California, Here We Are

We left Arizona on Thursday, splitting our trip to the Los Angeles area into 2 driving days.  We stopped in the afternoon, to have all day Friday to play tourist in Palm Springs. 

Quite a number of Hollywood-types and other entertainers chose to live here, just outside of the LA basin.  We took the opportunity to drive down Gene Autry Trail, past Kirk Douglas Way, and saw the shops on Palm Canyon.  Here is one of Frank Sinatra’s houses:

 

Just at the edge of town is the San Gorgonio Pass, home to more wind turbines per acre than anyplace else we’ve seen:

 

After soaking in the RV park’s hot pools, we were ready to face weekend traffic into metro Los Angeles.  Although it was Saturday morning, the traffic and drivers were much more reasonable here than in Phoenix.

We arrived at the Methodist church in LaVerne about noon.  We were here before, about 4 years ago, so we knew where to go and where to park.  Our team leaders were ready for our arrival, and the rest of the team members pulled in later in the afternoon.  We have worked with one couple earlier this winter, but the other two are new to us.  We will be working here for three weeks and, when the project ends, the others will leave but we will stay another three weeks, commuting to another project in nearby San Dimas.

Arizona Days are Dwindling

It has been over two weeks since our last posting.  A lot got done during that time. The right/front slideout has been repaired – not without a little drama.  It took two trips to the service bay, but the main thing is that it is no longer an issue. 

While Pam and Ron were here, they bought a winter home about ½ hour southwest of here with the intention of avoiding the worst of Minnesota’s winters.  Pam is now retired so that is easier for her, but Ron is still working and he will have to commute when he can get away.  We helped Pam a little bit by assembling a desk and hanging a mirror, plus a couple of other minor items.  The home is very nice and she’s having fun (most of the time) getting everything needed to live in it.

Paige, Pam, and Paula’s mother, Joyce, was also visiting Arizona during the last three weeks or so. She had an opportunity to stay at Pam’s new house for a few days.  The four of us returned to Minnesota last Thursday, all on the same flight to Minneapolis, with Joyce making a rushed connection for a flight continuing to Duluth.

We chose mid-February for this trip since the schools have Presidents’ Day off and the granddaughters had the extra free time.  While there, we got to see 2 of Anna’s hockey games – very exciting, with lots of skating and passing.  David and LaJoy joined us for Valentine’s Day with Brayden and Kaelyn, so we had most of the Riewe’s together.

While we were on our Minnesota “winter vacation” we got word that Bob’s youngest uncle had passed away.  We tried to delay our return, but Delta Airlines wanted nearly $1,000 to reschedule our flights.  This was way too much so we kept our original tickets and got back last last night.

Today, Wednesday, we are preparing for departure.  Our next service project begins next week in LaVerne California.  Today, we are packing, doing laundry, checking tire pressures, loading the motorcycle – all of the things needed to hit the road in the morning.  Here is where we’ve been since early October.

 

Sunny day photo of what we are leaving