I HAVE BEEN DELINQUENT AT BLOGGING!!

So I will try to catch up some of the goings on here at the Springs!

We are having the same storm that is happening in BC except it is California style, our daytime temperature is in the high 50's or low 60's right now, perfect to golf in! The storm that brought all that rain and snow to Canada brought some here too, we did have a fair bit of rain and so hopefully this will mean the flower show will be spectacular again this year.

The shots below were taken 2 days ago first thing in the morning after the higher elevations got some snow through the night, the sight was beautiful and the snow is sticking a bit still!

Christmas Tree Shots next!

We had a tree decorating party this month and had ice cream with it! The tree turned out very pretty and got even prettier this week when I found even more decorations in the storage room!

Next are two specatular shots that were taken by a Springs guest, Vivian, who stays here every winter. She got these shots on her hike in Palm Canyon, absolutely gorgeous, amazing shots!!

The next shots are of Old Borrego, which I did not even know existed until an artist that I met told me they would be painting there and I should come and paint with them. I did stop by to meet the other painters and see Old Borrego and it was not easy to find, it is well of the road and the buildings there are small and barely can be seen from the main road.

Great history of this old area can be read here; http://www.borregospringschamber.com/BorregoHistory/Old%20Borrego.html

And next is a shot taken by Sharon of Larry doing his Camp Host duties!

And more shots Sharon took when I had no idea she was hanging out at the 9th hole and snapping us!!

This photo was taken by Lynn, we were at the Arches at the Borrego Resort for tacos and margaritas on their 2 buck Tuesdays! They have this neat old truck out front! There are 27 holes of golf course there and a lovely patio area, real desert feel to it!

And yet another golf shot taken this time by Lynn when we were all out golfing!

The next shots are of our trip to get Dolly. We found her on a rescue site online and she was in Chino Hills, California. About 3 hours drive from here, we drove up Montezuma to get there. The drive up is beautiful and we got a couple of nice shots on the drive.

Karl is now sharing the "Outlook Perch" every morning with Dolly as they scan all the dogs heading to the desert for their morning walks.

Dolly is a gem, she is quiet, cuddly, playful and so easy to have around. She just does what you ask of her and she is loving being in this family. She is about 4 or so, has had many litters and had spent the better part of this year in foster homes. She and Karl are really happy together, they are either playing on the bed or chesterfield or sleeping in a pile together. There are far too many dogs here in the rescues and shelters, I wish I could have adopted more.

This is Dolly at the dog park, she is the one trotting towards me. She looks like Eewok, she is a Pug Tzu, a cross of pug and shih tzu. She is tough as nails and does not back down from any size of dog at the park and loves to play there! But with so many dogs there she is either being picked on by two or more dogs OR she is one of the two dogs picking on one other dog!

Three is a crowd and in this shot it is Karl and Dolly being the tag team working cute little Willie!! And the Scottie is thinking about joining in on it!

Well that is my update for now! I hope that all of you back in BC are not too envious of us down here in Paradise......gotta go, we are golfing in an hour!

Larry Turned 62 on Monday, December 1!!

We are so fortunate here to have met so many and so we had a big gathering outside our motorhome that evening to celebrate. Again, these RVer's know how to cook.

Thanks for coming by and wishing Larry a happy birthday and thanks for the amazing appies that you all brought, there could not have been a hungry person leaving the party that night!!

And Now there are Taco Tuesdays!

The Arches, which is not too far from here, has a Beer, Margarita and Taco night on Tuesdays.
2 bucks, 2 bucks, 2 bucks!!
Quite a few of us are now going for the deal and our waitress, Lilly, is a cutie. She comes around at the end and asks what we have had as it is all too hectic to keep track with so many tacos and drinks coming so fast!

THANKSGIVING AT THE SPRINGS

Thanksgiving, this past Thursday, was truly a great day here. The Springs had 23 turkey breasts, quarts of gravy and the cranberry sauce too!




