Yes....It's the Little Things..........

June 10, 2010

Quite a lazy spring I am having!  Did I say spring?  Santa Cruz is usually its most beautiful in the spring.  Yes... It is still beautiful but it has been unseasonably cold.  So I've been doing the 'little things' and it reminds me that I don't have to be on the road or in the warmth to enjoy my life. 

If you read my last blog post, you will know that I lost my beautiful redwood forest resort.  The investment I made 4+ years ago of $6,000.00 is not being honored by the new park owners  Get this!  They WILL let me stay there for $85.00 a night with a 10% discount for a few months.  It is now called the Santa Cruz Redwood RV Resort....in Felton.  Enough of that!

I digress.....I've been mostly staying with my sister and we still have lots to talk about.  She has a club house in her community and they are quite active with parties (for every reason) and  bar-b-q's  Any excuse to eat and drink (mostly sherbet punch). 

These pictures are from our St Patrick's Day Party.....corned beef and all the trimmings.

We also had a Mother's Memory Lunch for Mother's Day.  It was all about nostalgia.  I brought my satellite radio and we listened to 40's music.  Everyone reminisced about the 'olden' days~TV commercials, radio shows, songs, movie stars.  Just a bunch of old ladies (and a few men) giggling and having fun.  I was helping with the party and didn't bring my camera.

There's a great restaurant up the coast from Santa Cruz in Davenport,on Highway 1..  Great surf spot and many sharks visit that area.  The restaurant used to be called "The Davenport Cash Store".  Now it's called The Davenport Roadhouse at the Cash Store....or something like that.  That's it below.

 


My  friend, Deanna and I have been going there for almost 30 years.  We recently went back.  Not the same, of course, but lots of nostalgia.  It wasn't busy and there was only one other lady in the Roadhouse.  She wasn't alone for long.  She just had that look of an adventurer on her face.  We had a couple more cups of coffee.  She was there for old times sake as well with her memories and we were sharing quite a bit.. 

Saumya (new friend) has just moved to Eugene, Oregon and on my way to British Columbia (in a few weeks) I will be stopping to see her and we will do some more ya ya ing.  These pictures are some of the life in Davenport.

Pat and Saumya

Deanna and Saumya

Pat and Deanna

Heading South

My sister (Deanie) and I got so sick of the cold and rainy weather and I was getting itchy wheels, so we took off for a couple weeks in Phoebe McGee to find some sun and warmth.  We did!  We headed for the Mojave Desert and it was HOT!  Highest was 98 degrees and the winds were howling and the dust was blowing.  So were the many energy turban windmills.  TaZzi barked like crazy at them but we loved them.

We spent about 10 days in the beautiful and very warm areas of....

We stayed here:

We practically had it all to ourselves as many guests had left because of the heat.  Considering it was May, quite a few were there.  Deanie was in the pool and hot tub A LOT!  I was there SOME!  We ate lots of good food....fixed it ourselves and went on lots of day trips.




We had a day at Joshua Tree National Park and the weather was great that day....70's.   Our picnic was old-fashioned fun and we met some nice people, and learned a lot.

Adaptation in the desert is a miracle!  With very little water, lots of very hot sun, we may wonder... how does anything survive?  Vulnerable.... but the Mojave and Colorado deserts are home to hundreds of  species that know how to beat the heat.  

In 1936 FDR proclaimed Joshua Tree, a National Monument.  It was 1994 when it was renamed the Joshua Tree National Park.  794,000 acres of the park are protected.  Congress does some things right. 

This is where we had our picnic  There are so many areas to pull over to eat, to view, to watch wild life.  Campers, hikers, and climbers have abundant areas to stay.  We shared our watermelon with these 2 ladies from the east coast.  Deanie is busy cutting her favorite food in the whole world.

                                                                                                              

Why is my sis hiding in the RV?  A lady had just told us she had just seen 2 rattle snakes within yards and that we should watch out.  It didn't take Deanie long to get back in.  I continued taking pictures.  The lady said that the snakes were courting so I figured they wouldn't notice me

                                                                               You can see why the rock below is called Skull Rock!

                                                                      This is the picture I took while I was waiting for the snakes.

Keys View is an elevation of 5,185 feet. It was way more spectacular than my picture.  The San Andreas Fault is in the valley below.

I'm going to continue ... "Yes, it's the little things~part 2" in my next blog.  So I can have a break and you can, as well. 

~the gypsy~

Post.... 'bump in my road' & 'losses'

April 12, 2010

At the end of my last blog, I wrote I'd had a bump in my road.  It was a little one and in retrospect, a needed one.  Life has its way of slowing us down.  Have you noticed?  So, the bump was actually a fall with a pretty badly bruised knee.  First crutches...walker.....cane....now just a limp.  My sister, isn't tired of me yet, so she says.  Oh, you say, why are you staying with your sister?  You'll find out ....read on!   When in my home, Santa Cruz, I must store Phoebe and live with my sis..

Some of you may remember that even before I bought Phoebe McGee (my RV) I purchased a membership  in a great park in Felton (River Grove Resort) whenever I was in my town of Santa Cruz.  It was such a retreat for me .....a lovely and restful and peaceful place with ripples from the San Lorenzo River and some of the largest, oldest, majestic (families) of redwood trees in California.  I called it my Redwood Forest!  I met so many wonderful people there and have such beautiful memories.  Some pictures below.

Yes, I'm speaking in past tense.  The people I bought it from 4+ years ago have gone bankrupt and it has been sold.  My home has been taken over, has a new name, new owner, been updated.....and if I want to stay there, I must pay $65.00 to $85.00/day.  Needless to say, since I already have  $6,000.00 invested in this lifetime....pass it on to my grandkids ..... membership, I will not be paying that much to stay there.  I've wanted to go see it and meet the new management but....I must heal more before I do that.  It's kind of like loving that man...he leaves.....and you go to meet the new woman.  Heartbreak of the monetary kind.

I'm thinking I have no recourse but haven't pursued any action yet.  I received no written notice, was billed and paid my annual dues 2 months ago and the bankrupted owners kept it.  I am sad beyond words.  This was my (old-age) security when I could no longer travel as I do now.  I have other RV resorts where I can stay for free that I've also invested in, but they are in Palm Springs, Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.  Weather not conducive to summer in California.  So,  as I rework my plans and as that door closed, I know another one will open.  It always does.  The picture to the right is the inside of the cabin I received each year for 2 weeks along with my membership and annual dues.

Since I've been babying my knee and am eating less, I haven't been socializing much.  Have just seen a few friends, had and continue having lots of doctor appointments, spent time with my niece, going through tons of old pictures my Mother left behind when she died.  It's very hard to throw pictures away.  With me having no space in my RV, and my pictures are now all digital, I surely can't carry them around with me.  My sis and I never run out of stuff to talk about and she loves TaZzi almost as much as I do, so she's enjoyed filling in for me with doggie walks.

At the end of June I plan to leisurely travel north to beautiful British Columbia, stopping along the way to see other friends.  Althea and Brian, my Baja neighbors are meeting me in Vancouver; we will see a few sights and camp along the way to their home in Powell River.  I will buy a ferry pass for my travels in B.C. and am really looking forward to my most extended stay there.  To present I've only had cursory visits. I'll return to Santa Cruz sometime in September and figure out then whether I will again spend my winter in the Baja.  I will pay attention to the safety-factor at the borders and then decide.

til next time y'all.....it's the gypsy! saying hasta luego, ja mata nee, arrivederci, chio  and all that jazz!