March 22, 2018

Yesterday was the last hurrah at the park - the last of the 'get-togethers'. It was well attended and the weather was awesome. 

Sitting with the girls enjoying a margarita
(l to r) Barb, Deb, Dianne and myself. 

The margarita girls - Suzanne and Bonnie.

There was all kinds of food and free hot dogs.

Even the margaritas were free - while they last it was said - but they seemed to last for a long time. 

Frank at the BBQ doing up the dogs

We played water washers using pool noodles and beach balls. That was quite fun.

Our time is winding down now, counting the weeks. Our plan is to leave around the 7th of April, landing us home around the 10th.  Hopefully the snow will be gone when we get there - lol!  








Michel took a walk up the canyon this past week. The cactus are in bloom.










And he found himself a fixer upper car... What do you think of this one?  
 

March 07, 2018

We made a quick trip to San Felipe, Mexico (in the Baja) on Monday with friends Rich and Tina. 

The weather was wonderful with sunshine and ocean breezes. 










We spent two nights, the second night in a hotel on the beach. 

San Felipe is very quiet these past years, most of the RV Parks no longer open. But the people who still take their rigs down wouldn't go anywhere else! 

Selfie on the beach in front of our hotel

We took a drive to Puertecitos which is about 85 km (50 miles) south of San Felipe. This section of road is bad - rough, broken, narrow and slow travelling.
Pictured above is the bay at Puertecitos.

We had thought of going all the way to Ganzaga Bay, which is another 85 km south, but decided against it as that would only add another few hours to our trip back home (Palm Springs) the next morning. The paved road south of Puertecitos is wonderful compared the miles and miles of dirt road we travelled on last time.

Beautiful sunrise (5:59 AM) on the morning we left.
We don't see too many of these - not because we don't have beautiful sunrises (and sunsets) here in California, but because we are not usually up at that time!
We all had a good time and are happy that we took the time, made the plan and actually drove to San Felipe to check it out after talking about it for a few years.

February 09, 2018

 A fun-filled day!

Sip and Paint - in our park. So well attended. Maureen (an art instructor) is one of the snow birds and she led us through to the final product. The hall was set up for 24 and all but one was there.  





Tina joined in the fun. Here we are working diligently - lol! (take note of the wine beside us)











Here is the final product. I have to say Tina had the best painting. Even Maureen noted that she should be in art classes because she has and eye for art.  But we all had a blast everyone putting out some interesting and colorful work.  





When we got home (all of 30 steps) from the clubhouse, Tammy and Rob were just arriving. Had I known that they would still be here I would have signed her up too. 

We had happy hour and put some burgers on the BBQ.






Later a little hot tub to finish off the evening. It has been wonderful having Tammy and Rob here for the past week. 









Sadly we will have to say goodbye tomorrow as they fly home on Sunday.  

February 04, 2018

Super Bowl Sunday

About 60 people gathered in the clubhouse to watch the Super Bowl today. 

Snacks were provided by the group and pizza was provided by the park.  







Here we are lined up around the clubhouse for pizza.

There was way too much food! 

But it was a good time and a good game, close and back and forth, so for someone like me who knows nothing about Football it was okay to watch. 

The majority were cheering for the Eagles, only a few cheering for the Patriots. 

No hard feelings when the Eagles won though!

February 03, 2018

My daughter Tammy and her fiance Rob flew into Palm Springs on Thursday to stay and visit us and the area for a few days. They have a beautiful suite at the Marriott with their patio right on the fairway.  Not too shabby!!  They rented a beautiful red convertible Mustang for their 11 day holiday, which is for sure the way to travel around here. The weather has been in the high 80's.  





But I have to say for as cute as the car is, and for as comfortable the back seat is (once you get into it -lol) it is definitely built for two - NOT four people. But we toured around with them and had a blast - top down, hair blowing everywhere (Tammy and I were in the back - how fair is that??).

We took in the Palm Springs Village Fest on Thursday night. This is the street fair featuring arts, crafts, food, and entertainment that happens every Thursday night in beautiful downtown Palm Springs. It was a long day for the kids, as they were up at 4 am to catch their flight.






Friday was a very busy day. We visited the Palm Springs Air Museum - Rob was in his glory. Something we've never done in all the years of coming down here, it was very enjoyable and lots of fun hangin' with the kids! 







There are over 49 Vintage aircraft from WWII, Korea and Vietnam in a spacious 89,000 sq. ft. facility. 












Movies and documentaries ongoing throughout the area. 









By the time we were done with this tour it was 4 o'clock so we headed on up to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, another attraction Michel and I have talked about doing but never have. So today was the day! 







This tramway is a major gateway to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument - lots of nature trails, plants and animals.









It was a spectacular 10 minute, two and half mile trip that started at the Valley Station (elevation 2,643 feet) and transported us up to the Mountain Station (elevation 8,516 feet) in  the world's largest rotating tram. 






Tammy wasn't all that impressed with the ride as she is terrified of heights, but for me, after jumping from an airplane not much scares me!  

There is snow in them thar hills!!

We had dinner at the top in a very nice restaurant, then rode the tram back down in the dark.  Not as scary for sure!

View from the top at night

We do get beautiful sunsets here

Today we had a BBQ - the kids came over this afternoon and we had a little happy hour, had dinner and a walk around the park, then a little swim in the pool and a soak in the hot tub. A little nightcap (chocolate wine - yummy!) then we said good night. 

January 28, 2018

Block Party in the park - the theme was Pajama Party and just about everyone who came wore pajamas! (or their wifes' pj's - lol) 












There was a pretty good turnout and once again I am pretty sure everyone had a good time. Lots of food and plenty of refreshments added to the fun. 








Jenga was the hit of the day (and evening). There were 4 teams of 5 each. Team #1 (mine) played #3, then #2 played #4. The winners of both played off.  Team #1 won!! Boy when those Jenga 2 x 4's toppled over we scrambled to get out of the way! 








The game(s) went on into the darkness and a big spot light was brought out to finish off the game. 

Some people stayed long after the games were done. 

This is a very pro-active park, always doing (or planning) something.  

January 25, 2018

I have to say that January is going by pretty fast in spite of the fact that Michel was down with the flu/cold for about two weeks. His energy level was pretty low, so needless to say we didn't do very much. I'd go to the pool in the morning for water aerobics, but mostly we just hung out, did some reading, played some on the computer. Our first little 'outing' was to the neighbours' place. Two spaces down Liz and Phil (Kimberly, BC) hosted a happy hour complete with snacks and music. It was a good time and we met a few more people in this park.

(L to R - myself, Deb, Doreen, Tina)

Girls Day Out!! (last Thursday).
We shopped all day long. Had a good time, a good lunch and lots of chatter and laughter. Dog tired when we got home, but it was fun!










Today in the park was the 'annual' Memorial Bean Bag Baseball tournament.  Started by a long time winter resident of the park, the tradition is kept alive now in his honor. 

(that is me throwing my bean bags)

It is a very well attended event, I am sure most of the residents were here playing the game! The day started early - with a lunch of chili and hot 
dogs.  


Then teams were formed and the games began - Guys against the girls, two teams of each in a round robin sort of format. It was a very windy day and quite cold, but most people hung in there until the end. I have no idea who won, but I guess that doesn't matter, everyone had a good time.