And so the lovely maidens arrived at the Palm Springs Thousand Trails campground once again after dark. It was a nice campground and there were many active retirees staying there. They were even having a pickle ball tournament in the morning. Pickle ball is a cross between tennis and ping pong, played on an asphalt court about half the size of a tennis court with a whiffle ball about the size of a baseball, and wooden paddles about twice the size of ping pong paddles with the short handles like ping pong paddles.
The lovely maidens even arrived at this campground before the spa/pool closed, so they high-tailed it over there to soak in the warm water of the spa for a few minutes before heading off to bed.
In the morning when Joanne opened the curtains, she thought she saw her dad working on the motor home parked next to theirs. She could only see his back at this point, and he was wearing the same kind of clothes her dad wears on his days off, including the shoes. His hair was cut and combed the same as her dad's. The only difference was that he was about 4 inches taller than her dad. So Joanne went over and introduced herself and discovered that his name was Sam Hughes, and lived in the Portland area. Raisa took Joanne's picture with Sam to demonstrate the similarities.
After touring the motor homes that were for sale at the campground, and deciding they could not afford any of them, the lovely maidens were once again on their way back home. They decided to return to the Reagan Library once again to get some more pictures of things they wish they had gotten pictures of the first time, and to purchase some books for friends that were 50% off when they were there before. The photo ops were in places they did not have to pay admission for, and when they visited the gift shop, they discovered that the sale had ended the day before. It was just as well, since if they had purchased the items had they been on sale, they would not have had enough money to buy gas to make it back home.
While the lovely maidens were taking pictures outside the gate to the Reagan Library, suddenly they heard the voice of Ronald Reagan through a speaker saying, "Allright, ladies! Stop taking pictures and come in and see me!" They had a good laugh over it and when they were finished getting all the pictures they wanted, they headed to the library. While they were taking more pictures outside the library, the security officer that was manning the security desk came up to the lovely maidens and said, "I understand Ronald Reagan's ghost can be heard sometimes at the gate." Joanne replied, "Oh, was that you?" "Was what me?" was the reply!
They travelled all day, and their destination for the night was Morgan Hill, a Thousand Trails campground southeast of San Jose. As Joanne became sleepy, she had Raisa drive while she took a nap on the bed in the back of the motor home. At about 10:30 pm, and 15 minutes from the Morgan Hill campground, Raisa exited the highway to let Joanne drive. She pulled into a mall parking lot with limited road access. In other words, it was a trap into which one could enter, but not escape to turn left onto the road, which is what the lovely maidens needed to do. Since Joanne did not see the trap into which they had entered, she did not know how to escape it to get to the campground. She drove through the parking lot in the dark until she realized there was no outlet where she was going. Then she decided to cross the 4 or 5 lanes of the street to turn left out of the entrance to the gas station. When she was 2 lanes from the center of the road, and already committed to turning left, she discovered there was a curbed median separating the 2 directions of the road, so she had no choice but to turn left into the far left lane of traffic in which the movement was to the right. Fortunately, there was very little traffic since it was so late and she managed to do an illegal U-Turn in the 4 or 5 street lanes in which traffic was supposed to be travelling right from where they turned. They travelled another block and were able to get turned around and headed on their way. This unfortunate incident ate up about a half hour of their time, and subsequently they were 15 minutes too late to the campground to be admitted, since newcomers are admitted only until 11:00 pm.
The ranger told Raisa when she called while they were on their way, that he would let them park in the parking lot, but failed to inform them that they would need to call him upon their arrival. The lovely maidens tried for 15 minutes to figure out how to get into the parking lot, and then decided they would probably need to call the ranger to let them into the park. The ranger was not happy and was not afraid to let the lovely maidens know it! This was the only negative experience the maidens had with a Thousand Trails or Naco ranger, and they decided it was best for the sake of the park that someone in authority be told about their experience with the ranger. So when they tattled on the night duty ranger to the morning duty ranger, they were satisfied to find out that this guy had a habit of behaving rudely and things would change.
So once again the lovely maidens found themselves on the highway on their last day of travel together. When they reached Willits, Joanne discovered that one of the tires was low, so she found a Les Schwab Tire Center using her trusty iphone map application, and had the tire inflated some more.
The lovely maidens finally arrived at Joanne's house in Brookings after dark, and unpacked as much of Joanne's stuff as she needed for the night. Raisa slept in the motor home, since she is allergic to cats and since that is Joanne's spare bedroom. In the middle of the night, the shrieking carbon monoxide alarm went off AGAIN, and again, Raisa didn't know how to get it to quit. She apparently didn't think it would ever happen again. But this time, Joanne was in her house in bed, and so she just waited for it to quit, which it eventually did.
The next day, Raisa packed her car and headed for home while Joanne went back to work. Joanne was proud of Raisa that she was able to make it home in one day, since her disability from her career in nursing makes it difficult for her to drive. It is a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive from Brookings to Roseburg, and Raisa used to only be able to drive 45 minutes at a time.
The lovely maidens had such an enjoyable time on their trip that it was difficult for both of them to adjust to regular life, and they wish they were on a permanent roadtrip. They thank you for reading their story and wish you as much fun and adventure as they had on their roadtrip.
The End.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Christmas 2009 Roadtrip Part 1
And it came to pass in those days that a decree came out from Arizona that Joanne's niece, Ashley, should be married on the 2nd of January, 2010. And so, due to the dreaded criminal-like treatment peace-loving Americans receive from the TSA, Joanne decided to avoid aforementioned treatment, instead embarking on a 2 week long road trip in her 23 foot motor home to attend the wedding of Ashley and Frank.
In the process of describing the planned trip to her friend, Raisa, who lives in Roseburg, OR, the question of when we would be leaving arose. A fine companion was Raisa, as well as secretary, navigator and photographer (while Joanne was driving).
Being cautious and prevention-oriented, Joanne spent a month making the motor home roadworthy. In so doing, it was discovered that the water pump needed to be replaced, so she had that done. The microwave door was dragging on the plastic moulding below it when it was opening and closing, so she had that raised a little. Unfortunately, the repairman failed to test the microwave after doing the repair, and just before leaving, Joanne discovered that it did not work, so she brought hers along, as well as her toaster oven, in case the oven didn't work either. Later it was discovered that the microwave would work if one held the door closed tight. But who wants to hold the door the whole time something is cooking?
Joanne also knew that the refrigerator did not work, and had that checked as well. She was advised that it was completely kaput (a little German lingo there) and would need to spend $1300 to have it replaced. She wisely decided that $1300 would be better spent on something else, so decided to use the motor home refrigerator and freezer as a cooler. Since she is so astute, Joanne realized that if she just put bags of ice in the refrigerator, eventually there would be bags of water dripping, then eventually pouring onto the floor around the refrigerator. So she devised a scheme to prevent this undesired outcome: Tupperware and/or Rubbermaid-like containers to contain the ice and the water that the ice eventually becomes. Almost daily, the lovely maidens found it necessary to purchase more ice to replace the melted ice.
After spending half the day packing the motor home, the departure occurred on December 19, early afternoon. The lovely maidens had no want for food, as there was enough food packed for nearly 2 months. This relieved Joanne's parents in the unlikely case of becoming stranded for whatever reason.
The lovely maidens traveled south on Hwy. 101, and were able to see "Big Tree" in the Redwoods. They decided to take a short walk on a path there which was labeled as a loop, and approximately 1/2 mile long. After much walking, and definitely longer than 1/2 mile, they decided that the trail really was not a loop, and hoped they didn't get lost in the Redwood forest. The trail eventually came out to the road, and after many more steps, and the intuition and agreement that the motor home was in a specific direction from where the trail met the road, they made their way back to the motor home, about an hour later than they wanted to.
Since Joanne is a member of Naco-Thousand Trails (through her parents), the maidens were able to stay at their campgrounds for free. Their first night was spent at Russian River, in the Napa Valley. There was not a single night that they arrived at their camping destination before dark, so they were not able to see their surroundings until the light of the next day.
