We started out as usual, with coffee, walks and breakfast. We pulled out of Indio right at the crack of 9:30 a.m., heading east on I-10. Wind was the name of the game this morning. Jim took it easy and just held on. Think driving a standing piece of plywood down the road in a windstorm. That's one of the features of having a motor home.
We'd made arrangements to meet Jo and Fred Wishnie for lunch at a convenient restaurant in Blythe. We'd planned to head on towards Tonopah for the night. But the wind was so bad, we decided to stay in Blythe overnight. I called the place we stayed last year, Hidden Beaches RV Park to find out if they had space. This time I looked at their Passport America listing to see if the discount was in effect now. Their listing seemed to indicate it was, but I asked to be sure when I talked to them on the phone. Yes, they had a space, and yes, the PA discount would be valid. From the high rent district last night where we paid $46, to a much more reasonable, yet perfectly acceptable park at $21.00 tonight. This is more like it. We were surprised, since Blythe is just a few miles from Quartzsite, Arizona where it's said that a million people gather this time of year. We didn't expect to find a vacancy, or to get the Passport America discount.
We met Jo and Fred and had a very nice lunch. They extended an invitation to their place for dinner, and we accepted, providing we could bring something to contribute. We needed to get some groceries anyway, so we headed to the local Albertson's to stock up on a few items and made a salad to take to dinner.
We were to be at the Wishnies' at 5:00. We're just down the road from them, not more than a 5 minute drive. I looked at my phone's clock to check the time and saw that it said 5:39. Gee, I thought it was only about 4:30! What happened to that hour! I called Jo in a near-panic to see if we were late! She sounded a little puzzled when she told me no, it's only 4:40. Ok, then. It seems that where we are, our phones tell us we're in Mountain Time. But, down the street at the Wishnies' place, it's still Pacific Time. Are we confused yet?
We arrived a few mintes before 5:00 and visited while dinner was cooking. We had a delightful meal of Fred's special meat loaf (don't forget to send us that recipe, Fred!) baked potato and green beans, with the salad. Jo made coffee for us to enjoy with dessert. We indulged in cheesecake and chocolate cake (can't have too much chocolate!). The food was wonderful, and the company was exceptional. We find we have much in common with Jo and Fred, so it's easy to talk and compare notes on this lifestyle and life in general! We've only met them once before, yet it seems like we've been friends for ages. I don't know if it's the nomadic lifestyle that provides a common basis to build friendships quickly, but we have met a number of people since we've been fulltiming that have become solid friends very quickly. It's one of the more fascinating aspects of this lifestyle, and one I didn't expect. Serendipity!
The dogs were invited too, but since Mr. Bo Jangles sometimes gets an attitude when meeting new dogs, we decided to just take Jasmine this time. She and BooBoo ran circles and chased each other and had the best time playing and getting to know each other. The only bad moment came when Jazz had an accident on the carpet! Jim and I could have just disappeared with our embarrassment, but Jo and Fred took it totally in stride. We just cleaned up and moved on.
The pictures we took of Fred and Jo didn't turn out very well, so we'll save those and try for better pictures next time we get together. Here's one of BooBoo and Jasmine nose to nose. Jazz would come and sit down, but BooBoo wanted to run and play, so she'd come and tease Jazz into chasing her!
This is the view out the right front window of the motor home from where we're parked for the night:
And this is the view towards the left from the front window:
With these views and the meeting of new friends in the blink of an eye, it's no wonder we find such awe and joy in this lifestyle. Nearly every day we have an opportunity to experience the simple beauty of this country and the opportunity to share it with others.
Thanks, Jo, Fred, and BooBoo, for a great day! Tucson tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment