Highway Runner: 2012-10-28

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

THERE SHE BLOWS!! OUR AWNING, THAT IS!

Oct. 26 - We left TT Palm Springs on at 6:00 AM on Friday morning because we had an appointment at Temecula Valley RV Service at 8:00 AM because our automatic patio awning was acting up.

Weather forecasts predicted Santa Anna winds further West on the coast, and we were feeling the remnants of it as we drove West on I-10 just East of Banning. Suddenly we started hearing something flapping, flapping, and then something was dragging on the highway behind us!! What the heck??? Ken, all excited, said, "It's the awning!!" The wind, coming from the rear, had grabbed our patio awning and ripped the back arm of the awning completely off the motorhome and we were dragging it down the highway!

Ken immediately pulled off the highway as far as he could get on the narrow shoulder! We were scarcely able to get out of the front door because a guard rail was blocking the doorway. The arm of the awning was lying out on the highway and the awning fabric was flapping all over the place in the heavy wind. What could we do?? We could not stay there on the side of the highway!!

I walked back behind the motorhome and pulled the arm of the awning off the highway. Then I had sense enough to call our insurance company, National Interstate. What should we do?? Their representative gave me a claim number and said to take pictures and do whatever was necessary to get off the highway!

Ken went back inside and got his fillet knife. As it turned out, we were fortunate to have pulled off beside that guard rail. Ken was able to stand on the rail and reach the top of the awning. With his fillet knife, he sliced through the fabric and removed the awning. Well, almost removed the awning. The front end of the roller was still attached to the front awning arm!!!

Ken got out his hammer and screwdriver and started working to knock the bolts out of the awning arm and was finally able to get the entire awning off of the motorhome!! But the metal shield was still attached to the motorhome and flapping in the wind, slamming into side of the motorhome. We were afraid the shield would cause additional damage!

But, now we could drive to the nearest exit, which was only a few feet away, and into the lot of a nearby service station. The metal shield was attached using three layers of canvas. Ken climbed up his ladder and sliced through the canvas with his fillet knife and removed the shield.

During the whole process of removing the awning, I thought it was genius how we tied lines to the awning roller and later to the metal shield and lowered them gently to the ground so they did not fall on either of us or cause more damage by dropping down!! Pretty smart, right!!

We were finally free of the awning and we could drive on the Temecula Valley RV Service. We had called them earlier and let them know we would be very late for our appointment.

We had reservations at TT Wilderness Lakes so before going to Temecula Valley RV Service, we decided to go to the campground and find a site because Halloween weekend is a very busy time at the campground. Amazing!! We found the perfect site right away. As we were putting an Occupied Sign on our site, Sue and Jack called. They were on the Pickleball court and saw us as we drove in. They were having Happy Hour at 4:30. I explained our situation. We were going over to Temecula Valley RV Service and did not know when we would get back.

When we arrived at Temecula Valley RV Service, Bill, our service representative, turned us over to Eric, the owner, who examined the awning damage and made estimates of the cost to replace the awning with all new equipment. He took over and will handle everything with the insurance company. Wonderful!! We have nothing more to worry about! Our insurance will cover the cost of installing the new awning, and we have been so good for the past few years that we have no deductible to pay!! Things went so smoothly and easily, I told Ken on the way back to the campground that Temecula Valley RV Service is so great to work with that, no matter how bad the situation is, they make you think you are actually enjoying it!!

Happy Hour With Sue and Jack

We returned to the campground at about 4:45 PM. We had to drive right by Sue and Jack's site on our way to our site. They were sitting outside enjoying Happy Hour and begged us to stop. So we parked the motorhome in front of their site and joined them.

We showed them where the awning had been taken off the motorhome!

Then we joined the Happy Hour!

Sue and Jack of the Six Pack, or Eight Pack, or Ten Pack, depending on how many are tagging along.

Alan and Trudy joined up with The Six Pack when we were all at TT Verde Valley in the Spring. They are still with them!!

Mark and Linda. They are not members of the Six Pack. Is this not the most romantic picture ever!!??

Here we are!! Relaxing at last!!

Thanks Sue and Jack!! Enjoyed the Happy Hour and seeing you all again!!

TWO WEEKS OF FUN AT TT PALM SPRINGS, CA

On Friday, October 12, we moved from TT Wilderness Lakes back to TT Palm Springs. The next morning at Pickleball, we were surprised to learn that Barbara and Joe were already there. We were lucky that they had arrived a few days too early to get the site they wanted. By the time we arrived, that site had opened up and we parked there. We laughed about us taking their site for the next two weeks!!

