No Plans for New Year's

This year we have an opportunity to go to the club house for a New Year's bash but we decided to stay home. First of all, most of the people going to that are people that have been coming here for 15-20 years, and it's like a huge reunion for them. The perimeter spaces at this Thousand Trails are reserved for seasonal people that pay big bucks to spend 6 months here. Those are the people that are here year in and year out, and there are about 100 spaces like that. We don't mind going someplace where everybody is a first timer, but this would make us feel strange and uncomfortable. With all of the working we have been doing it will be nice to just relax at home.

We finally finished the one set of 3 horseshoe pits (there are 2 sets) and I was assigned the duty of preparing the Rec Room floor for the big New Year's party tonight. That meant stripping the whole floor so it could be waxed. I spent the whole afternoon doing this and only completed about half of the room. It is a huge room and will hold about 200 people for the party. My manager said he would get the rest of it done this morning with some other helpers. The real problem is moving all of the furniture and bookcases that are in the room so that you can clean the floor. It is a lot of work for one person.

It is beautiful outside - temps in the low 70's today - and is a perfect place for bringing in the new year. We hope everybody has a great time tonight, whatever you are doing...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Getting Ready for Next Year

Since yesterday was the last day off until the new year, it was spent mostly getting things that we need for the new year. We use mileage log books for both vehicles to keep track of our mileage and service, and also to track gas purchases throughout the year. We have been doing this for many years because of taxes, but now we do it for our own information and because it was a good habit to record our miles every day. The other thing we needed was a weekly/monthly planner. I have been getting a high quality desktop planner for free from local Title companies while I was selling real estate, but now I have to buy my own. Of course, I bought the "cheap" desktop planner for around $10 whereas the ones I've been used to getting for free would cost me around $25. It will hold the same information. I guess we are ready for the new year - at least from a record keeping standpoint.

The day was otherwise spent just hanging out at home. Josie did some laundry and we talked about some different options for our Workamping future. We would both like to cut back on the time we work and we think we might be able to do that when Josie begins collecting her early Social Security in July. Of course, it all depends on health care costs for her. Who knows what direction the government is going with that issue, but we know it won't impact us for at least a couple years. By then, Josie will probably be on Medicare and it won't matter as much.

It's back to work for me today. Two more days and then I get New Year's day off. The time sure flies by when your not working. It doesn't seem like I had two days off, but when I look at the calendar, it says I did. Until tomorrow...

Nice Visit With Family

We left right around 9:45 AM yesterday to go to Aliso Viejo where our niece Debby lives to spend some time visiting with her and her family. When we arrived shortly after noon, we were dissappointed that Debby's children, Taylor and David, were not going to be there as a result of her ex-husband having them for the day. We still had a very nice visit with Debby, George and Cheryl, and had a terrific lunch that Debby made. Below is a picture of them as we sat around and chatted for nearly 4 hours:

It was great seeing them again and we hope it's not too long before we can get together again.

We thought we might catch the rush hour traffic going home, and we did to some extent. Thank goodness for car pool lanes. We had just about made it home when Josie pointed to a (guess what) - casino. There was a casino (Agua Caliente) about 3 miles from our home that we haven't been in before. Of course we had to go in to check it out and we spent some time there before finally making it home at 8:30. Fortunately, we played just long enough to win a little money so it was worth it.

Today we will probably hang out close to home and do some chores -like laundry - UGH! Whatever we do, it will be better than a work day...

A Couple Days Off

It's nice to have a couple days off. As was mentioned yesterday, we will be visiting our Niece Debby and her family today. It is a 116 mile drive (according to Mapquest) so we will leave around 9:30 and plan to arrive around noon. We hope the weather improves since right now it is cool and dreary like it's going to rain.

It seems like both of us have to do some serious dieting in the new year. It is so easy to lose control of your weight - especially if there is no exercise equipment around. We haven't had the use of an exercise room in any place we've stayed since we started in May. We have been relying on the exercise we get from working. We found out that it doesn't work that way. The job I now have will help, but the older you get, the more stubborn the pounds are to leave. It will be a major goal in the new year. It is that time of the year when you set your goals for the coming year so we will kind of do that over the next couple days. Right now, that's all that's on the list. We will also try to set some goals for working less and enjoying more free time together. Josie will be eligible for early Social Security in July next year so we are looking at that very seriously.

The bacon smells good that Josie's cooking so I guess we are about ready for breakfast. Until tomorrow...

Not So Exciting Work

The job that was so much fun in the beginning is turning into very strenuous, not so exciting work. Yesterday was spent mostly working on the horseshoe pits backstops and I mixed and poured concrete for the bases of these pits. Needless to say, I was exhausted at the end of the day. The only other thing that I did was level another trailer and replace one of the jacks that was broken. Josie was right when she told me I have only worked office jobs my whole life and this outdoor, physical stuff is new. Another problem is that we only get a half hour for lunch and no breaks during the day. Oh, well.

Josie's first day alone at home was not so boring. She went shopping, to the post office and to the bank. The day after Christmas truly is the best time to get bargains. She bought a bag full of clothes from Kohl's, and with all her discount coupons and items on sale, spent only $14. How can you beat that?

Today is another work day for me and then tomorrow we are taking a trip to Aliso Viejo - near the coast - to visit my niece, Debby and her kids. George and Cheryl are also there so we are looking forward to spending some relaxing time with them. I hope it warms up a little as the temperature this morning was 37 degrees. That is way too cold for Palm Springs. The good thing though is that we have had no measurable precipitation since we've been here. Take care...

Celebrating Christmas

Since we had no visitors coming on Christmas day, we took advantage of a sleep in day. Santa did a quick fly-over and must have been low on gifts, since our pile was barely visible. Christmas is not suppose to be about gifts so we enjoyed the day with just a few.

I did get a shot of our tree and the Nativity scene:

As we were both very busy working right up until Christmas Eve, we will do some shopping for each other this weekend and early next week when I get more time off. Prices will be better anyway. We talked on the phone with our family and spent an otherwise quiet day at home.

There wasn't a lot to report from yesterday so this will be a short entry. We hope everybody had a great Christmas...

Waiting For Santa

There were a couple pleasant surprises as Josie left work at 4 PM yesterday. First of all, the owner, Brent, paid her for her hours worked with a little extra plus he gave her a Christmas card with an additional bonus inside. He has requested that she come back for Valentine's Day week and said he would call her in on an "as needed" basis between now and then. Also, the full time designers have told her that Brent has never asked a seasonal designer to come back so Josie should feel proud for the impression she made in such a short time. I know she deserves the accolades.

The work day for me was much of the same - respond to rental trailer problems, fix plumbing leaks in the lodge and do more work on the horseshoe pit backstops. Everybody has the day off for Christmas but there are a couple of people on-call in case of emergency.

We made a late run to the post office to pick up a package that Patty had sent. We both have been working so much that we haven't had time to do those kinds of things. We knew that the post office would be closed, but hoped there might be someone still around at 4:45 to help us. We lucked out. There were two clerks still in the back when we arrived and they were able to give us the package.

We went to the candlelight service at church and it was a very nice service. This is a small church that is only about 2 miles from us and will be the one we will attend when we can. It was back to the fifth wheel, wind down and wait for Santa...

Extra Work Day

Just as we had hoped, Josie was asked to work another day, today, as a result of an influx of orders for Christmas. She also worked an extra hour last night, so it appears that they like to have her around when it's busy. Our other hope is that the owner, Brent, decides to ask her back on a regular basis after the Christmas holiday.

My day was again very busy yesterday. I prepared some gate arms for our entry station - four of them - which were painted with yellow and black stripes. Apparently, we go through a lot of those as people crash through them for whatever reasons. We also had a major leak in our water system that was located out along the street. Several of us were there to assist in that repair. Then there were the usual minor problems with the rental trailers. They need to update those in the worst way. All of them are about 20 years old and need major renovations.

Today we have to complete the replacement of the horseshoe pit backstops since there is a huge tournament scheduled for this weekend. That involves setting some posts in concrete. I need to be very careful that I don't hurt my back with this kind of work. That is the only fear I have while working this job.

Other than that, we are ready for Christmas. We will try to get to church tonight if Josie can get off work early enough.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sand Storms and Lots of Wind

The one thing that stands out in our memory about this area is the wind that comes occasionally. Yesterday was one of those days. I was driving to meet Josie for lunch at 11:30 and I could see this brown cloud approaching while traveling west on I-10. Of course, once you hit the cloud, the sand is almost blinding. There were sand clouds coming and going all day and it took Josie almost an hour to come home from work, and it is only about 17 miles away. Our lunch was fun and we ate at a place right across the street from the shop called John's Cafe. Although known for their burgers, Josie had a hot pastrami sandwich and I had a hot turkey sandwich - both were very good.

It is sad to see this once bustling and famous town deteriorate. There are small shops up and down the main street in Palm Springs that are empty and for rent. Josie said that during a discussion in the shop, the employees said that all of the real famous people that used to come to Palm Springs are dead and there aren't any new ones taking their place. Of course, the economy also has something to do with it. The buildings are mostly old and there are no new housing developments going in. There is some growth in some of the surrounding communities like Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells and Palm Desert, but the area has changed since we used to come in the mid 80's.

The wind continued all night and it is surprising that we never received a drop of rain through it all. The news has shown wet weather all around us. Today is Josie's last "scheduled" day and she is hoping to be asked to come back on a part time basis. I start back to work again today and will work up to Christmas day. That's about it for now...

Leak Fixed and Pump Installed

Our original plan for the day was for me to meet Josie for lunch at a cafe across the street from her shop. Shortly after she arrived at work, she called and said there was a lot of food there that was brought in by a former employee for a Christmas present. It was then decided that today would be a better day for us to meet for lunch and she could enjoy the food that was there. That was a better plan anyway since the RV repair guy was coming.

He didn't show up until a few minutes after 2 PM but he was certainly efficient. Within about 3 minutes he discovered the source of our leak behind the refrigerator - a pin hole in the plastic water line was causing it and you could only see it when he shined his flashlight on the area. It was clearly shooting out an almost invisible spray of water. Then he located the shut off valve for the water going to the refrigerator which I never found. The shut off was under the kitchen sink of all places. I never thought to look there. The water line runs from the sink, under the counter, along the wall under the stove and into the back of the refrigerator. It is a distance of about 12 feet. Anyway, he fixed the leak, put some insulation around the line so it wouldn't touch another hot pipe (his guess for the cause), installed the water pump in short order and was on his way in just under an hour. He was very good and reasonably priced so it is for sure if I need repairs again while I'm here - he will be contacted.

I received a call yesterday from Mike and Sharon, our managers at Blu In, and they filled me in on their departure. It seems that the owner, Jeff, was angry about their short notice and he asked them to leave on Saturday, instead of the planned Tuesday departure. That was fine with them so they were on the road within two hours. They also weren't paid for their last week - at least not yet - and Mike feels that maybe they will never see the money. That scares us a little bit since he still owes us money for our last "paid" days. Ours is nowhere near what he owes Mike and Sharon though. They are happy at their new location and we will stay in touch with them.

Today, Josie and I will meet for lunch in Palm Springs. Josie has 2 more days before she can relax and enjoy the holidays. She is hoping that the owner will ask her to come in a couple days a week to help out, but she really doesn't see enough volume for that to happen - at least so far. Today is my last day off until Christmas day, so I plan to just hang out and enjoy it...

Alternating Days Off

Today Josie gets to go to work while I have the day off. We were agreeing last night that it would be a lot better if we both had the same days off. There isn't a lot for either one of us to do when we are alone at home. Josie was able to get some small projects done but, for the most part, she watched Christmas movies on TV. We reverse the roles today, although we do have an RV repair guy coming today to fix a water leak that I am not able to determine the cause. It is somewhere behind the refrigerator and is leaking water onto the floor. I wasn't even able to locate the shut off valve for the water coming into the refrigerator for the icemaker and water dispenser so we've been putting towels on the floor by the frig to suck up the water.

I hope the RV guy comes this morning since we planned to meet for lunch at a cafe that is right across the street from Josie's shop. Since her lunch hour is 12 -1 PM, it will take 2 hours out of the day, including driving time to and from her location.

I was again very busy the whole day yesterday. There were the usual electrical problems at the sites along with relocating two receivers in the lodges for the satellite, building saw horses, leveling a couple rental trailers and painting wood for the gates at the guard station. There is always something to do and the day goes by pretty fast. I only get a half hour for lunch, so that's a bummer. It seemed like it was even shorter yesterday since I had lunch with Josie at the fifth wheel.

The learning process continues and probably will continue the entire time we are here. Josie is also discovering new things at her job so we feel we are in the right place for now...

Learning the Routines

It was an uneventful day for Josie at the flower shop except that they can now see what she can do and she was complemented on her skills. There was no excitement over famous people yesterday but there are days when that happens. She has off today with her shop being closed and it's back to work tomorrow.

My day was an educational one. There were several problems that had to be fixed at various sites: water backing up in bath rooms (toilets), electrical boxes that failed and had to have the components replaced, dispensed some propane, and one site complained because their rented trailer was not level so we checked that out. It must have been her pillow because the trailer checked out as being level. The big job for me yesterday was tearing down the old backstops in the horseshoe pits. They were about 25 years old and were rotting badly, so we need to rebuild those. I'm learning a lot just spending time with the supervisor, Leo, who was a builder in his "real" working days. One advantage to this job is that because it is so physical, it makes it easier to lose weight. That's something I needed to do for awhile.

I had a phone call yesterday from Chi Chi at Happy Jack asking about our new jobs and discussing next year. We are still leaning toward going back there if nothing better comes up. It would be nice if this works out for us this year so we can be invited back next year. Winter is always the toughest season to find work and this is certainly a desirable area. We'll see. We would like to try new areas and do different things wherever we Workamp, but the number one priority is to have work.

Josie gets a chance to relax today while I play with "the boys" in maintenance. We'll see what new and unusual stuff happens today and will let you know tomorrow...

New Jobs Review

Everything went well on our first day on our new jobs. Josie arrived at the shop in Palm Springs on time to start at 8 AM and she generally had a smooth day. There are some differences in the way they do business which is to be expected. The main difference is in the way they price arrangements and she was able to handle that quickly. She likes the people she is working with and the owner, Brent, seemed pleased with her first day. We thought there would be a chance for some celebrities coming into the shop since it is Palm Springs and there was one that she waited on yesterday - Keely Smith, who is famous for the song "That Ol' Black Magic", and sang with Louis Prima in the 50's. We're sure she will see or hear about others coming in while she works there.

My day was filled with employee paperwork and administrative stuff in the morning. It's going to be a very different kind of job for me since it is totally maintenance oriented and I have to be careful about lifting heavy items. It is the kind of job that would be perfect for my brother, George, as it is much like being a handy man. I handled all of the jobs I was given yesterday but I need to learn where to find all the tools needed for these jobs. The people I work with are very nice and very helpful. There is a lot of remodeling taking place and I will help with a lot of that. I fixed a screen door on a rental unit and tacked down some carpet in another, along with helping remodel one of the rooms in the Adult Lodge. There are lots of jobs like these and they will keep me busy for a long time. I was given a golf cart to use while here along with some shirts, a hat, goggles to use that are also nice sun glasses, and one pair of brown pants. I need to have at least 3 pairs of pants but they only had 1 that was my size. I had to go to to Walmart last night and buy another 2 pairs for which I get reimbursed.

