A Wonderful Holiday

Here’s a post that does have pictures. It’s the Martin Luther King Holiday and we’ve just been kickin’ back doing not much of anything, here at Catalina Spa and RV resort.



That’s our motorhome at the center of the picture between the trees. Today may be the last of our 80+ degree days and we’ve taken advantage of it.

It was obvious at sunrise this morning that a lot of moisture had penetrated here in the southern desert with a slight haze softening the view of Mt. San Jacinto. Sunrise is one of our favorite times of day as we watch the light paint the side of that magnificent peak. Though cool at sunrise—about 61 degrees—the temperature quickly rose through the 70’s again bringing many of the residents here in the park to the swimming pools. If you look closely at the panorama below of one of the two swimming pools, you can see a water volley ball game in progress.

I don’t care where you are, or what today’s weather brought for you, these photos sure look inviting.

The day came to a resounding end with this magnificent sunset.

Today is a gift, that's why it's called the PRESENT

No pictures this time because we really haven't been anywhere or done anything of interest. That will change soon as we have some small adventures on the schedule. Next week, for example, we'll do a little Geocaching. There are lots of brand new caches in the area that sound like fun.

In the meantime, it's Sunday and football playoffs--Go Cardinals and Steelers--in case you're wondering where my loyalties lie.

We are really growing weary over all of the over-the-top adulation being layered on our new President, Mr. Obama. Have you read any of the polls and heard the expectations of some of the people interviewed. Some of them fully expect the government to pay their mortgage and give them the deed to their home. Holy cats, it seems we've created a monster that cannot but fail in meeting the expectations of the masses.

Well, I still think one of the funniest sites on the internet is the police blotter from home and I've culled a couple of cuties from a recent edition for your amusement. I wouldn't change them for one entry in the LA's police blotter. Here they are:



Grass Valley Police Department

Thursday A caller from the 300 block of South Auburn Street reported youths on the roof. They were released to their parents.

A woman from the 400 block of Maryland Drive reported her dog was being taken care of by a friend and was missing. The dog was described as a lab-terrier mix named Toby Keith, wearing an army collar with stars.

Friday

A woman from the 800 block of Old Tunnel Road reported hearing someone knocking on her front door and window.2:44 a.m. —

A caller from the 400 block of Pine Street reported a man crawling on his hands and feet near a pontoon boat, possibly looking into vehicles.

Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

Thursday

A caller from Greenhorn Creek reported numerous people shooting in the area. The people were advised not to trespass.

A woman from the 10000 block of School Street reported possible squatters on her neighbor’s property who were very loud at all times of the day.

A woman from the 29000 block of Highway 49 reported drunken people on her property were refusing to leave. She agreed to leave for the night, and the other people would leave in the morning.

Friday

Nevada CityPolice Department

Thursday

A caller from Highway 49 and Uren Street reported a woman “flapping around, trying to fly.” She could not be located.

It's a horrible crime wave at home.

I hope you are all well (we saw our desert doctors last week and nothing bad was found) and happy. Like everyone on the West Coast we've enjoyed a week of absolutely marvelous weather with hi's in the 80's and lows in the 50's. When the sun goes down, though, it gets cool really fast making sitting outside in the evening something for long pants and jackets. It's great, though.

It has been said, “When life deals you a lemon, make lemonade.” It’s been a precept I’ve attempted to follow through all of the many unwelcome health issues with which I have struggled for the past 35 years or so. Sometimes the lemonade was sweet, sometimes a little sour, but looking for the bright side of any adversity has always seemed more rewarding than dwelling on pain, discomfort, or limitation.

Well, another lemon rolled our way yesterday as we were traveling to Carefree, AZ, to visit our friend Sue who, together with her late husband Dave, we first met on our Mexico RV train adventure. About halfway there we stopped to stretch our legs and walk around a bit. I left the motorhome and stood on the curbside in the chilly morning air. Suddenly I noticed a large shiny puddle growing under the diesel engine at the rear of our coach. Smelling a bit of it on my finger confirmed it was diesel fuel and it was leaking quite rapidly. Where we stopped was right in front of a place advertising diesel truck repairs but when we approached the surly mechanic he informed us he would not work on a motorhome under any circumstances. I was finally able to convince him to at least look at the engine from the rear. He too confirmed a fuel leak from somewhere high up on the engine and said he wouldn’t drive the coach anywhere.

Soooo, for the second time since we’ve owned the RV we called our roadside service company and arranged for a tow to a garage in Quartzite, AZ. That was a 27 mile trip back in the direction from which we had just come. The leak was discovered at about 11:00 a.m. but, due to the lengthy delay in getting a big rig flatbed tow truck to us, getting all loaded, and traveling the miles, it was nearly 5 p.m. by the time we were unloaded at the mechanic’s garage.

He came aboard, lifted our bed to get to the engine, and found we had blown a hole in a fuel line leading to one of the fuel injectors. He said a special part would have to be fabricated in Blythe, CA (another 25 miles west), the next day as the fuel line had a special fitting on the end of it.

Today the new line was installed and we were able to get back on the road but, due to another commitment, we had to cancel our Carefree trip altogether. All in all it was a simple minor repair but had a large effect on our plans. We’re both sorry to have not been able to complete that part of our trip and visit with Sue. Unforeseen circumstances have now stopped us from completing that trip twice in the past 5 months.

Now, what was all that stuff about lemonade? Well, during the tow for those 27 miles we were able to achieve an infinite miles per gallon of fuel. Even more meaningful is that had we not stopped to take that break we could have ended up with a serious fire in the engine compartment which, given our being in the middle of nowhere, would probably have resulted in the total destruction of the coach and our Jeep we tow behind us. Given that scenario it could even have been worse ending in injury to us or worse. So once again that angel was sitting on our shoulders taking care of us and serving a big frosty glass of lemonade.

Thank you!