Monday March 26th, 2018
We tucked Lucky away in a storage site in the KOA we’ve been staying at  and we headed south. Our destination – San Diego to spend some time with Harry (JP’s Brother) and his lovely wife Suzanne. Later in the week we will be heading to LA and Pasadena to see the kids. Lovin’ being able to see them more often! 

I’ll catch the blog up after our 8 days in Southern California but it may take awhile to post them. Our next stop is Lake Alamo for a couple weeks. No Wi-Fi there so I’ll have to post all at once at a later date. I’ll let ya know on FB when we’re up again. Until then, Welcome to Spring and Happy Easter!

Saturday March 24th, 2018

JP and I made a trip to the Palm Springs Air Museum about 15 miles away. Its much smaller than the Pima Air Museum outside of Tucson. We spent the afternoon roaming the 4 different hangers full of military memorabilia, planes and military displays.

Outside the hangers, planes from all eras were parked along the fence that backs up to the Palm Springs International Airport. It was cool to watch the planes take off in front of a beautiful mountain backdrop while we toured. We even got to watch an exhibit plane land at the airport and then taxi into the museum grounds.

JP and I had our eye on different parts of the museum. He focused on the planes, helicopters and the history at the museum and I liked the art. There was plenty to see and learn about and the museum is staffed by veterans.

The “Nose Art” was cool and who knew Disney had a hand in any of it? There was also a display of art by Chris Demarest called Humanity Within War that was an interesting addition to the museum.

It was an interesting day. There were a lot of visitors of all ages.

By the time we got home today the Desert Hot Springs WIND was at its strongest so it was a noisy night in Lucky!

Friday March 23rd, 2018

Now that we have decided to lease our Sodaville house out again and we have our taxes done it should be smooth sailing from here. Our next week is with family then on to no WiFi again so today was all about tying up loose ends. JP’s replacement  seat for his pontoon boat came so he busied himself with that while I did accounting.

We had a great (as in good and huge) farewell dinner with Patsy and Peter at Red Lobster. I’m pretty sure there is no greater food than their cheese biscuits!

Thursday March 22nd, 2018
We were up and at ‘em this morning. Patsy and Peter have sold their place in Cathedral City, so  JP lent a hand loading the trailer for their trip back to Canada. They got it done in no time and even though there was a light shower or two, it was warm enough for a noodle in the pool and a hot tub. I’m having a hard time imagining life with out those 2 treats on an everyday basis! After a mid-day Happy Hour and snacks we left in time to make a Walmart pit stop and still made it back in time for a JP to play Texas Hold ‘Em at at our KOA. 

I’m thinking Happy Hour is another version of Taco Bell’s “4th Meal”! Luckily we don’t have room in Lucky for a blender!

Wednesday March 21st, 2018

JP let me shop to my hearts content today for any and all things trailer. We will be heading back to Alamo Lake AZ shortly and its pretty remote. While JP is fishing his heart out I plan on getting the trailer rearranged and pulling all the excess stuff together to drop back at our storage unit. We’ve decided to stay in the trailer for another year so my goal is to make it super cozy and as spacious as 18 feet can be! I’ll be doing a little fishing but I’m looking forward to some reading and writing time too!

Alamo Lake is in mid-west AZ. The nearest tiny town is Salome and that’s about 30 miles and not much of a destination – but a hell of a bass and crappie lake!

Tuesday March 20th, 2018

It was a Pickle Ball kind of morning for JP so we got a late start on the day. Patsy and Peter were up for a spontaneous adventure so we headed out around 1:00. The destination – Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve.

Yep! Its an actual oasis. The 17,000 acres preserve is only a 15 minute drive from downtown Palm Springs. Its was about 2 miles round trip, and an easy walk on nice trails. We had blue skies and warm weather so it was a perfect day for a trip into a little pocket of beauty.

Its pretty and lush and a whole different world than the desert around it. Parts of the trail were formed by the San Andreas Fault. The McCallum Pond there is fed by and underground spring. 

The pond has Pup fish. Lots of them schooling around. JP was happy to see some finned creatures even if they were small and protected. 

After our not so grueling  short hike, we were parched so our next stop was South of the Border Mexican Restaurant for lunch (and of course a thirst quenching margarita). Yes it does seem that margaritas and mimosas have become an essential part of my day since we have been in Palm Springs. When in Rome (or Palm Springs). . . .

Monday March 19th, 2018

We’re still fitting things in Lucky because the there is enough variation in the floor plan that not everything is fitting quite right. we did some searching for just the right sizes storage boxes and shopped for a pickle ball racket for JP. No luck yet!

After another lovely Happy Hour with Patsy and Peter we had a date night. We couldn’t help ourselves – we just had to have another D Box Experience at the movies. We saw Tomb Raiders at the Mary Pickford Theater. Now there are 2 good reasons to go to the movies – D Box and 3D. The Mary Pickford Theater grounds are really lovely at night. The building has colorful lighting that fades from one color scheme to another. There is a great fountain on the grounds too.

It is actually called the “DPlace Entertainment – Mary Pickford”.  Mary is a bit out of our time period. She was the most famous female star of silent movies. Her legend lives on . . .

Sunday March 18th, 2018
We took the day off today so we could catch up on a few things back at camp. We made good use of the pool and hot tub and spent the day relaxing. It does seem odd doesn’t it? That we need to take a “day off” from being out and about! At the end of the day we crossed a bunch of stuff off of our “to do” list – so it was a good day.

Saturday March 17th, 2018 

There were still mimosa flavors Ann and I hadn’t sampled so we had another fine breakfast at the Broken Yolk this morning. We thought we might try that downtown stroll again before they had to head home to Clovis. We’re hoping we can meet up again for more fun field trips and sightseeing.  It was a short but awesome visit!

After breakfast we’d only walked a block before we found a little museum I’d read about that intrigued me. Why? Because I’d never heard of a General Store Museum and because they charge $1.00 entry fee (up from the .95 cents it cost when the brochure was printed). It was so cool! A man named James Ruddy was a collector and wanted to share the past with the present. He is pictured in the photo below on the right. “Open our door and step 70 years back in time.” Inside you step back into the ’30 and 40’s (though there are some items from the late 1800’s) and are standing in a general store from another time.

The thing is – every package, can, container, and box – holds its original contents. Every item is in pristine condition. The clothing has never been worn. The cigarette packages, pop bottles, candy and medicine bottles all contain the original contents, (with the exception of opiods – but that isn’t surprising). One man’s collection so impeccable its hard to imagine. The popped corn in the popcorn popper is 50 years old, the pickles in the pickle jar are 80 years old. The owner passed away last year but the museum lives on. Such an intriguing little place. I was so glad we came across it!

Friday March 16th, 2018 

Today we’re downtown Palm Springs bound. I still had that mimosa flight on my mind (and a complementary breakfast card) so first thing – breakfast at The Broken Yolk. Ann and I split a flight so we could give them all a taste test. Fun and yummy. After a hearty breakfast the plan was to stroll around downtown Palm Springs.

We only browsed one shop before we decided to walk the few blocks to the Palm Springs Art Museum. How awesome! Two very different types of art museums in two days. My head was swimming! I have no idea what I will do with the hundred of pictures we couldn’t help but take between us but here is a sampling. I’m sure you’ll recognize Andy Warhol, but there was so much more.

Then there was this Chihuly glass sculpture – Wow!

We came across this couple in the upper floor of the museum. They look like average folks but looked a little worn out from the art experience. . . .

Turns out they are the art experience – they are a couple sitting on a bench apparently a bit bored. It actually took us a  couple of passes to realize they WERE the art. It was amazingly realistic. Such ordinary looking humans making an extraordinary art piece! 

After our day at the museim we took a breather at the Agua Soliel where Mike and Ann had moved to since the park model at our park was only available for 2 nights. Then off for a genuinely gigantic meal at Kam Lun Chinese.