Hello again. Our last chapter ended on
Monday, December 23rd, our first full day in Indio,
California. We finished our two month stay in Pahrump and will now
be in the Coachella Valley of Southern California for three weeks.
Tuesday was Christmas Eve. Jackie spent several hours today baking
mincemeat cookies, some for the Christmas party at the RV park
clubhouse tonight, more for me. My mother used to make mincemeat
cookies every holiday and I love them. I hadn't had them for many
many years until about two years ago when I got Jackie to make me
some. She did good, they taste just like mom's. I spent the day
doing some chores. About 3:30 we went down to the clubhouse for the
party. There were a lot of people there, several hundred, and a LOT
of food. The park provided the turkey and ham and the guest brought
everything else. This is our first time back at the Indian Waters RV
Resort in about three years, so we didn't know anyone at the party
except for a couple of the staff people. However, we had some very
nice people at our table and had some great conversation during the
meal. It was an early dinner and by 6:00 we were back in the coach,
watched some TV and relaxing for the rest of the night.
Wednesday, December 25th, Merry
Christmas! We had a relaxing day at home. Jackie finished up the
mincemeat cookies and also made a big pot of clam chowder for dinner.
She did an outstanding job on both. Thursday morning the winter
storm the weather folks had been talking about the last few days
moved into our area. The rain started about 4:30 a.m. and got
steadily heavier throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Although our RV park wasn't affected there were some scattered power
outages and local flooding through the Coachella Valley. We went out
about noon to do lunch and then our laundry. We thought that a rainy
day after Christmas might mean the laundromat wasn't too busy. It
wasn't. We went for lunch at a new place in Indio called Steers Bar
and Grill. We went because it is in the building that used to be the
original Cactus Jack's Bar and Grill, our old hangout when we lived
in Indio. Our friend George, the owner, opened a new Cactus Jack's
in Palm Desert and when the landlord at the old place wanted to raise
the rent he closed the original down. That was almost two years ago.
We wanted to go in mostly to see what they did with the place.
The original Cactus Jack's was a
classic, old style bar and grill with lots of dark wood, red leather
and dim lighting. The new owners have left the floor plan basically
the same, but it is now very modern looking with lots of light colors
and light. The old dark wood bar is now a gray granite and all the
furniture is new and modern looking. The menu is very limited right
now, although we talked to the chef who said he is working on
expanding it. There were very few people there, so they need to do
something about that or they won't make it. We both had patty melts,
so that is the only food we can comment on, but they were very good.
After lunch we went to the laundromat and did our laundry. While we
were in the laundromat the rain finally stopped and the skies started
to clear. We finished about 3:00, so Jackie wanted to stop for a
haircut. We went down to La Quinta for that, then headed back to the
RV park. After we got everything put away we relaxed for the rest of
the evening.
Friday, December 27th, we left the
coach after lunch and went out to do some errands. We needed to
check on four of the geocaches that we have hidden in the Coachella
Valley because they had all been DNFed recently. Three of the four
were still exactly where they were supposed to be and in good
condition. The fourth was actually gone and since we didn't have a
suitable replacement for this particular cache, we just archived it,
meaning it would no longer be available to look for. We also drove
to Shane Ryan's apartment in Palm Desert to drop off the various cat
items we had from Benji, cat box, cat bed, food, feeders and the
like. We have decided to hold off on getting any new pets for a
while. We also stopped at Kohl's to check on the after Christmas
sales and both ended up getting a few things. Once all our errands
were done we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the
night.
Saturday, December 28th, we left the
coach about noon and drove to another of our favorite places to eat,
the TKB Deli in Indio. This is a sandwich shop with the world's best
sandwiches. We met some friends there, Jim and Pat Goetzinger, and
Sonny and Carol Gillespie. They are old RVing friends of ours and
are here in town for the Western Area rally next week. Sonny is the
FMCA Security Chief, so he has to come to the rallies early. Jim and
Pat also work security and are supervisors under Sonny, so they get
to come in early too. We had a great lunch and talked for about an
hour. After lunch we did a Walmart run, then went home. I spent a
little time getting ready to leave Indio tomorrow. We are going over
to Cathedral City for a week, then coming back to Indio for the
Western Area rally. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.
