Indio, California: There was no running. No biking. No swimming. No nothing from this RV today. There was barely any breathing. A wind storm blew through SoCal today - and is expected to hang-around for several more days. (Insert sad-face here.) Trees are uprooted from Hollywood to Thermal. Cars overturned on the interstate. Roads closed. Power lines down. The air quality is of no quality you would ever want to breathe.
Too much time indoors - with the wind rocking our RV like a cradle in a hurricane - makes me a bit meshuga.
The wind was so strong, we had to retract all awnings and put our satellite dishes down. No TV or internet all day. We were basically living back in the caveman days.
Wind and blowing sand/dust makes your eyes itch, makes you cough and wish you hadn't dusted a thing yesterday. You can feel the sandy grit in your teeth. Miserable.
One bright note on the day - I checked-in on our tomato crop. We have three plants and all three have an amazing number of fruit set and growing at an amazing pace. Each plant has over a dozen lovely Roma tomatoes! Will we remain in the desert long enough to enjoy a ripe tomato? Who knows?No matter the weather, with the amazing drop-down screen walls encasing our casita, wind is no obstacle to enjoying an evening out of doors. Screens, however, allow dust to get inside the pavilion... so DT and I went outside at 5p and began to clean and clean and clean and dust and dust and dust and vacuum and vacuum and vacuum and wipe down every square inch of our casita. Jim and Mary were coming over to watch the April Madness Final Game!
We served healthy appetizers.
I made my Rose Bowl Chili.... except I used chicken stock instead of beef stock, ground chicken instead of beef and pinto beans instead of black eyed peas. Same intense, deep flavors - just a little lighter.We had no allegiance to either team. No emotional ties to Michigan. No love of Louisville. No anything for Rick Pitino. We played the Kevin Ware Drinking Game all night. In the end, as four Duck fans, we can proudly say the Ducks lost to the NCAA Championship team. Congratulations to Louisville. Can the Louisville women (with two Oregonians on the team) win the national title? Wouldn't that just be something?
We asked Captain Jim and Mary to bring dessert, so they visited Juliette's Bakery in La Quinta and brought a little bit of everything. Jim and Mary don't mess around - they went for the three point shot and we all enjoyed nothing but net. Swish!Though no sporting genius, I am happy to report I finished third (out of 8) in our family NCAA hoops bracket - topping DT and Lenny. Woot. I'll have another 11 months to brag about this accomplishment. (I picked Florida to win the tourney over Louisville, and had the Ducks losing their first game. Wichita State was my Waterloo.) Congrats to My Brother Steve for taking the Grand Prize (except there is no prize) in 2013!
Until my next update, I remain, your "is it track & field season now?" correspondent.
RV PARK: Motorcoach Country Club - The Crown Jewel of Motorcoach Resorts. 400 sites, three pools, three spas, fitness center, golf, bocce ball, tennis, 2-mile waterway, fine-dining restaurant, bar, security, planned activities, perfectly maintained. Sites for sale or rent.