Day 95 Mon Apr 16 - Fred Meyer, Burlington, WA to home

We are back in the “wet” coast, showers over night and awoke to cloud & showers. They had stopped by 9 AM. We hooked up the Focus & drove to the gas pumps & filled up the RV. Out Fred Meyer @ 10:00 AM @ 152690 km. Arrived at the border at 10:50 with only one car in front of us so 2 minutes to clear. Arrived home, (parked across from school), at 11:40 @ 152802 km. Spent the rest of the day unpacking the RV, doing laundry & organizing stuff at home. Ken was sleeping. When he finally got up about 9 PM we had a short visit with him before he went to work on night shift.

Total distance in the RV was 6023 km – 3743 miles. The RV used 454 USG, which is 1718 litres or 378 CDN gallons. Gas mileage is 10 miles per CDN gallon, 8.2 miles to the US gallon, & 3.5 kilometres to the litre at an average US$ gas price of $3.73 per USG; which started out at $3.30 a gallon in January & went up to over $4.00 by the end of the trip.

Day 94 Sun Apr 15 – Tulalip Casino north to Fred Meyer in Burlington, Sunny, warm. Car temp was 21 C/ 71 F

In the morning Sheila went back to the outlet stores and I went over to Winco. After Sheila returned with more purchases we got ready to go. Out Tulalip Casino @ 152643 km @ 1:45 PM & over to the rest area with a dump station to dump our grey water tank & add a bit more fresh water. Off hwy 2:00 & back on I 5 at 2:15. Into Fred Meyer in Burlington @ 2:45 @ 152690. After parking & settling in Sheila wanted to see the Tulip fields so we got some instructions and a map of the Tulip Route and headed towards the area. We found one of the grower display fields called, “Roozen Garde” and parked. Parking was free, but admission to the fields & garden area was $5.00. I wasn’t that interested so Sheila went in & I relaxed & waited in the car. Though the fields of different coloured sections of tulips & daffodils were striking, what really impressed Sheila were the individual flower beds & gardens. Each one was distinctive with a different type of tree in the centre & beautiful beds of multicoloured tulips around them. One tree even had clumps of tulips growing out of its branches! She felt the gardens were well worth the $5.00 admission—specially since it was such a beautiful day. Sheila dropped me off at the RV in the Fred Meyer lot for the evening & went out shopping at an outlet mall in Burlington one more time. Meanwhile, I found I can get KIRO, (CBS Seattle stn), on the antenna. When Sheila returned, we had a light supper, then I went over to the gas stn & filled the Focus at $3.99 a USG which is $1.05 a litre. We put 869 km – 540 miles on the Focus since leaving home.

Day 93 Sat Apr 14 Wal-Mart, Yakima, WA to Tulalip Casino, Marysville.

It is a bright sunny clear blue sky morning in Yakima. We pulled out @ 152366 km @ 11:00 AM. As we drove up hwy 82 towards Ellensburg we saw a large snow capped mountain to the west of us, looking at a map we think it was Mt. Rainier. Our gas stop is Ellensburg, in @ 11:45 AM @ 152421 km, out @ 12 noon. We pulled into a rest area for lunch 12:25 to 1:30 PM. Going over Snoqualmie Pass the road was bare & dry & the sun was shining. There were skiers on the hills at the summit and lots of snow beside the road, there was a big lake that was still frozen near the summit. Off hwy I 90 to the Seattle bypass Hwy 405 & then onto I-5 which was quite busy & slow-going the last several miles to exit 200 & Tulalip Casino. Arrived Tulalip Casino 3:50 PM @ 152643 km. The parking lots are very full & there are lots of RV’s in the RV parking area. Sheila is off to the outlet mall. Weather here is sunny & warm. I texted Ken, who is in the Seattle area for a Star Trek tournament, to see if him & his friend Kurtis can meet up with us. (He had emailed a day or so ago to say they would be in the area & if we were also maybe we could meet up). They showed up at our RV about 6:30 PM and suggested dinner, so I phoned Sheila. She immediately left the Seattle Premium outlet Mall & met us at a nearby Olive Garden for dinner. Everyone really enjoyed their dinner which includes “all you can eat” breadsticks, & soup or salad. It was good service, considering how busy they were—the restaurant, (which is very large) was packed. We returned to the RV about 8:45, and Ken & Kurtis left to go home almost immediately.

Distance Travelled – 277 km – 172 miles

Day 92 Fri Apr 13 Oregon Trails West, Baker City, OR to Wal-Mart, Yakima, WA - Sunny & windy today.

We were hooked up & pulled out @ 151995 @ 10:45 AM. We drove over the Blue Mountains Summit pass @ 4,193 feet; there was snow still under the trees beside the road.
We saw a closed truck weigh station so we weighed the RV. Front axel 4,450 lbs, rear axel 11,400 lbs. Our GVWR is 14,050 lbs. The heavier items are: just over ½ tank gas, 30 USG, (180 lbs), 2/3rds tank water, 25 USG, (207 lbs), 2 passengers 390 lbs, plus the generator, the collapsible ladder, a large folding table, & the BBQ grill. Otherwise it’s all small individual items, food, assorted tools etc. We do have Ken’s cards but I have no idea of their weight, probably somewhere over 100 lbs. We need to lighten the rig a bit when we get home.
We motored on stopping at a rest area for a lunch of Sheila’s hamburger soup; we were stopped from 12:50 PM to 2:05 PM. We pulled into the Wal-Mart in Yakima @ 4:05 PM @ 152366. We looked up a movie theatre on the GPS that was only a mile away & drove over but it didn’t have anything on today, – at all – it was closed! It seems to be a venue for live theatre now, but there were no shows scheduled for tonight. Back to the RV for supper. I started the generator to see if we get any TV, I found over a dozen digital channels, all really clear reception. Of course not much is on Friday nights so not much to see. We did watch “The Finder”, a spin off show from a “Bones” episode. I was not overly impressed.

Distance travelled – 371 km – 230 miles

Day 91 Thurs Apr 12 - Country RV Village, Hayburn, ID to Oregon Trails West RV Park, Baker City, OR

The day started out sunny, clear & calm and we pulled out @ 151536 km @ 10:40 AM, but after we left the wind picked up & I spent a good 2 hours or more driving into alternately a head wind or a side wind. We pulled off I-84 for gas & for lunch @ 1:35 PM @ 151828 km. One advantage to stopping at Flying J or Pilot stations besides lots of room to pull the RV towing the car into & out of the gas pumps is that most of them have a restaurant attached. This one had a Denny’s. I had the 3 egg meat lovers omelette for $8.99 which comes with hash browns & toast. Sheila had a design it yourself stack of pancakes, you pick out type of batter, stuff to add to batter, the topping of your choice and type of syrup. I hope they do that at Denny’s back home. Back out on the hwy @ 2:55 PM and finally the wind died down. We pulled of I-84 into Oregon Trails West RV Park @ 151995 km at 4:40. However, we are now in the Pacific Time Zone so it is actually 3:40. Sheila drove into Baker City to find a Safeway, (easy with the GPS – just type in Safeway & it finds them), and a dollar store. A light supper in the RV, (still full from lunch. Sheila made up a batch of her hamburger soup and then journal, computer & a little TV for the evening.

Distance travelled – 459 km – 285 miles

Day 90 Wed Apr 11 started sunny, warm, ended cloudy & very windy

We pulled out of the Elks Lodge lot @ 10:50 AM @ 151178 km. We pulled off the hwy for a lunch & gas stop 7 miles short of the Idaho state line @ 1:25 PM. Filled gas up @ 151419 km, had lunch and onwards into the wind at 2:45 PM. The wind has been picking up all day and is now quite strong by mid afternoon. Sometimes it is a head wind & sometimes a side wind which is hard to drive against as it really buffets the RV at times. We arrived at Country RV Village in Hayburn, Idaho at 4 PM @ 151536. The lady in the office said they’ve been getting 40 mph winds & 50 mph gusts. Around 5 PM I got on the internet & the forecast for the evening in Hayburn is 31 mph going down to 24 mph by mid evening. It is also clouding over with showers forecast for later. I guess we are leaving the great sunny weather behind us. I put up the TV antenna, (no cable here), and got several digital stations really clear so we watched our Wednesday shows – Criminal Minds & CSI. Later in the evening while Sheila watched the Dancing with the Stars results show on the laptop the rain showers did arrive. However, the wind did drop so we weren’t sleeping in a rocking RV.

Country Village RV Park, our Wed Apr 11 overnight, about 20 miles east of Twin Falls, Idaho

Country RV Village RV Park, our stop Apr 11

on hwy 15, the mountains to the east of Provo & Salt Lake City

driving through Provo UT, the mtns to the east

Day 89 Tues Apr 10 - nice day, forecast high mid 70’s, (23 C or so)

We got up, ate breakfast & headed out to visit the Museum of Natural History at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT. It is about a 20 minute drive up Hwy 15. We arrived about 10:30 AM. They have three IMAX movies in 3D, “Dinosaurs Alive”, Flying Monsters”, & “Passport to Panagaea”. Panagaea is the name for the giant continent before the present continents split off, about 250 million years ago. The museum is well set up so you can walk around on a route & not miss anything. The focus of the museum is fossils, dinosaurs & other prehistoric land, sea & air animals. We both felt there was a greater variety of different species of dinosaurs than we’ve seen anywhere else. We started in the museum and came out to do a movie then had lunch in their café, (reasonable prices & good food), then back to the museum with breaks to see more movies. We saw all 3. I finished before Sheila by about a half hour only and we finally left for home about 7 PM. Sheila was going to go up to the Elks bar to watch the DwS Results show, but there didn’t seem to be anyone there just before 8 PM so she came back to the RV. She then talked me into going to a “Sizzler” for supper. Back at the RV it’s computer time & planning time for tomorrow’s run.

