Traveling Supremes Highland Tx Rally

On Thursday Ted and I drove north on I-59 to meet up with my stepsister, Carol.  She took us to the Senior Center for lunch and bingo.   The bingo hall was packed and pretty much everyone wins something! They played 3 games of bingo that each had about 100 winners!  I think Carol won 5 or 6 bingos, Ted and I each won one!  Our prizes:  Oxy Clean Rug Cleaner and Jiffy Banana Muffin Mix!  Then for good measure we won a cake and so did Carol.  We took them to dinner Friday night!  I forced Carol to have her picture taken with us and she finally agreed.  I couldn't believe how much more she looked like her Dad than the last time we saw her!

Thursday night we went to the Monument Inn for dinner as a group of 10.  We had to cross the river on a ferry to get there.  It was a short ferry ride and I was nervous because we barely fit, but they put up the wall behind us and everything was ok!  I had baked shrimp, stuffed with crab and covered with a white wine sauce...delicious!  Ted had the beef kababs (no surprise since he's not crazy about fish)!  The ferry stopped running so we took the long way home!

On Friday after I got my nails done; Ted, Max and I took off for Galveston.  It took us about an hour to get there.  It is a nice drive around the island.

Part of the pier taken out by the hurricane

We got back to the campground in time for picture taking and the best beef brisket I think I've ever had!  It was delicious.  Everyone made side dishes and desserts and we were sure stuffed when we left there!  We watched a movie about the Battleship Texas which we were going to tour on Saturday and there were card and Mexican Train games going on.

Saturday morning we awoke to big time fog but were able to get to the Battleship Texas where it is moored.  We had a group of about 25 that were going to do the tour and so Texas Parks provided us with two rangers to show us around and tell us about the ship.  It was an important ship, launched in 1914 and in WWI and WWII.  It was the first battleship and they designed it to have a high bow and then go downhill to the stern.  That didn't work out so well so they only made a few with that design.  She had 14-inch ammunition which was large for that time.  She was also the first ship to launch an airplane from her deck!  It was an interesting tour.  There was one big problem, the area was thick with huge Texas size mosquitos!  We didn't want to tour the engine room because they were thick down there!

Ted and Dave and the Battleship Texas (in the fog)

"The Big Guns"

This is where the enlisted men bunk!

John playing with the guns!

After our tour we went to lunch and home to rest before bringing in the New Year!

Bringing in the New Year..."Ain't Life Grand!"



The road to Highland, Tx

Before going over to Dan and Cheryl's for breakfast, Max opened his presents.  He loved them all and had a great time opening them!  Breakfast was delicious and then we watched the kids open their presents.  They were all happy with their gifts!  Then everyone else opened gifts.  They had a really soft luscious (marshmallow)  throw for me and a teapot with cups and some green tea for Ted.  They surprised us with these very nice gifts.

We came home to relax and spend some time with Max before going back for dinner.  They had cooked prime rib and a turkey, and of course all of the trimmings.  We had a delicious dinner.  The ladies, including Olivia and Haley played Phase 10 for awhile until we all decided it was time to go home and rest.  It was a great day!

Monday morning we left Boerne and went east on I-10.  We were going to spend the night in Columbus, Tx on the Colorado River.  This is one of our membership campgrounds that we had not been to and was about half way to our destination for the rally in Highland, Tx.  We had a spot right on the river.  It is really a nice quiet campground and we will enjoy spending three nights there on the way back.  There were lots of deer around and great places to walk the dog!

On Tuesday we had a two hour drive to Highland.  There are about 25 RV's attending the rally.   We are camping on the San Jacinto River.  It's a nice campground with a great view of the river!

We had dinner with a group at Iguana Joes last night.  Had a good meal and talked to several people we had not seen for awhile.  It was a fun evening!

This afternoon we went to the Port of Houston and took a free ride on a boat tour of a harbor tour!  They saved 16 spaces for us.  We were not allowed to take any pictures at the direction of  Homeland Security.  But we did take some in the parking lot before boarding the boat.  They served coffee or a soda and took us about 7 miles each way.  It was an interesting tour.

Going new places and seeing new things..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Made it to Boerne!

We got into Boerne Thursday afternoon and it was still daylight!  Fortunately it was a good 4 day trip without incident, although long days and arriving after dark. After we got set up we headed over to see Ted's cousin Gloria and her husband John. They are in their brand new home. They were able to select the lot and have a huge corner property and behind them should stay somewhat of a wilderness area. They selected beautiful flooring, countertops etc.  They did a great job and have really done a lot in only a month! Gloria made some sandwiches, veggies and chips since they didn't know what time we would get in!  We also had a nice visit with their daughter Cheryl and three grand kids.

Yesterday we went to Bass Pro shop to meet California transplants, Pam and Jon. We had lunch and did some shopping.  It's cold here and supposed to rain so I got a new raincoat and Ted and I both got some warm gloves! We had a good visit with Pam and Jon!

Can't get my pictures to download this morning so will add them later!

Right after they moved in the new house, Gloria went to Illinois to visit her mom, Wanda, who was not doing well. Wanda passed away yesterday so Gloria and John will leave on Monday for the funeral. Wanda was a sweet, fun woman and Ted and I always enjoyed visiting her these last few years. This is better for her but she will be missed.

Today we are having Christmas Eve dinner at John and Gloria's and Dan and Cheryl and their three kids! Tomorrow will be Christmas dinner at Dan and Cheryl's where there is always lots and lots of food of all kinds!  She mentioned prime rib and turkey!

Ted and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy, happy New Year!..."Ain't Life Grand!"

On the road again!

Craig and Claire should have keys to their new house Wednesday or Thursday! They are already scheduling workers for floor, carpeting and wallpaper. They want to get as much done as possible and move in before they have to start school again!

We finally took off about 11:00 and made it to the Colorado River in Needles. We got here about 7:00 and only opened our bed slide. We went over to the Arizona side for fuel $3.72 for diesel. In Needles it's $4.10 to $5.00 per gallon. Since we were out we stopped at the Avi for dinner and a 1/2 hour of gambling. Left our deposit.

