Borrego Springs, California: Apparently wine and Irish Nachos are not a good combination... or how I bought a $12,000,000 mansion for $205,000 and invented the home dry-cleaning machine...
It looked something like this, except grander...Last night, I dreamt I bought a house. A really huge Italianate Mansion. Three stories. On a lake. I paid $205,000, and I bought it without even consulting DT. The place was a palace. Gleaming wooden beams. Marble everywhere. 20 foot ceilings. There were bedrooms, dens, sitting rooms, dining rooms, decks and a pathway down to a small lake behind the house. The lake was lined with equally-lovely mansions. Behind our new dream house was a little beach and beyond was a stone staircase with a waterfall cascading down the steps - perfect for Little Leo to enjoy on his visits to our new house - in SALEM, OREGON!
Why on earth would I buy a house in Salem? When I phoned Dave (in my dream!) and told him I had bought a house in Salem - with easy freeway access - he was overjoyed! He said it would be a great place to break-up the drive from Portland to Eugene (that we constantly make to attend Duck sporting events). Yes - ideal! Turn a two-hour drive into a two-day drive and spend the night at our new place in Salem! We are SO CLEVER!
After I told him about the house, I realized I had spent $205,000 on a house and neglected to even see if it had gas in the kitchen. I realized I hadn't even SEEN the kitchen! I went back to our new house and it was filled with people. An Open House had been scheduled by the realtor and it was too late to cancel. Even Lisa was there. She really liked the house, but was busy hanging out with her friends from high school... so I think Lisa was back to being 16 years old in my dream. But she was married and had a baby? Who knows? It was a dream.
More like a fantasy really, because this house would sell for about 12 million dollars. I am such a good shopper!
When I did inspect the kitchen I found, to my great relief, a lovely huge gas stove and double ovens - facing out to the lake, with a miniature bar fridge and a teeny little dishwasher. I thought this odd - such a small kitchen for a castle, but soon realized this was just the OUTDOOR kitchen! Whew. Inside I found another huge gas range with several ovens. Then I found a massive Subzero fridge-only... next to another Subzero fridge-only... next to a massive Subzero freezer-only... next to another Subzero freezer-only. One entire wall in the kitchen looked like an aisle in an appliance mega-store. I also found a glass-doored fridge-sized box with a mannequin inside. What was this? The realtor explained it was a dry-cleaning machine. You just put whatever item you need cleaned on the mannequin, close the door and push a button.
Now, this I could really use. Is there such a thing or am I a sleeping genius who has invented a home dry-cleaning machine and will soon be building a $12 million dollar mansion from the profits of my invention?
Or was it just the Irish Nachos talking?
Sadly, I awoke from my dream. No mansion in Salem. No dry-cleaning machine.
DT ran around the trails on the far side of the golf course in this resort. I walked down to the citrus stand on the corner (2.5 miles down the road) and ran back. Not to worry, my 10,000 steps were well-covered before 9a.
We could not secure a tee time today, due to a "Wacky Wednesday" tourney, so relaxed this morning and spent some time this afternoon at the Borrego Arts Institute, a gallery selling works from local artists. I also donated a few books we had finished to the Borrego Library. If you have books hanging out in your RV, donate them to the library!Then we took a drive through the desert, ending-up at the citrus stand I walked to this morning.
The fruit can be purchased by the piece, or by an 8 pound bag. An eight pound bag of Valencia juice oranges, tangelos or grapefruit - $3. I bought a bag of Valencia's to juice for Lenny. Lenny just loves OJ.Until my next update, I remain, your Borrego correspondent.
RV PARK: The Springs at Borrego RV Resort & Golf Course. One of our very favorite RV parks on the west coast. Sites are large and each has a nice cement patio and picnic table. Cement 50 amp pull-throughs with full service. There are also different varieties of citrus trees all over, so you will never be lacking for a cocktail garnish in the winter. Wifi. Fabulous warm pool and many hot tubs - all from their own hot springs! Fitness center, library, community rooms. Regulation 9-hole golf course. Recycling. Huge fenced dog park! We are paying $82 per night for a "premium" site, nightly rate.