Really enjoyed the last week! Our son Bill visited us for a week and was great fun to catch up face-to-face. He's been on the road for the last six years as a long-haul truck driver, so hasn't had a lot of opportunity to visit us in San Diego. Rode his Harley here from Phoenix and is on his way back today.

The timing worked to attend his San Pasqual 1983 Class Reunion, and he had a great time reconnecting with people from his class (course he loved seeing the gals the most!).

He decided it was time to give up being on the road and to return to his woodworking business in Phoenix. We can sure understand how that can get old, but was a great learning experience for him and satisfied his wanderlust for awhile. We certainly wish him well with this next venture.

Spent a few days in Silent Valley, our RV campground near Idyllwild. Met a nice couple from Pasadena who were just winding down a month's stay there. I thought we might do that when I retired, but so far haven't stayed that long.

Bob, actually, is still at Silent Valley for a few more days, but I came home yesterday. It was getting VERY windy with one of our Santa Ana's, and was expected to worsen over the next few days. I was not excited about the prospect of driving down the hill and home in the wind, and was a little nervous (who me, nervous?) about the fire danger in the area. So he's up there loving Ham Radio and football, and I'm home puttering around the house. Speaking of fire danger, here's a couple shots of the entrance to Silent Valley after the fire that occurred in August. Fortunately it only touched the edges of the campground and didn't do significant damage to the campground itself (although I'm told one SV storage building across the street burned to the ground . . .) They evacuated for the first time ever for fire; it usually serves as a "Shelter in Place Safe Haven", but that last fire was apparently very unpredictable. Scary!



On a much more positive note, in the dozen or so years we've been members at Silent Valley we've never seen deer like we did this time. A couple of them, and they came right up to the RV! Very sweet. We were inside the RV with Bentley, so I'm rather glad he didn't see them and frighten them away.



It's been awhile since I've updated this blog, so let's see what's new . . . Oh, yeah, we've started to attend a Ukulele Meet Up group and have enjoyed it. Bob got a uke a couple of years ago and it's incentive for him to get into it. I'm actually thinking about getting one for myself, but for now I just attend and sing along. Here's a pic from one of the sessions. Nice group of people!

Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Still enjoying my volunteer work at the library and keeps me busy. Oh, and I also joined the Bernardo Gardener's Club and volunteered as Secretary for the group. It's a nice way to meet some new people and they have some fun and interesting meetings and events.

Life is Good for us. Hope yours is too!

We spent most of the month of June in the RV. Travelled up 395 highway through the Eastern Sierras stopping at Lone Pine (location of Mt. Whitney and the Owens Valley where many old westerns were filmed), passed Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite, and stopped for another few days in Minden, NV. We love that little town; small in size, but charming with an active population. Has an old time town square with a gazebo, like many of the small Midwestern towns I grew up seeing.

Then on to South Lake Tahoe, where we met up with our good friends from Prescott, AZ, Rick and Debbie and their two dogs, Shadow and Carrara. Our Bentley loves their dogs, so he was happy to see them also! We spent two weeks at Tahoe and had a good time. Unfortunately was an unsettling several days for our friends, as that major fire had started burning in Prescott after they had left. But the good news is that their house was safe, and their neighbor was keeping them posted throughout the ordeal.

Bob and I attend a Ukulele group meeting twice while we were there. Real nice people, very friendly. The second meeting they brought some extra uke's so Bob sat in with them.

Another good RV trip!

We celebrated our 38th Wedding Anniversary on January 3rd. Had a wonderful dinner at Carver's in Rancho Bernardo. It's one of our favorite places, especially for special occasions. That restaurant always feels so cozy and warm. We had a great table with both of us able to view the fire in the fireplace, and a very attentive waiter. Bob had spareribs and I had a luscious plate of crab legs. Also tried a new Pinot Noir (Irony) and liked it very much. Was a delightful evening for both of us. Wow, 38 Years . . .

Christmas was spent with Carol, George, Michael and Ariana in Palm Desert. I can't believe I failed to take one picture of any of them over the holidays! However, we did have a wonderful time. Bob and I spent a week in the RV staying in Palm Springs, and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Carol and George's house. Was cold by Palm Springs standards, but I didn't mind it as it felt a lot more like Christmas bundled in a coat and scarf! Carol cooked up some wonderful dinners and it was really nice to be together.

Michael and Ariana are expecting a baby girl in January and Ariana is READY for baby to come. She is a tiny gal and baby has added almost a third to her weight. Sleeping comfortably seems out of the question. They are both working on music scores for two different films and it's exciting to see them moving forward with their music. Was a good visit.

I did take a photo of the Marilyn Monroe statue erected in downtown Palm Springs. It is VERY TALL and seems to fit right in near all the Sidewalk Stars of famous desert entertainers. Bob and Bentley were dwarfed by her size.

Was a fun and relaxing way to wind up the year.