Upon their arrival at Russian River, Raisa thought she heard some activity being made by the refrigerator and suggested they turn it on to see if it would work after all. So against her better judgment, Joanne succumbed to the peer pressure and turned the refrigerator on. The maidens heard a lot of noise being produced by the refrigerator and thought they were going to be saved from the necessity of buying ice every day. After about an hour, Joanne wanted to get something out of the refrigerator, and upon opening the door, was practically asphyxiated from the monumentally horrendous (and every other strong and nasty, negative adjective you can think of!) odor of ammonia, which is what a kaput refrigerator emits when it is running. The monumentally horrendous odor of ammonia then triggered the shrieking of the carbon monoxide alarm. At this time, it was about 10:00pm, and the only way to remove both problems was to open all the windows and door, thus disturbing the neighboring campers. Fortunately for the lovely maidens, there was only one neighboring RV, and the occupants did not emerge from their vehicle. It took about 45 minutes to an hour for the alarm to disengage, and of course, it was necessary for the refrigerator doors to remain open until the odor dissipated, which took a couple of hours or so. The lovely maidens immediately switched off the refrigerator, and did not ever attempt to restart it.
There was another incident later in the trip when the carbon monoxide alarm shrieked in the middle of the night. Since it was next to Raisa's bed, it was incumbent upon her to silence the alarm, something she had been instructed about, but not thinking she would ever need to do so, she did not pay close attention to the instructions. She didn't remember what to do, so she tried to rouse Joanne, who was sound asleep and didn't hear anything since she sleeps with earplugs in her ears. Raisa shook Joanne to awaken her to no avail, since Joanne is used to sleeping with her cats, who walk all over her during the night, so Raisa just waited for the alarm to disengage, which took 45 minutes to an hour. The whole time, Joanne never woke up!
The second day the plan was to visit a tech museum in San Jose, but due to the size of the motor home, there were no parking spaces available, so that idea was scrapped. It was just as well, since they didn't arrive at the next campground, Morgan Hill, until after dark as well.
The next day, the maidens embarked upon their journey at an earlier hour than before, since they had to travel a few hours to the Hearst Castle, where they participated in 2 tours, one during the day, the other in the evening. Joanne was looking forward to seeing the painting that was used for this year's Madonna and Child Christmas stamp, but the maidens were too busy snapping pictures that they didn't keep up with the tour guide, and missed the painting. The castle was very beautiful, and the ceilings were quite ornate. Each room had a different sculpted ceiling. The Christmas decorations were gorgeous, creating a festive atmosphere. The evening tour even had actors playing the parts of guests to the castle during the time of Mr. Hearst's residence there. Mr. Hearst always had guests, for whom it was a great honor to be invited. If one ever declined an invitation, they were never invited again. Two people who were invited, but declined the invitations were Shirley Temple, because her mom thought it inappropriate, and Kathryn Hepburn, who at the age of 17 didn't know why she would want to go to a ranch. She later said refusing the invitation was one of her deepest regrets.
To be continued...
In the process of describing the planned trip to her friend, Raisa, who lives in Roseburg, OR, the question of when we would be leaving arose. A fine companion was Raisa, as well as secretary, navigator and photographer (while Joanne was driving).
Being cautious and prevention-oriented, Joanne spent a month making the motor home roadworthy. In so doing, it was discovered that the water pump needed to be replaced, so she had that done. The microwave door was dragging on the plastic moulding below it when it was opening and closing, so she had that raised a little. Unfortunately, the repairman failed to test the microwave after doing the repair, and just before leaving, Joanne discovered that it did not work, so she brought hers along, as well as her toaster oven, in case the oven didn't work either. Later it was discovered that the microwave would work if one held the door closed tight. But who wants to hold the door the whole time something is cooking?
Joanne also knew that the refrigerator did not work, and had that checked as well. She was advised that it was completely kaput (a little German lingo there) and would need to spend $1300 to have it replaced. She wisely decided that $1300 would be better spent on something else, so decided to use the motor home refrigerator and freezer as a cooler. Since she is so astute, Joanne realized that if she just put bags of ice in the refrigerator, eventually there would be bags of water dripping, then eventually pouring onto the floor around the refrigerator. So she devised a scheme to prevent this undesired outcome: Tupperware and/or Rubbermaid-like containers to contain the ice and the water that the ice eventually becomes. Almost daily, the lovely maidens found it necessary to purchase more ice to replace the melted ice.
After spending half the day packing the motor home, the departure occurred on December 19, early afternoon. The lovely maidens had no want for food, as there was enough food packed for nearly 2 months. This relieved Joanne's parents in the unlikely case of becoming stranded for whatever reason.
The lovely maidens traveled south on Hwy. 101, and were able to see "Big Tree" in the Redwoods. They decided to take a short walk on a path there which was labeled as a loop, and approximately 1/2 mile long. After much walking, and definitely longer than 1/2 mile, they decided that the trail really was not a loop, and hoped they didn't get lost in the Redwood forest. The trail eventually came out to the road, and after many more steps, and the intuition and agreement that the motor home was in a specific direction from where the trail met the road, they made their way back to the motor home, about an hour later than they wanted to.
Since Joanne is a member of Naco-Thousand Trails (through her parents), the maidens were able to stay at their campgrounds for free. Their first night was spent at Russian River, in the Napa Valley. There was not a single night that they arrived at their camping destination before dark, so they were not able to see their surroundings until the light of the next day.
Upon their arrival at Russian River, Raisa thought she heard some activity being made by the refrigerator and suggested they turn it on to see if it would work after all. So against her better judgment, Joanne succumbed to the peer pressure and turned the refrigerator on. The maidens heard a lot of noise being produced by the refrigerator and thought they were going to be saved from the necessity of buying ice every day. After about an hour, Joanne wanted to get something out of the refrigerator, and upon opening the door, was practically asphyxiated from the monumentally horrendous (and every other strong and nasty, negative adjective you can think of!) odor of ammonia, which is what a kaput refrigerator emits when it is running. The monumentally horrendous odor of ammonia then triggered the shrieking of the carbon monoxide alarm. At this time, it was about 10:00pm, and the only way to remove both problems was to open all the windows and door, thus disturbing the neighboring campers. Fortunately for the lovely maidens, there was only one neighboring RV, and the occupants did not emerge from their vehicle. It took about 45 minutes to an hour for the alarm to disengage, and of course, it was necessary for the refrigerator doors to remain open until the odor dissipated, which took a couple of hours or so. The lovely maidens immediately switched off the refrigerator, and did not ever attempt to restart it.
There was another incident later in the trip when the carbon monoxide alarm shrieked in the middle of the night. Since it was next to Raisa's bed, it was incumbent upon her to silence the alarm, something she had been instructed about, but not thinking she would ever need to do so, she did not pay close attention to the instructions. She didn't remember what to do, so she tried to rouse Joanne, who was sound asleep and didn't hear anything since she sleeps with earplugs in her ears. Raisa shook Joanne to awaken her to no avail, since Joanne is used to sleeping with her cats, who walk all over her during the night, so Raisa just waited for the alarm to disengage, which took 45 minutes to an hour. The whole time, Joanne never woke up!
The second day the plan was to visit a tech museum in San Jose, but due to the size of the motor home, there were no parking spaces available, so that idea was scrapped. It was just as well, since they didn't arrive at the next campground, Morgan Hill, until after dark as well.
The next day, the maidens embarked upon their journey at an earlier hour than before, since they had to travel a few hours to the Hearst Castle, where they participated in 2 tours, one during the day, the other in the evening. Joanne was looking forward to seeing the painting that was used for this year's Madonna and Child Christmas stamp, but the maidens were too busy snapping pictures that they didn't keep up with the tour guide, and missed the painting. The castle was very beautiful, and the ceilings were quite ornate. Each room had a different sculpted ceiling. The Christmas decorations were gorgeous, creating a festive atmosphere. The evening tour even had actors playing the parts of guests to the castle during the time of Mr. Hearst's residence there. Mr. Hearst always had guests, for whom it was a great honor to be invited. If one ever declined an invitation, they were never invited again. Two people who were invited, but declined the invitations were Shirley Temple, because her mom thought it inappropriate, and Kathryn Hepburn, who at the age of 17 didn't know why she would want to go to a ranch. She later said refusing the invitation was one of her deepest regrets.
