Our Holiday Cruise That Was...

Greetings once again from along the road in Quartzsite, AZ. We're a few weeks late and just back from our incredible Cruise Vacation and Birthday & Anniversary Celebration, but thought you might still enjoy our musings and photos from our trip from LosAngeles to Ft.Lauderdale, FL via the Panama Canal. We'll share some of our early reflections from emails and notes Nancy wrote early on the trip:

"Where to start? How many ways can one say "beyond our wildest imaginings" without it sounding overblown? But, honestly, that is the plain truth. No wonder people like to go on cruises!

First, the ship is absolutely beautiful, and much larger than it appears in pictures; a true First Class hotel of the sea, plus a whole lot more. Fine dining, really great entertainment.....we've gone to a Las Vegas type dance revue, a great singer and impressionist who "became" everyone from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Cash to Joe Cocker......then last night we went to a performance of a Las Vegas hypnotist who just came from a stint at the Riviera, and she was absolutely incredible and Vegas-style revues and musical shows.

Sailing has been quite smooth until last evening at dinner, when they announced that we would be crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec (you may remember, that is just below where we lived in Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, Mexico), There were strong winds out of the north, coming across the Gulf of Mexico and across the isthmus of Mexico, with winds in excess of 60 knots (a knot is 1 1/8 mi) hitting us obliquely on our port side, during the early hours and into the morning as we crossed the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Oh, dear.......hadn't felt the least bit seasick before, but was starting to worry.........

The captain said that in an effort to minimize discomfort in the passengers, he would be changing our heading and moving in close to shore in order to reduce the impact of the winds and the waves, but that outside access to the decks would be restricted for some hours during the night and early morning, and rooms on the port side of the ship should be very careful as balconies on that area would be very windy. SO.....I was quite worried,especially since we are on the port side, but I turned out to be a better sailor than I thought I would be, given my tendency to carsickness. I just kept telling my mind and body that it was just being in the rig on a very stormy and windy night, or driving down the road, and I guess my mind and body believed me (It helped to see the hypnotist and see what power mind had over body)

Here's a GREAT thing, though......normally, we have been cruising pretty much out of sight of land, although when we came down toward the end of Baja CA, we could see a line of mountains, and we could see where Baja CA ended, but of mainland Mexico, it was way too distant. BUT, to avoid the worst of the winds the change in course, bringing us close to shore meant that late last night, while we were still awake, we passed Puerto Escondido, then were just outside the 12 mile limit, plenty close enough in to see the lights of the towns, etc., and guess what we saw? Yep, the faro (lighthouse) at Puerto Angel, just around the headland from where we lived, and then the lights of Puerto Angel! We were sure of it, because that is the only lighthouse on that whole strip of coast, right there on the point of land that is Puerto Angel, that marks the point where mainland Mexico takes that big jog east. It felt really, really cool, to be passing our old hometown area of Puerto Angel so closely .

By the time we woke up this morning, seas were up, it was really windy, we could feel quite a bit of motion even in our stateroom which is in the very most stable part of the ship, (the middle or midships) but nothing more than one might feel going down the road in the motorhome, or sitting in the desert in the winter on a dark and windy night. We hadn't ordered room service for this morning, since we were up so late last night, we didn't want to be awakened by it, and the sea and wind were enough that Tom thought I should stay in the stateroom rather than try to go to the restaurant or buffet for breakfast, as they are all in the front of the ship on various decks and more motion is felt there.

As a longtime RVer with an exquisite sense of "level", I could tell that the ship was definitely leaning a little away from the winds, and pouring a bit of my tea onto the plate confirmed that as the tea pooled onto one side of the plate quickly.

There is much to do ( or not).....entertainment, live music, Scholarship at Sea lectures about the various ports we'll be visiting and other stuff, and everything from wine tastings, to demonstrations by the chef, the list of stuff going on takes up several pages, and you could never do it all, which makes it very hard for Tom to choose, as when you choose one thing, several others are being missed, hahahahaha.......the food is wonderful, and although we've pretty much stayed out of the buffet for meals and have eaten in the dining room, which is more the "French" way of eating, elegant food, with courses served slowly, food exquisite, but not large portions, conversation with your dinner partners (you can choose a table by yourself, or choose to share....we've chosen to share with either a table for 4 or for 6 and have met some incredibly interesting people.)

It's a very international crowd, with lots of Europeans, Asians, a fair number of folks from Canada and Australia, a smattering of South Americans, and of course a fair number of Americans. I've heard there are 200 children on board, but they aren't all that noticeable, both because Princess has a huge number of activities for them, they have a deck with special areas and activities for them, and you often don't see them except at the pool or movies, but also because they are mostly those types of kids who have been well socialized to behave, so aren't running amuck, which is nice. They were having live music in the atrium while we were sitting before supper in the espresso and pastry bar there, and when the musicians took a break, a lovely little eight year old girl stepped up to the piano and played flawlessly, for about fifteen minutes......I'm sure her grandparents who were there were bursting their buttons, she was really good.

Not only is the food wonderful, the desserts to die for, but everytime you sit down in a public area in one of the many comfortable armchairs, etc., to read your Kindle or just people watch, some spiffy attendant in a stiffly starched uniform will appear carrying a tray of tiny little tea sandwiches, or miniature pastries, or sushi, or at 3 p.m., warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk, little arrangements of cheeses and homemade breads and crackers, to offer you....the list goes on and on. Other than in your room, there are no trash cans. You finish something, sit it down on the table beside you and an attendant whisks it away........

So....I'm fighting the good fight on the weight program, doing the best I can.....have fallen prey to afternoon tea one day which is served in the dining room from 3:30 to 4:30, and is a steady round of tiny little tea sandwiches of everything from salami and cheese on tiny little croissants, to rare roast beef on tiny little rye rolls, with horseradish, and the biggest collection of little homemade scones with clotted cream and preserves to put on them, everything in the world that can be made from chocolate, little tiny fruit tarts with this incredible vanilla filling (my downfall....they DO, after all, have slices of fresh fruit on top so should be healthy, right?) You sit there and a steady round of attendants comes around with tray after tray of goodies, with the everpresent tongs to transfer some delicacy to your plate...


On our anniversary, (32 years with this year's winter solstice), we woke up to balloons and a poster on our door, and a nice card from Princess.......for your birthday, when you have dinner, of course, crew appears and sings happy birthday to you, and there is a lovely, small chocolate cake for you to share with your tablemates of the evening. (We sat at a table with a birthday girl the other night, so I saw what to expect tomorrow), when I will pretty painlessly turn 70!

The ship is decorated beautifully for Christmas, I understand that Santa is going to fill stockings for us, Christmas carolers abound, Santa is coming tonight......the crew on the ship are from all over the world, every one dressed in spotless, starched uniforms, with big smiles, and you are never more than a few feet away from someone who is looking to make your experience ever more wonderful. I really begin to see that it might be really nice to be rich, since I expect this is how people like royalty live on an everyday basis.

We're really looking forward to the various ports of call, and have been attending lectures and presentations of what to see, etc. at each one, and we've booked several tours, something at each stop, from a visit to a coffee plantation, etc., in Costa Rica, plus some wandering around on our own in Puntarenas, to a visit to a rainforest preserve and tram ride with aerial views of the Panama Canal from the tram at Fuerte Amador, Panama near the entrance to the Canal, to a short tour of Colonial Cartagena, Columbia, plus several hours of wandering around on our own there, to finally, in Aruba, where we'll do things separately, as Tom is going to do a National Park hike and nature preserve, and I'm going to do a boat trip in a glass bottomed boat over a reef and a famous shipwreck located less than 50 ft. below the surface, and home to many reef fish......."

So keep in touch and we'll post another installment in a few days as we take in some of the ports and the canal crossing. We re still trying to sort out the photos and the memories.
Happy trails for now

Is it Fall already?

Where does the time go. Last time I looked it was April. And now it's November and we're still back at our new RV lot here in sunny southern California, land of swimming pools, movie stars and a whole lot more. It's hard to beat the comforts of heated pools, tennis courts and good walking areas here at Glen Eden Sun Club especially with Trader Joes just up the road. We've enjoyed a great time this many months rediscovering the joys of digging in the dirt and talking plants. Tom completed a 10 month Master Gardener training program with the UC Riverside Coop Extension in June and is now "certified" for whatever that means; like his Master Composter designation from a few years ago, piled high and heated up. Nancy thinks it's just one more proof of him being "certifiable". Our arrival back in April was met with feverish push to transplant the many seedling starts we'd grown from seed in the motorhome. The garden beds needed completion, the fence needed extending, the shed needed moving, the esaplier fruit trees needed wires, as did the grapes, the shed needed a workbench...you get the picture. It's been fun. I've also gotten to know the area better through volunteering with Master Gardeners at the UCRiverside Botanical Gardens, the GrowLab, many "Meet&Greet" community information tables at nurseries, garden tours public events. Tom managed a couple of short camping trips with one up the coast near Malibu and the other in the Santa Ana mountains west of Lake Elsinore. It's surprising how remote and beautiful a lot of southern CA can be, and yet within a few miles are all the trappings of freeways and people. We try to imagine the beauty of the lands here before being discovered by so many people seeking a mild, Mediterranean climate with ocean, mountains and desert so near.

