Prime Rib with M and R

We had a lovely visit with Myrna and Roger and a delicious dinner.They're here for 3 months, in Del Pueblo, a very nice park.

Lutes Casino, Where The Elite Meet

We had to go find some gas, a bank and get a haircut for me, so on our way, we dropped into Lutes Casino for lunch. It's like walking back in time. Along the period storefronts in this historic district, they have high covered walkways with pressed tin ceilings. This building was built in 1901with a grocery store on the bottom and the Central Hotel upstairs. Bob Lutes became the owner around 1946 when the gambler he'd lent money for the purchase, couldn't pay his debt. He added dominoes and hamburger to the billiards and beer, making it the only domino parlour in the state. The kids took it over the 1959 and have filled the 12' walls with eclectic memorabilia. I get such a kick out of the place. There is a foot which has fallen through the ceiling, a linesman in full gear up in wires,you name it, it's probably there. It is usually packed. The cashiers cage is all steel bars. It is the oldest poolhall in AZ. There was a gentleman playing honky tonk piano beside the barber pole, great music. It is famous for the mens room, where there is glass in the top half of the door. This was supposed to be so one could look out the door to see that no one moved your eight ball or you could make sure no one snuck up and shot you in the back in the wild west.

Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park

This facility is located on lands of the old U.S. Army QMD established in 1864, at the famous Yuma Crossing of the Colorado River. Supplies were brought from California by ocean going vessels traveling around the tip of the Baja Peninsula and then north as far as the mouth of the Colorado River. They were then transferred to river steamboats and brought up river to the QMD. This served as a supply center for military posts in AZ, NM,NV, southern UT and west TX. The depot quartered up to 900 mules and a crew of teamsters to do the job.
When the Southern Pacific Railroad reached Yuma in 1877 this supply depot was terminated in 1883. Theres an old train coach, wagons and many artifacts from the era.
It is mind boggling to me to imagine their lifestyle.

Bob Tiffin's in Yuma

We went to La Mesa RV today and visited with Bob, the owner of Tiffin Motorehome Co., the owner. I mentioned that we'd seen drink holders on the living room wall in the 2010's and asked if I could have one shipped to us. He gave me Liz' email and said 'tell her no charge and she'll send it. Very good PR. We had hamburgers for lunch. They serve a free lunch for the whole season - their form of advertising.

Down to Yuma, AZ

We went east to Ehrenberg where we fueled up (@85.9) and filled our propane, then drove through Quartzsite. Boy, talk about the recession down here. The place is half empty compared to past years, although there are always folks boondocking out in the desert. We went down past the Yuma Proving Ground, flat desert all the way.

Sunshine and Snow

We came back to Catalina for 4 days Wed. California will only allow water based paints by law, so we couldn't get the paint job done on the moho in this weather.
Had 3 friends over for Jambalya last night which was delicious.
This is the result of the rain this week. We're back to sunshine, although only 60F, 16C. Better than rain. The pools are beautifully warm and I still swim every day. The skiers here are ecstatic with their fresh powder. Vanoc will be tearing their hair out.
Mt. San Jacinto is on the left with our resident ducks on the pond, right behind Palm Springs and San Gorgonio Mtn to the right of the pass to L.A.
We're off to Yuma AZ tomorrow for 2 weeks at Yuma Lakes.

Extrerme Weather

Southern California is in the middle of 4 separate storm systems this week and what extremes! We start with a picture of snowplows on the Grapevine, a hill on the I5 in southern CA.














This is a picture of someone being towed on a skim board down a main street in about 2 feet of water.
Mud and water tearing down the hillside filled this tunnel with debris.

The fires from last summer resulted in bare hillsides which are now threatening mud landslides. This shows 7 areas which are under evacuation orders; in total 2000 housesholds must move out.


The green on the map shows where the rain is pouring down which is almost everywhere. We were driving on I10 Tuesday and it took us an hour to do a 20 minute trip because there was a foot of rain on the freeway and you had to crawl along at 10 mph.

Rancho Cucumonga

Today we went to the Wine Tailor, a custom vintage winery opened in 2004 on the site of the oldest commercial winery in California and the 2nd oldest in the Untied States. It became a popular destination for travelers along Route 66 until development overran most of the vineyards and it was converted into a retail center.















We next visited the Rain House. The Mission San Gabriel established the 13,000 acre Cucamonga Rancho as a site for grazing cattle in the 1820s. Later it was bought by John Rains for $16,500 and in 1860 he built this house for $18,000. It is built in the Spanish style with the inside courtyard. Bricks masons used red clay found adjacent to the site to create fired bricks.It was interesting to see the difference in the brick building. Every ninth row the bricks were inserted with the ends on the outside. The walls were about a foot thick so the fireplaces in every room warmed the brick walls keeping the house warm when needed. You can see tiny bricks in the bottom rows in the carriage house. The flat roof was waterproofed with tar from the brea pits in Orange County. An open flume carried water from adjacent springs through the kitchen, into the patio and under the house to irrigate the orchard, cooling the house. An interesting piece of furniture was the 'petticoat mirror' where the mirror was at the bottom of a dresser so you could check your petticoat. I hadn't seen one of these before.



We're at a hotel for two nights as the moho can't come out in the rain so we decided to stay here because the name amuses me. We stopped in at the Route 66 Memories house, on this stretch of the nations first transcontinental highway. Known as both the Mother Road or America's Main Street, Route 66, captured the romance of the open road. This town celebrates this pop culture icon with much memorabilia and murals. You can imagine how Ron loved the sign in the upstairs window.

The Mission Inn in Riverside, CA

We drove down to Colton in San Bernadino Co., 45 minutes west of DHSprings and OVnighted at our favorite RV Park - WalMart. Monday morning we left the rig at Mike Thompsons RV, where we met Phillip the Tiffin man. He is repairing a fine crack in the sidewall so we headed down to Riverside. We visited the Mission Inn, a historical landmark. It now occupies an entire city block but started as a 2 storey, 12 room adobe boarding house built in 1876. It is totally charming. The courtyards, fountains, bell walls, shrines and plants beautiful. There is a statue of Frank Miller who built it, with a parrot. Ron was standing next to it with the real parrots saying hello, goodbye and then they said, 'fluff off'. Bit of a surprise. The town is where our friend Barb grew up and she used to play here, hiding in the nooks and crannies. The unique symbol here is the Indian Raincross, a double barred cross wooden frame, from which is hung a mission style bell. They are numerous throughout the Mission and are even used as the street lights in the area. The inside is spectacular. There are double engraved steel doors to the dining room with a mammoth wine cellar. I sat in President Taft's chair, built for him for his visit. Many famous people have stayed here.

Desert Challenge and Movie Reviews

I always enjoy seeing the current movies while we’re in Laughlin. We saw ‘Up in the Air’ (3.5*) these are stars, Monday, with George Clooney; an amusing story with one interesting twist.

Tuesday, Ron decided we’d go to ‘Nine’ (2.5*). Someone came in late and sat in front of me so I moved 6 seats left and cracked up when the movie started because it was a dancing musical, which is not Ron’s first choice. I loved the dance scenes but they were very brief and far away while the plot was completely confusing if there was one. Our score – 1*

Wed. I went to ‘Blind Side’ rated 2* but I say, see it, it’s great. Sandra Bullock was the mother in a well-to-do family which took in a homeless African American boy who went on to become an All American football player. Very well done show I recommend 5*.

Thur we both saw ‘It’s Complicated’. A 3* movie with Meryl Streep and Alex Baldwin gave us quite a few laughs particularly when Alex decided to surprise her by jumping into bed nude as a surprise. That had amusing complications.

Fri. I saw ‘Precious’ 3.5*, an amazing thought provoking story about an overweight, illiterate African American teen in Harlem who finds a new path in an alternative school due to her insightful teacher. Dreadful but true story, a few Oscars in the making?

Today, I watched ‘Invictus’ said to be the true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the national South African rugby team in the wake of apartheid to awaken and strengthen the new country’s identity. Tomorrow, I must go for a Champagne Brunch and then we leave. Who will cook for me?????

We've had fun this week with lovely weather. We look over the airport, river and casinos. It's the beginning of the SCORE International Desert racing here this weekend. The Laughlin Leap is a rough and tumble 6.25 mile course of switchbacks and mini jumps in the desert just up the hill from the casino. There are numerous off road vehicles around town.

Crocodiles in Costa Rica

When we stopped in Costa Rica on our Panama cruise, I went on a jungle river crocodile safari trip. I was taking picture of the birds in the Preserve before we got to the crocodiles and suddenly my battery was used up. A women from our trip just sent these pictures and it shows how amazing this trip was. These animals were so close that I made sure my hands were inside the little boat we were on. I couldn't believe my eyes when our guide got out in his bare feet and slapped the water to get the crocodiles to swim over to us. then he fed it raw chicken. You can see the croc's long tail moving in the water behind him. It was about 10 feet long.

Laughlin, NV and Bullhead City, AZ

We drove to Laughlin Sunday for a week. We stay at Rdgeview Resort across the Colorado River in Bullhead City, AZ. It is an hour ahead so we just stay on Laughlin time for movies etc. It was the same flat road with mesa topped mountains in the distance. Laughlin is very pretty at night and I don't think they worry about conserving electricity

Down to Indio

We came to Indio, Indian Waters, Wed and have enjoyed the FMCA Rally. There are many Vendors and things to look at and learn. Here’s Ron on our new chairs as we watch the sunsets and a balloon floats by. Off to Laughlin Sunday for a week.

Fun in the Sun

Ron’s been enjoying bocci and playing crib with Andy across the road. They packed up and left today so we’ll catch up with them later.