To be continued...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Christmas 2009 Roadtrip Part 6
And so it came to pass that in the fullness of time, the lovely maidens found it necessary to continue their journey, so they bid the Busses "Auf Wiedersehen" and were on their way. Spending time with the Busses was a wonderful way to spend the last day of 2009, which will be remembered with great fondness.
The last leg of their journey to the ultimate destination to attend the wedding of Joanne's niece, Ashley, lasted two hours. They were greeted by most of the Jim Wilson family (Joanne's brother), consisting of Jim, his wife Gail, daughter Rachel, and her daughter, Hannah. (Hmm... this is beginning to sound like the introduction to the Jetson's.) Oh, and let's not forget their dog, Blossom, and the chickens, who Jim calls his girls. But they didn't greet the lovely maidens at the door.
That evening was New Year's Eve, and the lovely maidens prepared fondue for the group that had gathered at the Wilson residence in preparation for the wedding. Having fondue for New Year's Eve is a tradition the lovely maidens have maintained since Joanne called Myrtle Creek her home after Raisa moved to Roseburg in the late 90's. It would have been criminal to have broken with tradition, so the lovely maidens treated the Wilson guests to their tradition. Many of those present had never had fondue before, so it was a new experience for them.
On New Year's Day, most of the residents and guests at the Wilson residence made their way to the resort where the wedding was to be held to prepare for the event. Those who stayed behind were the lovely maidens, and Rachel and Hannah. Rachel provided taxi service for the lovely maidens when they needed to frequent a place of business for one reason or another, and Hannah became Raisa's kitchen assistant.
Raisa had been commissioned to make and decorate the 6 inch cake topper for the wedding, which was to adorn the stand that had previously been prepared for the cupcakes which were to be served to the wedding guests. Raisa worked on the cake all day. The first step in preparing a wedding cake is to make a test cake. That was 3 layers. Next came the real cake. However, the cake mix for the real cake only made 2 layers, and the cake required 3 layers, so another cake mix was prepared. This provided 3 layers for the real cake and 5 leftover layers, including the test cake. So while Raisa decorated the real cake, Joanne washed dishes and frosted the other 2 cakes. It would be a misnomer to say she decorated the other 2 cakes, since their final appearance was quite pathetic.
Joanne had been looking forward to watching the Rose Bowl game on TV on New Year's Day, since her nephew, Justin, was at the game serving as a cheerleader for the Oregon Ducks. Her plans were thwarted when Jim advised her that she had a coolant leak. He had not even been told of the previous adventures on this topic. So Rachel chauffeured Joanne to the store to buy some more Stop Leak. This time, she bought two bottles, just in case. Before she added the Stop Leak to the engine, the coolant was just dripping slowly out. After adding the Stop Leak and starting the engine, it started pouring out! She became very frustrated! Joanne let the engine run for about 10 minutes, all the while watching the coolant pour out of the bottom of the engine, then shut off the motor, not knowing what else to do, and because of lack of anyone at the house who knew anything about such business. Miraculously, the leak stopped and to this day has not leaked again.
Joanne was able to see the end of the game, but never saw her nephew doing his job of cheer leading.
The next day was the wedding day, Jan. 2nd, the day Ashley and Frank had been looking forward to for so long! As a joke, the lovely maidens and Rachel presented the bride with one of the pathetic looking cakes in a cake box, and asked her what she thought. Please view the video of this exchange, since it tells the whole story. Ashley really thought it was the real cake topper, and wondered why she hadn't just had her seven year old niece, Hannah, make the cake. She was greatly relieved when she was presented with the real cake. Had her going there for a while, though. And the real cake looked even better after seeing the pathetic one.
The wedding was outdoors at a golf resort in Mesa, Arizona, and the weather was beautiful, sunny and about 70 degrees. After the wedding ceremony, the reception was held in a large hall at the resort and it was decorated beautifully by the bride and her mom. They were asked what company they commissioned to decorate, and Gail said, "We decorated it!"
They had a buffet dinner, and Jim's former boss, Elvis, was sitting at the lovely maidens' table. He is an elderly gentleman, who doesn't put on airs. The roast beef was still pretty pink, and Elvis remarked, "This cow is still bellerin'!" The server at the lovely maidens' table was very efficient, and it wasn't a minute after asking them what they would like to drink that the beverage was served! It was quite a lengthy party, which the bride and groom had wanted, and as the partying continued, the lovely maidens decided to call it a night. As they were leaving, they thanked their server, and she commented on how wonderful the cake topper smelled as she and her fellow servers were preparing to serve the cupcakes to the guests. Raisa told her to cut herself a piece, but she said she couldn't do that, so Raisa cut one for her and gave it to her. She was so grateful and gave both lovely maidens a hug.
Originally, the plan was to have the lovely maidens spend the night in the motel suite that Joanne's parents had rented. However, there was no place close to park the motor home, and to transport all the belongings they would need for the night would have required several trips, each about a mile in length. So the lovely maidens decided to sleep in the motor home in the parking lot, and just use the shower at the motel room in the morning.
As the lovely maidens were winding down after the wedding, Raisa commented to Joanne about one of the cabinets in the motor home by asking, "Does that cabinet look crooked to you?" Joanne looked at it, and pushed on it and discovered it had come loose from the wall and the ceiling. The only thing holding it in place were the electrical wires that ran through it. Joanne agreed that it did look crooked, but lacked the hardware to fix it. In the morning, they called upon one of the maintenance men at the resort to bring his drill to shore the thing back up. However, Joanne found it necessary to advise him how to do it, since he was trying to put new screws in the old holes which were completely stripped. Fortunately, Joanne's dad had given her a cordless drill that she charged in her parents' motel room that morning, and let the maintenance man use some of the drill bits to drill new holes for the new screws. It was enough to hold the cabinet in place for the time being, but Joanne decided to get some L brackets to finish the job, which they purchased on their way out of town.
After bidding Joanne's family adieu, the lovely maidens embarked upon their grueling journey home, to be completed in 3 days. Before they had reached the outskirts of Phoenix, they suddenly heard a loud, "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!" and smelled burning rubber. They were in the 3rd lane from the right at the time, and this time when Joanne put on her right turn signal, for the first time in the city, the traffic behind them slowed and allowed them to move into the right shoulder. In the past, when the right turn signal was applied, as many as 4 cars would pass them on the right, at one time causing them to miss their exit. They even tested the turn signals to see if they were working, wondering if that was why the drivers of the cars would not let them in the right lane when they applied the right turn signal. The moral of this story is that for those of you who have not driven a large vehicle, it is much more difficult to tell if a car is in the lane beside you than it is in a car, so please be courteous and allow the trucks and motor homes to change lanes ahead of you. You will then be able to pass them on the correct side of the vehicle.
Upon stopping, they discovered that the tread had come off the inside right back dual tire, and the mud flap had bent so that it was on top of the tires instead of hanging down behind them. Raisa once again called the road service. In 15 minutes a very nice man appeared from the service to change the tire. While they were waiting, Joanne attached two L brackets to the loose cabinet using the cordless drill, and Raisa vacuumed the floor, using the cordless vacuum. There is no way either of the lovely maidens would have had the strength to have changed the tire, since the muscular brute who helped the maidens required the use of an extra long tire iron to loosen the lug nuts. The lovely maidens were thankful that the tire that needed attention was on the shoulder, rather than traffic side of the motor home, and since it was about 80 degrees outside, they were thankful that the service technician was able to do the job in the shade of the motor home.
They were fortunate to still be in the metropolitan area and at the next exit was a Walmart, where they were able to buy a replacement tire. Upon voicing their request to replace the spare tire for their motor home, 3 separate times they were told that Walmart did not service motor homes. 3 separate times they were required to advise the service people that they only needed a spare, which was on the back of the motor home and they would not have to put it on the motor home axle. So after this adventure, the lovely maidens were once again on their way, this evening to Palm Desert.
To be continued...
The last leg of their journey to the ultimate destination to attend the wedding of Joanne's niece, Ashley, lasted two hours. They were greeted by most of the Jim Wilson family (Joanne's brother), consisting of Jim, his wife Gail, daughter Rachel, and her daughter, Hannah. (Hmm... this is beginning to sound like the introduction to the Jetson's.) Oh, and let's not forget their dog, Blossom, and the chickens, who Jim calls his girls. But they didn't greet the lovely maidens at the door.
That evening was New Year's Eve, and the lovely maidens prepared fondue for the group that had gathered at the Wilson residence in preparation for the wedding. Having fondue for New Year's Eve is a tradition the lovely maidens have maintained since Joanne called Myrtle Creek her home after Raisa moved to Roseburg in the late 90's. It would have been criminal to have broken with tradition, so the lovely maidens treated the Wilson guests to their tradition. Many of those present had never had fondue before, so it was a new experience for them.
On New Year's Day, most of the residents and guests at the Wilson residence made their way to the resort where the wedding was to be held to prepare for the event. Those who stayed behind were the lovely maidens, and Rachel and Hannah. Rachel provided taxi service for the lovely maidens when they needed to frequent a place of business for one reason or another, and Hannah became Raisa's kitchen assistant.
Raisa had been commissioned to make and decorate the 6 inch cake topper for the wedding, which was to adorn the stand that had previously been prepared for the cupcakes which were to be served to the wedding guests. Raisa worked on the cake all day. The first step in preparing a wedding cake is to make a test cake. That was 3 layers. Next came the real cake. However, the cake mix for the real cake only made 2 layers, and the cake required 3 layers, so another cake mix was prepared. This provided 3 layers for the real cake and 5 leftover layers, including the test cake. So while Raisa decorated the real cake, Joanne washed dishes and frosted the other 2 cakes. It would be a misnomer to say she decorated the other 2 cakes, since their final appearance was quite pathetic.
Joanne had been looking forward to watching the Rose Bowl game on TV on New Year's Day, since her nephew, Justin, was at the game serving as a cheerleader for the Oregon Ducks. Her plans were thwarted when Jim advised her that she had a coolant leak. He had not even been told of the previous adventures on this topic. So Rachel chauffeured Joanne to the store to buy some more Stop Leak. This time, she bought two bottles, just in case. Before she added the Stop Leak to the engine, the coolant was just dripping slowly out. After adding the Stop Leak and starting the engine, it started pouring out! She became very frustrated! Joanne let the engine run for about 10 minutes, all the while watching the coolant pour out of the bottom of the engine, then shut off the motor, not knowing what else to do, and because of lack of anyone at the house who knew anything about such business. Miraculously, the leak stopped and to this day has not leaked again.
Joanne was able to see the end of the game, but never saw her nephew doing his job of cheer leading.
The next day was the wedding day, Jan. 2nd, the day Ashley and Frank had been looking forward to for so long! As a joke, the lovely maidens and Rachel presented the bride with one of the pathetic looking cakes in a cake box, and asked her what she thought. Please view the video of this exchange, since it tells the whole story. Ashley really thought it was the real cake topper, and wondered why she hadn't just had her seven year old niece, Hannah, make the cake. She was greatly relieved when she was presented with the real cake. Had her going there for a while, though. And the real cake looked even better after seeing the pathetic one.
The wedding was outdoors at a golf resort in Mesa, Arizona, and the weather was beautiful, sunny and about 70 degrees. After the wedding ceremony, the reception was held in a large hall at the resort and it was decorated beautifully by the bride and her mom. They were asked what company they commissioned to decorate, and Gail said, "We decorated it!"
They had a buffet dinner, and Jim's former boss, Elvis, was sitting at the lovely maidens' table. He is an elderly gentleman, who doesn't put on airs. The roast beef was still pretty pink, and Elvis remarked, "This cow is still bellerin'!" The server at the lovely maidens' table was very efficient, and it wasn't a minute after asking them what they would like to drink that the beverage was served! It was quite a lengthy party, which the bride and groom had wanted, and as the partying continued, the lovely maidens decided to call it a night. As they were leaving, they thanked their server, and she commented on how wonderful the cake topper smelled as she and her fellow servers were preparing to serve the cupcakes to the guests. Raisa told her to cut herself a piece, but she said she couldn't do that, so Raisa cut one for her and gave it to her. She was so grateful and gave both lovely maidens a hug.
Originally, the plan was to have the lovely maidens spend the night in the motel suite that Joanne's parents had rented. However, there was no place close to park the motor home, and to transport all the belongings they would need for the night would have required several trips, each about a mile in length. So the lovely maidens decided to sleep in the motor home in the parking lot, and just use the shower at the motel room in the morning.
As the lovely maidens were winding down after the wedding, Raisa commented to Joanne about one of the cabinets in the motor home by asking, "Does that cabinet look crooked to you?" Joanne looked at it, and pushed on it and discovered it had come loose from the wall and the ceiling. The only thing holding it in place were the electrical wires that ran through it. Joanne agreed that it did look crooked, but lacked the hardware to fix it. In the morning, they called upon one of the maintenance men at the resort to bring his drill to shore the thing back up. However, Joanne found it necessary to advise him how to do it, since he was trying to put new screws in the old holes which were completely stripped. Fortunately, Joanne's dad had given her a cordless drill that she charged in her parents' motel room that morning, and let the maintenance man use some of the drill bits to drill new holes for the new screws. It was enough to hold the cabinet in place for the time being, but Joanne decided to get some L brackets to finish the job, which they purchased on their way out of town.
After bidding Joanne's family adieu, the lovely maidens embarked upon their grueling journey home, to be completed in 3 days. Before they had reached the outskirts of Phoenix, they suddenly heard a loud, "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!" and smelled burning rubber. They were in the 3rd lane from the right at the time, and this time when Joanne put on her right turn signal, for the first time in the city, the traffic behind them slowed and allowed them to move into the right shoulder. In the past, when the right turn signal was applied, as many as 4 cars would pass them on the right, at one time causing them to miss their exit. They even tested the turn signals to see if they were working, wondering if that was why the drivers of the cars would not let them in the right lane when they applied the right turn signal. The moral of this story is that for those of you who have not driven a large vehicle, it is much more difficult to tell if a car is in the lane beside you than it is in a car, so please be courteous and allow the trucks and motor homes to change lanes ahead of you. You will then be able to pass them on the correct side of the vehicle.
Upon stopping, they discovered that the tread had come off the inside right back dual tire, and the mud flap had bent so that it was on top of the tires instead of hanging down behind them. Raisa once again called the road service. In 15 minutes a very nice man appeared from the service to change the tire. While they were waiting, Joanne attached two L brackets to the loose cabinet using the cordless drill, and Raisa vacuumed the floor, using the cordless vacuum. There is no way either of the lovely maidens would have had the strength to have changed the tire, since the muscular brute who helped the maidens required the use of an extra long tire iron to loosen the lug nuts. The lovely maidens were thankful that the tire that needed attention was on the shoulder, rather than traffic side of the motor home, and since it was about 80 degrees outside, they were thankful that the service technician was able to do the job in the shade of the motor home.
They were fortunate to still be in the metropolitan area and at the next exit was a Walmart, where they were able to buy a replacement tire. Upon voicing their request to replace the spare tire for their motor home, 3 separate times they were told that Walmart did not service motor homes. 3 separate times they were required to advise the service people that they only needed a spare, which was on the back of the motor home and they would not have to put it on the motor home axle. So after this adventure, the lovely maidens were once again on their way, this evening to Palm Desert.
To be continued...
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Christmas 2009 Roadtrip Part 5
Along the way to the Yavapai Observation Station, the lovely maidens conversed with many fellow tourists, and met a family from Australia, the teenage daughter of whom had the courage to wear one of the funniest hats the maidens had ever seen. Please view the pictures to appreciate this act of courage. They also walked behind two teenage boys for a while, whose pants were two sizes too big and they were having to hike them up every 10 steps or so. The lovely maidens wondered why they didn't at least have belts.
As the lovely maidens grew tired of walking, they began to ask those they met walking towards them how far the Yavapai Station was, and they received the same answer every time, "About 3/4 of a mile." This went on for a good quarter of a mile, until they reached the sign that said, "Yavapai Observation Station .75 mile". Then they knew all those people were either pulling their legs, or had no sense of distance.
Once they reached their destination, they were greatly anticipating the promised view of the Colorado River flowing through the Grand Canyon. However, their hopes were quickly dashed when all they could see were a few small visible spots of water.
The lovely maidens rode the free shuttle back to the Grand Canyon Village so Joanne could find the penny squisher before they had to reboard the train. Their only regret in visiting the Grand Canyon was that they did not spend the night there. Three hours at the Grand Canyon is only a teaser for such a magnificent place.
The sunset on the train ride back to Williams was one of the most beautiful either lovely maiden had ever seen before. Upon their arrival back to Williams, they encountered about a million ankle-biters all dressed in their pajamas, waiting to board the Polar Express train. This is an experience the Grand Canyon Railroad does for kids that reenacts the Polar Express story. They take them to the North Pole and other places in the story and serve them hot chocolate and cookies. They don't really go anywhere (but don't tell the kids that!). The train just pulls forward, stops, then goes backward, stops, then forward and stops, and so forth. Since it is dark, it creates the illusion for the kids that they are going somewhere and they all really enjoy it.
And so it came to pass that the next day the lovely maidens pulled up stakes and vacated the deluxe campground which they had enjoyed for two nights. Before leaving they filled the motor home water tank so they would have extra weight since they must needs travel through the mountain passes and it was undesirable for them to consider applying chains to their tires. The motor home did not slide through the snow at all, so they found it unnecessary to apply the chains, to their great relief. However, had it become necessary, Joanne had a plan: she would stand outside the motor home and pretend not to know what to do so that some nice gentleman might offer to apply the chains for her. It was a relief for her that this plan became unnecessary as well.
The final destination for this day was Payson, Arizona, where Joanne's former German professor at Biola lives. In the fall of 1977 Dr. Reinhard and Priscilla Buss led a group from Biola to Europe for a semester of studies. Joanne was privileged to have been a part of that group. Dr. Buss, being the ultimate tour guide, advised the lovely maidens of worthwhile places to stop to view the scenery along the way to their residence. They spent about an hour in Sedona, not nearly enough time to see all there is to be seen in such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, there was a lot of fog that day, and most of the rock formations were blurred by the fog. However, some views that they wanted to take pictures of cleared off a little so they could get the pictures, then the fog rolled in immediately afterwards. They considered this a gift from God. Raisa was the main photographer in Sedona as Joanne drove to the next viewpoint.
The lovely maidens found the chapel built into the rock, and as they approached the entrance to the same, they passed a crossroad. About 20 feet past the crossroad was a sign that said, "RVs and buses prohibited past this point". The placement of said sign proved to be illogical, since neither before nor after the sign was sufficient room for RVs or buses to reverse course. So the lovely maidens continued on their prohibited way. Fortunately for the maidens, there was a parking attendant at the entrance to the parking lot behind the chapel, who opened a small roped-off area in which these prohibited vehicles could attempt to reverse course. The parking attendant advised the lovely maidens that he would not direct their course direction, so Raisa took on the job, as she normally did upon entry to the various campgrounds the lovely maidens frequented. The lovely maidens had previously devised a method of teamwork for backing up the motor home, which they implemented at this point. Raisa stands behind the motor home while Joanne drives, and with her headset, Joanne receives instruction from Raisa over their cellphones as to which course of action to take. As this interchange was occurring at the entrance to the chapel, various individuals were walking to and from the chapel, and though these people could not see Raisa, she could hear them commenting in this fashion, "Wow! Look at her maneuver that thing!" So although Joanne would love to take credit for her great maneuvering skills, she is totally indebted to Raisa's wonderful instructions for said maneuvering.
The lovely maidens were unable to view the interior of the chapel since the only place they were allowed to park offerred merely 5 minute parking. So they snapped their photos, rolled their videos and were on their way in probably 10 minutes. So they fudged a little on the time...at least they didn't get a parking ticket.
As the lovely maidens followed the instructions Dr. Buss had given them to their residence, they drove right past the McDonald's restaurant where they were supposed to turn. When they drove completely out of town, they knew they had gone too far, but it was impossible to turn around, since it was a divided highway and the next place to turn around was about 3 miles out of town. When they got back into town, the townspeople had miraculously built a fully functioning McDonald's restaurant in the time it took them to turn around! Apparently, both of the lovely maidens were looking at the same side of the road and missed the McDonald's as they passed it coming into town the first time.
Of course, it was dark (again!) when they arrived at the Buss residence, and they were greeted by the two beautiful people that Joanne appreciated so much, since they helped her dream to travel to Europe come true. She also grew to love them as surrogate parents while on the trip in Europe. They had a German supper prepared for the lovely maidens upon their arrival. The foursome enjoyed a lovely evening of reminiscing, story and photo sharing, and hearty laughter. The Busses made the maidens feel so welcome and at home that they hated leaving the next day.
Dr. Buss made the mistake of mentioning he had the slide show that her 1977 group produced of the overseas program upon their return from Europe. Joanne begged him to show it to them, so in the morning he granted her wish. Since the 1977 trip, other slides have been added so it is an overview of the overseas program in general. (Dr. Buss's job was to take groups from Biola almost every year for a semester and teach them German, history and other general studies classes, while also touring many of the historical sites in Europe. He and Priscilla (his assistant wife, as he called her) did this for about 30 years.) The slide show brought back many wonderful memories for Joanne. Many of the slides were photos Joanne had taken. The Busses have a room in their home in which they display photos of the various groups they took to Europe. It was wonderful for Joanne to see her group's photos on their wall.
After the slide show, the Busses took the lovely maidens to their favorite Chinese buffet restaurant, where they were treated to some of the best Chinese buffet food they had ever tasted. Then it was off for some sight-seeing. One of Priscilla's dreams was to live near a lake, and so the purchase of their property fulfilled that dream, since they live across the street from a little lake. They took the lovely maidens around the lake, and also to the airport, where there is a small neighborhood of large houses, each of which has a hangar in which to park the occupant's small aircraft. The street signs in this neighborhood are all next to the ground, as they would be on the taxiways at an airport. The airplanes have the right-of-way, should one ever encounter the same. It was unfortunate that at the time of their visit, no planes were visible, neither in their hangars, nor on the taxiways.
To be continued...
As the lovely maidens grew tired of walking, they began to ask those they met walking towards them how far the Yavapai Station was, and they received the same answer every time, "About 3/4 of a mile." This went on for a good quarter of a mile, until they reached the sign that said, "Yavapai Observation Station .75 mile". Then they knew all those people were either pulling their legs, or had no sense of distance.
Once they reached their destination, they were greatly anticipating the promised view of the Colorado River flowing through the Grand Canyon. However, their hopes were quickly dashed when all they could see were a few small visible spots of water.
The lovely maidens rode the free shuttle back to the Grand Canyon Village so Joanne could find the penny squisher before they had to reboard the train. Their only regret in visiting the Grand Canyon was that they did not spend the night there. Three hours at the Grand Canyon is only a teaser for such a magnificent place.
The sunset on the train ride back to Williams was one of the most beautiful either lovely maiden had ever seen before. Upon their arrival back to Williams, they encountered about a million ankle-biters all dressed in their pajamas, waiting to board the Polar Express train. This is an experience the Grand Canyon Railroad does for kids that reenacts the Polar Express story. They take them to the North Pole and other places in the story and serve them hot chocolate and cookies. They don't really go anywhere (but don't tell the kids that!). The train just pulls forward, stops, then goes backward, stops, then forward and stops, and so forth. Since it is dark, it creates the illusion for the kids that they are going somewhere and they all really enjoy it.
