Last Day

Today is our last full day of relaxation then back to Tucson tomorrow.  It's been a wonderful 10 days in paradise, with the weather in the 70s most of the time.  Yesterday and today are in the 80s, who could ask for better weather to enjoy the out of doors. Thanksgiving day and evening was a bit chilly but it did not interfere with our BBQ turkey dinner.  Been eating leftovers ever since.

The golf game has been quite good with even a mentionable score for me of 55; most of my scores fall into the unmentionable category.  As you can see I take this game of golf "real seriously".

After a real tough day on the course, it's only natural to celebrate the victories.

It'll be hard to pack up and head back to reality and leave such beautiful weather and scenery. Although Tucson's temps are excellent also.  But we will need to leave our bird friends until we return again.

Possibly we will return to enjoy the Christmas holiday in such an enjoyable place.  Until then enjoy your December wherever life finds you.

Just Another Beautiful Day

The days are relaxing, uneventful and wonderful with the weather in the 70s and this weekend into the 80s.  The evenings do get a bit chilly and our evening boat ride requires a jacket.  Sunday was a bit cool with a weather system progressing through the area and Monday morning we awoke to snow on the mountains west of us.

Sunday, Jim shot a 57 on our par 54 course, then followed it up with a 53 on Monday.  Maybe he is getting his golf game ready for our annual Indio Invitational in April with players J Moon, L Moon and G Rolling.  This Invitational holds big stakes and a traveling trophy which is currently in the possession of J Moon.

Monday night we had BBQ country ribs which turned out tasty with our homemade BBQ sauce and hot pepper sauce make from the serrano pepper bush in our back yard.

The golf course and grounds are in immaculate condition which produce plenty of colorful scenes for the eyes.

 There is an abundance of ducks of several varieties, herons, egrets and we believe some loons, but not exactly sure.  These two were the only ones awake and out enjoying the water during my bike ride this morning.

Tomorrow we will have our own bird (a turkey) on the Weber with mesquite smoke flavor for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  I wish everyone a wonderful day and give thanks for our wonderful family and our many blessings.

Surprise upon Arrival

We're on the road again, this time to our lot at Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA (in the Palm Springs area) where we travel to exclusively this time of year.  Left Tucson Thursday late morning, with an uneventful trip arrived at our destination late afternoon.  Once we were parked we notice that our casita was broken into and our TV stolen.

They used a crowbar to break around the deadbolt and door lock.  Besides the TV they took a flashlight and a kitchen towel (???) but left everything else intact even the beer in the refrig. Friday was spent cleaning up the lot and casita after being gone for 7 months to make it livable then headed off to BestBuy and Costco to purchase a new TV (too many sports to watch to not have a TV).  We opted for a 37" instead of the 42" we had, so we can store it in the motorhome when we leave that way we are assured it will not be stolen again.

The weather is beautiful in the 70s which is perfect for golf; we did get out on Friday for a round of golf on the executive 9 hole course here on site.  We go around twice to make it a full 18 holes.

As I sit here composing this post the above picture is my view.

This is the street view of our lot.

We go for an evening wine cruise in our "Moondrifter".

This is typical scenery throughout the park.

As you can see, this person is totally engaged in some very important work. (Just waiting to play golf is more like it.) Another hour and we will hit the course for another round with that little white ball.

For the next 10 days I'll be reporting our pretty much relaxing time here in Indio so come back to visit.

4 Day Adventure Conclusion

Our four day adventure did come to an end last week-end.  And as promised (albeit a bit late, as heard through the grapevine) the final chapter in Las Cruces. Saturday broke with bright blue skies with a crispness in the air.  We took off early for a day of sightseeing around the area.  Drove south on I10 to El Paso, then West on Sunland Park and found a casino, which called to Jim.  After spending a few hours donating funds, we moved north on country roads through pecan groves with the magnificent trees forming a tunnel over the road, cotton fields, and of course vineyards.

Of course we stopped and tasted the wines as we continued north.

We added a few bottles to our collection back in the RV (I'm actually holding a bag containing my newly purchased bottle in the picture below).

