Kingsley gets a Day at the Spa

Today a group of fellows worked on Kingsley to make him sparkle plenty! He got a thorough scrub down followed by a hand polished waxing. It is one of the pluses to staying in a resort here in Mexico…they come to your door selling fish, offering pedicures, painting the coach or just some graphics to make it jazzy! Ya gotta love it!!!

Dinner at the Lighthouse in Old Town

The whole group went out for dinner Friday night to the Lighthouse where we had a wonderful view of the sunset over Margueritas before the meal….. great food and great company!

Finding our way in Puerto Penesco.

Yesterday we went with Milt and Carmen to drop off some clothes at the local church and get some groceries at the local market. We were quite lost as many of the stores they had been to several years ago are no longer there. Fortunately, Carmen speaks fluent spanish so she was able ask directions. Everything is in spanish and the currency is the peso. They will take your US $ but your change is in pesoes. Prices were pretty cheap but the produce and meats were poor quality by our standards.
Today we went beach-combing at low tide and collected mucho shells. We have been gathering in our party space for breakfasts and happy hours and generally having a very good time.
The pictures are of the Catholic church, the view looking east and the view looking west from our place.

At last,Puerto Penesco, Mexico

This morning our caravan left the campground under the supervision of our caravan leader, retired marine captain, John Culver and Rear Gunner, Milt Wade on Operation Mexico Border Crossing. All the preparations paid off and we proceeded without incident(well, the Sims did get pulled over for inspection but it was either because we were the only canadians in the group or they wanted to have a closer look at the new interior of our coach!)
This place is so beautiful!!! We are a few steps from the beach and the view is spectacular. More on that in the days ahead.
We all met at the bar for Margueritas at 4:00pm. All together there are 33 of us in the party. It has been a great day!

Many said, why Why? We said, why not!!!

Monday, February 23rd
We left Yuma and headed west along a hot and dusty road for Gila Bend and then south to Why, AZ and the Hickawan RV Park on the same grounds as the Native Casino. We were a day early for the meet-up with our caravan so we had time to get to know our neighbours and explore the area. The stars in the pitch black sky were incredible and I awakened to the sound of wild burros in the middle of the night.

Mardi Gras
Tuesday, February 24th
Today is Mardi Gras and the park owners put on a fantastic party at noon. They served a feast of extraordinary and wonderful Mexican food and drinks. It was quite unexpected and we enjoyed it thoroughly. In the afternoon our travel mates started to arrive and by five o’clock everyone was there in time for Happy Hour and the organizing meeting. We are a diverse group; five GMCs and six SOBs (some other brand) who once owned a GMC. I think we are going to have a great time in Mexico!

We took the "3:10 to Yuma "and it was grand!

Well, here we are in Yuma, AZ and finally we are sleeping without having the heater on! Today, Norm & Joan drove here from Quartzsite and took us to two large swap meets. It was quite an experience. The first one was all old stuff but I found a swell pair of new golf shoes for $3.00. The second, larger one, was all new stuff. Very interesting but.....tiring. After, we all went to Walmart and we stocked up with more groceries, etc. Tonight we are having an old standby: Deli chicken, potato salad & bean salad. There is an Ice Cream Social tonight @ 7:00.
Last night, Saturday, we went to the weekly dance..great music and 3/4 of the people were Canadians! We danced up a storm! They even played a shottiche (sp). Only the Canadians were familiar with it. Tomorrow is the beginning of week six.

88 Shades RV Park

We like it here. Yesterday we took the bikes out and went exploring. There are many, many bargains because the vendors who have been here since the first of January are packing up their stalls and moving on. We have decided to stay until Saturday am when the plan is to go south to Yuma. It is still unseasonably cool at night but today was beautiful and not a cloud in the sky. I did the laundry and hung everything on the lines to dry.
There is a saying down here about Happy Hour....."It's 5:00 Somewhere"...and in the desert HH starts @ 4:00 because the sun sets at 5!
We are toasting all of you, our friends and our family. Salut!!

California, then Arizona.

Well, it has been a week since the last posting. Today, we are sitting in Kingsley in a great RV park in Quartzsite, AZ after spending the last two nights at our GMC friend's place here.
We had a wonderful week in Palm Springs in spite of the inclement weather. The rental car helped alot! We were invited out for dinner twice last week and it was nice to have our own wheels!
Alan played handball at the Palm Desert Athletic Club three times last week and was in handball heaven!!! Lots of new friendships there. I can probably get him back to the desert again next year based on the handball thing alone!
The bad weather was rolling in on Sunday as we left the PS area and yesterday was unsettled here. Today, however was a beautiful day.
We rode our bikes around town today and will go back tomorrow to pick up the bargains. Things are starting to wind down here. Last month, there were over a million people here and in another month is will be deserted. The permanent population of Quartzsite is 3000 people. The temps reach 120 degrees in the middle of the summer!
This weekend we will head south to Yuma and then to Mexico on the 25th.

Palm Springs with Snow!

Here are some pictures taken in the last couple of days. Some frost this morning but burned off quickly. Still better than home right now. We were thinking of naming the new lake in front of our unit!

Unseasonable weather in Palm Springs

Lots to report on since last Thursday!
Friday we had dinner with the Holmes, Dundas & McMurrays and after played Court Whist, a game we haven't played for about three decades! I had Top Lady score and won a potted plant! Saturday we left DHS and moved to Cathedral Palms RV resort in Cathedral City. It's much closer to everything and also right on the bike path. Sunday & Monday the weather turned nasty. Clouds, heavy rain and wind. And cold!! We decided to rent a car yesterday because Alan wants to play some handball this week in Palm Desert and it will be much easier to get around in a car.
This morning we were up at 6:30 and the skies are clear again. However, It is below freezing and the rental car was totally glazed with ice! It took Alan some time to chip all the ice off so we could get over to the athletic club for 8am. What's next? Who knows! It is an adventure and it is OK!

Painted Canyon in the Mecca Hills

Today, we went on another hike with the hiking club and our leader, Roger. We left the park at 8:00am and drove east along Hwy. 10 & then 86 to the Mecca Hills. It wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. We were twelve hikers in three vehicles and many of the same folks from last week. We hiked 6 miles and in the slot canyons we climbed 20 foot ladders, five in all.
Well, it was a wonderful experience and Alan & I were so glad we went. The pictures really say it all.
On the way back, we stopped at the Oasis Date Farm for date shakes...delicious! It became quite windy and then started to rain shortly after we returned.....good for the desert plants to flower.
Alan played Texas Hold-em Poker tonight and lost his shirt....$10.00!

Janet 's first golf game in the new millenium!

Sunday was Superbowl and we watched the game from the lounge at the park. I got up to fetch more snacks and there were our friends the Walshes from Swift Current, SK! Neither of us knew the other were anywhere nearby. What a coincidence! They have been to several GMC rallies with us and were with us (and a big help) when we lost a front bearing on the way to Amana in 2007. They will be here at the Sands for a month.
Today was a great day! Mary & George Nagle came to the Sands for a golf game and dinner after. I played golf for the first time in over ten years!! I was very nervous as I hit a bucket of balls a couple of days ago and I was terrible! My very first shot, I pulled a muscle in my groin....too tense I guess...but I perservered and overall had a pretty good game. Dinner was steak, potato salad & broccoli, followed by ice cream back in old Kingsley. It was another perfect day in the valley topped off with a swim and into the hot tub before turning in. It just goes to show you....golf is like riding a bicycle...once you learn, you never forget!