Sunny and mild, a bit cooler than usual for Christmas. Joanne was a bit late putting the turkey outside into the Sun Oven to cook. The sunlight ended before the turkey was cooked. It had to be finished in the oven inside the trailer.
We started our day with our traditional Christmas brunch of waffles slathered with jam and ice cream. That's actually my family's Christmas brunch tradition, not Joanne's. But today's jam and ice cream were both so superb that Joanne ate her waffles with jam and ice cream, like a Kirby should. HA HA HA ! This is probably the first time in twenty-five years she has had her waffles that way. The jam was a jar of home made Saskatoon berry jam that I bought at a farmer's market in Quesnel, in northern B.C., when we were on our way to Haida Gwaii last summer. The ice cream was Tillamook Old Fashioned Vanilla, one of about three different flavours of vanilla ice cream that Tillamook ( Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon ) makes. Best Christmas morning waffle brunch I've had in my entire sixty-two years of life !
After brunch I set up the Sun Oven in the back yard, Joanne put the turkey in to cook, and we went on our morning two lap ( about a mile and a half ) walk around the dog park. We have cooked a turkey in the Sun Oven before, but never on Christmas Day. After our walk we opened gifts in the Arizona room. We thought Bo might be too old to want to open all the gifts, but ... NOOOOO ! ! ! HA HA HA ! He was as enthusiastic about opening all of the Christmas gifts on his thirteenth Christmas with us as he was on the first, in 2004. However ... while his enthusiasm has not waned, his stamina has. HA HA HA ! By the time he was finished opening all our gifts, he was exhausted ! HA HA HA HA HA !
After gift opening we went back inside the trailer to make phone calls to family. Bo napped ! HA HA HA ! I had a lengthy phone chat with my sister, then Joanne had one with hers. Both sisters are hunkering down for the blizzard that is supposed to hit the Winnipeg ( Manitoba, Canada ) area later this evening. Late in the afternoon we had another two lap walk around the dog park, then I went bicycling. Just before going on our dog park walk we removed the turkey from the Sun Oven and put it in the oven in the trailer.
This is the first time in many years that we did not share in the communal Christmas dinner in the clubhouse. As a result of the disgust we feel after the recent Presidential election here in the United States we have chosen to keep ourselves socially isolated this winter season, and are quite enjoying that change.
Christmas dinner was stupendous ! Thank you, my love / mon amour / mi amor !
Monday ; Boxing Day ( in Canada )
Partially sunny, windy, chilly. Joanne partially cooked a chicken, pineapple, and rice dish for supper in the Sun Oven, but once again it had to be finished inside in the trailer oven.
I did routine household chores this morning. We walked twice around the dog park.
I took a small load of firewood over to Laszlo's and Gail's lot and dumped it there for Laszlo to load into his truck for our upcoming New Year's Eve trip to Palm Springs that will include a campfire dinner at Quartzsite. I watered our plants and gardens.
I cleaned and polished shoes. I removed, unsuccessfully attempted to repair, and reinstalled the trailer's bedroom shade. HMPH ! I think we should replace that complicated construction day / night pleated fabric shade with a simple vinyl mini-blind. And we both spent a lot of time searching for my lost three pack of dental tools that are a staple part of my tool box.
When we went for our late afternoon two lap walk around the dog park it was so chilly that we only did one lap. And I did not go bicycling afterwards. Living within spitting distance of the Mexico border all winter has turned us into a pair of wimps, hasn’t it ? ! ?
Tuesday ; Sunny, windy, chilly.
We skipped our morning walk around the dog park because we were in a bit of a hurry to get going on some errands. We drove to the storage area, turned on the camper's battery power and propane, and turned on the fridge to get it chilled by tomorrow. Joanne left in Obie ( the SUV ), and I took Lanoire ( the truck ) out of its parking spot in the storage area. We drove to Somerton, southwest of Yuma, and dropped Obie off at Yepez Automotive to have some front end / steering / suspension repairs done. We will pick Obie up in a week after we're back from Palm Springs.
From Somerton we headed back into Yuma, to Dave's Auto Glass & Upholstery to pick up the reupholstered sun visors for Obie. DARN ... they were closed ! We drove to Yuma Palms Shopping Center and bought dog food at PetsMart. We were back home about 1 PM. We had lunch then headed to the Humane Society for our regular Tuesday afternoon volunteer shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. WHEW ! Tiring ! When we arrived back home about 5 PM we took Bo for a two lap walk around the dog park, then I wrestled a burnt out front signal light bulb out of Lanoire. I didn't have the correct replacement bulb, so I had to reinstall the headlight assembly without replacing the bulb. HMPH ! Difficult headlight removal and reinstallation, and I will have to do it again within the next couple of days, after I buy the correct replacement bulb.
Joanne did laundry late in the afternoon / early in the evening, as she also prepared supper. I did some online bill paying, and responded to a request for a trailer towing quote from back home in BC. No time frame indicated, but I'm assuming the potential client needs trailer towing service sooner than late April, which is when we will be back home in BC.
Wednesday ; Sunny and cool.
This morning we walked two laps around the dog park, I did some routine maintenance on Lanoire ( the truck ), Joanne removed and stored all of our Christmas decorations, then we went to the storage yard and loaded Elsie ( the camper ) onto Lanoire. We had a late lunch, then Joanne worked on loading the camper for our upcoming New Year's Eve trip to Palm Springs. We trimmed Bo's dew claws. I trimmed my beard. We walked another two laps around the dog park, I went bicycling, and ... it was dark !
While Joanne prepared supper I renewed our emergency roadside assistance membership. I hope ! I think ! It's kind of hard to tell, there was a bit of an online glitch.
Thursday ; Yuma, Arizona to Palm Springs, California
Sunny and mild.
By the time we were finished our morning chores, had finished our departure preparations, and walked a couple of laps around the dog park, it was noon. We had planned to depart earlier than that, but ... ! Laszlo and Gail, who were coming to Palm Springs with us, albeit in their own truck and trailer, were running even later than we were, so ... we left without them. We drove to two fuel bars in Yuma, both were sold out of diesel fuel. HUH ? We left Yuma without refilling with diesel. We stopped at O'Reilly's Auto Parts to buy a replacement turn signal bulb for Lanoire. They didn't have the bulb I needed. We picked up the reupholstered sun visors for Obie at Dave’s Auto Glass & Upholstery. Nice work !
We headed west out of Yuma on Interstate 8, immediately crossing the Colorado River into California. I-8 was under construction, and we missed the turn to Holtville, where we were supposed to meet Laszlo and Gail for a late lunch. We got off I-8 at Hwy. 111 and had to backtrack about ten miles back to Holtville, where Laszlo and Gail were already waiting for us at Holtville Taco Shop, where we always stop for exceptionally good burritos. We had our excellent burrito lunch, then I bought the correct truck signal light bulb at Auto Zone, and we stocked up on pan dulce at Donut Avenue before leaving Holtville.
We "dipsy doodled" around rural back roads and Hwy. 78, heading both north and west, until reaching Hwy. 86 running north along the west shore of the Salton Sea, then north on Hwy. 86 until reaching Interstate 10 at the eastern edge of the Palm Springs urban area. We arrived at Spotlight 29 Casino near the intersection of Hwy. 86 and Interstate 10 a few minutes before darkness at 6 PM. Well, actually, it was 5 PM California time. We found ourselves good overnight boondocking spots in the RV overnight parking lot of Spotlight 29 Casino. Joanne walked Bo, Gail walked DeeOJee, Laszlo unhitched their truck from their trailer, and we headed in their truck to downtown Palm Springs for Thursday evening Village Fest.
We arrived downtown at 6 PM just as Village Fest was getting underway. Every Thursday evening about a six to eight bock stretch of Palm Springs main downtown street is closed to traffic, and becomes a pedestrians only street fair with food and arts and crafts vendors and street entertainers. This was Laszlo's and Gail's first time at Village Fest. We spent a couple of hours wandering up one side of the street, then back down the other side. I bought a birthday card for Joanne. By the time we had walked the length of Village Fest in both directions we were all feeling tired. We drove back to Spotlight 29 Casino, our "home" for the next two nights, arriving about 9 PM.
Friday ; Cloudy and mild, a few drops of rain in the early afternoon.
This morning we drove a short distance from Spotlight 29 Casino to Love's Travel Center to refill our freshwater tank and dump our grey waste tank. We returned to Spotlight 29 Casino, loaded Laszlo, Gail, and DeeOJee the Pit Bull into our truck and headed off for a day of shopping in Palm Springs. On our way to Trader Joe's we stopped and refilled Lanoire with diesel at Ralph's ( a grocery store chain ) Fuel Bar. Diesel fuel in Palm Springs, California is forty cents a gallon more expensive than in Yuma, Arizona !
As usual, we spent a surprisingly large amount of money at Trader Joe's buying ( on impulse ) their gourmet / exotic / specialty food items. I bought a HUGE four pound chocolate bar as a birthday present for Joanne. HA HA HA ! From Trader Joe's we headed off to find the Cathedral City location of Revivals, our favourite thrift store, at their second location. However, on the way, we stumbled across a third Revivals location, in Rancho Mirage. We stopped and browsed there, then headed to the Cathedral City location where we had initially been heading. We shopped at PetsMart for a bag of dog food for DeeOJee, who had never been PetsMart shopping before. No problem ... Bo showed her how it's done. HA HA HA HA HA ! Both dogs enjoyed their shopping trip immensely.
It was now mid-afternoon, everyone was getting tired, so we headed downtown to the Palm Springs dog park, the best dog park we have ever encountered. And we've been to a lot of dog parks ! We spent about an hour or so in the dog park. Bo and DeeOJee had a wonderful time meeting and romping with new friends. We spent the entire time in the "big dog" section of the two section dog park. Bo doesn't know that he's a little dog. HA HA HA ! Both dogs were tired by the time we left around 4 PM.
Our final shopping stop was the downtown, original location of Revivals, a very upscale thrift store run by a gay men's organization. Yes, yes ... I know that upscale thrift store is an oxymoron, but where else can you find thrift stores that almost always ( including today ) have donated, used, baby grand pianos for sale. Actually ... today there were two baby grand pianos. One had been sold. The price was $100, and the buyer had used a 25% discount coupon to buy it for $75 ! I LOVE PALM SPRINGS ! At this last Revivals locations that we shopped at I bought a brand new, suede Cubavera shirt
( $4.50 with senior's discount ), and Joanne bought a brand new, pink cashmere hooded sweater ( $15.30 with senior's discount ).
We finished shopping shortly after 5 PM, and it was already dark. Time to head to nearby Sherman's Deli for an early supper ( we had skipped lunch ). MMMMM ! As always, we had an extraordinarily good meal at Sherman's Deli. Each of us brought half our meal home as leftovers, probably for tomorrow's lunch. We left Sherman's Deli about 7 PM. On the way back home to Spotlight 29 Casino we stopped at Aqua Caliente Casino, where we are moving to tomorrow, to see how crowded their RV overnight parking lot is. It isn't ! Just before reaching "home" we stopped at Eagle Truck Wash at the TA Travel Center so that Laszlo could get a quote on how much it would cost to have his fifth wheel trailer washed tomorrow morning. We were home around 8 PM. I took Bo for a bathroom walk, he quickly ate supper, drank some water, jumped up into bed, and was asleep and snoring within seconds. HA HA HA ! Good dog, Bo ! That dog park is tiring, isn't it ? ! ?
Saturday ; New Year's Eve
Cloudy and mild, with a bit of light rain early in the evening.
This morning we left Spotlight 29 Casino and while Joanne and I went to Love's Travel Center to refill our freshwater tank and dump our grey waste tank. Laszlo and Gail went to TA Travel Center to get their fifth wheel trailer washed at Eagle Truck Wash. We drove west on Interstate 10 a few exits to Aqua Caliente Casino, our "home" for tonight. We got ourselves comfortably parked in the RV overnight parking lot, then had an early lunch.
In Laszlo's and Gail's truck we drove to College Of The Desert, to their weekend "Street Fair", an upscale flea market held on the campus grounds every Saturday and Sunday. We wandered around there for a couple of hours, buying nothing, but enjoying the experience. We left there and headed to one of the Revivals Thrift Stores that we were at yesterday so that Laszlo and Gail could buy a couple of brand new memory foam pillows that were on sale there. For reasons unknown to us Revivals had inventory of a large quantity of brand new memory foam pillows, being sold for the ridiculously low price of $15 each. While Laszlo and Gail stood in the long line up to pay ... today was 50% off most items ... Joanne and I browsed. I bought a very nice, long sleeved, pullover sweater, regular men's sweater price $4, but $2 today. Made in Lesotho, seems to be brand new, never worn or washed. Must have been some upscale retailer's "last year's style" donation. HEY ... this is Palm Springs !
On our way back "home" to Aqua Caliente Casino Laszlo refilled their truck with diesel. Back at home around 4 PM most of us took an afternoon nap. At 5 PM Joanne and
I walked over to the casino. We checked out the buffet restaurant's New Year's Eve special menu ... WOO-HOO ... and picked up our "New Year's Eve with Huey Lewis and the News" tickets at the box office. WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ! I am SO excited !
Fearful of long line ups to get into the buffet restaurant we all went for supper at 6 PM, quite a bit earlier than we are used to eating. However ... since champagne was being served freely tonight in the Grand Palms Buffet we sat and chatted and sipped champagne for awhile before beginning to eat. And then, when we did begin to eat ... WOO-HOO ... well ... not our first time at the rodeo, one might say ! HA HA HA ! Tonight's meat carving station featured turkey, prime rib, and roast lamb. GEEEEEZ,
I love roast lamb. So ... I ate a LOT of roast lamb ! ! ! HA HA HA !
At 8 PM we all waddled back to our rigs for a couple of hours of resting and showering and dressing for tonight's New Year's Eve party with music by Huey Lewis and the News, one of the hardest working rock & roll bands of the early 1980's. I have been looking forward to this evening for a long time, since I learned of this opportunity, and bought the tickets as soon as they were available last April. I am typing this at 9:30 PM, an hour before the party / concert begins.
HAPPY NEW YEAR !
Well ! It's now 2:30 AM. The concert is over. And what a stupendous concert it was ! Best New Year's Eve of my life ! ! ! Huey can still rock it ! And he's a couple of years older than we are ! After the concert ended we walked back to the RV parking lot and joined Laszlo and Gail in their rig for a celebratory drink of "bubbly" to welcome in the New Year.
DSK
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