Sunday, December 29th, another travel
day. We were only going 19 miles east to Cathedral City, so we
didn't leave Indian Waters until 11:00. We didn't hook up the car
either, gave Jackie a chance to drive. We arrived at the Cathedral
Palms RV Resort about 40 minutes later, got checked in and parked. A
few minutes after we got parked and started setting up, Peggy Bullock
pulled in. After Vernon died this summer Peggy decided that she was
not going to give up traveling in her RV, and she has made several
trips since. I think this trip down to Indio from the Redding area
was the longest so far. She came in and parked right next to us. I
spent the next couple hours getting set up for our week long stay
here. I also helped Peggy with a couple things she was unsure of,
including setting up her TV for both satellite and local channels.
Jackie made chili relleno casserole for dinner, a kind of tradition
whenever we and the Bullock's would get together after not seeing
each other for a while. We had a nice dinner, then spent the rest of
the evening with the TV.
Monday, December 30th, the weather
forecast called for rain today, so we didn't make any plans or go
anywhere. We did a few chores around the house and stayed home all
day. About 5:00 we went over to Peggy's for cocktails and then Peggy
served dinner, meat loaf, potatoes and carrots. It was very good and
we had a nice meal. After dinner we talked for a while and then
about 8:00 we went back to our coach. We watched some TV then went
to bed. Tuesday, New Year's Eve. We left the coach about 10:00 and
drove to Indio to attend a small New Years Eve geocaching event put
on by some caching friends of ours. Reily and Karen Caton are both
geocaching and RVing friends of ours that we met some years ago at a
Monaco coach rally. They put on an event this morning so that those
of us who attend can get the Groundspeak “Goodbye 2019” souvenir
for our caching page. We will have to find a geocache tomorrow for
the companion, “Hello 2020” souvenir. We left the caching event
about 11:00 and drove back to Cathedral City where we met Peggy for
lunch at La Casita. After lunch we went to the Palm Desert Costco,
then came back to the coach. For dinner we did steaks on the BBQ for
the three of us, along with some scallops and broccoli. We watched
TV for the midnight in New York celebration. Since we have both east
and west network channels we can watch the ball drop at 9:00 our
time. We were in bed by 10:30 and slept the new year in.
Wednesday, January 1st, 2020. Happy
New Year! We left the RV park about 1:00 along with Peggy, and went
out and did a few geocaches. We had to get at least one today to get
the second New Years souvenir. We ended up with three new finds for
the day. After caching we went to Walmart for a few things, then
headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a
few chores and relaxing. For dinner tonight Peggy served her penne
pasta dish, which is one of my favorite things she makes. We had a
really nice dinner, the girls played cards and we went back to our
place about 8:30. We watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday was
mostly a stay at home day. I did a few chores and we relaxed. About
5:00 we left with Peggy and drove to Palm Desert for dinner at Cactus
Jack's, our old hang out when we lived in the desert. Of course, as
I discussed in the entry a week or so ago, the Cactus Jack's we hung
out at was in Indio and has now been closed. However, the Palm
Desert location has the same owner and the same chef, so only the
location is different. Jackie had the halibut, I had the beef ribs
and Peggy had prime rib. Everyone enjoyed their meal and brought
home left overs. After our meal I drove back to Cathedral City and
we relaxed with the TV until bedtime.
Friday, January 3rd, in the morning I
started a batch of chili colorado in the crock pot and we did some
chores. We did go out briefly to do a quick grocery run for a couple
of things we forgot the other day. We had Peggy over for dinner and
had the chili colorado along with rice and beans. Another great home
cooked meal. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed.
Saturday we left the coach about 10:30 and drove to Palm Desert for
the College of the Desert weekend street fair. Peggy went to Indio
to meet some friends and go to the dog show at the polo grounds. We
spent a couple hours at the street fair, but didn't buy much. After
the fair we did a couple of geocaches on the way back to the RV park.
We relaxed for a few hours and I did some chores getting ready to
leave tomorrow and drive back to Indio for the Western Area FMCA
Rally. Around 5:00 we left again and drove to Rancho Mirage to have
dinner at a new restaurant in the area, an Irish pub called O'Caines.
The reason we went there is that Jackie's Godson Shane works there.
