Where are we?
February 2006
Subj: 166.Where are
we?
Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Well, it's kind of difficult to describe exactly where we are
since we really don't know too much about it. But, it is referred to as
the Apricot Capitol of the World. However, looking on the web we
learned that this place has a population of 16,148 and it is a rural,
small town surrounded by agricultural land. With an agricultural base,
orchards of apricots, almonds, and walnuts, as well as row crops of dry
bean, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, peas, and melons play an important
role in the local history.
We are staying in a brand new RV park which is very nice. As
has been the case in most recent history, they do have a free Wi-Fi
service. Since the RV park, called Kit Fox RV Park, is brand new (they
opened in October 2005) we were just lucky to find it. It's much nicer
than the RV parks that we usually stay at on I-5. The site we are in is
long enough for our 39 foot motorhome and our little Toyota Pickup
truck. We didn't even have to unhook the pickup.
Today we drove through all sorts of weather: lots of rain, a
little bit of snow, some cross winds (which we barely noticed with the
motorhome), and some decent weather (but very little sunshine). We've
also started a "punch list" of things that need attention on our new
motorhome. The punch list is normal and really there is nothing major.
We also discovered that driving this monster is a real pleasure. Larry
drove over 300 miles today (from about 11:00 AM to about 6:00 PM) with
plenty of stops for exercise, lunch, potty breaks, etc. He thought the
01 Winnebago Adventurer on the Workhorse Chassis was a joy but the
Freightliner Chassis with the 350 HP Cat Diesel is much better. It's
amazing, our first motorhome was on an old Dodge Chassis, the second
was on a Chevrolet P-30 Chassis which was a great improvement over the
Dodge. Our third Motorhome was on a Workhorse Chassis and was a really
great improvement over the old P-30. Now the Freightliner Chassis with
the 350HP Cat Diesel is a great improvement over the Workhorse. The
only problem with the current chassis is getting used to the longer
wheel base.
Now, where are we? We are in Patterson California at the Kit
Fox RV Park. We were headed for Santa Nella but when we saw this we
decided we were ready to stop for the night. As we said, it's new, it
wasn't in any of our campground directories, but it appears to be a
very nice stop over on Interstate 5 between Bakersfield and Sacramento.
The Brauers
Still Havin' Fun
As Always
Subj: 167. Where are we?
Date: Friday, February 3, 2006
Well, here we are back where we started our full time RV life style 4
1/2 years ago. It's a relatively small community in the Mojave Desert
of California. We always say the closest landmarks are Mount Whitney
(the highest point in the Continental US) and Death Valley (the lowest
point in the US). This community really exists because of the US Navy.
Why is the US Navy in the desert rather than on the ocean? Well, they
Navy has three major concerns, underwater, on water, and in the air.
This area is concerned with the air part of the Navy. Specifically, the
major employer in the area is the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons
Division, China Lake, California. This is where the Navy develops Air
Delivered Weapons and where Larry worked as an engineer for over 30
years.
Now that we are here, and Adrienne has been able to see her Dentist, we
are busy reorganizing our new motorhome. We are finding things that we
no longer need, that were useful with our 01 Winnebago Adventurer but
are not needed with our 06 Winnebago Journey. We are also occupied with
some children and grandchildren.
We'll only be here for a few days before we leave to go to LA to visit
more kids and grandkids. Meanwhile, it's fun to visit family and
friends. This place is so small that all you have to do is go to
Wal-Mart or Alberston's and you will see people that you have known for
years.
Where are we? We are actually in Inyokern California which is only 10
miles from both Ridgecrest and China Lake.
The Brauers
Havin' Fun
Where ever they are!!
Subj: 168. Where are we?
Date: Friday, February 24, 2006
We haven't put together one of these emails for a couple of weeks.
We'll tell you more about what we were doing but first, we have to
describe where we are now located. We are in a city in Southern
California. The city is known for several things. One of the many
features of this city is a large Park. The park is certainly a green
belt. It has a number of museums, a large pipe organ, and a well known
zoo. The city is also known for its good weather, nice bays (more than
one), and a number of other attractions.
Now, our last email was sent from Inyokern about three weeks ago. Yes,
we did spend time in Inyokern but not three weeks. We left Inyokern on
the weekends. First, we went to Los Angeles to see two of Adrienne's
sons, a grand daughter, and grandson, and two more soon to be
grandsons. The first weekend we also attended an LA Kings hockey game.
Maybe it was just luck or maybe we brought luck to the Kings, but
anyway the Kings won the game in overtime. Apparently the win ended a
losing streak.
The next weekend, we went to LA again. This time we took three
grandkids from Ridgecrest to visit their cousins in LA. Both Saturday
night and Sunday night we had five kids sleeping in the Motorhome.
Their ages were, 5, 9, 9, 11, and 13. There were two boys (the 5 year
old and one of the 9 year olds), and three girls. That means we had a
total of seven people sleeping in the motorhome. We are convinced that
this motorhome (like the others we have owned) are really made for two
people and two people only. However, we did have a good time and all
the kids enjoyed their weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Brauer, Aunts,
Uncles and Cousins.
We also took the kids and their parents to an amusement park in LA,
well actually Buena Park. Adventure City is geared for the younger set
probably up to about 10 or 12 years old. But everyone did have fun. A
big plus was that it cost a fraction of what Disneyland or Knotts Berry
Farm would have cost.
Now we have set out to visit Larry's younger daughter, Denise, and her
husband, Aaron.
Where are we? We are in the beautiful city by the bay called San Diego.
The Brauers
Havin' Fun
visiting kids and grandkids.
Subj: 169. Where are we?
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2006
I'm not sure when we will be able to send this email so we may be
somewhere else when this is actually sent. However, on Monday February
27 we left San Diego and headed west. We are now in a relatively small
city but still a major city. The population of this city probably
doubles or triples during the winter. Why? It's because of the RVers
who come from all sorts of places to enjoy the warm winters. There are
a surprising number of Canadians who come here to spend the winter
swimming, playing golf, and just enjoying the warm weather. Of course
there is another reason for the influx of people and that is how close
we are to Mexico. Why Mexico? Well, everyone knows that older people
end up having to use prescription drugs and those drugs are expensive
in the USA, especially if you don't have insurance. Well, Mexico is
known for low cost prescription drugs. So people come here to stock up
on their prescriptions and save money. In fact there is a small Mexican
town about 30 minutes from here that was created just for the American
senior citizen tourist trade. It's actually a very nice, but non
typical Mexican border town. It's clean, the residents know where their
business comes from and they are very helpful.
We had a great time in San Diego. We spent Friday evening, Saturday and
Sunday with Denise and Aaron. On Saturday we went to the San Diego
Mission (the first California Mission) and wandered around the place
for several hours. We had a very interesting discussion with one of the
archeologists who was excavating some of the ruins. After the mission,
we went to the Mission Trails Park. This is a large park that was
established as a nature preserve. It is also the location where a dam
was built in the early 1800s across the San Diego River and a six mile
long water flume was built to carry water from the dam to the mission.
Sunday we went to the Mission Bay Golf Course with Denise and Aaron. No
we didn't play golf but the four of use went through several large
buckets of golf balls on the driving range. Denise and Aaron hit enough
good shots that we think they may be hooked on golf, or at least going
to the driving range. I know Denise had hit some golf balls before this
but I think this was the first time Aaron used a golf club.
Where are we now? We are in Yuma Arizona. The Mexican town we mentioned
is Algodones, it doesn't appear on many maps but it is a fun place to
visit.
The Brauers
Havin' Fun
In the warm desert