Friday, January 30, 2009

Old friends

Wednesday we ran into Nancy an Peter, people we met back in August while we were at Thousand Trails Chehalis! How fun. Last night the four of us got together, had snacks and a bottle of merlot and caught up on what everyone had been doing. It was a fun time.

It’s been absolutely beautiful here in Jamul, CA. In the 70’s and sunny, could not ask for more wonderful weather. Dave’s been doing a lot of photo taking and I’ve been reading and stitching along with our usual walks. We also bought a little badminton set so we tried out yesterday…it’s a bit of a transition going from short handled pickleball paddles to long handled badminton rackets but eventually we got the hang of it!

Photos:
Cheye in the leaves
Cute little Ladybug
Video:
Pio Pico and Cheye


Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Pio Pico

Well everyone is right…lousy cell reception here. We have enough signal to get a phone call, but sometimes it gets garbled, and just enough signal for the aircard to upload small emails and a little internet surfing but not much. I’m using the Thousand Trails connection at the Adult Lodge right now. Not screaming internet here either (video is uploading at 8kB/s). Oh well, we will survive but I doubt I will be posting everyday.

Pio Pico (in Jamul, CA) is a lovely park, it is divided into North and South of the main road. We are currently in the North Section and really like it here. Very quiet and the weather is fabulous, up to 61 already and it is only 11:30!
I think this is gonna be another great Thousand Trails park!

Photo: Our site here at Thousand Trails Pio Pico
Video: Views of Pio Pico…btw I made the opening title clip with my little animation program…such fun!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Taking off tomorrow

Tomorrow we will be moving to Thousand Trails Pio Pico. It is located in Jamul, CA just east of San Diego. One thing everyone tells us is; plan on no cell phone connection. For us that means no phone nor any internet at the trailer. We’ve been told a person can possibly get cell phone connection at the Family Lodge and that is where you can connect to the Thousand Trails wireless internet. It may slow down my blog posts some, but we will see!

Today we did our usual getting ready to move stuff. Laundry, some groceries, packing stuff up. It’s been a fun stay at Wilderness Lakes in Menifee, CA. The park is nice and the area is pretty with lots to do. If we are in the area again we won’t hesitate to stay here.

Photos
top: Our site
bottom: Great Blue Heron

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Chilly today

I’m cold today, it was cloudy, windy, drizzling and in the mid 50’s. here in Menifee, CA. Of course I can feel friends from the Yakima Valley rolling their eyes at that statement…I’m not sure it got over 35 degrees there and they have snow on the ground. It amazes me how quickly I have gotten used to warmer weather. When we took our walk today I wore a sweatshirt and heavy coat over my regular clothes. Guess I’m going to have to get some long johns!

Because of the weather it was another mostly-inside-day. Again I worked/played on computer stuff as did Dave. As I mentioned Dave, Cheye & I went on a long walk today, and that is the topic of my little video….

Photos
Ducks and Geese here at Wilderness Lakes park
Video: Our walk today

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Videos and Pictures

It was a little drier today, still cloudy but warm here in Menifee, CA. We got out for a few walks but due to a fair breeze we didn’t play any Pickleball.

This morning I got into cleaning mode and did a good amount of dusting, scrubbing and vacuuming. We both worked on videos on our computers this afternoon. I finally got the last of our old vacation videos transferred from VCR tape onto my computer and then burned to DVD! Yeah! I was going to have that all done before we left on our travels, so it’s only taken me 8 months. Next will be putting video and photos we have taken since becoming fulltime RVer’s onto a DVD. That is 8 months worth of stuff… oh my how the time does fly!

Photos & Video: Taken yesterday in Old Town Temecula, CA

Friday, January 23, 2009

Old Town Temecula

Old Town Temecula was established in 1895 and has been turned into an area with shops and restaurants. A few people had suggested visiting the area so today we drove down there. Really a cute place, lots of fun little shops. One place that carries windsocks was having a sale on all Christmas items, 60% off, so we now have a Christmas windsock. We also found a nut shop and got some cinnamon almonds and cashew brittle…yum! There’s a number of antique shops, we had fun looking at old hand tools in one. After our visit to Old Town we thought that while we were in Temecula we would stop at Costco and then we went home.

It rained more today than yesterday, very soggy. So it was again an inside day, hopefully tomorrow will be a little sunnier.









Photos:
All taken in Old Town Temecula - Temecula, CA

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Drizzle

It was cloudy and drizzly most of the day here in Menifee, CA…about 4:00p.m. we started seeing some sun peeking from between clouds. Our day was mostly spent indoors. I finally got all the little videos I’ve made and some photos cleaned off my hard drive onto to DVD’s, about 12 GB worth. Dave did some reading and computing and Cheye snoozed. I did take her out for a couple walks but we got rained out of one.

Yesterday when we were playing Pickleball Dave noticed some big birds up in a tree. Ends up they are Great Blue Herons and this morning Dave went out and got some photos of them. They are such big birds, somehow they just don’t look like they should be up in a tree!

Photos
Top: 1 Haron in a tree
Bottom: 3 Harons in a tree


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Sunset

Besides going in for haircuts and stopping at In-N-Out Burger for lunch we stuck around the trailer today. Oh, we got some Pickleball in and I called Mom to wish her a Happy Birthday too. I almost didn’t post today, but I thought these pictures of yesterday’s sunset here in Menifee, CA really needed to be shared!


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Busy start

I wanted to get the laundry done today and I wanted to start early so there would be machines open, however we were out of quarters. To make a long story short, I ended up having to go into town to get quarters so I just went to a local Laundromat in Sun City, CA. I also found a Winco about a mile further north so I stopped there to pick up a few things. Back when we lived in Benton City, WA we used to grocery shop at the Winco in Richland, WA all the time. Kind of nostalgic to be in a Winco again. From there it was back to camp.

We got in a little Pickleball playing later in the afternoon along with a walk around the park. This evening we are relaxing and watching a little TV. So what started out as a busy day is ending very pleasantly.

Photos
A couple of birds here at Wilderness Lakes park in Menifee, CA

Monday, January 19, 2009

Chatting

The park here in Menifee, CA was busy emptying out this morning and then a new batch came in a little later. We were able to get out on the Pickleball court for a while today. We don’t keep score yet, just count how many times we can make it over the net…45 times was the highest so far!

We took a couple of walks too, but mostly we seemed to be chatting with people today. While on one walk we talked a little with a couple and then complimented them on their nice looking Class C, so they gave us a tour. One set of neighbors pulled out this morning and when the new ones arrived they talked to us for quite a while. Finally, this afternoon Ernie, a very nice man a few spaces away, brought over his chair and the three of us had a very pleasant time. It’s always nice to meet pleasant people.

Photos
Top: Cheye winking :o)
Bottom: Geese flying by a hot air balloon that floated by this morning


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sunday

We didn’t do a lot today. The Pickleball courts were being used by families for tennis so we didn’t get to play Pickelball again. I imagine once the holiday weekend is over the courts will be less busy. Reading and internet surfing were the main activities of the day, walks and talking to neighbors also.

The geese here are really unafraid. They march up and down the roads honking at who knows what. Cheye isn’t real sure what to think of them. As the geese go by she watches them, no barking, no growling, she doesn’t even stand up, just watches. It’s kind of like she just isn’t sure if they are friend or foe. I often wonder what goes on in her little head, probably better that I don’t know! :o)

Photos:
Top: A goose marching by
Bottom: A view of the park here at Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes

Saturday, January 17, 2009

A couple of lovely days

Our last couple of days here in Menifee, CA have been very enjoyable. The weather has been fabulous, sunny and warm. Yesterday we tried our hand at Pickleball again, in the evening we went to the campground café and had spaghetti dinner. While there we met Jim & Dot, they are from the Seattle area. Very nice people.

This morning I went in to Super Target and picked up a few things. It’s so handy being close to shopping! Besides that we were pretty quiet today, stitching, resting and watching people. With the holiday weekend it is fairly busy here, lots of families camping or visiting for the day. Keeps it lively!

Photos
Top: Cheye while out on a walk
Middle: People playing Pickleball
Bottom: Cheye up close


Thursday, January 15, 2009

Nice and warm

Today we stuck around the campground here in Menifee, CA. The weather was fabulous again, in the low 80’s and lots of sunshine. Dave took Cheye for a long walk/run this morning while I did a little cleaning and did some exercises with the Wii. After lunch we went over to the Pickleball court and batted the ball around for about an hour. It was fun and we are starting to have some fairly decent volleys back and forth.

Later we went over to the field across from the park and let Cheye run while we walked the perimeter. It was a nice walk on such a lovely day. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing outside, chatting to neighbors and watching others play Pickleball (our site is across the street from the court) A very pleasant day.

Photos
Top: Cactus at Mission San Luis Rey
Right: Palm trees at Oceanside, CA
Bottom:
~The beach at Oceanside, CA
~Lori & Cheye on the sidewalk along the beach at Oceanside, CA
Video: From our trip yesterday to the Mission San Luis Rey and Oceanside






Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Oceanside, CA

Sunni, someone that follows our blog, suggested a trip to Oceanside the other day. I thought that sounded like fun so this morning we headed over to the ocean. I did do a little internet reading to figure out some things to see. We started our sightseeing at Mission San Luis Rey. It was founded in 1798 and is quite a large Mission. The grounds are very pretty with some huge succulents, also an old cemetery.

From there it was off to the beach. We ended up by the Oceanside Pier. The beach was well groomed and had areas with picnic tables and a nice sidewalk for walking along the beach. Unfortunately no dogs allowed on the beach so Dave, Cheye and I stayed to the sidewalk and just enjoyed the scenery.

Our last stop was Guajome Regional Park and a picnic lunch. A really nice park along Hwy 76. There is a lake and some trails, even RV sites. A very pleasant drive, amazing weather and fun day.

When we got back to the Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes park we stopped at the park store. Dave had checked on pickleball paddles while there a few days ago. The clerk had said they were going to order some in and they did! They even set a couple paddles aside for us since we had asked for them. So this afternoon we tried pickleball. Well, so far we are just working on getting the ball back and forth over the net but we’re having fun!





Photos
Top:Mission San Luis Rey
Right: Hummingbird in the flowers
Bottom Series:
~Oceanside beach
~Another view of Mission San Luis Rey
~On the grounds at Mission San Luis Rey - the oldest pepper tree in CA is beyond the arch
~Some interesting flowers

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Dog or no dog

I thought a comment made by Sharon on yesterday’s blog was best covered by a post. She said she would love to hear our thoughts on traveling with a dog as she and her hubby were debating on bringing a pet on a RV adventure.

I adore my Cheyenne. She is sweet, giving and down right funny but there is no doubt a dog in an RV can be a problem. There are a lot of restrictions on a RV dog, almost always having to be on a leash, a smaller living space than most stationary homes, no yard to roam in. If you go sightseeing and take them they are often stuck in the truck/car because so many places don’t allow dogs. A fair amount of forethought goes in to each trip away from the trailer beginning with; do we take Cheye. And I mean all trips, grocery store or a trip to some tourist spot.

On the other hand; she makes us get out and walk, she is the reason we have met a number of people, they comment on Cheye and we stop to chat. When at a less-than-safe-feeling park (trust me you will end up in one sometime) when there is a dog that barks inside your RV you feel a bit safer. Having her has taken us to parks and beaches we may not have visited except that we thought Cheye would have fun there. But more than anything having Cheye makes our trailer feel more like a home. Something about a pet just fills a little void that is there when you don’t have one, and it seems like most RVer's have a pet.

So for us the pro's are outweighing the con's, but if we didn’t already have Cheye would we consider getting a dog?? We would be really torn and I mean really torn. A pet is extra work in an RV and not for everyone nor for every dog, but we would truly miss the companionship of a dog.

All that said… here are some of the moments we would have missed if we didn’t have Cheye….

Cheye and the wiggling sea foam


Cheye and the ice cream cone


Cheye on the beach

Monday, January 12, 2009

Pickleball search

We needed a few things at the store today and were going to drive about 11 miles to the nearest Walmart Superstore, but after chatting with our neighbor Judy this morning we changed our plans. She mentioned that there is a Super Target just down the road so that is where we went. Actually there is a group of stores there, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Staples, Starbucks, Kohls, Super Target, Sport Chalet, Petco and a number of others. Quite a complex, I believe it was called Menifee Countryside Marketplace. We got what we needed and stopped at the Sport Chalet hoping to find Pickleball equipment, but no such luck.

Our site is right by the Pickelball courts here at Wilderness Lakes and it looks like a fun game. I guess the park store usually carries paddles but are out of stock. No matter, we will run across some somewhere!






Photos:
Top: Wilderness Lakes preserve, Menifee, CA
Bottom series: Cheye and a stick

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Warm Day

Another beautiful day here in Menifee, CA. Temperatures were in the upper 70’s, a little breeze and beautiful sunshine. On our walk this morning we decided to head down the road that runs by the front of the park. There is a farm just across the road so we walked along the field as far as we could go. It was a great walk on such a fabulous day, all three of us enjoyed it.

After enjoying this park for the past few days we decided to extend our stay. As time goes along we find it is nice to stay put for a while at each park. It gives us time to know the place better and is far more relaxing. :o)

Photos:
Cheye on our walk today

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Computer projects

Today Dave and I worked on computer projects. Dave worked on getting all of the Thousand Trails locations set up in our GPS as “Points of Interest” rather than just addresses in the address book. I worked on organizing videos and pictures so I can burn them on a DVD and clean off my hard drive. We also got in a few walks around the park and some basking in the sun.

It’s been breezy on and off again today, but still no gale winds here in Menifee, CA. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather man’s forecast is wrong!

Photo: A goose here at the park
Video: Photos of Cheye excitedly greeting Dave as he came back from taking photos


Friday, January 9, 2009

A Little Shake

No Santa Ana’s here in Menifee, CA yet, there is still a warning though Sunday evening. We held to our usual routine today with one exception, we went to dinner at the campground cafĂ©. We met a very nice couple and chatted with them for quite a while after dinner. Always fun to meet fun fellow RVer’s.

Yesterday evening just before 8:00 p.m. we were sitting in the trailer when it shook. Dave & I both looked around thinking the other had done something to make the trailer move, we then both looked at Cheye thinking maybe she was moving around. Nope. Dave looked outside thinking wind, no wind. Then Dave said; earthquake! I got on the internet and sure enough, there was a 4.5 just about 30 miles north of us. Here is an article on it. It was very quick but it let us know were were in California! :o)

Photos:
Birds in the park
Video:
More views around Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes