Fun Time Before Heading Home!

First of all, let me apologize for the formatting of this blog entry. Although it is composed to look the way I want it to, it seems to take on a mind of its own once I hit the "Publish" button and doesn't look anything like how I want it. Once again, my technological skills are tried and found wanting.

In a great ending to our winter trip, Andy, Jenelle and their three kids came down to Disneyland to spend a few days. Since the Golden Village Palms is only about an hour and a half away from Disneyland, we decided to join them. To put the icing on the cake, we flew Kristen down to spend a few days with us at "Retirement Camp" and brought her to Disneyland for her birthday (since she got in free in a Disneyland promotion). Anna, Maddie, and Brandon had a great time with Auntie Kristen there to go on the scary rides with them. We think that Andy also had a good time having his little sis to ride with him on the really scary stuff. Everyone had a really fun time at Mickey's home. The only thing missing that would have completed the picture would have been to have Ryan, Kandi, and their family with us.

Kristen stayed with us in the motor home which definitely brought the family closer together -- if you catch the drift. Three adults in an 8' by 30' box definitely tested the capacity limits. We got her to participate in a number of our usual events - volleyball, pool volleyball, etc. She even started to get the hang of happy hours -- almost as though she knew what to do instinctively. We think she enjoyed her brief stay with us, in spite of the sunburn she got in the first two days.

No sooner was the Disneyland trip over, then it was time to take Kristen to the airport and get everything packed away for the journey back home. We managed to squeeze in one last happy hour with new friends John and Lynda Brooks (on the left), and Gerald and Bev Fernquist (on the right) from Calgary, Alberta. They are both delightful couples and we had a great time

sharing RV stories with them. After leaving Hemet, they were heading toward the Oregon coast so we were pleased to be able to tell them about several of our favorite local spots.

It was with a great deal of reluctance that we, together with Joyce and Jim, left the Golden Village Palms. Once we hit the road, we were truly blessed with nothing but good weather all the way home. There were some winds to contend with along the way but, all in all, it was great traveling. We tried a few new stops on the return trip including a stay at a new park in Bakersfield. No, we haven't given up on the Orange Grove park, but the oranges were all gone at this time of year. We stayed for a night at A Country RV Park and were impressed. It was as nice as Orange Grove and a bit cheaper.

On our way to the next stop at Flag City in Stockton, we encountered a bit of difficulty. After stopping for lunch at a roadside rest area, someone apparently pulled out the cotter pin that holds our tow hitch bar to the motorhome. We have since learned that some people get their kicks this way, although someone could easily get killed from such an incident. We feel pretty confident that someone pulled the pin intentionally as Tim usually has to hammer it into place when we attach car to motorhome.

In any event, shortly after leaving the rest area, we felt a lurch and Tim could see in our TV screen that the car was no longer in its normal towing position five feet behind the motorhome, but was now pressing against the motorhome bumper. We were extremely fortunate that the tow bar stayed attached by our safety cables. The tow bar went under the motorhome and Tim was able to get everything slowed down and off to the side of the road. After surveying the damage, we were able to continue by having Diane drive the car to the next destination. After examining the tow bar, we decided that we must have left quite a gouge in I-5 before we got stopped. Do you think anyone will notice?

In Stockton we were able to get the car connected again so Diane didn't have to continue to drive it. We just couldn't disconnect it until we got home. We headed back up the highway and stayed at a very nice place in Red Bluff that Joyce and Jim had seen on the way down. It was called the Durango RV Resort and was a wonderful spot. It had only been open since August of 2008 and had a ton of amenities including an automated dog wash. What fun! Samson decided he didn't want to try it since he wasn't due for another bath yet.

We stayed at Red Bluff for two nights then headed up to our Seven Feathers stop in Canyonville. We enjoyed a nice dinner and a good night's rest. Joyce and Jim headed all the way home from here, but we elected to stop at the Premier RV Park in Salem to see the other grandkids on the way home. Ryan and Kandi took us to pick up the Micah and Amelia at their pre-school and hadn't told them we were coming. It was a grandmother's dream moment to see how excited they were to see us.

Well, that is about it for this year's adventure. Thanks for coming along on the trip with us. We've enjoyed your visits, telephone calls, emails, etc. We appreciate your interest and, although it is always fun to travel, we really do miss family, friends and home.