Have to get ready to leave...more later!

Happy for the kids..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Craig & Claire's Great House!

This morning Ted and I took off to have a good breakfast in preparation of the manual labor Craig and Claire were going to assign to us...lol!  We were saved!  Since it was 10:00 and we were to be at the new house at 1:00, we all went to look around Home Depot instead!  They picked up some paint samples and Claire found a light to replace the dining room chandelier that is supposed to be taken by the seller.  We had fun looking around with them and then headed to see the house!

The house is 2500 square feet, 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, living room, formal dining room, den/office, breakfast nook, kitchen and laundry area.  It is a one level ranch style house.  The house is in great condition considering it was built in 1955 and has not been remodeled.  Craig and Claire will have a lot of fun with it.  They plan to have all of the "dated" wallpaper removed, paint, new flooring and new carpet before they move in.  It has a two car garage and a very large lot.  It has a new fence in the back yard.  They also will be putting in a new air conditioner.  FHA only requires that it has heat and the forced air furnace works great (it was cold today and house warmed right up), but the water cooled unit doesn't work!

Here are some pictures:

Craig's best man, Nate and his girlfriend, Jessica, joined us at the house!

Happy for Craig and Claire..."Ain't Life Grand!"

House papers to be signed Monday!

The lender for Craig and Claire's home phoned this afternoon and we are schedule to sign loan documents Monday morning at 8:00 a.m.  That is good news because we were almost positive they were going to be held up.  The lender has been great to work with and has really worked hard to push it through. The house should close some time next week.  We are going to see the inside of the house tomorrow!  We will head out of town after docs are signed.

We had lunch with Craig and Stephen today.  Stephen finished finals Thursday and he's excited!  Today he was volunteering at the High School he attended, Buchanan, as a wrestling assistant for a tournament.  Craig and Claire have been busy at work and after work with parties and dinners.  When they are in school they just don't have time to do anything but work, school and study so all of their friends want to see them and they are having fun!  We still haven't seen Chip and as assistant wrestling coach at Madera High School, they took off yesterday for Las Vegas for a weekend tournament, so chances are we won't see him this time around :(

In the morning we are going to help Craig and Claire organize some of their stuff for the move before heading over to see the house.  We'll be their worker bees!

Loans done on schedule..."Ain't Life Grand!"  (hope I didn't jinx it)!

This and That!

We've been enjoying ourselves in Fresno.   We've gotten most of our Christmas shopping done, we've had some meals with the kids and spent some time up at Chukchansi yesterday!  It wasn't a profitable meeting at Chukchansi but we played for several hours and had a nice lunch and drive!  Ted's also been working on hooking upa replacement amplifier/tuner for our built in surround sound.  It's working for some things but not for everything!

We thought we were going to see the inside of Craig's house but unfortunately the realtor had to cancel so we have to wait until this weekend.  We did have dinner with Craig and Claire and Stephen and Marissa Sunday night.  Marissa has left for Missouri to spend some time with her Mom's family, so we were happy to have a chance to visit with her.

We are still waiting to see when Craig and Claire's house will close.  They are shooting for Monday but the underwriter needed a couple of things so it may hold it up.  We have to figure out if we are going to leave Monday as scheduled and sign from some place on the road or stay here in Fresno.  Just not sure yet.

On Sunday Craig, Claire, Chip and Stephen had some pictures taken.  Here are a couple of the pictures:

Ten days before Christmas..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Dinner at the Tuttle's!

Last night we enjoyed a great dinner and evening at Claire's parents, Ernie and Linda.  They also invited one of Craig's law partners' (and very good friend) Kim and her husband Don and their son Trey.  Stephen made it to dinner and of course Craig and Claire.  Chip had a wrestling tournament, he is the assistant wrestling coach at Madera High School.  Linda made a great pot roast, Claire made a delicious Risotto that she said was easy and Kim brought a great salad with a yummy homemade Champagne vinaigrette dressing! We brought a cake from the bakery and it was delectable!  It was a very nice evening.

Stephen has really turned into a man this past few months.  He is no longer that skinny little kid.  He has filled out and is very handsome!  He won't be embarrassed because he doesn't read the blog!

I did forget to take pictures...shame on me!  There will be more chances for pictures!

Good food, good friends and family..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Time with Craig

We got to Fresno Thursday afternoon and rushed over to Craig and Claire's lender.  We are co-signers on the loan for their new home and needed to sign some papers.  We are hoping they will close next Friday but it may not be until Monday.  It would give them an extra weekend to move in if it closes on Friday.   Everything is falling in place so hopefully it will work out.

The lender is right down the street from Craig's work and we knew he was still there so we headed over.  We had a bunch of mail waiting for us so picked it up and found Craig was available for dinner.  There is a bar/restaurant within walking distance of his office, the Elbow Room and so we had wine and dinner with him.  Claire was getting her hair done for Craig's office Christmas party which was last night.  I asked Craig to text me a picture of the two of them all ready for the party!  

Tonight is dinner at Ernie and Linda's (Claire's parents).  We are bringing desert which Craig ordered for us from the bakery where he worked when he was in High School!  Chip and Stephen will be there with dates and I believe Claire's brother and family may be down from Sacramento as well.  It will be a lot of fun.  I hope to have some pictures tomorrow!

A very happy nephew..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Enjoying Sacramento!

We arrived here in Sacramento on Monday afternoon. We thought we were going to have to have an RV repair service out immediately for our refrigerator which was out again in the morning, but then it started working again! We think we have figured out a pattern with it. Every night when it gets down in the low 30's it stops working. Then in the morning around 8:30 when it starts warming up (to the 50's) outside we can get it to come back on. It is so strange but think we will wait until we get to Fresno to see about getting it checked out.


Vicky sent out a picture of the group from the Atwater weekend, taken by her granddaughter which turned out much better than the ones I had taken, so I'm adding this picture:

Yesterday we visited our friends Joel and Lale' that live here in Sacramento.  Joel and Ted used to work together at the County of San Diego.  They are having some medical issues right now but we had a good visit with them.