There is a lot more that can be described but I'll do that little by little over time. Josie is getting ready to leave for work to start at 8 and I don't start until 9:30, which will be my regular start time. Anyway, that's about it for our exciting first days on the new jobs...

Ready To Go - To Work

It is really a coincidence that we both should be starting our new jobs - in different places - on the same day. And on a Friday, to boot. Yesterday we went to Kohl's because Josie had to get a few things to wear on her new job. Josie needed a couple tops, and she got those. I also picked up a couple shirts but not because I needed them for work, but the prices were too good to refuse. Kohl's had some very good deals for Christmas and we took advantage of them. We were very disciplined and didn't get anything else.

All of our packages and cards are in the mail and we are about ready for Christmas. There are some things we need to get for each other, but they will be small items. That is, if we can find the time to shop before Christmas. Josie will especially be busy right up to Christmas Eve, and my schedule will be known today.

There will be lots to talk about in tomorrow's post, so I will cut this entry short. It's off to work we go...

Dry Run to Palm Springs Florist

The main thing we wanted to accomplish today was to take a dry run to Palm Springs Florist before Josie starts work on Friday. We left fairly late in the morning as she had to finish up on packages and cards to mail at the post office while on the way. It will be about a 20 minute drive for her, mostly on I-10, which is not bad at all. The mileage is about 15 miles. The other thing we wanted to do was see where the church was that we will be attending while staying here. Since I have to work on Sundays - at least starting out - we don't know how often we can go but needed to check it out anyway. At least we will be going on Christmas Eve.

Today is a "get ready for working" day. Josie has to get her nails done and we will probably go to Kohls to see if she can get a couple shirts for work. We are used to getting uniform shirts for work so this time she needs to wear her own. I get a shirt and hat for work on my job, but I still need to get brown jeans and brown shoes to wear. I don't know how important the brown shoes are, because I already have enough shoes and don't especially want another pair. Anyway, it is down to one last day to relax before working.

We are really enjoying the convenience of everything so far. The last seven months have been spent in fairly remote areas and required at least a 50 mile round trip for most things. We will really see the savings in gas. Until tomorrow...

New Job

While driving to the post office at 10 AM to pick up our mail I received a call from Kate, the park manager, asking if I was still interested in the job at the campground. Of course I was, so she asked me if I could start on Friday at 8 AM. That solves a couple problems for us. Now we can stay in one spot until at least Spring, and we have an income that will support us through the winter season. Josie is hoping that she will be asked to work a couple days a week at the flower shop after the holidays so that would be a bonus. My job will be maintenance, and the hours will be 9:30 to 6 PM, 5 days a week. That's 40 hours per week. We will be pushing to get Josie a job here also in some capacity. The park has several cabins and rental units that require constant housekeeping, so we'll see. This is an older park in the Thousand Trails network and there is a lot of work that needs to be done.

The job pretty much eliminates any chance we had to visit with family over the holidays and we are sad about that. We know everybody understands though.

Josie baked some more cookies yesterday - like we need another 5 dozen. I guess we'll have to find some "tins" and package them to send to our grand kids. She is getting a little nervous about starting her seasonal job at Palm Springs Floral. We plan to make a dry run today so that she will know how to get there as I will also be working. One of the best purchases we have made is the GPS that is in the Jeep. It has saved us many, many times when in new areas. It sure eliminates wrong turns and gets us where we're going in the shortest time.

It's hard to imagine a better place to be in the winter, weather wise. It is beautiful almost everyday with highs in the 70's and lows in the high 40's. We hope it continues like this...

Closing In On Christmas

After a slow morning of just watching the Today Show and reading our newspaper, I finally decided to get the fifth wheel washed. That took some preparation that I hadn't counted on. The extra hose was in the back of the truck which we parked near the lodge to make more room on our site. Since I had to get the hose, it was decided we should take a ride over to the post office to see if we received any mail yet from Florida. Of course, yesterday was the busiest day at the post office all year with people mailing packages. I waited, and I waited, and I waited. There was no mail yet after all of that. The next challenge after getting back home was to unload the basement storage area to get to my bucket and brush to use. Finally, after about an hour, I was able to wash the rig. It now looks super and the dust and sand are all gone.

While I was washing the fifth wheel, Josie made several batches of cookies for Christmas. That's great except it's just the two of us that will be eating them. We'll have to send some to our grand kids. It is a tradition every Christmas though to bake cookies so we are getting into the spirit. We only have a couple packages to send ourselves - which are almost ready - and they should still arrive before Christmas if we can get them mailed by Thursday. We are all set otherwise with all our decorations up and Christmas CD's and DVD's ready to play.

Since we got sidetracked a little bit with our move here, I haven't done any more research on Medicare Supplemental Insurance or Advantage programs, so that is on the agenda for today. I still have until January 1 to sign up, but I want to have that done asap. We are also going to check into some Christmas programs that we may go see in the area.

Until tomorrow...

Changes in the Area

We were trying to remember some of the things we did and places we went when we owned the lot here at Outdoor Resorts. It has been 24 years since we bought the lot and spent many long weekends and vacation time in Cathedral City. There were several favorite spots back then and we tried to find some of them. We were not successful in finding a couple of the restaurants we often went to and there was a mall that contained an ice skating rink that we weren't able to locate. There are so many new housing developments and strip malls that it is impossible to know what was here back then. We did find a mall (Westfield) that was probably close to the one we remember, but doubt if it was the one we were looking for - at least the ice rink is gone, if it is the same one. We enjoyed walking around the mall anyway.

It appears, to us at least, that the economy has definitely affected the shoppers. We remember more people carrying bags of gifts and lots of purchases in malls. Hardly anybody was carrying more than one item in a small bag. Most people had no purchases. We felt right at home. The mall had all the usual "big stores" - Macy's, J C Penney, Sears - and lots of Jewelry and Athletic stores. It is getting easier to get around though. There are only a few main streets that connect everything in all the desert towns to I-10, the main freeway. The lush, green look of this area is a welcome change to all the sand and dust we had in Ocotillo Wells.

I keep putting off the chore of washing our fifth wheel. Maybe today will be the day...

Meeting With Park Manager and Interview

We started the day with breakfast at the Family Lodge yesterday and I dropped off the application to the park manager for the maintenance opening. It is kind of nice having a big breakfast for just a couple dollars and not having to drive anywhere to get it. The park manager was at the register so I handed her the application and we chatted a few minutes. There were several craft tables set up outside the lodge at poolside where people were selling all kinds of crafts they've made while traveling, so we browsed around that after breakfast.

It was about 9:30 when I received a call from the park manager (Kate) asking if I could come to the office for an interview with the maintenance manager. After talking with him and also answering questions from Kate, they said they were forwarding the application to the corporate people for approval. They also changed our reservations so that now we stay here without leaving until January 6th. That means no moving back and forth to Western Horizons. Good news.

On the chance that we might be staying here until Spring, we walked around the campground to see if there might be a better site for us for the long term. We decided that there were none that were a tremendous improvement for us so we decided to stay where we are and try to move the fifth wheel back one foot in the space to see if we can get our satellite working properly. Success! We moved the rig just enough to avoid the big palm tree next to us that was blocking the signal.

The rest of the day we just hung out and went to Joann's in Rancho Mirage to get some more decorations and we had dinner at a brand new Mexican restaurant that was having a grand opening. The food was great but a little pricey for Mexican food. We aren't used to spending $43 for a Mexican dinner, even with 2 margaritas.

The weather is terrific and we are thinking about washing down the outside of our fifth wheel today to get rid of all that sand and dust from the last place. That's about it for now...

Familiarization, Post Office and Costco

Yesterday was spent mostly getting familiar with the area and setting up our mail. We went to the post office in Thousand Palms - the closest one to Thousand Trails - and asked them how to set up mail in general delivery. It was easy. We just have everything addressed to us with general delivery and the post office city and zip code. No forms to fill out. It is 6 miles from here and on the way to Josie's work in Palm Springs.

We then went to the Western Horizon Park in Indio to check out the location and the park. It is actually nicer than where we are except it is not as convenient to I-10 or Palm Springs. The spaces are nicer, larger and mostly grass.

Our next stop was to Home Depot to get some miscellaneous stuff like oven cleaner for the grill, a quick connect adapter for our water hose and some lime away to clean off mineral deposits around the faucet. This is a good opportunity for us to catch up on those kind of "do it later" chores. It turns out that the Home Depot is across the street from Costco, Sam's Club and Walmart. Neat. We went to Costco and had a hot dog and drink for $3. It's probably the first time we went to a Costco and didn't leave with a cart full of stuff.

I went to the Administration Office and spoke with the park manager about member workers and Workamping. She indicated that they were looking for a maintenance person and she gave me an application which I will turn in today. That would solve our problem of moving around and also give us a steady income until Spring.

This morning we are having breakfast at the lodge. Nothing else is planned right now so we'll play it by ear...

Arrival in Palm Springs

We had everything ready to go and hitched up by noon yesterday. We stopped at the office - actually, Mike and Sharon's trailer behind the office - to wish them luck and say goodbye. They invited us in to have coffee and a cherry pie a-la-mode to travel on. Their new workplace will be pretty close to ours as they found a job off rt 111 on the other side of the Salton Sea. It is unbelievable how they found their job. Sharon was in a long line at Walmart in Brawley one day last week and struck up a conversation with the gentleman in front of her. It turns out he is from a small spa and mature adult community that was desperate for a manager. She and Mike hooked up with him on Tuesday and they signed a contract to begin next Tuesday. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Anyway, we took a picture of Mike and Sharon (below), exchanged email addresses and mailing addresses and we were on our way by 1 PM.


We arrived at Thousand Trails a little after 2 PM which was the check in time. The Ranger said we could park the truck and fifth wheel behind the clubhouse while we drove around the campground in the Jeep to locate a suitable vacant site that we could take. There weren't a lot of sites to choose from, but we settled on a back-in site (vs a pull thru close to the highway) that would provide a much quieter stay. Below is a shot of the site which was tricky to back into because of all the palm trees.

The palm trees actually created another problem for us and that is with our satellite. We can't use the satellite positioned the way we are on the space because the trees block the signal. We thought about hitching up the fifth wheel again and slowly moving forward or back until we got a signal but we are getting all the local stations with our roof antenna and the signal is excellent, so we will stay where we are. The only stations we will miss are the movie channels (sorry, Josie) and we will not be able to copy any shows since we don't have use of the DirecTV digital recorder. It's only 6 days, so we will survive.

It's interesting to note that campgrounds that are in, or near cities, have much smaller sites than those in the boonies. It will take a little getting used to our much smaller spaces here than we had at Blu In or Happy Jack. The trade off is we get to save lots of gas. We also get a free newspaper delivered to us because of our membership level. We haven't read a newspaper since we left Surprise. We got all the news we needed from the internet.

After getting settled in and organizing the rig for our stay, we went to Olive Garden for dinner which was a real joy - and it was only a couple miles away. We will enjoy being close to everything while we are here. Josie is looking forward to some relaxation before she goes to work at Palm Springs Floral late next week, and I get to shop for work...

Moving Day - And More

Everything except the carpet that we have at our entrance is packed away from outside and ready to go. The only thing we need to do outside before we hitch up is disconnect the electric, water and sewer and we will be on our way. We still have to pack away the inside though, and that shouldn't take long. Check in time at Thousand Trails in Palm Springs is 2 PM and we only have to drive 66 miles.

We planned to wait around until Jeff, the owner, came in to get our last check from him but we had a couple phone calls. The first was from Sharon who told us (surprise) they were also leaving - on Tuesday - and that they have not heard from Jeff. She indicated that they had not received any response to their email giving notice and that we should not expect to see Jeff today. The second call was from Jeff just a little while ago and he said he had to be in San Diego today and would not be able to give us our last check, but would mail it to us. He also asked us to send him a "candid" email outlining our thoughts about the operation of the park. There is every possibility that the information we received from the park down the road a couple weeks ago about this park being in foreclosure is right on. If that is the case, we may never see the check. It's a good thing that it is only a small one, although they all are large when you aren't getting them regularly.

Mike and Sharon, the managers, had told us before that they were getting disgruntled with the way things were going. It appears that our timing for leaving is none too early. Our lesson learned here is, again, never take a job at a brand new park.

We'll keep everybody posted on the developments at Blu In Park as we hear them. In the meantime, it's off to Palm Springs...

A Reservation Scare

When we first decided to go to Palm Springs, we made several reservations at the membership campgrounds so we would be guaranteed a space for the time we plan to be there. It happened that we had two reservations at Thousand Trails that were consecutive: December 7-10, and December 10-16. I called Monday AM to cancel the reservation we had on 12/7, since we decided to stay a couple extra days to help out at this place. I received an email last evening confirming our cancellation for December 10th. Yikes! That meant we had no reservation until December 16 at the Western Horizons park. That won't work. Of course, the reservations desk was closed when I received their email so I had to wait until 6 AM this morning to call them. With only 1 day to go before we needed the reservation, I didn't sleep a wink last night waiting until I could call this morning. I made the call, and it was just as I thought - they cancelled the wrong reservation and charged us with a no-show fee for the December 7 reservation. It was fixed and everything is OK now. Whew!

This is the peak season for the Palm Springs area and reservations are hard to come by. That's why the reservations that we have made are chopped up because the window of availability is small for the parks we have to choose from. We are set though until January 7.

The storm finally passed through yesterday and the sun came out early in the morning. The winds stayed around all day though and made for a difficult time packing things away from outside. We decided to wait until we get to Palm Springs before removing the dust and sand from everything. One day to go. Josie is coming down with what appears to be cold symptoms, so we hope she is okay by the time she starts work at Palm Springs Floral on December 17th. The excitement is building...

Big Storm with Relentless Wind

We woke up to rain in the morning yesterday and most of the day was just dreary and drizzly. Then the heavy rain (.72") came followed by winds. The high was only 57 degrees and we had wind gusts up to 41 MPH. It was blowing so hard we had some interruptions in our satellite TV. This is the first time that our signal has been interrupted since we got the dish. The wind was strong and relentless. It blew the rest of the day and all night. I see that we had another gust of 41 MPH during the night as the wind continues and is still blowing as I write this post. The sun is out this morning, so that is good news. The forecast is for another storm by Thursday - the day we are scheduled to leave. I will start packing as much as I can in the basement today, so that the next storm doesn't create a problem for us.

Our schedule today has changed slightly. Originally, we were supposed to go to Santee, CA., where we were to visit with a Workamping Coordinator at the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve. It was just a "get to know you" kind of visit for possible future opportunities. Because the trip involved going through the mountains - where they had heavy snowfall yesterday - we decided to reschedule the visit to another time. We will most likely stay close to home today and try to get organized for Thursday's move. Until tomorrow...

Final Work day

The time we spent working yesterday morning was as expected - uneventful. The 4 hours we worked seemed like 14 hours. It was boring. I even came back to the rig to pick up my laptop and took it to the office so we could at least listen to the music that I have on my I-Tunes site (used for my IPOD), and to do some reorganizing of my picture files. Josie also likes to play spider solitaire on the system. It was work for pay though, so that made it easier.

