Peace and Quiet in Silent Valley

Welcome back friends. Our last chapter ended on Monday, May 23^rd, after the first week of our month long stay in Silent Valley. Silent Valley is a large, time share type RV resort in the mountains south of Banning, California. It sits at 3,500 feet, in between the desert climate zone and the coastal climate zone. That makes the weather up here unpredictable. It is always at least ten or fifteen degrees cooler than the Coachella Valley, but sometimes it can be really cool and damp, more the coastal influence. That is what we have been dealing with the last few days, evening temps in the 40's, daytime in the mid 60's.

Tuesday, May 24^th, we had a stay at home day. I did some chores around the house, including climbing onto the roof of the RV to check on the wiring of our satellite antenna. We have been getting intermittent outages on certain channels and I think it has to do with the wiring. I did find that some of the coax connectors were just slightly loose, so I tightened everything up. We will see tomorrow if the problem persists. We got a few other chores done around the house.

At 4:30 we went over to the Babcock's for cocktails with them and the Wilson's. After cocktails we did some hamburgers on the grill for dinner. We had a good time, sharing stories and talking. We stayed until a little after 7:30 when we went back to our coach for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, we left the RV park about 11:30, riding with the Babcock's, and went down the mountain to the Coachella Valley to do some errands. Our first stop was the Greek Islands restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. We discovered this place several years ago and like to go there whenever we have to go to Palm Springs, which is usually to pick up our mail when we are camped in Silent Valley. Silent Valley does not allow any kind of mail or package delivery, so when we get our mail forwarded to us we have it sent to the UPS service center in Palm Springs, by the airport.

We had a great lunch, with some calamari appetizer and then I had Biftecca, a Greek spiced ground round dish, and the other three all had gyros. Everyone was very happy with the meal and we were glad we introduced Ray and Suzie to the place. We left the restaurant and headed to the airport to pick up our mail. Once we had that done we then went to Palm Desert to a satellite TV dealer so that Ray could see if they had a part he needed for his satellite antenna. As it turns out they didn't, so we left there empty handed. We then made a stop at Costco where each of us got a few things. Once Costco was done we were back on the road to the RV park, arriving back around 4:30. We were kind of tired, so we spent the rest of the evening in the coach.

Thursday was a stay at home day. We both got a few things done around the coach, a couple minor repairs and some home office work. Some friends of ours, Larry and Renate Mitchell moved into a spot very near us. Larry is a retired fireman and the Mitchell's are good friends of the Babcock's. It was through them that we met the Mitchell's. We had cocktails with Ray and Suzie, but made dinner on our own, after which we watched TV until bed.

Friday, May 27^th, the first day of the long Memorial Day Weekend. The RV park is filling, with most of the more desirable spots now filled. Late comers are going to be stuck with smaller sites and those hidden under trees. Another stay at home day. We will probably stay up here for the entire holiday weekend. We got some chores done, did our walk, and enjoyed a much nicer, warmer day. In the afternoon Ray came over and we watched the season finale of NCIS. His DVR didn't record it for some reason and he wanted to see it. We went to the Babcock's about 4:30 for cocktails and dinner. Ray made a pork loin and veggies and we had a great meal. The Wilson's were also there for dinner and the Mitchell's stopped by after dinner and talked for a while. About 7:00 we went back to our coach and stayed in the rest of the night.

Saturday I left the coach about 9:30 and went down to the Village Center with Ray to attend the Annual Meeting of Silent Valley Club. It was the usual annual meeting, presentation of the audit reports, some reports on the state of the club. They did not have an election this year as there were an equal number of open board slots and candidates, so there was no need for the expense of an election. The meeting lasted an hour, after which I went back to the coach and had lunch.

We stayed around the coach today, doing a few chores, taking our exercise walk, the usual activities. About 6:00 we walked down to the Village Center again for their annual Veteran’s Recognition show, held on Memorial Day weekend every year. Ray, who is an Air Force Vet, went with us, along with Suzie. Gary is a Navy vet, but they had driven to eastern Los Angeles County for some medical tests today and were pretty tired, so they didn't come. The ceremony was very nice, all of the vets in the audience were invited up on stage to introduce themselves, their branch of service and years of service. There were probably thirty or forty vets, most of the Vietnam era, in attendance. Everyone got a small U.S. Flag and a nice eagle key chain from the Boy Scouts. After the ceremony we went back to the coach, had a light dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, May29th, we left the coach about 10:00 and walked down to the Village Center for the craft and rummage sale. They had a lot of people with tables set up selling stuff. We spent about an hour walking around, bought a couple of little things, and then went back to our coach for lunch. At 1:00 we went to the dog show. Even thought both the Babcock's and Wilson's have dogs, they didn't want to go. We had a great time watching and playing with all the dogs. There were over thirty dogs in the show and they were cute. The winner of the talent catagory was this border collie that kept a balloon up in the air. We went for a little walk after the show and then went back to the coach.

I spent the rest of the afternoon outside watching the NASCAR race on TV. About 5:00 Ray and Suzie came over and we had cocktails. Larry and Renate also came over for a visit and Larry joined us to watch the end of the race. After the race we and the Babcock's cooked some steaks and had dinner together. The Mitchell's always eat mid afternoon, so they did not join us for dinner. By 8:00 Ray and Suzie had headed home and we watched a little TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, May 30^th, Happy Memorial Day, the day we set aside to honor those who gave their lives in defense of our freedoms. Today was another stay at home day, not because there was anything going on here at the park, but because everyone else will be on the road going home today. We had a very relaxing day in the coach.

Tuesday, May 31^st, we left the RV park and drove down the mountain about 11:30. We stopped at a local eatery called Gramma's Country Kitchen for lunch. We have been here a couple of times in the past and always enjoyed the meal. Jackie had an omelet and I had a pastrami sandwich. The pastrami was not as good as my favorite place in Cathedral City, Da Boyz, but it was better than you get at most places.

After lunch we set out to do some geocaching. It was pretty warm, in the high 80's, but we were still able to get ten new finds, along with two DNFs, in a few hours. After caching we went to Walmart for some supplies and so Jackie could get a pedi. After Walmart we went back up the hill, arriving back at the park a little after 5:00. We put away the refrigerated stuff and then took cocktails over to the Babcock's for happy hour. The Wilson's were there too and we sat and talked until close to 7:00. We then went back to our place and watched TV the rest of the night. Wednesday was another stay at home day. I got some chores done, including degreasing the radiator, a job that needed to be done before we started driving in the summer heat. The rear radiator on our coach tends to pick up oil and other fluids from the engine over time, causing it to be less efficient. Jackie also got some stuff done and we had a fairly quiet day.

Thursday, June 2^nd, we left the coach about 11:00 and drove down to Banning to see a movie. We saw Alice Through the Looking Glass, a Disney movie based on the second of the Alice in Wonderland books. The movie was produced and directed by Tim Burton and I really like Tim Burton movies, even though they are technically kids films. The story was similar to the books, but the visuals of the movie were fantastic. It was like being in a two hour dream. We both really enjoyed the movie, and no swear words! After the movie we went to Kohl's for some shopping and then stopped at a place in Banning called Fisherman's Market for a late lunch, early dinner. I had really good fish and chips and Jackie had a calamari steak that she said was good too. After eating we drove back up the mountains and got back in time to go down to the Babcock's for cocktails with them and the Wilson's. The Mitchell's left this morning to go home. Our friends Gloria and Bob Baron came up today, but we didn't see them. They are parked on the other side of the dry creek from our spot. They will be up here for while too, so we will get to spend some time with them. After cocktails we went home and stayed in the rest of the night.

Friday was another stay at home day. We went down to the village center after lunch and did our laundry again. We finished about 3:00 and then stopped and visited with Bob and Gloria Baron at their campsite for a while. About 5:00 we walked over to the Wilson's for happy hour and then dinner with them and the Babcock's. Gary had made a wonderful batch of chicken and broccoli Alfredo, along with salad and some garlic bread made by Ray. The six of us had a wonderful time. About 7:00 we left, went back to our place and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, June 4^th, our eleventh anniversary of full timing. It was June 4^th, 2005 that we took delivery on the coach and began living in it. It has been a great eleven years! We stayed up on the mountain again today. Jackie went down to the village center about 8:00 to set up a table with Suzie for the craft and swap meet. Jackie was trying to sell some clothes and some of the pop top lanyards she has made. There were not too many people in the park, so they didn't sell much. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach, doing chores and relaxing. About 5:00 we went to the Babacock's coach and had cocktails with them and the Wilson's. About 5:30 we walked over to the bar and had drinks and a light dinner with Bob and Gloria Baron. We finally got back to the coach about 8:00 and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.

Sunday we left the coach about 11:30 and drove down the hill to Beaumont where we met the Babcock's and the Wilson's for lunch. We went to Patsy's Country Kitchen, one of our favorite places in town. I had lunch, most everyone else had a late breakfast. After lunch the other two couples headed back up to the RV park and we went to Walmart for some supplies. We were back at our coach before three. We had cocktails with the Babcock's and Wilson's at their place and then back to our own coach for the rest of the night.

Monday, June 6^th, the 72^nd anniversary of the D-Day Invasion of France. We had a stay at home day. I did some office work related to my Monaco International Regional Director duties. Jackie was cooking a crock pot meal of chicken breasts in a cream sauce for the group. About 4:00 we got a call from Ray that they were stuck at the vet's office with Casey, their dog. He had some kind of infection in or around his nose and they had to do more tests. About 5:00 the Wilson's came over for cocktails and then the four of us had dinner. The meal turned our really well. Although we missed the Babcock's, it was nice too to have some one on one time with Gary and Ramona. They went home about 7:00 and we watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, June 7^th, we went down the hill for lunch with the gang and also so Jackie could get a haircut. The six of us had lunch at a Chinese place called Wall, which had very high ratings on Yelp. It offered both buffet and menu order. Most of us had the buffet and it was terrible. It was clear that the people rating it high didn't have the buffet. Never again. After lunch we went to get Jackie's hair cut and then a quick stop at a grocery store. We also picked up a couple of geocaches since we hadn't cached in a while. It was too hot to do a lot, but we got two new finds, one of which was an old DNF from several years ago. Yea! After that we headed back up the hill. We got with the Wilson's and Babcock's for cocktails, but no one wanted dinner, so about 7:00 we were back in our coach and watching TV for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, June 8^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove down the hill and then east to Palm Springs. We stopped at the UPS center by the airport to pick up our mail, then continued on to Palm Desert to Cactus Jack's where we met our buddy Barry Cohen for lunch. We had a great lunch, talking with Barry and with George, the owner of Cactus Jack's. After lunch we ran a few errands, Costco, Sam's and Walmart. We weren't buying much, but we were pricing new phones because Jackie's contract for her current Samsung Galaxy 5 is out and she wants a new phone. I want her old Samsung even more so I can get rid of the slow, clunky Motorola I have now. We then headed back to the RV park. We went to the Babcock's for cocktails around 5:00 and then Ray and Suzie served Ray's taco salad for dinner. His taco salad is something that we always have to have at least once when we spend any amount of time together. We talked until about 7:30 after which we went back to our place and relaxed the rest of the night.

Thursday we were heading back down the hill after lunch to go to Best Buy and the Verizon store in Beaumont, still checking on phones. We stopped at Best Buy and hooked up with TJ, one of the mobile communications specialists. She was very nice, very knowledgeable and very helpful. We ended getting Jackie's new phone there. She got the gold colored Samsung S-7 edge, their newest model. She had wanted her last phone in gold, but they didn't have any when we got it. TJ took care of all the transfer of data to the new phone and switching the numbers on the phones. Now Jackie has a nice new phone and I have a much faster and new to me Samsung S-5. TJ also threw in for free a screen protector and a wireless charger for Jackie's phone, almost a hundred dollars worth of stuff.

After Best Buy we stopped at Walmart for a couple things, including a new belt carrier for my new, larger smart phone. We then had to stop briefly at Best Buy again because we forgot to get the protection for the new phone. These new smart phones are close to a thousand dollars now, so you need to take out the damage and loss protection. After that we headed back up the hill. We had the Babcock's and Wilson's over tonight for cocktails and then we had leftovers from Tuesday night, the chicken and rice dish that the Babcock's missed because they got hung up at the vet. Everyone enjoyed dinner and by 7:30 we were alone with the TV for the night.

Friday, June 10^th, we had a stay at home day. Both of us spent several hours working with our new phones, setting them up and getting them to our liking. I also spent some time doing trip planning for the summer travel time. About 5:00 the Wilson's and Babcock's came over for happy hour, joined a little later by Bob and Gloria Baron. We all sat around and talked for a while and then did some lamb and beef on the BBQ. The Wilson's didn't stay for dinner, but we and the Baron's and Babcock's had a great meal and were able to eat outside for a change since the weather cooled a little. By 8:00 everyone had gone back to their own coaches and we watched TV the rest of the night.

Saturday was, for the most part, a stay at home day. It was foggy and actually very cool, as in the high 50's, low 60's. I spent an hour or so after lunch cleaning up the outside decorations and stuff, getting ready to leave in a few days. We did leave the park briefly to try and get a geocache for the day. We were trying to get a “souvenir” from geocaching.com for “Get Outdoors Day”. The souvenir is just an icon that they put on your statistics page, but avid cachers like us try to get them. The first cache we went to, a few miles down the road, was a bust. We couldn't find it and had to DNF it, so we went to another one and got our find for the day, and our souvenir. Yea! It was too foggy, cold and windy to do any more caching, so we went back home and relaxed the rest of the day.