We've also made good use of our time and are now trying on clothes that only a few months ago were way too tight...I've followed the progress of Ms. Nancy who has lost over 40 lbs during these few months and me along for the ride. Quite an accomplishment for her, and good luck for me.
Looks like we'll be around here until the 20th of December when we will shove off on our first cruise through the Panama Canal and on to Miami and visit with son, William. This will be a special birthday for Ms Nancy on Christmas day and our 32nd aniversary on the winter solstice! More at that time.

Welcome to spring in the desert...

Just one week ago we were in Globe, AZ watching the large snowflakes and the feel the 37F. with the nearby hillsides white! Today we're in Indio, CA and parked behind the Fantasy Springs Casino at 103.5F trying to find a bit of coolness on the shady side of the motorhome. We just left our friends' drive in Scottsdale after Ms. Nancy got in one more swim in 70F water, refreshed and ready to travel, even if she didn't think her evening would be this warm.
These past few weeks have taken us through southern Arizona, from when we last left Ajo through to Tucson, the ranch and grasslands of Southern AZ along the Mexican border, the Huachuca mountains, the copper mining district and funky town of Bisbee, the Chiracahua National Monument and now Safford and Globe along the "old west highway" on to Phoenix. We've never been travelers to back track, so all our routes tend to be nice loops and this one should take us back to SoCal and Glen Eden.
By way of overview (and photos) we had a wonderful time with some of our oldest friends from our early RVing days and exploring a new region. We enjoyed good weather, until now, good food including Ethiopian, vegetarian, different quality of Mexican and middle eastern, and even a good steak house. Nancy got some much needed pool time while in Tucson. While there, Tom, dropped and broke his 6year+ camera while on a bicycle ride and was really bummed out. Laundry got done, and new sites were visited and old ones revisited. We got back to the Sonoran Desert Museum, a landmark in the Tucson area, with our friend Deanna. Wildflowers were somewhat scarce this year due to poor winter rains in the area. Sierra Vista was a great location to explore the popular birding spots of Ramsey Canyon and the San Pedro Riparian area which was one of the busiest for migrating hummers and other species between the Rio Grande and the Colorado Rivers. Water is a real treat in the desert, and even the grasslands of southern AZ We explored nearby Fort Huachuca, home of the famous all black cavalry units or "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 19th and early 20th century. They were renowned as talented and hard fighting in the Indian wars against the Apache who were the main obstacle to travel and settlement of this area, and later went on to valor in WWI and WWII. More recently the Fort has become the center of advanced communications as an outgrowth of the US Army Signal Corps. It's an active post and is the primary support in the community.
We were also able to visit the nearby copper mining town of Bisbee. Now rediscovered as a funky and artsy tourist area after years of decline from when the mines closed and converted the labor intensive underground & hard rock mining for the energy and capital equipment intensive open pit mining. We did take in an underground tour of the Copper Queen Mine complete with hardhats, lights and rainslickers...enhances the tourist experience I guess. Interesting history, too, of diversity and labor protest in early part of 20th century, as well. One of the first mass deportations in US history occurred here in 1917 with roundup of hundreds of striking miners and their "removal" to New Mexico.
After a week in the area we decided it was time to move along to the rest of our winter travel route and to the Chiracahua National Monument. We (at least one of us) have always wanted to explore these mountains and former lands of the Chiracahua Apache. The "HooDoos" or rock formations are the result of wind and water erosion acting on the 2000feet of rhyolite laid down by the TurkeyCreek volcano over 25million years ago. It's a beautiful area with lots of trails and hideaways in the rocks, surrounded by high country grasslands and oak-juniper forest lands of the Coronado National Forest. We thoroughly enjoyed our short time here. After that we traveled north through Willcox and along the "old west highway" through Safford, San Carlos, Globe and Superior ending at Apache Junction after a brief visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and a tour of spring flowers and wonderful desert landscaped exhibits.

We finished our tour in Phoenix area enjoying visits and food with friends along the street in Chandler and in the drive of friends in Scottsdale. And now it's time to head west and back to our SoCal homespace. Our garden seeds have grown to healthy seedlings and are ready to be planted..our first return to gardening in over 18 years! We rigged a simple rack to hold the seedlings in our shower under the skylight and they grew wonderfully. We're now considering using it for other plantings throughout the summer months since the light is so good, and it's relatively insulated from temperature swings. Just another adaptation to life on the road. That's it for this installment. We're headed back to where diesel prices are above $4.50/gallon so our summer travel plans are really uncertain at this time. Stay tuned for more...happy trails.

Back to Arizona again

Well, it's been some time since the rains and cold of southern California. Now that spring is upon us in the Sonoran desert, it's easy to see why we needed to get out some and travel to our "places of the heart" again. In our many years traveling we've coined this term to note as special some of the places we've been and connected, with the people, the land or the activity. As we've begin to slow and limit our trajectory, we try to maintain these special visits and hope to maintain them as long as we can...and still find time and energy for discovering new friends and places. Even though we've landed in a wonderful place like Glen Eden, we still love this RVing life and the opportunities it affords us. Seems, too, whenever we encounter settled folks, it's hard to avoid becoming territorial and getting involved in the daily politics of living. This lifestyle affords us a better balance.

We missed the annual RV gatherings at Quartzsite again this year due to illness...ours. The crud we contracted from Las Vegas came back again with a vengeance. We did get to Yuma for a few weeks of desert peace and quiet and warmer temps. We also managed our annual dental checkups in Los Algodones, Baja CA, Mexico...and we're happy to report that the teeth are holding up better than the rest of us. We met up with old RVing friends (and they are getting older, too:) and enjoyed catching up on life over the past year, our travels and trials, along with the requisite visit to favorite restaurants, flea markets and sights around the Yuma area. Great place to spend the winter as many snow birds in their RVs from Canada and the US have found. I believe there are over 50 RV parks just in the Yuma area alone. All types of new services and traffic have been added, along with the regular agricultural schedule. Yuma this time of year is the lettuce bowl for much of the country, and also grows broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. All kinds of citrus and dates are grown in the area, as well. And you can't beat a date milk shake...alas, I must limit myself to only 1 per season, as I could easily get out of control.

We've since moved on to another favorite area in the Sonoran desert near the former copper mining town of Ajo, on the road from Phoenix to Puerto Penasco, Mexico and the Gulf of California. We're actually less than 20 miles from the border here, just north of Organ Pipe National Monument, and just south of the Barry Goldwater live fire gunnery range! It's a quiet place of saguaro cactus, creosote bushes and wide open skies. We've been coming here for years and never seem to tire of it's calmness and beauty. That, in spite of the active border crossing and smuggling route this continues to be, but we've been fortunate to not have any adverse consequences in all our time here. Homeland Security in the form of US Border Service is very visible in town and on the many dirt roads in this wide open area. Since the closure of the open pit copper mine here in the 1980s Ajo has had a hard row to hoe, but renewed interest in "national security" along with continuation of the war on drugs, the low cost housing which has encouraged new migrants from the north in the form of "Q" tips (senior citizens) and artists to take up residence. A more recent boon to the area is a 4.5megawatt solar electric generating array located on mining property on the southside of town. This grid enhancement will provide power to over 1000 homes throughout the region, and a few more jobs in Ajo. "Where", according to the latest promotional brochure for the area, the "summer spends the winter".

Looking to move along to the Desert Rain Cafe in Sells, AZ for a lunch of homemade TohonoO'Odam (Pima) treats and on to Tucson and southeast Arizona... Happy trails...

Welcome to our new year!

We arrived back at our lot amidst a 7 day rain cycle that finally broke at Christmas. And they say it never rains in sunny California. Not that we're complaining because it's a desert here and water is a real necessity and a treat, too, and not the daily gray grind of NE PA that we left so many years ago. But enough rain is a few inches. Nearly 20 inches in fewer days is more than this parched SoCal could well accommodate! In fact, here's a few pics. The traditional channel/creek through the park became clogged with debris and it remembered it's own pre-RV park route, through our yard and our neighbors'. We didn't have any memory, but nature and a few of our older neighbors did and now,so do we! Little actual damage occurred, but a lot of mud and debris went where it wasn't wanted, and had to be removed, replaced and refilled. So for the next weeks that became the order of the day. Add to this the return of the "Vegas Crud" we had picked up while enjoying the Penn & Teller, the bright lights and food in Las Vegas and another couple of weeks were lost to misery and a sore head, nose, chest etc. But we made it through Christmas and New Years!

One of the benefits of settling somewhere with a few square feet of dirt is that Tom has rekindled his gardening interest. Since October he is a "Master Gardener in Training" with UC Riverside Cooperative Extension. While in town he attends classes in person, and when not, he reads and follows classes online via our satellite internet connection. This training will now be added to his already distinct title of "Master Composter" that he earned in 2008 with the Riverside County Waste Management. He even has a T-Shirt that says so!


He's already enjoyed getting pricked and cut learning to prune roses at the UCR Botanical gardens. By the way, the first rule is never where shorts, sandals and a Tshirt to a full scale rose pruning!

He's also had a day at an olive ranch where they are growing olives and pressing oil. Actually the RV park where we have the lot, Glen Eden, used to be an Olive ranch where there are still many huge, shapely and prolific olive trees. (and olives smushed all around....next year some curing and pressing is going to happen!)


Well, it's almost 1 February and should be time to be in Quartzsite, but looks like we'll stick around here to help with community garden, our site projects including finishing irrigation for our new apple, plum, pluot and nectarine trees and 2 grape vines, along with helping out and visiting mother in a not too distant nursing home. It's comfortable here, but really time to be moving along. Yuma and the desert are calling. Happy trails until real soon (we hope)

And to the other side of Death Valley

We've now arrived back at our lot in SoCal, just south of Corona and are "enjoying" the rains, 4 days and it's still coming down. A wonderful treat for the dry southwestern deserts, but not too great for areas scarred by the summer wildfires. Fortunately, we're only inconvenienced by a few roads closed by seasonal high water.

Before we came south last Friday, we managed another side trip 180 miles across Death Valley National Park to the Owen's Valley and to the Lone Pine and Independence areas along the eastern Sierra mountains. We enjoyed sunny and cold weather, snow on the peaks but none of the notorious winds usually so prevalent. One of our interests was to visit the Mazanar Internment/Concentration Camp which was now a national park. This camp was one of 10 that was used to "intern" Japanese-Americans during WWII. At it's peak Mazanar was designed to hold 10,000 men, women and children from the coastal areas of southern and central CA. The exhibits and buildings showed a stark world brought to life by the internees on this windswept valley. It also showed an hysterical and prejudiced nation which felt it necessary to "protect" itself from these people, many fellow US citizens. It also showed examples of many Americans who supported their Nissei friends and looked after their properties until the internment was over. Overall it was a very sobering experience. And quite chilling as well to read newspaper columns and opinions from then which can almost be seen today by simply substituting "Muslim" for "Japanese". But we have come some way since then, there are no more Mazanars being built, though Guantamo Bay may come close.

Later we went on up to Independence and the Museum of the Eastern Sierras. There we enjoyed the excellent collections of the historical society on the history and peoples of the Owens Valley, the controversial takeover/theft of the Owens River and Lake systems by the LosAngeles
Power and Water District in the early part of the 20th century and an incredible collection of over 400 baskets by the Piute and Shoshone. All manner of burden, storage and fancy baskets were on display. Very definitely worth the visit. ( (Monument Inscription at Mazanar cemetery: the "Soul Consoling Tower")

Our last stop in the area for this trip, was the Alabama Hills. A wide open geological tumble of granite at the base of the sierras which was the site of over 300 films, and most all of the early westerns from Republic Studios. You know, the ones we watched faithfully on Saturdays with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and the rest. A lot of the early John Wayne movies, along with classics like High Sierra with Bogart and Gungha Din with Cary Grant were also set there. A relatively close 4 hours from Hollywood and a world apart it made for a great backdrop...and we enjoyed the views. Happy trails and Happy Holidays wherever you roam.

Las Vegas side trip

We've had a wonderful stay here in Tecopa, as you've probably noted by our absence from these pages. Not only have we enjoyed the hot baths, the quiet sounds of the desert, the deep, dark night skies, but also a few diversions to other places. We spent a couple of days haunting thrift stores, Ethiopian restaurants, the Rio Night Club and Casino and even a pawn shop in LasVegas. It was the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Blvd. made famous by the History Channel show, Pawn Stars. The only "stars" we noticed were on the door along with the hundreds of other gawkers like us seeking a view of Chumley and the crew. We also managed a genuine LasVegas "magic show" with Penn and Teller at the Rio. Amazing! is all I can say. Sleight of hand and mind taken to incredible ends. We also enjoyed a photo op at the Belagio as a Christmas treat while they assembled the Conservatory Christmas themed show. More interesting to see how they build the set, assemble the props and maneuver the materials around. In spite of the wonderful time, we also managed to bring back our first serious cold in over 5 years. Laid us both right out with cough, head and chest congestion and just plain yuk. We're finally on the mend, but it's slow and brings back the old meaning of the word "hacking".


That's it for tonight. Hope you're enjoying the season wherever you are.














Christmas Setup at the Belagio Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada