Monday, March 21, 2011

March 18, 2011 – Back in Antioch, CA

I am not sure what happened.  Last time I looked, we were headed back to Quartzsite, AZ---and now we are back in California???  Where did that month go? 

I can’t even claim the weather in Quartzsite was so wonderful that we were too busy to write.  The weather was nice; much nicer than other parts of the country, but quite windy.  NOW that we are gone,  it is in the 90s—but was in the 60s and 70s when we left.

During the missing month, I remember visiting two great one-day craft shows  at the Q. Senior Center and at the Q.I.A. Center.  These shows are more fun than the flea markets; the vendors sell stuff they created.

IMG_1348

It is amazing to see all the beautiful work that can be done while living in an RV.  Where do the crafters store the supplies and their equipment?  Darn, I haven’t found a way to carry my pottery supplies with us.  Think maybe I need to learn a more mobile skill? 

In the photo above, notice the camper just to the left of the crafter’s shoulder.  It is a Big Foot Camper like ours, and they camp at La Posa North too.  We were pleasantly surprised to see so many different truck campers this year, some days as many as 6 or 8.  Maybe we are on the leading edge of a new trend, smile.  Larry fell in love with this little beauty:

IMG_1269

IMG_1271

It is a Host with TWO slide outs.  Just imagine all the room inside—and outside storage. However, it is WAY too heavy to ride on a one-ton truck.  Upgrading our truck to a Ford 450 or 550 is the sticking point for us.  After wiping the drool from Larry’s chin, we drove back to our one-ton baby and patted her on the hood and thanked her for her great service.

Remember I mentioned the range of RVs represented in Quartzsite?  This unique hand-made RV falls in there somewhere.

IMG_1343

IMG_1342

The sign says Florence, Angels Camp, CA. While it wouldn’t appeal to most Rvers, I love the whimsy.  Isn’t it great that someone’s  artistic need was so compelling they were willing to spend the money and time needed to build it.  I give them a thumb's up for creativity!

And then, we headed back to California on March 8.

Here is just one of the “welcome to California signs:

IMG_1357  

Yikes, $4.13 cents for diesel.  Talk about sticker shock!  From $3 a gallon in January, up $1.13 in just 60 days.  As we filled, I patted our Chevy on the hood again and thanked her for giving us a steady 12 mpg.

Driving down the steep Tehachapi grade into Bakersfield, we saw GREEN.  After months of brown, our eyes feasted on the beautiful green velvet covering the hills.  It was like coming home after a long trip.

IMG_1349

IMG_1350

Beautiful to behold.

And then, the real measure of spring:

IMG_1363

Miles and miles of trees wearing their white, pink and purple blossoms.  The dreary, gray days of winter are behind us.

NOT!  We had a few sunny days, and then Mr. Winter returned full of anger.  He’s spittered and sputtered for 8 days now and show no sign of leaving.  We have to stick around the area until Larry sees his kidney doctor on May 4th.  I had plans for wandering around California, but the “welcome to expensive California” sign put the kibosh on those plans.

We have a month’s reservation at Sugar Barge Resort starting this week.  I had picked that beautiful resort because I wanted to resume the walking program Arlene and I started at Q. I may need a bigger umbrella and goulashes if I want to walk in this weather.  Maybe I am going to have to come up with a small-space craft after all.  Any suggestions?

Happy Spring to you.  May you have enough rain or snow to keep  summer droughts away, but not so much to keep you from planting your Spring garden.