry and could also play. We had time to wash the truck inside & out before playing golf at 12:30.
We invited Terry & Eileen to come down in a bit for a drink, stopped to talk to a couple (Chuck & Faye) at the end of our street (haven’t met them before) and invited them to come over as well. We passed our neighbors Jim & Debbie on the street and invited them. Now Terry was in party mode so we also invited Eldon & Elaine, Barb & Larry and Leon & Marilyn. Our neighbor Paul also came by for a while. Luckily it was warm so we sat out until the last people left about 7:30.

Mar 21st – Mon
We had a tee time with Leon & Marilyn at 8:30 this morning but it rained at 8 and was iffy so we made a new tee time for 10:30 and came back to our place for coffee & cinnamon rolls. At 10:30 it was windy & cool but we didn’t get any rain during the round.
We had to get a few groceries so we grabbed a hamburger while we were out, then I made some appetizers. Terry’s brother Skip & his wife Kathy and their friends – and ours – Pat & Donna came over at 3 for drinks, appies and to see our new rigs. It was pouring rain when they arrived and remained very cool so we stayed inside for a wonderful visit.

Mar 13th to 16th - DHS

Mar 13th – Sun
After I caught up on the blog, we finally sat down and filed our income tax return. We were driving out when Cliff ran over from the golf course and asked us to dinner. We had bought tickets for the Tappers’ Show but decided that would be a donation to the group and we would go to dinner.
We went to WalMart and got the oil changed in the truck and bought groceries. By the time we got the groceries put away it was almost time to go to Cliff & Pauline’s. We had a very good dinner, played a couple games of Golf and a couple games of Sequence.

Mar 14th – Mon
I decided that I better get serious about buying new PJs before my old ratty ones totally fall apart so we went shopping. I did find what I needed. We did not have lunch so I ran into a grocery store for steaks while Terry filled the truck with expensive ($4.15) diesel.
We had a great, early dinner and then had Larry & Barb over for brownie sundaes since they had also eaten early.

Mar 15th – Tues
I had an OK round of golf this morning. At noon we went to Cliff & Pauline’s for their farewell hamburger party. They had a large group and everyone was searching for shade when they finished eating. They got out their Ladder Golf game and a few people played. Unfortunately, the party came to an early end when Cliff got a phone call saying his brother Glen, who has been in the hospital for a while, was not doing well so Cliff & Pauline, Gilbert & Grace and Bob & Doreen decided to leave tomorrow rather than in a week as originally planned. I know all the names & connections are hard for readers to remember, but Cliff & Grace are brother & sister and Doreen is their cousin.
We helped Cliff & Pauline clean up & start packing up stuff and then Terry went to help Bob. About 4 we, Cliff & Pauline and Bob & Doreen went to Terry & Eileen’s for a farewell drink.

Mar 16th – Wed
Terry had an early tee time this morning. I got up just in time to say goodbye to Cliff & Pauline, Bob & Doreen and Grace. Then I got busy and had the laundry almost ready to go in the dryers when Terry finished golfing. I made breakfast when we finished the laundry and a bit later we went to play golf. Unfortunately, the wind had come up suddenly so Larry & Barb said they wouldn’t golf and then we and Moe & Trish also opted out.
With several hours before dinner, Terry figured we needed to go to a casino so we went to Morongo and came back with $40 more than we took.
This evening was the Awards Banquet for the men’s & women’s golf clubs. Happy hour at 5 was followed by a steak dinner at 6 and then all the awards. It was still early when we were done so a group went to Moe & Trish’s for a nightcap(s). We finally left about 11.

Mar 8th to 12th - DHS

Mar 8th – Tues
It was much more enjoyable playing golf today with just a few gusts of wind. We both played much better and my round took only just over the normal 2 hours. I wrote a short, detailed grocery list for Terry as he had lots of time to go to the store before I finished golfing. The only surprise was organic bananas – not bad!
After lunch, we walked to the trash compacter, checked out a possible site for next year and went to see Cliff & Pauline as we haven’t seen them for a while. Actually, we ran into them as we were heading their way so we chatted while they had lunch and then played a card game of Golf as we were waiting for company to arrive.
Dennis & Gloria (neighbors in Mesa last fall) called at 3:40 to say they had arrived at their hotel. We gave them driving directions, finished our card game and walked to the community center to get our tee times for tomorrow. By this time it was after 4 so I called Gloria to give them the gate code as the gate is locked at 4. We waited for them at our road and started a very enjoyable evening of drinks, talking, dinner, talking, dessert and more talking.

Mar 9th – Wed
We played the last game of the tournament this morning and then joined Dennis & Gloria in the pool area of Miracle Springs Spa where they are staying. It was very nice to lounge in the sun, sit in a Jacuzzi, float around in a pool and enjoy a drink in the shade.
We came back to shower & get ready for an evening out. Dennis & Gloria came over and then Terry drove to the River in Rancho Mirage where we had dinner at Babe’s. Terry has been wanting to eat there as it is a very well known BBQ restaurant specializing in ribs. Our meals were good but there was a glitch and my meal was not served until the others were half way through theirs.
Then it was on to the Follies where we lucked out and got a nearby parking spot. The Follies are a Palm Springs “must see” and are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. All of the cast are seniors – up to age 78 - and are amazing singers & dancers. There was also an incredible juggler and the MC was super. Dennis & Gloria stayed for a nightcap before heading to their hotel.

Mar 10th – Thurs
Dennis & Gloria came over for a late breakfast this morning. We set up a table outside – in the shade! – and had a relaxing time. Then we went up the Palm Springs Tram as they have not been there. It was very warm so we didn’t even take jackets to the top. Next we went to one of my favorite stores – The Alley. It is a large store with house wares & home décor including some furniture. Then on to the Spa Casino where Terry & I gambled a bit and Dennis & Gloria found a bar.
As we walked back to the Thursday Street Fair, we went past our truck and saw a guy checking out our truck. I told Terry to honk the horn but he started the truck instead and we shared a laugh with the 2 couples admiring the truck. We went to a Mexican restaurant – the same one we went to with Marg – and had an early dinner. We saw the same 2 couples who were looking at the truck come into the restaurant so we went past them as we left and asked if they were following us.
We wandered the entire length of the Street Fair and Dennis & Gloria made a few purchases. We also stopped for ice cream which I definitely didn’t need but I did stick to the kids’ cup. When we went back to the truck, the 2 couples we saw earlier were just getting into their vehicle so we shared another laugh.
We got back early enough to play a couple of games of Golf (cards of course) with Dennis & Gloria.

Mar 11th - Fri
We played in the scramble this morning – Terry’s team did OK and my team didn’t. But it was a beautiful day with a light breeze and we had fun as usual. As soon as we finished, we took our clubs back and went to help Gilbert & Grace with invitations for their 50th wedding anniversary celebration later this year. Their son created a file with the times, etc superimposed over their wedding picture but Gilbert could not get it to print correctly on the invitations. I tried a couple of things and then Terry got our computer so I could use Print Shop. That was OK but I could not print to their printer which is exactly the same one that we use. So Terry got our printer. Good thing that we can cut through friends’ sites so he wasn’t walking far each time. After much trial & error, we got the invitations to print and saved files to Gilbert’s computer so he can print the rest. In the meantime, Grace was making lunch which was a lot better than the hot dogs that we would have eaten for the scramble lunch.
We had time to relax before going to Moe & Trish’s for happy hour & dinner. Also there were Cliff & Pauline, Bob & Doreen, Lynn, Gilbert & Grace and Russ & Judy stopped by after dinner. We all sat outside for drinks & snacks and then moved inside for dinner. Six women at the dining table and the guys in the living room worked very well. As usual, we were in the last group to leave!

Mar 12th – Sat
We got out at 8 this morning and walked around the entire park shopping at “yard” sales. There weren’t a lot of sales and all we bought was a toaster for Moe as their new rental doesn’t have one. After breakfast we went to the office to see what sites are available for next year. We had to play golf before we had enough time at the office so a very nice employee looked up all the sites while we were golfing and marked them on a map.
We golfed with Grace & Gilbert and all of us had great shots & bad shots. I was quite pleased to par 3 of the 4 par 3’s but some other holes were not so nice. It was fairly windy so the course was not crowded and we did not have to wait which makes for an enjoyable game.
We dropped of f our clubs, got our bicycles and spent a couple of hours checking sites and visiting with friends. Larry & Terry ended up going out & making decisions so Larry & Barb will be moving quite a ways down the street that they are on now and we will be taking Gilbert & Grace’s site as they bought Lynn’s park model. Whew!
All this thinking called for a drink with Larry & Barb. They have both been sick but are recovering and nearly ready to get back on the golf course.
We didn’t have lunch so headed home at 4 to get dinner started. Gilbert stopped by with printer ink and stayed for a drink. He had barely left when Grace came looking for him as they were going out to dinner. Oops. We had a good dinner and relaxed after a busy day.

Mar 5th to 7th - DHS

Mar 5th – Sat
We went for a hike today with Larry & Barb, Grace & Gilbert and Moe & Trish. We left about 8:30 for the 47 mile drive to Ladder & Painted Canyons. After a stop at a service station to use the “facilities”, we arrived at the parking area and started walking. After a while we figured we must have missed the turn and asked another group if they knew where it was. Turns out we had not gone far enough on the road (didn’t read the GPS which showed another 3/10’s of a mile!!) so we went back, moved the trucks and headed out in the correct canyon.
In addition to rocks to climb over, there is one ladder going down and 2 ladders going up in Ladder Canyon. Out of Ladder Canyon, you ascend quite a bit more on open ground before descending into Painted Canyon. We sat on a rock pile on top and had lunch before continuing to Painted Canyon which is spectacular. You won’t find pictures from this trip as we did the climb last year and posted pictures.
We tried to find a bar with cold beer on the way back but didn’t see anything promising so Larry provided the beer when we got back. We came home for dinner and then attended a show at the hall. Husband & wife Jerome & Jeanne sang and played many instruments. Jeanne has a lovely voice and actually played most of the instruments with Jerome specializing in “picking” but on a guitar, not a banjo.

