A Quiet Month in the Mountains

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Friday, November 18^th, when we arrived at the Silent Valley Club, our time share RV resort in the mountains south of Banning, California. We are going to be here for a month. Saturday was a stay at home day. I spent several hours getting things set up outside and then did some admin work inside. Jackie got a few chores done as well, but it was mostly a chill day.

Sunday, November 20^th, we left the RV park about noon and drove down the hill to the Banning-Beaumont area. We stopped and picked up the Sunday paper to read later. Unfortunately, there is no where up on the hill to get a paper. We then went to La Casita, one of our favorite places to eat, and had a nice lunch of taco salads. After lunch we sought out a couple of geocaches, finding one and having to DNF the other. We then went to Walmart for supplies before heading back up the hill. We stayed in and watched TV the rest of the evening. Monday was a stay at home day. After lunch we went down and spent the afternoon in the laundry. There are not a lot of people up here this time of year, so we had the place to ourselves. After laundry we went back tot he coach and stayed in the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, November 22^nd, the 53^rd anniversary of JFK's assassination. As with most American's of “a certain age,” (i.e. baby boomers) I remember with perfect clarity where I was that afternoon. In the hallway of Maryvale High School in Phoenix as a Junior waiting for English class to start. We had another stay at home day today. I got several chores done, actually had a pretty productive day. Jackie also got a few things done that she wanted to do. Wednesday we also stayed up on the mountain. In the early afternoon our old friends from Indio, Bob and Gloria Baron, brought their motorhome up and parked in a spot very near us. I did a couple of chores in the afternoon and at 5:00 we went over to the Baron's for cocktails. About 6:30 we went back to our coach and we stayed in the rest of the night. Dinner was a new beef stew recipe that Jackie did in the crock pot.

Thursday, November 24^th, Happy Thanks-giving. We are staying up on the hill for the holiday and have planned to have an early dinner with our friends Bob and Gloria. Jackie put in a big turkey breast and spent a good part of the early afternoon making sweet potatoes, stuffing and the other things that make up a good Thanksgiving feast. About 2:00 Bob and Gloria came over with more food and we sat down and had a great Thanksgiving meal. We sat and talked for a while and about 4:30 they headed back to their coach. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing after cleaning up from dinner. Friday we left the coach and went down the hill around noon. We had lunch at Patsy's Country Cafe, another of our favorite local places. Great food, good service, huge portions and reasonable prices. Can't beat it. After lunch we went to Kohl's and fought the Black Friday crowd to get some new sheets on sale. We then did a Walmart run before heading back up the hill for the night.

Saturday, November 26^th, we stayed up on the hill again. Before lunch, about 11:00, we went down to the Village Center for the craft and swap meet. It was cold and windy and there were only a half dozen booths set up, so not much of a turnout. I did get a couple of nice, new Old Guys Rule hats for $5 each, which was a bargain. After lunch we stayed in because it started to rain. We had some really hard rain for a couple of hours. About 5:30 we went down to the restaurant and bar in the park with Bob and Gloria. We had a cocktail at the bar and then went into the restaurant for dinner. The restaurant up here has a bit of history. From the time we joined in 2001 until a couple years ago the restaurant had a great cook/manager and a really good menu. The food was excellent and we ate there quite a bit when we were up here. A couple of years ago the park was having financial problems and the manager left, so they changed the operation to weekends only with a volunteer staff and only “fast food” type fried items. Not very good, although we did try it a couple of times. Just this year a new guy has come up who has started to turn the place around. He put a few more good items on the menu and also has a special on Friday and Saturday nights which is a restaurant quality item. Tonight it was Chicken Florentine. It was good, not outstanding, but good. The soup, a beef vegetable was really good too. We all had the same thing and enjoyed it, not bad for $10 a head. After dinner we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime. Sunday started cold, windy and rainy and didn't get any better. We just stayed home, played some cards, watched some TV and stayed dry and warm. Yea!

Monday, November 28^th, was still cold and overcast, but at least the rain stopped. We went down the hill after lunch to do some shopping. We hit Kohl's, Ross, and Walmart getting a few items that we needed. We then went back up the hill, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday was another stay at home day. It was cold and windy still, but at least the clouds are gone and we have a little sunshine. I got several projects done today, including making a small end table for next to our couch. This is a project I have had the materials on hand for several months, just never got around to it. I also made a big batch of pulled pork in the crock pot, some of which we had for dinner, most of which went into the freezer. All in all, a nice and productive day.

