We arrived back home on Monday Mrch 31, but I've been too busy to do anything more than check my e mail. We needed to finalize some paperwork for the accountant as well as catch up on our bills, mail etc etc. Finally on Friday I was able to break away for lunch at Carole's with my friends Carole and Jean and a friend of theirs, Gloria. It is always good to get home and catch up on what's happening with friends and family. I have been very surprised at how much I miss everyone when we are away for an extended period. I thought I was disinclined to "family emotionalism" but as it turns out, I am really an old homebody in many ways.

To catch you up on what we've been up to, we attended a Family Motor Coach Association convention in Pomona April 19-22 and from there, drove to Desert Hot Springs for two weeks at Desert Pools RV resort. We went to Desert Hot Springs for two reasons. First and primarily, our friends, Ken and Marian Herbert, are in a park nearby and they are always fun to spend time with. Second, for the mineral spas that are located there. We visited the mineral spas and pool almost every evening which was great relaxation and soothing to the old bones that tend to complain about almost everything these days. I think all of that soothing helped but while at the convention, a chair that I was sitting on collapsed causing me to sprawl on the floor with a thud. I was none the worse for wear other than for my embarrassmentt but my tail bone still has a great deal to say about such misbehavior. It is finally getting better but it was indeed, most uncomfortable for the entire time we were at the desert. I really must practice “push ups” i.e., pushing up from the table.

I classified the wind at Desert Hot Springs as “early typhoon” and I was deeply indignant until we came home and learned that it was also windy in the LA area. Clouds and weather in the Los Angeles area almost certainly means desert wind. Of course, how soon one forgets. It was March and everyone remembers the “ides” of March except me because I have grown old, forgetful and live a “protected” life. Ah well, perhaps the venting was good for me. Least you be misled, we had several beautiful days and the last three days were gorgeous and we enjoyed them every one.
To summarize our adventures in the desert. Of course, we engaged in a tour of Ken’s old stomping grounds for his remission into his youth and the memories that he holds so dear. Ken’s parents and Ken’s grandfather each homesteaded five acres in the early 40's and in 1951, we homesteaded five acres in our name and another five in my brother’s name. Everyone did the bare essentials for gaining full title to what Ken says was called a “jack rabbit” homestead. It is amazing to see the property today and I could hardly believe what fine homes occupy that area. We were particularly surprised to see an ad in the local paper for five acres of unimproved property at the entrance to the section where the five acre homesteads once adorned the landscape, advertised for one million dollars. – Thinking positive and hoping that such luck could have “rubbed” off on the Burns’, had we kept the bare essentials and the bare land, we would now be multi millionaires. Alas, the property was disposed of long ago at a bare pittance. As an aside, 1 acre of the property that was homesteaded in my brother’s name now greatly improved with a pool, large house and beautifully landscaped was for sale for $900,000 five years ago. Riches have often not been far from our grasp but alas, we are apparently intended to remain humble!!

A trip to Joshua Tree National Monument was disappointing. We expected the desert to be covered with carpet of blooming desert flowers but not so. Apparently that area did not receive as much of the moisture as is required to bring forth a beautiful spring on the desert. Some areas were beautiful but not Joshua. As a matter of fact, when we were last at Joshua the desert flowers were blooming and we were certain that with the additional rainfall of the current spring, it would be lush in its beauty. Ahh well. So be it. We just looked elsewhere and certainly, other parts of the desert was beautiful.

Another trip that we enjoyed was a trip up a dirt road into an area called Painted Canyon. Ken had apparently visited there in his youth with his geologist Uncle (by marriage) who thought it was worthy of showing to visiting friends and relatives who visited. Ken’s Aunt, Uncle and Uncle’s brother, owned a ranch in the Coachella Valley where they grew Thompson seedless grapes and grapefruit. They lived in Pasadena during the year and went to the “ranch” to tend the vineyards and fruit trees. They had a bungalow on the ranch that they called “Sliver Shanty” and from their comfortable home in Pasadena, they ascended to their Sliver Shanty from whence they earned the money to maintain their lifestyle of “opulence” in the big city. A reminder that our station in life comes down to “choices”. We did not have time to make the “trek” up Painted Canyon and I have no doubt that remains a “day trip” to which I can look forward. From my quick overview of the terrain and possible “path”, it appeared to be similar to the many Sunday hikes that we took up “Cat Canyon” from the Burns’ abode in Cahuilla Hills at Palm Desert. Thus, I shall not be quick to remind Ken that he wants to do the trip, and perhaps, he will forget it as he often does.

On Sunday, our last full day at the Desert, our friend Marian, Ken and I drove over to Salton Sea and circumnavigated the “sea”. That is such a beautiful place if only the “powers that be” could figure out how to clean it up and develop that beautiful sea. For those of you who have never visited the Salton Sea, it is approximately 35 miles long and nine miles wide. There is several miles of State Park which looked very inviting. We stopped to engage a fisherman in conversation and learned that he was from San Diego, has been going to the “Sea” for 40 years to fish and relax. Ken likes to fish and he was especially interested in the fishing. We learned that Croaker, corbina, taliapa and several others. However, our ears really perked up with the taliapa, which is a “farmed” fish and apparently grows like rabbits (if you will pardon my animal/mammal comparison). The man told us that the week before someone had caught over 100 taliapa. There is no limit and this fish is so plentiful at the “sea” that they are considering harvesting it for cat food. We were recently introduced to taliapa and found it to be a fish that is tastey, particularly if pan fried. Ken has set the “sea” as a destination point for fishing entertainment and I will carry with me a good book, my computer and lots of patience.

All in all, we had a wonderful visit with Ken and Marian Herbert, enjoyed two delightful evenings with Ken’s brother, Bill and his wife Diane and we highly recommend the Herbert’s for hospitality, fun and entertainment. We are off to Las Vegas on Sunday where we will rendezvous with friends that we met on our trip to Spain, Bob and Marvis Gersten and Bob and Kitty Van Horn. Las Vegas may never be the same.

Until our recap of that “adventure”, stay well, be happy and live this day as if it was your last, but plan to live forever.