Mar 6th – Sun
I had a few sore muscles today to remind me that I did some “work” yesterday. We were slow to get going this morning and spent some interesting time finding Ladder & Painted Canyons on Google Earth.
The wind really picked up yesterday afternoon and last night so it was off to a casino again! We were ready for dinner and nearly done gambling when I won some money on a bonus on a machine that we had never played before. So after dinner we had to stay a while longer!
Barb had left a message asking me to look for a coupon for the Best Buy Geek Squad as they got a virus on their computer and had to take it in for repair. The technician thought there was a coupon in the paper but they couldn’t find it so Barb thought there might be one online. I exhausted my search capabilities but couldn’t find anything for her.

Mar 7th – Mon
The men’s & women’s clubs championship golf tournaments started today and what a terrible day it was for golf. It was incredibly windy. The wind would move balls sitting on the green and if you happened to be addressing the ball before a putt it would be a stroke on your score. After golf bags & carts blew over a few times, we started walking to the next ball in pairs so one person could hold the carts while the other person hit. With everyone waiting on the green so the ball wouldn’t move and the time it took to upright bags & pick up stuff that fell out, it took nearly 3 hours for the round that usually takes 2 hours. We golf 2 more days but the wind is forecast to let up.
I sorted the laundry before I left. Terry was waiting when I finished and told me that he had brought the laundry over. I asked if he also brought the stain remover and he said the clothes were already in the dryers. Unfortunately, the stains were also still in 6 shirts and we had to go back to the laundry room to find a missing pillow case so I spot treated the shirts, grabbed a few more items that I hadn’t got to earlier and went to do another load while Terry got hamburgers for our late lunch.
We relaxed, napped (Terry) and worked on the computer (me) until Moe & Trish stopped by to ask us over for a drink. They have moved to a different park model which is much nicer for entertaining. Since we had a late lunch and a few snacks, I worked hard and made a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner.

Feb 28th to Mar 4th - DHS

Feb 28th – Mon
It’s a good thing that we had a lazy morning as the rest of the day certainly was busy.
We played golf with Cliff & Pauline at 12:40 and had lovely weather. I was occasionally too warm in long pants but then a little breeze would come up and I would be comfortable. Doreen & Bob were driving into the park when we were waiting on the 4th tee and stopped on the road. Doreen ran over to the fence and asked us over for happy hour which of course we all accepted.
After golf I put together a small plate of veggies and we went over to Cliff & Pauline’s where Moe & Trish were touring their motor home. Cliff poured us all a small, spicy, beer & clamato juice then we headed over to Bob & Doreen’s. Their frinds Jim & Swanelle were also there.
From there we had a very short walk to Terry & Eileen’s for dinner. Terry had not seen their park model and we were nearly through the tour when Cliff & Pauline also joined us for dinner. We had a lovely evening with a great dinner.

March 1st – Tues
I played golf with the ladies’ club at 8:08. We had just finished a late breakfast when our neighbor Bill asked if we wanted to golf a bit later with him & his wife Carolyn. It was a beautiful day so we were happy to join them. After golf, we sat in the sun behind their rented park model and enjoyed a beer.
A quiet evening with dinner & TV.

Mar 2nd – Wed
It was Terry’s turn for golf this morning which means I get to catch up on emails and such. I also got in gear and did some cleaning. We invited neighbors Eldon & Elaine and Jim & Debbie over for drinks and dinner. Neighbors Paul & Jody also joined us for a drink but had company coming for dinner.
We sat outside for drinks and then moved inside for dinner as it quickly cooled down when the sun went down. I made Frito Pie (chili, fritos, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce & onions) which was enjoyed by all. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Mar 3rd – Thurs
It was very windy this morning so after breakfast we canceled our tee time and headed for a casino. Not so good this time but we managed to spend many hours there.
We didn’t have lunch so I thawed a couple of steaks for the BBQ and we had an early dinner. This was perfect as there was a dance at the park which started with line dance lessons at 6 which we joined part way through.
We sat with a new group and had a great time. Matt, the musician, said that he would pay $20 to anyone who would jump in the pool fully clothed and come back in soaking wet. No takers. A few songs later he raised the amount to $50 so Terry decided to take him up on it. He handed me his wallet, phone & keys, kicked of his shoes and jumped in. Matt did pay him $50 but after Terry got back from changing clothes, he asked Matt to play “Waltz across Texas” and put $20 in the tip jar. It did liven up the dance!!

