May Magic Weeks Two & Three

Sun May 9th- Sat May 15th
Well our second week was as fun and exciting as the first week.
They opened a new Cafe here at Rancho so on Sunday, Mother's Day, we went for breakfast. It was packed. The place only opened yesterday and two of the waitpeople didn't even show up. One called to quit that day and the other didn't show. There was one girl. She is very sweet so we all gave her a break and were very patient. The food was good.
Monday I had a dentist appointment and Rob had his FFDO requal. training so we took seperate cars. My appt was in Seal Beach and his was somewhere near the airport. It was an all day event. 2 hours for me to get to Seal Beach, and then with traffic closer to three to get back. I did some other errands while there.
We took golf lessons again on Tuesday and Friday. He gave us a really fun putting exercise. We set a Tee a putter distanc behind the hole, then moving forward of the hole we put a Tee every 5 feet up to 30 feet away. We each have 3 balls and starting at 5 feet we put. Short puts do not count, and long puts beyond the back tee do not put. You have to have 3 balls either in the hole or in the area beyond the hole (between the hole and the back tee) in order to proceed to the next 5 feet. So, Rob and I compete. It is helping our putting.
We pretty much play golf everyday here on this little course. There are only 14 holes, and only two of them are par 4s, the rest are all par 3s. There are lakes everywhere. In fact, there are 15 lakes on the course.
Thursday we went back to Dr Falsetti to have our endurance rechecked after 6 weeks. They repeated everything they did last time just the same. Drew blood, weighed us, measured our fat, did our resting EKG and then left us hooked up to the EKG while we exercised, as well as had us breathing only through our mouths (nose pinched) through an O2 monitor. And the results after 6 weeks (drum roll please) We both gained a few pounds, we both put on more fat, and we both improved our endurance levels. Were we disappointed? You betcha!
So now for the interesting news! The entire time we have been here we have been going around checking our all the lots, the ones that are developed (built out with cool kitchens, living rooms, etc) and undeveloped. We only lasted two weeks before we made an offer on a lot. It is a big corner lot. In fact, we think it is the largest in the park. It is completely undeveloped so the possibilities are endless. We are thinking waterfalls with little streams running through it (there are a couple like that). It has a western view so you get sunsets (and intence afternoon sun in your face, a view down the fairways, and a big lake. They paid alot more than they are asking (thank you lousey economy) but a bit more than we want to pay. So, we will see.
As perhaps I stated before, or maybe I didn't, there are all kinds of services as well as events that you can sign up for. Two that we signed up for during our first week was to have our rig & truck weighed, and the second is to have our carpets cleaned. I figured it is probably time to get that molassess professionally removed from our carpet. As it turned out, the people set up the weigh station in the street right in front of our lot. All day big Motorcoaches and some 5th wheels came out to be weighed. We talked to them to make sure they would be able to fit us in, since we had signed up a bit late. They were awesome, they came to us. We pulled in the slides, hooked up the truck and didn't even have to disconnect anything, all we had to do was roll forward a foot or so, roll backward a foot or so and then roll right back into our original spot. It was great. First they weighed the axels on the truck alone, then the axels with the rig hooked up, and then each of the axels on the rig itself. We were so afraid we were going to be over our max weight and that was why we were breaking the front landing gear and cracking the back mags. As it turns out...we are 500lbs under the max weight. That was a relief, unfortunately it just means lousy manufacturing of the wheels and the front gear. Thank goodness for warrentees!
Later that eve we went to another big party at these people's house who we met at the Country dance lessons. They are really nice people. They are renting the lot that they are on and it is really big with a really nice build out. They are paying less for it than we are for this one, hmmmm. There were probably 30 or 40 people there. Pot luck again and BYOB, and they had Kareoke with 4 mikes, so we sang and sang and sang. It was a blast. We sang until curfew at 11pm.
