Day 44 Feb 26 Tuesday

Up at 8 AM to get dressed & head out to this weeks Breakfast Club place – Seven Hills Golf Course.  After a nice breakfast we came back to play WVB, I actually made it in by about 10:30.  Yvonne joined the pool about 11:30 & played till the end at noon.  Home for a quick bite for lunch then I went off to play Bridge in Judy’s beginners etc class.  It runs 1 PM to 3:30.  Sheila went up for the 1PM WVB game but not enough people showed up so she went to watch some of the Oscars that Larry had recorded for her.  We made supper in the rig then I am off to Hand & Foot in the clubhouse and Sheila is planning to watch the last of the Oscars. After the 2 games, (won one lost one), I went over to Larry & Judy’s and Sheila had just finished watching Oscars and at the same time Larry & Judy came home. I went in & we chatted for a short time before returning home.

Day 43 Feb 25 Monday

Up to a nice clear sunny day.  I went up to WVB and Sheila went to Larry & Judy’s to watch the Oscars which Larry had recorded for her.  After the WVB I came back to the RV & Sheila was there already; she had watched ½ the Oscar program and was going back in the afternoon to watch the rest. I relaxed & putted around in the RV doing assorted chores.  It turns out Sheila didn’t watch the rest of the Oscars; she went to play in the 1 PM WVB game.  Then we went down to Paul & Yvonne’s trailer for supper, and after happy hour outside on the patio we had a very nice supper followed by some Bridge.  A very pleasant evening.  Home to watch “Bull” on TV & then bed time.

Day 42 Feb 24 Sunday

It’s nice & sunny this morning although still cool, 42 F @ 8:55, (that’s about 5½ C) but it warms fast and was up to 64 F (18 C) by 12:30 PM. With no wind, low humidity, and a clear sky, it is quite nice & warm.  We had a good WVB game although my game is not up to previous years & two hours in the pool is quite tiring.  Sheila stayed in the pool talking with Yvonne who came up & played WVB for a part of the game.  After hot tub time its home for lunch, then Sheila is out shopping & I am resting before supper & the regular Sunday evening Bridge tonight at the clubhouse. After supper, it was over to Bridge.  We had a nice time, but didn’t win any of the 1^st to 3^rd prizes.  The weather forecast for next week has the highs in the 63 to 65 F range, that’s 16 to 19 C so it should be quite nice.    

Day 41 Feb 23 Saturday

It’s Fun Day Volley Ball time.  I was at the pool by 09:30 for assignments etc.  Sheila arrived a few minutes later, but in time for the start of the games at 10:00.  I got a giant pair of sunglasses with feathers attached to wear.  Sheila got a headband with cute, blue bunny ears which she really liked because it matched her blue swimsuit and did not block her vision in any way.   Then we got our assigned pools & went there.  We played one regular 30 minute game & then the “fun” games started.  All the while people on the side would shoot you with a water pistol and give you a tag “dead in the water” that meant you had to stay in that pool.  Some people got coloured pipe cleaners to wrap around their wrist that indicated where they went next.  They had some people play with their dominant arm tied down, not us “thank God”!  They switched people & pools and played silly games like moving a balloon, (with a little water in it), down the pool to the other end but only using a water pistol to propel it. Next was a version of the party game where you carry an egg on a spoon but in the pool we carried a plastic glass full of pool water on a small metal try down to the end of the pool & back. And boys competed against girls so there was lots of rivalry!  At the end Lorraine, who organized it, served hot coffee, lemonade, and lots of buns, cookies and Bailey’s puddings to eat.  The weather cooperated perfectly, no wind, clear, sunny & warm.  Sheila stayed for the 1 PM game & to do laundry & I came home for the list of Winco stuff which I went out & got then checked on the Laundry room.  Sheila was there so I took some stuff home and then came back to get her ½ hour later.   Tonight is the Glen Campbell story at the Hemet Theatre so we made an early supper & headed out.  It was a great show, we enjoyed it and we even danced at the front a couple of times.  I assume they had taken several rows of seats out to make an open area for dancing but maybe it was just a natural open area maybe for musicians as the theatre opened in 1921 (before sound movies I think).  After the show we came home for the night with a stop at Walgreens pharmacy for Sheila to get an ointment for her itchy skin.

Day 40 Feb 22 Friday

It was nice when we got up. so off to WVB.  Paul & Yvonne joined a bit after 11 and I think they had a good game.  Yvonne can’t move easily in the water, but she is very good at hitting the ball with her one good arm/hand.  We sat in the Hot Tub afterwards and then Sheila came home to get ready for the 1 PM game, I stayed in the Hot Tub a while  longer then home for lunch & R & R before we head out this evening for the Fri night dinner/dance at the Elks.  We will miss GVP’s Friday Mocktail party.  Its hard work being retired & having fun 7 days a week, oh well we will persevere and survive! We had a nice time at the Elks, dinner was good, I had steak and ordered it medium rare, when it came it did have a run of pink in the centre but the little wooden tag they had in it said “medium”.  I think a “rare” steak down here is not ordered that often & nobody is familiar as to what “rare” means.  Next time I order steak I will try ordering “rare” & see what happens.  Anyway it was a fun evening.  We danced several numbers & Sheila requested an Ann Murray number, (Could I have this dance), which the band leader, (Ronda) knew before Sheila got the title out.  We have been to dances with Ronda’s group before they are good to dance to.  They used to be called “Rockin’ Rhonda,” now they call themselves, “Showdown”.