Today we visited Old Town Sacramento with one of Ted's classmates, Sharon Gillam.  She is in the above picture, lower right in the pretty blue jacket.  It was fun getting to know her better and after a nice lunch we did some shopping and we both found a couple of things to buy!  There are nice shops, museums, the Sacramento River and the Train Station and museum, It's an interesting "old town"!


Tomorrow we leave here and head for Fresno.  We will be there for 10 days visiting the "kids"!


Ready to visit "the kids"..."Ain't Life Grand!"

RLS Christmas Party 2011!

Yesterday we waited and waited for the RV service guy who was "on his way over" about 11ish.  I called at 1:00 and was told that he was on another call.  Hmmm, that wasn't mentioned when I spoke to them at 10:00.  Since our refrigerator had started working again I cancelled the repair guy and we got ready to go to the party.

The band was in full swing when we got there and sounded great!  It was chilly but beautiful afternoon!  There was even some dancing going on!

Craig (friend of Bob's) was busy making balloon art for the kids!  He made a great Spiderman,  Aliens, Santa hats and more!

There were tons of appetizers and drinks for all!

The band stopped at 6:00 and we had a fabulous feast!  Duane's pulled pork cooked all day in a crock pot with apple juice and liquid smoke and was scrumptious!  Everyone contributed and we had the best brussel sprouts I've ever had, Mexican slaw, potato salad, a great bean dish, a wild rice dish, a great salad and probably more that I can't remember!  Everything was delicious.

After dinner and dishes, the gift exchange started!   Della came with "her bells on" little elf shoes!   Vicky drew number 1 and opened the first gift...a spiked dog collar and the fun began!  There were some very nice gifts such as a platter, chip and dip set, flash light set, alcohol, RLS Starbuck glass and card, indoor/outdoor thermometer, candles and more!  Mr. Dick Head (somewhat like Mr. Potato Head) made a comeback (unfortunately), Redneck Wine Glasses, a pig, emergency underwear, a dog that laughed and rolled around, a talking old guy and more!  It was lots of fun.  When it was all over we took our 2011 RLS group picture!

Of course there was dessert and we called it a night!

This morning we met for breakfast at the Almond Tree before everyone headed out for home.  After breakfast we said our goodbyes!

Ted and I decided to stay in Atwater until tomorrow when we will go up to Sacramento for a few days before heading to Fresno.  We had a restful afternoon!

The 2011 RLS Christmas party was a great success..."Ain't Life Grand!"

We are in Atwater, CA

We arrived in Atwater on Thursday afternoon.  I called my nephew when we were passing by Fresno.  He asked how we were doing with the wind?  What wind?  He said it was extremely windy by his law office.  A couple of minutes after we hung up we got to the wind!  It was blowing pretty hard and we saw several Eucalyptus trees down along I-99.  We had to slow way down but fortunately were able to safely keep going.  After Fresno, wind died down and then started again close to Atwater.  The wind stopped that night but it has really gotten cold!  It was 32 this morning...yikes!

To top it off, our furnace stopped working!  Our little fireplace can't keep up so the plan was to buy a small heater to help us keep warm until we could get to a larger city.  And then....this morning the refrigerator stopped working?????  What is going on.  We played around with it and it wouldn't work on electric or gas.  So we called a repair service (hard to find on Saturday) and then Ted switched the propane tanks to see if that would fix the furnace (even though we had plenty of gas to light to stove) and then the refrigerator started working again on electricity!  We are still going to have them come out and still awaiting their arrival.

When we went to Murray Farms in Bakersfield, we found an interesting item.  It is a Buddha's Hand!  In Western cooking, it is used for zesting.  It is less tart and pithy than regular lemons but has the skin (look) of the lemon (with fingers)!  We bought one and brought it to our "gathering" in Atwater at Billy and Vicky Whited's house (Ted went to high school with Vicky, class of 64 and her husband Billy graduated in 1963).  There are about 20 of us here for the weekend.  We decided to see if anyone had ever seen a Buddha's Hand and give 5 scratch off tickets as a prize to anyone who knew what it was.  Cathy, the date of one of Ted's classmates, figured out it was some sort of lemon so she won the prize!

They are pretty funny looking!

We had a fabulous spaghetti dinner last night made by Della Crownover with her husband Jim reheating the meatballs and cooking the spaghetti.  Pat Gordon made her fabulous cheesy garlic bread and we brought a green salad.  For dessert Sharon Gillam brought a great cheese cake sampler!  There was plenty of good food to go around!

I took a few pictures of the group!  I only got a few and then got too busy partying!

Vicky and Billy's dog, Thor, always enjoys dressing up for Christmas!

Sometimes we bring small gifts for each other.  We usually pass them out after our gag/good gift exchange which will be on Saturday night after dinner.  Since we have such a large group Ted and I passed ours out last night.  I found santa and snowmen candy dishes for everyone and bags and bags of all type of candy.  We had chocolate, non chocolate and sugar free Christmas candies that we pass around and they fill their candy dishes!  It doesn't sound like it but it is a lot of fun!  After that Jim and Della brought in their decorated jars of cookie mix for everyone.  We got a jar of Chocolate Chip (Ted's favorite) and Gourmet Cookies (Della said they are yummy)!  I'll have to see if I can bake them!

Today Vicky and Billy's son and some of his musician friends will bring over drums, guitars and amps and do some old time rock and roll for us.  There are two or three different bands that actually come and play together.  It is a lot of fun and I hope the service guy comes soon so we can get over there for it!

When things are going wrong with our RV, at least we have our friends and health..."Ain't Life Grand!"

In Bakersfield at the Orange Grove RV Park

We got to our campground yesterday. It was a bit foggy and a cold 51 degrees! The trees are full of oranges and are usually delicious, just hope they are ripe enough!

We are staying here again tonight and are going to go over to a fruit and nut store. I've been wanting to stop there to see what they have but didn't want to with RV!  Trying to help support the local economy! Will keep you posted!

 Picking oranges..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Heading back to central California tomorrow!

Yesterday Ted and I went over to Red Rock Station Casino.  I wanted to try their Vanilla Custard French Toast.  The French Toast was soaked in vanilla custard and was delicious.  We unsuccessfully gambled for a little while and headed home to watch the Chargers lose again!  Loses all around!

