March 1997
<<<
Saturday, 1 March 1997
Up early and down to Islander RV Resort - we hadn't got a booking but we got a
space at this upmarket but rather pretentious campground. It took us nearly an
hour to read the rules and regulations! However, our "site" (pitch as we say in
the UK) was a little more spacious and we were surrounded by beautiful views of
the Chemehuevi Mountains and the
river. Once we had settled - which takes all of about 10 minutes. G, V, K and CM
all disappeared for the day. Valerie to the hairdresser and George, Kevin and
Claire-Marie to find us a hotel for the night and to visit the
Parker Dam - the largest in the world. Robbie
and I went for a walk and caught up on the ironing and other jobs we had to do.
A classic from Claire-Marie upon her return from the Parker Dam (as I
said THE largest in the world) "how did you like the trip to the dam then?" -
answer "quite boring really"...
Sunday, 2 March 1997
|
I might have noticed
the weather but I was having just a little
problem keeping body and soul together, fighting
off nausea and generally keeping my nerves under
control. The morning was as relaxed as we could
keep it. CM was absolutely beside herself with
excitement. Kevin and I avoided each other as
much as possible as we were both feeling very
nervous. I couldn't eat - there's one for the
record books. Anyway, eventually the time came,
I picked up Robbie and got blue shoe polish over
my dress.....
Lisa Jennings was the lady who was marrying us,
she was very nice, relaxed and even though she
was also the decorator and the photographer she
made it all very personal for us. I think we
were all somewhat relieved to see that there
weren't a lot of people about and those that
were didn't take a lot of notice.
|
|
The sun shone, there was a slight breeze, the river flowed and on this beautiful
Sunday afternoon on the banks of the Colorado River alongside London
Bridge we got married. It was perfect. After the ceremony and the photos we
had dinner at the Holiday Inn and then retired to our room (just us, no kids)
for the night.
Monday, 3 March 1997
The long, long journey to 29 Palms. I could not
possibly begin to describe the Mojave Desert.
Miles and miles and miles of long straight roads and nothing to see but sand,
cacti, and mountains. Mountains of every shape, size and colour. The only thing
disturbing the peace and tranquillity of the place was the odd mini sandstorm
and us. We didn't see another car for miles and then we came across civilisation
and Mcdonalds'!
Valerie and I had to stock up on groceries. We found a supermarket "Staters" and
did our shopping. Although our campground at 29 Palms is quite nice the
town itself is not so and Valerie and I both admitted that we did not feel "too
happy" about being out on our own.
While I'm talking about supermarkets I must mention at this point - where do
Californians shop? Supermarkets are few and far between, however, restaurants
are ten-a-penny. Even in the small town of 29 Palms, every other establishment
is a restaurant - surely they don't eat out ALL the time?
Tuesday, 4 March 1997
Valerie's cold had finally come to a head. So, we all left her for the day to "veg
out" in the RV while we went on a visit to the
Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua
Trees are a strange kind of cacti and the National Park is full of them.
Joshua Tree National Park is huge, deserted and unbelievably beautiful. Not the
beauty that we see in England and Europe, but miles upon miles of dry, barren
land; life-like rock formations, coyotes, ground squirrels, lizards and silence.
One part of the trip that took us was Key View Point.
We were around 4,500ft up, the sun was shining, it was blowing gales, and it was
freezing! We took turns climbing to the "viewpoint", and hanging on to the guide
rails so that we didn't get swept over the side. The view from the top was
breathtaking! There we were in the sun, surrounded by the snow-covered
San Bernadino Mountains. Beautiful,
but unbelievably cold.
Our trip through the park continued, the sights becoming more and more
unbelievable. Kevin decided that we should finish our visit by doing a little
"off-roading". The marked route showed a large circle of dirt track dedicated to
those mad enough to attempt off-roading. I can't understand what pleasure can be
found in being thrown about all over the place and then having to go back over
your route to collect your insides! but we did it. At the halfway point George
decided that it was time I had a go. Now, I ask you, how would you feel if your
father-in-law asked you to drive his brand new 4x4 jeep, off-road, for the first
(and probably last) time??????
Wednesday, 5 March 1997
It didn't take us long to get here - that's Sky Valley Park, Palm Springs.
We've dropped down from around 2,600ft to 1200ft above sea level and
everything's changed. The weather is considerably warmer, the air is not so dry
and there are beautiful flowers everywhere.
|
|
|
Sky Valley Park is something else... it is a
wonderful campground. George had a rather tight
fit to get onto our site and earned a round of
applause from the onlookers (CM, Robbie and I).