Sun May 16th - Sat May 22nd
As expected, they countered our offer. They bareley came down on the price. We countered back with a higher our original, but still lowere than theirs.
Today they had a homeowners meeting. There were two very significant things that came out of it. The HOAs attorney met with the group and informed the home (lot) owners that the county informed them three years ago that they were going to get their lots permitted as "as built". Apparently, the county didn't really know how to go about it back then, but now they are going to start issuing violations, so the homeowners are going to have to get a move on. The second thing is that the area has been deemed a greater fire risk area than it had been in the past and they are going to enforce stricter fire codes. They are saying no more palapas, and they ones that are up now will more than likely have to come down. That is a big drag, because it is the thatched roofed palapas that give the place such a tropical look.
On Monday I found a lot that I liked even more than the one we have the counter offer in on. It has a killer view of a waterfall on the golf course as well as the Palomar range. It is built out with a kitchen, livingroom, and bar. It has wonderful mature palm trees and other beautiful plants and it is only a bit more than what the other lot wanted, but it is already done. It doesn't have any covering, but there are several umbrellas. We aren't crazy about the build out though and there are some things that we would end up tearing out, like the bar. We'd rather have an open sunny area. Anyway, we pulled our counter offer and supposedly put in an offer on this one. I say supposedly because part of the stipulation is that they get the "As-built" permits as required by the county, as well as get an electrician to come out and insure all the wireing is proper and that everything works. Apparently there are some weird things going on with the wireing. So, instead of writing up and submitting the offer the agent called the owners to let them know about the pending offer and the new permitting issues. The woman has been renting out the property and had no idea about any wiring issues. She sent out the electrician and was jumping on looking into the permit.
Monday we had another golf lesson, back to swing review and putting. It was fun.
Tuesday we got up real early, left at 5 am and drove to Pahrump, NV. It was a 5 hour drive. The California scenery was pretty until Barstow and then it started being not so pretty. We went there to get our Veteran status extablished in Nye county and then to register the Prius. That took a couple hours and then we drove back. We got back to Rancho at 7:30 pm.
Wednesday since the agent never put the offer in on the lot that was built out we decided to forget about all the as built issues and the fact that it wasn't the lay out we wanted and instead we decided to put an offer in on a different lot. It has a beautiful view of two waterfalls, looks up the fairway and has the view of the mountains. It is undeveloped so we can do what we want, and lot and build out will be less than any we had thought about so far. As usual there was a catch. The lot is paid for, but one of the contractors (who is a very good friend of theirs) drew up plans and made them and interesting offer. The contractor told them he would start paying their HOA dues right now if they would let him build out the lot and then put it on the market and he would pay them their full asking price plus all closing costs when it sold. Hmmm the man who owns the lot wanted to go with that, but the woman wanted to sell it now. Again the agent called them and chatted and Rob and I went to play golf. I was so frustrated I could play. I was upset that she didn't write up and present our offer. I finally convinced Rob to quit the golf and go and insist she write and present the offer. After all I figure at this point they have two people taking about offering. I wanted them to have our offer in writing. I figured a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and I wanted the woman to say, "Here is a definate offer, it's a for sure thing, so let's go with it" So luckily the agent wrote it and presented it. Now, legally they have to respond to the offer. We offered less, but are hoping they will counter and we will come to happy terms. Meanwhile we went back to golf. This time I felt much better. My game was still pretty bad though.