A Glass Of Wine

Barbara and Joe invited us over for a glass of wine and we invited a few other Pickleball couples. Barbara teases me about that! "We invited Faye and Ken over for a glass of wine and Faye invites four other couples!!"

Plenty of wine.

But Barbara offered something better!! Pitchers of her "Bloomer Droppers"!! Can't remember what is in them except Peach Schnapps!! UUMMMMM Good!!

We had a great time!

Linda and Rick were able to come by. Rick heads up the Pickleball at TT Palm Springs. Linda works as a Ranger so it is rare that she is available to join us at our Happy Hours.

Long time Pickleball friends, Jessie and Paul. We have known them since we've been playing!

We just met these couples on the Pickleball courts since we arrived. Jim and Terri. They said Mike Roberts at TT Chesapeake Bay had taught them to play Pickleball! Do you remember them, Mike?? By the way, Mike, Barbara and Joe said you also taught them to play at Chesapeake Bay. Small world!!

Wade and Tiffany. They said they had met some other friends of ours at TT Seaside, OR!

A great time was had by all. And, I think we all made it home without dropping our bloomers!! Thanks so much Barbara and Joe for having us over for a Glass of Wine!!

More Friends Arrive

Shortly after we arrived at Palm Springs, Bill and Pat called to say they were changing their plans. They were going to stay for a few weeks in Colorado but Bill said they looked at each other and wondered why they would stay in Colorado when their friends were at TT Palm Springs! They were coming in on Wednesday. I was soooo excited!!

I then called Walt and Pam and convinced them to come to Palm Springs rather than going to Wilderness Lakes. They decided to come in to Palm Springs on Wednesday, too! What a great group to hang around with.

Fajitas and Margaritas

The first thing Ken and I did was invite the group over for Fajitas and Margaritas. We all had fun just sitting around and talking about our separate summers. And reminiscing about the good times we had together last season at TT Palm Springs. I had my camera with me but forgot to take pictures. There will be other chances, I'm sure!

Pickleball Happy Hour

I posted a sign at the Pickleball courts saying that we were having a Pickleball Happy Hour at our site on Friday. As it turned out, our site had almost no afternoon shade. So, at the last minute we changed the location to Barbara and Joe's site (again)! Barbara has teased me mercilessly about that!! "Faye invited everybody to their site, and then she moves it over to our site!!!"

Barbara and Joe. They are great hosts!!

Ken and I had a great time!

Pat and Bill getting mushy!! "Get a room!!"

Walt and Pam enjoying their drinks!

I had wanted to have a separate Oktoberfest but decided to just bring some German eats to this Happy Hour. This is a Beer Brats and Sauerkraut recipe from Capital Ale House in Richmond, VA,

And, of course, the all-American German Chocolate Cake!!

Everyone brought something delicious to share. From left to right: Bill's Pat, Pam, John's Pat, John and Linda help themselves to some goodies!

Part of the group: Ken, Paul's head, Pat, Faye, Bill, Walt, Pam and Joe.

Bill captures the attention of Pat and Pat!!

The guys talk about "Guy Things". John, Walt, and Matt.

We met Jerry's wife, Linda today. Connie is Matt's cute wife.

Ken and Paul talk "Old Guy Things"!!

It was a great First Pickleball Happy Hour of the season!! Thanks Barbara and Joe for letting us move in on you!!

The Girls, They Go A-Shopping!!

One morning, Pat decided to take the Girls "Thrifting" at the many Thrift Shops in the area! Pam said she has never in her whole life shopped at a Thrist Shop!! I met them at the first shop, just across I-10 from the TT Palm Springs camp ground.

Pam bought a fancy tee shirt. Barbara didn't get anything at this stop. Pat found something, but I didn't see if. I bought a tee shirt with a sparkling red, white and blue heart, and a pair of slacks. It just happened that women's wear was 50% off on the day we went!! Tee shirts were $4.00 minus $2.00 or $2.00 apiece!! My slacks were $4.50 minus $2.25 or $2.25!!!!!

The Big Spenders!!

I left the group because Ken and I were going to see "The Dark Night Rises" at the $1.00 Movie!! The Batman movie was pretty good. Much better than Superman!!!

When we returned from the movie at about 3:30 PM and the Girls had not yet returned from Thrift shopping!!!

Farewell to Faye and Ken

Thur. Oct. 25. It's time for us to leave all of this fun and head over to TT Wilderness Lakes tomorrow morning for two weeks. Then we will be back!!

