BITS AND PIECES AS WE PREPARE TO MOVE ON

I can’t believe that our time here at Jojoba Hills is over – we leave tomorrow!  It’s been a great stay, catching up with many friends who either have lots here or, like us, are visitors.  Since we won’t be attending the annual Boomer gathering at Quartzsite this year, this is likely to be the last time we will see many of these folks for the rest of the year, as we head east. 

People who don’t live this traveling lifestyle often ask us how we get our mail.  Like most fulltimers, we use a mail forwarding service.  All of our mail goes to one address (ours is in Sioux Falls, SD), and they forward it on to us at the time and location we specify.  Sometimes this is a relative’s house, or a friend’s; sometimes it is an RV park.  Often, it is simply c/o General Delivery, which is most easily handled in some small town with a single post office.

On Thursday, a stormy day here in southern California, we picked up our General Delivery mail at the Aguanga, California, post office, one of the three buildings that comprise Aguanga (post office, general store, and realty office). 

Looks pretty bleak, especially in this weather – but as usual in these tiny P.O.’s, the single staffer was warm and friendly.  Unfortunately, the mail itself wasn’t the same… fulltimer mail consists of bank statements, bills and, in this case, an incorrectly filled prescription.  :(

Which reminds me: ladies, when I saw my doctor in Sacramento last month, he recommended (strongly) a new calcium supplement, Citracal Plus Bone Density Builder.  It includes a substance called Genistein that he felt made this particular calcium supplement superior to others (including Viactiv, my usual).  The cost is around $12 for 120 tablets (this is over-the-counter stuff), which is a month’s supply (you take 4 a day).  Just FYI.  :)

In spite of the partying we did here, we managed to set aside a day for a road trip in the Jeep.  We haven’t explored much of southern California since we have been fulltiming – the urban density turns me off, and the traffic...!  Still, the winter weather is appealing, especially around San Diego. 

Our friends Jim and Ellie are there now, at a campground others have recommended to us, Santee Lakes Regional Park.  We were able to figure out how to get there “the back way” – meaning, staying OFF the freeways and out of heavy traffic - so we headed south to explore.  Most of our route was a leisurely drive along smooth, winding, two lane back roads – expansive views from the hillsides, dappled shade in the eucalyptus-lined valleys. 

About halfway to Santee Lakes, in the tiny hamlet of San Ysabel, we came to a crossroads.  An eastward turn headed to the mountain town of Julian, known throughout southern California for their apples – and even more famous for their apple pies.  Our turn was westward.  Guess what?  The Julian Apple Pie Company had the foresight to put a little outpost right there at the intersection.  We immediately made a plan to stop on our way back to pick up a pie for the night’s dessert (we had been invited to dinner and had nothing to bring) – and that is just what we did. 

Since it was 3 pm and we still had 20 miles or so to drive, we thought a snack was in order.  I had traditional two-crust apple pie, heated, with melted sharp Wisconsin cheddar on top; Odel had heated Dutch Apple pie (the crumbly top crust) with cinnamon ice cream.  Yum… :)

Once I wrap this up, it’s time to think about tomorrow’s travels.  We’re traveling 130 miles from east from Aguanga, through huge Anza Borrego State Park, to Indio for a short stay at the Indio Elks Lodge.  The weather should be sunny and warm(ish), and we’ve got our taste buds primed for shrimp at the Fisherman’s Market.  Later!