Apache Junction, AZ - Jan. 13 - 23, 2008

On January 13th we left Tucson and headed north to Sierra del Saguaro Mobile Home & RV Resort east of Phoenix.  Sierra del Saguaro is primarily a snowbird mobile home park, with several RV spaces toward the rear of the property.  The folks were friendly and the treeless sites quite large.  The park has beautiful views of the Superstition Mountains and we resolved that when next in the area we would explore these beautiful mountains - but, alas, not this trip.

Our primary objectives while in Apache Junction were to 1) meet with satellite customers and friends, Henry and Mary, 2) repair a suddenly erratic heating system, and 3) take Susan to the airport so she could join the "Usual Suspects" for their annual excursion to Bodega Bay, California.

Henry and Mary arrived at the park just as we finished setting up.  Bill has enjoyed frequent communications with Henry via phone and e-mail but they had never actually met.  In no time at all we were all comfortably chatting away about the RV lifestyle and traveling.  Henry and Mary frequently visit China for business so much of our discussion revolved around their experiences and our up-coming trip to the People's Republic.  

The following days were filled with visiting and sharing dinners, doing chores, errands, getting our heater fixed and trying to resolve Henry's satellite issues.  On the 16th Bill sent Susan off to Sacramento to visit friends while he stayed behind with Mary and Henry to continue troubleshooting their satellite issue and installing an electrical management system in our home.

Sacramento & Bodega Bay, CA - January 16 - 22, 2008

Claire picked me up at the Sacramento Airport and after a wonderful dinner with Claire, Natalie and Roelina I left to spend a couple of nights at Roelina's before we joined the 'Usual Suspects' for another Bodega Bay adventure. 

The 'Usual Suspects' is comprised of six long-time friends that have been gathering for an annual adventure for 12+ years.  After our inaugural camping trip (few survived), a couple of trips to Lake Tahoe (bears in the woods), a spa in Calistoga (the naked adventure), we settled on Bodega Bay as the best location for a weekend of revelry.  Due to being on the east coast, I missed the last two excursions so I was really looking forward to this adventure.

We rented a five-bedroom/three-bath house overlooking the beautiful Pacific and Bodega Harbor.  Mother Nature graced us to fabulous spring-like weather in January.  California's coast was especially beautiful, the weather warm, the air fragrant and the surf gentle.  But most importantly, total immersion in our friendship revitalized our hearts and souls.

Too soon our extended weekend was over and we headed back to Sacramento.  I was able to spend a couple of more days with Claire and visited a few more friends before flying back to Phoenix and Bill.

Salton Sea, CA - January 23 - 25, 2008

On January 23 we headed west toward Salton Sea, California to meet a satellite client from Los Angeles.  We stayed at Oasis Palm RV in Thermal, about two miles west of Salton Sea's shoreline.  While the RV park wasn't as elegant as those further north in the Coachella Valley, it did offer an abundance of lemon, grapefruit and orange trees - free for the pickin'.  So while Bill was training Jay on the fine points of Internet satellite pointing and reception, Susan was merrily picking every piece of fruit she could reach.  By the time we left our freezer was filled with Ziploc bags of fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

We were told that this area had recently received considerable rainfall after having no measurable rain for a couple of years.  During our stay the citrus trees were quite lush, the date palm orchards appeared healthy, the skies were clear and the mountains snowcapped.  It made for a very pretty picture.

During our stay at Palm Oasis we received a visit from one of Bill's mother's closest friends.  Linda lives in Thermal, a short distance from our temporary home, and stopped by to spend a couple of hours with us.  We were very happy to meet her and put a face and personality with the very familiar name.

Due to some rather nasty weather and high wind warnings we extended our stay an additional day.  But on January 26th we bit the bullet and started our harrowing trek over the mountains towards Santee Lakes in San Diego County.  It's a good thing that Bill had a good grip on the steering wheel, but more on that later….