January 11, 2014

01/05/2014

Happy New Year everyone!  Joyce and I hope 2014 brings you happiness, prosperity and good health.

Joyce and I spent New Years Eve at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Palmdale, CA on our way back from northern California.  If I remember correctly, we were both in bed well before 12 AM.

01/06/2014

Yesterday, we went up into the mountains west of El Centro to Jacumba, CA to do some geocaching.

Back in the day, Jacumba Hot Springs was a major destination along U.S. Highway 80 where folks enjoyed the natural hot springs.  Since Interstate 8 was built, not so much.  The Jacumba Hot Springs Spa and Resort is still there and a couple of restaurants but that's about it.

We visited one cache called Talula's Place (you must be a member to view the cache's page), named for Tallulah Bankhead who owned the property, Bankhead Springs, little wide spot in the road.  The whole "town" is for sale for $1.3M.

 Jacumba's Mascot

As most of you know, my main hobby is doing genealogy research, or a Joyce says, "looking up old dead folks".  I have been a member of Ancestry.com for many moons and grandfathered in at $99 a year.  Well, surprise, surprise.  I got an email the other day saying they were going to charge me $189 when I renew.  I can understand a modest increase but $99 more a year?  I don't think so!

So, I called them.  Got it for $149 a year, a more reasonable rate but still expensive.  But, they are expanding Ancestry.com more everyday now.  Not only do I get all the census records, there are the World War I & II draft records, birth & death records for many states and now they are linked to Find A Grave.com.  So, I guess a $50 raise in my rate isn't too much.

01/09/2014

Yesterday was a sight-seeing day here in the desert of southern California.

We left the RV park around 10 AM and headed up to visit Anza-Borrego State Park near  Borrego Springs.  The drive up there has very little scenery that we would call pretty but once in Borrego Springs, that all changed.

This little "bump at the end of the road" is completely surrounded by the state park and is a haven for snow-birds, retired folks and "free-thinker's".  Here in this desert oasis, you will find golf courses, RV parks and several resorts that offer very high-end amenities.

The town has been designated International Dark Sky Community by the International Dark Sky Association and as such, you don't see very may street lights around town.  We had no idea there was such an organization.

Another really cool feature in Borrego Springs is the sculptures of Ricardo Breceda.  Most of the pieces are on the Galleta Meadows Estates, property once owned by Dennis Avery of the Avery Labels family.  The sculptures are gifts from Avery to Borrego Springs.

 I didn't take this one.  Couldn't get it all in the frame as this one did.

There are several more that we didn't get to see so we may have to go back up there sometime.  Might even apply to be a camp host at the state park.

More later.

Barry & Joyce