Friday, December 26, 2014, through Thursday, January 1, 2015: Back In The Desert, Week 1:

There was nobody on the roads Friday, so the trip back to Palm Desert was a breeze.  We dropped off all our stuff at the rig, then went to The Grand Paw to pick up Ramsey and Kelsey.  As usual, the dogs were excited to see us (as were the people at TGP, which is a pretty expensive place).  We stopped at the Indian Waters RV Resort on the way back to our park and let the dogs run in one of the dog parks there.  What fun it is to watch them enjoy themselves in that atmosphere.  It's too bad Thousand Trails doesn't have a dog park.

 

 

We didn't even bother unpacking before settling into our routine.  We had salads for lunch and breaded shrimp for dinner, followed by too many M&Ms and a redbox movie---When The Game Stands Tall---starring Jim Caviezel, a pretty good high school football movie.  And we had some Chardonnay, of course.

Saturday we went to the street fair at the nearby College of the Desert.  Becky had seen a piece of artwork there last Saturday and thought we should consider buying it for our Williams house.  We did, and we did. 

Becky started walking the dogs back from near the fair, but called me after a while to pick them all up at Freedom Park, about a mile from our RV park.  Everyone was tired.  We just relaxed Saturday night.  I watched a little of the football bowl games and Becky watched a redbox movie of little interest.  I don't  know the name.  Sunday was mostly NFL football for me and dog-walking for Becky.  I left the rig only to dump trash.

Monday was very cold, and we didn't do much except go to the dentist for our regular cleanings.  We last saw this dentist three years ago, and remembered that he had been a little aggressive in up-selling his services.  We prepared ourselves to be strong.  It turned out that both of us were told our teeth and gums were in exemplary shape, and there was no attempt to add any recommendations.

Thank you, Dr. Hoolihan.  In the afternoon, I returned to reading As You Wish.  It is really a fun book to read, and at one point I was laughing so hard there were tears flowing down my cheeks and I could barely breathe.   

Monday night we watched Pride from the redbox, a British film set in the '80s about a group of gays and lesbians who helped the Welsh coal miners in their year-long strike.  It was fun, interesting, and a quite sensitive and gentle portrayal of the life of gays at the time.

Tuesday, I dropped Becky and the dogs off at the entrance to Sun City a few miles away, and they almost made it back before calling for a ride for the last four blocks.  Becky had a hair appointment coming up and didn't want to risk being late.  We loaded the dogs in the truck and dropped Becky off at the salon.  A little later, I went to Gold's Gym for my session with Kurt

and on the way back picked Becky up on her way home from the salon.  It was very cold and she was not quite dressed for it, so she was appreciative.  Before dinner that night we watched most of The Equalizer, a pretty good Denzel Washington thriller from the redbox, and then finished watching it after dinner. 

Early Wednesday morning we had another appointment with Valerie Masi, the dog trainer.  Ramsey and I are making good progress.  We even took both dogs out into the desert, with Ramsey on a very long leash, and he didn't even try to extend it out to its full length; he stayed close to Becky as if he was on his short leash.  Good boy!  As always, Kelsey just ran around and had a wonderful time, returning immediately when called.

I watched the end of The Equalizer again late Wednesday morning, since I had forgotten how it ended.  We decided to celebrate New Year's Eve by having a late lunch at Sam's Sushi, watching a bit of football afterwards, and hitting the sack early.  We did just that, and had a wonderful time.  (We haven't stayed up until midnight on December 31 for many, many years.  We don't miss the forced frivolity.)

New Year's Day was devoted to football, of course, but only after I powered down a batch of my traditional Ebbert Fizzes.  I had also bought two bear claws for myself the day before (They were out of apple fritters!) but Ramsey got to one of them before I could protect it.  After watching the Rose Parade on television, I finished As You Wish.  What a delightful book.  I intended to watch my DVD of the movie immediately after finishing the book, but I realized I left it in Williams.  I'll have to look for it in a local video rental store.

I then settled in for some very rewarding football.  I was absolutely thrilled that Oregon humiliated Florida State 59-20, and that Ohio State edged Alabama 42-35.  While I'm sure Florida State and Alabama run excellent programs. I am equally sure that some of their success is due to effectively-taught arrogance.  It was nice to see the air let out of their balloons. 

And it was nice to hear the broadcasters lambaste the great number of Florida State players who dashed to the locker room immediately after the game, rather than stay on the field and exchange pleasantries with the winners, as is the custom.

It was an altogether excellent day, and a great way to end our first week back in the desert.

Monday, December 22, through Thursday, December 25, 2014: In Pasadena:

After Becky dropped off the dogs at The Grand Paw Pet Resort in Indio, she let me drive the 116 miles from Palm Desert to Pasadena.  It was uneventful and we had no traffic hassles until we came across a strange accident near Glendora.  Somehow, a car had ended up in the trees next to the 210 freeway, facing the wrong way and in a rather beat up condition.  Fortunately, it only cost us a few minutes. 

We're here for two primary reasons:  Tuesday is Bill Shelton's memorial service and Thursday is Christmas. We arrived at Le Reve, our "hotel" (It's really a motel with a dining room) at 2:00.and checked into our room.  While I read the paper, Becky went out for some goodies for the reception after the service.  We were able to easily kill a few hours until we were scheduled to meet Marshall Rutter and his wife, Terry Knowles, for dinner at Celestino, a dazzling Italian Restaurant on Lake Avenue.  I ordered Linguini Arrabiata and got Spaghetti Arrabiata, but it was delicious anyway.  And we had a wonderful time with Marshall and Terry, as usual.

Tuesday morning, we went to the dining room for our breakfast.  In the past, they've laid out quite a spread for breakfast.  Today, it was simply pastries, bagels, and Egg McMuffins in their original packages.  The sign said something cryptic about "legal" reasons and I suspect the Health Department had shut down the kitchen.  The cook promised that everything would be back to normal by Christmas morning.

We arrived at the San Marino Community Church a little after 10:00 Tuesday morning.  The service had been set for the chapel, since it was anticipated that the crowd would not be very large.  It turned out that the chapel was standing room only by the time the service started.   Our daughter, Donna, and her husband, David, even came from Park City, Utah, for the occasion.  It was great seeing them.

The service was terrific.  Bill Shelton was a wonderful man and the people who came to honor his life made that abundantly clear.  The presentations by his children, including Kai Kuwata, who for this purpose was considered an honorary son, were very moving.  Afterward, everyone went to Peter and Terry Shelton's home in San Gabriel for a reception that was very nice.  There was a warm and comfortable feeling throughout.

The family had encouraged an "in lieu of flowers" charity donation, but our friend Beverly Newhouse, ever the rebel, sent a beautiful bouquet to the chapel.  It turned out to be a perfect---and very necessary---addition to the altar.  The entire family thanks you, Beverly.

Wednesday morning, we headed for Pacific Palisades and the home of my brother Bob and his wife, Elise.  We haven't been there for several years and it took some time to get used to all the changes they have made.

We didn't even recognize the house from the street.  After a brief tour, an adult beverage, and some conversation, we all left for the Jonathan Beach Club, just a few miles away on Pacific Coast Highway.  We had a wonderful lunch at a virtually deserted club, and a great time with Bob and Elise. 

We then returned to Pasadena via a strange route.  Our GPS warned us to avoid horrendous traffic by getting off the Santa Monica Freeway and taking Venice Boulevard the whole way to downtown LA.  We took the suggestion and, while I'm not sure we saved any time, at least we had a different view of the surroundings as we wended our way. 

We then spent a relaxing evening in our room, watching television and snacking on goodies.  Lunch had served as the evening meal for all intents and purposes.

We woke up Thursday morning, had a very nice breakfast at our motel, called a few people to wish them a Merry Christmas, and headed out for a bike ride along the Los Angeles River Bike Trail.  We started near the Mulholland Fountain in Los Feliz and went six miles toward downtown before turning back (primarily because the trail ended). 

I only made it a mile on the way back before giving up because my bottom was numb.  We had an easy time riding south, but riding north was both a little uphill and a lot into a headwind that we hadn't realized made it so easy going south.  Becky rode back to where we had started, to get the truck and rescue me.

We returned to our motel and relaxed until it was time to go to Wendy and Kai's for the family Christmas celebration.   Becky had given me a book for Christmas, titled As You Wish, written by Cary Elwes, a star of The Princess Bride, one of my (and almost everyone else's) all-time favorite movies. 

It is subtitled Inconceivable Tales From The Making Of The Princess Bride, and it is just as much fun as the movie.  I finished half of it before I left for the Kuwatas.   

Becky had decided to walk the six miles to the Kuwata's house.  I waited an hour or so before I drove there.  On the way, I spotted Becky on "Suicide Bridge" (the famous and often-photographed bridge over the arroyo).

Just after I passed by, she called and asked for a ride.  She had developed a blister and didn't want to exacerbate the problem by trying to be a hero for the last half-mile to the Kuwatas.  Since I was in a charitable mood, it being Christmas and all, I complied with her request.

Christmas at the Kuwatas was a chaotic and wonderful time, as usual.

We then returned to our hotel and crashed.  Our odyssey to Pasadena had ended.  Tomorrow, we will return to the desert, our RV, our dogs, and, therefore, our normal lives.

 

Thursday, December 18, through Sunday, December 21, 2014: The First Days Back at TT:

We arrived at Thousand Trails in Palm Desert about 9:30 AM, and immediately found a great site.  After determining that our satellite dish could see through the numerous surrounding palm trees, we finished setting up for our 2 1/2 month stay in this park.  We had transported our Christmas tree in the bathroom shower, and it survived quite well.  We set it up on our picnic table. 

After we both got pedicures at TLC Nails, I left for Gold's Gym.  Kurt wore me out again, and it felt good---again.

Friday, Becky went back to her pickleball games while I listened to more Killing Patton and babysitting the dogs.  Friday night we splurged and I picked up a pizza from Mario's.  Delicious, and awful for our diets. 

Saturday was more pickleball and a little more decorating for Christmas.  And we started packing for our four-day side trip to Pasadena.  And a little more Killing Patton.  Becky went to the street fair at College of the Desert on Sunday to pick up last minute Christmas presents.

Sunday was a little more pickleball, dog sitting, and preparing to leave on Monday.  And football.  And I finally finished Killing Patton.     

Thursday, December 11, through Wednesday, December 17, 2014: At Indian Waters:

It was only nine easy miles Thursday from Palm Desert to the Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio.  We left Thousand Trails at noon, because I had a doctor's appointment earlier in the day.  (It seems like all I do when we get to the desert is go to the doctor, but that will subside in a few days.)  We've been to Indian Waters before, and it's a nice park. 

We had to come here for a week to satisfy the silly rules of the Thousand Trails people.  We'll go back there next week for the rest of the winter.

We like this park for a number of reasons, one of which is that there's a nice dog park on the property where Ramsey and Kelsey can run off leash.  And the dog park is right across the street from where our rig is parked.

Another reason is that all the RV sites have concrete pads, meaning they don't get muddy if it rains.  There is an expectation that the Pineapple Express storms that are pounding northern California will be here starting tonight.

On the way to our assigned site, we passed by a small group of people enjoying the afternoon sun.  In the group were Robi and Jerry Sypkens, a couple we first met in 2006 while working at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We have seen them several times since then, but not for the past two years.  Robi had a bad cold and shortly went back to bed, but we had fun catching up with Jerry.  (They left on Saturday for a stay in Parker, Arizona, on the Colorado River.)

Thursday night, Becky couldn't finish making dinner because we were suddenly out of propane.  At that time of day, there was no way to replenish either of our two tanks, so I dashed to Panda Express to pick up a substitute dinner, which was yummy, as usual.   I'm not sure yet, but there may be a malfunction in our propane delivery system and we may not have actually been out of propane.  I'll know more in a day or so.

If the storm hit us it was not apparent.  We had only a slight drizzle Thursday night and Friday morning, and nothing after that.  Yea!

Friday morning I went back to the doctor to finish what we started on Thursday, and got propane for one of our tanks on the way home.  I then went to Gold's Gym for my session with Kurt.  After hearing my life story, he decided that the thing I needed most at this time was to stretch.  I'm very stiff.  We spent the rest of the session twisting this and pulling on that.  By the end I had actually broken a sweat.  It felt good.  I'm due back next Tuesday.

On the way home, I stopped at the post office to pick up our mail and get the second propane tank filled.  It took less than a half gallon, so we weren't actually out of propane Thursday night.  I need to investigate.

Saturday was a day of general relaxation for me while Becky worked on Christmas cards.  I did exert myself and go to the post office in La Quinta (eight miles away) to mail a bunch of the cards and send some packages.  La Quinta's was the only post office in the area open in the afternoon and therefore it was quite crowded.  That evening, we went to a swap meet at the nearby Date Festival fairground. 

It was huge!  The only thing we bought was a silly birthday present for Becky's sister Kim. 

The highlight of Sunday was a late lunch at Pueblo Viejo, a wonderful nearby Mexican Restaurant.  We've not been eating out a lot lately, in honor of our waistlines, and this was a special treat.  I love Margaritas, but I know they're bad, so I only had two (doubles).

Early Monday afternoon, we stopped at a local Christmas tree lot and picked out a small tree, which we decorated as soon as we got back to our rig.  There's no room inside for a tree, of course, so it sits on our patio table.  We have a light-sensitive timer on it so it turns on at dusk and is lit up all night.

Tuesday morning, Valerie Masi, a local dog trainer, stopped by to give us some advice.  Ramsey has been a little rough lately, and we need to change that.  We walked both dogs around the RV park while Valerie observed and made some suggestions.  She obviously knows her stuff, and we will see her again after we have had a chance to implement  her advice.

We drove to Gold's Gym for my Tuesday stretch outing with Kurt.  Last Thursday, no one had told Peggy she had an appointment with me, so she didn't show up.  Tuesday, Kurt had forgotten to note our appointment in the book, so he didn't show up.  I am now scheduled for Wednesday.  We'll see. 

Tuesday afternoon, Becky left for Pasadena and her sister Kim's birthday.  All six Shelton children were together to celebrate Kim's 50th birthday at Oba Sushi Izakaya, in Pasaena.

I'll be in charge of the dogs, of course, and need to remember Valerie's suggestions.  The three of us had a quiet, uneventful evening.  I spent much of it listening to Bill O'Reilly's recent book Killing Patton.  We started it several weeks ago, listening in the truck while on the road.  But, we got out of the habit.  I moved the 7 disks inside so I can listen at convenient times.  It's a fascinating book, by the way. 

About a half hour before Ramsey and Kelsey were due to wake up Wednesday morning, it started raining.  I had thoughts of putting on their raincoats, sloshing through puddles on their morning walk, and otherwise having a lousy beginning to the day.  Fortunately, the rain stopped just as Ramsey came in to tell me to get up.  We ended up having a nice (quick) walk in just a slight drizzle.  It'll be a good morning, after all.  Later we visited the other dog park and had fun with some children who just had to pet the two Dalmatians.   

Between the dog walks and Becky's arrival 10:00AM, I spent the morning listening to more of Killing Patton.   Just before noon I left for my appointment with Kurt.  He made me stretch and introduced me to some weight work.  He wore me out, but it felt good.  The rest of the day was spent wrapping up our stay in Indio.  Tomorrow we return to Thousand Trails.  

    

Thursday, December 4, through Wednesday, December 10, 2014: Our First Week at the Palm Springs Thousand Trails:

It was an easy 138-mile trip to the Palm Springs Thousand Trails RV park.  We arrived around 11:00 and quickly found a nice site.  We will be here for only a week.  While I did much of the setting up, Becky took Ramsey and Kelsey for a much-needed walk.  On their walk, Becky ran into a number of the "regulars" we see every year here.  They were all glad to see Becky.  She's so popular on the pickleball court, it's almost like returning home.  (By the way, over the summer, they installed four new courts and refurbished the two old ones.  Very spiffy.)

Friday morning, I went to see my heart doctor, Michael Bagheri, who had insisted when he released me from the hospital in February after my bout with pneumonia that I see him as soon as we returned to the desert.  The visit was routine, but he prescribed a couple of tests, of course. 

We then had our photos taken since we need to renew our passports.  They expire in the middle of 2015, but we don't want to be caught short so we will renew them immediately.

Saturday was routine, with pickleball, walking dogs, and watching a few college football games I didn't care about.  The evening redbox movie was The100-foot Journey starring Helen Mirren and a bunch of Indians (Mumbai, not Taos).  It was an absolutely charming, sweet film.

Sunday was football and pickleball, and 22 Jump Street, from the redbox.  The film starred Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.  It was simply awful.  I understand that it was made for a teenage (or younger) audience, but the language was shocking.

Monday afternoon, we went to the nearby Gold's Gym to sign me up.  It was the beginning of an effort to make me more fit.  It's been 16 years since I was on a regular workout program, and things have sagged a bit. 

We made an appointment to see Peggy, one of the personal trainers they assign to seasoned citizens, late Tuesday morning.  No one bothered to tell Peggy, however, and she didn't show up.  Not an auspicious start.  They finally found Kurt, who was not otherwise occupied, but it was too late to do anything at that time, and we made a substitute appointment to start my workout program on Friday. 

Tuesday afternoon, Becky drove to the Community Church in San Marino to meet with the pastor to discuss the memorial service for Bill that will take place on December 23. 

She left me with the dogs, of course, and we did just fine, thank you.  I spent most of the time listening to Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly's newest book.  We had started it months ago in the truck, but never got back to it.  Moving the disks into the rig was a good idea.  The book is fascinating.  When she left, Becky had tentative plans to spend the night in Pasadena, but came home Tuesday night anyway.   

The highlight of Wednesday was watching Jersey Boys from the redbox, starring a bunch of nobodies.  It was just a delightful and fun movie. 

It was a nice way to end our first week in the desert.  

Saturday, November 29, through Wednesday, December 3, 2014: At Soledad Canyon:

We arrived at Soledad Canyon at 1:00, after an easy 95-mile trip.  But it soon became apparent that
Soledad had not solved its electrical problems.  After setting up in a nice site, the electricity suddenly failed, and we had to break down and move to another site---where we saved the bulk of the setting-up process until the electricity had been working for a while. 

As soon as we were fully settled-in, Becky left for Pasadena to see her dad.  She was prepared to spend the night there if it seemed appropriate.  I promised the dogs would survive without her.  After a few hours, she called to say she was coming  home.  Three minutes later, she called to say her father had passed away the moment she left, she had been called by her brother with the information, and she would be returning to his home for a while.  She finally came back and we spent some time grieving and making short-term future plans.

Sunday morning, we dropped Ramsey and Kelsey off at Jill's Second Home kennel in Acton, and headed for an all-hands meeting in Pasadena.  The whole family was there and plans for a memorial were discussed.  Peter had drafted a lovely obituary that he shared with the group.  And family members shared some of their favorite memories of times with Bill. 

As an outsider, I was impressed with how controlled they all were and yet how obvious it was that they cared very deeply for their father.  We all then met at Central Park, a nice restaurant in Pasadena, for an early dinner. 

Becky and I spent a quiet and somber night, without the dogs.  The next morning, Monday, I started to repair a problem with our bed.  As had happened before, the bed split from its mooring to the slideout mechanism and had deposited itself about six inches from the wall.  An earlier repair had failed and it was time to do it again.  I determined (from my superb professional experience, of course) that the problem had been caused by our having recently stored two cases of wine in the storage area under the bed, causing an undue strain on the  mechanism. 

Before I could finish the repair, we decided to go to an urgent care facility in Palmdale to follow up on my back pain.  I had been called Sunday night by the doctor I had seen in Santa Barbara who advised me that they had re-reviewed my x-rays and decided I should have a CAT scan because they suspected something was odd about the film. 

Donna (a Bruin, by the way), the person  at the place in Palmdale, conducted her own appraisal after reviewing a new set of x-rays and reviewing the conclusions of the Santa Barbara doctors, determined that I did not need a scan and sent me home.  Frankly, I am feeling a lot better and the bruise is almost gone, so I couldn't argue with her.

We picked up the dogs on the way home and, after arriving back home, I finished repairing the bed and we spent a nice evening with our complete family and a properly-located bed.  Tuesday it started raining and did so all day.  A bit depressing.  After waiting for several days to reach Jensen, the manufacturer of our living-room TV (they were closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and were so inundated with phone calls on Monday that they did not return my call until Tuesday),

I was advised that:  (i) there was only one more trick to potentially make my sound return, (ii) if it didn't work I needed a new set, (iii) it would be difficult to find a new set that would work with my mounting system, and (iv) a new Jensen (made to survive the rigors of RV travel) would cost three times the cost of  a comparable "home" set.  We re-attached the set to our DirecTV DVR to test the new trick, and---Voila!---before we could instigate the repair trick, the sound came on.  We have no idea why the sound stopped initially or why it came back on now, but everything is now just fine.  We had spent several hours researching alternatives and it all turned out to be wasted.  But I'm thrilled that we don't need a new TV set.

Wednesday, it drizzled all day so the dogs and I mostly played indoors while Becky ran to Los Angeles to get her hair done.  There was not much to do, anyway, since we were going to leave for the desert on Thursday.

Monday, November 24, through Friday, November 28, 2014: At Rancho Oso:

The 95-mile trip from Morro Bay to the Rancho Oso Thousand Trails Preserve was delightful.  We drove through some very nice scenery.  Rancho Oso is located in the Los Padres National Forest, halfway between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez. 

We quickly found a nice site.  Then we opened up the rig and realized that we had hit some bumps that opened cabinets!  We had two bottles of wine fly out and crash on the floor.  Can you say smithereens?  Fortunately, they were white wines; otherwise we would have had some monster stains in our living room carpeting.  We also had coffee fixings (powdered cream, chocolate, and cappuccino) all over the kitchen floor, and our glass dish from the microwave oven flew across the room.  And somehow we hit a tree that ripped a running light off the side of our trailer, and our living room TV no longer gives off sound when we are watching DirecTV; but it works just fine when we use our VCR.  A phone call to DirecTV gave me some ideas for finding out where the problem lies.  Otherwise, we are just aces.

We licked our wounds Monday night, listening to our living room TV through headphones.  On Tuesday, I swallowed my pride and went to see a doctor in Santa Barbara about my back.  The x-rays showed no cracked ribs, and I was advised that the giant bruise would go away with time.  I was offered some codeine-based pills for the pain, but I refused.  I'll stick with my Tylenol; I don't need any help doing silly things.  I also got a badly-needed haircut, and we picked up lunch at Panda Express.  As usual, it was yummy.

Wednesday morning, the DirecTV tests provided no help.  I experimented by moving our small "basement" TV into the living room, and attached it to the DirecTV DVR.  It worked fine, which means the problem is with the living room TV set, not the DVR.  A call for advice to Jensen, the TV manufacturer, yielded a "We're closed for the holiday" response.  It didn't say whether they're also closed on Friday.  It may be a while before we get any closer to solving the problem.

Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving Day, and we joined fellow RVers in the lodge for dinner at 1:00 o'clock.  We had a nice dinner, joining Lisa and Chuck, two people from Yreka, California, who knew the father of Jere Nolan, Becky's college boyfriend, who was from Yreka. 

The sun is shining and it's a glorious day.  I am thankful for so many things I would hardly know where to continue listing them all after starting with having Becky in my life.  On Friday, we had dinner at Jean and Nat Hawthorne's home in Santa Barbara.  Their son Marc and his long-time (17 years) girlfriend, Erica, were there as well, and they prepared a delicious vegetarian dinner.

Jean is Becky's second cousin.  We had a great time discussing family history and otherwise enjoyed the time with them immensely.

We had previously expected to stay at Rancho Oso for a few more days, but the news about Becky's father was not very good so we decided to leave early for the Soledad Canyon Thousand Trails Preserve, the closest one to Pasadena.  Friday was, then our last day at Rancho Oso.