Day 39 Feb 21 Thursday

We awoke to a cloudy sky but no rain at the moment. I decided to have a sleep in day so I didn’t get up for WVB.  Then we had a leisurely breakfast. Sheila phoned the Elks & got reservations for this Friday’s dinner dance.  This afternoon we are going to see “A Dogs Way Home” & then have supper at a restaurant with Paul & Yvonne to round off our movie night out. Yvonne bought a recumbent bike at the local bicycle shop and we saw her go whizzing past our RV, she handles it really well. Its 2:45 & we were just about to leave for the theatre when we got 5 minutes of rain with hail.  We went to the movie and enjoyed it, the voice over said what the dog was thinking and what he heard when people talked to him, often the opposite of what they were actually saying, it was funny. After the movie we went to J & M family restaurant over at State & Stetson where we had gone before and had an enjoyable meal. Paul & Sheila ordered a steak and they said that it was almost well done rather than medium rare.  I had a chicken fried steak to see what it was.  It was a real beef steak but served with chicken gravy, it didn’t look like it was cooked in the gravy, just fried normally.  Paul & Yvonne went to check out the location of a nearby thrift store.  We came home to do the journal, watch TV etc, and then bedtime.

Day 38 Feb 20 Wednesday

This is a redo of Wednesday because I did something & it disappeared never to be seen again.  I don’t remember much from the day time other than it was overcast. The highlight of the day was the evening dance at Hemet West Mobile Home Park.  They are about a block or so past Winco.  They have a dance every Wednesday which is supposed to be very good.  They do have a dress code – no shorts, no work jeans, no short sleeve shirts and admission is $6.00.  I wore my black jeans which are nearly new and no problem.  We were told to get there before 6:10 or so or you might not get a seat, also you have to drive in the gate between 5:00 & 7:00 or it will be closed and they don’t man the entry gatehouse. Well, we were a bit before 6:30 but fortunately we got a seat at a table.  The band plays 6:30 to 9:30.  They have a very nice room with a nice wood floor but a low ceiling which Sheila didn’t like because she said it made the music louder bouncing off the ceiling and they were reasonable loud to start with.  Admission is $6.00 each and they provide coffee, iced tea, (unsweetened), & popcorn to nibble on.   We danced several dances.  The band was very good and the only thing I didn’t like was that they would do their own arrangements of numbers & when they played something I liked It would sound sort of familiar but until they sang one of the lines that I knew I didn’t recognize it. We stayed till about 9:15 and when we left it was raining again. We got back in time to watch “Bull” on TV.  We don’t make a big effort to watch our favourite TV shows here as we have them recording at home. 

Day 37 Feb 19 Tuesday

This morning the sun was out which warms the RV quite quickly shining on the sides & through the front window.  It was in the high 30’s, (maybe 6 or so C), as of 8:00 AM.  We went up to the ballroom for the special breakfast honouring the first responders; they had reps from police, fire, & ambulance there.  The Hemet Police Chief was talking to people at our table.  When I mentioned seeing their new SWAT vehicle a couple years ago he said there was some opposition to them getting it.  He said that on the first day they had it they had to deploy it & it was fired on proving it was something that was really needed!  He was also asked about the election of sheriffs etc and whether he was elected.  He said he came up through the ranks by promotion. It was a very interesting conversation. After breakfast, I went down to Wal-Mart for some more holding tank chemical.  As it was still cool to cold we skipped WVB this morning. The sun is keeping the RV warm but the outside air is cool.  After lunch in the RV, about 1:10 PM, Sheila went up to see if the 1 PM game was on. A few people, (6) were playing so she joined them and had lots of fun.  I went up to Judy Shaffer’s afternoon Bridge game/lesson to see it she needed a fourth anywhere.  She did, so I played till 3:30. I came back to the RV, met Sheila and we went to the Elks for Taco Tuesday.  The Tacos were good but, in my opinion, not so much the Karaoke.  There were many more singing tonight than we’ve seen other nights. Sheila thought some of them were very good, most were mediocre and only two were not good at all.  At least tonight, there was a good variety of songs and not just C&W as it was one night.  We left about 7:30, (it only goes to 8 PM), and headed home.  We drove over to Paul & Yvonne’s to see if they were home, they were & the invited us in and suggested cards so, we played Bridge till almost 10:00, then enjoyed coffee and cookies.  I was Yvonne’s partner & I got terrible hands, we couldn’t do anything right, we would get a contract & go down, nothing matched and everything went wrong all the time.  Oh well, we had fun. We came back to the RV about 10:30 to turn in. 

