Jan 22, 2010 - A Birthday Surprise.

Hope you have not missed us too much. We really have not had much funny or exciting happenings for a while. Just relaxing around Palm Creek either golfing (Bob) soaking in hot tubs, swimming, wining, walking, taking classes, etc. etc.Just day to day stuff around here. I may have said I have been taking a genealogy class each week. The first 3 weeks I really thought it may not be any help for me finding my Dad. Most of the group there were all looking in Canada and most in the states and had no experience looking in the UK or Ireland....

Jan 7, 2010 - Yes, we are still alive & kicking.

Well, this is just a short entry to my journal to let you all know that we are still alive and kicking. There has been no adventures to report for the last little while. We have both been getting into "the groove" with this Palm Creek life style. Bob golfing, me crafting, volunteering and geneologying (don't think that is a word). I have found many more sources of information for my search for my Dad. It can get rather addicting this family tree thing, although as you know my initial search is for my Dad and then we will see where we might...

Dec 26, 2009 - Quietest Christmas ever.

Yep, I do think this has been the quietest Christmas ever. Just the 2 of us waking up without even the smallest gift (we had promised each other "no gifts" because the actual trip is our gift to each other, but it was rather weird. Bob played a charity golf game for the local food bank and we then went to Christmas dinner at the club house. I don't know how many there were but it was a record breaker. Bob guesses about 400. The staff and volunteers were amazing and did a wonderful job. Today, Boxing Day was spent doing laundry, which...

Dec 21, 2009 - Christmas is coming

Well - it sort of feels a little bit more like Christmas now. Carri is decorated, inside & out. Only small space so we didn't want to overdo it. Here are a few pictures. We have our own address and mail box too - almost feeling part of the Palm Creek family now. Welcome Wagon arrived today (Palm Creek version) coupons, bags, maps, entertainment schedule etc. etc. Registered for Pickle Ball next week. Checked out the Bistro, but am afraid their "special" cappuccino doesn't hold a candle to Starbucks. I'm taking a geneology class tomorrow...

Dec 16, 2009 - Arizona bound

Joshua Tree National Park was an interesting day. Miles of roads through mountainous desert. The Joshua trees are rather weird but wonderful how they can possibly grow in the harsh conditions. I think we were a bit late to see them flower - but many did look like they had a good flowering season this year in the spring i believe. They are of the lily family, which surprised me. I thought they might be yet another palm or cactus which seems to be about all that survives here. We made i to the top view point just in time to see the sunset and...

Dec 8, 2009 - Palm Springs & friends

Fortunately the rain & wind is over. Again we needed to pull in a couple of the slides to get a good night sleep. Woke to a fine sunny morning raring to get on the road to Palm Springs and a visit with Marion & Noel. Checked e-mails not knowing if we would be able to access the internet at our next stop. It seems Adam has now connected to Skype - yeah! Buzzed him and low and behold who should appear on screen but Janet & Allen - in Spain, WOW. So had a good chat to them. Just be warned ladies - dress and fix the hair before switching on...

Dec 3, 2009 - La Jolla - more lovely than I remembered

We have been looking forward to this visit for a while now. We visited La Jolla a few years ago on Christmas Day with a picnic on the beach (turkey of course). That time it was soooo busy, but could tell it was a very lovely town. Now this time it was much quieter and we got to see much more of the village area close to the beach. The weather perfect - about 20 with a slight breeze off the ocean. The tide was in, so it was hard to pick out exactly which bay we had our Christmas Day picnic on the few years before. Bob disagreed with my...

Dec 1, 2009 - Mission Bay & Satellite TV

Arrived in our new home for 1 week. A lovely place, a lovely day and low and behold - although it took 4 or 5 hrs between 2 guys and me calling signal strength out the window (quite a farce actually) and borrowing a receiver box from this new neighbour, we DID get satellite. I got to watch CORRIE. But alas I think this is short lived. After dinner (yes this took almost all day) Bob decided we have to find Setanta soccer - Manchester United to be more precise. Oh no - the message reads you need a subscription to watch this channel. We have...

Nov 29, 2009 - Palm Trees & Snow?

A fairly early start from sunny Bakersfield. Have enjoyed a few quiet days, just hanging around here, palm trees, geocaching, cleaning house, laundry etc, etc, About a 4 1/2 hr drive to San Diego. Practically all I 5 highway 6 and sometimes 9 lanes too - very bumpy too. A definitive headache maker of a drive and I'm just the passenger. The concentration for Bob is bad and you can't just pull off when you want a break. Finally found the rest are way past when he really needed it. we had packed a lunch so that was good and we could finally...

Nov 26, 2009 - Caching on Thanksgiving Day

Had a couple of quiet days, not doing too much. Checking out Bakersfield. Decided to stay here a few days because of the expected crowds on the road for Thanksgiving weekend. Checked out "what's to do" at the local visitors centre. Not much - for a city of 380,000. Seems like they are all preparing for Thanksgiving and even more for "Black Friday". That's the busiest day of shopping and the stores open at 4 a.m. Some have been sleeping outside Best Buy since Tuesday. NUTS. The deals sound fantastic - but there is nothing I we want that...

Nov 24, 2009 - Shop till you drop !!!!

Well, I guess you could now call me a shop-a-holic. HAH, HAH, HAH I'll never be that, especially after today. This Premium Outlet centre was 145 stores - apparently the best Saks 5th Avenue, Jones of London on & on & on. but honestly I was not impressed. Bob bought more than I did. Hey I bought 2 pair of socks. Woah careful now Margaret, ya might blow the budget. One problem was that everything in the stores was "New for the winter season" and I'm not shopping for winter clothes right now. On to Bakersfield tomorrow.

Nov 23, 2009 - Winchesters & Garlic

After a night as "trailer trash" LOL we got away at a reasonable time and Daniel (our GPS) - yes, we name everything and so we now have a couple travelling with us, Carri & Daniel. Anyway Daniel told us we had 169 miles to Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, but he didn't tell us quite a few of these miles were 6 lane highways. OMG In a car is one thing when you don't know which lane you're supposed to be in, but with Carri behind you it is something else. Bob, as usual did brilliantly and we made it. You've heard the term "Rocky Road to...