Today we took Max back for a check up on his knee and hip.  The vet watched him walk and said he needed to stay on the anti-inflammatory medicine.  He has four more days and then will have to have a blood test to allow him to stay on the medicine and the vet said at "his advanced age - 10 1/2" he may have to stay on it forever.  He is a lot better but we need to continue to keep him off of his leg as much as possible.  We have to carry him up and down stairs...so much fun and of course it is all very expensive.  I "assumed" the follow-up 5 minute look-see at him today would have been covered under the very expensive first visit but of course, it was not!  It's just going to take time for him to heal, just like us old folks!

Tomorrow we leave Las Vegas and are headed for Atwater, California for a "Red Lips" gathering.  We will get there on Thursday.  It will be a weekend of good food, fun group and a great gift exchange!

Yummy French Toast..."Ain't Life Grand!"  

Paris in Vegas!

On Wednesday we took off and went over to the Red Rock Station Casino.  We had a very nice brunch and did a little gambling.  I had the most fun (meaning I was ahead), Jeri broke even and Ted lost just a little.  Stach always finds the sports bar and enjoys watching football, baseball or soccer!

We had a great Thanksgiving with Jeri and Stach yesterday. We went over to the Red Rock Casino and Jeri and I had some good luck! Then we went back to Boulder Station for a delicious turkey dinner (and no dishes)!

Today we went over to the Paris Hotel. We made a reservation for lunch at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. Then we took the Eiffel Tower tour to the top. It is half the height of the real Tower! It is a great view of the city and we watched the Bellagio water show below.

 Jeri and Stach had invited their "adopted" son and his wife who live in Vegas to join us for lunch and we had a wonderful time.  I enjoyed the Eiffel Tower drink with champagne and berries and can't remember what else but it was delicious!  They started us off with a small cheese pastry. Next we had some type of cheese in a little cup. Our next course was a delicious creamy French Onion soup. My main course was a crepe filled with puréed artichoke and walnut bits with a tomato basil coulis. It was yummy! Jeri enjoyed crab stuffed French Toast with a creamy cocktail sauce. Everyone else selected more common items. The waiter brought us each a piece of mouth-watering chocolate candy to finish us off! It was very fun (and very French)!

We could see the Bellagio Water Show from our table, and since we had almost a three hour lunch (and for us our dinner) we saw it several times!  Each time was a little different!

 Before leaving the Paris Hotel we visited the Eiffel Tower gift shop. Ted and I got two Paris wine glasses and a new blouse for me! Such a fun day!

This morning Jeri and Stach left for San Diego.  I'm catching up on washing and we're spending some time with Max!  His knee/hip is doing better but it is trying to keep him from using it.

Enjoying Thanksgiving..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Our friends Jeri and Stach got here early Sunday afternoon.  We met them at their hotel for lunch.  Jeri and I had some gambling time while Stach and Ted went to the Sports Bar.

On Monday Ted and Stach drove over to Hoover Dam.  They crossed the new bridge over to Arizona and then drove over the old bridge.  They were surprised that there was no view from the new bridge because of the high sides.  They took a look around the dam and then headed into Boulder for lunch.

Meanwhile, Jeri and I went to the nail place where I had a wonderful pedicure and Jeri got her nails done.  We then went over to the Sunset Station Casino for lunch and some gambling time.  We met the guys back at the hotel for dinner.

Yesterday we drove over to the strip (our RV campground is out on Boulder Highway about 15 mins. from the strip).  We thought we were stopping at the Venetian but it was their counterpart the Palazzo Hotel.  We were trying to see the "Winter Wonderland" at the Venetian but enjoyed seeing the Palazzo.  They have a pretty lobby complete with elves!  Stach found a cool Sports Bar with couches and pillows and lots of big screen tv's so he was happy watching sports while we were gambling.  I came out a big winner and had lots of fun.  Jeri and Ted didn't do too badly either.

Hotel Waterfall-pic taken by Stach

Ted and I came back and picked up Max to take him to the Vet.  He had started limping and at first we thought he just slept on his back leg wrong but it didn't get better after a couple of days so took him in yesterday.  His knee had a small tear in one of the muscles causing his knee to move around at the joint.  His hip on the same leg was also slightly dislocated.  Not sure when he did this but probably jumping off the chair or bed.  He has medicine for the inflammation and one for pain.  The real fun is trying to keep him from going up and down any of our many steps and keeping him quiet.  The pain medicine is helping with that.  The vet said they both should heal themselves.  We take him back on Monday.  Poor puppy!

Ted and I hope all our family and friends have a good Thanksgiving and remember..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Merry Christmas to me!

Ted got me my Christmas present yesterday!  I've been wanting a Smartphone (at least one smarter than my last phone).  I just hope I didn't get one that is too smart!  LOL!  I got the IPhone 4S and so far so good.  I really like it.  The "Siri" feature is really great!  My nephew Craig and his wife Claire have them and they really like them.  Craig said he'd teach me a bunch of things when we see them in December.  That will be fun!

This morning we went to the casino for breakfast and of course a little gambling.   We didn't start off too well but then we started winning.  Ted ended up winning $9 extra dollars and I lost $8 so we played for a couple of hours for free!  That is always fun.  I had one bonus of $88.00 on one machine!  Too bad I didn't leave with it, I would have been way ahead!

Playing with my new phone..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Viva Las Vegas!

We left Cherry Valley on Sunday driving back down to San Diego for one night at Pio Pico.  My friend Peggy came over and we went to dinner.

On Monday Morning we were up and out by 8:00 a.m. to South Coast RV to get our axle replaced.  We have already had one replaced so we were expecting 3 - 4 hours.  We took off to meet friends Jeri and Stach for breakfast at the Galley at the harbor in Chula Vista.  It was a beautiful morning and we had a delightful breakfast sitting outside.   We then ran some errands stopping by Ideal Plumbing, the company I retired from and spoke with our property manager and friend, Melissa about our renters!