Some wineries didn't offer any vintage that satisfied our palate such as the one below.

After our hard day drive through the pretty countryside and tasting wines, we needed to settle in for an enjoyable evening.

Our last pleasurable evening in Las Cruces.

Sunday morning brought cleaning, laundry and packing up to move on out towards home.  Another enjoyable trip comes to an end.

Mystery

After having unsolved issues yesterday with the RV, today we have a mystery solution.  The furnace just decided to work, nothing done to it, it just took the day off yesterday and was back on the job this morning to warm the coach.  Plus we received our new control panel, installed it and low and behold, it worked.  Wonders never cease.

Since our morning started off so good, we took a walk to old town Mesilla and enjoyed a few sites.

We came across an old church that a funeral was in progress with the hearse a 1950's Cadillac. Mesilla was where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to hang.

After we finished our walk, we thought about higher learning at NM State University.

Just because it was the golf course doesn't mean we didn't earn our degree on the putting green.

Enjoyed playing this pretty course with plenty of trees for the golf ball to find.

Also found some fall colors (very minimal).

Stopped off at another wine tasting room on way back to RV, but left empty handed.  Didn't like any of their wines.

Now we are ready for another evening of BBQ (steaks) and football.  Can you believe those UA Wildcats last night?  Quite an improvement!

Stay tuned tomorrow for another episode in our 4 day adventure.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Yes, we are rollin' down the highway, different direction than our original plan.  We left Tucson yesterday afternoon after spending a couple of hours at LazyDays to have them match the wiring from the RV to the Lincoln so the lights worked while towing.  Purchasing a new vehicle in July, we needed to get everything in sync and in working order.

On the road at 2pm heading east to Las Cruces, NM.  Why Las Cruces?  Well, we only have four days to play, so Las Cruces is only a 4 hour drive from Tucson; get away, play a little golf, visit a couple of the local wineries and just kick back.

We got all settled in at our destination right quick.

And gave a toast for the first night.

Thursday morning brought new issues with the electronics on the motor home.  The electronic control panel froze up, so was on the phone with Newell for a good hour with the solution of them over-nighting a new panel.  Plus our furnace was not working with no solution until we take a trip to OK for our service.  Then on top of that, our internet satellite would not lock on and transmit the signal, so spent another hour on the phone with Motosat with no solution.  Will need to wait till we get over to Indio to hire a satellite repair to come and fix.

The only way we knew how to turn this day around was to play golf. So off we went.

We hit the links and play a round at Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, priced right with decent course.  

A view of the Organ Mountains off to the east provided a pleasant backdrop to the golf.

On the way back to the RV we stopped off at St. Clair wine tasting room and partook in several tastings. We were quite surprised that their wine was so good, or we tasted too much and it started tasting good.  Don't know which came first.  But we will find out went we uncork one of the 6 bottles we came home with.

Now we are settling in for an evening of BBQ corned beef brisket, watch the UA football game and uncork another bottle of wine (not in that order).

The adventure continues tomorrow.

Summer's Over

The days are getting shorter (way too fast if you ask me) and the temperatures are getting cooler (let's not get too cool) which means summer is over for 2011.  How fast the days go by.  This summer we had plans to travel but as mentioned in the last post, Jim's been busy at his business so we enjoyed our weekends at home in Tucson.

After a hard day on the golf course chasing a little white ball from tee to green which includes side trips into the desert areas finding an errant shots, we end the day with a relaxing time on our back patio watching golf tournaments, football games or more enjoyable the birds in the yard.

We already live in a place where tourist come to visit so we enjoy our time at home as if we are on vacation.  The view from our back patio is as pleasant as any resort, and the cost and privacy is much better.

We are surrounded by the beautiful Catalina Mountains with a view of Thimble Peak east of Sabino Canyon.

All-in-all we had a wonderful summer enjoying our time at home even though we miss getting in our RV and traveling.  Our trip to Napa Valley will be put off until next year, but we will be traveling to our lot at Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA come the end of November.

Happy Travels
Linda