Day 36 Feb 18 Monday

We got up to sunshine today.  We went up for WVB after breakfast, had a good game, then hot tub & lunch.  Then, just Sheila went out for the 1 PM game. She had a good game till a wind picked up and they decided to quit rather than spend their time retrieving the balls the wind blows out.  I went to find a couple we met to see if they want to go with us to the Wednesday dance at the Hemet West Mobile home Park just a few blocks west of us.  Found their site but they have Wednesday event tickets so can’t make this week.  After the game Sheila came back to the RV maybe about 3:00 and by about 4:00 it’s raining – again.  We had supper then went up to the White Elephant sale to see what was for sale.  We did get a three more wine glasses & a couple of regular size nice plastic glasses.  I told Sheila she has to find a place to put the wine glassware. Then it was laundry time so she is in the laundry & I’m back at the RV. It seems even colder than normal outside; I’m going to check the weather forecast.  Well, I don’t believe it!  There are 3 days next week where the forecast low is a degree or 2 below freezing. That is in the early AM but still it should not be getting that cold here at this time. The only real inconvenience to us is that we use a lot of propane & electricity keeping the RV warm.  I set the night time low on the thermostat to 55 C or so, (that’s about 12 or 13 Celsius).  While Sheila stayed in the laundry room I watched a TV program called “The Presidents at War”.  It was about the war service of several Presidents and was quite interesting.  Sheila was watching it as well on the laundry room TV.  She found it quite interesting that so many of the presidents had served in the Korean or WW II and earned medals or, been recognized for their service in some other way.  The ones we remember being featured were: Kennedy, Eisenhower, Bush (senior), Reagan, Carter.  She got back for the start of the TV show “Bull”. Then to bed, to curl up for the coming cold night, (around 30 F or minus 1 or so C outside at around 5 AM)!

Day 35 Feb 17 Sunday

The day started nice with some blue sky & sun but deteriorated during the WVB game that had Sheila & I in the same pool, opposite sides but the same pool.  (Finally!)  When I had the serve I actually served 3 in a row right to her. My service is good and I can direct it but the rest of it…!  (I have trouble getting the ball over the net; I either hit it at an angle to nowhere in particular or into the net sometimes.)  It always takes a while when we first arrive to get back into form for WVB so I’m sure I’ll improve in a week or so. Of course with the not wonderful weather we aren’t playing continuously every day.  Tonight was originally scheduled for a night WVB game but during the morning game it was decided to cancel till better weather as there was rain forecast plus it is cold at night.  Around 2 PM or so the rain started & went off & on for most of the afternoon.  We went over to play Pegs & Jokers and paired with Brian & Gillian who are from Vancouver Island & have a park model here.  He is our resident computer tech guy. Sheila & Gillian partnered as did Brian & I, the girls won 2 games & we won 1 and they were all close games.  After the games we headed home. Before long we started to hear the rain on the roof.  It was quite loud so it was a heavy rain.  Brian & Gillian, who live in Victoria, said they have never seen weather down here like we are having now, continuous rain & cold interspersed with a day or two of warm sun like last Sat. when we had the Pool party--it was a great day!

Day 34 Feb 16 Saturday

Today it is a “Tribute to the Beach Boys” Pool Party so the pools and pool area are closed so they can set up the stage etc. The show is free and they have the Mex restaurant El Patron providing lunches.  They had 2 lunch choices both for $8.00.  Sheila & I split one and it was enough for the 2 of us. Plus, there were $3.50 Margarita’s, Sheila had 2.  We sat with Paul & Yvonne. They played the old Beach Boys tunes and it was great.  Sheila & I danced to a few & Sheila went up & danced with some ladies to some. Paul left at intermission, Yvonne stayed.  After the show ended at 2:00 Yvonne & Sheila went for a swim in the pool.  The sky was blue & the sun was shining all day, it’s what we should be getting every day down here, (and always used to get)!  We invited Paul & Yvonne back for supper at our rig, so Sheila went out to get a roast chicken at Winco, it’s enough for all 4 of us with some left over, plus she got a cpl cold salads & Yvonne made coleslaw.  I cleared off the table & seating area and we had a tasty supper followed by several hands of Bridge.  It was a really nice evening with Paul & Yvonne. Then just clean up, R & R, & TV till bed time.

Day 33 Feb 15 Friday

I got up at 0800 because the propane truck is coming today.  It actually arrived around 10:30.  Fill up was 11.8 USG. This should mean there was just about 3 gallons still in the tank when it was reading empty.  I’m off to WVB for the last hour or so, and had a good game.  Sheila played too, but was in the other pool.  The chip system, (take a poker chip from a chip holder & the colour, blue or white, designates which pool you go to when we have split & are playing in 2 pools), it is working very well to separate us, we have been in the same pool only 2 or 3 times since we got here.  I hot tubbed & showered, then chatted with Yvonne at the pool for a bit then home for lunch.  After lunch I went down to Paul & Yvonne’s trailer to visit & tell them about the Wine & Cheese Welcome Reception and the Mocktails event that runs 6 to 8 PM every Fri evening.  Yvonne came to the wine & cheese & plans to be at the Mocktails event. They held in the ballroom tonight due to expected rain. Paul & Yvonne joined us as did another cpl we met at the Wine & Cheese session this afternoon.  We had fun talking with our tablemates, and listening and dancing to the 50 – 80’s music provided by a man with a guitar and good soundtrack.  The nachos & beverages were good as usual.   Paul & Yvonne were feeling tired & went home early, (before 7:00 pm) so we didn’t do cards tonight, just came back to the RV for the rest of the evening. It had started to sprinkle, so who knows what tomorrow will bring weather wise.

