Camping with the Grandchildren

Borrego Springs, California: Dave and I drove to Los Angeles Monday afternoon to bring Leo and Lucile back with us. We will be entertaining the kids for ten days or so during their two-week Spring Break. After a fun night with Lisa and Lenny, we drove back to La Quinta Tuesday (Lisa and Lenny are working), had lunch at Tacos Gonzalez, took Leo to our golf club shop for appropriate golf apparel, hit some balls on the driving range, swam in the pool and enjoyed dinner outside on the verandah. It was 85 degrees in La Quinta Tuesday.

Wednesday was more of the same and we also took the kids to the place we store our RV and brought the Petit Peregrinus back to our house overnight. Leo and Lucile are so excited about our new little RV and were basically jumping up and down as they neatly placed their belongings up in the overhead cab. Marcia and Red arrived for cocktails, and for a tour of our new teeny camper... then we all went up to the clubhouse for a farewell dinner - our friends are returning to Illinois this weekend.

For the past few days, I have also been baking and placing things in the freezer in prep for the camping trip. Then, I snap a photo and send it off to Leo. He gets so excited about baked goods, it is ridiculous. His favorite is buttermilk bread or rolls (same recipe, different shape). This week he also gets Challah and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. I firmly believe it is my responsibility to bake for my grandchildren, just as my grandmothers baked for me, and just as my mother did for her grandchildren. They also taught me how to bake. (I'm working on this one.)

So our adventure began Thursday late morning. Dave and Leo drove the PP to The Springs at Borrego RV Resort (the same place we camped last week for our shake-down trip). Lucile and I followed in the Chevy (loaded down with bicycles and golf clubs) and we checked-into a campsite two sites away from the site we rented last week. It is a back-in site, paved, with a picnic table. After "setting-up camp" (putting the jacks down and the slide room out), the kids headed out to explore on their bicycles, then Dave and Leo went to the driving range while Lucile and I went to the pool and hot tubs. Later, the kids participated in an axe throwing contest held by the resort!

Sounds frightening, but the axes are plastic and the target is some sort of plastic porcupine-quill situation and it was just a blast to play - no matter the usual afternoon wind came up, not helping with target accuracy. The kids didn't want to stop, but the staff were disassembling the targets, so we had to go. Lucy won! Dinner was (of course) a lasagna. I totally cheated and froze 3/4 of the marinara made for our first-night lasagna last week to use this week. Further cheating? Instead of making a bechamel, I thinned ricotta with a little cream, added freshly grated nutmeg and drizzled it over several layers in the casserole. No one knew (until I just posted it on this blog), and I will use the technique again. Very RV-friendly and delicious. We were going to have a Yahtzee! tournament Thursday evening, but our Yahtzee! scorepad turned out to be a Chickenfoot domino score pad, so we played Chickenfoot instead. Oops.

Today's excitement began with hot cocoa from Angelina in Paris. I just used Door Dash and it was here in 20 minutes. Ha, ha, just kidding. I ordered Angelina's powdered mix online last week.

And just so you know... we are camping... the whipped cream came out of that red squirt can.

The Borrego Springs Farmers Market is now on Fridays. Lucile and I drove to Christmas Circle for the market; Leo and Bubba rode their bikes. It seemed a bit smaller than I previously remembered, but we did find beautiful strawberries and the kids bought beef jerky (made in Oregon). Lucy and I drove back to our campsite, but the boys took a detour through the desert to see a few of the amazing statues in Borrego Springs:

More bicycle riding, then sandwiches at the RV before we headed out for our 12:30p tee time at the RV resort course for nine holes. It was a very fun time for the grandparents, and a great test of patience. The kids are really beginning to enjoy the game and we want to encourage them. Golf is a good skill to have! Lucile whacked her new blue golf ball straight, 30 yards at a time, yet still managed to get to the green and putt with us all. She is really getting her drive out on the fairway though! Leo can really hit his driver as well, and can get to the green in fewer strokes than his sister, but still more than his Bubbe which irritates him to no end. Leo really wants to beat me in golf. (Some goal!)

After golfing, there was more bicycling, including in the basketball court where there is a ramp-thing the kids really enjoyed but I am not sure is supposed to happen on a bicycle. Our appetizer tonight was guacamole (made by me this morning) with chips. Dinner was beef stew (made by me this morning and placed in the slow cooker). Easy and tasty after our golf game.

Our grandchildren did a great job singing the prayers this evening in Hebrew! Shabbat Shalom from our motorhome!

Until my next update, I remain, your grandmotherly correspondent.

Campground Information: The Springs at Borrego RV Resort. This is a fabulous well-maintained campground. It has a regulation 9-hole golf course and a swimming pool/spas filled with natural hot spring water. Game room, spa facilities, tennis/pickleball courts, organized events. We have a paved premium (I think this means we have a picnic table) back-in site with full hook-ups with 30/50 amp service. We are paying $112 per night + tax.

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