And so it came to pass that the next day the lovely maidens pulled up stakes and vacated the deluxe campground which they had enjoyed for two nights. Before leaving they filled the motor home water tank so they would have extra weight since they must needs travel through the mountain passes and it was undesirable for them to consider applying chains to their tires. The motor home did not slide through the snow at all, so they found it unnecessary to apply the chains, to their great relief. However, had it become necessary, Joanne had a plan: she would stand outside the motor home and pretend not to know what to do so that some nice gentleman might offer to apply the chains for her. It was a relief for her that this plan became unnecessary as well.
The final destination for this day was Payson, Arizona, where Joanne's former German professor at Biola lives. In the fall of 1977 Dr. Reinhard and Priscilla Buss led a group from Biola to Europe for a semester of studies. Joanne was privileged to have been a part of that group. Dr. Buss, being the ultimate tour guide, advised the lovely maidens of worthwhile places to stop to view the scenery along the way to their residence. They spent about an hour in Sedona, not nearly enough time to see all there is to be seen in such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, there was a lot of fog that day, and most of the rock formations were blurred by the fog. However, some views that they wanted to take pictures of cleared off a little so they could get the pictures, then the fog rolled in immediately afterwards. They considered this a gift from God. Raisa was the main photographer in Sedona as Joanne drove to the next viewpoint.
The lovely maidens found the chapel built into the rock, and as they approached the entrance to the same, they passed a crossroad. About 20 feet past the crossroad was a sign that said, "RVs and buses prohibited past this point". The placement of said sign proved to be illogical, since neither before nor after the sign was sufficient room for RVs or buses to reverse course. So the lovely maidens continued on their prohibited way. Fortunately for the maidens, there was a parking attendant at the entrance to the parking lot behind the chapel, who opened a small roped-off area in which these prohibited vehicles could attempt to reverse course. The parking attendant advised the lovely maidens that he would not direct their course direction, so Raisa took on the job, as she normally did upon entry to the various campgrounds the lovely maidens frequented. The lovely maidens had previously devised a method of teamwork for backing up the motor home, which they implemented at this point. Raisa stands behind the motor home while Joanne drives, and with her headset, Joanne receives instruction from Raisa over their cellphones as to which course of action to take. As this interchange was occurring at the entrance to the chapel, various individuals were walking to and from the chapel, and though these people could not see Raisa, she could hear them commenting in this fashion, "Wow! Look at her maneuver that thing!" So although Joanne would love to take credit for her great maneuvering skills, she is totally indebted to Raisa's wonderful instructions for said maneuvering.
The lovely maidens were unable to view the interior of the chapel since the only place they were allowed to park offerred merely 5 minute parking. So they snapped their photos, rolled their videos and were on their way in probably 10 minutes. So they fudged a little on the time...at least they didn't get a parking ticket.
As the lovely maidens followed the instructions Dr. Buss had given them to their residence, they drove right past the McDonald's restaurant where they were supposed to turn. When they drove completely out of town, they knew they had gone too far, but it was impossible to turn around, since it was a divided highway and the next place to turn around was about 3 miles out of town. When they got back into town, the townspeople had miraculously built a fully functioning McDonald's restaurant in the time it took them to turn around! Apparently, both of the lovely maidens were looking at the same side of the road and missed the McDonald's as they passed it coming into town the first time.
Of course, it was dark (again!) when they arrived at the Buss residence, and they were greeted by the two beautiful people that Joanne appreciated so much, since they helped her dream to travel to Europe come true. She also grew to love them as surrogate parents while on the trip in Europe. They had a German supper prepared for the lovely maidens upon their arrival. The foursome enjoyed a lovely evening of reminiscing, story and photo sharing, and hearty laughter. The Busses made the maidens feel so welcome and at home that they hated leaving the next day.
Dr. Buss made the mistake of mentioning he had the slide show that her 1977 group produced of the overseas program upon their return from Europe. Joanne begged him to show it to them, so in the morning he granted her wish. Since the 1977 trip, other slides have been added so it is an overview of the overseas program in general. (Dr. Buss's job was to take groups from Biola almost every year for a semester and teach them German, history and other general studies classes, while also touring many of the historical sites in Europe. He and Priscilla (his assistant wife, as he called her) did this for about 30 years.) The slide show brought back many wonderful memories for Joanne. Many of the slides were photos Joanne had taken. The Busses have a room in their home in which they display photos of the various groups they took to Europe. It was wonderful for Joanne to see her group's photos on their wall.
After the slide show, the Busses took the lovely maidens to their favorite Chinese buffet restaurant, where they were treated to some of the best Chinese buffet food they had ever tasted. Then it was off for some sight-seeing. One of Priscilla's dreams was to live near a lake, and so the purchase of their property fulfilled that dream, since they live across the street from a little lake. They took the lovely maidens around the lake, and also to the airport, where there is a small neighborhood of large houses, each of which has a hangar in which to park the occupant's small aircraft. The street signs in this neighborhood are all next to the ground, as they would be on the taxiways at an airport. The airplanes have the right-of-way, should one ever encounter the same. It was unfortunate that at the time of their visit, no planes were visible, neither in their hangars, nor on the taxiways.
To be continued...
Christmas 2009 Roadtrip Part 4
When the lovely maidens returned from their day out to Sam's Town, the casino where the motor home was parked, they wandered around for ten minutes trying to remember where the motor home was parked. Raisa, thankfully, was able to save the day by recalling accurately where it was.
Several times the lovely maidens found it necessary to do laundry while on their trip, and so for a day or so the motor home looked like a Chinese laundromat with the drying rack full of clothes and portable clothesline hung across the walking space of the motor home.
Before leaving their campsite in Las Vegas, the lovely maidens wanted to bid their neighbors goodbye, and they ended up spending an hour talking with the Carranzas. They were thrilled when Frances prayed for them before they left. The lovely maidens found it hard to leave their new friends and hope they will meet again in this life.
As they were on their way out of the campground, the lovely maidens were looking for, but unable to find the dumpstation so they could dump their wastewater. They discovered after asking a ranger that one must use the sewer hookup at one's campsite. So they pulled into a campsite next to an RV with slide-outs. Since Joanne was looking down while walking to get the dumping job done, she didn't see the slide-out and rammed her head into it twice. Raisa then put her hand on the slide-out to keep her from hitting it a third time, since it was apparent that Joanne didn't learn after one incident.
Before the lovely maidens left Las Vegas, they decided it would be wise to have the radiator flushed and new antifreeze added, since they were headed to the Grand Canyon, where the forecast was 13 degrees at night, and they only had water in the radiator. They found a small garage that Joanne thought would not be able to help them right away, so as they were attempting to turn the motor home around in the miniscule parking lot, the owner of the garage (a middle-aged Chinese man with broken English) came out and asked what they needed. Joanne told him and he said, "Oh, I can do that right now!" The owner's name was Chung, and the lovely maidens soon learned to appreciate him. In addition to flushing the radiator, Chung also checked the oil, the battery and the alternator. And in due time the lovely maidens were on their way.
And it came to pass that once again the lovely maidens arrived after dark and after the RV park office closed for the night (but you already know that because of the spoiler added in Chapter One) in Williams, AZ at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV park. This was a most deluxe campground with beautiful bathroom and laundry facilities, the maidens' criteria for declaring a campground "deluxe". There was snow on the ground, and it was VERY COLD!
In the morning, the lovely maidens boarded the train that would transport them to the Grand Canyon, a first time visit for both of them. The train ride was fun, albeit slow, but it was part of the experience for the day. There were actors on the train who held a train robbery, as well as talked to the passengers. Each car had a host who acted as a tour guide.
The Grand Canyon was spectacular! It was breathtaking for the lovely maidens to be surrounded by such an awesome display of the might and power of their Almighty God! The Grand Canyon was formed, as Joanne believes because of her biblical training and extensive study of the book of Genesis, by large amounts of water flowing under pressure during the flood of Noah. She cannot believe that the little trickle of water that flows at the bottom of the Canyon carved out the structure over millions of years. If this was so, every river would look like the Grand Canyon. We could also get into an extensive discussion about the age of the earth at this point, but back to the story of the lovely maidens...