Day 32 Feb 14 Thursday VALENTINES DAY

It rained very heavily all night.  This is the most rain we have seen since we got here, usually it only goes for and hour or so.  It is still raining at noon; it slowed but never actually stopped. We also got a call from the office that the propane truck has broken down & will not be here today, so it’s tomorrow for gas delivery.  We are sitting on empty now so we shut down our gas appliances – hot water heater & furnace – so we will have gas for tonight.  If we run out of gas they may find our frozen bodies in the morning, - - oh wait a minute, it only goes down to just under 10 C, (50 F) at night so I guess we are safe!  Plus, we have a small electric heater which we could just leave on all night. The afternoon plan is to go out for a nice supper with Larry & Judy Shaffer.  It’ll be busy but what the heck, it’s a special day.  As long as we can get inside the restaurant to wait in line, we plan to go the “Sizzler”.  We got to there about 4:30 and there was a line up but it was inside the restaurant and it went quite fast.  We had a nice dinner, Sheila had the steak & lobster meal and she upgraded the steak from 8 oz to 12 oz for a total of $28.49, we also each ordered the side of mushrooms for the steak. I had the full service salad bar which covers their huge regular salad bar plus 3 kinds of soup, deep fried chicken, desserts and coffee or pop for $13.49.  Sheila gave me half of her steak & I was full after one pass at the salad & soup bar, without even trying the desserts!  We got a phone call from Yvonne during dinner that they had arrived.  I wrote their site number on a napkin but then left it at the restaurant.  We looked for their rig on the way home, but in the dark we couldn’t read site numbers & didn’t recognize Paul’s truck anywhere.  So we went over to Larry & Judy’s for an evening of Bridge.  We played 6 hands & then changed partners.  The end result of 18 hands was Sheila 4190, Judy 2930, Bren 2000, and Larry 880.   We came back to the RV around 10 to 10:30. We turned on the furnace & it is still getting gas so we have heat. 

Day 31 Feb 13 Wednesday

Overcast this morning but no rain as yet & at 9 AM it is just under 50 F, (10 C), so off to WVB.  The pool was even warmer than usual and we had a good game, 2 pools going 8 or 9 each side.  Home for lunch and then off to Winco for a few groceries and a dessert for the Spud Night event this afternoon.  You bring a dish to share with the table and GVP provides hot potatoes, (very large ones too), as well as a butter or margarine spread and sour cream.  There are usually extra potatoes for seconds but one of those large potatoes fills me, (along with the goodies that people at the table bring). We’re bringing a 7 UP cake with whipped cream.  We tried one last year--they are really good and taste like 7UP too.  About 1 PM it started to rain quite heavily and went on for an hour or so before stopping. We got the Spud Night supplies together, (plates, cutlery, drinks, the dessert cake we are taking) & headed off the ballroom for the 4:30 start.  It was full to capacity.  The other people at the table had assorted foods and then it was time to get the potatoes, I got 2 for me & 1 for Sheila; mine was a biggish one & a smaller one.  The other two couples at our table had both brought a chicken & rice casserole.  (Since we didn’t know who was going to be at our table ahead of time, we weren’t able to “plan” our dinner to avoid duplications), however, both the casserole’s were very good and one had  brown rice soaked in gravy which was very tasty.  After an enjoyable meal, they started the Karaoke. There is a lot of talent here, they were all quite good, some were very good.  We finally left about 7:30 PM.  Home to the RV and it’s raining again! Oh well, time to relax & watch TV. Tomorrow is propane delivery day; the cooler weather is playing havoc with our propane use, we’re almost out again and it’s only been two weeks!

Day 30 Feb 12 Tuesday

Today started out as a nice day, clear blue sky, no rain, and almost no wind.  Temps are still much colder than normal though.  We headed out to the Breakfast Club restaurant but couldn’t find it.  We had the address, “690 S. State St.” but it turns out that addresses on State St. change from “south” to “north” in Hemet & then back to “south” when State St. enters San Jacinto.  We didn’t know that so, after checking out addresses on State St. in Hemet & not finding the restaurant, we gave up & came home.  After breakfast in the RV, I went up to a free seminar on immunizations while Sheila went up to WVB.  I got some good info and when I get home I will check with our local Public Health office to see what they have in records on any old Vaccines I may have had.  In any event there is a new Shingles Vaccine out and as my age group is susceptible for Shingles, I will look into getting a shot when we get home.  Sheila has never had, or been exposed to Chicken Pox so she shouldn’t need it.  I went up to the office to order another propane delivery this Thursday.   With the unusual cooler weather we are using the heater & furnace a lot.  I moved the RV up onto a 1½ inch wood block on the right front tire as Sheila was complaining about it being unlevel.  Then lunch.  After lunch, I went to the afternoon Bridge lessons Judy Shaffer sponsors and Sheila went to afternoon WVB and had a wonderful time playing with only 5 to a side—lot’s of action!  When we both returned at 3:30, we had Tea & raisin toast, caught a nap, had supper & then went to a Hand & Foot game at the clubhouse.  Different rules than we are used to but I find the game acceptable, Sheila is still making up her mind.  It ran from 7 PM to about 9:00, and then it was home for TV etc.

Day 29 Feb 11 Monday

We got up to clear blue skies, no rain & no wind.  It’s still cool in the morning – usually close to 40 F, (10 C), around 9 to 9:30 AM.  It warms up fast, usually to over 50 by 10 or so. I went up to play WVB, did my hot tub & back by about 1PM, Sheila had an 11 AM nail appointment to get maple leafs on her finger nails; the nail shop did a good job. I started getting stuff ready for out pot luck dish, (Judy Shaffer’s bean/meat/etc casserole), it makes a lot so we should have lots of leftovers, (great, I really like it).  Sheila came back after the nail appt & shopping and we had a quick bite & then got busy.  We had everything ready to go by about 4:10 so we loaded the car and off to the clubhouse we went.  Doors opened at 4:00, we got there by 4:25 or so & the place was packed already. We found our numbered table, second row back from the stage, so good seats. By about 5 we had all 8 people & started our potluck supper.  It was yummy—our bean casserole, roast pork with gravy ‘n stuffing, tender, juicy roast beef ‘n gravy with mashed potatoes, a large, green salad, & cheesecake & homemade butter tarts for dessert.  The ballroom, a sea of red & white was at full capacity—302 attended.  Each table group did their own centerpiece.  Some of them were amazing.  A large cardboard “silver” Stanley Cup containing flags of the various hockey teams was voted the best. 

After supper, the entertainment started.  There were several skits, all by Canadians staying at Golden Village and all the acts were funny.  Our favourite was a group of 13 who portrayed RCMP officers, one from each province & territory doing the RCMP musical ride on hobby horses which a woman had made for them.  The riders really captured the spirit of the horse they were on and the province/territory they represented.  It was hilarious!  Plus we had some good singers, especially Debbie, who sings professionally on the side at home and has written a song called “I’m proud to be a Canadian which she performed. They even had real Tim Horton’s coffee! Someone must have had a connection with them because he brought down a lot of Tim cups & the coffee.  They drew lots of door prize tickets throughout the night and I actually won the last one drawn--a weeks camping credit at GVP including electricity!  It all wound up about 7:30 and we came back home. Now it is clean up time & R & R in the RV.

Day 28 Feb 10 Sunday

It is overcast this morning, 45 F at 0900 but no wind or rain - - - yet.  I am off to WVB. About an hour or so into play a light sprinkle came down but we just played through it.  Some of us got out to move clothes under the umbrellas by the lounge chairs.  The showers stopped shortly, we finished the game and I hot tubbbed for a while.  Sheila showed up to do lengths at the end of the game so I had my shower & came home to make up lunch.  We got some more rain for a few minutes in the afternoon. We spent most of the afternoon lazing about the RV. Tonight is USA DAY celebration, (tomorrow is CANADA DAY), so we don’t know if any of the scheduled games normally running Sunday eve are on or not, we will wander up to check. Well, the Pegs & Jokers wasn’t going but Bridge was. It looked like they would need us there as they were one cpl short. So we sat down & dealt out the first hand but then one cpl didn’t show so they were fine without us so we left and came home.  Sheila was happy that she could now watch the Grammy awards show. The rain started & stayed from about 6 PM till after we went to bed.

Day 27 Feb 9 Saturday

Forecast was for showers & in the morning it was overcast. It was 48 F at 09:15 and sprinkles started about 09:30, so I am skipping WVB this morning.  Sheila got up, we had breakfast & she is out shopping and checking out a Buffet place she thinks is new. The showers stopped about noon and it is broken cloud with some sun.  I checked historical weather patterns & our previous trips south.  It is colder & rainier that ever before.  Last year it was around 28 C or 82 F for highs all this week and the average forecast for Feb is for a high of 68 F, so definitely cooler this year. Plus average rain is only 4 days in Feb, we’ve had more than that already.  Sheila came back from shopping about 1 PM to say that there were a few people in the pool & she was going up to play WVB. Sheila came back a cpl hours later to say they had a good game. We went out to Pollo Loco, a chicken place for supper.  They fire grill their chicken, same as Nando’s at home but cheaper plus the each meal includes a drink, 2 sides & a tortilla.  I got the 3 pieces meal, (2 thighs & one drumstick plus a coleslaw & a corn side with 2 corn tortillas and a pop fountain drink), all for $9.00!  Sheila had the 2 pieces meal for $1.00 less, with the same extras.  We made a stop at 99 cent store on route back to GVP to return the chopping board we accidently duplicated and to get a few groceries.  Then we went up to the “soc hop” in the ballroom, admission by donation to the food bank.  It was crowded and several of the girls had the old fashioned poodle skirts on and one had on saddle shoes. Some guys were in T-shirts & jeans. A real 1950’s look, they played 50’s music too.  Back at the RV we watched the news & more cool wet weather is hitting LA so some may filter through to us.

Day 26 Feb 8 Friday Sunny but cool

I got up to nice weather blue sky & sun although it is still on the cool side, 50 F at 9:30, which is I believe is 10 Celsius, but, as I’ve said, with the low humidity it is comfortable walking up to the pool wearing shorts & a short sleeve shirt.  Sheila’s getting lots of rest, she slept through the morning WVB game & went up to see if they are playing at 1 PM. If there is no game, she has a bit of shopping to do. I did some clean-up inside on our window runners, (they can get a bit of mildew in them over the winter).  Sheila went out. Shopped, came back, went out again, shopped again, she’s happy, I don’t ask questions. I relaxed in the sun reading, on a very nice sunny afternoon.  Tonight is Mocktails night so that’s where we will be. I haven’t set up the BBQ & table etc outside due to the sporadic rainy days and cooler temps; we should get continuous nice weather soon, hopefully.  We went up & enjoyed the music & nachos with cheese, beans, & several toppings, they also had hot chocolate & hot cider which was much appreciated.  It was good music but I was getting cold hands, body was fine, just my hands got cold, weird. All the spots near gas heaters were taken before we got there about 10 to 6:00. We came back to the RV about 7:40.  There is an old movie on tonight Sheila wants to see, “To Sir with Love” with Sidney Poitier.  We are complaining about the weather a lot but I saw that the Seattle/Tacoma area is forecast for up to 8 inches of snow starting this Friday afternoon, just in time for rush hour. OK, we are happy here!

Day 25 Feb 7 Thursday

Today started nicely, clear blue sky, no wind; it is still a bit cool, only 48 F @ 9:20.  I went up for WVB, and then hot tub followed by a shower and back to the RV.  Sheila went up about 11 am and, as usual was not able to get in the same pool as me. We had lunch then Sheila went up for a ½ hour or so of WVB before we had to leave for Emilio’s for Happy Hour.  Enroute we stopped to mail a letter to Vicki at the main post office on State St., pick up my tire inflator adaptor at Hemet Tools, and then over to Emilio’s for the happy hour.  After a fun time we drove back, stopping at the Hemet Historical Theatre to get some concert tickets for up coming shows – The Glenn Campbell Story, John Denver and the 4 seasons with Frankie Valle.  Then home via Stater Bros for a cpl of grocery items.  The nachos and the giant beef quesadilla we shared at Emilio’s filled us, so we didn’t need supper.  Tonight is Mexican Trains night. We started at the same table but then I was one of the 2 top, (i.e. lowest), scores so I left the table. Sheila didn’t “win” any of the games so she stayed put for each of the sets of 3 games. We play 9 games in total over the evening. It starts at 7:00 & usually finishes up around 9:00. It felt quite cold out when we went back to the car which we had driven up to the clubhouse.  It seems to be colder at night than I remember it getting in previous years. Then back to the RV to turn the heat on & watch some TV, write up the journal, log expenses & post to the blog - if Sheila has OK’d my writing—she has, post away!

Day 24 Feb 6 Wednesday

Finally clear blue sky in the morning however, it was still quite cool, only 42 F at 08:45. By 9 AM the sun warmed the RV enough that we turned off any heaters we had going.  I went up to WVB after missing 2 days in a row.  Sheila came later after starting a wash in the laundermat here. Hot tub after, then shower, back to RV to change,  have lunch & then out to try to make the Hand & Foot game at 1 PM.  Best we could do was 10 minutes late and they had full tables & everyone was playing, so I think we will skip that game time. However I did see a note that they also play Hand & Foot on Tuesday evening, so we will check that out. We finished the laundry Sheila had started in the morning and came home for R & R before supper & tonight’s concert.  The park has changed the way they do events a little & I think it is great.  When you get a ticket for an event it has a table number & a seat number on it so you are not scrambling looking for an available seat, and even if it is a non-ticket event, you sign you name beside a table number, (they have lists posted up in the Activities room so you can pick out available tables), so you know where you are, as some of the events are a bring-your-food-etc with you, there is a place for people to write in what they are bringing beside their name.  Sounds like a much better system and ensures that no one arrives near the end of the line to discover there are no more spaces left.  The ballroom has an occupancy capacity which they can’t exceed and there are way more people in the RV Park than spaces in the ballroom. By the way, the fan I bought to use with the propane heater works really well, last evening we never turned on the big furnace at all even though it was quite cold out.. Tonight’s show was a tribute show to Cher, Lisa Minnelli, Tom Jones & Elton John.  They sang individually and in Duets with each other. It was an enjoyable show. Cher got a guy from the audience up & did “I got you babe” with him.  Wish I had been chosen, that’s the song I would love to do with Sheila as a duet – except for the fact that I can’t sing & can’t tell if I am on or off key, so it’s just as well I didn’t get chosen. It’s a clear night so hopefully a nice day tomorrow.

Day 23 Feb 5 Tuesday – Rain again

Up early for the Breakfast Club. Away at 8 AM for Little Angie’s in East Hemet in a light rain. We got there in good time, I only had 1 red light all the way down Florida Ave, that’s about 6 or more greens.  After breakfast we stopped at the main post office to mail Mikaela’s card but found out that to mail it with the metal closing clip on the back of the envelope would increase postage by a cpl dollars, better to take the clip off and scotch tape it closed.  So we came home, did that and Sheila went out again to find a mail box.  It stopped raining and Water Volleyball is going so Sheila went up to join in. I stayed at the RV and it started raining again, lightly, but rain none the less. Sheila said it was a cold rain.  It felt like it was raining tiny ice pellets, but because it was only about 10 min. till quitting time, they decided to persevere and keeping playing.  I’m sure this is a record for rainy days here.  Talking to the permanent residents & the 6 & 6ers they agree. I went up to play Bridge in Judy’s learners group from 1 to after 3 then back to RV to find Sheila fast asleep. Tonight is a quiet night; we just had supper & watched TV and kept the propane heater going to stay warm & cozy.

Day 22 Feb 4 Monday- Rain all day

We woke up to another wet day, light rain falling.  The good part is that it is mild, around the mid 50’s, that’s around 13 to 15 Celsius in the morning & warms 10 to 15 degrees by noon. We skipped WVB and after breakfast/lunch I went out for a hair cut - $5.00 at the barber/hair dressing school across the road.  I picked up a fan for the propane heater to help direct the hot air up to the front of the rig.  Tonight is early supper as it is horse race day. Raining again! I think Vancouver weather followed us down. After a nice supper it’s over to the ballroom where the races are. They show videos of 8 real horse races, but they change the names of the horses and there are odds for each horse to win, place, or show.  You’re given $130,000.00 in play money.  There are 8 races and you can bet on up to 3 horses in each race.  They run the races with real race commentary.  I bet on 2 horses in each race and by the end of the 8^th race I had won $1,170,000 of course I didn’t have that much at the end because some of it would go back into the next race. I did end up with $800,000.00 in play money from my original 130,000 so that’s not too bad.  Of the 8 races I bet 2 horses each race and on only 2 of the races I didn’t win anything. On the last race you bet all you have, I bet $320,000 over 3 horses & 1 of them won at 8-1, I got $800,000. Sheila ended up with $436, 000.  Her horses won just as often as mine, but she didn’t win as much because she wasn’t as aggressive in her betting.  The most won was about $40 million!  Imagine—just on an initial investment of 130,000!  It’s a fun night. It ended about 9 PM so back we went to the RV for the night.

Day 21 Feb 3 Sunday

I got up to overcast but no rain, no wind, nice & mild.  I went up for WVB then Hot Tub.  It did try to spritz a tiny bit of rain but nothing developed so back to the RV for lunch.  When I got back I discovered that Sheila hadn’t made it up yet, awake, but not up.  Today is Super Bowl Sunday and they have chilli dogs & nachos both covered in chilli &/or melted hot cheese or both, then there are onions, relish, salsa, jalapeño’s for topping. I got one of each for us to share.  It was a close game till late in the 4^th quarter when the New England Patriots took a two score lead with just a few minutes to play, impossible for the LA Rams to overcome.  Then back to the RV for R & R & TV. One interesting thing with the Weather Channel is that it shows programs as well as weather broadcasts.  They do “Highway through Hell” about our Coquihalla Hwy in BC and last night a show about the rescue of a ship’s crew in the Atlantic by an RCAF rescue helicopter. I didn’t realize the choppers were that big with a huge range. The Cormorant Chopper, with a crew of about 5 or 6, flew 3 hours out from Newfoundland to the ship, hovered for hours picking up 16 crew & then flew the 3 hours back to St Johns.   They were worried that they wouldn’t be able to get all 16 of the crew off, (one at a time) before they ran out of gas & had to return to base and leave the remaining crew to their fate and maybe they’d last till the next day. The captain of course was the last to leave the ship.

Day 20 Feb 2 Saturday – overcast & raining

It did sprinkle a bit at night, not heavy & loud on the roof but enough that you could tell it was raining.  The morning had heavy cloud but not actually raining although the ground was very wet.  I decided to forgo WVB today although the temp at 8:45 was 54 F and with the low humidity it did not feel like 54 F feels like at home, which is cold & damp and you want to get inside quickly.  I was wearing a S/S shirt & shorts & didn’t feel cold when I stepped out to check temp.  I went out to get some groceries & other supplies at Winco & got almost everything, so a side trip to the 99 cent store completed the list.  Coming back the wind started up quite strong along with a light rain.  I was hoping Sheila pulled in the awning, (thankfully it is an electric awning so she just has to push a button).  She did, so we are just puttering around for the afternoon.  The rain got heavier & steady but the wind subsided. We are getting ready to go out tonight to a very large mobile home park here in Hemet that has big band era dances once a month on the first Sat.  We are going to attempt to go assuming we don’t get denied entry at the gate or the dance is sold out to non-residents. We will report upon return. The heavy steady rain had stopped or at least lightened & slowed by 5 PM.

 Well, the dance never materialized, we couldn’t find any sign of any action in any of the two rec halls. i.e. clubhouses we checked.  Sheila looked in the glass door of one & could see a large ballroom type space completely deserted and the door was locked.  A security guard at one of them said he hadn’t heard of any dance on tonight.  So we headed towards home but seeing as we were out, we thought, “Let’s go for ice cream.”  When we stopped at Stater Bros. for milk, Sheila asked if there were any Ice Cream Parlours nearby, we were directed to La Macharcana, a Mexican ice cream shop in a mall just across the street.  It’s new to the area--(it wasn’t there last year).  Their menu listed 2 sets of cone flavours as well as lots of other choices with names we didn’t understand.  The only difference in the cones seemed to be one said, (water), and the other said, (milk).  We asked the clerk what the difference was and she had to get someone who spoke more English than she did to explain it.  It is just that one is made using water & the other using milk, so one is richer & sweeter than the other.  Their advertisement on the store said “all natural”.  I got a milk one, Blackberry cheese cake, & Sheila got a water one, Pineapple.  You could taste the difference a little.  Mine was creamy, like ice cream & Sheila’s was more like a very good sherbet.  Then back to the RV for an evening of TV and listening to rain drops, (its not heavy & kind of sporadic).

Day 19 Feb 1 Friday - Sunny

By morning the rain clouds had cleared and it was nice & sunny.  I went up for WVB and the pool was lovely & warm, I thought that the rain might have cooled it off a bit.  After the game & hot tub it’s back to the RV for lunch.  Sheila had stayed up late watching reruns of “3 1/2 Men” and then couldn’t get to sleep until after 4:30 AM  so she slept in until 11:30 and then went up to get tickets for the Horse Racing Event in the ballroom next Monday.  I had lunch & tried to catch up on the journal, logging our expenses etc. before I went up for the Fri wine & cheese welcome party and then it’s the Mocktails night event from 6 to 8.  As it was sunny, Sheila went to the pool expecting there’d be WVB, but again, just like yesterday, only 2 men showed up, so she swam lengths and did some water exercises before going to wash her hair. I came back from the wine & cheeses function and we went up to the Mocktails party about 6:15.  They were in full swing, all seats taken, which is why we take our own chairs.  We settled in, got drinks & nacho’s, (they have chips with a bean/meat sauce plus both mild and spicy cheese sauce and several toppings), and settled, sharing a table with 2 other couples.  There was a 3 piece combo playing called “One Too Many”-- they were very good.  We had an enjoyable evening snacking, listening and dancing a little. We came back to the RV after they finished around 9:00.  It was a bit cool so a lot of people had long sleeves or light jacket/sweaters on.  Some even had heavy jackets or coats on.

Day 18 Jan 31 Thursday – Sunny in am, rain in pm.

The propane truck will be here sometime today so I will wait till it gets here.  It arrived about 11:00 & put in 10.6 USG, so no WVB for me today, Sheila went up to play in the afternoon, but the sun had gone in by then, the wind had come up and it was quite cool, so other than two guys, no one showed up.   A mystery–-the gauge on the Propane tank itself was sitting just a very little above empty but the tank holds 14.3 USG, (when I once had to fill a completely empty tank), so why was the gauge on the tank looking like it was almost totally empty?  Unless we are dry camping without any plug in power we can run the heat & light off the batteries; the gas-only appliances are the hot water tank and the fridge which requires 110 volt power to run off electricity.  At around 1 PM we now have a bit of a breeze and some light cloud, coming from the LA storms, I presume.   Around 2 PM we got a bit of light rain which rapidly turned to heavy, steady rain.  It stopped about 4:30 PM. Larry & Judy came at 4:40 to pick us up for the Elks event—“Swingalong”, a music night with 40’s era music, also there would be pizza & salad available.  It was an enjoyable evening with Larry & Judy there with us.  The music was recorded with a live, very good singer—a black older female.  It wasn’t what I was hoping for but fun none the less.  It was supposed to run from 5 till 8 & we stayed till 8 and the singer was still going.  Back at the RV we looked up TV shows on the internet and watched some.  The RV Park provides a list of stations on their cable system and there are 63 stations, however there is no program guide channel and other than buying a $7:00 TV guide each week you don’t know what is on unless you go online and then you can get a listing of each station & it’s programs for today and the next 3 or 4 days. 

Day 17 Jan 30 Wednesday

The storms forecast for the LA area have not materialized as yet.  Slight overcast, no wind and nice & mild, (about 60 F), around 9 AM, warming up to 70 F by noonish.  We had our WVB game in the warm pool & hot tub’d for a short time as we had to get back to the RV for lunch and then up to the clubhouse for Hand & Foot@ 1:00.  It’s a bit of a rush so we may have to drop the Hand & Foot game, time will tell. We got there after everyone had started but there was one fellow, (Ken), sitting at a table & then Sally came so we had 4 and could play, (it’s a partnership game & works best with 2 teams of 3 but you could play individually however it would be a very long game).  We had a good game, Sheila & I won.  Back to the RV and Sheila went out to Winco for groceries. She came back with a hot roasted chicken, (1 lb 13 oz for $4.98), and other stuff including a bargain on the cole slaw – 0.59 lbs @ $1.48 / lb cost 21 cents! I think their scale malfunctioned and as the server just pushes buttons and attaches a price label, they never noticed. I did back at the RV when I was serving it--it should have been about 87 cents!  We had some of the chicken for supper before going out to the KILLER DUELING PIANOS show.  We had seen them on a previous trip and they were great.  They had a packed house and put on a terrific show, 2 ½ hours non-stop. They had the crowd singing along to lots of great tunes.  They had slips of paper on the tables with pencils so you could write out requests and take them up to the front.  They encouraged lots of audience participation.  Sheila joined a group of ladies at the front dancing to Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary”.  The guys got a couple of well-deserved standing ovations.  One was after one of the guys sang a well known opera piece really well, and then after their last number.    Back to the RV for the rest of the evening to write up the day, watch TV, etc.