Thursday we drove down to Camp Pendleton. I knew things were going to be bad because I had a check to deposit so we decided to stop at the bank in Temecula on our way. (this of course was after we got to Temecula). When we got there I realized I didn't even have my purse with me. Totally forgot about it. No big deal, I can deposit it another day. Oops, I cannot get onto Camp Pendleton without my Military ID, so we had to drive all the way back and get it and start the trip over again. It is about a 20 min drive from Temecula to Rancho which is in Aguanga, CA. So 40 min wasted. We were going to Camp P for three reasons, get a military sticker on the Prius, exchange speakers Rob had gotten for the iPhones and play golf. Luckily it is only about a 30 min drive. We got the sticker with no problem. Then we went to the Exchange and first, we had purchased them outside the allowable exchange time, but they were going to go ahead and do it for us, but then, the manual was not in the box so they had no way to verify that everything was in the box. FINE! We decided to get something to eat and then go see if we could golf. We were looking forward to playing on a big course. But, first Candice called and said the owners had received our offer and were going to counter back at full price, and that she thougt the whole thing could be settled today. We said we were fine with that. Then Kim called and said they had received the counter and it was for full price. So, we said heck with golf, let's go back and settle the offer. So, we did and that eve at 6:18 we had an accepted deal in writing. We will close on or before June 14th. It is a beautiful, peacful and serene view and we are located near several people that we already like. Very cool.
Friday, May 21. I did my jazzercise class (it is Tues, Thurs & Fri mornings at 8:30) then we decided to go around and look at stuff we like on lots to see how we want ours. We talked to Chris who is with Baja Palapas and is still building the palapa style but now it has a ceramic tile type roof. We wanted to see what it looked like and ended up really chatting with him and he gave us his card for palapas and Eric's who is the favored and most reliable contractor in the park. Then we went to visit a couple who we met at the last block party and he had taken Rob to see their layout. We hadn't officially met his wife Phil so we decided to go introduce ourselves to her (and check out their layout) She is so sweet and bubbly and happy to meet us and very excited that we bought the lot 2 down from them. There set up is wonderful and very close to what we want.
Both Rob and I tried our hand at drawing out what we wanted, but I really wanted them (Eric & Fred) to come up with their own ideas. So, what we ended up doing was writing down the appliances we want, the fact that we want the living area and kitchen area both covered, but seperately and that we wanted a sunny open area. We also wrote that we wanted planters through out and a water feature. I typed it all up and then we emailed a copy to each of them, Eric and Fred and asked for plans and bids. It will be fun to see what they come up with.
Saturday. Rob's last day of vacation was Thursday. He didn't get called out yesterday, so at 5:40 this am schedualing called and said he had a trip and that it started at 8:30 this morning. So, he got up, dressed and hit the road. I slept awhile and then got up. At 10am I went to the country dance class. It is so fun, but really hot. It was all foggy & chilly this morning so we were all dressed in warmer clothes. Naturally it all burned off and warmed up. It was really fun.
Rob sent me a text and said it took him 1hr & 45 min to get to the airport, so he wasn't stressed. He only has a turn, getting back to LA at 2:30 this afternoon, but he thinks he is going to stay at the trailer at LAX tonight & tomorrow night so that he doesn't have to stress aout getting to work. He will come home on Monday.
My intentions for the day are to catch up this blog, clean house and attend the "drive in" movie tonight here at Rancho. I don't know how it works except that it is outdoors at the fishing lake and the "drive in" part is in your golf cart. So we will see.
Below are the pictures of our new lot and the view.

