March 28 to April 3, 2010

March 28 to April 3, 2010 ; Yuma, Arizona to Palm Springs, California


Sunday ; Today was sunny and hot … again … as expected. We spent much of the day squabbling and being miserable … again. It’s been about three weeks of that, off and on. I certainly hope we fix it soon ! ! ! ! !

This morning I lubricated the trailer slides’ weatherstripping with silicone spray lubricant, just one of many chores in anticipation of beginning the long trek home in a few days. This afternoon while Joanne was at Wal-Mart I inventoried all our medications, to see if we need to buy any medications in Mexico before we leave here. We spent the hottest part of the afternoon cooling off in the swimming pool. After the temperature cooled a bit we took Bo to the dog park for his daily play session with Lucy and Sophie, his Bichon Frisé friends.

Sunday evening is our TV night ; Amazing Race, Undercover Boss, and Celebrity Apprentice.

Monday ; WHEW … it was brutally hot today. Just about time to start heading north.

This morning while Joanne was doing laundry I phoned the Kelowna Gastroenterology Clinic to see if they had scheduled a colonoscopy for me next summer. HMPH … not yet. I returned some books to the library then met Joanne at the laundromat and while the laundry was being done we played a game of shuffleboard … real shuffleboard, not tabletop … on the very spiffy shuffleboard courts between the pool and the laundromat.

We went to Pizza Hut in The Foothills for their buffet lunch … using a discount coupon, of course. From there we went to a nearby Asian specialty store to buy some makeup that Joanne likes that is available there. As we were driving away we saw Dave and Joy, neighbours of ours from Riverside RV Park Resort back home. We followed them to see their new home in Yuma that they recently purchased, a new park model home in a 55+ mobile home park.

After I had a nap with the animals we spent the hottest part of the afternoon cooling off in the pool, then went to the dog park with Bo where he played with Lucy and Sophie. We spent the evening watching TV, cuddled on the sofa with Sully.

Tuesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Whew … temperature in the 90’s today. Gotta start heading north soon !

We had a very successful day of shopping in Los Algodones today, filling our “must buy before leaving Mexico” shopping list. Creminos, Nugs, Coconugs … WOO-HOO … Joanne’s beloved Nugs Crujientes ( Crunchy Nugs ), which we’ve never found on the Baja before, only in mainland Mexico, and a new version of Nugs called Nugs Recreo. HA HA HA … “Recreational Nugs”. Nougat, cajeta, y cacahuate cubierto de chocolate / nougat, goat’s milk caramel, and peanuts covered in chocolate ! MMMMM ! ! ! Bought some Canasta, little chocolate cups filled with Rompope liquor. Should have enough chocolate bars to last her … oh, at least a couple of months ! HA HA HA ! Also bought some antibiotic ear drops ( for me ), an arthritis ointment ( for me ), a bottle of fresh vanilla, and 2 small boxes of achiotte powder. We had lunch … and a free Margarita ( coupon ! ) at El Paraiso, a lovely outdoor restaurant that we have eaten at many times before. And I got a haircut and beard trim. Three bucks ! ! ! The line up to cross back over the border today was 35 minutes.

On our way home we stopped at Wienerschnitzel for a couple of milk shakes ( coupon ! ), then drove to Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park to see where we are on the waiting list for a lot. After a bit more than four years on the list we are now no. 29 ! Should be another two, maybe three years before we get a lot there. Back home at The Palms RV Resort we headed to the swimming pool ! After cooling off for about an hour we took Bo to the dog park for his daily play session with Lucy and Sophie. Today was the last time he will see his Bichon Frisé friends.

We hit a bit of a milestone today in the “financial recovery”. It’s been a long time coming ! We don’t feel as much “in dire straits” as we did a year ago !

Wednesday ; Today was cooler due to wind. This morning while Joanne went to Fry’s in The Foothills to do some grocery shopping I began to put things away into their storage / travel locations. This afternoon Joanne did laundry. I went to the office and paid our hydro bill. It’s convenient that this resort’s practice is to settle the bill the day before departure. They “ignore” the hydro consumption for the final day. It allows for an easier and quicker departure. We have had some very irritating delays when departing some RV parks because of their complicated or inept check out procedures. I sent our final mail forwarding instructions to our neighbour. I did some online investment and financial work, and paid our MasterCard bill. I retrieved month end bank statements and investment account statements.

I took Sully for a walk. Just him and me walking down the road. Last week we had been taking him to the dog park when we took Bo. He enjoyed that at first, when it was only him and Bo in the dog park. But then one day there was Lucy and Sophie. He still thought that was okay. Then another day there was Lucy and Sophie … then two Cavachons ( “designer” dogs, created by breeding Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Bichon Frisés ) … then a West Highland White Terrier … then a Golden Retriever … ! Well … when Sully had to share the dog park with Bo and four to six other dogs, he began to dislike it. After a few days of that he came to really dislike it ! Each afternoon when we would start getting ready with Bo to go to the dog park, Sully would get stressed out. So we stopped taking him. After a few days of not taking him … he would make himself scarce when he would realize we were getting ready to go to the dog park … he has resumed showing an interest in going outside. But obviously he doesn’t want to go to the dog park anymore. He just wants him and me to wander around a bit.

I hitched Harvey the trailer to Lanoire the truck. I printed the investment and banking statements. We took Bo for his final play session in the dog park here.

Thursday ; Yuma, Arizona to Palm Springs, California

And so begins the long journey from Yuma, Arizona to Keremeos, British Columbia. The weather was supposed to be poor today ; cold, wind, and rain. It wasn’t cold. There was no rain. It was a bit windy this morning in Yuma. It wasn’t windy while we travelled. It was quite windy late in the afternoon in Palm Springs.

We prepared for departure this morning and left The Palms RV Resort. We filled up with diesel and put air in the trailer tires at Barney’s, then headed west on Interstate 8, crossing the Colorado River into California. We got off the Interstate at Holtville to go into town to buy dos burritos con machaca y frijoles y arroz ( two burritos filled with shredded beef, refried beans, and rice ) at Holtville Taco Shop and ocho pan dulce ( eight Mexican pastries ) at Donut Avenue. From Holtville we decided to stay on “back roads” instead of going back to the Interstate. We headed north on Hwy. 115 then west on Hwy. 78 to Brawley, then northwest on Hwy. 86 to Interstate 8 near Palm Springs. On Hwy. 86, just after enduring the mile long line up to pass through the Customs & Border Patrol Inspection Station [ looking for Mexican “illegals” … ( rolling eyes ) … sure glad that‘s not my tax dollars at work ] we pulled off the road and into the desert to have our burritos for lunch. MMMMM … Holtville Taco Shop makes the best burritos ! ! ! And great pico de gallo on the side … made my eyes water and my nose run ! Even after I pulled out all the jalapeño peppers. HA HA HA !

Where Palm Springs is on the south side of I-8 we turned onto the north side of the Interstate to Desert Hot Springs. We arrived, checked in, and got set up in a site at Caliente Springs RV Resort. We were here four months ago. Very nice, very upscale, very expensive resort. Bo recognized the resort’s dog park as we drove in. “HEY … I”VE BEEN HERE BEFORE !” Late in the afternoon we took him over to the dog park … so he could urinate in it about three thousand times ! ! ! ! !

After supper we watched Survivor then “took the waters”, which is what people have been coming to Palm Springs for, for decades. Like all the resorts in Desert Hot Springs, Caliente Springs has a pool filled fresh daily with hot water from the mineral hot springs beneath the surface here on the San Andreas Fault Line.

Good Friday ; After a slow morning and an early lunch we headed into Desert Hot Springs to see if any of the stores were open. They were. Apparently Good Friday is not a holiday in the U.S.. First stop was Glossy, a woman’s wear store in Desert Hot Springs that usually has an excellent selection of mastectomy swim suits, and very reasonable prices. Joanne bought one swim suit there in December, and two more today. Now that I think about it, I think Glossy is probably the only place where she has bought swim suits in the last few years. From there we went to Angel View, a local charity thrift shop. I must confess, the clothing and prices at Palm Springs / Desert Hot Springs charity thrift shops are … well, incredible. Palm Springs seems to be the charity fund raising capital of the world. And I guess businesses donate a lot to local charities. The thrift stores here seem to always have a considerable amount of brand new, never worn clothing. Must be donated by businesses. Today I found a brand new pair of expensive Tommy Hilfiger slacks in my size. Regular price in this thrift shop for men’s slacks is $5. But today was a half price “clearance” day. So my brand new, never worn Tommy Hilfiger slacks cost $2.50 ! I’m fairly certain that the retail price must be upwards of $60. From Angel View we went to Stater Bros. for some groceries. Then Vons for groceries.

On the way home, driving down Dillon Road, I stopped to check on a cat lying in the middle of the road. ( sigh ) It had just been killed. A very lovely, Maine Coon tabby wearing a collar. I moved it off the road. It’s bad enough to discover one’s cat dead, killed by traffic, but at least whomever’s cat is was won’t discover a mangled piece of road kill that’s been repeatedly run over.

Back home at Caliente Springs I started to do a small repair job on a broken dinette chair. HMPH … what I thought was going to be a small repair turned out to be a very large repair. I’m going to have to rebuild the entire back of the chair. I’ll do that at SKP Park of the Sierras where we’re headed next. They have an excellent maintenance building equipped with every power tool imaginable. Joanne has been of the opinion for a few years now that it’s time to discard and replace our dinette table and chairs, but I’m stubbornly refusing, and I keep repairing the chairs as required.

Late in the afternoon we took Bo to the dog park. It began to be quite windy. I suppose that’s fairly common late in the day in this area. And explains why there is so much wind farming in this area. After supper I worked on updating my investment files. Late in the evening we went to soak in the mineral hot springs pool. Doing some exercises in the mineral hot springs pool last night eliminated a lingering mild backache I had for a couple of weeks.

Saturday ; The problem with going to Palm Springs is … we spend too much money ! The shopping opportunities are just too good !

This morning we headed out to buy cheap cigarettes and exotic foods. First stop was 7 Leaf Trading Post, a smoke shop that sells cheap Native made cigarettes. I think they’re tax exempt ? While I shopped for cigarettes ( including trying out some free samples, smoked inside the store ) Joanne went to the Goodwill Store next door. When I joined her in Goodwill she wasn’t finished browsing yet so I went to browse men’s wear. Bought two new pairs of shorts for myself. One pair for $4.49 and one pair for $2.25. Every item in Goodwill has a random coloured tag. Each day one colour is half price. Today the half price colour was red. So the shorts that I bought that were red tagged were half price. Okay by me ! Joanne found and bought a mastectomy swim suit tankini top … and it fit … for two bucks ! ! !

From there we headed over to Trader Joe’s, a California based chain of specialty / exotic / gourmet foods. I looooove shopping at Trader Joe’s. I indulged myself by buying things like wild mushrooms and black truffles with parmesan cheese in phyllo pastry. MMMMM ! But I spent a lot of money there ! After Trader Joe’s it was our intention to go to downtown Palm Springs to have lunch at Sherman’s Deli, a Jewish deli that we like a lot. But … we had bought so much frozen and perishable foods at Trader Joe’s that we decided to head straight home to get the foods into the fridge and freezer.

After a very late lunch at home, Joanne went to Vons in Desert Hot Springs while I read and napped with the animals. Yesterday when we were at Von’s we bought two pounds of fresh strawberries. They were on sale for 79 cents a pound ( regular price $3.99 ) ! ! ! Joanne decided she wanted to buy two more pounds today and make fresh strawberry pie for Easter tomorrow. Okay by me !

Late in the afternoon we took Bo to the dog park for a play session. But the wind was so strong that we drove to the dog park from our campsite. MMMMM … I’m typing this as I drink some Arnold Palmer Tee, a mixture of iced tea and lemonade that I can find only in Palm Springs. I had difficulty barbecuing supper because of the strong winds, but determination and persistence prevailed ! After supper I did my monthly computer maintenance chores, then we went to “take the waters”, a nightly ritual while we’re here. You know, I don’t believe in “hocus pocus” medicine, but there certainly seems to be something therapeutic about these mineral hot springs. My backache is gone. My sore, stiff knees, which usually make grinding, crunching sounds, feel like they’ve been lubricated with WD-40 ! I smoked the menthol cigarillo that was given to me to try by 7 Leaf Trading Post. I didn’t like it !

DSK