OUR PLANS ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

Late in December in 2003, we joined a group of strangers-to-us, the Boomers, in the desert north of Yuma, Arizona, for the annual New Year's "Boomerang". We had been traveling since April 1st of that year, and wanted to celebrate the new year with kindred spirits.

There were around 20-25 rigs there, and we knew no one when we arrived. On New Year's Eve, we were introduced to our favorite social activity, which seems unique to the Boomers: the Z Circle. Through a complex set of moves, couples rotate from one "host" rig to another, three times throughout the evening - meeting the host couple and another "circulating" couple at each host rig for 45 minutes of conversation, snacks (provided by the first set of "guests" to each rig) and drinks (BYO).

A 15 minute break after each visit allows time to replenish beverages and use your own bathroom - unlike most New Year's Eve parties, you NEVER ask to use your host's bathroom when you are boondocking! After the last visit, all the remaining snacks are brought to the campfire, where partying continues until the midnight countdown and celebration.

It is a wonderful way to welcome the new year, and we have not missed this gathering for the past five years - until now. :(

Odel came up with an alternative that put a smile back on my face: after completing his 30th treatment this afternoon (2/3's of the way to completion!) he is making his FABULOUS Hearty Fish Stew (I have added the recipe to the archive). He made the broth last night; it is "melding" in the refrigerator as I write. Tonight I will make garlic bread while he reheats the broth and adds the cod, shrimp, scallops and mussels. We have a selection of excellent red wine on hand - we'll choose one to go with dinner, enjoy a messy feast, and try to stay awake for the stroke of midnight. Doesn't sound too bad!

Thanks to our Boomer friends at the SKP park near Temecula (a bit over an hour from here), we'll get to visit with RV'ing friends on New Year's Day. Our friend Carol knows how to put on a good party and she's got it organized: socializing and food, food, and more good food.

Carol is fixing her grandmother's Alsatian dish of sauerkraut, sausage and pork chops. Bill Rayner, from Mississippi, is bringing the traditional "good luck" dish, black-eyed peas, and we're providing the "prosperity": collards and other southern greens (the "Greens" recipe in the recipe archive).

We'll miss our Boomer tribe tonight, gathered around the campfire, admiring the stars and welcoming the renewal of the new year - but we're happy here, where we need to be. We'll raise our glasses to you all with a wish for peace, prosperity, joy, and a realization of all your hopes for 2009. Happy New Year!