Sunday ; Palm Springs to Salton City, California
Sunny and hot. What a great day in Palm Springs !
This morning we left the parking lot of Aqua Caliente Casino and headed towards downtown Palm Springs. First stop was the Palm Springs dog park, right behind City Hall, and right beside Palm Springs airport. This is one of Bo's favourite dog parks. It has a section for small dogs and a section for large dogs. Bo visits both. When we arrived today the small dog section was empty, so we went to the large dog section where Bo socialized with big dogs for an hour or so. Then we went over to the small dog section where he socialized with small dogs for another hour or so while we sat around socializing with their owners. The small dog section is a bit more "people sociable" than the large dog section.
From the dog park we drove downtown to Sherman's Deli for lunch. I was fortunate enough to find a parking spot large enough for us on the street very close to the restaurant. MMMMM ! ! ! I would drive all the way to Palm Springs from anywhere just to have lunch at Sherman's Deli, an authentic New York Jewish deli. Today I had a bowl of cold borscht and a barbecued beef brisket sandwich on sourdough bread ! GEEEEEZ ... I salivate as I type that ! HA HA HA !
We spent the entire afternoon driving all over Palm Springs, from upscale thrift store to upscale thrift store, Joanne's idea of having a great time in Palm Springs. Only in Palm Springs can you have the oxymoron of a thrift store being upscale. At one of the thrift stores I found, and fell in love with, a shirt. I'm certain that its original cost was well into three figures. I think it was hand made ... and custom made for a customer by a designer / tailor. I fantasize that it was a shirt made for a celebrity, worn one time only, to an awards show, or other celebrity event, then thrown in the "give to charity" laundry basket. Don't laugh ! Palm Springs thrift stores have those kinds of clothes in them. I kid you not !
The shirt was priced at ten bucks ! I tried it on. It was made for a man with smaller shoulders and a smaller back than me. < sigh > If I wore this shirt, and reached for something on a dining table ... or reached for the steering wheel ... or hugged someone ... it would probably split open across my shoulder blades. < sigh >
After an entire day of searching for just the right coffee table, Joanne ended the day with nothing to show for our efforts except ... a pair of shoes. But ... you probably saw that coming, didn't you ? HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
We shopped at Trader Joe's ... of course ... stocking up on Sully's favourite cat food. Another two dozen cans. Each of the last few times we have bought two dozen of his favourite Trader Joe's cat food cans I'm convinced we've bought too much and he's going to die before he finishes them. Hope I'm wrong ... again !
We refilled with diesel on the eastern edge of Palm Springs ... I had forgotten how much more fuel costs in California than in Arizona ... and headed out of Palm Springs travelling southeast on Hwy. 111 and then Hwy. 86 to Salton City, on the western edge of the Salton Sea. We pulled into the Palm Springs fuel station in daylight, and out in darkness, so our trip to Salton City was in darkness. At Salton City we pulled into a large Arco Fuels Travel Center to refill our freshwater tank, then drove a short distance back ( north ) to Red Earth Casino where we boondocked overnight.
HMPH ! 20/20 hindsight ! Should've bought the damn shirt just to get the lovely mother of pearl buttons for ten bucks !
Monday ; Salton City, California to Yuma, Arizona
Cloudy, chilly, raining lightly for most of our drive home.
We had a bit of a slow, late start to the day. We drove a few miles south from Red Earth Casino to the large Arco Fuels Travel Center on Hwy. 86 where we dumped Elsie's waste holding tanks. We continued south on Hwy. 86, then "dipsy doodled" around a bunch of back roads heading south and east, stopping at Westmoreland to buy date shakes, then Holtville to buy burritos for lunch. We ate our burritos and drank our date shakes inside the camper parked beside Holtville's lovely little municipal park. From Holtville we headed over to Interstate 8 to drive east until back across the Colorado River into Arizona and Yuma, arriving home about 4:30 PM.
I napped briefly while Joanne unloaded the camper fridge and took Bo on the daily pack walk. Marilou and Sammy the Australian Shepherd came over for a brief visit and tour of Elise the truck camper. We watched Celebrity Apprentice while having another Holtville burrito for supper.
Tuesday ; Today was mostly sunny and warm.
I have just returned from watching a crop duster airplane spray the alfalfa field beside our RV park ... at 10:30 PM ! ! ! Why would anyone in their right mind fly a high powered aircraft at high speed at an altitude of about fifteen feet above ground ... at night ? ? ? And ... perform 180 degree turns every quarter mile ! ! ! SHEEEEESH ! ! ! ! !
Around noon we left for the Humane Society. And we had Bo with us. While Joanne started her cat cuddling shift I took Bo to the clinic to have a blood test and health check, in preparation for a dental cleaning next week. When we were finished at the clinic I put Bo in the camper and began my dog walking shift.
When I saw that there was a Catahoula Leopard Dog in the shelter I was eager to take it for a walk. I wanted to compare it to the two extremely unruly Catahoula Leopard Dogs that I walked last year. T'was like apples and oranges. The dog today ... a male named Mavrick ... was calm, well behaved and obedient. A pleasure to walk !
I provided some assistance ... mostly moral support ... to the Humane Society's resident photographer when she got bit by a male Pit Bull while returning it to its cage after photographing it. OUCH !
At 3 PM we left the Humane Society and headed east to run errands in The Foothills. First stop was Cactus Propane. I picked up the trailer's propane tank that I had left last week to be recertified, had the trailer's other propane tank recertified also, and refilled one of the camper's propane tanks. Next stop was Foothills Hardware to return a purchase made last week, then Fry's Fuel Bar to refill with diesel, and Fry's to buy some groceries. We were home about 5:30 PM.
We took Bo for a walk in the dog park. I reinstalled the propane tanks. Joanne went to do laundry. I went bicycling at sunset.
Wednesday ; Happy 61st Birthday to Joanne
Thin overcast, warm.
This morning I visited with Laszlo and Gayle to confirm our upcoming day trip to El Golfo de Santa Clara in Mexico. Then Joanne and I had a fun obedience / hide & seek session with Bo in the dog park. After lunch, while Joanne did some exterior painting
I baked a birthday cake. Not exactly my forte. But I should get marks for effort. I even iced it and put sprinkles on it !
After our daily pack walk I got online and purchased Mexican vehicle insurance for our day trip into Mexico, then took Joanne to Famous Dave's BBQ Restaurant for dinner. Her request ! We returned home in time to watch The Book Of Negroes, a CBC miniseries we have been watching weekly.
Thursday ; Cloudy and mild.
DARN ! DARN ! DARN ! DARN ! I discovered late this afternoon ... too late to take corrective action ... that Bo's rabies vaccination expired three weeks ago. SO ... he won't be able to go to Mexico with us tomorrow. We are going down to El Golfo de Santa Clara on the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez / Gulf of California. We were looking forward to some "beach doughnut" play time on the beach with Bo. DARN ! ! ! We can't take a chance that U.S. Customs & Border Patrol does not allow Bo back into the U.S. because of an expired rabies vaccination.
I busied myself today with routine preventive maintenance chores. Joanne spent much of the day puttering around with some exterior painting projects she wanted to do. We chatted with neighbours, always a fun way to blow off a day. HA HA HA ... HEY ... we're retired ! We took Bo on the daily pack walk, then went to Albertson's to buy some advertised grocery specials. We barbecued steak and potatoes for supper.
On impulse, I bid on a U-SHIP.COM job late last night. I had been watching it for almost a week. The auction was about to expire ... and there were no shipping bids. SO ...
I submitted a bid ! And today when the auction ended, I was the only bidder. The shipper has until tomorrow noon to accept or reject my bid. I was the only bidder because it is a specialized job ; transport a truck camper across the country. It requires specialized equipment ; a large pickup truck equipped with camper tie downs. I will be very surprised if the shipper actually accepts my bid and hires me. I bid ... $5000 to transport a large truck camper from Lake Havasu City, Arizona to Baltimore, Maryland, a distance of about 4000 km. / 2500 miles.
