A family weekend

Different location, still hot! Saturday we headed down to or should I say up to Sacramento for the weekend. It was hot! We stayed at our Daughter Jackie's house as her husband was out "wheelin" as they call it . Thats when you put all this money into your truck and in a weekend you destroy it. And you start over again with the money and the destruction! Anyway, we also brought our Granddaughter back to her mother (our daughter Katie) and got a very nice surprise, Jeni and I are going to be Grandparents again for the 5th time! We are so exited for Kate and Alyx as she will have a little brother or sister. The picture is Katie and daughter Alyx. Don't they look like sisters.
As I have said before, Katie is a single mother. And has done an excellent job of raising Alyx. When the going got tough ,she always found a way to see things through. We are very proud of her.
With the temperature above 100 degrees all weekend,we stayed in and visited, and played cards.
Now it's no fun playing cards with just two people, so "ole" Phil was asked by his daughter and wife to join them! Yea, like I'm going to say no. That would be a fate worse than death! We played a game called "hand and foot", a little like "canasta" but much harder in my opinion. I really "suck" at this game. I have only won when I have played with partners, never on my own! This game has got my number! Maybe Jackie and Jeni will give me a brake and let me win? Not!
After a break in the action Sunday, I took my grandson DJ down to the park for a little "Grandpa"time. Ever since he was real little, when Jeni and I were in town, I would always take him to the park to swing. He is the coolest little guy. Jackie and Dustin have done a great job with him.He has Jackie"s mild mannerisms and level head and Dustins mechanical abilities.
Back before I retired, I worked for this "rough and tumble" Co., A construction Co.in Sacramento Jackie went to work for them right before I retired. She had answered an ad on the Internet for a job from them and I was unaware of it. At first I was worried for her, you need "thick skin" when you work for const. outfit usually, but she was a true professional. She did her job and rose above all the company politics. It must have been a tough assignment for her to follow in the "ole mans footsteps" but she made me proud!
Well Jeni and I said our goodbyes and headed back to Park Sierra.It is about a 4 hr. drive and with no AC. yet, it was a hot ride!
Yesterday and today we did some spring cleaning,grocery shopping,laundry,and enjoying the park. We went over to the Casino for breakfast this morning as it is only a mile away.then it was back to the park and more chores.
It was great to see our daughters this weekend,as it has been a while since we last visited with them. A family weekend!

At Park Sierra

We got on the road at 9:30am . I had to take Dan (my son) some gas this morning. He ran out while dropping Alyx off to us.I was going to use the old"hey these things won't run without gas!"line ,but he felt bad enough.
We had a smooth ride and the weather was warm but nice. Jeni drove the first leg. We took the 215 north to the 15 then took the 395 north. we then caught the 58 west to Bakersfield and transitioned on to the 99 north. We go this way because we hate driving over the "grapevine"We stopped for gas and lunch at the "flying J" truck stop then I took the wheel for the run to Fresno catching the 41 north to Park Sierra.
You know, every time I take the wheel, my "crew"goes to sleep! Whats up with that! Is my driving that boring! Come on!
We pulled in to Park Sierra at 3:30pm. The nice folks set us up with a nice shady site and we got all settled in for a month or two stay here. I will get more pictures of the place to put on the blog so you can get a feel of how great this place is. And did I tell you,it is only 25 miles from Yosemite Natl. park!
I think I mentioned that were going to Sacramento tomorrow to drop Alyx off and see our Daughters Jackie,and Katie. Also a little guy that's

exited that were coming.Our Grandson DJ.
He is 3 yrs. old. Last year I taught DJ how to drive. Oh yea, he's definitely the"MAN". According to Jackie, he now drives "monster trucks!" Were so proud of him.......OK,their only toy trucks, but some day he will be handling the "big rigs!"

Wrapping up in Riverside

Jeni and I are getting things ready to go for "get away day " tomorrow. We are finally leaving Riverside for our future home park, "Park Sierra" in Coarsegold Ca. It is about 35 miles north of Fresno just off Hwy. 41. Once we get in ,we are taking our Granddaughter Alyx home to Sacramento Saturday morning. We are going to stay over at our Daughter Jackie's house.

Alyx has been staying over at her uncle Dans house the last couple of days. I think she needed a break from Grandpa & Grandma after the trip! Dan's buddy has 3 daughters about Alyx's age so they have all been going bowling , and to the movies. Dan is dropping her off tomorrow morning, so we get another quiet night again! YEA!

As always, when you leave you always have to say goodbye to friends and relatives. Jeni's last day at therapy was today and she said goodbye to the people who have helped her through her knee surgery, also the wonderful people we have met here at the park while we have been here. And our son Dan and our grandsons Aiden and Nevin. We will remember the great times we have had with them and we will see them again soon. I added a couple of pictures of Aiden and Alyx together last week and Nevin to let them know how special they are to us. We will always be back to Riverside.

When we are at "Park Sierra", we will be going up to Sacramento from time to

time as with Dr. appointments,getting the car repaired, and Jury Duty, yes, Jury Duty.I have to report Monday August 17th, we will be "burning" up Hwy-99!

Our Daughter Jackie called today to check on us and let us know she stocked up on "goodies" for our card games when we get to Sacramento. Jeni talked with our 3 year old grandson DJ, and he is excited that Grandpa & Grandma are coming to visit him. It's been awhile since we have seen them.

We will also get to see Katie our youngest daughter(Alyxs mom). It will be great to see them all!

The park here at "Treelake Village" is tight for getting your rig in and out of the sites, when we came in 3 months ago, there wasn't anyone in the site across the street from us so when I came in I used the empty site to swing in to ours , but there has been a" fifth wheel" parked there now with his awning out and a big "dually"truck on the street. I told Jeni the other day that we might have a problem getting outta here! I even stepped off the distance I need and I won't be able to make the turn out of the site without hitting his awning and truck.Well, luck is with us, they moved to another site today so the site is now empty again. We should be able to get out ok. Good thing, as the guy that was in the site was BIG!!

Viva Ventura

Well we are back from our trip. Jeni, Alyx,and I

had a great time.
We headed out Sunday for Ventura Ca. Had dinner at the harbor and hit the motel as we had to catch the boat early Monday morning for the Channel Islands. We boarded and were treated to calm seas and a pleasant trip.

We saw sea lions, schools of dolphins, and the biggest thrill of all, two rare blue whales about fifty yards from our boat. These whales summer in this area and winter in Costa Rica in South America. The boat trip is about three hours. We first

stopped at Santa Cruz Island.Then we headed to our destination Santa Rosa Island.

The pier at Santa Rosa was damaged so they had to shuttle us to land by these little speed boats. It's called a "wet " landing.

On the island you can go kayaking, hike the many trails, swim, or just lay on the pearl white sandy beaches. Jeni and Alyx chose the beach.Me, I went on a Ranger led hike. We hiked about three miles up to the top of the island where us hikers were treated to a beautiful view of the ocean and the surrounding islands. There used to be a ranch on the island that raised cattle and sheep and I asked the Ranger why anyone would raise livestock on this island? He said" no predators."No mountain lions,coyotes,bears, and no rustlers! Makes sense I guess. Anyway, I hiked a little more at ease!

Well before we knew it, we were headed back to Ventura harbor. The captain stopped on the way back to take us to a place called " smugglers cove". There is a cave they call the "painted cove" We were amazed as he drove our 65 ft. boat about 150 to 200 ft. inside the cave! It was something right out of "pirates of the Caribbean" Assume!

We got back to the harbor at 6 p.m. tired but happy as we had a great day at sea.
Tuesday morning we slept in but when we woke it was time to pack up and head for "Hollywood" as Alyx has always wanted to see "tinsel town". We headed south on the 101 then got on the 405 and exited on Wilshire Blvd. We picked up the Sunset Strip and headed into "Beverly hills". We picked up one of those "map of the stars" and toured the mansions of the stars. Then we went to Rodeo drive where the elite shop! Hey, my mama didn't raise no fool we only drove through Rodeo we didn't stop! As we left I thought I heard my wallet say,"THANK YOU!"