The park is full of Snowbirds so the children -
being somewhat out of the ordinary here - are
being drooled over. There are no less than nine
pools here all at roughly 80-90F, hot spas at
100F, saunas and then such healthy things as
exercise rooms. There are some beautiful
ponds/lakes full of ducks, egrets, black swans -
all this AND surrounded by the mountains which
constantly change colour throughout the day.
Absolute paradise - but then this IS Palm
Springs.
|
For those of you who haven't a clue what a "Snowbird" is - I shall explain.
Snowbirds are those retired people who normally live in the cold, wet, snowy
parts of the US and Canada and move to the warm spots for their winters. They
come for around 3-5 months of the year by the thousands and spend their days
playing golf, discussing where they come from, bible classes, exercise classes,
gardening, and activity days etc. etc. Most of the Snowbirds we have met on our
travels have been from Vancouver, Canada - the Canadians have been very friendly
and their accents tend to be quite harsh sounding rather than the USA Snowbirds
who are just loud! However, here at Sky Valley, you meet the Californian
Snowbird - a breed on its own. They spend each morning in the pool - water
aerobics, complete with sun visors to protect their beautiful coiffeured
hair-do's. Then it's a "light lunch" followed by a round of golf, followed by a
meeting of the ladies (in the pool) until "happy hour" at Merv & Bettys, then
early dinner, another Jacuzzi/sauna/hot spa and early too bed. Overheard a
conversation in the pool today "well we've been coming here for 17 years, we
just HAVE to go home after Easter because at the end of April we go to the Greek
Islands for three months...
Thursday, 6 March 1997
There we were in 85F (at 10 am) dressed in trousers, sweatshirts and jackets.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
which starts at 2650ft and goes up to 8520ft - about a mile and a quarter up.
The tramway was built by moving the equipment up the cliff face using a
helicopter over 23,000 helicopter flights were made during its construction. The
trip lasts around eight minutes and the views are unbelievable. At the top,
there are several "walks" through the snow-covered pine forests, skiing,
viewpoints and a three-story building which incorporates, a restaurant, gift
shops, theatre and bar. The weather at the top was beautiful, blue skies,
sunshine, snow and temperatures of about 49F.
After lunch and the usual photo shoot, we reluctantly left the cool mountaintop
and returned to the tropics down below. We detoured on the way back through
Palm Springs and toured Rancho Mirage,
the elite area of Palm Springs - Betty Ford clinic etc. etc. The
inhabitants of Rancho Mirage live in secure communities where all the
houses are painted the same colour and the entrance to each commune looks like
something out of "Gardeners World".
Friday 7 March 1997
"Vegging day" - the pool here is really warm about 86F, so this morning we all
went to the pool. Both Robbie and CM are uncontrollable - they just love the
pool so much. We then returned to the RV for a lunchtime barby, in the sun and
then at about 7 pm we all went swimming again. Although the air was slightly
cooler the water temperature hadn't dropped. Robbie just squealed with delight
and was just so excited. About as excited as we all were when Kevin hoovered the
RV today...
Saturday, 8 March 1997
Today we said a very very sad farewell to Palm Springs and moved on to
LA. Travellers World RV Park, is a typical city RV park - crowded and untidy but
for a couple of days we can suffer... trouble is, we've been spoilt rotten.
Anyway, today we went shopping, at Walmart, KMart and computers...
Sunday, 9 March 1997
We must be insane to spend our last day in the US at
Disneyland but when you've got kids it just has to be done. Anyway,
Disney is only five minutes from our campground. You must forgive me but it's
now 10.45 pm and I've been walking around Disneyland since 10 am this
morning and I'm just a little tired. Claire-Marie was beside herself with
excitement at seeing Mickey, Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Chip n Dale, Winnie the Pooh,
Tigger, and Beauty & The Beast. How do you explain to a four-year-old just how
lucky they are?
Monday, 10 March 1997
Bye, bye USA. I'll be handing the "diary" back over to the Guvnor for a few days
before the next visitors arrive. We've had such a fantastic time I hope you've
all enjoyed it as much as we have - that is if there are any of you left
reading.
With a tear or so in our eyes, Kevin, June and family were dropped off at LA
airport, on the way to which we noted that the afternoon temperature had reached
a very hot 92F, it's still winter!
