Week 2 Bakersfield? Really?

On Monday we moved back inland and stayed in Bakersfield. It gave us a chance to get a few things purchased and done. We needed to get a prescription filled at Walgreens which wasn't as easy as it sounds. But we got 'er dun. The park we stayed in was built in an orange orchard. They had cut trees down to make room for camping but left hundreds of orange trees. Come to find out January is prime harvest time for the oranges. They need a cold shot to get the sugar out of the tree and into the fruit. WOW, were they sweet. Sweet, free and right out your window. Pretty cool. The campground even had "picking poles" you could use to get higher up on the trees. We went to Target and bought an orange squeezer and Holly made us some juice. Talk about fresh. We took a bag of them with us when we left so we can enjoy them for a while.

Another reason we wanted to stay here was to wash "The Road Runner" and the car.  They have an actual car & RV wash spot.  First I had to spray the cement to remove the ice that was still there so I wouldn't fall and break my hip :-)  Kirt washed and Holly sprayed.  But WOW...  what a mistake that was.  We thought we were removing the rainy highway grime but we ended up putting permanent water marks all over the car and RoadRunner.  It had to have been their water.  We wiped and wiped and still have water spots here and there. 

 

We ended up staying 3 nights in Bakersfield to get some "stuff" done and then we pushed off for the sun and warmth of the south. 

Along "The Grapevine" on I-5 between Bakersfield and LA.  I think it is the
San Fernando Forest. 

I apologize for not remembering the name of this lake on the Grapevine highway.

We found the warmth!!! As we entered the Coachella Valley and got closer to Palm Springs, it got to be 72 degrees. We made it.

And you think Oregon has wind turbines!!!!

They are in straight rows - thousands of them.

We once again joined up with Rose and Dick in Palm Desert. We are "camping" in a park in Palm Desert for 4 nights. Decided to stay for Sunday's NFL action. We also have been having more problems with the charging of the car battery while towing. After towing the car for several hours, we had a dead car battery. We had a guy come over yesterday but he couldn't figure it out. We went to town and had the battery tested and it is good. Today, another guy is coming to take a look so we're hoping to find the problem and fix it. The real downside is the car brakes don't work when the battery dies!! Being an old brake dude that causes me serious grief.

Today's fix-it dude says the terminal on the connecting cable between the car and RV wasn't making a good connection. He didn't test it before he fixed it so it's hard to really say if that was it but everything checks out and it's working properly so let's hope that's the end to that chapter.

We joined Dick and Rose for a trip to the College of the Desert where they have a Saturday Market  every weekend. It's right down Frank Sinatra Drive.

Following Dick's truck to the Saturday Mkt.  Lovely mtns.

 Huge setup of vendors selling their wares. There was some good local art etc but a lot of it was just made in China stuff that people brought out to sell. Kinda like Walmart on wheels. Great outing in the 75 degree sun with friends. What more can you ask for?  (Holly enjoyed the music, too.)

Very unique art.

This vendor scolded me for taking pictures of her art.  I told her I was taking
pictures of my friends - not her art!

Dick and Rose joined us for happy hour at our house. We sat outside and visited until the sun went down and it got cold. Gotta remember we're in the desert and it "IS" January.

Sunday was another 75 degree beauty. It was hard to go inside to check on the NFL playoff games but I just had to. I don't like the lineup for the Super Bowl but then again nobody asked me. It will be a good game and the brothers story will keep the fans excited while they wait for Beyonce.