Today we woke up to something different around here - rain. It's not a lot, but it's the first rain since we arrived in Southern California. Although we haven't been outside yet, I'm guessing that the little bit of moisture will have us tracking sand everywhere. The owner and manager are headed to El Centro this morning for a court date. We were asked to cover for them while they are gone, so this could be a long day. They are on the "docket" for 9:45 AM but that only means that the hearing is scheduled for sometime today. As this is our last work day, we are hoping that they are called early.

It shouldn't be too difficult for us to get things packed and ready to leave on Thursday. Having stayed here for such a short time, we didn't get a lot of things out of our basement that we would have gotten out had we stayed longer. We are now anxious to move on to Palm Springs and a new challenge...

Just Hangin Out

Yesterday was one of those uneventful, lazy days. We did finally receive a check for our time in the coffee cart and in the cafe that we worked over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was nice to see. We drove into Brawley to the ATM where we deposited the check and stopped at Vons to pick up a few groceries. Other than that, we just sat around and didn't do too much else. A sand storm came in as we were arriving back at the rig about 3 PM and the wind has been blowing steadily, with a high gust of 35 MPH yesterday afternoon. There is rain forecast for San Diego, so we don't know if some of that will make it over the mountains to us or not. It would help settle down the dust, that's for sure.

We heard back from our potential job in Oregon and they have filled the winter position and said they would keep our resume on hand for the summer season. We suspect that they found someone with experience on their software, which we didn't have, or they found somebody that was local. Anyway, there are many reservations software packages out there and we have experience on two of them - Campground Manager and Campground Master. The system they were using was Rez. Eventually, we hope to get experience on all the major reservations software packages so that we can qualify for most positions that come up. We're OK with Palm Springs for now.

We work today between 8 AM and noon. It was originally a full day, but since it all is overtime due our working the full day on Tuesday, they shortened it. That's fine with us. Later...

Notice Given

We mentioned in our entry a couple days ago that while in the Palm Springs area we stopped at several flower shops. Josie received a call yesterday from Palm Springs Floral asking her if she would be interested in working for them during the holidays. Their plan for her is to use her as a contract designer during the busy Christmas season - December 17 - 23. She would work 8 hours a day and make a nice hourly wage. Considering that our chances of making any money here are slim to none, she agreed to do the work. I immediately called our membership campgrounds in the Palm Springs area and was able to get reservations at the Thousand Trails park in Palm Desert and the Western Horizons park in Indio that will cover us until at least the 7th of January at no charge.

As we were scheduled to work between 6 PM and 9 PM yesterday, we gave our notice to Mike and Sharon and told them we would be leaving on Thursday, the 10th of December. They were very understanding and indicated that they expected us to be leaving. They tried very hard to get Jeff, the owner, to get us scheduled at least one extra day for pay so we could make some money. They also know that, as a result of the slower than anticipated growth of this park, that their jobs may be in jeopardy in the near future. They too are beginning to search for alternatives.

We also have been in contact with a nice park in Lincoln City, Oregon, that may be a possible long term Workamping position. It is a KOA park and they are well established. That could be a real winner as it is a position that is pay for all hours worked plus a full hookup site. It is also in a desirable area. We'll keep everybody posted on that development.

As for now, we feel like we are again on the right track to creating the "right" environment for ourselves. Until tomorrow...

Christmas Decorations

When we packed up our rig for our travels, we neglected to pack some Christmas decorations. Our storage space in Surprise, AZ is half full of Christmas stuff. Maybe it was because it was May when we packed up and weren't thinking anything about Christmas, but there is no way we would get through the holidays without some. So, back to El Centro and Walmart and Costco to stock up - or re-stock up. It really hurts not to have some cash coming in now because this is the time of year when it is most important. Anyway, we got some decorations and it can at least look a little like Christmas. Josie has a few more small items she wants to get before the holidays and then we'll be done. Decorations always help to get you into the Christmas spirit, and we can feel the difference already.

Our schedule has us working today between 6 PM and 9 PM. It is a total waste for us to be working those hours when there is no business. Actually, we will be "baby sitting" the park in case somebody tries to sneak in without paying. The park is practically empty now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over. We continue to search for alternatives and hope that something happens in the near future that removes our frustration. In the mean time, we try to remain positive and look at this as just a bump in the road that will get smoother as time goes by...

Palm Springs Area

We left pretty early (for us) - 8:30, and spent the whole day in the Palm Springs area. We started at the point where rt 111 starts in Coachella, and traveled the whole length of the road to the end of Palm Springs. We had been on this road many times over the years, but never traveled it from beginning to end through all the desert towns. We stopped at several flower shops along the way so Josie could get an idea of the floral market in this area and a couple of the shop owners were interested in hiring her part time during the busy periods. This would be great if we were located nearby, but for now, it's not possible. There were lots of new buildings, shopping centers, condos, etc. since we were here last. It is still a beautiful area and is still one of the best for spending winters.

At the end of our travel through Palm Springs, we went to the Thousand Trails park that is in Palm Desert. That place is totally packed, as usual, and we got there while they were having an RV show in the park. We went through the units they had there and decided that we were happy with what we had. Good thing, because it has to last us for a long time. About 5 miles down the road, on the way home, was a casino - gee, where did that come from? We went into the Fantasy Springs Casino, signed up for a club card that gave us $50 of free slot play, and played a small amount of our own cash. We didn't win any jackpots but liked the casino. It turns out that Willie Nelson is performing on Friday night, so it's too bad we didn't go on Friday - he is one of my favorites.

We returned back home at 8 PM so it made for a full, relaxing, and fun day...

Unscheduled Work Day

As mentioned yesterday, we were asked if we would cover for Mike & Sharon while they took a trip for the day. Tuesdays are usually very slow, and yesterday was no exception. We only received two reservations - one for a site, the other for storage - and only had about 4 phone calls. Of course, we handled all of this from out fifth wheel as we were handed the office phone in the AM as Mike was leaving. This phone is a real sticking point for us since it essentially allows the resort to be open 24/7, and we feel that there needs to be time when you don't have to be a slave to your job. Mike will answer the phone even if somebody calls at 2 AM. No wonder they need a day to get away.

Our plan for today is to take our first trip to the Palm Springs area. There are some campgrounds in that area that we want to check out and Josie also wants to check out some of the flower shops in that area. We are looking at that as a possible alternative for us if it appears that our income potential here will remain small. Mike had mentioned yesterday that the owner (Jeff) is going to rethink the coffee cart. We felt from the beginning that it should be located next to the cafe, instead of next to the office. With the huge crowds we had at the cafe over the weekend, it could have been a gold mine. It is not our decision of course, but if it were located there, we could almost work it everyday, and make money. His only problem, so we are told, is that the cart is part of the park profit center which is different from the cafe profit center. Sheesh! Change profit centers - he owns them both.

It is very quiet around here now, as usual from Monday thru Thursday. That also means that the dust level is dramatically reduced and we can sit outside without clouds of dust flying around. It's the nature of the area. OK, enough complaining for now. Until tomorrow...

Galleta Meadows in Borrego Springs

Our day started slowly yesterday as we took advantage of our first full day off since early last week. We had to go to the post office in Borrego Springs, so we planned a short side trip to an area on the edge of town. It is called Galleta Meadows, and it is a vast area of private land that is open to the public. An artist/welder, named Ricardo Breceda created giant animal sculptures that are models of creatures that inhabited the area about three million years ago. There were dirt (sand) roads carved throughout so that people could travel around the entire area looking at these animals. We took the following pictures that give you an idea of the effect: starting with a horse being attacked by some form of prehistoric lion:

Although just a small area of the total, the following picture shows these animals scattered throughout the huge meadow:

Finally, we took this shot of a huge prehistoric bird that was flying into a nest to feed her young:

The artist must have spent many years building these animals as there were probably more than 50 in the area. A very interesting stop.