Returning to the campground in time to try out the wash rack and clean the
outside of the RV, which certainly saved a lot of time and energy. After which
it was out to a rib restaurant with Pat and Dick Severson, whom we had initially
met at the Newmar rally in June 1996. We had been keeping in touch mainly via
our voice message service and planned to camp together for a few days between
our first and second groups of visitors. They were heading to their home in
northern California having spent a couple of weeks in Mexico.
Tuesday, 11 March
Up a 6 am to ensure that we would be in time for a 15,000-mile service which was
to be carried out at the Ford dealership in Riverside.
They also checked a noise coming from the rear of the RV which had recently
developed and decided that the fuel pump needed to be changed, so we spent some
hours shopping while the work was carried out. We arrived at the
San Bernardino, KOA mid-afternoon to find
that Pat and Dick had already arrived, welcoming us with a beer.
Wednesday, 12 March 1997
|
Dick suggested that he
would like to fulfil a lifetime ambition and
visit the Roy
Rogers Museum which is located about 20
miles north of San Bernadino on the edge
of Victorville.
The museum contains memorabilia from his and
Dale Evan's career and is housed in a fort-style
building. He lives on a ranch nearby. We were
somewhat surprised when shortly after entering
the museum we found Roy Rogers in a wheelchair
surrounded by visitors. He is 85, still mentally
alert but somewhat deaf. He shook George's hand
who decided that he would not wash for a week!
Shortly afterwards we watched Dale Evans (his
wife) recording a religious TV programme which
is to be broadcast on the Saturday before
Easter.
|
|
Dick had decided that he was going to buy a new computer so during the afternoon
George was happy to help him spend his money.
Thursday, 13 - Monday, 17 March 1997
As the San Bernadino campground was full we decide to move to the Mission RV
Park near Redlands while we prepared for the
arrival of Ann and Richard. As well as routine jobs one project was to make
support for the notebook computer so that the navigator can more easily operate
the GPS real-time tracking programme during the journey. The GPS highlights on
the map with a green arrow the exact location of the RV, the road being driven
along and the direction of travel. It is so accurate that it can even show a
change of lanes. It can also display speed to very high accuracy, and elevation
and also works out the route to a specific destination. It is turning out to be
a very clever and useful piece of equipment, which is likely to become standard
equipment in motor vehicles in the future
Ann & Richard
Tuesday, 18 March 1997
Ann and Richard arrive in America today and Ann is attempting to report on the
proceedings for the next couple of weeks. After a long and tiring journey, we
were very pleased to see Valerie and George's smiling faces at
Los Angeles airport. Our journey was two
hours longer than it should have been due to a passenger being taken ill which
meant we had an unscheduled landing at Winnipeg Airport for him to be taken to
hospital. We took June's advice and fought against sleep for as long as we
could. We lasted until about 11.3O p.m. but that bed was real bliss!
Wednesday, l9 March 1997
|
Quite a lazy day today
to give us time to recover. After a leisurely
breakfast, we went to
Long Beach - saw the Queen Mary and had
a good lunch at a place called the Yard House,
which has over 90 different beers to choose
from. Then back to the RV to leave for
San Diego - about
two hours drive away. We finished our day with a
barbecue and a game of Scrabble.
|
|
|
Thursday, 20 March 1997
We had decided to go to Sea World today, so off
we went armed with plenty of sunblock cream and water to drink. We were
thoroughly entertained, making sure we kept well clear of the "soak zone" seats.
A quick trip to the nearest supermarket on the way back to replenish our food
stocks and then another super barbecue.
Friday, 21 March 1997
|
|
|
Today we went to an
island called Coronado
via a toll bridge which afforded magnificent
views of the island and beaches. We visited an
18th-century hotel, called Hotel Coronado - it
was very impressive so we wandered in to see how
the other half lived. There was a beautiful
beach which we walked along by the sea's edge,
and we all agreed we could easily spend a week
or two there. A bonus was seeing a group of
pelicans fly across. It was then time for coffee
and "naughty cakes". Back to the campground to
depart for Palm
Springs. Arrived at Palm Springs
about 4 o'clock in time to have a refreshing
swim in one of the lovely heated pools.
|
Saturday, 22 March 1997
An early start today to have breakfast at "Denny's" - one of the many chains of
eating places to be found in the U.S.
|
|
Then to a very scenic
drive to Idyllwild which is a delightful
Swiss-like village high in the mountains. To get
there we had to follow a mountain route
ascending to 6,000ft.
It was well worth the journey where we found a
place to have coffee soon after arriving.
