MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas
to all our blogger friends!

I seem to have lost interest in posting to our blog lately... I guess it feels like I dont have anything worthy of a report.  But we still enjoy reading your blogs and hearing about where you are and what you're up to... and we really appreciate our readers comments, so don't stop watching!

We are still here at the Sands RV resort in the Palm Springs area.  We find things to occupy our time, but we're ready to move on.  We paid for a month, so we are here until January 6th.  Not sure what we will do on Christmas... or New Years... or our Anniversary.  We will be here for all of them.  We were in San Antonio, Texas for all of them last year. 

We attempted our first hike of the area yesterday.  It was such a beautiful day... sunny in the 70s with no wind!  But it was still too early for a  hike... Jeff's ankle couldnt take the uneven terrain on the trail.  We took the araby trail which goes by Bob Hope's house.  We went quite a ways up the hill... probably further than Jeff should have, but we made it to a view of his house.

That is a photo that Jeff took at the start of the trail.  We attempted alot more pictures, but all we could get from the camera was "system error"!!  Uugh!!!

 

Until this ankle heals, I guess Jeff will have to stick with the work out room.

Once we leave here and are on the move again, Im sure I will get back to blogging... and maybe I can even make it interesting!  But until then... we are here!  and if you're a blogger, we are probably following you!  Be safe and have a Merry Christmas!

Just enjoying each day...

Time for another blog post!

We're really enjoying our time here in Desert Hot Springs.  Warm Sunshine, Friendly Neighbors, Plenty of Resort Amenities and Local Activities to keep us busy... not to mention our cozy home.  How blessed can we be?

This evening, we enjoyed our first Happy Hour with neighbors, Marilyn and Dennis

Marilyn is sharing a funny story (full of animation)

That's an "I'm getting chilly" pose from me... not "I have to pee"

This is Maddy... Isn't she just the sweetest?  And super obedient!

Earlier today,  I finished up the Christmas cards...

Then we mailed them!

You may think "So What", but that's pretty good for me! 

I made the cards, I addressed the cards, we mailed the cards... and it's only the 10th!

With all that done...

Why stop there? 

 I was somehow, motivated enough to wash the wheelhouse windows inside and out.

 It needs ALOT more than window cleaning, but at least we can see clearly out the windows now!

After all that today,

we decided to take advantage of the Hot Tub and Swimming Pool...

We enjoyed the hot tub, then swam laps in the pool, then hot tub again.

Nice... hopefully we will do that every night.

Yesterday we enjoyed our day just the same...

we explored the town of Desert Hot Springs, a bit...

and rode our bicycles up and down through all the loops here.

and Jeff didnt fall down!

IT'S TIME FOR BED!  So thats all for now!

Aaahhh.... Warm Sunshine!

"Aaahh... Warm Sunshine"  Those certainly were not our words when we arrived last evening, infact, my exact words were "I'd rather be boondocking"... but those WERE our words this morning when we stepped out of the wheel house.

We pulled out of Las Vegas Resort just after Noon yesterday, with the intention of finding a place to boondock for the night, around Barstow.  But we couldn't seem to find a good place, so we kept going.

MISTAKE!
It gets dark so early now!  We called Sands RV Resort to see if we could come in a day early.  They verified that our site was available, and said "Come on in!"

I HATE driving after dark.  So I don't do the driving, but I do the navigating... and I can't navigate if I can't see!  We were so close, and it was still plenty light... we were really hoping we could make it before it was really dark.  But that didn't happen.

We missed the road we should have taken, but using my map program, we turned on a dark road that wasnt marked (that we could see) - (oh, thats right... we couldnt see), but per my map, it must be the road that would take us where we needed to go... it had to be... or we were going to end up on I-10!  So we blindly turned left.  It did turn out to be the road we were looking for, but now we had to struggle to see the street signs to find the street we were to turn on before it was too late to turn!

