A Quick Trip to Mt Palomar

When growing up (Oh, wait - I've never done that.) I was always interested in astronomy - I was a real geek. At that time, the largest telescope in the world was the 200 inch Hale telescope at the Mt. Palomar observatory, and books were full of the universe as seen through its eye.

The weather was very nice yesterday so we took a drive up there to check it out. But what you see to the right is a stock photo since the wimpy Cal Tech astonomers had the facility closed because of a measly few feet of snow.

They even had the lady at the post office fooled. She told us the buildings were closed because of the weather, but we should be able to do some sightseeing around the grounds.

The road through the snow-covered wilderness was open all the way up, but the entrance to the parking lot  was closed off. We couldn't even walk around and take pictures of the domes and other buildings because the hiking trails were blocked.





So we headed back the 50 miles to our park in Menifee, and managed to catch just a sampling of the California-4 o'clock Friday-rush-hour traffic. But the scene that greeted us as we left the grocery store parking lot reminded us why we really love this area.

Lake Havasu and Quartzsite

After two chilly weeks in Las Vegas, we head south for a one-week visit with our great friends Larry and Philly Koon, of the Idaho Koons. To refresh your memory, they are our fantastic cruising buddies turned RVers turned home owners (and summertime Lake Powell honchos.)

Ahhhhh. A relaxing week at the hot tub with good friends. Can it get much better than this???

Then it was on to Quartzsite, AZ for a four-day get together with fellow members of our RVer's club - the Escapees. The Quartzsite experience is sort of a rite of passage for RVers. Maybe it proves that we can live outside the relatively sheltered confines of an RV park. The daily happy hours at our little camp area featured live entertainment and good eats with, of course, your beverage of choice.

Great fun for all us Texans!








The locale is a winter "home" for as many as 10,000 RVs. Most of the land at the intersection of Interstate 10 and AZ95 is Bureau of Land Management property and is open for boondocking - the term RVers use for free camping (or anchoring out in our sailing days,) away from any hookups for electricity, water, or sewer.

The typically mild weather and huge crowds make a perfect backdrop for  RV shows, rock and mineral shows, and flea markets. This picture shows one aisle of 26 at this "marketplace," one of 6 running daily for weeks.

A New Year

The Las Vegas holiday goes on for Jan and Dave. December 30 - New Year's Eve Eve - marks our 48th wedding anniversary.

Is there any question why this beauty is still my wife, after all these years? What a wonderful first mate and an equal in all things. We make a great team. I love you, Baby!

To celebrate, we went to the best steakhouse in Vegas, according to the locals, Hugo's Cellar. It is in the Four Queens Hotel on Fremont Street in downtown Vegas.

The Chateaubriand and lobster tails for two was the highlight of a great five-course feast in a cozy and elegant restaurant. Wow. Thanks to Bill Boro for the heads-up on this one. Even the "doggie" bag is special.

This is where they have "the Fremont Experience," a huge, dazzling 500-foot overhead light display. It capped off a terrific evening for us. We even broke even on the slots - WOO-HOO.