We made it back to Pio Pico!

But not without a problem!  We were on the way to So. Coast RV in Chula Vista.  Just as Ted turned down a residential street, a car came down the street and prevented Ted from making as wide a turn as he needed to.  He was committed to make the turn and ended up hitting a parked car with the side of our RV.   It hit the tail light and bumper of the parked car.  The people were very nice and understood it was an accident.  We scraped up a two foot area on the side of our RV.  When we got to the RV place to have our furnace put back in after they repaired it (and thankfully it works great), they gave us an estimate of $1100 to fix our RV.  We've sent everything to the insurance company so will see what they say.

We made it to the campground and are settled in for three weeks.  We visited our friend Jeri at rehab yesterday.  She's doing pretty well.  She actually went up and down steps!  This afternoon we set up our chairs and awning, we are quite comfortable!

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

Last night at Cherry Valley

Tomorrow we leave for Pio Pico, via South Coast RV to have our furnace put back in!  We've enjoyed our stay here at Cherry Valley.  We had dinner at the clubhouse Saturday night and the food was good and the company enjoyable.  We've met some nice people here.  Today we play Pokeno for pennies!  Ted and I didn't do so well but it was a fun couple of hours and besides, we actually only lost about $2, can't beat that!

When we are back in Jamul we generally lose our internet service or it is very slow and the signal so weak it's hard to open pictures and some emails.

I took this picture of the snow on Big Bear the other day, it looks pretty from here but I don't have to be cold!

Enjoying Big Bear from afar..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Gambling again!

The week definitely got better!  On Thursday we decided to gamble our woes with a few bucks.  Ted lost $20 but I made $60!  It always more fun when you win!  Then we went to bingo at the RV park.  There were only a few people.  I won $17 on 3 bingos!  Poor Ted was the only person not to win a bingo!

Yesterday we took the rental car back and ended up sitting at the Ford dealership all afternoon.  They finally got us out of there at 4:30 and the charge was $2500 not $3000 so that was good news.  It's all in the way they make you feel.  If they had said $2500 and charged that amount, we would not have felt as good!  We are thinking about getting a new truck in the spring or summer.  Some time after we get the house rented!

Our friend Jeri is having physical therapy at rehab and doing well.  She said she's walking with a walker now!  That was good news.  We have some classmates from Ted's high school that are having some medical difficulties and are hoping they will improve each and every day.

Tonight we are having dinner at the clubhouse, a steak dinner!  Cherry Valley is a small but friendly campground.

Being thankful for small things..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Spending a week in Cherry Valley

Ted and I left Jamul yesterday morning  and stopped at South Coast RV to have the bushings changed on the under side of our RV.  The furnace had also stopped working again.  Apparently the blower had a dead spot so when it stopped on the dead spot, it wouldn't work again.  They had to order the part so we will stop back by there on our way back to Jamul on the 25th.   The total spent on the RV is $1400! 

We left the RV place at 3:00 and followed the full moon to Cherry Valley! 

The moon doesn't look so large in the pictures, but it was pretty big!

This morning we took our truck in to have the oil changed and a general inspection.  We left with a rental car and an estimate for $3000.  Is it February yet????  January hasn't started out so well!  They found oil in the coolant.  We just had the oil changed in October so it didn't take long to get clogged and spill over into the coolant!  Hopefully we will get the truck back on Friday.  We have 120,000 miles on the truck, may look at the 2011 Ford 450 that "sounds" like it has a better diesel engine!

Looking out my window at the snow on Big Bear..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Update on Jeri Susan!

Our friend Jeri had her surgery yesterday and did very well.  She had to stay in recovery a bit longer than usual because her blood pressure got so low but she was alert and doing well!  We are thankful.  It really makes you stop and think how important our friends are when you worry about losing them.

After our visit to the hospital and some errands, we met our friend Peggy for dinner.  We went to Mediterraneos out in Alpine California.  The food was delicious and it was a beautiful evening.   We sat outside and watched the sunset!

Our friend Peggy:

We had a lovely dinner!

Thankful Jeri's surgery went well..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Dedicated to Jeri!

Our friend Jeri fell and broke her hip late Friday night playing with her cat.  She fell on the only steps they have in their house and landed wrong on her hip.  She is having surgery this morning.  Ted and I will go visit her this afternoon, but our prayers are with her this morning for a successful surgery.  She was sleeping well yesterday afternoon when we stopped in the hospital for a quick visit.

We went to her grandson's baseball game yesterday and they played a good game but lost.  He's 10 and the kids sure get over their losses quick and move on to what is going to happen next.  The tournament was in Fallbrook so a lot of the parents rented hotel rooms up there so as not to drive so far for the 3-day tournament.  All the kids were excited about getting to the hotel to go swiming!   They may play today if one of the teams that played after them lost, but the kids didn't seem to be concerned!  It was a good match yesterday.

Our hitch parts arrived Friday afternoon and we took them to a hitch place to get put together.  We needed an impact wrench to be able to take it apart to replace the braces and decided it was better to have the professionals do it.  We should have it back tomorrow so that we can leave for our week out as scheduled on Tuesday.  We will be up in Cherry Valley by Beaumont/Banning area.  At least we will have better internet.  It's been very bad at our campsite this time.

This morning we noticed our heater didn't come on again.  Either something is wrong with the heater and/or the propane regulator or maybe even an electrical problem.  We already have an appointment when we return to Jamul on the 25th to replace some bolt on the suspension of our RV.  Hopefully they will have

Just thinking of our friend Jeri this morning...

Finale: the ladies cruise!

Tuesday was a sea day, we managed to find things to do.  Some of us had some casino time, we played some yahtzee, read our books and of course found plenty of time to eat!  After a great dinner a few of us went to the theater and attended a Name That Tune Game and then The Gender Game.  The gender game was quite funny and after many tie breakers, the guys won!

On Wednesday morning we pulled into Cabo San Lucus.  Jeri, Roberta and Elaine all went to town while Sherri (still recovering from a cold), Kittye and I stayed on board.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we took advantage of a long walk on deck (1 mile), Roberta took advantage of the spa and Elained enjoyed the slide! 

We pulled out in the evening and went around in circles off shore!  That way they can open the shops and casino.  After another wonderful dinner a few of us attended the broadway show.  We enjoyed the sets and the costumes were really amazing.  The singers and dancers were good.  No pictures were allowed!

Thursday was another day in Cabo.  It was a bit colder and cloudy.  We all stayed on the ship and did various things.  Jeri had a great massage, Kittye had her hair washed with a wonderful scalp massage, games were played and food was again eaten (notice a recurring theme)!  Dinners were delicious as well as entertaining.  Our waiter, David, did magic tricks every night and the whole dining room staff danced and sang their way into our hearts!  We even did the Conga one night!

We left Cabo Thursday afternoon and spent Friday at sea.  Friday afternoon they had the "Marriage Game".  They had three couples; one couple 6 days married, one couple 20 years married and one couple 44 years married.  They chose great couples and a lot of laughs were had by all!

On Saturday we arrived in Ensenada.  I actually got off the ship and went to the little shop at the pier.  Kittye and Sherri stayed on board and Jeri, Elaine and Roberta went shopping in town.  I took some pictures coming in to Ensenada but forgot to take any while on shore!  Friday night's show was a show stopper, the costumes and sets were terrific!  After the show a few of us listened to the guitar player.  He sang songs by Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond and more.

Saturday evening dinner was casual and a lot of fun. Of course the staff tells us how much they'll miss us, just like every other cruise passenger, but they make you believe they mean it!

After a fun dinner we all went our separate ways.  Kittye and I packed and got to bed early.  Jeri and Sherri did the final show and Jeri got her final casino time.   Roberta and Elaine got some hot tea and hit the sack early!

Sunday morning we were back at the pier and we were happy and sad, except for Elaine she was only happy as she was ready to get both feet on dry land!

A successful girlfriend cruise..."Ain't Life Grand!"

p.s.  The hitch parts have been ordered and at an exorbitant cost should be here Friday afternoon!

Part II, Ladies cruise and more...

The travelers on the ladies cruise:  Roberta and Elaine, Jeri and Sherri, Kittye and Susan.

We got on board and were able to go to our cabins right away.  We were still in port and Kittye had to take a call regarding work!  She and her business partner place people in assisted living places.  They are very good at it and it is such a needed service.  Our cabin:

After we put our stuff away, we had a bite to eat at the buffet and then headed out on deck for our safety drill.  You used to have to wear your life preservers but now you can leave them in the room and they just show you how to put them on (much like on an airplane).  It was cold out on deck but four of us waited to see the ship leave.

Part III of the ladies cruise to be continued...

Yesterday Ted and I got up early to take the RV in to have a couple of things repaired, including our heater.  We were happy because everything was simple and we were out of there without much $$$$ and time.  But when we hooked up the RV Ted noticed the hitch was cracked.  So they had to tow us back to the RV campground and we paid to stay here another week.  We called the hitch company in North Dakota, and will be awhile before we will get a replacement base for our hitch.

Just wanted to say a special hello to our friends from France...hi Jack and Dorothy!  We got your card, it was good to hear from you!

Having a hitch problem while parked instead of driving..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Back from the "ladies cruise"!

Got home today from the ladies cruise.  I had a great time!  We all met at Jeri's house and her husband surprised us with a limo and champagne!  We all climbed into the limo and laughed and drank champagne all the way to the dock!

Since it's been a long day and I'm still trying to clear up tons of emails, the saga of the ladies cruise will be continued!

Max and Ted survived the six days without me but did seem happy to have me home!

A successful ladies trip..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Happy New Year 2011!

Happy New Year friends! 

We lost power early this week at the campground.  We have an appointment to have our furnace repaired on the 11th so the only heater we have is our fireplace which uses electricity which we didn't have!  It's been in the 30's at night so was pretty cold until we were able to move to another spot!  Then our Verizon mifi stopped working so they ordered us a new one that will be here tomorrow!  I'm in the clubhouse using the wifi.  So the computer has had a good rest!

We enjoyed our last week of the "old" year!  We went to the Lamb's Players Christmas play last Wednesday with our friends Jeri and Stach.  We got there early and went over to the Hotel Del to check out the Christmas tree, always beautiful even though it's no longer a live tree.  We had dinner and then a fun little play.

For New Years we saw True Grit with our friend Peggy, enjoyable.  Then had an Italian dinner that was pretty good.  We made it home by 9 and were asleep before midnight!  A great way to bring in the new Year!

Tomorrow I leave for a ladies Mexican Rivera cruise!  There are six of us and we will be gone until next Sunday!  So no blogs for a week!

Cruisin'..."Ain't Life Grand!"