Mar 4th – Fri
At the scramble this morning, everyone was talking about Terry jumping in the pool! I played with a fun team and we ended up tying for 5th place. Terry & Barb were on the same team and won the scramble.
After lunch we went grocery shopping. As soon as the groceries were put away, I started preparing a couple of items for a happy hour(s) gathering at our place. I made Salsa Salad & bruschetta while Terry helped me and set up the chairs, tables & bar.
Attending were Russ & Carol (met them at the last dance), John & MaryAnn (golfers), Larry & Barb and Moe & Trish. Everyone left about 7:30 and we realized that Carol had left her sunglasses so we walked over to return them as they are leaving on Sunday. We ended up visiting with them for about 30 minutes before walking home. Lovely weather!

Feb 25th to 27th - DHS

Feb 25th – Fri
The golf scramble was cancelled due to wind this morning but lunch of huge baked potatoes with lots of toppings –sour cream, butter, bacon bits, onions, cheese, salsa and creamed corn - was still served at noon.
So what did we do afterwards? Went to a casino of course! We went to the Morongo casino where Terry won money previously and he won again. I lost very little so we almost covered what we lost on Wed. We took a break for dinner so again I didn’t have to cook.

Feb 26th – Sat
After a nice breakfast, we went grocery shopping at WalMart. On the way back we stopped to check out the laundry room where the washers were mostly empty. Terry put away groceries while I quickly got the laundry ready. When we got back to the laundry room, some of the machines had been used but there were enough for me. A jigsaw puzzle filled some of the wait time again.
Larry came by just as we were starting the laundry and asked us over later to meet Barb’s brother Wes and his wife Sonya. Barb had a big pot of soup on the stove so we all had dinner. Wes & Sonya are looking for a 5th wheel so Barb asked if they could look at ours. After the “tour”, Larry & Barb stayed to have a nightcap with us.

Feb 27th – Sun
We had a flashback to Florida this morning – strawberry shortcake for breakfast! I puttered around with email, dinner prep & some cleaning while I watched a golf tournament with Terry. The wind died down after lunch so we went for a walk around the park, made a tee time and chatted with neighbors – it was beautiful out.
We had Cliff & Pauline over for dinner & cards. We were not always nice to each other as we played Wizard which can be a very irritating card game at times! Of course, Pauline liked it as she won both games.
You might remember that Marg’s suitcase didn’t make it to Bellingham with her and was to be delivered in a few days. Well, she did finally get it 13 days later.

Feb 22nd to 24th - DHS

Feb 22nd – Tues
I called for a tee time and was told that the earliest time was 3:40. Since we were having company later, that didn’t work for us. Then our neighbors asked if we wanted to join them at 11:12. We had to make a trip to Trader Joe’s and decided that we had to go before golf so we made a flying trip to pick up bruschetta mix and got back just in time to put on golf shoes and get to the course. We actually teed off a little early and didn’t have to wait so it was a nice round.
After lunch (we didn’t have time for breakfast so were starving), Terry went to the store for a couple of items that we couldn’t get this morning and I made some appies for happy hour.
About 4, Jerry & Aileen, Sonny & Liz, Dave & Laraine (all from Canada) and Larry & Barb arrived. We ate, drank, talked, laughed and later huddled around the buddy burner until 7:30.
By then the neighbors were probably glad that the noisy gathering broke up.

Feb 23rd – Wed
Terry played golf with the men’s club this morning and then helped Sonny with the beer & wine sales. I went to see if I could get a haircut but my stylist wasn’t in so I went across the road to Burke’s Outlet and shopped – unsuccessfully – for a few clothing items. Terry had booked a tee time for 1:12 but didn’t call and tell me what time so I got back too late and he had canceled it. Also, the wind had gotten worse and it would not have been much fun.
We went to the Agua Caliente casino which turned out to be a big mistake. We are going to have to find another diversion for windy days!
I was lazy so we stopped to pick up Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner.

Feb 24th – Thurs
We played golf with Moe & Trish at 8 this morning. It was cool at first and windy the whole time but we were all glad that we played. We went to the hair salon and the stylist said she could fit me in in 35 minutes which gave us time to grab a quick breakfast at McDonalds and pick up a couple of grocery items.
We were in the 12 o’clock seating at the owners’ appreciation lunch so we added vodka to a carton of OJ and walked up early. It was supposed to be at the pool but because of the wind they moved it into the hall. We sat by the pool and shared our OJ with Moe & Trish before having lunch. It was Larry & Barb’s 49th anniversary today so Matt played a special song for a short dance for them.
We picked up forwarded mail after lunch and saw Dave & Laraine on the first tee. I ran over and asked if we could join them on the third hole. They said “of course” so we hurried back to get our clubs and they were just getting on the 2nd green when we got back.
After our game, Laraine invited us over for a drink which turned into more and included Bea and then Thomas dropping in to chat. I had the foresight to put a small pork roast in the crock pot so I nuked a sweet potato and made a simple salad for a quick dinner since it was 7:30 when we left Dave & Laraine’s.

