Today we took a drive down the coast to Malibu and then up Malibu Canyon Road to US 101. There are some really beautiful houses in that area and I’m sure most of them come with a very hefty price tag. Heck, it looked some of the gates we saw cost more that our first house.
We’ve had a good stay here at this Navy base and I’m sure we’ll be back again in the future. With roomy sites, free WiFi, free washing/drying and all the other amenities, the $30 a night is really a bargain for this area. You can read my review here: http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/california/fairways-rv-resort
Tomorrow we’ll head out to the Elks Lodge in Indio, CA. It’s only about a 200 mile run but we have to drive out through Burbank, Pasadena and San Bernardino so we know traffic is going to be a mess. I think we will try to get out of here around 9:30 AM so hopefully the morning rush hour will be over. We have made this trip before going both ways so I know what to expect.
October 4, 2016
All RVer’s, especially full-timers should expect the unexpected and yesterday was no exception to the rule.
We left the naval base around 9:30, made our way up to the 101 and headed west. After topping out on the 7% grade traffic came to a complete stop and then moved on for 5 MPH for a long way. I had hoped that the 134 would be better and it was, a little. Got into a couple of white knuckle situations with people cutting in and out of the traffic and idiots trying to merge onto the boulevard at 20 MPH. We finally made our way down the 57 and then onto the 10 westbound. How's that for LA lingo. We did move along at a decent speed for most of the way to the Elks Lodge here in Indio.
We got settled into the RV park around 2:30 then went to the lounge for a well deserved libation. The lodge has several sites with electric and water for $22 a night and a few with sewer hook up’s at $27 a night. Since we are only here for two nights we selected one of the pull-through sites with electric and water.
Joyce went to the Morongo Casino leaving me to keep the bartender company. Linda told me about the Desert Trip Music Festival that will be starting on Friday in Indio. This is a huge festival, staring The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and others. Not only are they having the festival starting on Friday but their going to do it all over again on the 14th too.
Starting this coming Thursday they lodge is going to be charging $100 a night for members to park here. Now I understand the lodge wanting to make a few bucks and even at a C-note it is still cheap. We hear that one of the casinos in the area is is going to charge $125 a night for dry camping and $150 for hookups. That being said, I do question the lodge’s decision to charge members that high rate. Seems like some gouging going on if you ask me.
I always tell you about Joyce’s donations to casinos but I rarely talk about when she wins. Well, night before last she played at the Morongo Casino and won a good chuck of change playing bingo. Then last night she played at the Fantasy Springs Casino and came out a winner on a penny machine. Congrats babe!
October 7, 2016
We left Quartzite yesterday morning at 9:30, jumped on I-10 bound for the Elks Lodge in Tempe, AZ. Since we only had just over a half a tank of fuel we stopped on the way and got diesel for $2.38 a gallon. The next part of the trip was not bad but when we got into the Phoenix metro area the traffic picked up considerably. After navigating through that we pulled into the Tempe Elks Lodge at 1 PM.
The RV park here has has twenty-six full hookup sites and as I write this they are adding eight more specifically to accommodate rigs over forty feet. All sites here have 30/50 amp electric service giving us the ability to run both our AC units. Thats a good thing since the temperatures are forecasted to be well over ninety degrees during our stay. At $25 a night this is a very good value for this area.
There is an animal hospital right behind us so we had barking dogs all night long. We did run our AC’s and fans so that provided enough white noise to block out most of the barking.
After getting set up I went in the lounge to pay for or stay and Joyce went to do a little shopping. Later my sister-in-law Ronna came by after she got off work and then my brother Mark came over when he got off work. We had a really nice visit, making plans to get together today and then Saturday.
October 11, 2016
Last Friday evening Mark and Ronna took us out for dinner at The Mission at Minder Binder, one of the most unique restaurants Joyce and I have ever visited. I can’t begin to tell you all of the “stuff” on the walls and ceiling in this place. A couple of things that caught my eye was a chariot and a for real stuffed horse. The food was fantastic and the conversation lively.
On Saturday we went to Mark and Ronna’s new home over in Laveen that they had built last year. Mark grilled tri-tip and we watched football all afternoon.
Our plans were to leave Tempe on Sunday and head south to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson but change three was put into effect.
We found out that our good friends Ed and Cindy Kopic who we volunteered with at Sunflower RV Resort a couple of years ago were headed down this way. They are going to be hosting at Val Vista Villages in Mesa for the winter this year so we thought, “what the heck”, lets go visit them.
So on Sunday we left the Elks Lodge and headed east 16 miles to the Val-Vista Villages in Mesa, arriving here about 12:30. After getting into our site Ed and Cindy made a delicious barbecue rib supper.
We are staying here on our Passport America membership so we are only paying $25 a night plus tax. That's a great price for this area of Arizona.
Joyce and I had planned to stay just three days here but have now decided to extend that by one more day.
Yesterday we drove up to Scottsdale to have lunch with our favorite bartender Trevor Garand who served drinks at Sunflower. We met at Bootleggers in Old Town and ha d a ball. Can’t wait to do that again in the spring.
The Gang's All Here!
On Wednesday the girls wanted to go shopping so Ed and I made a road trip out to the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction to see Willie Beck who is hosting out there again this year. You might recall that Willie hosted with us at Valley of the Rouge State Park one year and we still stay in contact.
After visiting with Willie for a while we drove up into the hills to Tortilla Flat near Canyon Lake for a bite to eat and a cold one.
The walls and ceilings are covered in $1 bills.
Canyon Lake
Just had to throw in a couple of pictures of Travis.
Yesterday after saying our goodbye’s to Ed and Cindy we left Mesa and headed down to the Agave Gulch FamCamp on Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ.
Be back soon.
Barry & Joyce
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