We were invited to Mike and Sharon's rig in the evening for some dessert and conversation. They asked us if we would cover for them today as they wanted to get away for a day to recover from the hectic weekend. We agreed, so we are working today from 8 to who-knows-when. They had to get approval from Jeff, the owner, since this would mean paying us for the extra time. We suppose he agreed.

As Mike stopped by this morning to give us the cell phone for the office, he asked us to think about a schedule that would give him and Sharon a couple days off, and come up with a pay rate that we would consider for the extra office time. He might have a tough sell ahead with Jeff since we know how tight he is. Anyway, it appears that they know that we could have a problem staying here if we don't start getting money for hours worked. We'll see how that goes...

Final Cart Day and Miscellaneous

Since we had the coffee cart advertised as being open Fri-Sun, we had to open it yesterday morning. We suspected that everybody would be anxious to pack up and leave for home and not care too much for a latte. We were right. Although the cart was open at 7 AM, we watched as the rigs exited one at a time from the park without stopping. By 8:30, it became obvious that the coffee cart was nothing more than a thought for people, so we closed it down at 9 AM. We did have one little girl drive up with her mother in an ATV and asked for a hot chocolate. We gave it to her for free since hot chocolate is not on the price list and Josie just used some chocolate from our Frappucino can.

The figures for the week for us were: 24 hrs on office duty (normal), 24 hrs on the coffee cart (paid), 16 hrs in the cafe (paid). So, we will get paid for 40 hours total for the both of us for the week. That is what we needed, but the chances of getting another nice stretch of paid days is pretty slim - at least until the Christmas week. We need to take a hard look at that situation.

The rest of our day was spent doing some things at home. I have been researching Medicare supplemental insurance for the next year. Since we changed our address to Florida, I need to get insurance for that area that will also cover me for our travels. We also checked out some interesting things to see while we are here and we will be sharing those as we visit them.

The storm has totally passed through and we are once again enjoying the mild temperatures and sunny skies. Until tomorrow...

Crazy Day

We started our day yesterday at the coffee cart again, and for the third day, we increased sales. Yesterday we did a total of $24 - still not enough to pay any bills - but each day has been better. Today will be the last day for the cart for this weekend.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that, because I didn't work my scheduled shift yesterday, that I hoped to get some pictures of the crowd at the cafe/store today. Below are a couple shots of the crowd that was there non-stop the entire day:






This was an unbelievable sight all day. People were lined up outside the cafe/store all day and we had to have staff to do crowd control to let a few people in the cafe at a time. Josie worked one of the registers, and I worked outside on the ice chests. There were two chests filled with 10 and 20 lb bags of ice. People would bring out tickets that were purchased inside, and hand them to me so I could get their ice out of the chests. Green was for small (10 lb) and yellow was for large (20 lb). there were probably 4 large bags sold for each small bag. I filled my pockets with these tickets and had to refill the chests three times during my shift between 10:30 AM and 3 PM. Prices for items in the store were out of sight. The ice sold for $4 and $7, it cost $7.50 for a pack of cigarettes, $15.99 for a 12 pack of Bud Light and Coors - and they were the cheapest beer and $3.20 for a gallon of gas at the pumps, just to name a few of the items. In addition to that, the cafe served food all day and that was also amazing as people sat everywhere outside to eat their food. It was pandemonium. We were both happy to get off at 3 PM. It is a miracle that there were no injuries with all of these ATV's and bikes coming in and out all day.

To make the day even crazier, we had winds in the AM with a few rain drops and the temperatures dropped to the low 60's. We saw that it even snowed in Julian during the day as the evening news showed kids playing in the white stuff.

We decided to open the coffee cart one more time this morning so people could get a latte before heading out if they wanted one. Other than that, our day is open.

That's about it for our Thanksgiving weekend...

Winding Down the Workweek

Yesterday was the marathon work day of the Thanksgiving weekend - for Josie. Both of us worked the coffee cart in the AM between 7 and 10, and we more than doubled the business from Thursday. Our sales totalled $22.50 (wow!) and we had seven customers. We didn't give any away though, so the cart did better. The owner isn't going to pay many bills though from this business. After the cart, we both went over to the cafe to work there, and it seemed that my post was already being covered so I came back home while Josie stayed and worked one of the cash registers. She worked from 10:30 AM to 3:30 in the afternoon. Following a short break, we both then went to work at the office at 5 PM and worked until 9:30. Today is just the cart in the morning and the cafe from 10:30 to 3 PM and we are done until next Friday.

A storm moved in last night as we were getting ready for bed. Actually, there was no rain, but we got the strongest winds we've had since we arrived. There was a gust of 38 MPH during the night and it is still blowing this morning. We have sand and dust on everything, and it even gets into the fifth wheel -with everything closed. The good news is the temperatures are great here, and the bad news is you better like sand. It's impossible to keep your vehicles clean.

The plan was to get some pictures of the unbelievable crowds at the cafe yesterday but because I didn't work my shift yesterday, I'll try to get them today. The lines go out the door and you can hardly see the parking lot because of all the off road vehicles. Today is supposed to be like yesterday. We would rather have it that way as the time goes faster when your busy. We're looking forward to some down time tomorrow...

Coffee Cart and Dinner

We hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.

Our first day on the coffee cart was about as we expected. Josie and I arrived at 6:15 AM yesterday to get things set up to open by 7 AM. Below is a picture of the cart at opening time:

The cart is actually pretty nice inside and roomy, as you can see below:

The business for the first day was kind of a joke. We did a total of 3 latte sales and we gave away 5 latte's to employees (Ha). Of course, there weren't many people in the park yet as most of them were scheduled to check in during the day. That, plus the word didn't get around to everybody that was already in the park. We got rave reviews though on all of the drinks we (Josie) made. I took orders and was on the register. We'll try it again today.

Our scheduled shift at the cafe between 10:30 AM and 2 PM was cancelled because the crowd at the cafe was small. The kitchen was closed for Thanksgiving, so they didn't need extra people. The store in the cafe was open until 2 PM, but the regular staff could handle that small crowd.

The dinner at the cafe was a success. There were 24 people and we had lots of food. Each family brought a dish or two, and we had all the normal turkey day fare, plus a few exotic dishes we never had before. The only dish that was missing was candied sweet potatoes - how did that happen(?). The picture below shows the seating for dinner in the cafe. The food was placed on the counter which is not visible in the picture, but it took up the whole length of the counter.


Following dinner, we went to the office to work our scheduled time there until 9 PM. It was a fairly long day and we get to do pretty much the same schedule today, but without the dinner. That time will be filled with more time in the office.

We also got a feel for what was going to happen in December, as far as cart operation and guests scheduled for the park. It seems that the week between Christmas and New Years will be a very busy one, but in the meantime, the cart will be closed and there won't be a lot of people in the park. This is not good news for us, as we need this place to start filling up so we can work for pay. Josie and I are seriously thinking of having a sit-down talk with the owner to discuss other options - right after the Thanksgiving Weekend. We'll keep you posted...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our schedule yesterday was actually light for the start of the Thanksgiving weekend. We went to the cafe at about 1 PM where Josie was trained on the cash register and I was placed outside for crowd control and handling the ice machines. If yesterday was any indication, it will be like a zoo today. We could not believe that there were so many people staying out in the desert. It was non stop for the entire time we spent at the cafe. Eventually, after over an hour training at the cafe, we ended up at the office for our scheduled work time handling check-ins. We had 11 reservations scheduled to check in yesterday - the biggest day of the weekend. Only 9 made it in by the time we left the office at 6 PM. The other two were late check-ins. The empty black tank requirement for all rigs checking in really slows down the check-in time. It's a good thing everybody didn't show up at the same time or there would have been a lot of complaints. The whole check-in process is ten times slower than at Happy Jack. We can't imagine how this park is going to handle huge crowds, assuming they ultimately get huge crowds.

