It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...desert-style!

Here are two picture taken when we were in Portland for the rally the first week of December. We all went on a bus tour of the animated Xmas lights. One is of a famous mansion lit up for the season and the other from the Xmas lights extravaganza at the Speedway.

We are having a very good time here in Palm Springs. The spirit of Xmas is everywhere but...just a little different from what we have always been used to. We have settled in and have developed a good routine going to the Health Club three mornings a week. Alan is playing handball and he says the calibre of play is very high. He's getting many good games and has met lots of new handball players. I am into Aquafit, spinning/cycling and something called Zumba! It is a cuban dance routine/workout that is demanding. The instructor is very good looking and he has all the moves!!
We have seen Mary & George several times and we will be with them Xmas Eve and Xmas Day. They are only 5 minutes away from here.
Yesterday, we had a vicious windstorm and some of the roads were closed due to poor visibility. Today, no wind and it's clear and warm again.

Settling in to the Snowbird life!

Yesterday we went to the Palm Desert Athletic Club in our great little rental car(above). Alan played a couple of games...he's kinda rusty...and had a good work-out. He has joined the club for a month for $50.00 and I will join tomorrow, $25.00 for me. It's a pretty good deal and includes all fitness programs & facilities. I came back to the park and stopped at the City of Hope Thrift Shop, my favourite place to find bargains. Everything half price. I bought a pair of shoes, a tablecloth, a steam iron & a huge knitted Xmas stocking to hang on the front of Kingsley as a decoration. Total: $10.50!
Alan needed a new tire for his bike so we took care of that and greased up and washed both the bikes so they are ready to go, too. We may go and visit our friends in Desert Hot Springs this afternoon. PS That's me in front of the Palm Desert Costco wearing my uniform for the entire two week trip. I'm still wearing the down vest in the early mornings!

Friday night and we're here!

We have arrived in the Palm Springs area!! What an ordeal to get here!! We left Freemont on Wednesday after getting the 3.70 Final Drive installed in our coach. We also had some other work done and were ready to go by mid-day. We traveled about 12 miles north to Pleasanton, Ca where my cousin, John, lives and we checked into the Alameda County fairgrounds RV Park for the night. Unfortunately, John & Caroline were in Texas so we didn’t see them this time. We headed west to hook up with the I-5 south to LA and Palm Springs. Right away we noticed a difference with the engine…lots more power on the hills. We came to the notorious Grapevine section of the highway and got stuck behind a bunch of trucks at the beginning of the climb. Alan pulled out into the next lane and breezed right by all the trucks! We decided that our money on the final drive was well spent!! We have lots of power to spare now!

At about 4:00pm, when we reached the junction of the I-5 and the 210 at LA, we missed our turn on to the 210 and we promptly got lost in the canyons of the Hollywood area for about an hour! This put us right into rush hour big-time!! We found our way back but it was very scary trying to maneuvering through six lanes of traffic in an ancient motorhome across the top of LA on a Thursday drive home. Everyone knew where they were going but us! We finally found an exit at Redlands and took it. We parked for the night at an industrial park with nice safe surroundings. Today, after a stop at Starbucks for breakfast, we carried on the 50 miles to PS, our destination. We are now safely ensconced in our spot at the Cathedral Palms RV Park in Cathedral City, CA where we hope to be for one month. It is so good to have arrived 14 days after leaving Edmonton on November 28th. More to follow!!!!

California is FREEZING!!

Just to bring everyone up to speed....we are now at the Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff, CA where the temp was 22F last night! The drive yesterday from the middle of Oregon to here was scary and Alan was wiped out by 3:30pm when we arrived. This is a beautiful and mostly empty RV park and we are thoroughly enjoying it. Big clubhouse with leather couches, stone fireplace, great showers and pool with hot tub. I met a couple from St. Albert, AB who have sold their home and are on the road permanently in their big motorhome. Small world, eh! The rally in Portland was so much fun and I will post a separate report with lots of picture. We are moving south towards Fremont. Still too cold to clean the exterior of the coach.

Headed for Portland,OR

This morning we are in the Tri-Cities, not sure which one! I do know that half an hour's drive south and we will have crossed the Columbia and into Oregon. Monday was Osoyoos; Tuesday, a State Park near Coulee City and last night here. The road conditions are great and we seem to have the highways to ourselves so far but that is bound to change as we approach Portland and the coast. We are looking forward to the GMC rally which starts today!