The Carvers, Larry and Barry, doing a great job and enjoying themselves to boot!



The lineup... and it was worth lining up for, it was a potluck! Some of the best food I have ever tasted was brought by everyone that came...... and it could not have been better even with a 5 star catering company!

The first ones to get seated!

I ate last and there was still a lot of food to choose from, whoever made that dressing, they can bring it again next year, it was delicious!

I enjoyed hostessing this event very much, we do have the nicest people staying here and many helped with the cleanup, which I thank you all so much for!

Molly is with Teddy, Czar and Oscar Now

AUGUST 1, 1994 - NOVEMBER 23, 2008

Our girl will never be forgotten by anyone who met her. She had the best life of any dog, that is for certain, but she gave even more than the best to us like all dogs do.

I AM BACK HOSTING THE DOG PARK AT THE SPRINGS

I love it here and I just wish that my girlfriend Cali could be here with me.

But I do have a new Shih Tzu in my life down here, meet Willie.







Nice stretch Willie, your hip flexors will thank you later!







Hey Sadie, there is a tennis ball right there for you, let Noah keep his ball!

Did I hear Noah say something about dog breath when he trotted by?

Hey, she is new isn't she, I don't remember her from last winter! Cocoa and Willie would you please check her out!

Hey, where is Cocoa? I think we have her sandwiched!

Karl, is your Mom putting me on her blog?

Let's give her a good action shot, she likes them!

I wish these two-legged's would go back to the wall and give us room, it is our park!

Well it is nearly time for those two-legged's to have their happy hour, I think that leash is coming out for me. I used to take off last year and refuse to be caught but I was afraid they would not bring me back anymore if I did it this year, so I just let them leash me up now! They still cannot believe how nice I am being this year! They are so easy to please those two!

NEW HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER

We bought a new feeder at a Farmer's Market last spring in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. It has the bee guard on the feeders so hopefully we do not have a flock of bees hanging out this year and scaring the hummers away! You can see in the photo a little guy on the top of the wrought iron stand, waiting for me to get lost so he can get back to business!

Having worked our first day here yesterday in the over 90 degree weather, I was tempted to stop by for a drink there too, today we will take ice tea not just water, we need the sugar to keep up with the water and energy loss! It is very hot here right now over 90 degrees and the evenings are spectacular, about 70 degrees I would guess.

Here is a bigger shot of our spot, I will take one from the other side which will show our view, golf course and mountains! beautiful!!

ARRIVED IN BORREGO ON THE 8TH!

We got away from Bakersfield by 8:30 and we knew we would be in Borrego by late afternoon, which we were. We stopped to buy a mountain bike for Larry as we had a road bike here last year and the roads are not smooth enough to ride without shocks in most places! On the way Larry pulled over and I took a photo of the old girl pulling our car. This was in the Mojave Desert.




There was a little spring of water there, so I took a shot of it and doctored it a bit on photoshop to enhance the colour that my camera did not get right! There were paw prints near this water spring and they were large so I took a shot of my size 9's and the wolf's (had to be a wolf) big foot!

I think this looks like it should be a painting! You can see a white object near the edge and it was someone's paper cup, there are many off road trails here and a lot of weekend warriors use them and unfortunately leave the garbage. I tried to walk in to get it but it was rather like quick sand as I got closer and even the paw prints did not go all the way to the edge!

We had a sand storm the next day after we got here and it was creating a wall of sand at times! So no golf until yesterday..... I golfed that is, Larry washed the RV. We set up in our permanent site late in the afternoon and I will get some shots today. Larry and I played 9 holes this morning with Lynn and Bob, also have been playing the card game Play 9 with them the two nights we have been here!

Well I am off for a swim, we are expecting a visit for lunch from a friend of Larry's from his time in Toronto, Brenda, his ex-neighbour in Toronto. She is in California holidaying and is going to drive down to see us today!