A wide angle view from our lot

A kitchen we like and a palapa

a closer view of the kitchen

A wall we like

May Magic

May 2010, Week One

Back sometime in Feb or March Rob and I came out here to Outdoor Ressorts, Rancho California to check it out. We ended up reserving a spot to rent for the months of May and June.
It is a big RV resort 20 miles from Temecula in the wee town of Aguanga. It was originally supposed to be 7 phases. With golf course roaming through it. It is currently 5 phases with 14 of the 18 holes built. There are 15 lakes, most of them with fountains or waterfalls, on the golf course, 5 swimming pools with hot tubs, 2 clubhouses, an amphitheater, restaurant & store. There are currently about 500 and some odd RV spots. People buy the lots and then build them out for some awesome outdoor living. Basically they sleep in their RVs, but everything else is done outside. They have outdoor kitchens with refrig, freezers, ice machines, built in Bar-B-Ques. Then many have sitting islands, bars, fireplaces or fire pits that you can sit around. They they are covered with very tropical looking thatch palapas, or sails, or canvas roofs. The grounds have tons of palm trees, and other tropical palms, plants and flowers. It is awesome.
So, on May 1st we arrived here at Rancho California. Our lot is #411. It is right on a lake, at the end of a rectangle looking down the fairway of 3 holes. This lot has only been partially built out. They only did the concrete and added patio furniture. From day one we have loved it.
May 2nd Kim came to visit us. She works for Fairway Associates and manages many of the rental spots as well as has many of the listings for the lots for sale. Anyway, she welcomed us, gave us the info on all the happenins, arranged for us to rent a golf cart, and to get a golf pass. If you own a lot here golf is free. For everyone else it is $25. a round. Or, you can buy a couple's pass for $200. a month which gives you unlimited golf. That's what we did.
As soon as we received the golf cart we went around checking out all the lots, peeking in at the ones occupied, and totally checking out the ones for rent or sale. That was fun.
The next day we played golf and chilled. Sort of chilled anyway, Rob was looking on EBay and found a 2005 Toyota Prius with a sticker for the Car pool lanes that was for sale and the bid was reasonable and was going to close in two hours. He watched and watched and snuck his bid in at the last minute and got the bid. He contacted the guy and made arrangements to pick up the car on Tuesday.
Monday we drove out to Temecula Creek Inn and began our series of golf lessons. Our instructor is Troy Gaston and he is great. So far he is teaching Rob and I together which is fun. So, we are there for 2 hours.
Tuesday I did jazzercise and then we drove to Venice and picked up the car. While Alex was showing us how to work the Prius our Suburu was sitting in front of us. We mentioned that we were going to sell it. He asked us about it and said he'd give us $2000. on a trade. We told him we also have a 2002 Toyota Tundra and he said he'd give us $7 for that and that he had a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid for sale. So we told him we'd think about that.
Wednesday I got my hair cut, colored and highlighted after we played golf; Thursday I did jazzercise and then we had our second golf lesson, Friday wine tasting here at Rancho Calif. Sat we took Country dance lessons here and then attended a Block Party pot luck with a small band and dancing. It was a blast.

The view to the right

The view to the left

Front Left

Front

Back at you.. We love this

April Antics

April was our month for traveling and visiting Friends and Family; unfortunately is was also a month of damage.

It started off quite nice. Rob has been looking, comparing, and checking for months for a new road bike. He finally bought a Jamis Xenith Race and he loves it. This was spurred on by two things. One, he wanted a new bike, and two, we are riding a century (100 miles) in Chico at the end of the month.
On April 8th we took down and packed up Everything, including all the plants. We moved out of Seal Beach. Our first destination was Fresno to visit my folks and my brother. We dropped the RV in Visalia so they could order all the parts we have needed since January. We stayed two days at Mom's and two days with Dad & Barb. I was also able to have lunch with my brother and his girlfriend. We had nice visits with everyone.



Rob's new Jamis Zenith Race
We departed Fresno on Wed., 14 April and drove to morgan Hill. We parked the Rig in a nice Golf RV resort. There was a really nice bike path that went wandering through the nature preserves. We set everything up and then had Sarah, Noel, and Liam over for dinner. Sarah had been to our little home on wheels last November when we were back in Mass., but Noel and Liam had not. We had a nice visit and dinner.
The next day Rob, Sarah, and Liam went sailing. It was just the three of them and the skipper and first mate of the sail boat. They loved it. I get sea sick so I stayed back. I met them all later at Sarah and Noels for dinner. Liam was very excited about the sailing. Unfortunately we were only able to spend 2 nights visiting them as we had to leave the next day.

