Monday, February 25, 2008

Rambling

I just missed capturing the full moon sinking behind the mountains at sunrise. Oh well, it was still a great sunrise.

Some clown walked in front of the "Hello Mary Lou" sign in the background!!! ML stands for Mary Lou.

ML is perfecting the art of reading with her eyes closed!!!



Den & ML left on Saturday after a week of on and off weather, contrary to the earlier forecast. However, they left with some tan and, saw a good deal of the desert. Mid-week, my globe-trotting cousin, Andy, popped into town on his way home to England. Neither of us can remember exactly when we last saw each other but it is fair to say that we were both a LOT younger. He and his family are planning to spend time in Palm Springs every year and, so are we. It would appear that the lack of contact thing WILL get fixed!!

Because Brenda had been away, she only got to her first golf lesson this week. No cameras allowed!!! She has agreed to go back for more so, she must have enjoyed it. I am playing in a scramble tomorrow, putting my newly developed skills to a test. My goal is to rise above the comic relief level of past golf outings however, as the Rolling Stones sing, “You don’t always get what you waaaant……….”

We are finding that as “the season” in Palm Springs reaches its peak, obtaining reservations at the most popular restaurants is getting tough. Brenda called one restaurant which everyone is talking about yesterday and had to pick a reservation date and time of THEIR chosing. They are full at all other times. Damn tourists!!!

Yesterday, I took in the spring version of the car auction that I visited last autumn. Even though there are many more people in town at this time of year, the auction was a mere shadow of the fall version. There were far fewer “exotics” on the block. Could it be the economy??? One senses that the US economy has a way to drop yet. We’ll see.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Some people are lucky!!!

Happy hour at one of our favourite outdoor patios just after the sun set behind the mountains.



Our friends, Den & ML, were rushing at the airport in Toronto, running a bit late because of inclement weather and, inadvertently lost the file with all of their travel plans, addresses, phone numbers and reservations at the airport. They boarded the plane to LA not knowing where they were staying or, what their rental car reservation was. They were able to finally get their car in LA and drove to Palm Springs without our phone number or address. We had earlier picked up the key to their villa and knew where it was.

Pulling into the Travel Information building in Palm Springs, they inquired about RV Parks in Palm Springs, describing what they knew of our park. There are dozens and dozens of RV parks in the area. However, the attendant pointed out our park on a map and, hearing the address, Den & ML remembered the street name as being where we are. They high-tailed it here and told their story over a beer. I have detailed the short, factual version here. Hearing them tell the tale with the usual spousal corrections was hilarious. To top the story off ……… they left our place after dark and drove to their villa complex. Almost all properties in this area are gated. After getting in the gate with much trouble, they looked for villa complex “K” and, drove around the property inquiring as to its location. No one knew!!! Finally someone told them “There’s no villa “K” here”. They were at the wrong property. Their’s was next door!!! An interesting day. When they finally returned to our place for a late dinner, there was much wine consumed.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Tired!!!!

In my wildest dreams I never thought I would be walking golf courses regularly!!!

Our new location in the park is very close to one of the 6 smaller "satellite" pools on the property. It's almost like our own pool ;-)


Brenda and the “Ski Widows” made it back from Mexico after having a great time in the sun. All her bags even followed her back, which did not occur on her outbound journey. Ya gotta love the airlines!!

Is anyone else tired of Hillary, Barack and John? In California one cannot escape. Even if you chose not to turn on a TV set or read a newspaper, you are accosted as you walk through event venues by “Republicans for the environment” (a small group) or “Democrats for the elimination of deficits”. They’re everywhere!! If we were going to stay here until November, we would have to hide in cave. This is an interesting race! But….. far too long.

A former university room-mate of mine and his bride are visiting this coming week. It sounds like they are keen to have Scotty beam them out of the snow in Ontario. We are also keen to see them. The forecast is for 10 solid days of sun!!

I have found an amazing golf pro to put up with my shenanigans on the golf course. She is an LPGA pro and, has shown me at least how to make contact with that damn little ball. If I had invented this game, I would have made the ball bigger!!!! The sweet spot on the clubs is also too darn small. So far, no broken windows (touch wood) and surprisingly, it’s fun! But, by the time we get back to Brockville I’m sure that I will have forgotten everything that I’ve learned so far.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Home alone

Our new view from the back of the RV

This area is smack in the middle of the city surrounded by shopping malls and golf courses

Since the lots in this RV park are all individually owned much like a condominium and, since the owner of our rented lot is arriving for February, we are getting the old “heave ho” from our wonderful, scenic location. We are being moved to another lot on the golf course but, with a less panoramic view of the mountains. The big variable is that our new lot has a huge screen on one side, theoretically placed to stop errant golf balls from dinging the side of our RV. Hope it works. The new spot is near a green; the old one near a tee. We like tees!!!

The weather is finally returning to a near normal pattern with temperatures coming up each day and, the daily sky conditions show nothing but sun for the next 10 days. This is more like it. However, it’s still a desert. It still gets cool at night.

Having abandoned my bride last week to go skiing; next week is the “turnabout”. Brenda and the “ski widows” are heading off to the beaches of Mexico for some sun and surf (no surf anywhere near here!!!). I will be left to mind the farm and continue the exploration of this area of southern California. We’re also looking at places that we might be able to come to next winter….. sans RV. I’ve been instructed to find something great! No pressure!!