Feb 19th to 21st - DHS

Feb 19th – Sat
It rained most of last night which resulted in some roads being closed where they cross washes but they were all open by the time we got going after coffee & breakfast. We filled a propane tank, got some new head covers for my golf clubs (some of the originals were ripping already!), went to Costco and then to WalMart.
We had an early dinner, dug out an umbrella as it was raining a bit, and went to a show here at the park. The guy (Bobby Freeman) sings, tells good jokes and plays a “Flaming Piano”. He has written many songs for well known singers and has quite a few number 1 songs of his own. The music was rock & roll – 50’s & 60’s. The limit in the hall is 175 people and there were 277 attendees so it was a good thing the fire marshal did not show up! After most people left, he continued to play and we then had room to dance. We didn’t even need the umbrella on the way back.

Feb 20th – Sun
It did rain again last night but not nearly as much as Friday night. We spent the day making arrangements for a visit from Dennis & Gloria, housecleaning (me, of course!), cleaning up emails, prepping for dinner and playing computer games (guess who?!). I finally got outside by taking out the garbage and stopping for a chat with Larry.
Our good friends Bob & Sue (former neighbors) came over for dinner. We had a lot of fun catching up with them as we haven’t seen them since last year about this time.

Feb 21st – Mon
We went on a drive today with Moe & Trish. They are looking for a motor home so we went to Coulton where there are 3 large RV dealers. We looked through 2 of the places and then had lunch at Denney’s before going to the 3rd dealer. There was a motor home there that was more interesting to Moe & Trish so the salesman had us take it for a test drive. He drove it to a parking lot and let Moe get familiar with it before directing him to the freeway for a short ways.
We headed back around 4, stopped at a grocery store and then went to Moe & Trish’s for a drink which ended up being a couple of drinks, of course!
Luckily, I had leftovers for an easy dinner. I chatted with Marg and found out that she still has not received her suitcase as it is tied up in Calgary in customs and a bunch of forms.

Feb 16th to 18th - DHS

Feb 16th – Wed
The forecast was for deteriorating weather but it remained nice for the men’s club rounds. After a late breakfast, we went for a walk and returned the golf cart that we had borrowed from Cliff. Cliff was off somewhere but we chatted for a while with Pauline.
We got the truck washed and picked up a few groceries. Larry & Barb came over for dinner and then we played Sequence. They have played the game with their granddaughter but never with partners.

Feb 17th – Thurs
I called for a tee time this morning and since we couldn’t get Larry & Barb on the phone we walked over to the gym to find Larry to see if they wanted to join us. By the time we got to the club house we decided it was too darn windy & cool to play golf so we cancelled the tee time instead. We also both picked up winnings for men’s & women’s clubs golf days. I stopped at Carolyn & Bill’s on the way back and invited them to come over for coffee. I had time to make breakfast for us before they arrived.
The wind died down as we were chatting so when they left, Terry headed to the pro shop to see if we could get on. Bill & Carolyn said they would play with us but by the time Terry got back, they had accepted an invitation from Gilbert & Grace. Larry & Barb had gone shopping so we went alone for our 12:30 tee time. Just after we got there, a twosome was on the tee so we joined them. They don’t stay in this park but we played golf with them last year.
We had an early dinner and then went to a dance here at the park. We were in time to join a line dancing class for a bit. Larry & Barb joined us and we met a new couple – Russ & Carol – who are from Sydney B.C.

Feb 18th – Fri
Terry had to leave just after 8 to work at the putting contest for the Can-Am (Canadian-American) golf tournament today. The wind started up a bit by our tee time at 10 but we removed layers after the 3rd hole. There were longest drive and KP holes which our group effectively ignored! It was not a good day of golf for Terry but I made a couple of miracle putts and did OK.
The last group did not tee off until 11:30 so we had time to accept Larry’s offer of a gin & tonic before lunch was served. The Canadians won the tournament again by a very close margin – 32.3 to 32.8. The score is calculated by adding up everyone’s net score and dividing by the number of players on each team. Lunch & awards finished about 3. Trish & Moe came to our place for a drink and then they invited us to join them and Lynn & Lynn’s friend Sonja for leftovers dinner. It was raining quite hard so Terry drove them home before we quickly made some bruschetta and drove over. Everyone was pretty tired so we were home just after 8.

Feb 12th to 15th - DHS

Feb 12th – Sat
I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast while Marg packed her bags. We dropped her at the airport about 10:30 and then decided to go to the Morongo casino. It really isn’t too far and all freeway so doesn’t take very long to get there.
We had to wait a while to get new players’ cards and then hit the slots. Terry found a machine that started paying and sat there for hours. I wandered around to various machines, never got ahead and eventually lost $40. After I watched Terry win for a while, I took $20 more and nearly lost all that before I won enough to play a bit and ended up with the $20 back. I went back to find Terry and he wasn’t at the same machine. I tried phoning but got voice mail so figured he couldn’t hear his phone ring. The casino is quite large and I thought I could look for a while before finding him but spotted him right away. He had covered my losses and made $100 in addition.
We made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home, heated up some cocktail wieners and went to Larry & Barb’s for happy hour(s). We were the last to leave so we helped them carry stuff inside and invited them over for cake again.