Wednesday, November 30^th, we left the park about noon and drove down the hill and on to Menifee, about 45 miles southwest. We were headed for a lunch at Ray and Suzie Babcock's house. We haven't seen Ray and Suzie since June, the last time we were up at Silent Valley. We were meeting some other friends, Gary and Ramona Wilson, whom we also had not seen since the beginning of summer, and Bev King, another old motorhoming friend. We last saw Bev back in June also, and since that time her husband Jerry passed away. He died while back east at a Navy unit reunion several months ago. Ray cooked a nice ham and we had that with sweet potatoes, beans, salad and Jackie made some key lime pies. We had a great time talking and catching up. At one time we all traveled together often, going to Monaco rallies in particular since we all had Monacos. The King's sold their coach shortly before Jerry died, and the Wilson's have stopped full timing due to health considerations, although they still have their coach and go out from time to time. It was great visiting with old friends. About 4:30 we left the Babcock's and headed home where we stayed in the rest of the night.

Thursday, December 1^st, the beginning of the end of 2016, wow! We left the coach and went down the hill about noon to meet an old friend, Marianne Conner, for lunch. We first met Marianne and her husband David in the Indio Elks RV club and we became good friends. They sold their house in Bermuda Dunes and went full time within a few months of when we did it in 2005. We traveled on and off with them for almost two years, after which they decided that the full time life style was not for them and they bought a house in Highland Springs, a community north of Banning. David had some health problems and he passed away about five or six years ago. Marianne still lives in Highland Springs and we try to at least get lunch with her when we are in Silent Valley, since it is so close to her house.

We had lunch at a Japanese place called City Sushi and Grill in Beaumont. The food and service was very good. I am not too fond of most sushi, but they had some really good terryaki dishes too, along with some great tempura shrimp and calamari. We spent almost two hours talking and catching up. After lunch we did a Walmart run and then went back up the hill. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach. Friday was a stay at home day. We had a real windstorm going on, gusts in the 50 mph range, and it was cold. It only got up to 53 today, so we spent the entire day inside relaxing. About 5:30 we did go down to the Village Center and had a cocktail at the bar and then dinner in the dining room. Today's special was spaghetti and meatballs with clam chowder as the soup. Everything was pretty good and the whole meal was less than $20 for the both of us. We went back to the coach after dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, December 3^rd, was another stay at home day. The biggest chore we got done was getting some Christmas decorations put up. Jackie put up our little tree and did some other inside decorations. I put up a few lights and decorations outside. I didn't do the full complement of lights and decorations that I have in the past because there is hardly anyone up here to appreciate it. Since Thanksgiving people have been leaving every day with no one new coming up. We are the only rig in about a hundred yard circle in our area. About 6:00 we went back down to the restaurant in the Village Center for dinner. Tonight's special was meatloaf with potato and veggie. The soup was tomato and everything was excellent. We had plenty to eat and it was $20 for both of us. We then went back to the coach and watched TV for the rest of the evening. Sunday was a stay at home day. Spent the day relaxing and enjoying the quiet.

Monday, December 5^th, we left the RV park about 10:00 and drove into the Coachella Valley to Rancho Mirage to take Jackie to the doctor. She took a hard fall on her knee back in September and it has not gotten any better, so she decided to go to an orthopedic specialist to get it checked. This is the same ortho center that I went to a few years back when I tweaked my knee. She got to see the doctor, but didn't really learn anything new because they need to have an MRI done before they can see any soft tissue damage. She was unhappy because of the delay, but also because she didn't think the doctor was very nice. He was abrupt, uncaring and seemed to be in a hurry. We drove back to Beaumont and went to Walmart, then drove back up the hill and spent the rest of the night in the coach.

Tuesday, December 6^th, our friends Ray and Suzie Babcock came up about 11:30 to spend the day with us. They are also owner/members in Silent Valley, but they just drove the car up today. They have been up with the motorhome many times while we were here in the past. We had a great visit with just the four of us. About 1:30 I served lunch, the pulled pork I made last week, along with fries and cole slaw. They brought some lemon cake with them for dessert. We had a great visit and they left about 3:30 so they could get home before it got dark. We watched TV for the rest of the night. Wednesday was a stay at home and relax day. Jackie worked on some stuff for her craft classes at the Indio Rally next month. Thursday we also stayed in all day.

Friday, December 9^th, we went down the hill about noon and had lunch at Wings Garden Chinese restaurant. The place had good reviews and is located in downtown Banning, right next to the Fox theater where we like to go to movies. We have wanted to try the place for a while. The food was good, not outstanding, but good. I had the orange chicken, which was overly sweet, and Jackie had the almond chicken, which had a lot of fresh ingredients, but didn't have a flavor that popped, a little on the bland side. After lunch we did some geocaching. We went after a few caches we had DNFed several years ago. We were able to find three, but struck out again on the fourth. These were all high difficulty caches, one of them being a four and a half out of five difficulty rating. We found that one. After caching we stopped at Walmart and then went up the hill and spent the rest of the night in the coach.

Saturday, December 10^th, was a stay at home day. We got a few things done, but mostly relaxed. About 6:00 we went down to the restaurant in the Village Center for dinner. Today's Chef's special was beef stroganoff, with Italian Wedding soup. The soup was outstanding, one of the best I have had. The stroganoff was good, although it could have had a little more sauce and been a little more sour, the taste I expect from stroganoff, sour cream. It was still very good though and a very filling meal. After dinner we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, December 11^th, we went down to the restaurant at about 11:00 to try their Sunday breakfast. It was a buffet with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, French toast and biscuits and gravy. It is only $7.99 a person, so quite affordable. The biscuits and gravy were weak, with little sausage flavor. The rest of the stuff was pretty good, although they had let the fires go out on the pans, so it wasn't very hot. It was still a decent breakfast for the price. After breakfast we drove down the hill to do some geocaching. We cached in the Calimesa/Yucaipa area a little northwest of Beaumont. We have to go out further and further from the Beaumont/Banning area because we have already gotten most of the caches in the area. We had a fun afternoon, getting seven new finds and three DNFs for our troubles. After caching we went back up the hill to the park and stayed in the rest of the night. Monday was a stay at home day. We did out laundry at the park and relaxed the rest of the day.

Tuesday, December 13^th, we left the coach early, about 8:30, and drove to Palm Springs so Jackie could get an MRI on her knee. She has another appointment on Friday with the orthopedic doctor and they need an MRI in order to properly diagnose the problem. The test took a half hour or so and by 10:30 we were back on the road headed west. We stopped in Beaumont for lunch at La Casita, one of our favorites, and then stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond so Jackie could get a power scrubber she wanted. We then went back up the hill and stayed around the coach the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, December 14^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and headed west to the city of Eastvale, just south of Ontario, to have lunch with our friends the Babcock's, Wilson's, and Bev King. This was the first time we have seen Bev's new house. They moved to this house a couple years before Jerry King died, but we had not had the chance to get there yet. It is a very nice house in a newer gated community. We had a great lunch, Mexican food, and spent the entire time talking with the group. We left about 3:30 and managed to miss most of the traffic heading back east, arriving back at the coach just before 5:00. We spent the rest of the night relaxing. Thursday was another relaxing day around the coach.

Friday, December 16^th, we left the coach about 9:15 and drove to Rancho Mirage for Jackie's doctor's appointment. It had rained most of the night, often quite hard, and was still raining when we left Silent Valley. Not only was it cold and raining, it was foggy until we got down into Banning. The rain and the wind was really bad on the freeway until we got to Palm Springs, when it cleared up. The temp went up to the low 70's. Jackie saw the PA at the orthopedic center and he looked at the file and the MRI and explained to Jackie that there was nothing seriously wrong, no torn tendons, no bad ligaments. She had a very small tear in the meniscus, mostly an aggravation of age related degeneration. He gave her a cortisone shot to help the inflammation and pain. This is the same treatment they gave me when I tore a little hole in my meniscus a few years back. It worked for me, I hope it works for her.

After the doctor's appointment we stopped at Denny's for a light lunch, then drove back to Silent Valley. As soon as we left the Coachella Valley it started raining very hard and got very windy. We still had fog on top of the mountain too, but we made it back tot he coach safely about 1:30. It rained on and off all afternoon, so we just stayed in and relaxed. About 6:00 we went down to the restaurant at the Village center for dinner. Tonight's special was shrimp scampi. It was wonderful, lot's of big shrimp on a bed of angel hair pasta, with garlic bread. I had the tomato bisc soup and it was as good as Cactus Jack's tomato bisc. After dinner we went back to the coach and watched TV. It rained until just before we went to bed.

Saturday, December 17^th, the rain had stopped but it was COLD. I waited until after lunch to go outside and start putting stuff away prior to departure tomorrow, but even then I still found pockets of ice where ever there was standing water. I was bundled up and even had to wear gloves to get everything put away. It took a few hours, but I finally got everything done. We relaxed for the afternoon and about 6:00 went down to the club's restaurant for one last dinner. Tonight's special was salmon Provencal, which Jackie had and said was outstanding. I am not a huge salmon fan, so I had the fish and chips. It was also outstanding. A very nice presentation, a lot of fish and chips, and very tasty. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed until bedtime. Sunday was a travel day. We got out about 10:30 and started down the hill. The skies were clear, but it was very cold and VERY windy, probably the highest I have felt on the road going down the hill. Fortunately, it is a slow drive in the coach, so there was little danger of losing control, but the coach was rocking a couple of times. We stopped for propane at the Morongo truck stop, then arrived in Indio at the Indian Waters RV Resort about 12:30. We got in, set up the minimum stuff and then went to In and Out for lunch. After that we went back and finished setting up for our two week stay here. We stayed in the rest of the day.

Our arrival here in Indio, after a month on the mountain at Silent Valley Club, marks a good place to close this chapter. We will be here in Indio through the Holidays and the FMCA Western Area Rally, about four weeks total. Until next time, remember, if you hadn't done anything stupid when you were young, you wouldn't be able to remember something funny when you're old. See ya soon.