The lovely maidens found it hard to breathe while walking since they were at approximately 8000 feet above sea level. When they arrived at the Canyon, the lovely maidens dragged thir backpack on wheels filled with enough food for a week and extra supplies they might possibly need along the rim (even though they only had 3 hours to spend at the Canyon before being required to reboard the train to head back) and took hundreds of pictures between the two of them. There was no such thing as a bad view, so it was slow-going to get to their final destination of Yavapai Observation Station, where they were told they would be able to see the Colorado River flowing through the Canyon.
To be continued...
Several times the lovely maidens found it necessary to do laundry while on their trip, and so for a day or so the motor home looked like a Chinese laundromat with the drying rack full of clothes and portable clothesline hung across the walking space of the motor home.
Before leaving their campsite in Las Vegas, the lovely maidens wanted to bid their neighbors goodbye, and they ended up spending an hour talking with the Carranzas. They were thrilled when Frances prayed for them before they left. The lovely maidens found it hard to leave their new friends and hope they will meet again in this life.
As they were on their way out of the campground, the lovely maidens were looking for, but unable to find the dumpstation so they could dump their wastewater. They discovered after asking a ranger that one must use the sewer hookup at one's campsite. So they pulled into a campsite next to an RV with slide-outs. Since Joanne was looking down while walking to get the dumping job done, she didn't see the slide-out and rammed her head into it twice. Raisa then put her hand on the slide-out to keep her from hitting it a third time, since it was apparent that Joanne didn't learn after one incident.
Before the lovely maidens left Las Vegas, they decided it would be wise to have the radiator flushed and new antifreeze added, since they were headed to the Grand Canyon, where the forecast was 13 degrees at night, and they only had water in the radiator. They found a small garage that Joanne thought would not be able to help them right away, so as they were attempting to turn the motor home around in the miniscule parking lot, the owner of the garage (a middle-aged Chinese man with broken English) came out and asked what they needed. Joanne told him and he said, "Oh, I can do that right now!" The owner's name was Chung, and the lovely maidens soon learned to appreciate him. In addition to flushing the radiator, Chung also checked the oil, the battery and the alternator. And in due time the lovely maidens were on their way.
And it came to pass that once again the lovely maidens arrived after dark and after the RV park office closed for the night (but you already know that because of the spoiler added in Chapter One) in Williams, AZ at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV park. This was a most deluxe campground with beautiful bathroom and laundry facilities, the maidens' criteria for declaring a campground "deluxe". There was snow on the ground, and it was VERY COLD!
In the morning, the lovely maidens boarded the train that would transport them to the Grand Canyon, a first time visit for both of them. The train ride was fun, albeit slow, but it was part of the experience for the day. There were actors on the train who held a train robbery, as well as talked to the passengers. Each car had a host who acted as a tour guide.
The Grand Canyon was spectacular! It was breathtaking for the lovely maidens to be surrounded by such an awesome display of the might and power of their Almighty God! The Grand Canyon was formed, as Joanne believes because of her biblical training and extensive study of the book of Genesis, by large amounts of water flowing under pressure during the flood of Noah. She cannot believe that the little trickle of water that flows at the bottom of the Canyon carved out the structure over millions of years. If this was so, every river would look like the Grand Canyon. We could also get into an extensive discussion about the age of the earth at this point, but back to the story of the lovely maidens...
The lovely maidens found it hard to breathe while walking since they were at approximately 8000 feet above sea level. When they arrived at the Canyon, the lovely maidens dragged thir backpack on wheels filled with enough food for a week and extra supplies they might possibly need along the rim (even though they only had 3 hours to spend at the Canyon before being required to reboard the train to head back) and took hundreds of pictures between the two of them. There was no such thing as a bad view, so it was slow-going to get to their final destination of Yavapai Observation Station, where they were told they would be able to see the Colorado River flowing through the Canyon.
To be continued...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Christmas 2009 Roadtrip Part 3
And so the lovely maidens were on their way, once again arriving after dark to their set destination of Las Vegas. They made the Las Vegas Thousand Trails RV park their home for 3 days, visiting the ornate casinos and viewing free shows. Their favorite show was at a casino just a mile from the RV Park where they had an indoor light and water show, similar to the Bellagio, but the water was only 5 feet from them and there were colored lights that lit the water sprays. It was quite exciting!
The lovely maidens took public transportation in Las Vegas, and the first trip to the Strip took them 2 hours, due to needing to buy a 3 day pass at a major depot, which was out of the way for the most direct route to the Strip. While at the depot, a gentleman started talking to the lovely maidens (it was Christmas Day), and the conversation turned to spiritual things. They found out he was a Christian, was working with a local homeless shelter, and was on his way on the same bus as they were to the Strip to solicit funds for the shelter.
When they boarded the bus, the impatient bus driver snatched the passes from the lovely maidens' hands and inserted them into the card reader, telling them to hurry up, since she didn't have all day. The maidens found seats on the top floor of the double-decker bus, since they wanted to get a good view of the city, and their new friend, James, stayed below. Joanne figured out early on that the bus driver had gotten her driver's license from a Cracker Jack box by the way she jerked the bus around and slammed on the brakes. They had not gone 5 blocks before they heard the horn honk 3 times. Joanne wanted to go down there and take over the job of driving, but since she didn't know her way around the city, she thought better of it.
A few minutes later, James came up to the top, sat down across the aisle from the lovely maidens and announced that the driver was having a conversation with the traffic. He heard her swearing up a storm, and confirmed that it was their driver that was responsible for the horn honks they heard. Whenever her voice came on the intercom, it was to yell at someone for whatever it was she didn't like. The lovely maidens were relieved when they could disembark from that bus!
Once the lovely maidens arrived at the Strip, they enjoyed watching the gondolas at the Venetian, marveled at the Eiffel Tower at the Paris, caught the back side of the volcano show at the Mirage on video, thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas music and water show at the Bellagio, and were awed by the extreme extravagance of the casinos on the Strip. (Not to mention, took hundreds of pictures!)
After 2 days of the Strip, they had had enough of the opulence and degradation that was evident there, so decided to go to Hoover Dam. However, they misunderstood the sign that said buses and trucks couldn't go to the dam. So they turned around and went back. Later, when they left Las Vegas for good, they mistakenly went over the dam and found out that they could go. There is a checkpoint where everyone must stop for security reasons and have their vehicle inspected, apparently for bombs, which is most likely why trucks and buses can't go that way. But since by the time they arrived at the dam, it was dark, and they couldn't really see it anyway. However, they were grateful they were traveling into Arizona, rather than from Arizona into Nevada, because there was 3 or 4 times as much traffic going that direction, and the traffic going the opposite direction had come to a stand-still.
As they were getting ready to leave to visit Hoover Dam, a new motor home arrived to stay next to their campsite. Before they had even finished parking it, the driver jumped out and hurried over to the lovely maidens' campsite to tell them they were going to be their new neighbors! They were the nicest people, full time RVers from the San Bernardino area, and the lovely maidens visited with them for a few minutes before leaving on their adventure for the day. Their names were Mr. Pete (Pete says, "Heavy on the Mister!") and Frances Carranza and their Min-Pin dog, Mechie, which being interpreted from Spanish means "Nosey".
Since the lovely maidens didn't go to Hoover Dam, they parked the motor home at the casino down the street and took the casino's free shuttle bus to the Freemont Experience, a much more reasonable place to eat, the lovely maidens discovered, than at the Strip. This is where one can get a half chicken dinner for $5, as opposed to $35, as on the Strip. The Freemont Experience has a canopy of lights covering the street in a convex fashion for several blocks. They do light shows with music every hour on the hour, but that day they were just videos of people singing, and it was not as impressive as it had been the last time Joanne was there when they had some kind of animation set to music.
The lovely maidens missed the last shuttle back to the casino where the motor home was parked because they stopped to have some pizza. So they used their 3 day passes with the public transportation system to travel there instead. Joanne discovered that she could input the address or name of the place they wanted to go into the map application of her iphone, and it would give the bus route and bus number, as well as track their current location. It was a handy discovery! After the lovely maidens boarded the bus, a lady they had met in one of the casinos also got on the bus. This lady was pretty funny and when they met her, she was racking up all kinds of winnings on a slot machine, so they watched her play for a while.