Our experience with the new coffee cart begins today. Josie and I will be opening the cart for business at 7 AM this morning. We're disappointed that there wasn't more preparation done by the owner since we only have a small amount of product left to sell after our training day last week, and there are no banners or signs on the cart. We'll do the best we can. After closing the cart at 10 AM, we will move over to the cafe and help out there from 10:30 to 2 PM. We get a breather after that until 6 PM when we return to the office for our scheduled time there until 9 PM. Of course, we have our Thanksgiving dinner scheduled at 4 PM in the cafe, where about 25 people are expected for the pot luck dinner.

The time that we spend in the coffee cart and at the cafe are supposed to be paid hours, so we are happy about that. It promises to be an interesting day and I'll try to get some pictures for tomorrow's entry. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving to all...

Exploring Some Local Stuff

Since we have been using a lot of gas driving to all the places that are 30 or more miles away, we decided to explore some local areas that were within a few miles of us. There are a few older, smaller campgrounds in the area and we wanted to get info on those as they are our competition, so to speak.

While driving on rt 78 toward Borrego Springs, there were many areas off the road where groups of boon dockers were setting up for the Thanksgiving weekend. This picture, and the one that follows, shows these groups that set up in wagon train style, i.e. in circles, and create a huge ring where they all can congregate in the middle for meals, campfires, etc.




It is quite a sight to see miles and miles of open desert and every once in a while see one of these groups set up to enjoy their off roading.

There are only a couple of side roads that turn off of the main road, and there are three campgrounds that are tucked back in these areas. The first one we visited was a real dump, had only permanent spaces, and the trailers were all at least 15 years old. They did have a small store which carried most of the necessities - eggs, milk, bread, etc. This place was no threat to our new park. The second one, Leaping Lizard Campground was a bit better, and was more competitive with ours. They had nice spaces, some large, and all with mature trees. They charge $25 a night for their spaces - with full hookups. They aren't brand new, but they expect to sell out all of their spaces (about 50) for the Thanksgiving weekend. They are also just now putting in a swimming pool and we thought that, for the money, they were a much better deal than our place at $45-55. We pretended to be tourists and tried to get some info and opinions on the new park down the street - the Blu In RV Park. This guy told us a bunch - including that he heard that they were in foreclosure. That's news to us. Of course, he was trying to sell his park and its features over the "new" park.

The last place we went to was a smaller park about 3 miles in on one of the side roads. This place was in between the first one and the Leaping Lizard, in terms of amenities. It wasn't real nice, but the spaces were $20 per night with just electric and water with no dump. Not such a great deal. They also had a pretty well supplied little store that gives us an option to driving into Borrego Springs for basic stuff. While driving further down this side road we came across an area that looked like a whole, small town of old trailers. This picture shows a portion of this area that was like a sea of trailers on lots that sold, according to a nearby sign, for about $20,000 each - what a ripoff.




Today begins the big push for the holiday weekend. We don't start until 2 PM today, but from now until Sunday, we will be working about 10 hours per day. It may impact my schedule for doing the blog entries but I hope not too much. We'll see...

San Diego Trip

One of the main destinations while we are here has been San Diego. We decided to see how long it would take us to get there and also, stop at a campground that we had communicated with about Workamping that was right on the water at Mission Bay. It took us almost exactly 2 hours to get there. Most of the drive was through mountains and on curving, winding roads. Beautiful country, but slow driving. We left at just about 11 AM and arrived at 1 PM. The actual distance was 95 miles to the campground.

The campground was one that we actually had stayed in during our trip to Ensenada in the early 80's. We went with our family, boat, my mother and father, George's family and our friends Cot & Lois. A great trip. It looked very familiar and hasn't changed a whole lot since we went there. The campsites are all on asphalt and you get the feeling that you are staying in a parking lot. The advantage is that you are right on the water and in downtown San Diego where everything happens. We tried to talk to the Manager who had asked us to stop in when in the area, but Monday was her day off. We talked to an office employee and got a lot of information on their Workamping program and will be talking to the the Manager at some time in the near future. The employee indicated that the staff was pretty well set for the winter, but there may be opportunities for the summer season beginning in April. It would be an interesting place. Great location with a so-so campground. At this place it is all about location.

We used Mapquest to take us there and we used our GPS to bring us back home. They were very different routes but amounted to almost the same distance. Amazing. The AM trip had us turning south at the eastern edge of Julian and going south through the area where the huge forest fire was years ago when we came to Julian for the first time. It wound through the mountains and brought us out to I-8 in Lakeside, CA., about 35 miles from San Diego. The return trip took us north on I-15 through El Cajon and Ramona and through the mountains to the west end of Julian where the rest of the trip was the same. It was an enjoyable trip and we now know how long it takes, and the different routes to take. The next trip will be to do some things there and may include an overnight stay to do some of the things we want to do while there. There is a lot to see and do.

We are off again today and plan to stay close to home. Later...

Busy Morning and Searching Health Insurance

Our scheduled morning at work yesterday turned out to be very busy. There were customers for storage, RV sites, dump station and water fills - plus, a few people coming in to tour the park. We always welcome busy days versus sitting and doing nothing because it makes the time go faster. Also, our managers had an opportunity to go to church in Borrego Springs for the first time since they arrived 2 months ago. Although the morning was busy, it was only a fraction of the business we did at Happy Jack Lodge in the summer. It's all relative.

I spent most of the afternoon researching Medicare Advantage and Supplemental Insurance options for next year. Currently, I have a free plan from AARP Secure Horizons but I don't know yet if it is best for me to keep that plan for nationwide coverage as we travel to many different states. Also, we are using Florida as our address and I don't know the impact on that insurance coverage yet. The renewal period began November 15 and ends December 31, so I have some time to study the different options. There are several agencies in Florida that I have helping to decide which is best for me.

The last thing I wanted to mention was that we got a new coffee maker since we have been having trouble with the one we got when we bought the fifth wheel. We were introduced to the Keurig coffee maker when we went to dinner at my brother George's home a few weeks ago and really liked it. Costco was having a sale on the unit so when we went to El Centro to fix Josie's prescription the other day, we stopped in Costco and bought one. Thanks, George, we are loving it so far. It really made sense for us since I drink decaff, and Josie drinks regular. Now we can each have our favorite without brewing whole pots of coffee.

Today and tomorrow are off days so we hope to do something interesting and enjoyable. We'll let you know...

Planning for the Thanksgiving Weekend

We had another meeting with the owner and managers yesterday morning and discussed the schedules for the Thanksgiving weekend. Josie and I are going to be very busy. Starting on Wednesday where we work from 2 to about 9 PM in the office. Thursday, Friday and Saturday we start every day working the coffee cart from 7 to 10 AM, Cafe from 10:30 to 2 PM, Office from 5 PM to 9 PM. All of the time outside of the office will be paid - finally. Of course, after Thanksgiving we will again only be paid for time running the coffee cart. It will be nice to have Monday and Tuesday off this week to rest up for the rest of the week. We also will bring a relish tray and bread to the Thanksgiving dinner that is going to be held in the Cafe on Thursday between 2 and 4. That will be a huge pot luck dinner with about 30 people scheduled to attend. The owner is really busy trying to get things ready for the big weekend. He had a big screen TV installed in the clubhouse and it is ready to go. The pool will be heated to 85 degrees and the spa, already heated, will be warmed to over 100 - it is now set at 95 and feels like bath water.