Feb 13th – Sun
We took Moe & Trish to the Elk’s for breakfast and met Larry & Barb with Gene & Fern there. We hit a bucket of balls before playing golf with Moe & Trish at 12:30. Terry was having a very good game and then lost it on the last hole – very frustrating.
Our neighbors Jim & Debbie were sitting out with their “backyard” neighbors Eldon & Elaine when we got back so we joined them. Eldon & Elaine were right next to us for a while last year but they had a lot of company so we didn’t get to know them too well. Moe & Trish went to the pool after golf and had asked us to come over later so we walked there a little after 4. Elaine had put out a few snacks and we had a few more at Trish & Moe’s. Then Trish made us all a sandwich before we finally headed home. With little to eat since breakfast, Terry & I both felt the drinks pretty well and have no idea what time we got back!

Feb 14th – Mon
It was windy last night and I did not sleep well. We turned on the TV in the bedroom about 7:30 and didn’t get up until 9! Golf was out of the question so after breakfast we headed to a casino. The wind is very hard on our finances!!
Actually, we played for a long time before finally losing our allowances. I had a hankering for a hamburger so we stopped at Carl’s Jr and then shopped for groceries at WalMart. I had a mega headache and ended up with an upset stomach (jalapenos on my burger??) so we just vegged out in front of the TV. I am reading “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” which is translated from Swedish and has lots of hard to remember place and people names. Larry lent it to me as he could not get into it but I am enjoying it.
Marg and about 30 other passengers ended up with their luggage not on the plane. She flew from Bellingham WA and figured she would never see her bag again. She got a phone call today and was told that her bag would be delivered in 2 to 3 days so we will wait & see.

Feb 15th – Tues
My tee time for the ladies’ club was 8:16. It was windy all night and still gusty by morning. It wasn’t too cold but not my favorite golfing conditions. I did OK but did best on all the wrong holes as it was “odd” holes today. I ended up tying for 2nd low net in my flight.
I interrupted Terry’s computer games with a nice breakfast and then we went to the laundry room to do just the sheets & towels. I told Terry about some plans I came up with for some shelves and rearranging in our 5th wheel. We immediately pulled a lot of stuff out of cupboards so we could measure & plan and then went shopping. An employee at Home Depot made all the cuts for us so Terry only had to get out the jigsaw to notch around some molding.
We put a shelf in each of the 2 middle sections of the pantry and moved the dishes from above the table to the pantry. Even with more shelves, the cupboards still look full but at least the stuff is only one layer high.
We just had time for dinner before Terry joined a pinochle game and I worked with the “Dress a Child” group. Both activities take place in the Oasis Hall and I had noticed previously that the pinochle group needed another player. Terry was struggling but rallied in the last game to win his money back.

Feb 9th to 11th - DHS

Feb 9th – Wed
Terry played early with the men’s club and I made breakfast when he got back. We picked up Cliff & Pauline and headed to the Salton Sea area. We drove past the Fountain of Youth RV park and then went to Salvation Mountain and Slab City. Next it was on to the mud pots. Pauline had packed lunch for all of us so we found a park in Westmoreland and had a picnic. Then it was up the west side of the Salton Sea and a stop at the Red Earth casino where Terry & I both came out ahead.
I had put a pork roast in the crock pot and had sweet potatoes in the oven and a salad made by the time Cliff & Pauline came back to join us for dinner. We played a card game called Golf which is different from a game by the same name that we have played previously but it was a lot of fun. Marg won most of the money!

Feb 10th – Thurs
We started our round of golf at 10 in a slight breeze and finished in a wind but I still had a good game with another 40. Marg did OK and Terry is struggling right now. He hit one shot onto the roof of the hall and the natural bounce from there would be into the pool area – oops!
We had a sandwich and then rode the Palm Springs Tram. It is quite the ride up the side of the mountain and the view is fantastic. It was quite cold up top and you can’t walk all the paths in winter so we wandered around a bit, watched an informational film and came down.
From there we went to the Spa Casino in downtown Palm Springs. Marg got $25 free play which was a special for Canadians and turned it into $67. Unfortunately, that ended her winning streak! I did OK and covered Terry’s losses.
We tried to find a parking spot for the Street Fair and ended up parking back near the casino – actually further than if we had walked from there in the first place. We were all starving so we walked down the street and finally found a Mexican restaurant with a couple of empty tables. After dinner, we walked the rest of the way up and back down the street fair and didn’t buy a thing. We got back about 9:30 and crashed.

Feb 11th – Fri
Marg played enough golf games to establish a temporary handicap and join the Scramble this morning. My tee time was 7:54, Terry’s was 8:34 and Marg’s was 8:50. When I finished, I took my clubs back to the rig, changed into shorts and then went back to wait for Terry & Marg. I saw Marg on the 6th green so I went over and walked with her & her team through the rest of their round. Lunch was not until 1 o’clock so we all went and finished a jigsaw puzzle and still had time for a beer before lunch.
It was a beautiful day so we went to the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and took a very nice walk – about 3 miles. We didn’t see much wildlife – lizards, ground squirrels, one rabbit, a few birds. We walked on boardwalks over marsh areas, climbed hills and came back down and wound between trees on gravel trails.
We stopped at a grocery store on the way back and got some steaks for the BBQ for dinner. A very persuasive store employee told us about a special cake for $5.00 which Terry just had to get! After dinner, we called Larry & Barb and they came over to share cake with us – and it was a very good cake.

