Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Leaving Paradise

     I'm including two days in today's blog.
     I moved the coach today from MCC to Indian Wells Sun RV Resort. It's just around the corner (and a world away) from MCC but the preparation and move kinda got me behind in my blogging.
     But I get ahead of myself...

     Suzanne had to fly to NYC late last night on business and will be returning on Friday. This was an unanticipated trip and she hadn't packed a winter jacket, nor did we bring any luggage with us. She would need both for the trip back east. Finding a winter coat in the desert southwest can be a bit of a challenge but after a few minutes of online searching, Suzanne located a Burlington Coat Factory Store in nearby Palm Springs.
     As it turned out, this particular store is going out of business and they had a big sale going on. Inventory had been kind of depleted and the pickings were a little slim. After unsuccessfully rummaging  through the women's coats we spotted a much larger selection of men's winter coats, three or four racks worth, at the other end of the store. I pulled a long, hooded down coat off the rack that looked stylish enough and appropriate for single digit temps... It was a perfect fit.
     Did you know that Burlington Coat Factory sells things other than coats?
     Come to find out, they sell luggage... and Suzanne found a carry on piece that fit the bill perfectly. I also bought a new wallet, a car charger for my phone and a suction cup phone mount to stick on the dash of the coach. Prices were greatly reduced with an additional 20% off at the register and the total cost of our items was something in the neighborhood of $120. Not too shabby.
     By now it was lunch time and we were both hungry. One of our favorite Mexican restaurants in the area is Las Casuelas in La Quinta - conveniently located on Hwy 111 between Burlington Coat Factory and Motorcoach Country Club. Suzanne had a chicken burrito and I had chicken fajitas. Neither of us was able to finish even half our entree so I have plenty of leftovers to get me through the next couple of days. Actually, I ate the rest of her burrito for lunch today. I'll polish off the fajitas tomorrow.
     Suzanne spent the afternoon packing and getting ready for her flight while I puttered around and took Travis to the dog park. Chasing and retrieving tennis balls has become his most favorite thing in the world! He's gotten very good at it. Sometimes he jumps in the air and catches them on the bounce. This dog has more energy and is more athletic than any dog I've ever had. We have a lot of fun.
 
                                                  One of the colorful fountains at MCC

     Suzanne wanted to see her mom before leaving for the airport so we took Joanne out to dinner. I was still feeling pretty full of fajitas and only had a glass of water. Suzanne wasn't very hungry either and had a small Caesar Salad.
     I dropped Suzanne off at Palm Springs International Airport at 9:15pm for her 10:50pm non-stop Jet Blue flight to JFK. Travis came along for the ride.

     Indian Wells' check-in time is 2:00pm. Check-out time at MCC is 11:00am. When I made the reservation at IW I explained the situation and the woman , unlike the grumpy woman in San Antonio, told me there would be someone in my assigned site but that as soon as they vacated I could move in.
     I was ready to roll at 10:30am. I drove the car, with the bikes on the rack, to the parking lot at the MCC office, took my bike off the rack and rode it back to the coach. I put my bike inside the coach, sat down and called IW to see what the status of my site was. It was empty and she said, "Come on over!". Both Indian Wells and the RV park in San Antonio are Sun Resorts. How can one be so accommodating and the other such a pain in the ass?

     I drove the coach out through the front gate to where I had left the car, hooked up to the car and drove the 1/2 mile to IW. Check-in went smoothly. I parked in my site, took Travis for a walk, ate the rest of Suz's chicken burrito and took a little siesta. I went to the fitness center around 5pm (not nearly as nice a MCC's, but adequate) and got a good thirty-five minute cardio workout - then returned to the coach for a shower and a bite to eat.
     IW is a little rough around the edges. Well, I mean anything would look a little rough around the edges compared to Motorcoach Country Club. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I believe MCC to be the premier RV resort in the entire country. It's truly an amazing place. Indian Wells is well worn and a little thread bare... but I like it. The employees and residents are very friendly, it's clean and well maintained, there are three nice swimming pools and as I mentioned earlier, the fitness center is just fine. Oh, and it's WAY less expensive than MCC. MCC is a fun place to indulge ourselves for a week every year or two but now it's time to return to reality.
     So I'll entertain myself (and Travis) for the next few days and when Suzanne returns we'll disconnect from shore power and head for northern California for a few days.
     The adventure continues...

Thanks for reading the blog.
 

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