To be continued...
The lovely maidens took public transportation in Las Vegas, and the first trip to the Strip took them 2 hours, due to needing to buy a 3 day pass at a major depot, which was out of the way for the most direct route to the Strip. While at the depot, a gentleman started talking to the lovely maidens (it was Christmas Day), and the conversation turned to spiritual things. They found out he was a Christian, was working with a local homeless shelter, and was on his way on the same bus as they were to the Strip to solicit funds for the shelter.
When they boarded the bus, the impatient bus driver snatched the passes from the lovely maidens' hands and inserted them into the card reader, telling them to hurry up, since she didn't have all day. The maidens found seats on the top floor of the double-decker bus, since they wanted to get a good view of the city, and their new friend, James, stayed below. Joanne figured out early on that the bus driver had gotten her driver's license from a Cracker Jack box by the way she jerked the bus around and slammed on the brakes. They had not gone 5 blocks before they heard the horn honk 3 times. Joanne wanted to go down there and take over the job of driving, but since she didn't know her way around the city, she thought better of it.
A few minutes later, James came up to the top, sat down across the aisle from the lovely maidens and announced that the driver was having a conversation with the traffic. He heard her swearing up a storm, and confirmed that it was their driver that was responsible for the horn honks they heard. Whenever her voice came on the intercom, it was to yell at someone for whatever it was she didn't like. The lovely maidens were relieved when they could disembark from that bus!
Once the lovely maidens arrived at the Strip, they enjoyed watching the gondolas at the Venetian, marveled at the Eiffel Tower at the Paris, caught the back side of the volcano show at the Mirage on video, thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas music and water show at the Bellagio, and were awed by the extreme extravagance of the casinos on the Strip. (Not to mention, took hundreds of pictures!)
After 2 days of the Strip, they had had enough of the opulence and degradation that was evident there, so decided to go to Hoover Dam. However, they misunderstood the sign that said buses and trucks couldn't go to the dam. So they turned around and went back. Later, when they left Las Vegas for good, they mistakenly went over the dam and found out that they could go. There is a checkpoint where everyone must stop for security reasons and have their vehicle inspected, apparently for bombs, which is most likely why trucks and buses can't go that way. But since by the time they arrived at the dam, it was dark, and they couldn't really see it anyway. However, they were grateful they were traveling into Arizona, rather than from Arizona into Nevada, because there was 3 or 4 times as much traffic going that direction, and the traffic going the opposite direction had come to a stand-still.
As they were getting ready to leave to visit Hoover Dam, a new motor home arrived to stay next to their campsite. Before they had even finished parking it, the driver jumped out and hurried over to the lovely maidens' campsite to tell them they were going to be their new neighbors! They were the nicest people, full time RVers from the San Bernardino area, and the lovely maidens visited with them for a few minutes before leaving on their adventure for the day. Their names were Mr. Pete (Pete says, "Heavy on the Mister!") and Frances Carranza and their Min-Pin dog, Mechie, which being interpreted from Spanish means "Nosey".
Since the lovely maidens didn't go to Hoover Dam, they parked the motor home at the casino down the street and took the casino's free shuttle bus to the Freemont Experience, a much more reasonable place to eat, the lovely maidens discovered, than at the Strip. This is where one can get a half chicken dinner for $5, as opposed to $35, as on the Strip. The Freemont Experience has a canopy of lights covering the street in a convex fashion for several blocks. They do light shows with music every hour on the hour, but that day they were just videos of people singing, and it was not as impressive as it had been the last time Joanne was there when they had some kind of animation set to music.
The lovely maidens missed the last shuttle back to the casino where the motor home was parked because they stopped to have some pizza. So they used their 3 day passes with the public transportation system to travel there instead. Joanne discovered that she could input the address or name of the place they wanted to go into the map application of her iphone, and it would give the bus route and bus number, as well as track their current location. It was a handy discovery! After the lovely maidens boarded the bus, a lady they had met in one of the casinos also got on the bus. This lady was pretty funny and when they met her, she was racking up all kinds of winnings on a slot machine, so they watched her play for a while.
To be continued...
Monday, January 11, 2010
Christmas 2009 Roadtrip Part 2
Once the evening tour of the Hearst Castle was completed at around 8:30 pm, the lovely maidens determined they would not be up for a 3 - 4 hour drive to their planned destination somewhere in the hills outside of Santa Barbara, so they opted to find a campground somewhere in their present vicinity. After driving and hunting for a place to park for at least 2 hours anyway, they found a county campground near San Luis Obispo.
The next morning the maidens meandered through the hills of the northern southern California coast area until they arrived at Solvang, a cute Bavarian style village, complete with tudor style architecture and konditoreis (for those of you not used to German lingo, that means bakeries). Of course, the lovely maidens needed to make sure the pastries were fit for consumption, so they ordered a few specimens. That evening after dinner, they each had one of the pastries they had previously purchased. When the same pastry that Raisa ate that resembled one of the pastries Joanne bought, but turned up missing, it was determined that Raisa had mistakenly eaten Joanne's pastry.
That night they camped at Rancho Oso, a Thousand Trails campground in the hills outside of Santa Barbara (northern southern California). The ranger told them that every campsite had a view, but since they arrived after dark, they were curious as to what the view was. Maybe the ocean, they wondered? The light of the morning revealed they had a view of brown mountains.
The next day was a highlight for both of the maidens as they toured the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Ronald Reagan is one of Joanne's heros, since she remembers the double digit inflation and interest rates that were part of the Carter administration fame, and how Ronald Reagan brought the American economy back to life. He cut taxes across the board, which gave employers incentive to hire more employees, which created more taxpayers, which increased tax revenues. She also admires Reagan's love for God, his positive outlook, his belief in the American spirit, and his undying determination and successful efforts to end the stranglehold the communist regime held on Europe and Asia. It was a joy for Joanne to relive those times while touring the museum, and to learn about the history of Ronald Reagan, from his infancy. Part of the Berlin wall is at the museum, as well as President Reagan's grave, at which they paid their respects. During the Christmas season, they have a display of Christmas trees that are decorated for each country that President Reagan visited while in office. They were very beautiful.
Air Force One is also housed at the museum. This is the actual plane that President Reagan used. The maidens were able to tour the plane, but no pictures were allowed inside the plane. They were surprised at the small size of the plane, which is about the size of a plane with 3 seats on one side of the aisle, and 2 seats on the other side. They were impressed that on every flight, President Reagan insisted that a cake be in the galley in case someone on board was celebrating a birthday. It was hard for the maidens to leave the museum, they enjoyed it so much, and they were the last ones out the door.
That night they traveled another hour to reach their campground destination of Solodad Canyon, CA. As they were stopped (after dark) at a grocery store, Joanne noticed some liquid leaking under the motor home, but it was impossible to tell what it was in the dark, so in the morning, when they were stopped to fill the gas tank, they discovered it was coolant. So Joanne poured water into the radiator reservoir, thinking it would automatically transfer into the radiator (isn't that what a reservoir is for?!), and went on their way. They did not get a mile down the road before there was a hissing noise, and Raisa exclaimed, "You better pull over!" So she did.
Fortunately, Raisa had roadside assistance service as part of her car insurance policy, and called for help. While they were waiting for help, (and the radiator to cool off), they played a game of what Joanne calls Farkle, and Raisa calls Greed. It was the only time they had the time to play a game.
The mechanic that assisted the lovely maidens appeared about 45 minutes later, after the radiator had cooled, filled the radiator with water, and determined that the water pump was leaking. Hummm, wasn't that the part Joanne just had replaced a week earlier? Since it was the day before Christmas, businesses were starting to close to prepare for the holiday, so the maidens found it necessary to backtrack a few miles to find an Auto Zone store to get some Stop Leak, as recommended by the mechanic. He put it in the radiator, and after running the engine for a few minutes, the leak stopped. The maidens were glad that did the trick, since they had about a 5 hour trip ahead of them to get to Las Vegas.
To be continued...
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