Watching Larry & Rose's wedding video

Setting up the Wii

Paul

Michelle

Friends

We have spent the last few days with Larry and Rose Mackey, who drove over to Palm Springs for a few days, and Paul and Michelle Mahoney, who we met last year at Larry and Rose's wedding. Paul and Michelle have a beautiful place just 2 or 3 miles from where we are staying and the Mackey's stayed in their guest house for the visit. We got together pretty much daily for dinner out, visiting or both. We spent a couple of evenings over at their place sitting around their outdoor fireplace with drinks or cigars, and had a wonderful dinner of steak and salmon one night. Paul and Michelle also introduced the four of us to Wii (the electronic gaming system). We had a great and rowdy time with the bowling and baseball games, playing men against the women. The men got killed bowling against the women but managed to win the one baseball game 1 to 0. For those who are unfamiliar with Wii, it is motion based where you have to maneuver the remote in a way that closely resembles throwing, batting, or bowling. You pretty much stand the whole time rather than just sit as you do with the Xbox or Playstation. I think we will buy one when we get home...and I know Larry and Rose are going to do the same.....Rose was very good at bowling and definitely has "the bug".

We were having such a good time we got away from taking pictures but I have a couple of snapshots I will post.

Larry and Rose are leaving today and Pat and Ed are arriving today so we will stay busy for the next week. We play on seeing Paul and Michelle while we are here and to introduce them to Pat and Ed. Paul and Michelle, and of course, Larry and Rose have a standing invitation to come up and visit us in the NW anytime.

Cocktail hour

It's cocktail time (4pm) in the park and I am having a second Margarita on the rocks after spending 3 hours in and around the pool. It is really nice having close access to a swimming pool and hot tub/spa in winter weather like this. Tomorrow we are going shopping and one of the things on our list is a couple of those colorful foam tubes that you tuck under your arms and float around in the pool on. Very popular down here. It was in the high eighties today and we hit the pool about noon. We leave the pool area about 3 pm as the sun dips behind the hills next to us about 3:30 pm and shades the park until sundown, but the hills also protects this park from the winds that come out of the desert some days and so its a trade off - late afternoon shade vs wind.
Since it is a small park, about 100 sites, it is easy to get to know people on a first name basis. We have run into a few people we met last year and met a lot of new people. People in RV parks always seem to be outgoing and very friendly so it is easy to connect with them. A lot of the people have been coming here for several years. Lot's of people from British Columbia, and other parts of Canada. Snowbirds, like us, down in the SW for the winter.
Our friends,Larry and Rose, are coming in tomorrow and we will meet them at the Thursday night street fair and go out to dinner with them. We were at there wedding last trip down here. Tonight we are kicking back and watching three hours of "Lost", a recap of last season getting everyone caught up before the new season starts next week. We watched "American Idol" last night and it was kind of disappointing. I think they spend too much time on cartoonish people who drag the show down and not enough time focusing on the people who can really sing. One girl sang Heart's "Barracuda" and looks like a top ten contender and another girl was also very good. Stevie something, named after Stevie Nicks, who also had a nice voice and style. Too many lousy candidates to mention. The bikini girl got a lot of air time but really did have a nice voice to go along with her inflated attitude. Still the show needs to pick it up to keep me a constant viewer.
We are picking up a little tan even if it is winter sun and not as strong as summer sunshine and playing in the pool each day is heaven. They keep the spa open until 10pm so we may sit in that late in the evening when the sun does down and the hot water feels good as the temp drops into the high fifties. I'm not sure how crowded it might be after dark...probably not crowded at all.

Posting to the blog with a Margarita...............

and Football

Hot Sunday

Today the temp soared to a high of 81 and it really felt like summer and yet you can see snow on the surrounding mountains. We watched a lot of football the last two days, along with drinking margaritas on the rocks and eating chips and Costco hot dogs we cooked for the games. We will probably kick back again tonight and watch the "Golden Globes" awards show since it has become the best of the awards shows as far as celebrities who attend. Most of the award shows, including the Oscars, have no one there except the nominees and the presenters....not like it used to be when it seemed like every major star in Hollywood would attend. Since the Golden Globes honor both TV and Movies the seats are full of stars. Fun to watch.
I think Larry and Rose are coming over to Palm Springs this weekend and Mark and Carol will probably stay with us a day or two next week. Hope to laze around the pool the next couple of days get some reading done. We have been living in shorts and t-shirts here in Palm Springs and have hung around the park quite a bit. We do have a list of things we want to do here but were waiting for the temperature to climb before spending time running around in the Jeep.
Susan wants to get to Valley of the Palms and I want to drop by the shopping in Palm Desert.
I'm sure we'll get around to it this next week sometime.
It's hard to believe we've been gone about a month and a half already, but the time seems to just be flying by. Only eight weeks until Daylight Saving Day. When we spend the winter up north it seemed like it took forever for the winter to pass even when we were busy working. Still giving some thought to getting into golf while I am down here. Outdoor RV Resort, where we stay next month has 27 holes to play, and they have a lot of golf instructors/lessons down here. Probably could get a pretty good deal on clubs too if I knew what I needed. That would have me coming home in May just when the weather is changing and I could get a lot of practice in. Think I will look into it a bit and see what opportunities actually exist.

Shopping around the Palm Springs area

The weather has been very good this last week up into the mid seventies, sunny and clear. We have been using the Wrangler to get around the area. Other than Palm Springs proper there is Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indio, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Bermuda Dunes and well you get the idea. Yesterday, we ran over to the Costco at Rancho Mirage, about 20 minutes away. It was so nice and warm driving in the Jeep with all the windows out that I just wore a tank top and shorts. There are two Costco's in the area. The other is in La Quinta and is newer and I would think a little bit bigger. Not too much difference from the NW stores with the exception of warm weather clothing and patio furniture being year round items rather than seasonal like up north.

One thing we are enjoying are the liquor prices down here. Normally we pay around $35 for a half gallon of Smirnoff Vodka . California price for the same is $20. In addition, because they merchandise liquor in super markets, drug stores, Costco's etc., it is often on sale for considerably less than that. Items like "Bailey's Irish Cream" or "B&B", have even better savings than the above mentioned liquor. At Costco we bought more than we came for, as usual, but it is fun shopping Costco's. We bought Kosher hot dogs and buns for the NFL Playoff games this weekend. We thought we might as well get in the spirit. What with sitting outside watching the games on the compartment TV it almost feels like we are tailgating at a game. Not as much interest in the games here as about 50% of the park are Canadians, but they do follow the games and the NFL just not as devoutly as if the park was full of Americans. It is nice to watch the games outside and be able to enjoy a cigar while watching...can't do that at home.

We have "horse racing" this next weekend similar to the horse racing they do on cruise ships. Entrance fee is $1 per person and for the dollar you get two beers, a hot dog, and a small bag of chips. Minimum bet is 50 cents but most bets run a couple of bucks and odds are determined after the betting stops based on favorites. It was a lot of fun last year with everyone getting into it. They usually do the racing once per month. They also have 8ball and shuffleboard tournaments, Happy Hours nights, bingo nights.... etc. As you can probably tell from the cost of the horseracing, it is inexpensive with profits worked back into the prize money. Its nice to see places of business where not every thing is done for profit.

We plan on getting into the pool more now that the weather is getting so warm. We also plan on doing more exploring of the area this next week. So far of what we have seen, I like the downtown area of Palm Springs, Rancho Mirange as an community, and the big name stores in Palm Desert called "the Rodeo Drive of the Desert.

The town of Palm Springs just had their film festival this last week and lots of big names were in town. Anne Hathaway, Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman, to name a few. Upcoming in a few days is the "Bob Hope Desert Classic" which was a huge event when he was still hosting. I don't think many big names show up for that anymore. This area is nothing if not a golf paradise. I think you could play a big name course every day for two weeks without repeating a course. Too bad they are so pricey. The place we are staying next month has an 18 hole par three course on it and is not pricey or crowded so maybe I will play some. I have thought about looking around for deals on some used golf clubs while down here....it might be a good place to find a great deal with all the upscale golf communities catering to the retired. We drove by Mission Hills on our way to Costco yesterday. Lotsa gated communities.

More later.

Relaxing in the park

I haven't been too devout about keeping up the blog the last couple of days. We have been just relaxing and catching our breath here in Palm Springs, getting laundry caught up and enjoying the weather. It has been sunny each day but in the low sixties and cool as the sun sets. The next few days it is supposed to get up to seventy-five degrees and be closer to the normal temperature for this time of year. We expect to get a little pool time in and drive around a little bit. Thursday night is the weekly street fair and we are looking forward to visiting that for the first time since last year. Saturday and Sunday mornings are the weekly College of the Sun flea market which is always fun to go to and shop a little. Also want to visit the "Rodeo Drive" of Palm Desert and check out the upscale shops.
This morning we walked down Palm Canyon Drive to "the Rock Garden" restaurant and had breakfast on the patio. Nice to be able to eat outside amongst the water fountains and palm trees while in shorts and a t-shirt. Dogs are allowed in the patio area as long as they behave so Ollie enjoyed breakfast with us. The manager of the parks husband always leaves a "cookie" on the steps of the RVs that have dogs each morning and Ollie loves that.
Since the weather is heating up I am going to take the side and back windows out of the Wrangler tomorrow just leaving the top on so we can enjoy driving in the warm weather. The little Jeep works really well out here in the desert. Its nice to have transportation available whenever we need it. Last year we had the motor scooter which was fun but not as practical. We have also thought about a towing dolly for future trips so we could bring the Sebring convertible down here for the winter, but that's just a though and we are enjoying the Jeep this trip.

More hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

When we checked in at the office there were 15-20 hummingbirds around these 3 feeders. Lots of hummingbirds down here.

Park Tour - More of the Neighborhood

Park Tour - Ready For The Season

Park Tour - Pool Area

Home - Site 51 Happy Traveler RV Park

The author

Ollie and friend watching football

Arrived in Palm Springs

We said goodbye to Mark and Carol and left Thornhill Broome today at 10am. We had a great new years eve with them, having a big spaghetti dinner, followed by playing Uno, then turning on Direct TV and watching Dick Clark and the ball dropping in New York. We popped champagne and celebrated 2009. We got to bed before 1am. New Years Day we watched the Rose Bowl and then a couple of movies. We got to bed at a decent hour that night since we were breaking camp the next morning. It was mostly foggy the last two days and the same this morning. Since we were dry camping (or boon docking as it is called by some) it was easier to break camp since we did not have to disconnect anything. We connected the jeep and headed north up the Pacific Coast Highway a few miles then turned east onto Highway 101 and later connected with Highway 10 east to Palm Springs. As we moved east the weather cleared and we had a beautiful drive into the Happy Traveler RV Park, where we will be for the next month. We stayed here last year and really liked it. It only has about a hundred sites and it is easy to get to know people. It is definitely user friendly and treats it customers very well. As we left the office we ran into Barry who had the site next to ours last year. He and his wife are here again. Small world. It was sunny and about 70 degrees when we set up in our site at a little after 1pm. I was literally breaking a sweat setting up in the sun wearing a t-shirt and jeans. We had margaritas, salsa, and chips while watching football outside during the late afternoon. I changed to shorts it was so nice out. Just before I started this blog I checked the weather forecast and it shows cooler and late afternoon rain showers Saturday but will clean up fast and get sunny again Sunday and be nice all week. We really like Palm Springs and may spend even more time in this area next year.

Susan snapped a couple of pix of Ollie and me sitting outside just as the sun was going down. Since we have full hookups again it will be easier to maintain the blog with electricity for the computer at all times and reception online and via cell phone any time we log on. No so at the beach. We had to run the generator to charge phones and computers and coverage was spotty. Even still we really had a great time there.

Tomorrow and Sunday there are double headers of playoff games for the NFL so I will be spending the two days buried in the TV. The only difference will be if I watch them outside or inside. Monday we will start exploring more of the area here and especially the RV parks.

Ollie settled right in here as there is plenty of shade on the patio side of the rig and he made himself right at home outside laying on the outdoor carpets. There was no wind and he slept most of the afternoon.