RETIRED ON WHEELS: April 2010

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 12 - 23, 2010

The last couple of weeks has been spent saying goodbye to people as the park is slowly empting out. The Canadians have pretty much all left as the weather in Canada is becoming favorable. Other than saying goodbye to people we have just been relaxing and enjoying the nice weather.

I have got a few golf games in and Kathy is diligently riding her bike but other than that it is pretty peaceful.

On the 17th of April I celebrated my 61st birthday. We spent the day going over to Lake Elsinore and meeting up with a friend we hadn't seen in many years. Kathy and I both worked with Sanjay Choudhuri at GWG and we met up with him and Nancy ( his better half ) at a small restaurant. We managed to turn breakfast into a 3 hour event and it was really nice to catch up and hear about his future plans. I unfortuntely forgot my camera but Sanjay brought his and pictures were taken. I will post them when Sanjay forwards them to me.

The Pictures arrived.

Starting next week we will be getting the truck camper ready for the trip to Canada and slowing starting to move what we need from the 5th wheel into the camper. We are starting to get itchy feet, the travelling bug is starting to bite, the truck is whining, the north is calling. It's time to go.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 10 & 11, 2010

Saturday and Sunday were pretty quiet. The weather turned a little cold, it went down into the high 60’s so we decided to just sit back and enjoy The Masters. So that’s what we did. It was a quiet but nice weekend. Monday we have to start getting ready to pack up and head north.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 8 & 9, 2010

Thursday was a do errands day but we did it on our bikes. We ended up riding about 15 miles as we had to go to the Post Office, a couple of Drug Stores and the Grocery Store. We also made a stop at Starbucks for a little refreshment. It was a nice afternoon.

The evening did not go as easy as a hose under the sink let go and we ended up with water all over the place. It took quite a bit of work to clean up all the water and it took right up until it was time to go to bed to finish it. The end result being that we had to order a new hose from Mobile Suites.

Friday I had made a commitment to go golfing so that’s where I was headed and it was another beautiful day hitting the early 80’s temperature wise. I felt a little quilty as Kathy was stuck in the 5th Wheel shampooing carpets and cleaning the kitchen floor. I think that must have been than messed up my golf game.

The manufacturer in discussions with Kathy agreed to send us a new kit for under the sink at no charge so not all was lost. It will be here in about a week.

Tomorrow is another day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 7, 2010

Today was golf day for Rod and laundry day for Kathy. Sounds fair to me.

We headed over to Moreno Valley and The Ranch at Moreno Valley Golf Course where we played the Lakes and Mountain courses. It was a little windy but not enough to make a significant impact on my game. The course is really nice, in very good shape and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I have been impressed with all the golf courses in the area and there is a lot of them. The rains this year has them all in good condition and the price is certainly right. A round with cart will run anywhere from
$25 - $ 35. Pretty hard to beat.

Kathy also enjoyed her day in the laundry room but she always enjoys doing laundry.

After dinner we joined the Wednesday night poker game. This game is usually men only and restricted to a max of 10 players however as people are starting to head home for the summer we were short a few players. This opened a spot for Kathy to play but I am not sure they will invite us back as we took 1st and 2nd spot which was the only spots that paid money. It was a nice way to end the day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 6, 2010

We have decided to take the camper to Ontario this summer so we have to do a little work on it. We ordered a new ladder and had to go to Lancaster to pick it up. Lancaster is about 115 miles northwest of Hemet and for the most part it was an enjoyable drive. Well it became enjoyable after we passed the stretch of Highway 215 between Hwy 10 and Hwy 60 as it was very congested and very fast. The latter part of the drive took us through the high desert and it was quite unique with a different selection of trees and cactus.

When driving through the high desert the evidence of how much rain California has had this year was pretty obvious. It was green. Normally by this time of year there wouldn’t be a speck of green.

During the drive we passed through part of the San Bernadino National Forest and Mormon Rock Station. The formation of the rocks were quite unique. Pictures at Eleven.

However, it was a drive for nothing as when we got to the Lance Factory we discovered that they had given our ladder to someone else. They are going to ship us one but it will be tight time wise as we are scheduled to leave here May 3rd.

In spite of not getting the ladder it was a nice drive and we enjoyed the day.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 5, 2010

Today was planned to be a golf day for me and a “Get Rid of Rod” day for Kathy. However it was raining in the morning and continued to rain for most of the day so it became a movie day.

Not very exciting but you are allowed to have them when you are retired.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA April 4, 2010

Today is Easter Sunday and the day started off with an earthquake. The epicenter was about 100 miles south of here on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. The earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds and really shook us around. Thankfully there was no damage. It was our first big one here as it measured anywhere from 6.9 – 7.2 on the Richter Scale. The aftershocks lasted for about 2 days.

There was also another earthquake of sorts prior to the big one. Kathy went out and bought roller blades, not only roller blades but the helmet, knee pads, wrist protectors and elbow pads. The whole kit and caboodle. When my opinion was requested I did express concern over her safety and sanity. A fifty something year old body does not recuperate as it once did. I must admit that I was not as eloquent in
expressing my concerns at the time.

Things were going great until she tried to jump one of the speed bumps in the park. Kaboom, down she went. Nothing was hurt except her pride, that is until she tried to get up the next morning. She was hurting, big time. After three days of recuperation she wisely decided that Roller Blading was not for her. All that is left is the helmet and permanent bruise to her ego.

However, I am too much of a gentleman to say " I told you so." HeHe.

WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA October 15, 2009 - April 3, 2010

Its April fool’s day and time to start the blog up again. The last time I posted we had just left Sedona, AZ and were going to make our way back to Dallas with a week long stop in Lake Havau City. The stop in Lake Havasu City was to find a RV park in the area that we would enjoy settling for the winter. The day we left Sedona we headed a short way down the road to Verde Canyon where we took a tour of the Canyon on the Verde Canyon Railway. It was a enjoyable but very hot day and of course we took a few picktures.

After spending the day on the train we headed west which took us through Jordan, AZ an old mining town that is now mainly an artist colony and tourist attraction. We had been to Jordon before so we didn’t stop. However the drive was quite exilerating as the climb and winding streets through Jordan make the trip worthwhile on its own.

The next few days had us travelling through California via San Bernadino Valley down to Temecula where we spent the night at the Pechango Casino and RV Resort. Of course I had to go in a play a little poker and even made a few dollars. The next day we travelled 23 miles up the road to Hemet as we wanted to check a RV park that Peg and Rick recommended. We spent a good portion of the day touring the park and as it turns out we liked the park well enough to book it for the winter.

Now that we had taken care of winter residence we started heading east back to Dallas to pick up the 5th wheel. We had stops at the Fountain of Youth RV Park that was located just east of the Salton Sea and had Natural Hot Springs. The Hot Springs were rumored to restore your youth. They lied.
However the scenery was quite nice.

After leaving California we stopped in Lake Havasu City for the week at our timeshare. The original plan was to look for a park to winter in but since we took take of that is Hemet we used the week just to relax.

The next few weeks was spent returning to Dallas, picking up our 5th wheel, getting rid of our locker, doctors appointments, saying goodbye to friends and just preparing for the drive to Hemet.

We are in Hemet, CA and have been here since the 1st of December in the Golden Village Palms RV Resort. The park is one of the very best we have been in and was perfect for settling in for the winter. It has a lot of amenities such as two pools, 3 whirlpools, exercise and weight room, large laundry room, chipping and putting area and a billiards room with about 6 tables. It also has a large banquet hall, a large meeting room and a few other rooms that can be used for pot luck suppers, cards or whatever you choose to do.

Hemet is located in southwestern Riverside County, and is located in the San Jacinto Valley. Hemet issouth of the city of San Jacinto, and located near the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. The valley is surrounded by the Santa Rosa Hills and San Jacinto Mountains, and is mostly dry land, except for Diamond Valley Lake to the south of Hemet. We are roughly 67 miles north east of San Diego and 75 east of Los Angeles. The city has about 75,000 people and is large enough to have all the resources we need but it is small enough that we can bike or walk for groceries and other shopping needs. The truck doesn’t get of lot of running time.

The activities here are pretty extensive and we have taken advantage of them. I golf with the men’s club on Monday and Wednesday. Kathy and I play poker ( Texas Holdem ) every Tuesday and I play with the men on Wednesday night. There is shuffle board every Friday night but we have not made it there.

The Tuesday night poker is open to the park and it fills to the max of 48 players. Kathy won it one night and brought in $156.00. She wouldn’t share. We also get points if you reach the final table and the top 8 finishers play in a year end tournament. I was able to squeak in with enough points to make the final table and ended up coming in 2nd . It was a lot of fun.

The Final Table

We Drew a Crowd

The Final Hand - I lost and came in second

The Top 3

We enjoyed a few other planned functions such as Xmas Dinner, St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, GVP Golf Tournament and Dinner and of course Canada Day.

Everyone is very friendly and laid back and so they should be. They are retired and life is good.

The park is open all year round but is the busiest from December to April as a lot of Canadians come down for the winter. They are mainly from BC and Alberta and judging from the people we have met I don’t think there is anyone left in Port Alberni, they are all here. We have met some really nice people and get together a couple of times a week to play cards (mostly Texas Holdem)

The People

The Hand

The Bragging Rights

My sister and brother-in-law have been with us for the last couple of months and it was good to see them again. Well, I didn’t appreciate getting my ass kicked at golf by Rick (bastard) but it was good to get together. We even had a short visit from Boy (their son) but as he is only a retiree in training he had to go back to work.

The Howies also had to return to St. Albert as Peggy had to go back to work (hahaha) so we say them off. They weren’t very excited to be heading back to the colder weather.