Last week was a busy one

Want to get yourself worn out?  Well, just have two grandgirls (8 and 6) visit for six days and that will do it!

Of course picking lemons for lemonade was one of the first things we did.  There’s a small lemon orchard in the park and members can pick what they need.  The biggest and best lemons are up high, so it was great to have Robyn agile enough to climb one of the trees for the prize fruits.

Tuesday found us on a very long day trip to visit Joshua Tree National Park.  The trees, cacti, and wildflowers were all in bloom.  It was the perfect time for a visit.  Avery and Phoebe were even able to earn Junior Ranger badges by the end of the day.

With a little help from their mom, both girls got to shoot my air rifle.  We practiced one afternoon to be ready for the Thursday morning Ladies Poker Shoot.  Avery, on the left, really didn’t like it, but Phoebe ended up being a little Miss Annie Oakley.  The Poker Shoot pays out on the best high and low hand, with at least a pair being required.  Robyn won the low category and I wasn’t even in the running this time around.  We didn’t enter the girls in the shoot, but I think Phoebe might have been in the money if we had.

On two afternoons, we did soap felting.  The finished products are on the lower right.  With all those soap suds flying around everyone had sparkling clean hands, and I now have the cleanest picnic bench in the park!

We had cookouts every night, and while waiting for me to finish cooking dinner the Indiana ladies went on a hike up the big boulder hill that can be seen from my patio.

Up and up they went.  I had to take these photos with my 600mm lens.  They were really just specs on the hill to the naked eye.

But before you knew it, they had made it to the top.  Sure wish I could have made that climb.  All the things I did get pictures of were interspersed with numerous trips to the pool and spa, two ice cream socials, and miniature golfing.  The girls took turns driving the golf cart to these events, and I’m happy to report that we didn’t crash even once.  Of course, the girls sat on my lap and I controlled the gas and brake pedals.  They’re not quite tall enough to do all that yet.

It was a busy week, and after taking them to the San Diego airport on Friday I was pretty tuckered out.  But you know what?  I wouldn’t have missed last week for the world!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Getting ready for more visitors

My daughter, Robyn, and the grandgirls, Avery and Phoebe, will be flying into San Diego Airport tomorrow afternoon.  They’ll be here until next Friday, and I’m more than excited.

The weather forecast looks much better than when my sister visited two weeks ago, and the park is just about at peak blooming for the spring.  I’ve been planning what we’ll do while they are here.  Avery is the one that sent me Flat Stanley last December.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I took that soap felting class?  Well, what better way to have some good clean but messy fun.  We’ll also be making a few day trips.  Being eight, Avery is the perfect age to get excited about Junior Ranger Programs, so a trip to Joshua Tree National Park is on the itinerary.  I’ve heard that the bloom of the trees is spectacular this year, and we’ll make it just in time, I’m thinking.

Of course there’s swimming, miniature golf, root beer floats, and a trip to the air gun range to fit in as well.  Nothing better than having some time with family!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

This week was a mixed bag

It’s kind of exciting to have visitors, and this week my sister, Pam, and my grandniece, Amy, flew in from Chicago to spend a few days with me.  They had delays and missed connections and didn’t arrive until the wee hours of Sunday morning.  Since I don’t drive at night, they holed up in a motel in San Diego until I could get there once the sun was up.  Of course it rained for my whole drive to the motel.

On the way back to Jojoba, we took a side jaunt to the Palomar Mountain Observatory.  The drive up Mt. Palomar was socked in with fog, but skies were beginning to clear at the top.

The 200” telescope is used nightly by astronomers.  If you visit, you get to go inside the building, but there’s no looking through the telescope.  I found it interesting that the huge lens was made by Corning in New York.  I used to live not too far from Corning, and had visited their glass works many times in the past.

That’s the road up the mountain.  Lots of switchbacks.  It’s a good thing we went on Sunday because by Tuesday morning the road would have been snow covered.

On Monday we spent most of the day inside the rig since it rained almost all day.  I did show them around the park, and we went for the Monday afternoon root beer float gathering.

Tuesday the sun was out so we headed for Borrego Springs early in the morning.  Kind of surprising to see snow on the mountains along the way.

I took the scenic Montezuma Valley Road down to Borrego Springs.  Pam really enjoyed the scenery and couldn’t get over all the big boulders strewn about.

Of course there was the mandatory picture with the serpent to take care of.   You know, the last time I saw Amy she wasn’t even in school yet, and now she’s 14 and a freshman in high school.  Her mother, Christine, used to come and spend the summers with my family in upstate New York when she was about that age.  Time sure flies.

I do believe we found all of the sculptures that were scattered around the countryside.  Some, like this one, I had never seen before.  The brittlebush was blooming everywhere along with these desert wildflowers.  I have no idea what they are.  We stopped for lunch at Carmelita’s in Borrego Springs before heading back to the rig.

About 3:30 we went down to the air gun range so Amy could have her first experience shooting an air rifle.  She did very well.  We were all having a good time, when I suddenly knew I was going to be sick.  Thank goodness there was a large garbage can at the range.

Needless to say I was toast for the rest of the day.  Spent most of my time in the bathroom.  We’re thinking it was possibly food poisoning from the shrimp taco that I had for lunch.  I was worried about being able to take Pam and Amy back to the airport the next morning.  Thankfully, Fredericka, a fellow member here, volunteered to drive them at the crack of dawn.  I never would have made it.

So I’ve spent the last couple of days recuperating from that miserableness.  I sure am glad they visited, but I just wish I hadn’t gotten sick.

                                                                              THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy