California here we come, and 'Tag, You're It'

Yesterday we left Bisbee and overnighted in Gila Bend on our way to El Centro, CA, a trip of 405 miles. We stayed at Augie's Quail Trail again, just like last year when we were traveling from Tucson to Yuma, a trip of only 218 miles. Of course last year we had left Tucson late in the afternoon after having work done at a dealer there.

Fred looked back at our entry in the RV log program we keep and saw he made notes that there was a good Italian restaurant in Gila Bend. We looked forward to a nice little dinner. Upon check-in at Augie's, that was reinforced by the couple working the desk who extolled the merits of said restaurant.

I don't know what we were smoking last year, but dinner was a disaster. From the moment we walked in to the garish bright lights and the open room packed with cheap tables and chairs on tile floor, we began to question our judgment. We couldn't remember what we ate last year, so I ordered a pizza, just because I was in the mood. Fred ordered his favorite Chicken Parmesan, assuming he likely made that choice last year. To say the food was unremarkable would be kind. He better fix his notes in our log, although I don't see us making that same mistake again.

The highlight of the evening prior to dinner was meeting Ron and Jeanne, lurking blog and forum readers who saw our datastorm location on the map, and staying at Augie's, they came over to introduce themselves. (Sorry I didn't get any pictures.)

Ron and Jeanne have been fulltiming for five years, first in a motorhome, then a fifth wheel. They are currently considering buying exactly the model Carriage Cameo we have and were curious to actually see it in person, and get our feedback. We had a nice little visit and hope we gave them the encouragement they were looking for.

It's so funny. You just never know who's out there or where they are. This fulltiming virtual community casts a wide net and we are always delighted to meet some of the other fish in the sea.

Ok, now the "tag" part. I've been "tagged." Sheesh, and by someone I like too! Just what I needed--more work to do. (Just kidding, thanks Ellie Meacham)

Here's how it works:

First the Rules:

Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.

Share the 5 top places on your "want to see or want to see again" list.

Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Next, 5 random or weird facts about myself/ourselves:

1. I believe in UFO's. I think we have been visited by creatures from other worlds. Fred doesn't believe in anything that cannot be scientifically proven.

2. Both Fred and I love opera and classical music.

3. I talk to birds. Not just the one that lands right outside your window. But all birds, including the ones 50 feet off in the distance as I fix them in my binoculars. I think of them all as my darling little children.

4. When I was 12 years old, I placed second in a state wide essay contest, the subject of which was Water Conservation.

5. Fred is almost a recluse. On a scale of 1-100 for a need to be with other people, he rates himself a 1! I'm sure those of you who have met our "affable Fred" would find that hard to believe.

Next, 5 places we would like to see, or go back to see again:

1. Alaska. Since the very beginning of this RVing adventure, we have always planned to go to Alaska. We know it is probably the most beautiful place on this earth that we will ever travel to with our rig. 2008 is the year, we will begin our journey up there mid-May.

2. Yosemite National Park. We will return there again, as it is, without a doubt, the most beautiful national park we have seen so far.

3. Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota. I just think they will be awe-inspiring.

4. Banff and Lake Louise, Canada. Have heard about the stunning beauty of these places, and think they will make an awesome gateway to Alaska.

5. Any place we've never been, because you never know what adventure you will find. We have been pleasantly surprised so many times.

Lastly, who else to Tag. Since I procrastinated on this task, most of the other bloggers I follow have already been tagged. So I'm only Tagging the following two bloggers:

Greg and Barbara Jones: These folks have just recently begun there fulltiming life, although they have been camping for years. (More retired "youngsters") Although we've been corresponding for quite some time, we just met them in person today in El Centro, CA.

Mike and Gerri: These nice people recently completed CampHosting at F.D. Roosevelt State Park in Georgia, one of our favorite places. They're at the introspective "what are we doing?" stage right now.

Hope you guys don't mind. At first I thought it would be a lot of work, but found it kind of fun to take the time to think of those things.

I'm writing this as we drive down the road this Sunday morning on our way to El Centro, California. We're actually going to get off the highway in Yuma for lunch at the exit where we stayed last year. Just down the road from there is a roadside taco stand we discovered that has the best Tacos Al Pastor (Fred's favorite) and awesome Fish Tacos (my favorite). Let's just hope it's not a repeat of last night.

As we continued on from Yuma, crossing over into California, we drove through a large area of giant sand dunes. It was the Imperial Sand Dune Recreation Area. As we drove, we were amazed by the enormous groups of RV's boondocking out there in the sand. All were either "toy hauler" fifth wheels with ATV's, or motorhomes towing trailers with ATV's. Check out the picture above I took out the window as we drove. This was just one group we saw, and we saw many groups like this. Each gathering must have had hundreds of RV's in them. It's obvious that the Christmas break was responsible for these groups of sand dune revelers.

Ok, fast forward to this evening, and I have typed this entry from my notes of this morning. And how was lunch, you might ask? Fred declared his tacos good, but not as good as he remembered from last year. He wasn't sure if that was true, or if he was still just feeling negative from last night. I tasted them and thought they were excellent. I thought my fish tacos were pretty good, although I remembered the fish being crispier last year. But then, last year, at this very stand was the first time I ever had fish tacos. And you know that old song--it's never as good as the first time.

Interestingly, as we related this story this afternoon to our new blog reading friends, Greg and Barbara Jones here at the Sunbeam Lake RV Resort in El Centro, they told us about a restaurant here in town that offers Tacos Al Pastor. Yippee! Another chance for Fred to enjoy his favorite.

We haven't had a chance to really check this place out yet, but so far it looks pretty nice. I'm sure we'll have more to report tomorrow after we've looked around a bit. At least the weather is better than where we just came from. So that's a step in the right direction.

We are looking forward to our friends Grant and Kathy arriving here tomorrow. We have a big birding week at Salton Sea and surrounding area planned for the week. It will be good to see them again, now that they are officially "Fulltimers".

Dec 30, 2007

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