Feb 6th to 8th - DHS

Feb 6th – Sun
We had a 10:20 tee time today but when we arrived early a single golfer was getting ready to tee off so we joined him (Thomas). He was a very nice guy from Germany and was a pleasure to golf with. The course was not super busy so we didn’t have to wait much at all.
Then it was laundry time. Most of the washers had just been started when we got there so we started 2 loads, got one more going in about 10 minutes and then had to wait for the final load to go in. Marg & I went next door to work on a puzzle in between actually dealing with the laundry.
We made devilled eggs and more bruschetta and headed to Russ & Judy’s for a Super Bowl party. Also there were Larry & Barb, Gene & Fern (friends of Russ & Judy who were at our place last night), Ron & Sharon, Gilbert & Grace and Bill & Carolyn (who have a granddaughter who is in the RCMP in 100 Mile House). We almost had too many snacks to enjoy the chili at halftime!

Feb 7th – Mon
We weren’t sure when Francis & Nicole would arrive today so after breakfast I took the opportunity to do a bit of housecleaning. They arrived just after 10 and we sat outside to catch up. After chicken Caesar salad and bruschetta for lunch, they left just after 2.
We had a tee time for 3:00 and were joined by a fellow named Jeffrey. Again, it was not crowded and we moved right along which was very nice. I got one of my best scores (40) so maybe I am figuring out at least some of my new clubs.
We checked Terry’s closet when we got back and found that he did not have a red, collared shirt to wear tomorrow so off we went to good ol’ WalMart. Of course, they did not have his size in a plain red shirt so he settled for one with a white stripe.
A drink, dinner, TV & reading finished up the day.

Feb 8th – Tues
Terry & I played in the Women’s Club Valentine Invitation golf game this morning. Members of the women’s club invite members of the men’s club – generally their husbands – to play golf. Three couples play together in an alternate shot format. You pick the first drive to use and then it is alternate shots after that. Each couple gets an average handicap based on the 2 handicaps and you play as a couple, not as a team. We did quite well and ended up tying for 5th. Terry also tied for 3rd in a putting contest held before you teed off.
There was lunch afterwards and Marg joined us for that. We had roast pork loin, potato casserole, green beans with toasted almonds, rolls, salad and dessert. They also provided spiked or not punch and you could buy wine & beer. The tables were all decorated and everyone was encouraged to wear red & white so it looked very nice when everyone sat down to eat. There was a bit of a damper on the festivities when the death of a longtime maintenance employee was announced but in the usual upbeat manner of this type (55+) of RV park , everyone took it as a sign to do what you can while you are able.
It was quite windy but not too cold while we golfed but quite a bit cooler when we finished lunch at 2:45. We sat around a bit trying to decide what to do and figured we would first go to Cliff & Pauline’s to discuss plans for tomorrow. They were just getting home from Costco and immediately offered us a drink so we accepted and stayed chatting until 5. Luckily we had some leftovers from yesterday as Terry wanted dinner. Marg & I just snacked – but included good things like veggies.

Feb 2nd to 5th - DHS

Feb 2nd – Wed
Marg & I did the coffee thing this morning while Terry played golf – and froze his butt off!! It was quite cold and windy. Marg & I also set up her email so it would be forwarded to me and a copy left for Marg. Otherwise, if cousin Pat (who is looking after Marg’s farm & our Dad) looked at Marg’s email – or Marg looked at it here – the other person could not then view the emails. This is a quirk of her email provider that is shared by other email providers.
We had a breakfast burrito when Terry got back and then headed out for a casino and shopping. Marg held her own at the casino until she thought we were ready to go and started wagering larger amounts. Then I finally got a couple of machines to pay and we ended up staying quite a bit longer until I stupidly got rid of my winnings.
We stopped at a Big Lots and then found a restaurant for dinner as we were all starving. We had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated and as hungry as we were it seemed much longer. We had good meals and got back about 7:30. Marg & I put on our suits & went to the hot tub but Terry said it was too cold to walk there & back.

Feb 3rd – Thurs
I introduced Marg to my cinnamon rolls today – they were as yummy as ever. But first we had to find and patch a leak in the air mattress that is on the couch that Marg sleeps on!
Terry was chatting with a neighbor so Marg & I took a walk and viewed Terry & Eileen’s park model (very nice yard) and stopped in at Cliff & Pauline’s to talk to them about a get together on Saturday. I borrowed Cliff’s old golf pull cart for Marg to use when we played golf at 12:15. The wind died down last night and it was still cool but lovely for golf.
After a light, late lunch we went to Smart & Final to get baby back ribs for Saturday. We made a quick stop at WalMart to pick up General Tsao chicken for an easy dinner. Then it was off to a dance at the park. The attendance was light so the dance floor wasn’t too crowded. A couple sat at our table and had a good time chatting with Marg. Terry talked briefly with a couple that we had seen here last year and found out they are from Atlin which is a very small town in extreme NW B.C. and they were surprised that we knew where it was and that we had been there.

Feb 4th – Fri
I was heading out for golf this morning when a neighbor told me that there was a one hour frost delay. It warmed up a lot before I finally teed off at 9:40. Marg boiled the baby backs while we were golfing and then joined us for a late lunch of hot dogs. While we were waiting for lunch, Marg & I dumped out jigsaw puzzle and got the pieces turned over.
We had made a tee time for 3:00 and should have canceled as they were still trying to catch up from the frost delay. We waited – and waited – on every hole. We did get to chat with the groups ahead & behind us. It was cool and quite dark when we finished at 5:35.

Feb 5th – Sat
We started with a pancake, egg & ham breakfast at the park this morning. We drove up so we could leave right from there and go to the Caliente Swap Meet a few miles away. It is a storage facility where vendors store their “stuff” in the units and then have a sale each Sat & Sun. Next we went to the sale at the College of the Desert (COD). I figured parking would be a challenge as we got there after 10 but I didn’t realize how far away we would park. There were shuttles running but the lines were long so we walked – we all could use some exercise anyhow.
We were at a produce stand when a young lady looked at Marg and said “you’re from 100 Mile” – another small world incident. Then one of the golfers from yesterday saw her and said “here’s 100 Mile House”. We each made some purchases and left just after noon as we had some other stops to make on the way home.
We stopped at Big Lots looking for buddy burner tins with no luck, then stopped at Trader Joe’s for a couple of items. Back here we had to start setting up for our dinner tonight. Terry realized that we were short a couple of liquor items and went shopping. He made the mistake of going to Costco which took forever. We were ready to grill baguettes for bruschetta after which Terry started the baby backs as he didn’t want to cook in the dark.
We ended up with 19 people including us. Everyone brought salads, etc so we had a great dinner and then lit 3 buddy burners. It was fairly cool so most people were gone by just after 8. Barb & Larry helped carry everything in and then stayed for a while.

Jan 30th to Feb 1st - DHS

Jan 30th – Sun
We went to the Elks for breakfast this morning. Larry & Barb were also there with their neighbors Stan & Marilyn.
Then we were off to find some golf clubs. We went to another branch of the store that we checked out yesterday so that I could try out the clubs. Then we returned to Golfsmith where I hit some more balls with 2 different sets of clubs. Don’t know why I was so wishy-washy but I finally decided on a set. It is a complete set – woods, irons, putter, bag & head covers – so it is all nice and tidy and coordinated which Terry loves. I was leaning towards mostly hybrids but this set has the wide-bottom irons which felt really good when I tried them out. It does have a 4/5 hybrid which I am looking forward to perfecting.
It was very windy last night and still the same when we got back so we couldn’t even play a round of golf. We just relaxed, had an early dinner and Terry went to play Texas Hold’em. I had a nice chat with friends Bill & Georgia while he was gone.

Jan 31st – Mon
I did some cleaning before leaving to pick up sister Marg at the airport. We had enough time to stop at WalMart for some groceries before picking her up. Marg did not have breakfast so we stopped at Subway for lunch on the way home and then stopped to make a tee time.
We had about an hour to relax before hitting the course. Unfortunately, the wind continued so the game was not as much fun as it could have been. I think I will like my new clubs once I get comfortable with them and figure out how far I should hit with each one.
Larry & Barb joined us outside for a drink but we moved inside as a sewage pumper truck was working on our street and it was very noisy and slightly smelly. I had put a small pork roast in the crock pot so I could make dinner very quickly and easily.

Feb 1st – Tues
I played golf with the ladies’ group at 9:20 this morning so Marg & Terry had lots of time to drink coffee. They toured the park and met me at the 9th hole. It was a little early for lunch but we wanted to go shopping before our 3:30 tee time so I made Reuben sandwiches before we left.
I have been looking for lipstick and discovered today that it has been discontinued. I hate finding a new lipstick! Marg found a pair of capris and then stumbled upon a clearance rack and got 2 sweatshirts for $5.99 each. Terry dropped us off and filled up a propane tank and then joined us in the store. He is such a great host & chauffeur.
We finally decided that it was just too windy so Terry walked up and cancelled our tee time. Since we have season passes, Terry & I probably would have played but it is a shame for Marg to pay for a round and then fight the wind.
Barb came by and gave me my winnings for today – I tied for third in my flight. She also gave me a pin for my chip-in birdie.
About 4, I was making a batch of sausage balls when Moe, Trish & Lynn came by to see our 5th wheel and have a drink with us. Good timing as the sausage balls were a great snack. I made a quick dinner so I could go to the “Dress a Child” session. Terry & Marg cleaned up the dishes and soaked in a hot tub until I was done.