Joan on the Road...of Life

The big excitement here has not been the flowers but the filming of a Ford XTerra commercial...I kid you not! Our resort is on a corner where S22 comes down from the mountain (12 mile, 6% grade) and heads into town then to the Salton Sea. For the last few days there's been a commercial production company shooting film with a bunch of new Ford XTerra's and a semi cattle truck...something about how easy it is for the Ford to pass the semi on the mountain curves. So the state police are holding up traffice ( the FedEx guy was really upset) while the crew goes up and down the mountain shooting film. Today there was a big white trailer with doors marked Makeup and Hair! And the caterers had set up lunch in picnic area for the crew. Someone estimated that it's taking 500 people to film this commercial...there's really a bunch of them around with all kinds of technical trucks and one that has a big arm holding the camera that drives in front and shoots the scene. So all the RVers are out there shooting the breeze with the cops and crew. I heard some of the guys trying to work a deal on buying a used XTerra! And it's not our tax dollars at work. The cops said the production company has to pay everyone fees including the state for the cops to be out there. So when you see the commercial with the XTerra and the white slat sided cattle truck...it was filmed right here in Borrego Springs, CA.

Posted by Joan at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's always interesting to find out who the neighbors are and what they're up to. Wally and his wife are here in their 5th wheel for a few months. They're from a cattle ranch in Umpqua, OR where they get something like 50" of rain a year. So they want to soak up the sun. Wally directed us to the Desert Historical Society to learn more about where to find wildflowers. Darlene and her hubby are from Idaho where they own a home that their kids are living in while attending college. They've been here since early January and will leave in March. They have a 6' tripod made of sticks outside with baskets of oranges and grapefruit hanging from it. They sent us to the best fruit stands.

Around the corner is a guy I've not met because everytime I see him outside he's laying on a concrete slab soaking up the sun, wearing only bathing shorts. Across the street is a church group of 5 RV families. They are just here for the flowers. I wondered why they have kids here then found they are home schooled. Down the way is a group of RVers from Leisure World....called Leisure Wheelers. Again just here for the flowers.

And on the corner are two old guys with two old dogs. Looks like they are here for a long time because they have a dozen or so bird feeders and bird houses hanging in the trees around them. The humming birds love it!

Posted by Joan at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seeing the flowers at Anza Borrego State Park is another dream realized. I've always wanted to be here in the spring,....never made the time. Didn't practice "carpe diem"! So here we are and the view is beautiful. The flowers don't cover the entire desert; they are in waves and pockets scattered in random places. So you need to ask around to find the best spots.

Posted by Joan at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Even though it's the beginning of the flowering season, we found some spots that are covered with verbena, desert primrose and desert sunflowers. The Desert Historical Society is helpful in directing people to peak areas. While the purple verbena is an awesome display this desert primrose makes a lovely closeup. Too bad I can't send you the smell of the desert too!

Posted by Joan at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After 36 hours of straight rain...yes, really...the sun broke through late yesterday and today the sky is crystal clear!!! After all the rain we finally got to meet all the neighbors and their dogs. Our doggies sure attract attention. We sat outside yesterday at noon and everyone who went by had to stop and meet the dogs, not us. Of course they LOVE the attention. In all the rain I scanned 200 slides onto the computer. What a trip down memory lane. So now we're getting ready to go explore and see what desert flowers are out there...at last! We've decided to stay here in Borrego Springs over the weekend so that we have more flower time.

Posted by Joan at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looks like we'll have a week of rain here which will be really good for the desert flowers. It is cool and cloudy with some wild storms now and then. Yesterday we had some close lightning and thunder which sounds awesome in the mountains. I took advantage of the rainy day to do some more exploration of my new camera. There is so much to learn...so many features! Best learning was the power of the digital zoom which takes me to 40x!

Hopefully we'll have some clear sunny spots in the next few days so I'll be able to capture some closeups of desert flowers.

Posted by Joan at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That was the question yesterday. We planned to leave Vail Lake CA (after two months, can you believe it?) but when we got up it looked like rain and the internet weather was forecasting locally heavy rain, wind, and mudslides. Well we looked at each other and said, "why would we move?" when the next day will be sunny. Of course, I get real analytical then and keep watching the storm move across CA on the internet doppler radar. It's pretty fascinating and the rain came just as predicted.

Our trip today was sunny and short. We went through some very narrow, winding, hilly roads and after two months of not travelling it was a bit nerve wracking. As we came around one curve there were yellow warning signs that indicated winding road, 25 mph, falling rocks, and flash flood area!!! Glad we weren't driving that in a storm.

So hopefully we'll find a few desert flowers here in Anza Borrego State Park in CA. We plan to stay a week and since we're in the boonies of the desert we should get in lots of relaxing time (or maybe work on all those projects we brought along that we haven't had time to do.) Then again, maybe we'll team up with the bocce ball group down the road...they have $100 balls and play in tournaments!....maybe we can get pointers.

Posted by Joan at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Who knew that bocce balls could be such fun? The family came to visit for lunch as we'll be leaving soon for our next tour. We had an easy lunch of doggies on the grill and all the fixins. Weather was superb and we broke out the bocce balls. Since the campground had emptied out we had the whole center yard to ourselves. We played four teams of two (probably not the way it's designed to play) and didn't really keep score but played for a couple of hours! Teams were Bryan and Jimbo, Mary and Hilly, Joan and Renee, Jim and Jim. Tom started taking pictures but we quickly began swapping/ subbing team members. If we had kept score....maybe Jimbo and Bryan won, but everyone had some memorable tosses. Naomi was a working girl today and only could be with us for lunch. Zack and Ryan rode bikes and scooters down the hill and thankfully didn't crash. It was a memorable family day...thanks guys! Looking forward to being with you all in June.

Posted by Joan at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wouldn't you know that it would rain on the day the Partners' came! So much for cleaning off the outdoor furniture. So we all cozied up in the motorhome and had a great visit. They got to hear the wonderful sound of rain in the motorhome and marvelled at how we live in our little house. They came bearing gifts of food (thanks ladies) and surprised us with bocce balls. Guess we'd been looking in the wrong place at WalMart..should have been at Big 5! Finally the rain stopped and we cooked doggies on the grill for lunch. I'm so glad that they all got to see our home and a tiny taste of life on the road.

Posted by Joan at 10:32 PM | Permalink

A delicious steak dinner, cooked by my Jim, and a bottle of wine followed by our own music selections...what a great evening! One of our fun traditions is playing DJ with our music. We take turns picking out the selections for each other...it's almost a way of communicating and it is really a walk down memory lane. Many songs take us back to a special time and place, to pictures in the mind of where we were and who we were with. We have lots of "our songs" and with all of them on the computer it's so easy to click and play! Thanks for a great Valentine's eve, Jim.

Posted by Joan at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watching Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams always reminds me to seize the day. It's so easy to get lost in the routine of things that need to be done and forget grab ahold of the specialness of each day. I think I'll try repeating that phrase every morning when I wake up, "Carpe Diem". What will there be in this new day to capture, try out, and add to my book of memorie, to make my life special?

Posted by Joan at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Having another birthday is great when you get all the wonderful gifts I did. Tonight's event was a gift from the kids...an evening out for all the "parents". After dropping the doggies off at son Jim's we rode with Tom and Renee to Outback where we met Jim and Elaine. The timing was great (we actually made it to dinner)...and we had a delicious meal. Then on to Pasedena for a performance of Riverdance. The performance was lively and memorable. Best part for me was the tapping challenge, Jim wanted to see more of the line dance. The old theater ambience added to the mystique of the evening. We topped it off with yogurt at Elaine's fave place. Thanks to all for a wonderful evening!

Posted by Joan at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He called me 45 years ago today. I met him at a wedding in December and my Mom said, "he'll call you"...but like in Flashdance...he didn't call. Until my birthday. We made a date for Saturday, the 7th. He took me to Chez Paul in Chicago and I, being the country girl, was duly impressed! We walked the streets in the Loop, had our picture taken, and I was in awe. The next Saturday, Valentines' Day, we went to dinner and dancing. He brought roses (18) and Fanny May candy, then bought me a corsage. I was in awe. We went out on the 21st, mind you he had to drive 50 miles each way to see me. He said, "can I see you Wednesday?"...so we went out again and when he brought me home and we were standing in the kitchen, I said, "Well aren't you ever going to kiss me?"...he did and then my toes got hot, so I knew. We were engaged by March 28 and married on August 15th, 1959. Forty-five years later we are still in love, still best friends and having a great time in our new life.

When people ask how we lasted this long and this happily...I might say "well you know marriage is a lot of give and take." That's true. But mostly I think it's about "us". When something is just about "me" ....then things can go astray. When times get tough, it's about "us" and if we focus on that, then we're OK.

And how come he waited so long to call me? He had to buy a car!...and he had to get rid of his girlfriend!

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Posted by Joan at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight I'm in total awe of the birthday celebration prepared by my family for Mary and me. It was a special birthday for both of us...16 for Mary, slightly more than that for me!

Son Jim prepared a wonderful spread of fondue and hot pot creations. Renee and Tom added delicious dips. We all pigged out while watching the SuperBowl and tracking the score to see who'd win the house pot. What a great time!

And the celebration will continue Satuday when we go to Riverdance in Pasedena.

Sometimes words and hugs are not enough to express how I feel when I get such a huge dose of family love. Thanks guys!

Posted by Joan at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)