California Here We Come

After months of planning we are now at Sunbeam Lake RV Resort outside of El Centro, California where we will be for the next two months.

Clubhouse

RV's and Palms

It was an easy drive from Yuma. You pass through the Imperial Valley sand dunes and Since it was a Saturday, you could see lots of Toy Haulers (RV's with garages in the back) parked along the desert), then dirt bikes, atv's and dune buggies. It reminded us of friends in Idaho with their snowmobiles only here it's sand and warmer weather.

We wound our way through the park to the office and got checked in. We have a nice quiet spot here with a concrete patio and lots of room between sites. We quickly got setup and plopped ourselves in our patio recliners in the warmth of the sun.

Morning Coffee on the Patio

Soon after our friends Stan and Trudi showed up (they had been at the store) and we quickly greeted one another WE MADE IT!! They are just two 'doors' down but since there's noone next to us at the moment we are really next to each other. We had some vino that night and got caught up on all our adventures. We ended with a trip to town for Mexican food - (very good too)

Sunday we got caught up on chores. Barb got groceries while I did laundry. I won't go into the pros and cons of having a washer in the rig - we go to the laundry mat - but this one is cool. No coins - you get a prepaid card that you can add money too via a debit card and use in parks with similar system. The nice thing is you don't have to search for coins! I went out by the pool and read while I waited for the clothes to finish.

Warm Swimming Pool

One thing different about being in California is the time change. We're now on the edge of Pacific time so it's an hour earlier. Now I know that those of you who used to hear me complain about being on Mountain time in Idaho will say "I told you so" so I'll eat my words once again. I always hated the fact that it stayed light until 10:30 in the summer and then be totally dark when we went to work in the winter. Well now I got my wish - it's sunny at 6:30 here but the down side of that is it starts to get dark at 4:30 so our day seems to end before you know it. OK - YOU WERE RIGHT.

On Monday we went to scope out the town of El Centro - it's actually a very nice size (32,000) and with a Walmart, Costco, & Wells Fargo we feel at home. We stopped by Target's garden center (which is still open) and got a planter for the patio and a cactus arrangement for the table

Cactus Arrangement

and of course a new table cloth to match the patio mat we bought in Yuma. :) I know a lot of you think living in an RV would be cramped, but I have to keep reminding you that most of our day is spent outdoors and on the patio which for us is a room with constantly changing views. This one has a view of the nearby foothills with gorgeous sunsets

Sunset in the Foothills

Tuesday morning we decided be a little social so we went over for the advertised "Donuts and Coffee" with Stan and Trudi. We were about a minute late and we walked into the middle of a town hall meeting!! They all were facing us but we jumped on in and paid our 75 cents for the ONE donut then had to sit through what was like an association meeting and you know how I don't like those - DON'T GET ME STARTED!! As we got our coffee and donut the guy at the table asked if we were new to which the crowd went 'shhhhh!!!' I wish I had a picture. Oh well - after an hour we were free again :)

That evening our friends Lonnie and Sandi Hansen came over for dinner. They were campground hosts near us last summer at Stanley Lake and are work camping at Rio Bend RV & Golf Resort down the road for the winter. It was interesting hearing them talk about the differences work camping for public versus private campgrounds. As usual Barb made another fabulous dinner. All in all it was another wonderful day in paradise.

Dec 18, 2007

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