WE ARE OUT OF DODGE AND BACK ON THE ROAD!!

We got away from Firebaugh at about 6:00 PM, the mechanics worked an hour OT to get us out of there as a whole weekend parked in that compound did not have any appeal! We spend yesterday trying to keep busy as there is little there and less within 30 miles but we drove to Los Banos and saw the little town and had a Starbucks to keep us awake for a drive in the evening as we wanted to get down to Bakersfield, which is where we are this morning.

I should have had my camera yesterday in Firebaugh or a video camera actually. We did the San Joaquin river walk that is in Firebaugh, rather a nice paved path for Molly's bad feet. Karl has been to many lakes that gradually get deep and he likes to go in up to his armpits to cool and then come out unlike Moll who heads in for a little swim. So Karl stepped into the water and unbeknownst to him, there was no gradual bottom to walk in, he was swimming in seconds and came out a lovely shade of green! He took off running and growling as they do after a bath! Which little did he know that was the next thing he was now getting! The Ford dealership had a very deep sink in the men's room so he got put in there and washed!

We are leaving here pretty quick after a little brekky and should be in paradise, Borrego, by late this afternoon!!

We will be in the hot tub with a Marguarita before we know it!

Oh, yeah the damage...... 3377.69 US. The motorhome has so many new parts and fixtures that we might as well spring for new decals and have it look like the near new machine it is in many ways!!

TRANNY TROUBLES UPDATE!

Well the parts should arrive tomorrow, they might as well be body parts as they are costing an arm and a leg. We have been warned that it may be upwards of 2800 US dollars. This is a small town business and we feel comfortable that we will not be overcharged, that it will be fair. We are hopeful that the mechanic will get the old tranny up and running by day's end as Saturday and Sunday are not working days so it is crucial that he get it done tomorrow! We cannot get a rebuilt one as they found out when they called around for one as they do not rebuild trannys this old!! I think that is something like my body parts!! Anyway, we are not letting this bother us as it is warm and sunny and it is hard to not be happy in this lovely temperature.

We are locked into the dealership compound tonight with the guard dog (no one has told him his job, he is a pussycat and thrilled to spend time with us!!).

We just had a yummy salad and are enjoying one of the great wines that we bought today on our wine tasting tour, in the Malibu, that we so fortunately are towing!! We drove to a larger town, Madera (Firebaugh only has stop signs) and got groceries and stopped at a couple of wineries. And that little winery that we visited last is a real treasure. Some very nice wines. So if Firebaugh or Madera are on your travelling agendas then Mariposa Winery is a real find! We also took the dogs on a walk through the park in Madera and let Karl go in the enclosed baseball diamond to run off his pent up energy! Molly was pivoting on her hind legs as he circled her and tried to get a chase going. She does her best and in her mind she is playing hard, her eyes are like diamonds when she thinks she is after him!!

Well let's hope we are on the road tomorrow night and heading further south! Bakersfield is our plan if the tranny is finished!

WE ARE GOING TO SPEND SOME TIME IN FIREBAUGH!

yeah,I said Firebaugh!

We had hoped to be able to spend a few days here as there is no security on peoples wireless and I can get free internet while we are staying free too. It is a camper's dream.......................... not!

Truth, we are @#%&*+& !!! stuck!

The damn tranny quit on the I-5 and we were towed to the closest Ford repair last night. We spent 7 hours on the side of the hwy with trucks blowing us like babies in a cradle and Karl cried the whole time asking Larry to drive on!!! The first tow truck that took 2 hours to arrive could tow the Malibu but I have now idea why the heck he came all that way knowing it was a 35 foot motorhome! The next truck took longer and it was a massive diesel as one would expect. The Good Sam agents we called for our free towing called tow companys that were 2 hours away and there were ones much closer like 20 minutes away! It will cost them a bundle for the two and the first one should not be able to charge as they knew how big we were and the sent their mini truck anyway!!