Day 88 Mon Apr 9 - From CasaBlanca Casino, Mesquite, NV to Elks Lodge RV Park, Provo, UT

I went into the Casino to get a photo of the neat waterfalls but they don't start the water pumps untill 10 AM. So I went into the casino to try the daily free “spin & win” on my players card, I won 2 free cocktails, so I had a coffee. Back at the RV we got ready to roll; we have about 300 miles to cover getting to Provo UT. We pulled out at 150703 at 9:15 AM, a really early start for us! We pulled off the hwy at 11:50 AM for gas & lunch. At the Flying J there was RV parking space so we could do both gas & lunch in one stop. I did a mileage check and I am getting 8.77 mpg (USG) & 3.7 kms per litre. We are back on the hwy at 12:45. I was getting tired so we switched drivers at 1:45 & then back again at 2:55. We arrived at the Provo Elks RV Park, (they have 5 spots, all with 30 amp power, water & sewer), at 3:30 PM at 151178. Of course now that we are on Utah time it is 4:30 PM. No one in any of the sites so we got in fine, went up to the bar to sign in & pay, $20 a night, which is on the higher side for an Elks but for full services this close to Salt Lake City it is a bargain. There is snow on the surrounding mountains yet we had to fire up the A/C to cool the RV down inside. After cooking supper in the RV we came over to the Elks bar/lounge so I could do WiFi & Sheila could watch DwS on a large screen TV. The bartender even was able to make a very close approximation of a cocktail she really liked that she discovered at Valle del Oro's Tiki Bar. She gave him the ingredients list. He asked if this was our first time there & when Sheila said yes, he said "first drink is on the house for first timer visitors". We spent the evening there before returning to the RV for the night.

At Elks lodge Provo, UT. Snowcapped mountains in the distance, Elks lodge is the building, bar/lounge is on top with a nice view

Our parking spot at CasaBlanca Casino, Mesquite, NV

Day 87 Sun Apr. 8 Easter Sunday Temps from car – Las Vegas 2 PM 32C (90F), Mesquite NV 4:30 PM 32C (90F)

This morning I drove down to the library & sat outside updating the blog & checking emails. I did a small Wal-Mart shop. Back at the RV, Sheila had gone to the office & gotten us an extension of our check-out time from noon to 2 PM so we could go for one last swim & hot tub and get to TGIF for their breakfast special: $3.99 for 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, hash browns & toast or English muffin. Of course, add in drinks & tax & it’s more, but still a good deal. Interestingly, Sheila’s hot tea & my pop cost more than half the price of the two specials, ($2.59 & $2.78 each)!
We pulled out of Sams Town @ 2:00 PM @ 150577 km. We arrived at Casa Blanca Casino in Mesquite NV @ 3:45 PM @ 150703 km. We parked on the outer edge of the RV lot looking out to the sunset. As we were deciding where to park, we passed a parked rig with Idaho plates and I recognized its occupants—“Idaho” Dave & his wife Yvonne from GVP Hemet!
Casa Blanca is a new casino with an attached hotel. The grounds are especially nice. Outside the entrance there’s grass, trees, waterfalls and a small pond. We got our players cards which came with free $5 in slot play. No deals at the buffet but on a daily “spin & win” I got a free hot dog. They were good, same brand as Costco uses-- Sheila bought one, all of 75 cents. I played for a while and lost the “free” $5 but kept all my own money, Sheila was up $5 when I left to come back to the RV. She eventually came home, had played a lot and was still ahead a few dollars, so lots of free fun. Sheila cooked some carrots & we heated up our leftovers for supper. After supper, Sheila went for a lovely walk in the cooler air & stopped to chat with Dave & another lady from Cranbrook, BC.

Day 86 Sat Apr 7 clear, sunny, forecast high 76F (24.4C)

Slept in again, Vegas is tiring! This morning it’s the Saturday Champagne Brunch, ($9.99 with our Sam’s Town card). We had a great meal; the Champagne & OJ is refillable forever, which is really great!? – I don’t drink & Sheila doesn’t like the dry champagnes they serve, however she did manage to almost finish two 5 or 6 oz glasses of it.
We periodically hear people at home, usually RV’ers, saying things cost more in the US. I don’t bother correcting them but for next time I hear that, I’m going to try to remember the wine/beer price list from Sam’s Town Fireside Buffet: wine – glass $2.00, Carafe $4.00, beer was the same for glass & $4.00 for a pitcher. The only thing I have found pricier here is pop, it generally is around $5.00 a doz.
We are off into Vegas for the 4 PM Nathan Burton Comedy Magic show at the Flamingo and then some wandering around the strip. The show was amazing; he did illusions so fast it was unbelievable. He’d show a transparent box, and then quickly pull a cover up & immediately down and something either appeared or disappeared within it in only fractions of a second! I met him after the show and told him that what really amazed me was the speed at which he did stuff. He replied, “lots & lots of practice”. Getting to his show was a minor problem. The Flamingo lot was full so after going up and down 7 or 8 floors I dropped Sheila off so she could make the start of the show. I headed into traffic, got into Billy’s Casino next door, went all the way to the roof to find a spot. I got into the show room just before Lance Burton came on. The people at the door said that they had lost one parking lot due to construction, anyway I made it OK. After we wandered around the strip a bit, Sheila got a $1.00 frozen Margarita and we watched the “Dealertainers” again at the Imperial Palace. The guy doing Michael Jackson really had his moves ‘down pat’. Enroute home, we stopped for supper at a Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant. They have an $8.49 special dinner menu with about 8 choices. The $8.49 includes your beverage, homemade soup or salad & a homemade dessert of your choice. The food was really good, and the portions so large, we ended up bringing about half of it home. We were home around 9:30, tired & stuffed!
Sheila thinks that the strip is just too crowded to be fun on Easter weekend. The parking lots are too full, and the sidewalks & casinos are so crowded you can hardly move! We watched the Fountain Show at the Bellagio from this vantage point 7 floors up in a parking lot for a few minutes, (not as good when you can’t hear the music). Sheila noted that the people on LV Blvd look like ants streaming out of an anthill!

Day 85 Fri Apr 6 the very high wind is gone, sun’s out, it’s nice & warm.

We slept in & got up late, like 10ish. We went over to the Sam’s Town Subway for their $3.00 ham n’ cheese omelette sub. Then, in the afternoon we went for a dip in the hot tub & pool. During our pool & shower time, Sheila did two loads of laundry. For supper, we went to Billy Bob’s Steak House in Sam’s Town casino for their $9.99 prime rib special. It included soup or salad, veggies, & a potato dish. The prime rib was a marvellous, a thick cut & delicious, & the green & yellow beans were the tastiest we’ve ever had. We ret’d to the RV to change for the evening before driving into the Strip. First stop was the Flamingo to see if we could get the free tickets for Nathan Burton’s Comedy Magic show on Saturday but they were all gone. However, they gave us an upgrade to an assigned seat on the main floor for $15 each. It sounded like a good deal so we booked it. Then we drove down to Planet Hollywood to see the 9 PM “Vegas the show”. Another great show. Though, there were a few Vegas celebs we didn’t recognize from their portrayal because we didn’t know their signature song. After the show, Sheila suggested to the performers who came out to sign CDs etc. that perhaps they could incorporate some means of identifying the celebs into the show for less knowledgeable audience members such as ourselves. Sheila bought a CD of one of the lead singers who did Sammy Davis Jr., among others. He was really good. After the show we wandered past the “Miracle Mile” stores in PH casino. Sheila had a Lobster Roll at a place called “Lobster Me” that was written up as having the best lobster roll in Vegas. It was pricey---$10.00 for just a 5” sub bun with lobster meat, mayo & spices in it, but it was good. This food stand had lobster everything--soup, margarita’s, slurpees, even popsicles & ice cream! We were not brave enough or hungry enough to try anything else. We arrived home a bit before midnight.

Day 84 Thurs Apr 5 Out Zuni Village RV, Kingman, north to Las Vegas NV

Sunny, but very windy today.

Out of Kingman @ 10:35 @ 150420 km. We got to go over the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge but even with being high up in the RV the cement guard rails prevented us from seeing the Dam or the canyon or anything. There were supposed to be pull off places for parking to walk across, (they have a nice wide pedestrian walk all the way over), but we missed them so onwards into Vegas.
Arrived Sam’s Town Casino RV Park @ 12:40 @ 150576 km. We checked in, hooked up, went into the Casino for lunch and discovered that the old coffee shop that used to have great bargains, especially late at night, has been taken over by a TGIF franchise. They did have some specials. After lunch we headed into town to Tix4Tonite at Bill’s Casino to see what ½ price tickets they had. The wind on the strip was blasting through the casino--you could hardly open doors and then you couldn’t close them. Tonight we are going to “DIVAS, starring Frank Marino and a cast of celebrity female impersonators” at the Imperial Palace. We also got tickets for tomorrow night for “Vegas the Show” it is billed as recreating the greatest moments in Vegas history, from vintage Vegas icons to Elvis to today’s hottest stars. We walked up to the Imperial Palace and got our seat assignments for tomorrow and then we returned to Bill’s Casino, (corner Flamingo & L.V. Blvd), where I left Sheila playing the bar video poker/BJ machines & getting ‘comp’ drinks, while I walked down to Planet Hollywood to get our tickets for tomorrow night. As she played, she listened to a lounge entertainer called “Big Elvis” whom she thought sounded more like Elvis than any other Elvis impersonator she’s ever heard. Unfortunately, due to his size, he wasn’t able to move like Elvis, but he did have a great voice. He performs there on weekdays 3 or 4x/day starting around 3 PM.
When I returned, we drove back to Sam’s Town area & went straight to the Longhorn Casino for their advertised steak & 2 petite lobster tails for $9.99. The lobster wasn’t nearly as tasty as what we had at Red Lobster, but the steak was good. Finally back at the RV, we rested before heading into town for tonight’s 10 PM DIVA’S show. This time, we parked in the Imperial Palace lot. The show was terrific! With some of them, (Mariah Carey, Brianna, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Brittany Spears), we weren’t familiar enough with their style to determine how accurate the ‘tribute’ was, others such as Cher, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, and Lisa Minnelli were ‘spot’ on. Frank Marino, as Joan Rivers was the MC & after a very funny opening monologue he came out, as Joan Rivers, in a completely different gown after every performer to announce the next one. At present, he’s the longest running performer in Vegas having been on the strip for 27 yrs.! The show was over an hour & a half long.
After the show, we stayed in the casino to watch the “dealertainers”, they are B/J dealers who dress like their favourite entertainer and perform one of his/her songs on a raised platform in the middle of the tables once or twice a day. Free entertainment for us. I was thirsty so I sat at the bar, played Video poker and after getting just 1 or 2 pair for a while, I was back at even so I cashed out & got my free coke. When went to get our car, we entered the parking garage from a different door – bad mistake, we couldn’t find the car! I pushed the horn button & could hear it in the distance but couldn’t tell which direction. The casino parking garages are huge, half a square block. So we finally went back down to Casino level, found the exit we had originally come out of, went in, & found the car easily. Finally, home to the RV about 1 AM!

Distance travelled 156 km, 97 miles

Day 83 Wed. Apr. 4 Out Valle del Oro RV, Mesa & north to Kingman, AZ

Sunny, but quite windy this afternoon—specially in Kingman.

Sheila is up & off to a water exercise class at 8:30. She said that there were lots of people all around the pool sitting in the sun and in the pool – at 8:30 AM! People here start their days early. We pulled out of VDO @ 10:30 @ 150086 km. Our lunch stop was on a pull off on the road side 12:50 – 1:30. We arrived at our gas stop in Kingman @ 3:20 @ 150418 km & out @ 3:40. I put in 50.5 gallons in the 55 gallon tank. The fuel gauge was just on the middle of the “E” empty sign so now I know how much reserve I have--about 35 miles worth. I had a Flying J station in the GPS & I knew I would be low on gas but had enough to get there. We pulled into Zuni Village RV Park less than 5 minutes later @ 150420 km. After getting hooked up to services we went to the Wal-Mart for some supplies. The car dash temp read 23C (73F). Then back to the RV for supper & to relax for the evening. We watched 2 repeat episodes of Big Bang Theory, we’d seen them before & they are funny and great the second time around. We were in site 8 and cable reception was quite fuzzy on several channels and the TV guide channel on the RV Park channel listing gave us a “no signal”.

Distance travelled 334 km – 207 miles, 3 hrs 10 minutes on the road

Day 82 Tues. Apr. 3 VDO temps, 9:15 AM 65F (18C), 11 AM 70F (21C), 2 PM 80F (26.5C), 5 PM 78F (25.5C)

A quiet morning in the RV doing some prep for leaving tomorrow, (dump tanks etc). Since I’d taken the screen off the rear Fantastic Fan vent in order to replace it with one with clips that is a lot easier to remove & replace, (for cleaning), than the old one with its 8 screws; Sheila decided to clean the blades & the area around them. Unfortunately she couldn’t reach the dirt on the vent cover above the blades.
No breeze at all today. After lunch we went up to the pool for our last water volleyball game. Then I relaxed on a comfy cabana lounge in the sun while Sheila did lengths in the lap pool. Back to the RV to change & head out to a local Red Lobster--it is Lobster Fest time! They have a lobster bisque soup that is thicker than the Boathouse’s but every bit as good. And they have it year round not like the Boathouse that only has it at Lobster Fest time. All we had was the lobster meal and a shared bowl of lobster bisque & we were both stuffed--no room for dessert! We returned to the RV for a quiet evening of TV before tomorrow’s pack up & leave routine. Earlier today Sheila asked about monthly rates here--a month is $675 + tax = $686.11, plus electricity @ 0.11 /KW, (at GVP it was about $25 a month), plus a City of Mesa trash & recycling pickup charge of $29.65. It adds up to more than GVP by over $100.00.

Day 81 Apr 2 Temps @ VDO 9AM 62F, about 72F (22C) in the afternoon and a bit windy (10 to 15 mph) – not a problem for the awning.

Sheila went out shopping in the late morning while I puttered around in the RV. At a CVS Pharmacy Sheila found Coke Zero, 4 doz for $10.00--finally a reasonable price! That’s about the only thing down here that is more expensive than at home. Then about noon I went to the pool for the noon water volleyball game, that’s when the better players play a more serious game, i.e. not as much fun. They played till 1:45. After the game I got one of the Cabana recliner lounges and sat in the sun. They are really comfortable. Then about 3 PM they started the second volleyball game so I joined in that one too, Sheila arrived a bit after we started & joined in. We played till 4 PM. After the game one of the double Cabana lounges was free so we got it. With the nice soft mattress and the reclining back they are great to lie on, you could easily take a nap on one. They have drapes you can draw to shield out the sun, or get privacy, after all this is an “active” 55+ resort. However, since none of the curtains were closed no one was availing themselves of the "opportunity".
Back at the RV we made supper & Sheila will watch D. w. S. and after that we’ll both watch Castle. Then Sheila wanted to vote on-line at D.w.S. but we couldn’t get a WiFi connection at the site so she went up to the clubhouse to get on line.

Day 80 Sun Apr 1 Temps @ VDO 2:30PM 80F (26.5C),

Up & away to the Mesa Swap Meet, arriving by 9 AM. We had breakfast there and then went up & down 4 long rows with booths on both sides checking out the items. We bought stuff for the RV, and for family. We didn’t get back to the RV until 2:30 and then it’s time for R & R after shopping. It is a bit cooler today and there is a breeze, by 5 PM the temp was down to the low 70’s. Sheila went up to the pool for a swim but just relaxed in the sun in one of the cabana couches instead. After supper in the RV she went back up to the clubhouse to investigate a couple of card games that were supposed to be on, “500”, (a form of Euchre), & “Pass the Trash”, which wasn’t on. She played the “500” game for 3½ hours. Even though she has played Euchre once before, she found it very challenging trying to relearn the game & play it quickly. She didn’t win any prizes, so she lost her 50 cent buy-in.

Day 79 Sat Mar 31 VDO Temps 9AM 74F (23C), 1:30PM 90F (32C), 4:30PM 92F (33C)

Temp going up today to around 90 so as of 10 AM we have the RV A/C going. Phoned Sam’s Town Casino in Vegas & booked our 3 nights for 2 deal from the coupon we picked up at “The Rally” in Phoenix. After lunch in the RV we headed out to see “The Duttons” at their own theatre in East Valley High School. They put on a marvellous show, makes us want to see them in Branson even more. The young people we saw many years ago at the PNE are now adults with families of their own, some of whom are performing with them. One neat technology development that I discovered there was that “I-Phones” have an app where you can use them as a credit card charge machine by just entering the numbers on the phone screen keypad, and they even have an electronic pen to sign on the screen with. I was amazed. When we left the theatre I had to get cash so asked GPS for nearest bank & got one ½ mile away. It was a Chase branch and it did not charge me anything to take out money. I had run short of cash because a Wells Fargo ATM in a grocery store wanted $5.00 per transaction and the ATM here at the VDO would only dispense $200.00 and wanted $2.50 for a service charge, so the no-charge at the Chase Branch was a nice surprise. Driving back about 4:30 PM the car dashboard said it was 33C, at the RV, the outside thermometer said 92 so they are in sync. After getting home we changed & went up to the pool for a dip before the dance tonight stating at 7. We went in sometime after 8 & found a seat. It was quite crowded, most tables were full but it is a huge room so there was always room on the dance floor. The group that was playing, “Junction 86”, is very popular wherever they play according to a couple we sat across from. And they were good, they didn’t play too loud to be able to have a conversation and their music selections were great.