Liam at the Helm
On Friday, 16 April. we departed Morgan Hill for El Cerrito to visit our friends and family in the Bay area. Our plan is to stay in Jim and Dana Moran's driveway for a couple days. It is about a 1 1/2 to two hour drive. Rob is on call so he is driving the Suburu and was a couple cars in front of me. All was going quite well and then suddenly I heard a big BANG. I looked in the driver's side rear view mirror and saw the tire and the RV coming apart. Oh My God! I pulled over right away and called Rob. He had to go up to the next exit, get back on going south, then get back on going north to come up behind me. We were both sick when we saw the damage. We called USAA (our insurance) and arranged for road side assistance. Fortunately most of the damage appeared to be cosmetic. However; while standing there waiting we both smelled propane so we shut off the bottle. Our refrigerator runs on propane whenever we are not hooked up to electricity. That was a bit scary and a big drag. After waiting for 2 hours the road service guys finally arrived and changed the tire. They got underneath the rig and checked out the brake wires and whatever else they could see and looked for damage. They told us a head on a bolt on the suspension had been sheared off. They told us we shouldn't drive it very far. We also saw where the propane line was crimped. Man oh Man!
So we drove off the freeway and right to a nearby truck repair place. They banged out the bolt and replaced it and soon we were on our way again.
It was quite challenging to back the reg into Jim's long driveway, but after a few minutes we made it.
The next challenge was getting hooked up to electricity. Jim was off at an Oakland A's game. Eveytime we tried to plug in the circuit in our rig popped. Rob finally called Jim at the game and he told us a different place to try. That worked thank goodness, we had a refrigerator and freezer full of food.
We were supposed to meet Krishen and Jenny for dinner, but we kept getitng later and later with all the problems we were having so we finally had to call and tell him we couldn't make it.
Rob and I had a hamburger and went to bed



Having a tire blowout at 60 mph on your RV is no fun at all.

Saturday morning we went to Krishen and Jenny's house. It was so very nice to see them. It had been a while. Jenny had to leave as she had to take Krishen's mother somewhere. after she left Krish, Rob and I walked a couple blocks to Breakfast. It was a cute little place and breakfast was yummy. Afterwards we walked back to Krish's and he showed us all the new stuff they have done in both their front and back yards. It is so lovely and serene. I loved it.
We said our goodbyes and went back to Jim's.
Rob and Jim went to Home Depot and Pastime hardware to get parts to repair the crimped propane line and I went off to American Tire to replace the blow out. When they went to take the old tire off they discovered that the Mag was cracked. What is with these Mag wheels? Anyway, because of the crack they cannot replace the tire. We ended up having to hunt around for, and purchase a new wheel that would fit on the RV so we would have a spare. Meanwhile, Crossroads will have to send us a new one to replace the cracked on. We are thinking there may have been and that there still is a problem with the suspension, because it has been both the back wheels (one on each side) that have cracked, and the blow out. There was no indication of hitting anything to cause the blow out and the wear pattern is odd. The tire had plenty of tread on it. Anyway, Jim and Rob got the parts they needed and replaced the propane line so we were back in business there. Now the blowout damage is just to some lower siding panels that will need to be replaced.
That night we had a wonderful buddy reunion and Bar-B-Q. Bloomie & Miranda, Ag, Krish & Jenny, Jim & Dana, Rob & I, plus Jim and Dana's kids. The food was great and the company was awesome. We built a fire in the pit, sat around it and partied into the wee hours. Tons of fun!



Rob & Jim



Ag & Jenny building a couple delicious salads

Bloomie, Rob & Krishen on the deck of the kid's playhouse

Cat & Jenny

Sunday morning we had breakfast and visited with Jim then went shoping for meat and a few other items.

We headed across the bridge to San Francisco. The plan today is a Bar-B-Q with Brad, Sharon, Grant and Nancy. We are celebrating Nancy's birthday which is tomorrow.

We arrived about noon and Brad and Grant had just wakened from naps. Grant just turned 2 in January. He is a cutie. His trainset was up on the dinning room table. It is just the right size and height that he can walk all around the table and play with it.

We visited with Brad for awhile and then Sharon came home. It was great seeing her. She had been at work and will have to go back this eve. No rest for attorneys. She is very pregnant and her due date is the 12th of next month. They do not know what the baby's sex is, but are hoping for a girl this time. Soon Nancy arrived as well.

Rob, Brad, Nancy and her yellow lab Obi (he's so sweet) were out in the back yard firing up the Barbie, and visiting whild Sharon, Grant and I stayed inside visiting. We had nice visits.

We all came in to eat and it was a wonderful meal. They grilled beef, duck, and 2 kinds of sausage. We had salad, meat, bread, wine and something else but I can't remember.

But it all had to end. Nancy went home, Sharon had to go back to work, and we drove back to Jim's.

Grant & Brad

Sharon & Grant Nancy & Grant

Grant & his trains

Monday 19 April we bid fond farewells to Jim and Dana and headed to Vacaville. Rob had a dentist appointment in LA so he got up early and drove to Sacramento and caught a flight down to LAX, so I drove to our new site on my own. It was a good trip.
Our new spot is in a big place among a bunch of Eucaliptus trees. They are really big sites and most of the RVs there are long term. We were the only ones that were only going to be there for a couple days.
I got us all situated and set up, then started fixing snacks. Rob got there at about 4 pm and the Bellis arrived at about 5. they were very excited to see our home on wheels and were impressed. Joey and Johnny enjoyed all the open space to play in and did their little boy things while Susan, Tony, Rob & I visited. We Bar-B-Qued chicken and Kristen drove out and joined us. We had a nice eve.

Tuesday Susan had daycare kids and Tony & Rob went shooting. I stayed home and made spagetti sauce and bread for dinner. Rob came back and so we went over there around 5. Tony's oldest son, Ryan is in Iraq. His pregnant wife Heidi was there as well as Tony's youngest daughter Kelsey. Joey and Johnny and Kristen were there as well. We got the tour of their house and then had spagetti for dinner. Afterward we went for a walk and hiked up this big hill where we could look down on the whole neighborhood. We looked for a couple geocaches on the way up and the way back but disappointingly we were unable to find any.

Wednesday morning Tony, Rob & I went to Tony's gym. We all had a good workout. Afterward Rob and I went home, showered and changed and then went back to Tony's. We had planned on going to lunch. When we got there Susan was on a run so we waited for her. After her shower we picked up Johnny from school and then we all went to Fresh Choice for lunch. Later we had dinner at their house again.

Thursday we all went looking at RVs we were considering getting one for Mom and they were just looking because it is so fun to check them all out. That night we had pizza for dinner.

When we left that night we gave big hugs because Rob and I were heading out again in the morning.

Tony & Susan in our home on wheels in Vacaville

Johnny and Joey Belli

The next morning (Friday) we got up early and headed to Chico. The Wildflower century will take place on Sunday. This will be our 4th year in a row of participation (Rob and Blooms have been doing it off and on since 1993). We like to go up on Friday to get a good spot. Then we stay until Monday so we get to relax after the race. Anyway, our plan was to get up to Chico, set up and then go play golf.Well, Rob called me about 5 minutes before I was to arrive and told me someone had our spot. Great. There was a VW vanagon in one spot and then they had placed a table blocking our spot so they could save it for their friends. We tried to squeeze into the spot next to it, but no go. So we parked and walked down to scout out a spot we thought might work. We tried two spots but we were too long and there was no room for our 4 slides.After arguing and debating and talking to another couple who were there we finally decided to move the table and park in the spot we normally use. We felt bad, but really had no choice.After setting off we wrote a note for the people next door explaining why we had to do it and then went off to play golf. We were both really uneasy the whole time because we weren't sure how they would react. It was all for not.When we got back they were all sitting out. We walked up and started to explain and they told us they had left us a note and we needed to go read it, so we did. It said, "The table wasn't ours, it belonged to a group of motor cycle riders, good luck." We thought it was pretty funny. They were just joking. Jody texted us and said they were getting in late and they would see us tomorrow. Bloomie was in Chico but was staying with a friend. Also, his brakes were just about shot and he was going to have to get them fixed tomorrow. We had dinner and then went to bed. Tomorrow eve we will all get together for dinner.

Sat. We got up had coffee and breakfast and then decided to ride into town and go to the Farmer's Market. About half way there Jody called. She was stuck in a hotel by herself without transportation. We told her we'd come get her. So, we rode back to the rig, put the bikes on the car and picked up another bike and went to get Jody. The three of us rode to the Farmer's market. We wandered around abit. It was fun. Bloomie came down and joined us. Jody's sister Charity and her husband had come to Chico to surprise Jody, her Mom Linda and their step-father Robin. They had set up on the side of the road with music and signs and everything and were waiting for the riders. The riders never came and they finally asked someone who told them the ride wasn't until tomorrow. So they called Jody. It was so cute.
Rob, Bloomie, Jody & I walked to Madison Bear Garden and cool college hangout where you can get yummy sandwhiches and drinks. We had lunch and in the middle of it Charity and her husband Jeremy? came and joined us. They were cute and alot of fun. She is very pregnant with their third child. we invited them to spend the night with us in our RV because all the hotels are filled up due to the race, but they decided they needed to get back to their kids. They live up by Shasta.