We strolled around a few shops with a
distinctively Indian theme and Valerie and
George bought a cassette with Hill-Billie-type
music which we played as we descended back down
- quite fitting music, we thought.
|
Tonight, Valerie and George decided to go for an evening swim, but Richard and I
thought it had turned a little chilly.
Sunday, 23 March 1997
9.20 am and all ready for the road. We are heading towards the
Grand Canyon with a night stop over at a place
called Kingman, Arizona. Valerie took a turn at the
wheel for about an hour which was only the second time she had driven the RV. We
are passing through miles and miles of desert land, long straight roads and
hardly any traffic. We are now into "mountain time", losing one hour.
Kingman was established because
of the railroad and then for mining. Also, the famous "Route
66" runs through the centre. We are eating out at Denny's tonight. It is
a good clear night, enabling us to see Hale-Bopp.
We have now seen Hale Bopp on several occasions and whilst it was possible to
see a tail it was not that spectacular, however today we had an almost total
eclipse of the moon which was spectacular in itself and as it blocked out the
light from the full moon Hale Bopp appeared to be brighter and clearer.
Valerie wants me to tell everyone that she and Richard beat George and Ann at
"Pegs and Jokers" 5 to 1!
Monday, 24 March 1997
After giving the R.V. a quick vacuum clean, we were on the road again by 9.
o’clock. For the benefit of those who have not had the pleasure of travelling in
an RV, I can assure you it is very comfortable.
|
We are now high
enough, at 6,400ft, to see snow on the sides of
the road. Arrived at the campground in time for
lunch and then straight to see our first viewing
of the Grand Canyon. What can I say!- it
has to be seen to be believed. Words cannot
describe it. As an American might say - " It's
Awesome". We went to an Imax film about the
Canyon in the afternoon and Richard felt quite
ill !! We decided to eat out for our evening
meal and nearby was a "Steakhouse". The waiters
were dressed as cowboys and girls and our drinks
were served in, what I can describe as, jam jars
with handles! That evening a talk was being
given at the Canyon Centre on "How the Grand
Canyon came about". It was very informative and
the Speaker was very good and humorous.
|
|
Just a footnote for Kevin and June - Richard banged his head today!
Tuesday, 25 March 1997
Temperatures dropped quite markedly overnight, so jumpers were initially
required. We are off to a different part of the Canyon this morning - the
desert viewing areas. Many have views of the Colorado River and with the aid of
binoculars, the fast-moving rapids can be seen. We also saw some ruins of a
Tusayan Indian settlement which are very well preserved. We decided to have a
mid-day barbecue because this evening we are going back to the Canyon to see the
sunset. The latest bulletin on "Pegs and Jokers"- George and I won last night.
Valerie and Richard lead 6 to 2.
Wednesday, 26 March 1997
We woke up this morning to a temperature of 12 degrees. The water system in the
R.V. froze up, but a quick blast with the gas furnace soon had the water flowing
again.
Let me set the scene for you as we drive at 60 mph along the I40 which is an
Interstate road running from coast to coast. We have just left the Grand
Canyon and we are now travelling 270 miles to Las
Vegas. As this part is being written, Anne is relaxing with her feet up
on the settee doing a crossword, Richard if he is not asleep is admiring the
view of the mountains which still have some snow on them and Valerie is driving
the RV which is the third time she been brave enough to drive our 55 foot rig.
We all agree that she is doing an excellent job. We have some soft music playing
in the background and at the same time the GPS satellite system displays a map
on the computer screen showing our exact position, the distance to the next road
change, and the speed of the RV - yes we can monitor on the computer screen
exactly what speed Valerie is doing without trying to see the speedo! - and it
also shows we have 122.4 miles to go to our destination
Within 30 miles of our destination, we stopped to see the
Hoover Dam - something else for Richard to video. While we are
staying in Vegas we hope to spend more time at the Dam and to take
the tour.
Immediately upon crossing the border into Nevada,
we start seeing Casinos everywhere - we will have to get our small change ready!
The campground we are staying at is called "Oasis Las Vegas" and it is a luxury
one with "hook-up" phones, so in no time George is getting his fix on the
Internet. The weather is hot and sunny, so it is back to shorts again.
After the drive today, we've decided to take it easy for the rest of the day.
George and Richard went for a swim while Valerie and I had a shower and washed
our hair. We had our evening meal at the local Boomtown casino, followed by a go
on the machines. Meals in casinos tend to be enormous and delicious buffets at
incredibly low prices. They know that having tempted one in for a meal it is
odds on that the visitor will at least play the slot machines. On this occasion,
George and Valerie were lucky and won about 25 dollars! Pegs and Jokers latest -
Richard and Valerie still winning 8 - 4.
Thursday, 27 March 1997
A later start today as we are not travelling so enjoyed a leisurely morning at
the campground, also put the swimming pool to good use. This evening we went to
Las Vegas Boulevard to visit as many
Casinos as we could. In the Excaliber Casino, we had our evening meal at the
"Round Table" Buffet - 6 dollars a head - not bad at all! We ended up at
Caesar's Palace and Richard and I lost 20
dollars between us, but George managed to win again! What an experience - the
lights, the people, the atmosphere, the enormity of it all. We are going again
tomorrow night.
Friday, 28 March 1997
Had breakfast at our nearest local Casino, It's amazing how many people are
playing the slots and tables even at breakfast time. Of course, we could not
resist just a short time on the slot machines ourselves. We then went on to
visit the Hoover Dam. We had a guided tour into the depths of the dam to
see how it all works. Before that, we saw a film show of how it was built. The
construction started in l931 and finished two years early in l935, however, 96
men lost their lives during its construction. We had a refreshing dip in the
swimming pool when we got back, including some sunbathing time.
It is so cheap to eat out here, so we are making the most of it and tonight is
no exception. We are off to test out the Mirage
Hotel and Casino - it is supposed to be quite something.
Later that evening. Well, we certainly were not disappointed - it was all it was
made up to be and more. The food was fantastic, although we did have to queue
for nearly an hour for our table. Then we spent a few more dollars on the Slot
Machines.
Saturday, 29 March 1997.
We are on the road again today after three very memorable days in Las Vegas.
Before we left, we just had to go and have another breakfast at the local
Casino. Upon returning to the RV, George got through on the Internet for a
"Netmeeting" with Kevin, June and family, it was so clear and we were all able
to join in. The transatlantic conference lasted about 45 minutes, all for the
cost of a local phone call.
Just before we got to the Californian border, Valerie remembered we had oranges
on board. The agriculture authorities will not allow fruit and plants to be
brought in from other States for pest control reasons. So there we were, in a
rest area, juicing the oranges and getting rid of the evidence!
Arrived at Calico campground late lunchtime and in the
afternoon we visited a Ghost Town - about 3 miles away. Just as we arrived, they
were performing a "Shoot Out" which they put on for the public at various times
throughout the day. We went on a tour of a silver mine and also a train ride
around the town. A few of the buildings are authentic. The mining town was first
set up in 1884, but by 1907 it was finished as a mining town and then laid waste
until 1956 when it was renovated as a tourist centre.
We had a barbecue in the evening followed by "Pegs and Jokers" The score was 9
to 6 in favour of Valerie and Richard. George and I hope to narrow that score
tomorrow evening.
Sunday, 30 March 1997
We left Calico at 9.30 a.m., heading for Los Angeles on the final journey
of our holiday. About 45 minutes. into our journey, we stopped at Victorville,
where the Roy Rogers Museum is located. He and Dale Evans are often there
to shake hands with visitors, but unfortunately, it was closed for Easter. At
least we got to have a coffee break!
After we arrived in L.A. we had lunch in the R.V. The afternoon was spent doing
a bit of shopping, watching golf on the T.V. - well Richard did (as he had not
fallen asleep!) Valerie caught up with some washing. As the weather was a bit
cooler in L.A. we had our evening meal in the RV, superbly cooked by Valerie,
with only a little assistance from me. Our day ended with a few games of "Pegs
and Jokers". George and I won the first game, but Valerie and Richard came back
at us with two consecutive wins, leaving the score at 11 - 7 to V and R.
Monday, 31 March 1997
It was perfect weather for our day at Disneyland, and sadly our last full
day in the U.S. We crammed in as many rides and shows as we could between eating
and drinking! As it was a national holiday, it was very busy and we had to queue
- or line everywhere, as the Americans say. We stayed well into the evening so
we were able to see it all illuminated. Again, it is a place you have to see to
understand its enormity of it. While we were having lunch we were lucky enough
to be well placed to see the "Lion King" Parade. Richard has asked me to tell
all that he plucked up enough courage to go on a ride called "Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad" which was like a small roller coaster. He had not been on
anything like it since he was sixteen, and that's a long, long time ago!
When we got back to the R.V. we had a few more games of "Pegs and Jokers" and I
am afraid that George and I got thrashed. So the final score is 14 - 7 for
Valerie and Richard. >>>
Home