Day 78 Fri Mar 30 VDO temps 8:30AM 70 F (21C), 10AM 78F (25.5C), 3PM 90F (32C) *VDO = Val Del Oro

Sheila left early to go to an on-site TOPS Meeting & then to water exercises. She returned & left for a nail appointment at 10:30. I turned on the A/C & left it running all day set to cool to about 75F (23C). I went up to the clubhouse to upload to the blog & check emails etc. When I came out I saw a sign for “Taco Salad Friday” so I went over to the ballroom where the kitchen is and got a nice big taco shell filled to the brim with taco salad ingredients – lettuce, ground beef, onions, tomatoes, guacamole, shredded cheese, & salad dressing, a good deal for $5.50. Back at the RV we got ready for the Hawaiian Sunset Pool Party with dinner at 5 PM. Sheila is making the frozen berries in cool whip, lemon pie filling and vanilla yogurt dessert for our pot luck dish. She put it in the fridge to keep cool as it was 85 to 90 F outside. I went over about 3:30 PM to save a space at a table as the area was already filling up. I forgot the camera so went back and then waited & drove up with Sheila so she had the car to quickly go back & get the dessert when dinner time came. About 4:50 I reminded her & she shot out to go get the dessert. She returned about 5:20, I already had my meal & the line up at the food table was l-o-n-g. Turns out she had to mix in the Cool Whip & frozen berries & it took longer than expected. However there was lots of food & after everyone had gone through there was still lots of food left. It was a great selection, one large plate & I was full so I only had 3 pieces of dessert plus a cookie! Sheila bought one of the Tiki Hut special drinks plus had 2 glasses of the free wine. They had a group playing and they were quite good. The entertainment was Hawaiian & Tahitian dancing plus a fire dancer. By now it was getting dark so it was hard to see the dancing plus we were a ways away from the dancers at the end of the pool on the patio. They were OK but I’ve seen better. It all ended a bit before 8 PM. In talking to people at the party we found out that the swimming pool is heated to 94F (34.5C), the lap pool is a bit cooler, probably in the high 80’s. We had some of our dessert left to bring home.

Hawaiian Sunset Pool Party - Sheila with pool, cabanas & Tiki Hut in the background. Volley ball net attached to the black pole, it goes across pool

Hawaiian Sunset Pool Party - Sheila in front of the food table. It was packed full and extends out both ends of the picture

Bren at the Hawaiian Sunset Pool Party, pool & Cabanas in the background

Day 77 Thurs. Mar 29 Mesa. Temps 8:30 AM 67F (19C), 10:30 AM 78F (25.5C); 12:45PM 86F (30C), 1:45PM 89F (31.5C), 6PM 80F (26.5C)

As you can see by today’s temp listings, the temp goes up fast. This morning Sheila is off to a 9 AM Zumba class. Also today at 9 AM they start running trains at the Garden Railway, so I am there! I took lots of pictures & videos; I was hoping to post some videos on the blog, but after waiting over 15 minutes for a 16 second clip to up load I gave up. One of the engines was a “Shay”, that’s a specially built engine with drive pistons that are vertical and drive a worm gear to the wheels. A “Shay” pulled our carriage when we did the Kettle Valley line in the Okanogan. It’s top speed is 25 mph, it is built for pulling power for mining & logging and being able to get up steep grades.
Sheila said the hour long Zumba class was very good. She liked the music & instructor better than GVP’s class, although $5 per session is pricey. On Thursdays here, local Mesa merchants bring in their wares to sell. It’s a smaller version of the well-known weekend Mesa Swapmeet. Booths were set up along roadways beside the clubhouse, in the main parking lot and they filled the very large ballroom. There were some produce items, jams, jellies, sauces, & clothing, but it was mostly jewellery & accessories such as hats, belts etc. Country Kitchen also comes in and provides cheap lunches for customers & vendors.
After lunch, Sheila drove out to a nearby mall, found a Nail spa & booked an appt. for tomorrow. When she returned, we walked to the pool for our 3 PM water volleyball game, and then sat poolside in the sun listening to the music. Sheila tried a new cocktail made with Vodka, Amaretto, OJ, Peach Schnapps & Sprite. Though good, she liked yesterday’s drink, (Peach Schnapps, Vodka, Raspberry liqueur, O.J. & Sprite) more. There was no food except hot dogs & pretzels today, so we ret’d to the RV for a quick supper before dashing out for the evening—me to Mexican Train, Sheila to an on site concert by the “Leisure World Chordsmen”—a senior men’s acapella choir. It was a short concert, (less than 1 hr. long) & Sheila didn’t think their singing was nearly as good as Vancouver’s ‘Gentlemen of Fortune,’ but they did sing some “neat” oldies such as “Yes, Sir That’s My Baby, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Five Foot Two” & many others of a similar era. They also told lots of funny jokes & one of the Barbershop Quartets, called “Anything Goes” did a humorous routine while they were singing. It was an entertaining show—she wished it had been longer.

Valle del Oro Garden Railway - two trains passing

Valle del Oro Garden Railway - notice the wreck in the river behind the bridge

Valle del Oro Garden Railway - from one end looking to the far end, a large area display

Valle del Oro Garden Railway - Thomas the Train

Valle del Oro Garden Railway

Day 76 Wed Mar 28 Mesa Temps 9 AM 69F (20.5C); 2:15 PM 90F (32C); 6:15 PM 80F (26.5C)

Today is errand day. I went up to the activity center to get the tickets, ($5 each), for Fridays “Luau by the Pool Pot Luck”, (the RV Park will provide chicken, wine, beer, & pop and everyone takes a side dish for the communal table plus there is entertainment – Lou Unga Island Band and Dancers). Then I extended us on Passport America for another 5 days at half price, which makes our check out day Apr 4. All the Cal-Am Resorts, (there’s about 8 here), allow 7 days on Passport America. The half price deal is great, the rates here are $45 a night so I pay $22.50, a great deal for full service & all the facilities. Sheila drove up, picked me up & we went out to do laundry, get some groceries & some 99 cent store supplies. In the grocery store, (Bashas’), they have a “friend” card for savings. We needed milk, the ½ gallon, (2 litres), was $1.97; the 1 gallon, (4 litres), with a “friend” card was $1.57, (40 cents cheaper for twice as much!) We also had lunch out and returned in time for the 3 PM water volleyball game. After the water volleyball game, we sat in the sun enjoying the music, mostly 50 & 60’s hits--very danceable. Sheila tried another one of their speciality drinks and we shared a roast pork sandwich from the Cactus Grill. At 6 it’s back to the RV to change to evening clothes, then up to the clubhouse building for tonight’s Bridge game. It’s called “Partnership Bridge.” You play 6 hands & then change tables and do that 4 times, keeping track of your score. We came in second so we won our $1.00 back plus another $1.50, (only 5 tables playing at $1.00 per couple). They seem to try to play as fast as they possibly can. Sheila didn’t like that & I was not impressed. Why the rush to get in, play your games & get out? After the game we went to an empty room in the complex to set up the computer to check e-mail. That is the one flaw with this RV Park; the WiFi reception is not uniform around the park. I get a weak signal in the RV & most of the time I can’t connect.

Day 75 Tues Mar 27 Mesa Temps 9:30AM 68F (20C), 12:30PM 82F (28C), 6:30 PM 76F (24.5C)

I was not able to get reliable WiFi reception at our site last night so we followed someone’s advice & after breakfast we went to the ‘hotspot’ area--the entire clubhouse! We found an empty room and Sheila watched last night’s DWS show on the computer. With full screen on the computer it is almost the same as the TV. The TV is 21 inches diagonally & the laptop is 17 & commercials on the computer are much shorter. We had an early lunch in the RV, & then went to the pool for the scheduled noon Water Volleyball game. There was no game however, because all the players went to a nearby park to help get them started playing water volleyball. Maybe tomorrow we can play. While there, someone told us there might be a game today starting at 3 PM, so we will try again. Up by the pool the Cactus Grill starts serving food & the Tiki Hut is open for drinks from 4 to 6. We went over for a water volleyball game starting at 3 PM for a hour, and we joined in when they needed players. They don’t play the “3 passes” rule that GVP does, but it was still fun. Although they keep score it is played as a fun game. They have to end sharp at 4 PM because that’s when visiting grandchildren, and other children, can come into the pool and as it is Spring Break, there are lots of kids around. We ordered a light supper from the Cactus Grill & sat listening to the live music that also runs from 4 to 6. They have a popcorn machine continually churning out free popcorn and the Tiki Hut sells fancy cocktails as well as mixed drinks, beer, wine & soda, (pop). On route back to the RV I stopped at the computer room to see it I could find a TV guide with channels & times on it. However the computers were MACS. No Google; no “where to input a search.” I type in TV Guide & it just says “site not found”--no list, nothing! I don’t think much of MACS--give me my PC anyday! There is a large screen TV in the office/reception area and after the office closes, they do not lock the doors and never seem to close it up, so Sheila went in & watched the DwS results show. Programs are on 1 hour early here so even though we are on the same time as the west coast, shows start 1 hour early. While Sheila was watching the show I went back to attack the MAC & see if I could figure it out. It had an icon saying Firefox. I pushed it and finally, in a crowded screen, I saw a small short icon with little letters saying, “google” where I could type. I got onto the internet finally. Another complaint about Mac computers is--that to close a site you have to find the tiny coloured dot in the upper left corner and find the one the shows a faint tiny “x” when you put the mouse pointer over it. Thank Heaven for PC’s!

Day 74 Mon Mar 26 Temp @ PIR– 9 AM 63F (17C); 5 PM 83 F (28.5C)

Our fresh water tank is empty this morning after 5 days dry camping. We left PIR @ 10:25 @ 150008 km. We exited the hwy at 11:25 to look for a grocery store but couldn’t find it so we returned to the hwy at 11:30. Off hwy & into Valle del Oro RV Resort @ 11:40 @ 150085 km. We got into our spot, # 587, and were almost immediately invited to a block party starting around 4 PM. The street where we are is mostly park models that are very nicely kept and many have lots of cactus & flowering plants outside. We went up for a quick swim in the heated pool, (I estimate heated to around 90 F/32C), and then to the party. Everyone was very friendly. We met Dick & Donna, Bruce & Kay, & Larry. There was lots of great food plus, they came around refilling Sheila’s glass with a vodka punch. Sheila made cream cheese with the Sunset Gourmet sauce to take over as a contribution. Afterwards, we came back to do computer work & catch up on journal entries etc. We tried to get Dancing with the Stars for Sheila but couldn’t find it on the channels we’re getting with our antenna. (There’s no cable TV here.) What I thought was ABC had something else on. Sheila went next door & asked about channels & they gave her the channel number. It was 15-1, (all channels here are digital and crystal clear), but we couldn’t pick it up. Then, after the show had ended, I got the idea that the VCR/DVD unit might be interfering with the feed somehow, so I disconnected the VCR, reprogrammed the channels on the TV and there was ‘Channel 15-1’ along with some more that had not shown up before, I can pick up 17 digital channels although 2 or 3 are in Spanish. Now we have to sort out the broadcast time. AZ doesn’t go on DST it is the same time here as in CA, so programs scheduled for 8 PM in CA, we think should be on at 8 PM here, but who knows???

Across the road from our site, a view of the street & nice Park Model landscaping

"our" street, front of RV just visible on right.

Our site at Valle del Oro RV Resort, Mesa AZ

The swimming pool with Tiki Hut in background

Day 73 Sun Mar 25 Temp at PIR - 3PM 84F (29C), 9PM 70 F (21C)

Our last day at the Rally. In for the 9 AM seminar on RV touring NZ & Australia. It is 51 days with an available add-on of 12 more days to do the outback & Ayers Rock, and another 4 day add-on to do a Fiji stop for 4 days on route to LA. A total of 67 days, most of them in a rental RV--no buses, no taking luggage in & out of hotels. We’d love to do it. Unfortunately, it’s very expensive. Including all airfare & RV rentals etc. it’d be approx. $38,000 for both of us!
Then back into history at another seminar by Dakota Livesay on what an 1860’s cattle drive from Texas to Dodge City Kansas was like. Also, what the cowboy life was like, how he dresses--the purpose of all his articles of clothing. It was a fascinating hour & a half. Then we had lunch and did a quick last check of the exhibit hall before going to the Day Stage for the “Jay & Tammy Ro” show. They play guitar & sing, and are very good, very enjoyable. Finally, at 3PM we returned to the RV for supper before tonight’s concert – “Ticket to Ride” a Beatles “live in Concert” show. They put on a great show. Before the show started, the M.C. made an announcement that there were 3,370 RV’s attending the show, which means over 6,500 people were here for the 4 days. They also had day passes for local people to just come out for a day, so we probably had close to 7,000 some days. A little cooler this evening with the wind picking up although it is a nice warm wind.

Day 72 Sat Mar 24 Temp at PIR - 8:15AM 65F (18C), 4:30PM 88F (31C), 9PM 72F (22C)

I took the tram into the seminars. Sheila walked into the stadium area & then was able to pick up a tram to take her to the north end of the stadium, through the tunnel & onto the inner field where all the tents were set up. The first one was “Tales of the Old West,” presented by historian Dakota Livesay. It covered the settlement of the frontier & life on the westward bound wagon trains. After the seminar, Sheila talked with a lady who had done the tracing of the Oregon Trail west to east and she told Sheila about a couple of websites that provide information. We went into the exhibit hall while we waited for our next seminar(s). Sheila did one on LED lighting & I went to “The History of RVing” covering the early 1900’s to the 40’s. It was quite fascinating to see how popular camping was in the old days. Many towns ran their own municipal campground. Back in the exhibit hall, we still haven’t covered it all, we poked around & bought a cpl gadgets. Then Sheila went to the “I met my Match” prize draw. She had found 1 of the 3 people who had duplicates of her number amongst the thousands of people at the rally. She & her number match each got a T-shirt and their names were entered in a draw for neat RV gifts—most with a value in excess of $75. However, after standing in the sun, (temp. 87 F) for 1 hr. 20 min. hoping to win something, she said she wished she’d never found her match! She was frustrated because the draw could have been completed in half the time, if Marcus Lemonius, the CEO of Good Sam hadn’t kept interrupting the man who was running the draw in order to draw attention to himself & gain PR. The draw actually went from 3 – 4:45 PM. Sheila left at 4:15. She finally decided that even a $250 gas card wasn’t worth collapsing in the heat. For supper, I BBQ’d a couple of pork chops and then we went to tonight’s entertainment concert – Country Western singer Martina McBride, she had a great voice & was a great singer, I had never heard of her before but I enjoyed her show. Sheila also enjoyed her singing, but didn’t like the very loud & very ‘rock’ back-up band she had. We ret’d to the RV to rest up for tomorrow’s fun schedule.

Day 71 Fri Mar 23 Sunny & hot, Temps @ PIR - 9AM 66F (19C), 5PM 84F (29C), 8:30PM 70F (21C)

We trammed into PIR and got there for the last 20 mins or so of the morning Jam session at the Day Stage. It was quite good. Then from 10:30 to noon was Dr. Bucks Wild West Variety Stage Show. It was a great show. Dr. Buck was a real western movie stunt man and was stunt coordinator for the Bonanza series. His partner was also a stunt man and they explained how stunts were done and demonstrated. He said it is a partnership effort, choreographed like a staged dance; in fact it is call “stage work”. They had a Gabby Hayes impersonator and a world champion trick roper/pistol spinner--quite an amazing show. We then went & shared a ridiculously expensive lunch – 3 chicken tenders & fries for $9:00! At least it was really tasty. Our next seminar was Top 10 Tips Every RVer Should Know. Lots of good information. Sheila then went back to the RV while I went to a seminar by Fantasy Tours company, “Grand East Coast Caravan: Maine to Florida”, to see where they went & what time of year. Eventually we want to do that route and we want to see where & when the big tour companies go. I then came back to the RV after stopping to go to the roof of the stadium to take pictures overlooking all the RV’s parked. I came back to the RV to grab a bite & a drink before we headed back for the evening’s entertainment – Bill Cosby. The seating was jammed, that part of the stadium could hold 10,000 and it looked very full. Bill did his famous monologues, mostly on the theme of husband/wife relationships. He’s a lot older now, he said he’ll be 75 this summer—but he’s still funny. The show ended at 8:15 PM. We walked back & were “home” by 8:30.

The infield of the track, the large white tent is the vendor & trade show booths, white tents on left are for all the seminars.

From PIR roof. The track, stage is center left, white tents are the seminar areas, the whole infield is Rally displays & seminar areas

From PIR roof, looking to the left of center over the parked RV's

From the roof, our RV in far distance, look for gat 4 entrance in center, go to next photo for full telescopic view

after the MT handicap parking lot we are on the dirt road in the center, right side, second row in. The generator is sitting beside the RV

Day 71 Thurs Mar 22 Temps at PIR - 8:15 57F (14C), 4:30 87 F (30C)

Off into the Race Grounds for Day 1 of the Rally. My first seminar was on the new tankless water heater for RV’s. It is the same principle as the household on-demand tanks, you get continuous hot water as long as you input cold water & as long as your propane lasts. It has a 30 second delay before you get hot water. There is only about 8 ounces of water in the pipes when it is not operating so you save a lot of weight not carrying 6 or more gallons and also you only use gas to heat water when you turn on the tap, rather than heating a whole tank of water 24/7. Sheila met me at 11:00, & we went to a “Don’t go without Velcro” seminar where we got some really good ideas on how Velcro can be used to make travel easier. The presenter said there are 3 things you should always carry – WD 40, Velcro & Duct Tape. At 12:15, we took the tram, (open-air trailers with seats, pulled by trucks) home for lunch, (the burgers at the site are pricey--$8.00 for a burger & fries, water is $3 a bottle!). Good Sam had a notice that the concessions are under control of the Phoenix Raceway, not Good Sam. I made it back to the Rally for the last ¾ hour of the noon entertainment--a country group, called the Prescott Boys that had a young boy who was phenomenal on the fiddle. He did a fantastic “Orange Blossom Special”. Then we did an orientation seminar for first time Ralliers. In between, events, we visited the Exhibitors tent where they have well over a hundred booths all to do with RV’s, lots of good stuff & information. We returned to the RV for supper before we headed over the evening’s entertainment – “Rock Roll Party with Bowser”. Remember Sha Na Na? He was the leader then and is still going strong on his own. This is not a tribute act but the real thing. He put on a great show. When we got back to the RV about 9 the outside temp was 66F (19C).

Day 70 Wed Mar 21 out of Tonopah & into Phoenix International Raceway

Last night I forgot to move the outside thermometer over to the shady side for the morning so about 8 AM in the sun it was 75F (23C). On the shady side a half hour later it was only 52F (11C). However, it is nice & warm in shorts standing in the sun. Sheila went off at 9:30 to see if they have opened the heated pool yet. By now outside temp in shade 60F (16C). Sheila got back from her swim & shower at 10:50, we hooked up and headed out of Saddle Mt RV @ 149937 @ 11:10. Off I 10 to a Wal-Mart @ 11:35 and back on I 10 @ 12:25. We picked up a few supplies for our 5 days of dry camping at the Phoenix Race Track for the Good Sam Rally. We arrived at PIR, (Phoenix International Raceway) @ 12:50 @ 150008. We got into our parking spot by 1:30. We took the shuttle service into the track to register & check out the area and then back to the RV by late afternoon to have supper & sort out our activities for the next 4 days. It was 72F (22C), around 6 PM.

Not a lot of clearance between RV. Being on the road end of a row we had no one beside us on one side.

Our spot at PIR. You can see the track in the distance

Day 69 Tues Mar 20 @ Indio CA Temp 9AM 52F (11C), 10AM 58F (14 C) @ Tonopah AZ, Temps @ 4 & 5 PM 76F (24C)

I will try to always try to put the thermometer outside on the shady side of the RV so I can get accurate temps wherever we are. We went over to the casino for their $2.29 breakfast special, choice of 3 items, Sheila had French toast (2 slices) I had the Mexican breakfast, eggs scrambled with Chiorzio sausage, tortillas, beans, lettuce, tomato & salsa, it was quite good. We left Spotlight 29 casino 149629 @ 11:10; were into AZ and stopped in Quartzite for gas @ 1:20 @ 149814, out @ 1:50. We arrived at Saddle Mountain RV Park in Tonopah AZ at 3:15 @ 149937. Sheila went to the free WiFi hotspot in the Activity centre to see if she can get abc.com to watch Dancing with the Stars. She said she was really glad she could watch it, even with the odd “buffering download” stop. With the short commercials she watched the whole show in well under 2 hours. Back at the RV we watched a recorded show on the VCR. I can’t seem to pull in TV on my aerial; it may be because we have it routed through the VCR, who knows.

At Spotlight 29. You can see the Casino in the background. There was lots of light so no problem walking back to the RV after dark

Parked in the lot at Spotlight 29 Casino in Indio, lots of room for RV's

Day 67 Sun Mar 18 grey overcast, rain during night, Temp 9AM 42F (5C), 10AM 45F (7C)

The rain showers continue. Looks like no play time in the pool again, that will make 3 days out of 46 days here at GVP that I didn’t play in the pools—For Sheila it’s 6. By mid morning the sun is coming out, tho there’s still a lot of cloud and it’s still cool & windy. It did clear enough and sun shone enough to get a half doz. or so people into the pool for a game but not me as I had things to do on the computer, and Sheila was busy with laundry & ironing.. We went with Larry & Judy to see the play “Caught in the Net,” by playwright, Ray Clooney. The ticket included brunch before the play. They served Champagne & orange juice, coffee & iced tea to go with the quiche & fresh fruit. The food was quite good, the play was hilarious; it was a sequel to one we saw a few years ago down here. It’s about an English taxi driver who has two wives and families who live a 4 min. drive apart. and his desperate attempts to keep them from finding out about each other. After the play, we went out to nearby Winchester to the Inn there where Rockin’ Rhonda was playing. She plays 4 to 7 pm every Sunday. We didn’t get there till after 5:45. (The play was longer t5han we thought it’d be.) We met Joan & Endre from GVP there & even ran into Larry Stevens, he did a guest shot & sang a cpl of songs with Rhonda’s band. Sheila is finding the low ceilings in a lot of the places we go to makes the sound too loud for her, so though she likes the music, and likes to dance—she often has a headache afterwards. We had our supper there before leaving about 7:30, so we could stop at Winco to pick up last minute supplies before we pull out tomorrow. Larry & Judy stopped in after Sunday night bridge and we had a short, last visit with them.

Day 67 Sun Mar 18 grey overcast, rain during night, Temp 9AM 42F (5C), 10AM 45F (7C),

The rain showers continue. Looks like no play time in the pool again, that will make 3 days out of 46 days here at GVP that I didn’t play in the pools. By mid morning the sun is coming out, tho there’s still a lot of cloud and it’s still cool & windy. It did clear enough and sun shone enough to get a half
doz. or so people into the pool for a game but not me as I had things to do on the computer and Sheila was busy with laundry & ironing.. We went with Larry & Judy to see the play “Caught in the Net,” by playwright, Ray Clooney. The play included brunch before the play. They served Champagne & orange juice, coffee & iced tea to go with the quiche & fresh fruit. The food was good, the play was hilarious; it was a sequel to one we saw a few years ago down here. It’s about an English taxi driver who has two wives and families who live a 4 min. drive apart. and his desperate attempts to keep them from finding about each other. Then we went out to nearby Winchester to the Inn there where Rockin’ Rhonda was playing. She plays 4 to 7 every Sunday. We didn’t get there till after 5:45. We met Joan & Endre from GVP there & even ran into Larry Stevens, he did a guest shot & sang a cpl songs with Rhonda. Sheila is finding the low ceilings in a lot of the places we go to makes the sound too loud for her. We had our supper there before leaving about 7:30 and stopped at Winco to pick up last minute supplies before we pull out tomorrow. Larry & Judy stopped in after Sunday night bridge and we had a short, last visit with them.

Day 65 Sat Mar 17 grey overcast, wet, 10AM 54F (12C)

It did shower in the night but has stopped by early morning; however the wind is really picking up as the morning moves on, plus sporadic drizzle is turning to heavy rain. Today will be the second day I will miss the morning water volleyball game since we got here Feb 2. The wind got quite strong in the afternoon. In the afternoon we went with Larry & Judy to Western Science Centre and the Diamond Lake Visitor Centre. There were displays of the prehistoric remains they had found while excavating for the reservoir. And games where you controlled a digital T-Rex on a screen and made it attack, eat, drink, run around etc., fun! In the visitor centre there was a display of all the aqueducts & canals built to move water around California. It was very impressive, hundreds & hundreds of miles of man-made structures moving water north to south from as far away as Mt Shasta; west from the Sierra Nevada’s on the eastern border west to the coast; and west from the headwaters of the Colorado river in AZ--very extensive network that was started in 1910. After that, we went to a Mexican Restaurant recommended by Larry Stevens call El Patron where we treated Larry & Judy in thanks for all the driving around in Larry’s car and “hosting” the bridge games in their RV. After we returned to GVP we went to their RV to play Pegs & Jokers for the evening. We played 3 games girls--against boys and the girls won all 3. Then we played hearts and Sheila won that game.

Day 64 Fri Mar 16 heavy cloud, Temps: 8 AM 48F (9C), 1 PM 62F (17C),

It drizzled last night and is heavy overcast & cool this morning. We went to the Fri. breakfast at Palms Café, (the kitchen in the ballroom), as they had waffles with whipped cream & strawberries today. We are still deciding whether to go to the pool. Well, we went up and over 2 dozen showed up so game on in 2 pools. Sheila went to pool #2 cuz the water was slightly warmer there. She said she had her best ever game. Everything was ‘clicking’—her passing, her netting and her ‘overs’, (over the net from the back row). Towards noon the clouds cleared & the sun shone through to warm things up. They had Angela singing on the patio but no restaurant serving food, so we returned to the RV. After lunch, in the afternoon, there was nice blue sky & warm sun and the temp hit 74. We took down the awning because there is a rain/showers forecast for Sat. eve/Sunday & I don’t want to roll up the awning while it’s wet. We also put away outside chairs etc in case it does rain or shower. Tonight it’s off to the Elks again for dinner & the dance with Dave Ambrose who Tim, one of the water Volleyball players, says is good. We are going with Larry & Judy and Joan & Endre will be joining us as well. When we got there we discovered it was packed & no tables were available in the main hall. We got a 6 person booth in the lounge area for supper, then, when some people left after their supper, we were able to move back to the dining/dancing area. My supper was baby back ribs, 4 meat-falling-off-the-bone ribs, sweet potato fries, veggies, & a salad & soup bar all for $10.00! Sheila had the $12.00 New York steak. We are definitely getting spoiled for eating out at home. The entertainer, Dave Ambrose has a really good voice but he just sings to sound tracks, he doesn’t play an instrument. We like Larry Stevens better. Back at the RV we watched a recorded CSI show before going to bed.

Day 63 Thurs Mar 15 sunny, Temps: 9:30 55F (13C), 10:00 57F (14C), 1:00 75F (24C),

Another clear sunny day to play in the pool. Even though it gets cold at night the temperature goes up fast from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. We started the day by going to the breakfast club event at the “Early Bird” café. Their cooking is really good. Sheila thinks they’re the best of the breakfast places we go to. We had lunch in the RV then Sheila went to see Gerry & Ross’ new trailer, start the laundry & get her hair styled for the Gala tonight. I borrowed Larry’s small wet/dry shop vacuum to see how it would do cleaning the RV floors. Well, the vac worked great on doing the RV & the car. Then I retrieved the laundry, returned Larry’s vacuum and got ready to go to the Academy of Palms Awards Gala evening. We sat with Larry & Judy. The resort had a red carpet & a special entrance set up through the banquet room with costumed celebrity impersonators on hand to greet people. There was Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, plus Willie Nelson, Jim Carrey, Arethra Franklin, (I think), Ozzie Osborne, and Tim McGraw. Sheila had her picture taken with Johnny Depp and I had mine with Jim Carrey. It was a fun evening! Our sport, Water Volleyball won for favourite activity and favourite pool side entertainer was Larry Stevens. There were many other categories like funniest RVer, most helpful RVer, wild & crazy RVer etc. The dinner was catered and really good, the full bar was free which Sheila enjoyed. It had a very good selection of high quality liquors and exotic liquers. Periodically they drew for prizes, they called out the numbers on our tickets, (admission was $20). I heard 1 – Yes! 1 – Yes!! 1 – YES!!!, I had just won a free month’s stay at Golden Village Palms worth $645. What a great end to a fun evening!

Sheila as we head out to the Acadamy of Palms Awards Gala Night

Sheila & Johnny Depp, (as Captain Jack Sparrow)

At our table Acadamy of Palms Gala Night

Jim Carrey & me

The "celebrities" - Johnny Depp, Ossy Osbourne, Jim Carrey, Tim McGraw, Arethra Franklin

Day 62 Wed Mar 14 sunny, Temps: 9AM 49F (10C), 1:45PM 72F (22C),

Some people are starting to leave for home but we still are getting 35 to 40 out for water volleyball. Back to the RV for a lunch of left over corned beef from Monday’s St Patrick’s Day Fun Night, (corned beef for supper as well, there’s lots and we have some of the carrots & potatoes as well). Then off to town for a few things and home to start slowly putting stuff away. Tonight we are going over to Larry & Judy’s to play bridge after supper. We had a good game. We play 6 hands then switch partners 3 times so that everyone plays with everyone else. I came out tonight’s big winner

Day 61 Tues Mar 13 cloudy, cool Temps: 9AM 47F (8C), 2PM 71F (21.6C)

Sheila was up early, (7:30) to work on preparing her marinated veggies dish for the volleyball players Happy Hour get together 2:30 this afternoon. As of 10 AM the sun is starting to poke through the cloud so it should be a nice day later. As expected, we had a clear blue sky & nice hot sun by noon. We finished our Volleyball game/hot tub session and went to listen to Larry Stevens for the last time. He doesn’t play again till after we have left on the coming Monday. At 2:30 we went over to Bob & Cheryl’s site for the Water Volleyball Happy Hour yearly event. It was a great turnout that spilled out onto the street. Lots of nummy snacks & appetizers & a chance to visit with & get to know the people we’ve been spending 1½ -.2hrs. with almost everyday since we arrived. Even Michael, the GVP manager, dropped by and answered any questions we had. We were back to the RV by 5 PM for a quiet evening at home for a change. Sheila finally had a chance to finish her letter to Vicki.

Day 60 Mon Mar 12 cloudy, temps: 930AM 48F (9C), 1PM 68F (20C), 3PM 74 (23C)

Despite being a bit cooler volleyball prevails in two pools again, about 30 people in total. Today is haircut day for me and Sheila has to make up her carrot dish for the St Patrick’s Day Fun Club event starting at 5 PM. I went out for a haircut, then, back at GVP I went to the ballroom kitchen to get some broth from the Corned Beef to cook our carrots in. The Corned Beef was started at 7AM and has been simmering all day. Judy is bringing potatoes and Sally has a great cabbage dish she makes. The Fun Club supplies the Corned Beef, buns, wine, beer, & dessert for $7.00 ea. We usually organize a table of at least 6 to cover the potatoes, carrots, cabbage dishes. We can fit 8 easily and even 10 to a table but this way we have the basics covered. We all usually bring an appetizer dish as well for the ½ hour Happy Hour prior to dinner. Well, I arrived right at 5 to discover that the hall was almost full; fortunately Larry & Judy had got there early enough to get us a table. It was a great evening. After supper & dessert – a choice of carrot cake, red velvet cake, cheese cake with strawberry topping, chocolate cake & apple pie – the entertainment started. They had 2 people playing guitars, (one was Idaho Dave), a couple of skits were put on, intermixed by a sing-along of Irish songs led by Dave & Murray. Georgia concluded the program by singing “Danny Boy”. She has a marvellous voice & sings Danny Boy as it should be sung—with almost no accompaniment, just a couple cords by Dave on the guitar. When the song ended, most of the audience gave her a standing ‘O”. Georgia also announced that she and Dick were “retiring” from running the monthly Fun Club events. She also announced that someone had volunteered to do the St Patricks Day event for next year and would they please stand, so Larry, Judy, Sheila & I stood up. It seems we have volunteered to run the event next year. The party finished a bit before 8, but Sheila & Larry stayed to help with clean-up. I returned to the RV for the eve --complete with two leftover desserts, a red velvet cake & a cheese cake. Sheila arrived a bit later with some leftover corned beef & buns.

Me & Sheila St. Partricks Fun Club Night

Larry & Judy at St. Patricks Day Fun Club Night

St Patricks Day dessert table

Day 59 Sun Mar 11 sunny, temps: @ 0900 D.S.T. 48F (9C), @ 1:00 66F (19C)

Daylight saving time so 9 AM is really only 8 AM. I wish they would change and never go back Better we get light later in the day than at unusable times like 6 & 7 AM, which is before civilized life starts! And that’s the gospel according to the book of Bren!
Today is a sunny day, nice & warm, no breeze even. It was our usual morning--water volleyball, hot tub & back for lunch in the RV. We headed out just after 2:00 PM to Wal-Mart and then to the Elks for the Sunday afternoon music, dance & dinner from 3 to 7. Our favourite, Larry Stevens is playing today. Joan, Endre and Larry & Judy came too. We had the $7 steak dinner for supper. After we left there we headed over to Winco for some groceries then home to the RV about 8:30 PM.

Day 58 Sat Mar 10 sunny, temps: @ 10:00AM 70F (21C), @ 2:00PM 78F (25C)

Off at 10 AM for another sunny day of volleyball. Today we had lunch at the cabana. This week’s restaurant, an Asian Fusion place, had a Chow Mein that was good & pork on a stick with rice & cucumber salad. Tom & Carol Racobs were the entertainment today that plays from 11 AM to 2 PM. After 2 PM we returned to the RV to rest & recuperate for a bit, (2 ½ hrs.) There is a sing-along scheduled for this evening at GVP, so we will wander over to check it out. It was fun. They had a song sheet with the words for 74 songs ranging from wartime songs to 50 & 60’s folk & rock n’ roll songs. The singing was led by a fellow with a guitar & a computer screen for the words. He was accompanied by another guitar player & two ladies playing keyboard. It started at 7 PM & went to 9 PM. There were approx. 40-50 people there. After the sing-a-along, we stopped in at Joan & Endre’s to see if they were coming to the Elks tomorrow or the St. Pat’s dinner here on Mon. Probably not either one as Joan has bronchitis. We were back at the RV by 9:45 so I could do the journal, & Sheila can finish her letter to Vicki.

Day 57 Fri Mar 9 sunny temps - @ 8:30 66F (19C), @ 1:00 84F (29C) - At GVP

We had our usual 2 hours of water volleyball followed by a ½ hour hot tub then back to the RV for lunch. A lazy afternoon in the sun, Sheila washed RV floors and went out for milk etc. With me having cereal for breakfast and us only getting the ½ gallon size milk we use it fairly quickly. This evening we are going out for supper with Larry & Judy to the “Steer & Stein” restaurant about a block & a half away. That’s the place that has the “Super Stock” dinner, a 16 oz sirloin steak, (454 grams), for $15.99, (that’s up a dollar from last year). The meal includes a choice of 3 types of potato or veggies and a salad or choice of 2 kinds of soup. Sheila had the steak, (7 oz), & coconut shrimp, (7 or 8), for $14.99. The 1 pound steak is a great deal! After supper we went over to Larry & Judy’s RV to play Bridge and have dessert—strawberries & ice cream.

The Steer & Stein steak, salad plate in background shows size of salad - it was heaped too.

Day 56 Thurs Mar 8 - temps @ 8 AM - 47F (8C); @ 10AM - 60F (16C); @ noon 72F (22C); @ 5:30PM - 68F (20C).

A great sunny day and we are off to the Breakfast Club at The Harvard St. Café. Larry & Judy picked us up at 8:15 AM, there were about 14 there. The restaurant is located in what was the Hemet Opera House in the late 1880’s. We returned about 9:45 in time for water volleyball. Sheila left the pool early & I left right at the noon end of game so we could get ready to head over to the San Jacinto movie theatre for the 1 PM show of “Act of Valour”. It was a good show and when the credits ran at the end almost all the cast had navy rank designations after their names. We had heard that it was real Navy Seals in the movie and was based on a real incident and that some of the footage was from live fire exercises. When the movie ended we went over to Emilio’s for their happy hour $2.50 Margaritas, Sheila had 2 & was quite happy. They also give us free appetisers, individual plates from a choice of at least 3 different dishes. My Root Beer was $2.25 but was refillable. We left to come back to GVP for the Mexican Trains games tonight. Well, once again I won one of the three rounds & got my quarter back so I am even so far. Sheila won 2 rounds, so she’s a quarter ahead. Back at the RV we watched the recording of Big Bang Theory.

Day 55 Wed Mar 7 temps @ 9:00 48F (9C), @ 1:00 60F (16C), @ 2:00 64F (18C)

No wind this morning, clear sky and sunny, a bit cool, but there will be volleyball. The water temp in the 2 pools was 81F (27C) in one & 86F (30C) in the other. We played in the “cool” pool but in the sun with no wind it was fine. After hot tubbing, Sheila picked up some food from the restaurant of the week--an Asian Fusion place, called, “The Banana Leaf,” for lunch in the RV. Sheila liked the egg rolls dish but I wasn’t impressed, the food was OK, but nothing special. After lunch we loaded up the garbage, recycling and the laundry. I dropped Sheila off at the park laundermat to do laundry & I went off to do some grocery shopping. By the time we got everything finished it was almost 6 PM. Sheila went off to play Bunco which I don’t care for, so I stayed to have my supper & do journal & computer stuff & check out what’s on TV tonight. Sheila returned 9:00 ish, to say it had been a hectic, tiring evening & she hadn’t won any prizes, cash or otherwise.

Day 54 Tues Mar 6 light clouds @ 8:00 50F, @ 2:00 56F (13C) windy

Not looking like a good day but off to the pool anyway. The water felt cooler, the actual water temp was 81F (27C) and with the wind it was cool to be standing in waist deep water. However we still had over 30 people out and playing in 2 pools. The second pool, (where Sheila was playing), was quite a bit warmer, 86 F. After a soak in the hot tub I came back to the RV to wait for the propane delivery truck. Sheila grabbed a quick lunch, then her & Judy went to see the silent movie, “The Artist” at San Jacinto Regal Theatre. Sheila really enjoyed it. She said the dancing was very good & the acting superb. She thought that the female lead, Berenice Bejo was every bit as good as the male lead, Jean Dujardin who won an Oscar for best actor. They did use subtitles a few times to help tell the story. The rest of the time, facial expressions, body language, newspaper headlines + photos, and mood music conveyed what was happening.
Propane delivery came about 3:30 and it only took 10.9 USG & I think the tank is a 15 gallon tank; there may be a problem with the gauge. There was no cost for delivery, it was $2.75 a gallon, same as at the gas station if I had unhooked and driven over. Quite windy this afternoon, the thermometer never got over 58F. Inside the RV it is nice & cosy, I haven’t had to run the furnace or heater. Later, around 9 PM or so it started to rain as the wind dropped & it cooled down so we had to turn on the heater. We watched TVLand Channel which does old sit/com reruns. We watched M.A.S.H., Home Improvements with Tim Allen, Everybody Loves Raymond, & Big Bang Theory.

Day 53 Mon Mar 5 overcast, temp @ 9:30 60F (16C), @ 1:00 80F (27C)

The day started a bit overcast but no wind. Les & Dorothy Bullis pulled out heading home about 9 PM. I phoned the propane delivery service to come to the park to fill our tank. It was filled on Feb 2 when we arrived and it has been reading empty for the last 3 days, but the furnace was still going this morning. We are off to Water Volleyball. Back for lunch, Sheila & I split the rib dinner we brought back from the Elks Pig Out Rib Night on Sat. Then I had to have a “rest” period in the afternoon before the evening’s events, so did Sheila. After supper we headed over to the ballroom where the Sand Volleyballer’s are putting on ‘Horse Races’ as a fundraiser. The $1.00 admission includes $140,000 in play money. They run 8 races on a TV screen--real film of real races. You can bet on up to 3 horses in each race, and, if any of them win, you get the payout depending on their finish, (win, place, show) and the odds. Then there is the dice roll at the end of the race, - - they roll a die & whichever number comes up is scratched. Sometimes it’s a winner, I had a $10,000 bet on a horse that would have paid me $30,000 but it’s number came up so nothing. I ended up with a total of $485,000 but lost it all on the last race. Sheila ended up with $370, 000. However the big winner ended up with over 9 million dollars. And there were a lot of people who had over a million in winnings. The top 3 winners won a prize. I bought $10.00 real moneys worth of 50/25/25 tickets, but as usual didn’t win. It ended about 8:30 PM & we returned to the RV to do the usual—supper dishes, journal & expenses. Larry & Judy, Joan & Endre were at our table, as well as volleyballers Nancy & husband Gene. Endre especially seemed to enjoy the races. Sheila’s really glad that she thought to mention it to them.

Our table at the horse races, L to R - Larry, Judy, Joan, Endre, Nancy, Gene, Sheila, and copious amounts of snack items etc.

Day 52 Sun Mar 4 sunny, temp @ 9:00 65F, 88F (31C), & up in PM

The plan for today is water volleyball to noon: then a pot luck lunch with Les/Dorothy, Endre/Joan, & us, followed by a Country/Bluegrass jam session in the afternoon at the Elks Hall 3-6 PM with Les & Dorothy. I didn’t have time for a hot tub soak as I had to help set up lunch. We ate outside and had a great lunch—two appetizers, (Les & Dorothy), two salads & ‘make your own sandwiches’, (us) and Key Lime pie, (Joan & Endre). At the Elks Hall the music was more C/W than bluegrass but it was enjoyable. We & Les/Dorothy split a dinner each. The kitchen charged a $1.00 for an extra plate, but then they split the food evenly onto the plates, I think we got more salad than an individual plate and we got 2 nice rolls. It was easily enough for each of us after the big lunch we’d had. The total cost with tip was all of $10.00! We left the Elks about 7:00, came back to GVP and went over to Les & Dorothy’s trailer to play Hand & Foot--the guys won.

Day 51 Sat Mar 3 blue sky & sun, temp @ 1:00, 80F; 2:00, 82F, (28C)

As usual water volleyball 10:00 to noon. Then, back to the RV to set up for Sheila to Skype to Adeline & see Mikaela & Erica on her birthday, (today). It was just a short session as both Sheila & Adeline had things to do. Mikaela with a very serious expression did the job she was trying to do & wished Sheila “Happy Birthday Nana” & Erica just smiled & tried to touch Sheila on the screen. I went out to get a cake for Sheila that we will take to the Elks tonight when we go for their Annual Pig-Out Rib Night Dinner/Dance this evening. When I got back from shopping Sheila said she had done a silly thing; she finished the Skype session with Adeline, (Michael was at work), and she shut the computer off so she missed Michael’s call from work. Sheila then went across the street to get a haircut at the shop called, “Affordable Cuts.” A shampoo with conditioner and a cut are only $10. Sheila & I left home about 4:30 to get to the Elks so we could ensure a table for 6. They had all 8 person tables set up so we took one in the back corner. They weren’t short of seating so we did not have to share our table. Judy & Larry arrived at the same time as us, and Joan & Endre, came shortly after carrying two “Happy Birthday” balloons and a BD card which everyone had signed. We had our Rib dinner, then after dinner they were selling off the extra complete dinners in a take-out box for $5.00 each so now we have a rib dinner in the fridge. When they served their dessert—an ice cream cup, I brought out the cake, lit the “Congratulations” candles and we all sang “Happy BD” to Sheila. She said it was one of the nicest birthdays she’s had since she started coming down south & missing ‘at home’ celebrations.
Tom Carlin, a C/W, (country western) singer was the night’s entertainer. He was not bad, but didn’t inspire us to dance like Larry Stevens & some of the other entertainers in the Hemet area do. Larry & Judy left about 8:30 & Endre & Joan about 9:30, after the singer had stopped for the night. Sheila had to finish her drink and we left around 9:45. We stopped at Stater Bros for some grocery items and then went home for the rest of the evening.

Sheila blowing her candels out

At Elks Hall for Sheila's Birthday L to R - Larry, Judy, Endre, Sheila, Joan

Day 50 Fri Mar 2 clear blue sky, temp @ 8:45 48F, @ 1:00 74F (23C)

After water volleyball and the obligatory hot tub soak, we settled in to lunch at the Cabana listening to Larry Stevens play till 2 PM. Lovely & hot today. Back to the RV & over to see Gerry & Ross’ new trailer and get St. Patricks Day Fun Club tickets but she was sold out. Sheila was going out shopping so she went to Dick & Georgia’s place & got ours. I went to the Fri afternoon wine & cheese Welcome Reception with Les & Dorothy. Afterwards, I wrote emails to Centennial RV in Oliver to confirm our Roamers club outing for this Sept and tried to contact Hope Valley RV as well. I am a day late as I should have done it March 1, the earliest day for reservations and for Hope Valley RV the reservation is for 2013 as we lost our regular time for Aug 2012 to an booking someone made early in 2011. After supper Sheila & I went over to Les & Dorothy’s to play cards, (Skip-Bo & Oh Hell), from about 7 to 9, then home to catch up on recorded TV, journal entries & blog postings etc.