RV FIRE
Last week we got an e-mail from the guy who is watching our home which informed us that one of the units in our town home complex had burned and the two units on either side had suffered smoke damage. Yesterday I was just walking through the campground and noticed yellow tape around one of the units. Sure enough, a fire had absolutely destroyed it. The fire was in the middle of the night but the couple and their dog all got our safely. After they had escaped, they went to the RV’s on either side of them to warn them to get out in case the propane in their unit caught fire. What presence of mind. But, no, the propane did not blow.
The fire started in their refrigerator which had been repaired that day by a drive-by repair guy. I see a huge lawsuit coming. But, meanwhile the couple is living in a park model in the campground, trying to salvage what they can. Several in the campground took a collection for them and many of us donated.
We now have a weekly schedule for checking our smoke alarm. Gary already had a rope ladder for us to escape out the bedroom window and two dowels to hold the window open. We’ll have to practice getting out that way.
ICE CREAM
We love hard ice cream, as anyone who has read this blog can attest to, and were ice cream deprived in Phoenix where we could not find many hard ice cream stores. In Palm Springs, strange as it sounds, is a great hard ice cream in the Rite Aid pharmacy chain. We stopped on our first day here but have not been back. Huh? And, it’s only 4 blocks from the campground. To remedy that oversight, we had planned to hit the Rite Aid yesterday but got working on the RV and other things that we missed it. Today - our last time in Palm Springs before we head to San Diego and we’re heading to the Rite Aid as we head out of the city on our journey. We packed up, hitched the Jeep to the tow bar and, 4 blocks later were standing in front of the counter choosing our flavors. Today, not just one dip, but two, since it might be a long time before our next dips. My 2 dips were at least 5” high, these are big scoops, not round but cylindrical. Whoo-eee. Mocha almond fudge and strawberry cheesecake. Could anything be better?
SCENIC BYWAYS AND INTERSTATES
There is a large mountain range between San Diego and Palm Springs and two major ways of getting around it: one goes north around the mountains through a low pass on interstates all the way. The second winds up to a high pass over the mountains and then goes down on the other side on state highways of varying widths and often without guard rails. Great views and designated a ‘scenic byway.' (The green in each of these pictures, small as it is from this distance is the grass on the golf courses of Palm Springs.)
Guess which one we chose? Yep, you guessed it. We’re going to take our RV, tow bar and Jeep (53’ altogether) over the mountain pass with great views. The results:
the RV purred up that pass, around those curves and down on the other side
the driver was firmly in control
the passenger: well, after she retrieved her stomach from the floor, and pried her hands loose from the seat - well, you get the idea. As much as I like BEING in San Diego, I’m not so excited about GETTING there, especially when Hot Rod Gary chooses the short-cut over the mountain pass. Was I really that nervous? No, but luckily I distracted myself by taking pictures.
We did get some great views. However, the road was so slow that we could have saved about 2 hours by taking the long way north around the mountains. Truth to tell, Gary says he’d not take that way again, he had read several descriptions about it and none mentioned how narrow the road was. Oh, well, we made it.
As we were coming to the end, we saw what looked like a forest fire high up in the mountains. Getting to this fire looks like a difficult proposition, much less fighting it.
Part of the trip is down Interstate 15 past a town called Temecula. Now,the mountain pass road is called a ‘scenic byway’ whereas the interstate is not, probably just because it’s an interstate. But, it is equally as scenic, though with lots of other cars. The land is very hilly often with homes perched on the top.
Vineyards dot the hills, ranches fill the small valleys, greenery and large white boulders cover the hills. It is a neat drive, fully worthy of being a ‘scenic’ interstate.
Note the different colors around the two roads. The first, the scenic byway out of Palm Springs is on the eastern side of the mountains, the desert side. The pictures on the interstate are on the western side of the mountains, not too far from the ocean. Obviously, the mountains prevent the moisture from getting to the desert regions.
TWO SURPRISES
When we got to San Diego, we wanted to find a diesel station since it’s always a good thing to have a full tank with Stabil in it if you are going to park for a while, and we’ll be here a month. At the station, we both wanted to use the rest room. I went inside, saw none, asked and was told it was outside. And, you know what outside bathrooms look like. I asked for a key and was told that it was unlocked. Oh, no, even worse. I hesitantly walked around to the door and found - a very clean bathroom. What a pleasant surprise.
My second surprise came when we were checking in to the resort. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that our reservation actually began on 1/15 and we weren't getting there until 1/19. My mistake. I e-mailed them and got a phone message that they had held our space for us since I had put down a deposit. However, that would mean that we would not have a full month here. So, when we arrived, I entered the office an spoke with a young man, I threw myself on his mercy, batted my eyelashes, wiped a tear from my cheek and asked if we could have our reservation start on 1/19 and go to 2/19. YES, he said. What a delightful surprise. Actually, they had spaces so they didn’t lose any business but I would understand if they did not adjust our reservation.
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