A Fun Filled Seven Days....

And that it was.  A busy seven days with our kids and grand kids has come and gone.  

Easton having fun....

And Brie enjoying herself too.

There was no shortage of activities to keep everyone busy.  From pool time to the Children's Museum - to hiking and motorcycling - to Polo and dinner - we covered a wide spectrum of interesting fun.

Very early morning hike with Jeanette

Trevor got to hike the local area early on some mornings.   Jeanette joined him for a long, long hike only a few days back.

Running up the hills and mountains behind our RV park.

With the mid-90's daytime temperatures, our RV air conditioners were well exercised....and we also exercised in the resort pools.  And good fun that was!

Easton loved to check out the fish in the numerous ponds that dot Caliente' Springs Resort.  Every day, he enjoyed dropping by one pond to check out his favourite fish.  Oh....and he fed the fish often.

Off Bob Hope Drive in Palm Desert is an amazing children's museum.  Whoever thought up this concept, and designed it, succeeded in establishing a wonderful facility that captivates kids...young and old.  We took Easton and Brie there, last Sunday, and what a fun time we had.  There are so many amazing things to challenge kids from age 1 through to 16.  

Easton loved the up and down running track

This giant sponge block play area was a draw.

 Easton had to spend some time on this older Kawasaki 1000 Police motorcycle. 

Brie and this little girl communicated as only one year old kids can.

Easton waited his turn to drive this little wooden toy car....!  A minute later, he had a passenger.

His passenger wanted a turn at the wheel....and Easton moved over.  

It is fun to watch kids (who don't know each other) interact and share in the pleasures of the numerous activities this museum offers.  I was in awe watching kids be kids.  What a treat!

But lunchtime took us outdoors for a break away from the fun.. But once re-energized, Easton was quick to want to get back indoors and into the fun things this museum offers.

By 2:00 pm, Sunday, it was time to secure Easton and Brie into their car seats to head off to meet their folks at the Polo match in the city of Indio.  Trevor and Ginette were invited to join friends for a couple of matches.  We arrived part way through the second match.

Trevor took Brie and Easton to check out the sidelines.

Seated in the shade on a very hot Sunday afternoon.

Polo, as we learned from our first visit there, several weeks back, is an attractive spectator sport.  Ginette and Trevor attended their very first match.  They thoroughly enjoyed it.

L-R  Ginette and Trevor with their hosts, Lisa and Peter.

Back at Caliente' Springs, it was back into the pools to cool down.  Easton enjoyed so many high throws in the air by his dad.....and laugh he did.  Brie enjoyed the cooling effect and was not shy to splash in the water.

One last swim for our guests before it was time to gather everyone together for the trip back to the airport.

As with all good things, the time comes when reality strikes and everyone has to return to life's routine.  Ginette, Trevor, Brie and Easton were set to fly back home on a 6:30 pm flight last evening.  Jeanette and I drove them to the Palm Springs Airport, shared in hugs and kisses before our little family was out of sight in the security area.

Ginette did text, when they were only mere minutes from their Langley, BC home, last night.  It seems that Easton was calm and collected on the return flight but Brie proved to be a bit of a challenge.  Without a decent afternoon nap, Brie was a bit out of sorts. 

They are back home and their routine should return in the days ahead.

Final photo at the Palm Springs Airport.

And with the little family back home in BC, our RV routine will return today.  Before that though, we have some clean up to take care of and stuff to put away.  But it is all good.

Thanks for dropping in.

Keeping Busy With The Little Visitors...

 

Early morning outdoor fun......

Although my motorcycle is having some problems, I did manage to take Easton for a brief ride around the park.

My '03 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad motorcycle is showing signs of stress from so many road miles.  On second thought, I should have brought the Harley Davidson down with us this winter.  The Nomad is still looking good but a few issues have cropped up of late; the bevel gear from the engine to the drive shaft is wearing out and grinding.  And just yesterday, the clutch gave out.  None of this is poor workmanship.  Au contraire.   Our Nomad is a very high mileage motorcycle and some of her parts are just wearing out.......sort of like us....if you know what I mean.

Off to visit my cousin, Madeleine at her El Paseo Drive condo in Palm Desert.

Madeleine and I have always kept in touch over the years.  She lives in Edmonton and I on the west coast of BC. When she winters here, from January to March, we always make a point of getting together.  Not having met Trevor and not ever having seen his and Ginette's kids, she was so keen to have us over to her place the other day.  And a fun one it was.

Madeleine is shaking hands with Easton

Before long, we were at the outdoor pool - with no one else around - and enjoying the cooling aspect on a super hot Palm Desert day. And the kids (young and younger) had a lot of fun. 

Brie and Easton finally got the point about wearing a sun hat for protection....but it did take some coaxing!

Before the regular nap times, Easton pulled an orange off from Madeleine's tree for the drive back to our RV.  He loved the fresh orange smell.

Back at our site, Easton woke from his nap before Brie and was back to playing with toys on the outdoor mat - his new play area.

Trevor - a licensed motorcyclist - had planned one day for a ride into the mountains.  We invited Lucky, our friend to join us for the day.  He was eager, as always, to get on his Harley.  I chose to ride our Nomad.....but sure considered renting a Harley for the day.  I have been having noisy issues with the bevel gear....and it would be only a matter of time before it would give out. But NO!  I thought my Nomad would see me through one more ride. But it would not!!!  Half way up mountain Highway 74, the clutch gave up.  I was forced to give up the ride at the Paradise Valley Cafe' - at the Highway 74 and California 371 turn off.  That clutch gave no evidence of wanting to quit working but it sure did....and quickly too....while riding up that high mountain road. No stress for me though....I just kept rolling the extra 20 minutes to the restaurant rather than quit and hang out on a very narrow road side (and most likely with no cell service).  The restaurant location offered clear cell service and the back up could have been their land line.

That was the end of the ride for me....but I encouraged Lucky and Trevor to keep riding.  And they did....till well after 4:00 pm yesterday (Friday).

Trevor rented his Harley Street Glide from Eaglerider at the JW Marriott Resort - Palm Desert on Friday morning.

My ride - without a working clutch.....at the Paradise Valley Cafe'....waiting for a tow truck.  (Friday 10:40 am)

With very good AAA road incident coverage, a large flat deck tow truck was dispatched and less than two hours later, the Nomad was placed on the deck for transport back to our site.  Although I considered taking the bike to a motorcycle repair shop in Rancho Mirage, I thought best to return it to our site. We leave back for home, in a few short weeks and the Nomad will be repaired once back.

Note to Self:  The much newer Harley Davidson Electra Glide will be the ride of choice come next winter's journey back to the desert.

Great service from these two fellas. (Loaded and ready for the drive back to our site @ 12:10 pm)

The truck driver who first appeared on the scene quickly admitted that he had never loaded a motorcycle on a flat deck.  His boss had asked him to wait for his arrival and they would work together to load it.  Although I have done this once before (due to a flat tire north of Eugene, Oregon on I-5) I held back offering advice.  Once both guys were on the scene though, I explained how I would load it and they bought into that.  And within minutes, the Nomad was securely fastened and we left back for Caliente' Springs resort.  Both guys thanked me for sharing some of my thoughts on how to load a large cruiser style motorcycle onto a flat deck.

It was a most pleasant return ride in the truck.  The driver, Vince was a prince of a guy and we enjoyed a solid 90 minute chat.

Jeanette made sure we had our very own swimming pool to keep the grand kids nice and cool on those very hot days.  And it worked.  They have had a lot of fun playing and splashing.

Brie is enjoying her very first desert camping trip.

Easton, on the other hand, sure enjoys being in the larger resort pools.

Back from his motorcycle ride - with Lucky - Trevor was quick to change into his bathing suit to cool off with the kids in the small pool.

Ginette and Trevor preparing to return the motorcycle to the rental place.

After dinner, I drove our truck while Ginette and Trevor rode the Harley Davidson back to the rental place in Palm Desert.  We hung out at the JW Marriott Resort, for about an hour; walking around and enjoying the lovely night air before returning back to our site.

And with the two little grand kids here, it is a very busy time.  But it is also a most lovely time spent too.  So....no complaints!  And our kids and theirs are enjoying a nice holiday away from their busy home and work lives.

And that covers things from here for now.

Thanks for dropping by.

Little Surprises...

We were at the Palm Springs Airport, late on Monday afternoon to collect our little surprises.  Grandson, Easton and grand daughter, Brie had arrived with their parents, Ginette and Trevor to spend one week with us.

Palm Springs airport, late Monday afternoon

The Allegiant Air flight was slated to land @ 5:44 pm.  And it did just that.  The flight was on time.  Before long, Jeanette had the camera ready and she captured a few photos of our little guests and their parents.

Ginette with baby Brie and Trevor with grandson, Easton.

Easton (now almost three years of age) was excited about the flight and the opportunity to visit with us.  When he saw his Nana, Jeanette,  he ran to her with arms outstretched and ready for big hugs.  He was excited.

So happy to see our little Easton

He wondered where his Grand Papa was!  While waiting for their flight to arrive, a very elderly lady from Newark, New Jersey was desperately trying to use a new cell phone to call the hotel shuttle to pick her up.  I noticed that she was perplexed and frustrated.  I lent assistance and before long, she was seated in the shuttle with her luggage stowed, on her way to her accommodations.  Nice lady.

 Easton did find me near the front entrance at the airport.  He was as thrilled as I was to exchange hugs. 

Readying to install the baby seats in our truck

Before long, the baby seats were installed and we rolled away towards our RV park at Caliente' Springs.

Brie was happy......

Easton was happy......

Relaxing after dinner at our RV site.

And Ginette and Trevor were happy to have a couple more child handlers following a very busy day.

To accommodate our visitors, we removed the two Lazy Boy recliners from the salon, placed them under cover outdoors to make room for a nice blow up mattress for Easton and the playpen for Brie.  

Our RV has a separate rear living room that includes a French door.  It easily makes into a second bedroom.  And it works well for visitors.   

Playing outdoors - Day 1

Brie was happy to be enjoying the nice outdoor temperatures.

Now just one year old, Brie has been walking for three weeks.  It's a treat to watch her balance and walk.  

Our kids did not want to venture out; preferring to enjoy a more quiet day at our resort.  That included a nice swim in the pool followed by a few minutes in the coolest of the four  natural hot springs.

While Trevor and I were in Desert Hot Springs for a brief errand run, Rick Doyle   Rick's Bits 'n Bytes, Pics and News  had stopped by our site.  Upon our return, we enjoyed a brief visit before Rick left back for the Sands RV and Golf Resort. 

A nice barbecue dinner

It is fun to have our family members here and to spend some quality time with the grand kids.  It's also a nice break for Easton and Brie's parents who can enjoy some time away from the incredibly busy lives back home in Langley, BC.

Everyone (kids too) are sleeping very, very well in the 5th wheel.

Today (Thursday) will see us travel outside our RV park.  More on that later.

Thanks for dropping by.