Week 79 - Hemet, Desert Hot Springs CA - 02-17-2008

Hello from Hemet and Hot Springs,

With two wonderful weeks at Aguanga behind us, we headed North for 30 miles to Hemet, CA. We stayed five days at the Golden Village RV Resort. The residents here were incredibly friendly. They played sand court volleyball two hours every morning. Many are Canadians here in SoCal to get out of the cold weather. Everyone there was so encouraging and disappointed that we were not staying longer.

1) On the road to Hemet you can see the Southern view of the San Jacinto mountains. 2) Ellen sets the ball for her teammates. 3) They take their shuffleboard very seriously. They have a huge indoor eight-court shuffleboard arena with bleachers that hold hundreds of spectators. 4) Another beautiful California sunrise.

The road from Hemet to Desert Hot Springs was not quite as warm as you might assume. The temperature in Banning dropped to 36 degrees. And snow flurries blew horizontally and stuck momentarily to our windshield.

Ellen takes time out of here busy schedule to pose for a photo with flowers from a secret admirer.

Oh! It turns out the flowers are from our good friends Ed and Sheryl. We met them in November 2006 in Indio CA. We had a reunion two weeks later in Aguanga CA. After our US tour we met them in Burien WA, near Seattle. They traveled from their Southern home in Ventura CA to see us in Avila Beach. And we got together again in Desert Hot Springs. The greatest joy of motorhoming are the people you meet. And with careful planing you can meet them around the country. We had good meals together, rode our bikes and spent time in competitive sports. Sheryl and Pete show off their acumen as they catch Ellen and Ed with their hands in their pockets!

Ellen and Pete took the opportunity of a two hour hike into the nearby foothills. 1) From the hilltop you can see our motorhome (at the tip of the arrow) in the Caliente Springs RV park. 2) We pose under the US and Canadian flags at the top of the mountain. Many, many Canucks come to the Coachella Valley each year. 4) A view of the Wind Farm between Banning and Beaumont CA with a Northern view of the San Jacinto mountains.

On Sunday we went to church at the Caliente Springs RV Park. These people are so darling. About 300 seniors came to the service. It included a 30 person choir and an eight piece orchestra. One lady in the orchestra must be over 70. She gets to the service in her powered scooter. Then she plays her tuba in the orchestra. What a blessing to see and hear the love that these people have for the Lord.

After church we drove to Lancaster CA for a Monaco Motorcoach Pre-Rally. It is for Monaco owners only and there will be over 400 owners here. It is a "Pre-Rally" as next week we will travel to Pomona CA for the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) international rally. The FMCA is for all brands of class A motorhomes. The FMCA rally will attract thousands of coach owners.

Ellen and next door neighbor Sid relax at the rally.

We send our love to all of you,

Pete and Ellen

Photos from Feb 2008