We got back to the shop in the early afternoon expecting to be able to get on the road!  Unfortunately, they ran into a couple of problems and we think, got a bit sidetracked.  They are more used to people bringing in their RV's and leaving them, not needing their beds!  Ted let them know we were not staying there over night and they finally got done around 6:00 p.m.  We got up to Wilderness Lakes about 7:30 p.m.  Thankfully we had no problems with the new axle.  Ted thinks they might not have bled all of the brakes (6 of them) but just the two on the new axle because it takes a little longer for the RV brakes to kick in.  We may have to get that done yet.

We got to Las Vegas early afternoon yesterday.  My nephew Craig called and let us know that he put a bid in on a house.  We are co-signers and so I have been scanning and emailing documents to his lender this morning.  We sure hope they can get this house!

We will be in Las Vegas for two weeks.  We have friends to visit here and have friends coming over to see us from San Diego!  Should be fun!

Thankful to get the new axle on..."Ain't Life Grand!" 

11-11-11!

Happy Veteran's Day to all the Vets! 

We finally signed refi papers on Tuesday night.  Everything will be finished by Tuesday!  Yay!  

Ted went to the hearing aid place this week and he still has a problem with his phone and the remote but it seems to be working with the tv pretty well, just doesn't stay charged very long some times.   The tech couldn't get it to work with his phone so not sure if he's going to keep it or not.    

The final thing to be done will be the axle and today I'll call to see if it has arrived down in San Diego!

With all the rain last weekend there is snow all around us.  We can see snow on Big Bear right behind us.   We can see snow on Mt. Baldy to the west of us and we can see the snow on Idylwild southeast of us.   When we drove through Palm Springs on Wednesday, San Jacinto has snow too!  We've also had some heavy duty cold wind this week in the park! 

Here is a picture of the wind mills around Palm Springs and you can almost see the dusting of snow on the San Jacinto Mountains!

We went to the casino on Wednesday but neither of us had much luck.  We had a nice lunch...I had great ribs, and played some games for awhile.  Last night was bingo.  I won two bingos and Ted won one so we paid for our games and won a little extra!

Today Max will get groomed and Ted and I will go shopping and maybe to the movies.  We will leave here on Sunday and go back to Pio Pico for either one or two nights (depending on the axle status)!

Thankful to our Veterans..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Weathering the weather!

We haven't done too much here in Cherry Valley so far.  We played bingo on Thursday, only the ladies won, I had 3 bingos!  It's fun to win!

It rained and was in the 50's all day Friday and then Saturday was in 60's and sunny!  Sunday was as cloudy, rainy and as bad as the Chargers!  Sunday night there was a lot of lightning and thunder with a few minutes of small hail!  We can see some snow on Big Bear and Idylwild Mountains.   It was a good night to stay inside!

We are still waiting for the paperwork to get done on our refi.  Our locked in rate has been extended to Wednesday so hopefully it will be done by then!

Ted is about ready to give up on his remote control for his hearing aids.  This is the second one and having more problems than the first one.  We have an appointment tomorrow so we will see what they say.  If they can't fix it I think he will return it.  It works for the tv for awhile and then goes out.  We've not gotten it to work for the phone at all once we leave the doctor's office!

Keeping warm and dry..."Ain't Life Grand!"

We are back in Cherry Valley!

We are back to Cherry Valley after another busy week in San Diego without much internet service! 

On Saturday night our friend Peggy Price invited us to join a group of her friends and co-workers at a restaurant downtown San Diego, Blue Point Coastal for dinner.  There were supposed to be 12 but we ended up with 9 people.  We had a table outside on the sidewalk very near the "Monster Bash party" that was being held downtown.  We were all dressed in judges robes (some even had great wigs).  Peggy made us all paddles that had a thumbs up or a thumbs down.  There were tons and tons of people wearing all sorts of costumes walking by and we'd give them the thumbs up or down!   Lots of people stopped and took our picture and gave us the thumbs up!    A lot of people  had a smile on their face when we gave them the thumbs up!  We even got smiles from some zombies!

On Monday Ted and I had lunch with our friend Jeri and then I took her to her doctors appointment to check on her foot.  It was a very bad break so the doctor wanted her to keep her boot on for another month but said her foot was healing fine.  He said she could walk as much as she wanted so we took off to Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Valley Center for two nights.  I left some money behind but had lots of fun and relaxation!

On Wednesday we ran around and did some last minute errands and a doctor's appointment before heading down to the harbor for dinner at C-Level for dinner with Peggy and her family.  Her nephew and his wife from Kansas were out for a quick visit so her brother and his wife came down from San Francisco, her Dad, her two sons and us.  It was a nice group and a very good dinner!

Yesterday we arrived in Beaumont, about a three hour drive from Pio Pico and are camped here at Cherry Valley!  We are still trying to finish up our refi and have to head back down to San Diego on the 13th so we can get the new axle on the RV on the 14th.  We will then head to Las Vegas from there.

Thankful for internet/cell sevice..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Still In Pio Pico...still bad internet service!

We've had a very busy week since my last blog!  We've had three lunches and seven dinners out, and a great time with friends. 

Ted had lunch with his long time friend David Prime then we had dinner and bunco with our friends Jim and Della Crownover.  Ted was the big bunco winner!  We got a new awning installed on one of our slides and went to an 11 year olds baseball game and dinner with our friends and the grandparents, Jeri and Stach Gutowski.  We had dinner with one of my former co-workers and his wife, Bill and Jany Staley.  We had a girl's night out morning Charger game/party at Marcella's home with our spouses and dinner with a friend of Ted's from long ago, Fran and her husband Paul.  We've had dinner and cards with Jim and Della.  Ted had a hearing aid check up and dinner with one of Ted's former bosses and his wife, Dick and Tracy McGraw.  And yesterday we had a hearing aid class and lunch with Rusty Coole, a high school classmate of Ted's and dinner with friends Meg and Kathy.  (Meg is Ted's former sister-in-law)!  Whew...

And of course we still haven't stopped eating and there is more to come starting tonight with Mallorie's volleyball game and dinner with her grandparents, Jeri and Stach!

We are having a great time.  We leave here on November 3rd for Cherry Valley.

Really enjoying friends..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Eating out again!!!!

I tried to post this blog yesterday but couldn't get connected to the internet!  I have a nice picture but was not able to post it!  Maybe later.  Anyway, here is the day old post!

Yesterday morning we took off to drop off the old satellite dish at Fed-Ex, went to South Coast RV so they could order the new axle for the RV and then went to Escondido to meet Ted's high school classmate Rusty Coole.  Rusty is a retired kindergarten teacher.  We enjoyed a good lunch and shared our most recent adventures!

We had a couple of hours back at the RV with Max before heading to Filippe's Pizza downtown to meet Fran and Paul Young for dinner.  Ted and Fran had lived in the same apartment building back in the 70's!  They have not seen each other since that time!  They live in Missouri now and were visiting friends in San Diego.  Paul and I heard some good stories and we both shared our lives bringing us up to date!  They both taught school in many foreign countries for 18 years.  Pakistan was one of the places they lived and enjoyed.   It sounds like they have been enjoying themselves and it was fun meeting them!  We are planning to see them again before they leave town!

Meeting new people..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Yesterday Ted and I met our friend Peggy Price at the movie theater in Rancho San Diego.   When we were walking through the parking lot, GNO friend Adma drove by going to the YWCA with her Granddaughter, Delilah!  She is beautiful!  Anyway, we saw Ides of March and gave it three thumbs down!  Just as it was getting suspensful, it ended!  George is still handsome!

After the movie it was next door to Hooley's Irish Pub for dinner.  Had a good meal and caught up on what's going on in Peg's life!

I think today we are going to set up our "patio area"...rug and chairs with some awning decorations!  Will get some laundry done and unless we change out minds...hang out!

Taking it easy..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Made it to Pio Pico!

On Thursday we drove down the mountain without incident and are back at Pio Pico! 

Yesterday Ted had his first check up for his hearing aids.  It is really amazing what they can tell from them.  The doctor hooked them up to her computer and runs reports.  She was pleasantly surprised that he averaged 14 hours a day of use, apparently not everyone uses them that much at first.  She could tell how many times he changed the program or the volume, was in noisy area (the casino), listened to music, tv and quiet.  Then she made some adjustments to the program.  Ted's hearing aids are behind the ear and the tube that goes down in the right ear was sticking out a little so she got a different tube and fixed that problem and she put on smaller caps on the part down in the ears so they wouldn't bother him and that seems to be working as well.  He is really pleased with them (and so am I)!

After his appointment, we met our friends Jeri and Stach for breakfast at Mission Valley Cafe (yummy) and then we went to watch Survivor (from Wednesday night) at their house.  When we got to Pio Pico I had both air conditioners going and turned on the microwave and popped the circuit also frying the satellite receiver unfortunately.  We called Dish and they overnighted a new one which we got yesterday and Ted hooked up.   My shows that I had dvr'd were all lost, but we have tv again!

We had good news from our insurance company, we were approved to replace the middle axle on the RV so will get a new one ordered and get that taken care of in the next couple of weeks!  We are very happy about that.

Ted being able to hear..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Departing Julian and back to Jamul today!

Yesterday I enjoyed Ted's birthday!  We met some friends at Viejas for (a so-so) dinner.  Ted and I went a little early for some gambling.  We played long enough that we each got the buffet for free!  I actually ended up with about $60 more than I went with and I gave Ted some money for his birthday to gamble with!  Ted didn't do as well but I hope he enjoyed!

Here in Julian we've seen wild turkeys, a coyote and several deer; including three that were hanging out on the side of the road last night when we drove back up the mountain!  It's really been nice up here and we've had great cell/internet service!   Hopefully we'll have better service than we had last time at Pio Pico!  We sure haven't figured out the best place to park to try to get good service!

Winning (but not like Charlie Sheen)..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Happy Birthday to TED!

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband!  He is legally an old fart!  LOL!

We are still enjoying Julian.  Had a visit from friends Steve and Kathe Dunn yesterday.  They picked us up and we went to Wynola to have lunch at the Wynola Pizza Co.   After a delicious lunch we stopped at the Banner grade overlook!  It was a beautiful day! 

We were headed back to the RV and were trying to decide if we wanted to go see the historic Stonewall Mine, south of Lake Cuyamaca.  We decided to take a look at the mine.  Gold was discovered there in 1870 but the mine really didn't get going until 1886.  $2,000,000 in gold was produced between 1886 and 1892!  The mine was abandoned in 1893.  The main shaft was 630' deep.  There isn't much left of the mine just a few odds and ends.

When we got to the mine there was one other car and the man got back to his car just before we were ready to leave.  He had been hiking since 10:00 a.m., it was now 3:00 p.m.   It was a good thing we had not left yet because the man locked his keys in his trunk, along with his cell phone because he had no signal.  He would have had another pretty good hike to get to a telephone.  He used our phone to call AAA!  Our good deed for the day!

A beautiful afternoon visiting with friends and seeing the area..."Ain't Life Grand!"

GO CHARGERS!

What an exciting Charger game...they almost blew it again!  Whew that was close!

During the game we had a surprise visit from our friends Jeri and Stach.  They were originally planning to visit us but when Jeri fractured her foot, they put a boot on it and she was supposed to stay off of it!  She was surprisingly able to get up the steps okay (and said her foot feels fine today).  They also brought a yummy apple pie to share!  We had dessert first yesterday!

Enjoying a surprise visit..."Ain't Life Grand!

Enjoying some down time!

We've really been relaxing here in Julian.  Yesterday was absolutely beautiful!  It's now in the high 70's in the day and high 40's in the early morning.  It was crystal clear yesterday.  Max and I had a couple of nice long walks!

Our Julian campground, KQ Ranch, is a part of Colorado River Adventures, a membership campground.  When we joined they told us as they add campgrounds we would have access to them. What they don't tell you (of course if we had read the fine print) is that we would have to pay additional membership fees.  After the original investment we pay annual dues but then we can stay two weeks at a time for free.  So we went and talked to them about a couple of new campgrounds.  We were interested in the Pismo Beach Campground but it is a small park and they are putting 35 park models on it so no RV's.  So we said no thank you, saved a bunch of money and came back to the RV!

Last night they had a barbeque.  We had the steak, baked potatoes and corn with German Chocolate cake again for dessert (saving me some calories)!  The steaks were delicious!  We sat with a nice couple that live in Vista originally from Missouri.  We left when the Karaoke started, Ted's new hearing aids were not prepared for that!  They are working great but he's still getting used to them!

Today is the Charger game....GO CHARGERS!

Relaxing in Julian..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Enjoying Julian!

Wednesday night was VERY windy!  How windy was it?  When I let Max out to do his business before going to bed, I stood on the inside (it was so cold) and tried to hold the door while Max went out on his leash.  The next thing I knew, the wind whipped me around, the door flew open and I was on the ground outside!  Ted came running out to get me but I was fine.  I think the wind let me down gently after picking me up and throwing me out!  I also thought our bedroom was in a perfect spot away from the wind, yet when I got in bed it was a bumpy ride for awhile!  Thursday morning it was 37 degrees and still pretty windy and rainy when I walked Max.

Our friends Jim and Della Crownover came up around lunch time yesterday and we went into Julian.  It was still a bit cold and cloudy but wasn't raining!  We had lunch at the Julian Grille.  The restaurant is set in a cozy cottage festooned with lacy draperies, flickering candles, and a warm hearth, the Grille is the nicest eatery in town.  We all had a delicious lunch and decided to walk about town!  We did a little shopping and then picked up an apple pie at Moms!

We came back to our RV and played a serious game of Pokeno!  I was the big winner by winning $1.50 of Ted's pennies!  Jim and Della won about 50 cents from Ted, leaving Ted 50 cents!  We then had apple pie and ice cream for dinner!

This morning it was 35 degrees when I walked Max but the sun was shinning and there was no wind!  It was a beautiful day.  We finished setting up our camp site and took off to Golden Acorn for a couple of hours.  Today Ted was the lucky one.  He came out $6.00 ahead and I lost $35.00.   It was fun even though I lost because I would play on a machine for quite awhile and would get to play some bonuses!

Tonight we had homemade lasagne in the club house here at the campground.  They served a salad and garlic toast with the lasagne with german chocolate cake for dessert!  I'm not crazy about coconut so I passed on dessert but really enjoyed my dinner.

I took a couple of pictures when we got back to the RV.  The sunset was much prettier in person!

When we were at Pio Pico I took some pictures but could not get them to download! Pics taken at campground, ballpark and at vollyball!

A beautiful cool day in Julian..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Made it to Julian...

...in spite of the wind and rain!  We drove up into the clouds and fog with lots of wind and rain!  We are tucked in tight and are cozy and warm while we bounce around from the wind!   When the wind stops and rain slows down, we will set up our satellite dish and sewer...probably Friday!  Max is not going to like going out for our walk (and neither will I)!

The good news is...we have internet service once again!  I have already ordered some new day/night shades for our bedroom, sunreader sunglasses for Ted and I, ordered a mail delivery for when we get back down to Pio Pico, did some banking and now typing the blog!

Shopping and blogging on the internet..."Ain't Life Grand!" 

Headed for Julian!

Tomorrow we will leave Pio Pico and go up to Julian for a week.  We will finally have cell service (I think) and therefore, internet service.  Where we are camped here has not been good at all.  Sometimes we connect but try to send an email or post a blog and lose the connection...frustration!

We've continued having a good time and getting doctors and RV things done.   We borrowed a steam cleaner and got our rug cleaned, got a new vent.  The appraiser was out for the axle but can't get the claims adjuster to call back so that we can proceed on the new axle just yet.  Started the refi on our house.  Got my face and Ted's head frozen for pre-cancer cells.  Still working on Ted's sore eye, he's got steroids and eye drops for them. 

Ted got his new hearing aids today, I think he hears a lot better and they are supposed to get better as his ears adjust to them.  You've heard of smart phones, he's got smart hearing aids!  They work really well with his phone and he's setting up the tv for them right now!

Been to a few dinners, lunches, vollyball and baseball games and tonight is girls night out!  So that just about brings you up to date! 

New hearing aids for Ted..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Enjoying being in San Diego!

We have enjoyed our week in San Diego.  We've been visiting friends and getting lots of things done such as doctor appointments, RV appointments, insurance appointments, refinancing appointments and more!  We've attended the great vollyball and baseball games of our friends' grandkids.  We've gotten some card games in (which we lost to Jim Crownover), but had a good dinner and lots of fun!

We've had horrible internet/cell service.  Ted moved the antenna around again and it's better today!

Getting on the internet today..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Back in San Diego at Pio Pico!

On Wednesday we arrived back in San Diego at Pio Pico which means the cell/internet service is not so great!  We find we can use the internet the best in the mornings and texting works better than calls!  Oh well, the weather has been great!

While we are here in San Diego we are making doctor appoints, RV appointments, nails, hair and more!  I got a hair cut yesterday and nails today.  Ted has already had a hearing test and we have an appointment to see about hearing aids.  So in other words he didn't do so well on his test!  The doctor was very good about explaining everything to us.

On Thursday we made it to Jeri and Stan's grandaughter's volly ball game.  She is in high school on the Junior Varsity team and their team won!  Mallorie played a great game.  Last night we went to her brother's doubleheader baseball game.  Trent played an awesome game.  He was hitting great and came in to pitch the final inning.  The top of the inning his team was hitting like crazy, some players got up 3 times to bat.  His team started feeling bad for the other guys.  By now it was 10:30 p.m. and they were the last two teams on the field.  Trent was called in to pitch and struck out the first batter, he caught a line drive from the second batter and struck out the third batter.  His team won 23 to 3 in the 4th inning!

I took this picture at the campground.  The squirrels and rabbits are driving Max crazy!  But he loves the ranger station, they give him doggie cookies!

Enjoying San Diego..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Last day at the Grand Canyon :(

Lunch at the El Tovar Hotel, a nice way to end our time at the Grand Canyon!  I had the smoked salmon salad and Ted had the pork tenderloin chili.  Both were delicious!  We spent some time around the canyon and got to the veranda before the rains started again.  The weather wasn't as spectacular as Sunday and there was no rainbow but still fun to watch the lightning and hear the thunder and of course people watching!  It was in the low 50's and some young guy was running around in his shorts (not underwear) only and flinging his arms toward heaven.  Not sure what he was asking God, but he seemed to really be talking to him!  Anyway, it was a lot of fun!

We left the Canyon yesterday about 9:00 a.m. and made it almost to Kingman, Arizona before the rains started.  It got down in the low 60's so at least we didn't have to worry about hail!  Ted drove about four hours in the rain before we finally saw the sun again!  We arrived in Cherry Valley around 6:00 p.m. last night.  We tried to make it in time to play bingo but we had to eat and take care of Max.  It was a long day of driving for us and we were all tired anyway!

This morning we felt an earthquake!  I don't know if it was very big or not, but it was the largest we have felt in our RV!  Felt like we were bumping down the road or as if someone was bumping into us!  Max finally woke up when it was almost over!  Guess not all animals have the early warning sense!

We will leave here this morning for Pio Pico down in San Diego!

Today is our nephew Chip's birthday..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Back at Grand Canyon!

We are back to the Grand Canyon!  We had a short drive and got to Trailer Village in the Grand Canyon a little before noon!  Just after we got set up we had a pretty good thunder, lightning and rain storm.  Fortunately it didn't last too long and we made it over to the Canyon just in time to enjoy some more weather!

We had just gotten to the El Tovar Hotel when it started to rain...pour...gush torrents of water!  The thunder and lightning was right on top of us and then the wind started and it was brrrr cold!  Everyone huddled on the porches and watched the weather!

First the wind stopped, then the rain stopped and the sun came back out.  There were clouds down in the Canyon and they would pop back up, almost like smoke rising from the bottom of the Canyon!  It was really amazing!

When the sun came out everyone got back out to enjoy the Canyon and Ted and I were able to snag a table on the Veranda once they dried everything off!  We had just gotten our glass of wine when the fog rolled in!  It started out of the Canyon and just came up over the edge.  It was eerie and cool!

The fog went away again and the sun came back out so we enjoyed people watching from the veranda at the El Tovar.  It's one of our favorite places to enjoy a million dollar view!

It started getting cold so went shopping.  When we came out of the shop, we saw this beautiful full rainbow!  The ranger told us it's very rare to have a double rainbow that goes all the way down in the Canyon!  My camera could not even come close to capturing the beauty of the rainbow!  People were all gathering, taking pictures and ooing and ahhing!

Enjoying the sights of  the Grand Canyon..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Stormed into Flagstaff!

Yesterday was an interesting day.  We said goodbye to our friends and got on the road.  It was a chilly 49 degrees!  It's a pretty drive from Taos down to Santa Fe.  It started warming up to about 75 degrees and we turned west in Albuquerque.  We could see rain ahead but little did we know when we got there it was a torrential downpour!  Of course I was driving, the temperature dropped to 47 degrees and it started hailing pea-size hail like crazy.  When the semi's pull over, you know it's bad.  Fortunately it didn't last too long.

We made it all the way to Flagstaff without incident.  It was just getting dark but we gained an hour once we got to Arizona.  We are at Black Bart's campground.  It has a pretty low rating in the Good Sam Directory but they have a really nice restaurant and we can stay hooked up (truck connected to the RV) since we are leaving this morning to go up to the Grand Canyon for two nights.

After we got set up we had dinner, Ted had steak and I had ribs...delicious.  The waiters all sing between taking orders and serving your meals.  Being named Black Bart's we had thought they would probably sing country music but they sing show tunes!  We had been here before a couple of years ago and enjoyed it and enoyed the dinner and music again last night!  Everyone is friendly and it was a nice end to the day.

Or so we thought!...Got to bed and a few minutes later the biggest, loudest lightning and thunder storm blew in.  Again, pouring rain.  Poor Max was pretty scared (so was I if I care to admit it)!  But, this morning the sun is shining even though it was only 44 degrees when I walked Max!  Brrrr...

Making it safely through the storms..."Ain't Life Grand!"

The Enchanted Circle!

Yesterday we had breakfast with our friends James & Gail and their friends Bucky & Ivy.  After a yummy breakfast we visited the Millicent Rogers Museum.  We had not heard of this woman but she set up a wonderful museum of Pueblo Indian Artifacts.  There were rugs, a couple of dresses, artwork, jewelry, pottery and more.  It was an interesting museum.

Sorry Kelli, I know it's small if you can't open the collage!

From there the groups separated and we visited the small local casino.  It was our lucky day, I doubled my money and Ted won $4.00!  We left the casino and visited the San Francisco De Asis Church.  The adobe mission church was built between 1813 and 1815 and they still have daily mass and three on Sundays!  It is a beautiful church.

It rained most of the night last night and when we got up this morning there was snow on the mountain tops!  It was cool all day today.  We went to breakfast with the other two couples and another couple they know, Kim and Sandy.  Ted and I had a sinful cinnamon roll! 

After breakfast Ted and I drove the 90 something mile ride around the Enchanted Circle.  We started off in Taos through the Carson National Forest and over the mountains.  We drove through beautiful pines and down into Angel Fire, a ski resort at 8420' in a beautiful meadow.  It was a cute but very small town.  The next stop was the town of Eagle Nest at 8258'.  I tried to get a picture of the Eagle Nest Lake but it was too blurry!  We followed the Red River and over the Bobcat Pass at 9820'.  We saw a beautiful group of wild turkeys.  Red River was a little bigger town and we would have had lunch there if we weren't still stuffed from our you-know-what! We were now in a rocky mountain area with red, yellow and gold rocks.  Questa was the last town and it was the least impressionable.  It was a beautiful drive.  The snow was still at a higher elevation and 49 degrees at our highest point!

Tomorrow we leave Taos and are headed for the Grand Canyon South Rim.  We have a reservation for Sunday and Monday nights.  They are booked solid on Tuesday.  Not sure where we will stay tomorrow night.

Meeting new people and sightseeing..."Ain't Life Grand!"