He ended up being our server for the night and we were able to talk
to him a little bit in between his work. The restaurant was OK, with
a distinctly Irish menu. I had fish and chips and Jackie had lamb
ribs, which were unlike any lamb I have seen before, but Jackie said
they were tasty. After dinner we headed back to the coach and
watched TV the rest of the night.
Sunday, January 5th, we were up very
early because we had to leave the RV park by 8:00 in order to get
over to Indio and the Fairgrounds in time to get in line to go into
the rally with our RVing club, the Overland Trail Blazers. We have
been camping with this group for several years now and they always
have a lot of activities and fun times. We arrived at the
fairgrounds around quarter to nine and got in line with the rest of
the group. By 9:30 we had been taken in and parked and I spent the
next couple hours getting set up for our week long stay here. After
lunch I gathered up all my sound equipment and took it over to the
room where the club is having a dinner tonight. I am the appointed
sound guy for the club. I set everything up and made sure it was
working, then went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. Around
5:00 we went back for the party. There are about 32 coaches with the
group this year, and the club served a “potato bar” meal for
tonight. Everyone got a big baked potato and then went down the line
for the various fillings. They also had a margarita bar with some
pretty tasty margaritas. I had the sound equipment set up and played
music and was planning to do some karaoke, but the party broke up
early. This group has never had much interest in karaoke in the
past, so I suspect we didn't miss much except for me getting to sing
a couple songs. I packed up the sound gear and we went back to the
coach and watched TV until bedtime.
Monday, January 6th, we left the
fairgrounds about noon and went to Sloan's, a local Indio restaurant,
for lunch. Peggy met us there and we had a nice lunch. After lunch
we did a quick run to Walmart, then went back to the coach and
relaxed for a while. Around 3:00 I went to the big concrete slab
near where everyone in our group is parked to set up the sound
equipment. This area, called “The Slab” is our meeting place for
happy hours, the BBQ, and social events. After I got everything set
up and working I just rested. At 5:00 we met for a heavy appetizer
pot luck. I played some music and provided sound for the event. We
had a nice time visiting with people and about 7:00 it was over. I
left some of the stuff set up, speakers and the table, but took my
amplifier and computer and put them in the car. No sense tempting
anyone with valuables. We watched some TV and went to bed.
Tuesday, January 7th, I was awake early
because the mobile service guy arrived at 8:00 a.m. to do the annual
service on the coach. This year was expensive because I hit the
trifecta of service needs. The oil and filter, and fuel filters get
done every year. The generator oil and filters is every other year
and the transmission is every five years. All three came due this
year. So, almost a thousand dollars later, by noon, the coach
chassis was up to date with service. Jackie and Peggy went to the
ladies luncheon put on the Overland Trail Blazers while I stayed home
and monitored the service guy. At the lunch all the woman made painted cocktail glasses. We relaxed for most of the day, but I
had to set up the sound equipment at about 2:30 for the annual
meeting of the Trail Blazers. After the annual meeting we had a
pizza and salad meal for the group. I played some music and after
dark even got some dancing going. I shut everything down and packed
up about 7:00 and we went back to the coach. We watched some TV and
went to bed.
Wednesday, January 8th, the first day
of the actual Western Area Rally. Jackie went down to the main
auditorium about 11:00 to do sign ups for the craft class she is
doing this year. She and Peggy are again going to teach how to do
pop top lanyards. Jackie had just enough materials left from
previous classes at rallies to do one more class. I came down to the
auditorium around 12:30 to go to the Chapter Fair. I don't go to
sign up for chapters, we belong to enough now, but to help with the
booths of some of those that I am already a member of. The crowds
petered out around 2:00 and Jackie had sold out her class, so we left
and went back to the coach for a while. Around 3:00 I went down to
the slab and set up the sound equipment for our last night of
activities with the Trail B
Thursday, January 9th, we left the
coach a little before 11:00 and went to the auditorium to help with
the Full Timing seminar. The Full Timers Chapter, of which we are
members, and I am the newsletter editor and a past president, puts on
this seminar at all of the national FMCA rallies and for the last
four or five years here at the Western Area rally. I was one of the
panelists and Jackie helped with the information booth and working
the audience during the Q&A portion of the presentation. We were
done a little after noon so we left and went out to In N Out for
lunch. After lunch we came back to the fairgrounds and visited the
vendors. Today was the first day they were open. We were
disappointed in that there were probably a third fewer vendors than
last year. Each year the number gets smaller. We didn't buy
anything, although we did see a few things we might go back for
later. After going through the vendors we went back to the coach and
relaxed a bit. A little before 4:00 I went to participate in the
parade. The Western Area rally always has a theme and then a parade
on Thursday where all the Chapters represented at the rally decorate
vehicles, trailers and golf carts and create costumes all to reflect
the year's theme. This year was “At the Hop” so there were lots
of poodle skirts, juke boxes and soda fountains on the floats, along
with 50's rock music. I participated with the Military Veterans
Chapter which had the honor of being at the front of the parade with
the U.S. Flag and the flags of the military branches of service. I
carried the Marine Corps flag of course. After the parade we went to
a happy hour with the Overland Trail Blazers group, but because
tonight was the first night of entertainment it broke up about 6:00.
The entertainment was a country western band and we were kind of
tired, so we just went back to the coach, relaxed until bedtime, and
went to sleep.
Friday, January 10th, Jackie was up and
out of the coach about 8:30 to go teach her craft class with Peggy.
I dropped her off, then went back to the coach, took my walk and got
cleaned up. I picked them up again at 11:00 and we went back to the
coach for lunch. Jackie went to the ladies luncheon at 12:30 and I
walked over to the vendor area to pick up a couple little things. I
then went back to the coach and waited for Jackie to be done with
lunch. At 3:30 we went over to another area of the fairgrounds for a
social with the Elks International Chapter. There were not too many
people there and we knew most everyone. After an hour or so we went
over to the social for the Trail Blazers until about 5:30 or so. At
6:00 we went out with Peggy to the China Bistro, one of our favorite
Chinese restaurants in town, for dinner. We had a nice dinner with
lots of left overs. After dinner we went back to the fairgrounds and
spent the rest of the evening in the coach.
Saturday, January 11th, the last day of
the rally. We were able to sleep in today since we didn't have any
real responsibilities today. We walked over to the vendor area about
10:30 to look one last time, and also to meet some friends, Rex and
Vicki Jennings, who live here in Indio. They have a motor home and
are also geocaching friends, but they only come over to the rally on
a day pass to go through the vendor area. We visited with them for
an hour or so and did some shopping. I did buy a couple of portable
wind screens, which will come in handy for the patio both in Yuma and
Pahrump. Both of these areas can get pretty windy and dusty at
times. I also made a quick run out to the local NAPA store for some
filters for the coach. We met Peggy for lunch at a local Mexican
place, Pueblo Viejo, and had a nice lunch. After lunch we went back
to the fairgrounds and I did a little cleaning up and packing for our
departure tomorrow. We went to the last Overland Trail Blazers happy
hour at 4:30, then went to the auditorium for the last entertainment
night. We wanted to go tonight because the group, The Alley Cats, is
a favorite of ours. We have seen them several times before at
rallies and really enjoy their music. They are a Doo Wop acappella
group, four guys just singing fifties and sixties music. They are
also very funny and entertaining. The show was great and afterwards
we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.
Sunday, January 12th, the coaches were
starting up and pulling out about 7:00. We were not in quite that
big a hurry. We packed up our stuff and were hooked up and pulling
out at about 11:00. We are headed for Yuma, about 160 miles, but
Peggy is staying in Indio for a few more days, then going to
Quartzsite for a week. She will be down to Yuma in about ten days.
She moved over to the Elks lodge from the fairgrounds. We helped her
ferry her Jeep over there so she didn't have to hook up and tow for
two miles. The trip to Yuma was uneventful and comfortable, we
arrived in about three hours, although with the time change it was
3:00 there. We got the basics set up but left all the decorating and
cleaning until tomorrow. We are at a different park this year, Adobe
Village, which is still in the foothills area of Yuma and only about
a mile east of the park we were in the last three years. This is a
smaller park, but still very nice. We will be here for three months.
We had dinner, watched TV and went to bed.
Our arrival here in Yuma, Arizona for
our extended stay marks a good place to close this chapter and get it
published. Until next time, ponder this Chinese proverb; “A man
who cannot tolerate small misfortunes can never accomplish great
things.” See ya next time.