Both the Babcock's and the Wilson's left the park this morning. The Wilson's went down to the base of the hill, in Banning, to spend their required ten day “out” period in the KOA campground before they come back up to Silent Valley for another 30 day stay. That's the rule here, 30 in and ten out, up to 180 days total for the year. The Babcock's went home to Menifee. As a result, we had drinks all by our lonesome for the first time in several weeks. We then watched TV until bed.

Sunday, June 12^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove down the hill. We are going to Moreno Valley to meet our friends Bev and Jerry King, along with the Babcock's and Wilson's, for lunch. After we got down the hill we stopped at the KOA and picked up the Wilson's, then we headed west to Moreno Valley. We got there a little early, but just sat in the parking lot and talked while we waited for the rest of the group. Just before noon all eight of us were there, so we got seated at the Olive Garden for a nice lunch. We had a great waiter and great service, and the food was pretty good too.

Bev and Jerry King are motor home friends we met at a Monaco rally about eight or nine years ago. He is a retired fire chief from Los Angeles and knew Ray Babcock. They had a home near the fairgrounds in Pomona and another RV home in Indio, not too far from the one Barry Cohen lives in. The recently bought a different home, a single story, near the Ontario area. Jerry is close to ninety years old and getting a little frail, so this past year they finally gave up the motor home lifestyle, selling their RV place in Indio and their RV. They are still traveling, going to Europe this summer to explore and finish with a 12 day cruise on the Rhine River. We had a wonderful lunch, which was also celebrating the King's 46^th wedding anniversary. After lunch the Babcock's went back home to Menifee, the King's went back to their house and we and dropped the Wilson's off at the KOA before going back up the hill. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and then watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, June 13^th, we went down the hill after lunch to visit the Best Buy store again. When we got our phones on Thursday the Samsung representative at the store told us we could come by on Monday for a lesson on the Samsung smart phones. Jackie had a few things she wanted to ask about and I had discovered over the weekend that everything on my phone, which was Jackie's old one, worked great except the text messaging. I could send texts, but not receive them. I don't text a lot, but I would like it to work so I could if I wanted. The Samsung guy, who went by T, helped us out a lot. He installed a memory card in my phone, which fixed the texting problem, and helped Jackie with all her questions. I have to say that the experience of upgrading our phones at the Beaumont Best Buy has been the best experience we have had in twenty years with Verizon.

After our phone stuff we did a quick Walmart run before heading back up the hill to the coach. We relaxed in the afternoon, doing a few little chores. About 5:30 we took our drinks and went over to the Baron's coach for cocktails and dinner. We sat and talked for an hour or so and then Bob did some hamburgers on the grill. We ate outside and had a great time with them. We finally went back to our place about 8:00 and then watched TV for the rest of the night.

Tuesday, June 14^th. We originally planned on leaving Silent Valley today, however we modified our plans a little, extending our upcoming stay in Santa Maria and shortening our Bakersfield stay. Since we still had one day left on our current 30 day stint in Silent Valley, we decided to use it. A free day is a free day. We went to do laundry after lunch and then just relaxed in the coach for the rest of the day.

Wednesday, June 15^th, we were packed up and ready to leave Silent Valley at about 11:00. We didn't hook up the car until we were down the hill. My theory is that I don't need another 5,000 pounds pushing the coach down a steep, winding road. We headed northwest towards our next destination, Lancaster, California, about 115 miles or so. We have not been to Lancaster since February 2008 when we were at both Elks International and Monaco International rallies here. The Elks rally was held at the Lancaster Elks, which is our destination today. They have a large, 43 site RV park with water and electric at all sites.

Although the trip was fairly short, it was quite stressful. The 10 and 15 freeways were very busy, and it is a long uphill drag on the 15. I was worried about heating, but I was slow and steady and coach didn't get hot at all. The last 60 miles to the Palmdale-Lancaster area was under construction almost the whole way, with very narrow winds, and just to put the cherry on it, very strong side winds. I was worn out by the time we got to the Lancaster Lodge. We found a nice spot and got the minimum stuff set up, registered at the lodge and headed out for a late lunch/early dinner. We found a nice Mexican place just down the road from the lodge called Don Cuco's Hacienda. The food seemed a little pricey, but the potions were very big and the food was good. I had red chilli and Jackie had mixed fajitas. We were very stuffed when we left. We went back to the coach and relaxed the rest of the day and night.

This marks a good place to close this episode since it has been about three weeks. We will be here in Lancaster for four nights, then Bakersfield for one. After that we are in Santa Maria for 11 days, mostly visiting family there and celebrating Jackie's aunt Donna's 91^st birthday. Until the next time, remember that nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. See ya soon.