Our work hours in the office yesterday were from 4 to 9 PM. The time went pretty fast as we checked in some people for storage and the camp sites and performed the closing duties for the first time. This morning we are on from 9 AM to 2 PM and that gives the managers a chance to go to church for the first time since they arrived 2 months ago. They could have scheduled us on Sunday mornings before this so we don't know why they waited until now.

The winds stopped yesterday morning shortly after I posted the entry and became beautiful once again. Today is also clear skies and no wind and is expected to go to about 80. Until tomorrow...

Grit and Back to El Centro

After the post yesterday it probably seems like we are packing up and moving on. Not the case - yet. We will stay and do whatever we can to make things better at the park. We had a conversation with the owner yesterday afternoon and he was listening to the suggestions we had for improving the occupancy: set up a rally for charity, gift certificates, give out discount coupons at the cafe, have a "get to know us" month where all stays are 30% off, etc. He liked the ideas and he also showed us the drawings for the expansion he has planned within the next year. As we said before, this is going to be quite a place eventually. We will see where these suggestions go.

We have a meeting with the owner this morning to discuss the schedules for the Thanksgiving Weekend. We already know that he needs help in the Cafe as people cram the place on holidays and they have lines running outside the door everyday. Any hours we spend there would be on the clock for pay. That's a relief. Our schedule today has us working the office between 4 and 10 PM. We will actually be off about 8:30 since nothing happens after that hour.

We also made a trip back to El Centro yesterday because Walgreen's made a mistake on Josie's prescription. Her prescription called for 90 pills and they filled it for 30. We got that fixed and also had service performed on the Jeep which was overdo.

After bragging about the weather yesterday, we woke up to 25 MPH winds this morning. Oh, well...

Lessons Learned and Weather

To continue a little bit on yesterday's entry, we have learned another lesson about our Workamping adventure. The lesson is never accept a position at a brand new park. At first, we thought it would be a neat situation, coming into a new park and helping to put it on a path to prosperity. That may be a great concept and thought, but the reality is that the frustration is not worth it. In our situation here, the owner has had no experience in campground operation - and admits it. The problem and frustration for us is that he doesn't take advantage of the knowledge and experience of his staff. Not that we all know everything, but there are obvious blunders we feel he is making. This park, or any park for that matter, isn't going to attract customers if the "package" isn't a good value. We are not able to convince him that one of the main reasons the park isn't filling up is because he is charging too much for the sites and the value isn't there right now. We have 185 sites and for the Thanksgiving weekend we have 27 sites reserved and the owner thinks that is a super crowd. The off roading crowd is certainly aware of this place by now - the owner is advertising in every magazine and off road newsletter. This is the only RV park within 40 miles and he certainly should be attracting more interest than he has so far. The problem for us is that we don't get paid for hours worked in the office until the park turns a profit. His plan, and the reason we are here, was to show a profit by Halloween. It now appears that wages are not in the near future - at least until after the 1st of January. What a shame. He could be filling this place almost every weekend with the right kind of package.

Now to the weather. It has been spectacular, with the exception of the one wind storm we had last week. We have daily highs of 80-81 and lows every night between 48-52. There hasn't been a cloud in the sky except for, maybe, 2 days since we arrived. Winter weather couldn't be better - so far. I'm sure that there are some rough days ahead, but for now it's perfect.

My scheduled work time last night was a joke. I was scheduled between 8 and 10 PM. When I got to the office, it was closed up tight and I had to chase down Mike to find out what I was supposed to do. It ended up that I just rode around the park locking gates and closing down areas. I was done by 8:10 and went home. Sheesh!

We have an off day today and as of now, we have no plans. We'll see...

Short Trip to Borrego Springs

There were some things we needed to get from the grocery store, so it being the closest one, we headed to Borrego Springs. We drove around some different areas while in town and discovered some new homes and also a few farms that were growing palm trees. This town is actually very nice and if it weren't for the super hot summers, could be a nice place to live.

I had to complete a flyer and a price list for our coffee cart, so that was accomplished. Of course, we don't get paid for the time we spend at home doing work related items. We had a short conversation with Mike, the manager, about talking to the owner about at least providing free laundry to the Workampers. Almost all parks offer that - especially remote parks like this one. The laundry here costs $3 for one load to wash and dry. Josie did laundry on Tuesday and lost $3 as a result of dryer problems. She was reimbursed by Mike though. It is frustrating for us to do work without pay, or any free benefit outside of the site. The owner needs to step up and fix that problem soon. In the meantime, we are enjoying the extra time off and visiting new areas.

Today is a scheduled work day for me. I work from 8 to 10 PM in the office. Isn't that crazy? there is no business at all during those hours so my job will basically be to go around the park and lock up all the gates and restrooms for the night, including the pool area. There may be some hours for us at the coffee cart sometime during the day as we prepare to open it for business very soon. Those are paid hours so we look forward to those. More tomorrow...

Salton City and Red Earth Casino

We finally made the short - 24 miles - trip to Salton City which we passed on the way here and wanted to check out.


The city sits right on the shores of the Salton Sea. It became obvious to us that this area was a popular coastal destination about thirty years ago. The Sea appeared to be in decline as there were dead fish just about everywhere on the shore, and the shore itself looked like it hadn't had water on it in at least that long. The city was also in decline. Almost all of the homes we saw were old and run down. There were a few pockets of new homes that were on sale and those were being offered at rock bottom prices. We took the drive along the coast in the city and came upon an area that had a boat launch and we could walk out and get some pictures. the first one below is of an American White Pelican and they were plentiful in the water:

Then there are these pictures of the "beach" area, which you can see is in decline:

As we finished the drive through town, we did find the grocery store and the post office (in the grocery store). The Salton Sea is an interesting story as you can see in the link above.

After leaving Salton City we went about two miles north to the nearest casino to us: the Red Earth Casino. This casino will never compete with Vegas or Laughlin, but it isn't too bad for a remote casino. It had most of what the other, larger casinos have, but a lot fewer machines. We played with just a few bucks to try it out and actually played for quite awhile. The other good part is that it wasn't very crowded - probably because it is so remote. It will be a decent place to get a casino "fix" if we need one sometime.

After returning home at about 5 PM we did some laundry and watched a little TV. It was a pretty busy day and we were happy to have discovered some new things in the area. Today will be a stay home day as we need to prepare a flyer and a price list for our coffee cart. Later...

Back to El Centro

Our day yesterday was pretty much dictated by our needs. Josie discovered that she needed a refill on one of her prescriptions plus some more vtamins and I discovered that we needed to have a form notorized for the DMV in Florida before we could transfer the registration on our final vehicle ( the Jeep) to Florida. These things can only be done in El Centro since that is the closest Walgreen's, Costco and the closest Bank of America where we can get the Notary for free.

We first went to the Bank of America and discovered that they will only notorize a bank related document. Laws in California forbid notorizing any other kind of document. That's a new discovery. We always had our papers notorized at the bank in Arizona - and also Washington where we lived before. Oh, well. The gentleman in the bank located a public notary for us and we then went there where we had the form notorized - for $10. What a scam!

We then went to Walgreen's and had another minor setback. The prescription that Josie called in to the pharmacy wasn't transferred from the previous location. That was going to take at least an hour so we told them we would return. That meant that we could probably go to Costco and get Josie's vitamins and a bite to eat. We like Costco's inexpensive menu at the snack bar and we each had a hot dog combo (including drink) that came to just over $3 with tax. Good value. We both were reminded while eating that El Centro is probably 90% Mexican since everybody sitting around us was speaking Spanish and there were lots of people there. This is not a town that we could live in although it's not a dirty place. Before leaving Costco I saw that they had put out their Christmas fruitcake. Of course, I had to buy one of those. They are fabulous! Finally, we went back to Walgreen's and finished our business for the day.

That about rounded out the day with the unscheduled trip to El Centro. Today is a laundry day and possibly a short trip to a place we haven't been. Later...