We slowed, we looked, we sped up, and slowed, and sped up... right as the traffic light turned yellow.  Do we slam on the brakes or hit the accelerator?  Jeff usually opts for the brakes... but we must have been too into it this time.  So he hit the accelerator.   Then we hit THE DIP... wow!  that was a dip!  We could just imagine what it may have done to things inside.  Just as we came up to our street, we had a car come up beside us honking and pointing.  Panic... Oh no... what happened?  They told us that our chairs had fallen and were dragging and sparking.  We slowly made our turn, and pulled over.  It wasnt just the chairs... the ladder had fallen as well.  What a mess!  We're so glad the ladder didnt bounce off and go through someones windshield!  The ladder and 2 chairs were all tangled up in the bicycles, but nothing had been able to get totally lost because of a cable lock we had around all of it.

LESSONS LEARNED...  Strap step ladder and chairs TIGHTLY to RV ladder at top and bottom.  AND... DON'T TRAVEL IN THE DARK!!
After untangling everything, and finding a temporary place to store the chairs and ladder, and taking a deep breath... we pulled into the resort.  We called security at the gate to have them escort us to our site.  When he arrived, he said they had called him and told him to take us to a different site than what we had reserved.  We were confused, and then he became confused.  Long story... and it ended up being a misunderstanding, but we stayed the night all mickey moused into 2 sites squeezed between the power posts for each.  We slept alright, but I had strange dreams all night and they all had to do with this RV park.

LESSON LEARNED... Don't arrive at a new park after the office is closed.

BETTER NEWS TODAY!!
 Don, the security man that took us to our site last night, came to our door this morning and offered to give us a ride to the office to get things straightened out.  They gave us the choice of 6 or 7 sites that we could take, and Don was kind enough to drive us around to each site to make our pick.

We found a great site that we are now comfortably settled in to!

NEW FRIENDS and OLD FRIENDS!!
 When we woke up this morning, I walked out to the living room and opened the rear blinds.  I sat waiting for the coffee, and watched a man across from us cleaning his fifth wheel.  Then I thought... he looks kinda familiar.  I opened my computer and went to the blog K&D in the RV... I looked at the RV on their blog and looked at the RV out my back window... Yep! same trailer.  I looked at the license plate... Yep! Canada.  I looked at Don on my computer, and looked at the guy out my back window... Yep! That is Don!  I excitedly told Jeff, and threw on my sweats to go meet some of our blog friends!
Kim came out when she heard me and so we met as well.  Then Rick of Rick & Paulettes RV Travels, pulled up in his truck and I met him!  Still haven't met Paulette, but there is time.

So that was the new friends.  Now for the old friends...  When I went to the office, to settle up on the site we decided on, I glanced over into the golf pro shop and saw a familiar face.  It was Jeff! (no, not my husband... he was at home hooking things up).  Jeff and Pattie were hosts along with us at Carl Washburne SP on the Oregon coast last Summer.  How exciting!  We chatted with both Jeff and Pattie for only a few minutes today, but I'm sure we will get together a few times while we are here.

ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK ALOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!!

After we got settled into our new site, we took a drive into Palm Springs.  We are actually in Desert Hot Springs, where we are at.  We found a Christmas tree lot and bought a tabletop Noble!  Then I bought some lights!  Then we hit up the Dollar Tree for a few misc decorations. 
So I came home and decorated!  and lit my Christmas candles.  Aaahh... now it feels like its time to watch Christmas movies.

STAY TUNED.... there will be more to report from Palm Springs!

Oh, and... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Wheels will Roll Again... very soon.

We made a reservation today...
       One full month at the Sands RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs (Palm Springs)!

We will leave here on Wednesday, stay one night boondocking somewhere along the way, then pull in to our new home on Thursday.  We're looking forward to it.  We've been following the blogs of others who are there or have been there, and it sounds great.
All sorts of things we want to do and see in that area.  AND... we will get to meet fellow RV bloggers!

So now we are on the countdown to our next move....

Today was laundry day, and we put a few outside things away, and we set up the tripod and took pictures so we can make our Christmas photo cards.  I think one of them will work.... we haven't decided for sure.

Jeff's ankle is healing, but it's still very painful, and difficult for him to get around.  Thanks to all our followers for your care and concern.

No pictures for you today... sorry about that!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

This Park Blows!

Or at least it DID blow... and hard!  The wind stopped late last night, but our collapsible garbage can left and hasn't been seen.

Jeff's ankle still isn't looking too good. 

It seemed it was getting better, so we went out for a bit on Wednesday and Thursday.

 He wasn't on it alot, but it may have been too much... he is paying for it today. 

 

Wednesday, we took a drive out to Lake Mead NRA. 

I should have known, being a National Park or NRA, that it would cost. 

But we hadn't thought about it and we were unpleasantly surprised that they wanted

 10 of our dollars just to drive to or by the lake. 

We considered turning around, but decided we had come that far...

 we would continue on.

 Our opinion was pretty much... "Whoopty-Doo!"

We checked out the campground there,

and it looked like a place we would like to stay some time.

There are no hookups but beautiful and only $10 night.

We will put it on our list of future places to stay.

Once we were in the park, we remembered we needed fuel... we were on empty.

OOPS!

We drove out the other end of the park, and felt all turned around... we turned left, and found ourselves in Arizona.  We passed by Hoover Dam, or the turnoff for it anyway... I dont know... we were feeling lost.  We were on a freeway heading to Kingman, AZ with no gas stations nearby.  We were about to cross over the grass median to get turned around, when we came across an official turn-around!   Yay... we didn't find ourselves stranded.

Next Stop was Costco... then Ethel M Chocolates -

  Chocolate factory and Cactus garden that is decorated for the holidays.

The lights would have been more spectacular after dark, but it was still beautiful.

Then the factory, where we were given free all-natural yummy chocolate!

That is about all the Show & Tell I have for Wednesday.

What do I have to tell you for Thursday?

Well... in the evening we went up to our favorite local casino... Arizona Charlies... to spend a little time and hopefully not alot of money.

We played some Keno, and bounced around to some Penny Slots.  I sat myself at a Penny Machine, and Jeff took off to find a potty (he does that alot lately it seems).

Anyway...  I chatted with the old man at the machine next to me between pulls.

Then... IT HAPPENED!

Up came row after row of the indian faces.  It made noise and flashed WIN 80,000!

What!  80,000??

Granted... I am playing Pennies... but that is $800.00!!

Seriously?  I just won $800??

I started screaming and dancing and yelling for my husband!  Where is my husband??  Soon the whole casino it seemed, was looking at me and looking for my husband!

It was great exciting fun.  Jeff finally showed up when I had my ticket in hand... for $813.21!

We cashed that one out, and came home ! (soon after)

WHOO HOO! 

Another week in Vegas it is

Week 2 was over this morning, but I walked over yesterday and extended for yet another week.  Jeff was in less pain yesterday and could move around better, but still stayed off of it as much as possible.

Despite the looks of this... the swelling is down alot! and it doesnt hurt so much to put a little pressure on it... so we are leaving the house today and venturing out to see more of the Vegas area.
We are thinking a drive to Lake Mead would be nice... with a stop at Costco maybe?  We will see what all the day brings.  The wind is suppose to move in this afternoon, with gusts over the next day or two up to 63mph!  Looks like this wind is suppose to hit all of the areas around us (Palm Springs, Lake Havasu...)

Just so glad that Jeff's ankle is healing quickly and without a trip to a doctor!

Praise be to God... our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Pedaling accident may cause delay in LV departure!

I told him bicycling in the city at night was a bad idea!  But he convinced me we would be fine.  Actually, my concern had been drivers not seeing us.  I hadn't thought about the fact that it's dark, and we may not see things clearly.  I was riding on the sidewalk and Jeff was in the bicycle lane, but the bicycle lane was ending, so Jeff veered over to the sidewalk, but he came at it at an angle and there wasnt a smooth transition from road to sidewalk... so it threw him down.  I've never heard him holler like that... I wasn't sure what was hurt.  It turned out to be his ankle. 

We don't have medical insurance, so we dont make trips to see a doctor unless there is nothing we can do on our own.  We have internet, so we did some self-diagnosis.  The fact that he was able to make it home, although in excruciating pain, told us it was not broken.  The fact that it is so extremely painful and very very swollen tells us it is a severe sprain.
So I am caring for my hubby with ice treatments, elevating his leg, wrapping his ankle, and ibuprofen. 


We are scheduled to leave here Wednesday morning, but if his ankle does not improve significantly today and tomorrow, we will most likely need to extend our stay again.


We received a call offering us a job selling Christmas trees in Tucson, AZ.  We were considering it, but I had to call him this morning and decline.  They need us now... and we cant leave now.  That's okay.  We will have to accept work or hosting jobs late next year, but for now we will stick with our plan for an extended vacation to see areas we havent been... including the East Coast next Spring/Summer.

We had a great Thanksgiving here at the park.  There was a wonderful variety of dishes brought by other "campers" and the park provided both turkey and ham. 

They arranged the food tables in the library/game room...

and tables were set up in the TV gathering room, for eating...

Tables were set up outside as well... so this is where we wanted to be!

These pictures were taken early... the place filled up soon after.

 

The day before Thanksgiving, we visited one of Vegas' Harley shops.  We didnt find anything we needed or could afford to buy... but it was enjoyable.  They had old bikes and old cars displayed.

Well, that's all I've got to say for now... Hopefully we will be out of Vegas on our way to the Palm Springs area soon.

We're Staying another Week!

Tuesday, November 22

Las Vegas RV Resort is a nice enough place to stay for another week we think.  We initially paid through tonight, but we went in to the office today and extended it one week.
We have been enjoying the Hot Tub nearly every night, and Jeff is taking advantage of their fitness center.  The park and the surrounding city is great for walking or riding the bikes (that is bicycles).

Saturday and Sunday we stayed at home... but yesterday (Monday) we made another trip to the Las Vegas Strip.

We parked in the Flamingo parking garage, and walked through their "wildlife habitat".

Austrailian Black Swan

Besides their wildlife habitat, the other theme of the Flamingo Casino Hotel is Margaritaville. 

Having made our way through the Flamingo Casino, we exited out to Las Vegas Blvd,

and walked several blocks South to the Harley Davidson Cafe.

The sites along the Strip were interesting, to say the least...

City life can take its toll on everyone, I suppose

Finally we arrived at the Harley Davidson Cafe.

The atmosphere was entertaining...  but we can't say alot for the food.

Back to The Strip to see what else we can find to see...

The Bellagio has a fountain show every 1/2 hour

So we made our way up and across the street to the Bellagio...

... to the Bellagio, where we waited for the fountains...

... and here it comes

They were spectacular!  like water fireworks!

We made our way back to our truck and headed home... that was the Monday adventure.

Tuesday we got together with a friend from home (land home). 

We found out they were in Vegas, via good ol' facebook. 

Dan's wife was busy with family, so I had to find something to occupy my time, while they chatted.  So I sat beside them and played some blackjack, on the bar machine.  I played for 30 minutes with the $5 I deposited.  But they were still chatting.  So I inserted another dollar and switched to playing Keno.  I played 6 spot, using our birthday dates, and got all 6 numbers!

I won $125!  Whoo Hoo!

Thursday, November 24

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!! (even you Canadian family and friends)

The park here is having a Thanksgiving dinner at 3:00, so we are going to that.  Our contribution is Stuffing.

Hope you ALL have a wonderful day, wherever you are, whatever you do.