Friday ; Yuma, Arizona to El Golfo de Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexico & return
Cloudy and warm. It would have been nice to have a sunny day on the beach, but ...
< shrug > ... oh, well !
This morning we got up ( too ) early to be ready to depart at 9 AM for a day trip to El Golfo de Santa Clara at the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez / Gulf of California. We picked up Laszlo and Gayle at their trailer and headed south for the Mexican border at San Luis.
We crossed the border from San Luis, Arizona to San Luis Rio Colorado in the Mexican state of Sonora. We travelled for a few hours south, following the east shore of the Colorado River / Rio Colorado, through farm lands. We arrived in the small fishing village of El Golfo de Santa Clara around noon.
We explored the scruffy little village and surrounding area by truck, then parked by the beach. We wandered around the beach until we were hungry, then wandered back into town and walked around trying to find a good seafood restaurant. HMPH ... we failed. The economy of this small fishing village is dying. There were many small restaurants, and all of them were closed / out of business. Plus ... the shrimp fishing season has finished and the Corvina fishing season has not yet begun. No shrimp ! No fish ! Ergo ... no seafood ( mariscos ) restaurants !
We finally found a family operated "restaurant" / taco stand with sort of a small "buffet" of taco / burrito offerings. We had a variety of interesting tacos / burritos filled with beef stew ( caldo de rez ), shredded beef ( machaca ), pork cracklings / deep fried pork rinds ( chicharrones ), chicken and tomatillo green chile ( pollo chile verde ), pork stew ( el pastor ). Pretty darn good lunch ! Five large tacos / burritos, three soft drinks, bill was $11 including tip ! Laszlo's treat ! Thank you !
After lunch we wandered around some more and finally found a fisherman's house with frozen shrimp for sale. The fisherman spoke English well, and invited us into his home to see his freezer of fish and shrimp. Laszlo and Gayle bought a kilogram of jumbo shrimp. We chatted with the fisherman about his work experiences in the United States, as a cherry picker in the orchards of the Okanogan Valley of upstate Washington, and as a Christmas tree seller in Wisconsin. Friendly, interesting fellow ! Nice family ! A bit more wandering and we found another fisherman selling shrimp. I bought a package of jumbo shrimp. Too bad they were frozen, because I don't want to have to use the entire kilogram at one time, but since they're frozen, I probably have no choice.
We drove around town exploring more until it was time to head back north. On the way back to the U.S. border we had to stop for an inspection at a Mexican military checkpoint. A drug sniffer dog sniffed all over inside our truck, and camper, and all around the outside of the truck. Back at the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado we found a panaderia and bought some ( many ! ) pan dulce. At the border crossing back into the United States we were required to park for a "secondary inspection". A totally humourless, jack booted Customs and Border Patrol agent who took himself way too seriously led a team of jack booted agents in a thorough search of the truck and camper, including the truck's engine compartment. It took three ... count 'em ... three jack booted agents to search the inside of a truck camper that barely has room for two people to turn around inside ? ! ?
Have a nice day, fellas. Keep your homeland secure ! Especially from us fat, old Canadians, eh ?
We arrived back home at Kofa Ko-op shortly before 7 PM, just after it got dark.
Saturday ; Partially sunny, warm.
This morning I was "trained" for my one week commitment to be the Kofa Ko-op "Welcome Committee", starting tomorrow. I / we will visit and "welcome" all new arrivals to the park in the upcoming week. I thought the "training" was a bit ... over done. It's not rocket science !
This afternoon we went shopping, partially so that we could dump the truck camper's waste holding tanks at a nearby service station with a free sanitary dump station. With our fifth wheel trailer on our lot, we are unable to dump the truck camper on our own lot, and I don't want to pay the fee to use the dump beside our park's boondock / dry camp area. After dumping Elsie's tanks we parked in a nearby mall, and while Joanne went shopping, I napped with Bo in the camper. HA HA HA !
This evening our friends Bill and Candace from Texas came over and visited with us in our Arizona room, to discuss their plans to visit us on their way to Alaska next summer.
DSK
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