Jody and I went to the grocery store. We are going to make Paella for dinner for us all tonight. Actually we made two. One is the normal way with shrimp, clams, mussels, etc, but Blomie is allergic to shell fish so we are making a smaller one for him with sausage and chicken, no shell fish.
We all got together around 4ish. We had healthy things to snack on while preparing the paella. It is always fun to go through the whole production of it. We were 7 for dinner. Braunche & Jody, Linda & Robin, Rob & I, and Bloomie. his friend John came and visited us for awhile, but he did not stay for dinner.

Just as we were getting ready to eat, in fact it was being dished up, I was inside slicing the garlic bread. Linda was in there with me. Suddenly I slice my finger along with the bread. Yeow!! I about sliced the tip of my left index finger off and it was bleeding big time. I headed for the bathroom, but it was occupied. I headed back to the kitchen and was trying to get a paper towel. It was bleeding all over the place. Robin is a surgeon. He came in right away and grabbed it and squeezed it hard to stop the bleeding. Rob came in with the first aid kit and they butterflied it closed and wrapped it up. He used the butterflies so I wouldn't have to bother with the hastles of going and getting stitches. He did and good job and told me I was good to go on the ride, but I couldn't get it wet for a week. No dishes! Rob said he wanted a second opinion.

The rest of the night was great. The paella was delicious, the company was awesome and we built a fire in the pit and just chilled. It was wonderful.

The next day we got up and started on the ride. I had decided that I was going to do the whole 100 miles with Rob and Bloomie. Rob & I had been riding a bit, but not tons. It started out ok. I had done the first part of the ride and the first big hill last year. I remembered it was tough, but I did it. I did it this year as well, but it was a struggle. We had a bunch of down hill and then we had another huge hill. Table Mountain. It was aweful. I was totally struggling and holding everyone up. I told Rob to go ahead and I'd keep on working on it and he would wait for me at the top. I started getting cramps and kept having to stop and rest, then having to stop and walk. It was horrible. I saw a sign that said 1/2 mile to the top, but I wasn't sure it was true. I finally couldn't ride it anymore, so I got a ride in the van. But, instead of going the 1/2 mile to the top we went back down the hill to pick up more riders who needed help. I tried to call Rob to let him know I was in the van, but there was no service. About 30 min later we arrived at the top and I found Rob. He was starting to think about panicing. He had already ridden back down 2 miles or so looking for me. I felt bad for him worrying. But he was very relieved.

We continued on, but I never ever really recovered. We finally dicided I was going to take a turn off and take a short cut back to the fairgrounds where we were staying. So I did. Even that was a bear. I ended up doing 70 of the 100 miles.

Rob went on and caught Bloomie and they rode 20+ mph for the rest of the ride and finished the whole thing. We had dinner at the sponsored by the ride and then went back to our spot. We built a fire and sat around and chilled for the rest of the night. I was beat.

The next day, Monday, we said our good byes to Blooms, packed up and left. Our destination was back to Fresno. It was an uneventful 5 hour drive. When we got there we unpacked what we needed and then Rob drove the rig back down to Visalia Rv so they could do the work that needed to get done. We spent Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mom, then Thursday and Friday with Dad & Barb. Again we had a really nice and relaxing visit.

We left on Sat. May first and went to Visalia to pick up the RV. They never got the parts so did none of the work they were supposed to do. SO FRUSTRATING. Eveything needed since Jan had been shipped, but not received. They ordered everything else and we left with the arrangement that we would return at the end of May and they would by then have all the parts and do all the repairs. Man Oh Man!