Sorry for the interruption!

We apologize for being offline for so long. We have been experiencing difficulty in staying connected when we have been able to get on the internet at all from our coach. After several days of troubleshooting with different vendors, we seem to have hit on the best solution for us.

We experienced several days of bad weather as you may have heard. Southern California was being deluged with rain and wind and we had to lay low and wait out the storms.

We finally learned to play Mexican Train dominoes, but don't feel we are quite ready to play at the competitive level that the local folks do. Also we aren't quite ready to part with the 25 cents per game that the rest of the group can apparently afford. They must think we are made of money.

On Saturday we were able to get together with Tim's brother, John, his wife, Bear, and daughter Connie in Moreno Valley for dinner. It was nice to be able to connect again and catch up on family happenings. It is hard to believe that Connie is already a senior in high school and her mom and dad are experiencing all the anxieties associated with college decisions.

Diane's sister, Joyce and her husband, Jim were finally able to catch a break in the weather and made it over the grapevine on Saturday from the Bakersfield area. They were as glad to arrive as we were, and it didn't take them long to make the decision to stay here for awhile.

We have been enjoying little trips around the area, locating some of our favorite places. Temecula is about 20 to 25 miles away, but has the Costco and Winco stores as well as just about any other store you can think of. We are amazed at the number of shopping centers there are in the Temecula/Murrieta Hot Springs area.

Except for the rainy days, we continue to do our two hours of morning pool volleyball. It is such a hoot! We talked Joyce and Jim into participating today and we think they enjoyed it. When we finish up we don't know if our muscles are hurting from the exertion or from laughing so hard.

Tim and Jim played 18 holes of golf Tuesday at Seven Hills Golf Course while Diane and Joyce hit a bucket of balls. The course was a little soggy from the recent rains, but very playable. Tim's best claim for the whole day was that he didn't lose a single ball - a record for him.

What happened to the sun?

After avoiding rain during the past few days, the big storm that has been hitting the California coast finally caught up to us. Heavy rains hit us during the night and it is still a bit showery this a.m. We found out that they play pool volleyball here, even during the rain, so we are debating whether to participate. The daytime temperatures are still hovering around 60 degrees, while nighttime temps dip into the high 30's.

We took a day trip to Temecula yesterday in an effort to find a Best Buy to purchase a gadget necessary to boost our wireless signal. Our resident computer expert continues to remain technologically challenged when it comes to wi-fi signals. One minute we have an excellent signal, the next minute we can't be connected. Even the new gadget doesn't seem to have done much to help.

Last night there was a wine tasting followed by a two actor play entitled, "Love Letters". It was a good play and a fun evening. We are still enjoying making new friends.

We are hoping to get out to some of the local golf courses during the next few days. We did find a nice course the other day and hit a bucket of balls, just to see if we could still do it. Actually, this was Diane's second time hitting the golf balls, trying to decide if she can play the game and lie as well as the men do.

Home Sweet Home!

Here is our home sweet home for the next month and a half. We have never been to any other park where people go out of their way to greet you or to invite you to join in activities.

So far, we have tried sand volleyball and pool volleyball twice. We didn't sign up for last night's spaghetti dinner and people said they missed us. We have tickets for tomorrow night's wine tasting and play, "Love Letters", that should be enjoyable.

We are having some trouble with our internet connection so if we haven't responded to an email from you, that may be why. We are now being told that our wireless card is probably obsolete so we need to buy a new one. If it isn't one thing, it's another.

Unfortunately we didn't manage to outrun the rain for very long. The last two days have been showery during the night, but have stayed clear during the day. The temperatures haven't been quite where we would like to see them, but it is clearly better weather here than at home. Since the swimming pools are heated, we do quite fine during pool volleyball until we have to get out. Then it is a little cold.

We need to venture out to one of the numerous golf courses around here so Diane can try out her new golf clubs and see if she enjoys the game. There are many golfers here in the park, but we suspect they are way over our skill level.

Relaxing At Last!

Now, this is the life. We are all set up, have been to the Welcome Reception, heard about all the activities, and met several people. Temperatures have been very cold at night, but most enjoyable during the day. We are enjoying our stay here at Golden Village Palms RV Resort so much that we have signed up to stay until the end of February.

We can say we are now officially old time RVers as we finally attached our map of the United States to our coach, and filled in the states in which we have traveled.

We went on an adventure in our car to the Anza Borrego Desert State Park today. It was a very beautiful area located on the valley floor, surrounded by large mountains. The road down to Borrego Springs was like a corkscrew for quite some time. We were overjoyed that we hadn't decided to take the coach. We passed through several interesting small towns as you can see.

Navels, navels everywhere

Navel oranges that is. After a very long driving day we finally arrived at the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, CA. This place is so much fun as all of the RV sites are between rows of orange trees. Visitors are welcomed and even encouraged to pick the ripe oranges for their personal consumption. We picked two dozen in a matter of minutes to take on the road with us.

The oranges sort of made up for the fact that their wi-fi setup left a lot to be desired. We couldn't get a signal inside our coach, and it was too cold to sit out at the picnic table to compose emails or blog entries. Sorry we got behind.

After the hard trip from Lodi to Bakersfield, we should have stayed here two nights to rest up. But, we got too excited to head to the southland, so we set off early the following day. Within the first 20 miles of leaving Bakersfield we were greeted with flashing signs warning of "High Winds Ahead. Campers and Trailers Not Recommended." Bummer! While trying to decide what to do, we decided to stop for gas and check with some of the locals. Diane found out from one of the cashiers that if the danger was too bad, the highway patrol would actually turn people around and not let them through. We made the decision to forge ahead. In hindsight we probably should have found a shelter until the winds died down. They made the driving more than interesting, and Diane wanted no time behind the wheel on this day.

Also, the California highway system definitely leaves a lot to be desired as well. We saw several work crews along the way that we swore were putting new holes in sections that didn't seem to have one. Every nut and bolt in the coach is being put to the test.

We are now staying at the Golden Village Palms RV Resort. We initially signed up for three nights, but are considering our options and may just make this our base. We are going to take a drive to Palm Springs to see if our favorite place is still an option, or check out some other parks we have heard about.

The overnight temperatures have still been chilly..... in the low thirties, but the weather during the day has been very pleasant. Still not terribly warm, but at least Tim got to wear his shorts. We met a number of other residents today at a welcome reception and it seems that all of Canada must have come here to stay. Easily 3/4 of the group were from different parts of Canada.

Chocolate and Good Friends

While exploring the local area, we found the Chocoholic Factory in Clements, CA. We enjoyed a interesting and information tour of the factory where they have created such items as chocolate body frosting, chocolatopoly game, chocolate checkers, chocolate body tattoos, and good old-fashioned chocolate candy. The factory certainly smelled good. It was not highly mechanized and we got to watch the workers dipping candies and packaging them for sale.

Diane will have to tell you the story behind the "Star" pin, but you are liable to see it in future pictures while it travels with us.

We met our travel mentors, Dave and Barb Schwartz, in Elk Grove today and were able to catch up on family doings as well as getting more travel tips. We are looking forward to spending more time with them when they venture south in February.

On The Road Again!

What a beautiful day for a drive! We both commented that this was one of those days when we could drive forever. The sun was out, the roads were dry, and the traffic was light. Diane did a stint behind the wheel and was extremely proud of the fact that she didn't hit the rumble strip once. Unfortunately, Tim couldn't make the same claim. However, he did more miles than Diane.

We are parked at the Flag City RV Resort in Lodi, CA. We are staying here for three nights. The park is very nice with level cement pads, and lots of amenities. Regrettably, we didn't read all of the fine print in the Trailer Life Directory and discovered that this is one of the few parks that doesn't have Wi-Fi access. We are presently at the registration office using their DSL connection.

We settled in yesterday and went for a nice walk around the park. The weather was warm in the afternoon but cooled considerably overnight. It was 36 degrees when we awoke this a.m., but we still did two walking loops around the park. Sam is really enjoying the exercise as well as all the new smells.

Exploring the Sacramento River

Finally we got a chance to get out and explore the area around Redding. We started out with Sam in the car, prepared for a nice, long walk along the Sacramento River. When we reached the park, Sam was extremely distressed to be greeted with a sign that said "No dogs allowed in park". He was extremely put out with Governor Schwartzenegger, but dutifully returned to the motorhome for a long afternoon nap. Imagine his distress if he ever realizes that, upon their return, Tim and Diane discovered that the sign pertained to a different section of the park --- not where the trail followed the river. There were numerous dogs out enjoying all the smells on the trail.

The Sundial Bridge, pictured at left, is really a beautiful span. Regrettably, there is no location where a good picture of the whole thing could be captured.

The trail that parallels the Sacramento River was very scenic and we watched several local fisherman in their driftboats, trying to land a big one.

The weather this afternoon was much improved
and the temperature was in the high 50's. Tomorrow will be a travel day as we head further down the highway.

Over the Hill

Wow, we never thought we would be happy to say that we are "over the hill", but we arrived in Redding, CA in early afternoon. The trip over Siskiyou summit was routine and uneventful. We joined numerous RVers leaving the Seven Feathers RV Resort this a.m. and heading south. The picture to the left was our site at Seven Feathers. It is so handy to use the laptop and Wi-Fi to check weather reports, highway conditions, etc. The road conditions were clear and dry, and the sun was out for quite a while to the point where the co-pilot was enjoying its warmth. There was plenty of snow beside the highway, and the mountains were spectacular with their coats of white.

We made it to Redding and are staying at the Premier RV Resort for a couple of days to rest up after two days of hard road miles. We plan to explore the area tomorrow. Although Samson enjoys sleeping in his bed between the two captain's chairs while the coach is in motion, he much prefers getting to explore new places when we stop. Sam loves to ride in the coach, but every big bump disturbs his sleep and he has to get up to see what is going on. Most of the time he likes to rest his head on Diane's lap, in hopes that she will pet him which she usually does.

So far, so good!

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your comments and emails. We appreciate hearing from each of you and apologize for not being able to respond personally to you. Thanks also for all the news about the tornado and bad weather in the greater Portland area. Apparently we managed to leave town today during a window of time when it wasn't stormy. We did drive through several downpours and heavy winds that thoroughly tested our windshield wiper repairs as well as our steering.

We are safely tucked away for the night at a very nice RV resort in Canyonville, OR. After talking with a few other RVers, everyone seems to be waiting for good weather to head over the Siskiyou Mountains in the next day or two. We also will wait and see, and will check the weather forecasts and highway conditions before making the decision to continue. This wouldn't be a bad place to stay for a day or so, if conditions are bad. We'll keep you posted.

Ready -- Set-- Goooo!!

Many people have asked us why we haven't taken off for a very long trip around these great United States of America. Pictured above are five excellent reasons why we don't seem to stray very far from the Pacific Northwest. Aren't they the cutest grandkids?

We are now, however, ready to depart to the southwest in search of the sun. The weather here in Oregon has been terrible and we are hoping to catch a window of opportunity to get over the Siskiyou mountain range. That is, if we can get the motorhome out of the garage and into the street. It definitely weighs quite a bit more now than it did when we put it into its cozy little shelter. Check with us in a few days to see how far we have gotten.