We will find out in a little bit when the dealership opens just what the bad news really is!!

but hey, the sun is shining!!! and it is going to be hot and there are about 30 wineries in the area!! cup half full so to speak!!

From Washington to California, photos from the passenger seat!

We left Mt. Vernon on the morning of November 1st and the rain was still holding off.

Entering Oregon and going to Junction City to have the brake system put on the car at Camping World.

The rain poured down the whole day in Junction City, but we played the game, Play 9, a golf card game in the motorhome while the car was being done and in the afternoon when the motorhome was being done we used the car to shop. Kohl's had some real bargains!!

Spent the night after the work was done in Rice Hills, Oregon at a very nice RV park we spotted off the freeway. then....

Back on the road to leave Oregon and get into California.

As we drove out of Oregon there was no snow in the pass, a sprinkling was on the highest part but none coming down and the sun was in and out until we hit California and then it stayed out and it is warm here in Red Bluff where we are spending tonight!

MT Shasta was rather spectacular!!

Now seeing some sun finally as we are in California now!

ON THE ROAD TO BORREGO!!!!

Well, we got away early afternoon, leaving as the rain came down!

We did not go far this first day, we are in Mt. Vernon as planned, we like this RV park and we like the Margueritas that they make across the street at the Mexico Cafe! Good start to our journey back to the desert above the Mexican Badlands!

While driving through the Bellingham area, we first saw a car in the ditch off the freeway and it was facing the wrong way, the people were standing outside it and were fine. About a mile later, one more in the ditch and turned around and the people fine again. Another mile or two another in the ditch facing the wrong way, cops everywhere. We were starting to think we were in a movie or being "Punked". We barely went another mile and there was another, same thing and facing the wrong way and yet we saw another one after that. We could only conclude that because that strip of the I-5 is concrete and the rain was on an oily road that had not seen much rain, everyone was spinning out and going into the ditch! Larry said we weighed too much to do this, we brought a little more this trip!!!

Tomorrow we stay in Vancouver Washington, Larry is making a special dinner and we are cracking a bottle of Silver Oak that we bought 2 years ago in California and is rather special and delicious!

Cheers!

Got Home March 28th!

We had a good and interesting drive home, loved Carmel and so did the dogs, the beach is free running for dogs and they loved it. Karl got picked up by a rogue wave and carried into shore, it was hysterical and I was about to catch it with the camera when the same wave got me!! We had drinks with a couple we met in the Cypress Inn and you can see under all the chairs everyone brings their dog!

We brought 3 US citizens with us back to Canada, seems that the ticks in Oregon wanted to dodge the draft and rode out of the US on our dogs necks!

So now that we are back, I can only say Borrego Springs is the best!!

Here is a video I found on Utube that kind of says it all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjh6gOHShZg

The Reno!

It is finally done, we were in Santa Clarita for a week and pretty much locked out of the RV while the floor was replaced, but worth it as you will see in the pics! We love it, the floor, the new ultra leather headboard and valences in the bedroom and the cabinet beside the door when you enter to stash leashes, walkie talkies, sunglasses etc etc.

The RV Park was one that I would not wish to return to, best part was that there was a decent sized dog park but the rest was rustic to be kind. There was a big dog park in Castaic for small dogs so Karl got his fix daily as we rented a car for that time. Great town to live in, we really liked the area, hills, sun, nice outdoor shopping malls and good food. We met a couple there, Larry and Rose and enjoyed a barbeque at their Fleetwood RV with a large turnout of friends and family. We also drove to Lancaster to meet up with another RV couple, Carla and Virgil, whom I had met online at an RV Reno posting. So it was not so hard to put up with the reno at all.

We are now in Pismo Beach and will stay for 2 nights and then on to Carmel by the River RV park for 2 nights, slowly leaving California.

Karl is anxious to get to the beach so I will get off the PC and take him!

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