Barbara and Joe invited the group over to their site for Farewell Wine!! We have had a great time together and this was a nice way to say Good Bye!!

Farewell to our hosts Barbara and Joe.

Farewell to our Michigan friends, Bill and Pat.

Farewell to our Jambalya friends, Pam and Walt.

Farewell to our East Coast friends, Connie and Matt.

Our next adventure begins tomorrow!! Won't be as much fun as this one!!

Thanks everyone for making this such a great stay!!

There were other adventures and lots of Pickleball with this group!! Check out the articles about The Mary Pickford Theater and Pickleball following!!

MARY PICKFORD THEATER, CATHEDRAL CITY, CA

I made one of the greatest discoveries in the Palm Springs area!!! The Mary Pickford Theater!!!! The theater is named after the silent film star, Mary Pickford. I thought it was an historic landmark in Palm Springs; but No!! It is a very modern stadium style theater that shows first-run movies, located in Cathedral City about 8-10 miles from our TT Palm Springs campground.

The great thing about the Mary Pickford Theater is the price!! With an Ultra Senior Pass that you can pick up at the box office, the first show each day is only $5.00. Other matinees during the day cost seniors $7.00, but with the Ultra Senior Pass the cost is only $6.00. And, get this!! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, with your Ultra Senior Pass, you get a nice sized complementary popcorn!!

This is definitely the place to go when you want to see a first-run movie!! Our group went to the first showing on Tuesday ($5) to see just-released Argo!! We were surprised at the size of the complementary buttered popcorn!! All of us agreed that the movie was very good!! And the price was right!!!

In fact, we were so impressed with the Mary Pickford Theater that we decided to go again the following week. This time we went on Wednesday afternoon to a later show ($6) because we had plans for after the show. This time we went to see Alex Cross which we all agreed again was very good!

After the movie, we raced up 111 to find a seat at the Elephane Bar for Happy Hour!!! How can I explain this?? Six of us went to the movie: Bill and Pat, Walt and Pam, Ken and Faye. Walt and Pam left after the movie, so that left the four of us. But!! We had planned to meet Joe and Barbara at the Elephant Bar, and Matt and Connie joined us a little later!!

Around the table: Bill, Barbara, Joe, Matt, Connie, Ken, Faye and Pat!

I was a little disappointed that last time we visited the Elephant Bar. They had changed the menu and no longer had the Seared Ahi Tuna for Happy Hour!! But, tonight I discovered another wonderful item on the Happy Hour Menu!! Niu, Niu Coconut Shrimp Skewers!!! OMG!!! Sooooo Good!!

Ken had his usual Calamari!!

Are you believing this!!?? After enjoying Happy Hour at the Elephant Bar, we still wanted Ice Cream for dessert!!! Barbara suggested going to the Coldstone Creamry!!! And it was on our way back to the campground!!

This was the first time we had ever been to a Coldstone Creamry. I was amazed at how "topping" items were added to the ice cream selected. The waitress spread the ice cream out in front of her, and with a couple of small paddles blended in the topping. I told Barbara that you would think the ice cream would melt as it was being massaged with topping. She gave me an Ah Ha moment!! Barbara explained that they spread the ice cream on a Cold Stone!!!

We ordered "small" cups in a waffle cone!!

All I know is it was wonderful!!! Sooooo creamy!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

LOTS OF PICKLEBALL AT TT PALM SPRINGS, CA

Oct. 12 - Oct. 26 - Pickleball players are making their way back to TT Palm Springs for the season!! Most we have already met, and some are new faces. One thing we have discovered (and our Pickleball friends seem to agree), Pickleball players are the nicest people!!!

Here is some of the action. I hope I got most of the name correct.

Jessie and Roy.

Bill and Casey.

Jim and Terri - learned to play Pickleball at our home park, TT Chesapeake Bay.

Jerry and new player, Jill.

Tiffany and Wade have a new Pickleball dance!

Ken, Barbara, Linda and Rick after a match.

Wade and Tiffany again.

Mike and Ken.

Terri, Barbara, Paul and Jim after their match.

John and Linda.

Barbara and Walt.

Zack and Roy.

Casey and Ken.

Faye stretches for a ball. Walt watches.

Faye is thrilled. I must have made the shot!!

One morning, we did not stay for Pickleball. One court was out of commission because of this gauzier!

And these are the guilty guys that caused the problem!! The story goes that Linda had served the ball. Bill stepped back to return it but lost his balance and backed into the fence. The fence collapsed behind him and hit the water main!! The result was Old Faithful!!! Bill said Thousand Trails wanted to charge him $50 for repairs!! HA HA!!