We cruised the Sunset Strip watching the "Beautiful people" on the street. You know you can't say you have really been to Hollywood unless you get a picture of the "Hollywood sign" Right? Well you can get a picture but you can't get very close but if you look at the picture of Alyx, you can see it in the background. Doesn't she look like a movie star! I think so!

Well we left LA. and took the 10 east to riverside and home Tuesday evening. We had a great time. Alyx is going to ride in the RV down to "Park Sierra" with us on Friday then we will take her home to Sacramento Saturday and see our Sacramento family there.

as I lay in bed tonight I will think, "It takes awhile for an adventure to start but, it's gone in a blink of an eye but the memories last a lifetime". Viva Ventura!

Budget Buster!

"If you bring it up, it will happen!" Sure enough in my last post I talked about maintenance on our tow car and the "Biggie",well, it hit us Friday, the air conditioning went out and it was 100 degrees. I took the car(Pic of our tow car in better days!) in to get an estimate and get it fixed hopefully but it was not to be. They wanted $2800! Were going to have to shop around, because that's a "budget buster" for us. Also my brother Larry was coming in from Phoenix for a visit but broke down in Quartzite. Our son Dan had to go get him as I was having the car checked out when he called. This weekend isn't off to a great start so far and we still have to get all the family to dinner and a ball game tonight! We called our son in law Dustin in Sacramento, he is a mechanic. He is going to try and locate the part up there and get it installed for us when we get up to Sac. In the meantime we have "460 air conditioning"- 4 windows down, 60MPH.

We made it to dinner with the family in Lake Elsinore at a great Mexican food restaurant, "Don Joses". My brothers Larry and Gary, Martha, my uncle Frank, my cousin Sherry, son Dan, Alyx, Jeni, and I all "chowed down", then it was over to the ball park and" game time". It's minor league baseball but it's inexpensive and entertaining.

Saturday Jeni, I and Alyx went over to Dans house as Larry is staying with Dan while he is in town, which could be another 2 or 3 days until his car is fixed. Larry also brought along his dog Bambi. Dans dog Gigi and Bambi are getting along great as they have become pals. Dan had his son Aiden this weekend so we all got to enjoy him and Alyx kept him busy playing video games with him. Friday or Saturday night has always been Historically "pizza night" for the Doran clan so we kept the tradition alive and ordered 3 large pizzas. At 8pm Jeni and I were"toast", so we let Alyx spend the night as her and Aiden were playing and having fun and we headed home.

Jeni and I have moved up our traveling schedule and are going to leave Riverside next Friday for Park Sierra resort. We also canceled Alyx's flight home and she will head out with us. When we get settled at Park Sierra, we will drive her to Sacramento. cause we have to go to Sacramento anyway.

Hearing from all our fellow RVers about their travels this summer has energized us to get back on the road and do what we love, Travel! We have been kinda tied down in Riverside for a few months now so new sites, sounds, and company will be a welcome change.

Sunday, Monday , and Tuesday Jeni, Alyx, and I are headed on a mini "road trip" to Ventura to tour the Channel Islands and on the way back stop to see " Hollywood." When Jeni and I were visiting Ventura earlier this year we promised ourselves we would be back to take the tour so "here we go." One thing Alyx wanted while she was in LA, was to see Hollywood and the Stars so with a little luck we might see some.

Decisions

It is hot here in Riverside and I guess all over the west.I'm glad we have two air conditioners on the coach.While it was still cool this morning We headed over to our favorite park" Rancho Jurupa" County park in Riverside.We camp here when we are only in town for a week or two.$18 a night elec&water.It has a nice fishing lake and lots of grass.They are expanding the park right now with a water slide,miniature golf,and 40 more campsites.We checked on the progress of the expansion and took a little hike.We would be staying here right now but you can only stay 14 days in a 30 day period.
We checked out Crestmore manor, next to the park, which is now the district offices of Riverside County Parks and Recreation.We couldn't go inside but we did take a pic. of the outside.It looks like one of those southern antebellum mansions.Even the old carriage house on the property was being used as their maint.yard.
As we headed out we saw a cool dog park with lots of stuff for dogs to do.We took a picture of the entrance and the sign.The sign is hard to read but it says"Carlson bark park.
Well we have decided to move down to our soon to be home base,Park Sierra in Coursegold Ca.the 3rd of August.That way we can visit Sacramento a little easier.I also got a notice for jury duty on the 17th of Aug.so I better be there.We will be half way between Sacramento and Riverside so we can be available to our families.The park is just north of Fresno in the foothills about 30 miles from the south entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Tomorrow my brother Larry is coming in to Riverside for a visit.I spoke about Larry in our past blogs.We are all going to a baseball

game tomorrow night.My other brother Gary,his wife Martha,my Grandaughter Alyx will be coming in from San Diego to meet us there and Dan our son will be driving us.We will take Alyx back with us after the game as she will stay with us for a week. There won't be any rest for Jeni and I as Alyx will keep us busy.We have some stuff planned already but we are going to need more!

Our tow car the Suzuki Vitara is got 108,000 miles on it right now,and we like not having a car payment but,It is starting to need minor repairs.The air conditioning is going out,we just put brakes and tires on her and I know the "Biggie"is coming on the engine some day.but I like not having a payment!Sometimes I wonder,am I throwing money at a clunker?how many miles will the ole car go before major problems arise?The stock market is pinching our finances and I like not having a car payment!I wish I could predict the future?Decisions Decisions!

Red not Green!

Jeni and I had a nice weekend as we got out and about and experienced the flavors of summer.
Saturday,we went to the Farmers Market in Redlands Ca.We savored the many fruits and vegetables they offered and the beautiful bouquets of flowers they sold were bright and very aromatic.The market was in the quaint down town area with lots of shops and eateries.Jeni had her eye on eating at one of the cool little eateries but I found an old favorite,"Denny's".It's always open!I felt a little guilty,but I'm a" simple man"!
We did some shopping after brunch and checked on some places we might take our Grandaughter Alyx to when she arrives.I don't remember if I posted it but Alyx is flying down to San Diego today to spend a few days with my brother Gary and his wife Martha then she will be down here next week with us
Speaking of San Diego,thats where Jeni and I headed Sunday.Gary and Martha were taking Alyx to lunch and invited us to join them.We jumped on the 15 and in an hour and a half we were there.They took us to the" Brazilian Barbecue"in the downtown area of S.D.It's a buffet style bistro but upscale.And my favorite part,"all you can eat!"! You get your plate and get what you like then,when your ready for the main course(MEAT),you turn this little salt shaker looking thing on your table over from red to green(it's green on one end and red on the other)and here comes the waiters with each one carrying a different kind of meat.Top sirloin,bacon wrapped fillet Minon,tri tip,pork tenderloin,beef ribs,chicken,and on and on .13 types in all.they have it on this rod looking thing and they carve off a slice of meat and you take these little ice tongs and grab it and put it on your plate!Some of the best food we have ever tasted.And they just keep coming til you turn that little salt shaker thing over to Red!It was terrific.After we" waddled"out of the restaurant,overly satisfied,we went across the street to the downtown mall for a little shopping as Alyx had some spending money that was "burning a hole in her pocket"!After that we headed back to Gary and Martha's house which sets on a hill overlooking the canyon below and part of the city.We just love their place.We caught up on current events,visited with Alyx,and my favorite, we had "Ice cream"! Before we knew it,it was 8pm.So we motored back to Riverside.
I dreamed of Meat-meat -and more meat last night.and this morning I still have visions of that darn little salt shaker thing being green,and waiters lined up bringing meat-meat and more meat! JEN! wheres the "fiber pills"!

you can't go home!

Yesterday Jeni and I decided to head out to Silverwood lake for a

little hiking and picnicking.Jeni was excited about trying out the knee.We were also hoping we would see some of the people we worked with here when we volunteered back in 07.It was a beautiful day in the mid 80s and breezy.The lake sits at about 3300ft. elevation in the San Bernandino mountains.When we arrived we checked out our old "camphost site".Thinking no one would be in it."Maybe they might need us back"we thought but the site had a camphost in it.Oh well were not needed.We will just be visitors today.Also,every park worker we saw,we didn't know.What,did everybody quit when we left in 07!I guess it's true"you can't go home!

We hiked for about 30 minutes in the "black Oak"area of the park along the ridge that overlooks part of the lake.We usually hike an hour out and an hour back but jeni is just getting back to hiking after knee surgery so we take it slow for now.Thats us in the picture after the "Grueling"25 minute hike!Were only smiling because we just ate lunch(subway subs)!

After the hike we moved down to Cleghorn day use area.This is the quiet part of the lake where the Kayaks and float tube's hang out.Also there is a lot of birds in the area.I always bring my binoculars to view them.We found a shady spot to relax,Jeni

read her book and I tried looking for birds.It was very breezy so there weren't many birds around,so I cast my binoculars toward the beach to make sure none of those "pesky" birds weren't bothering the" bikini clad "sun bathers! We took another little hike around the picnic area just to loosen up for the drive home.

As the sun dipped below the mountain tops,we headed out, but on the way, we stopped for" McDonald's" ice cream.Yummy!

It was great to get out to explore and enjoy the outdoors again.Jeni and I promised ourselves we would get back to doing more of it.

This morning Jeni headed out to her Physical Therapy and I talked to my Daughter Katie.We have been enjoying our little chats lately as we just tell each other whats going on in our lives.No judging,no pressure,just how we are doing.We miss our two daughters and grand kids in Sacramento.In past years we have spent more time with them than with our son down here but now things have changed and we have spent more time with Dan and his sons.We hope to get up to see them soon as we really miss them all.

Poor Dan,he is finding out that owning a dog is expensive as Gigi tore up the blinds in the a couple of rooms in the house!Bad Dog! Baaad Dog!

It's the little things

This is a picture of jeni and I last winter,hiking in Anza Borrego State Park.Were not doing much hiking these days as Jeni's knee problems has made even a short stroll very painful.She's is hoping that the surgery she had will get her back to doing the things she loves.Monday she started physical therapy and she goes 3 times a week for a month.She also has exercises to do at home.It's a difficult road back for her,but if anybody can do it Jeni can!

Remember me saying"the little maintenance things you have to take care of on the RV."Well,I went to roll up our awning so the neighbor could wash his rig and SNAP! it wouldn't roll up.I had to get my ladder and hand roll it up as far as it would go.It wouldn't roll all the way up and it wouldn't roll out.Stuck!The manager at the park had a Mobile RV guy that could fix it so I gave him a call.He came out today and took care of it.It's something I couldn't tackle myself as the springs on the awning arms are under high pressure. per the mfg's instructions, only a professional should attempt to fix it.So I just watched,and paid the bill!It's the little things!

While I stayed with the RV repair guy,Jeni went over to our sons house to do laundry today.The RV park laundry costs about 2 bucks to wash and dry a load.Jeni usually has at least 4 loads so thats 8 bucks.Dan doesn't know it but he is helping "ole"Mom and Dad out.

Yesterday morning when we went for Jeni's physical therapy, as we left the park,we noticed the automatic entrance gate was smashed in and off the track and the big chain that opens and closes it lay in a tangled heap beside the gate.What happened!Did the local gang try to break in,did a crazed psycho try to run through the gate and kill us all.Maybe a drunk driver thought the gate was an off ramp and he planned on mowing down all our RV's.Our security has been breached!Maybe it was an" inside"Job.Which neighbors looked suspicious?Maybe the guy with the walker from Florida,Yea,he looked dangerous.Or maybe the lady walking the park early in the morning,Yea thats probably not an Ipod she's listening to.Yea,shes probably the one.As we drove,my mind was sifting through the possibilities,and now with no gate, will the "Invaders "be back to finish us off tonight?When we came back from the Dr.I stopped in to the office to see what really happened to the gate.I guess a tow truck was loading a car by the gate and the cable pulling the car up on the tow truck snapped and the car rolled off the truck and crashed through the gate.Also they were repairing the gate as the lady at the desk was telling me the story.OK!maybe there was no plot to take over the RV park.But,The guy with the walker still looks suspicious!

Say cheese.OH NO!

We all had a great time at the ball game the 4th.The fireworks were ausume.Too bad my camera malfunctioned!I forgot to charge the battery(senior moment)so there won't be any fireworks pictures.Today we are just kicking it as we didn't get home til after midnight.

Jeni and I were talking today about how we miss volunteering.That has been our main source of enjoyment and fullfilment these last 3 years.We started out in the summer of 05 camphosting at Beals Point at Folsom lake State Park.We volunteered there for 3 summers and enjoyed every minute of it.Then in the winter of 07-08 we volunteered at Lake Silverwood State Park in the San Bernanadino mountains.What a great place.Great fishing and lots of wildlife.The summer of 08 found us in Indian Grinding Rock State park.It was a small park but one of the most beautiful parks we have volunteered at.In the winter of 08 and 09 we volunteered at Agua Caliente County Park a San Diego county Park.It is in the Anza Borrego desert.A remote park with hot spring mineral pools.this was our best volunteering job so far and some of the nicest people we have worked for.We both feel we have lots more adventures ahead helping out our park system.We just need to line up somthing for this winter.

The weather has been hot here but with our big awning and window awnings plus our 2 big air conditioners we stay nice and cool.Our coach is just like a little condo.We have all the comforts of home.A gourmet kitchen with a microwave/convection oven,a double door refrigerator with Ice maker,a pillowtop queen size bed,satellite tv,and lots of storage room to carry the essentials.a self contained bathroom,automatic levelers to keep the coach nice and level and 2 slideouts that give us a little more room inside.And if we don't like our neighbors we start the engine and head down the road.If your going to fulltime you have to do it right.

slow week!

With Jeni still "gimping around,we had a slow week.Mostly housework and little fixes on the rig.Dan came over tuesday and fixed the elec.hookup from the RV to the car.I kinda smashed it last summer when I backed in to our "camphost" site at Indian Grinding Rock St.Park.There was a little hill at the back of the site and I backed up a little too far!

Yesterday we went grocery shopping{were Dorans we got to eat).Then we went over to Dans house as him and Aiden invited us over to dinner.Oh,did I tell you,Dan got a dog!Her name is Gigi.She is an older black lab.She looks like Penny a dog we had back in Sacramento.Dan wanted an older dog because he works during the day and Gigi does fine by herself.I'm sure if Dan hadn't taken her,the shelter probably would of put her down.He probably saved her life.

For dinner last night Dan and Aiden took us to one of those pizza/arcade places called "Johns amasing pizza factory".They had a buffet of pizza, pastas and a salad bar.Also Jeni's favorite,The dessert bar!The food wasn't half bad.Aiden had a great time as Dan and him played arcade games together.I played a couple of "shoot the enemy"games with him.It was fun!

If you noticed,Dan isn't in any of the pictures.He hates his picture taken.I'll get him though,he can't escape the cameras EYE!

We are all going out to dinner and to the minor league baseball game tonight.Jeni,I,Gary&Martha,Dan&Aiden,and Dans friend Mark and his girls are all going.They will be having a big 4th of July fireworks display ,and of course "Hotdogs!"

As I was saying earlier,Jeni and I were doing housework and fix up's on the rig.The fixes on the rig can become very expensive if you don't do them yourselves.Case in point,earlier this week a detail guy came into the RV park and washed 4 or 5 rigs.I was talking with him and he charges 2 bucks a foot.For my rig that would be $72!Have that done 5 or 6 times a year and thats $350-$400 a year.We do it ourselves.We do what were able to do to maintain the rig.The more you save,the more "dinners out"you can have!

It was nice to hear from our Daughters Jackie and Katie this week.Katie and I talked for an hour catching up on things.While I was talking with Jackie,DJ our grandson was playing by her and I could hear him.Jackie always tries to get him to talk to us on the phone but his responce,"NO!) Ah,Grand kids,you gotta love em!

Happy 4th of July!