Actually, Trish took this first one of a very tired Graydin. Those iPhones really take nice photos. He didn't have the energy to walk up the stairs for a nap:
Is this cute, or what???
Trish's selfie of all of us around the table after Easter Dinner - Grammy is looking a little tired, LOL
Granddaughter Kennedy at soccer practice. She was just accepted on a competitive traveling team. I love these photos of her. She's competitive, smart, sweet, and beautiful - an all around a great kid. She just turned 12 in January, and is doing so well for a girl her age. Kennedy is the one with the Origami Owl jewelry business. It's still going strong. Middle School next year! :)
Tom bar-b-qued a wonderful beef loin for us one night. Here is everyone around the table:
You can see how well the boys get along in these two pictures.
I won't post the funny photos here, Tom. You're welcome. ;)
When we left San Diego, we spent the first night at Viejas Casino in Alpine, then drove on to Hot Springs LTVA near Holtville, CA the next day. We are allowed three nights per calendar month at Viejas Casino. I took one night coming back to Hot Springs, will stay again on my way back to San Diego for my doctor appointment, and then the third night heading east on my way to New Mexico. Worked out well!
The Scary Part
I had a great spot, of course, when I first got here to Hot Springs. I was right up front on a paved pad near the vacant camp host's spot. This is at sunset:
Look how empty it is:
Most of these areas were full of RV's; some had already left when I arrived on 3/9, and more left around the time I started toward San Diego on March 24th. I thought some non-Canadians would still be here, but only two remain. These shots don't show all the bushes. There aren't many trees, but there are a lot of bushes, some short, some tall, some very full, and lots of greenery.
Here we are to the right of the entrance:
Here we are to the right of the entrance:
I had my pick of the sites. Nice! It was quiet, the weather is great, I was a happy camper. I could see one Class A parked down the main road a bit, but that's all I could see. Another car drove in and out a few times, so I guessed there was another person here, too.
Then after a day or so, in this empty campground, a red car, driven by a single man, parked two sites behind me. I took these photos out the kitchen window. He opened his driver's door and trunk and just stood there, looking around, playing with his long dark hair.
He sat in his car with the door open for a while, then stood outside again for a long time. I was pretty nervous, and closed everything up, just open enough to peek outside through the bottom of my lace hemmed curtains. As it got dark and with him still there, I brought everything outside into The Palms for a quick get-away, if needed. I knew there was was at least one RV down the road from me. I could see it, but it wasn't that close.
In the morning, the red car was gone. As my neighbor, Sonny said, sometimes men feel better parking near another camper, too, not just women, and maybe that's all that was going on. He might have been more comfortable being near someone. But I didn't want to take any chances.
Then yesterday I decided to walk down the road a bit to see who else is here. I found the man in the Class A outside his rig and stopped to talk to him. He said it was only him, Sonny, another man, Roy over in another area, and me.
I told him about the red car making me nervous, and he kept looking past me, then said, are you expecting company? I said no, and he said there's someone walking around your rig. I turned around and saw a black car parked next to The Palms.
I didn't recognize the car. I started running down the road, pushing the stroller. I stopped at one point and took photos of a nice looking black man and his car - a nice looking black BMW. He walked up to my door and looked like he was knocking or trying the handle. I stopped again, and screamed at him - over and over - "Get AWAY from my rig!" until he walked away from the door and toward me. Then I started running again toward The Palms.
He started walking toward me, smiling. When I had almost reached him, I said, in a serious loud voice, "What's going on?" He smiled and kept walking toward me and said Hi. Very friendly. I said, "What do you want?" very low voice, fast and serious. Then he tells me he just came from Blythe and left his wallet there and needs money for gas. I said, "I have nothing to give you. Get your car away from my rig, and out of my campsite. Right now." He said, "Okay - no problem." Something like that. I said, "Don't EVER park that close to someone's motor home. That's a really bad idea, and really rude. Get it out of my site, now!" He turned around, walked back.
He got into his car and left. Whew. What a nerve! I got a good photo of the license plate on the back, just in case, as he was driving away.
You know, this is a fee-only campsite. Anyone coming in here should have a season pass or have paid for a site. It's not like a Home Depot or Wal-Mart parking lot where people are walking around begging for money. (Never food, always money.) We're also eight miles from Holtville, the nearest small town, so there is NO reason for anyone to be here asking for money.
So then we walked back to Sonny's rig and told him what happened. He said while we had been talking he saw the guy drive in, park next to my rig, knock on the door, then walk around the rig. When I was running toward him, he had his hand up to the door again. Knocking? Checking to see if it was unlocked?
Sonny said while I was running toward The Palms he got on his golf cart and started down the road, so the man would see him. He stopped and waited a little ways away until the car was out of the campground. He said he didn't mind at all if I moved closer to him, so I decided to bring The Palms up to his area, and parked across the road from him, behind a bush, but still visible. No more lone men in cars near my rig.
Maybe these two episodes were nothing more than what happened, no ulterior motives on their part. But when something happens like this, and it doesn't feel right, better to listen to our instincts and take precautions. If Sonny hadn't been here, and been so helpful, I would have left the campground.
(That's one reason I like having a small motor home and no toad. I don't put much outside. If I had to leave anything I have outside, it wouldn't be much of a loss, usually just chairs. But I don't want to lose Katie's stroller, so I always bring it inside at the first sign of anything I don't feel comfortable with.)
We'll leave on Tuesday (tomorrow) and head back to San Diego, I have three nights planned along the way to overnight at free stops.
Next post will begin the RV Mod information. YAAAAY! I can't wait for you to see it.
It's been a while since I've welcomed new Followers, and today's the day! We have four new followers, all women - and none of them has any personal information shown. Ladies, if any of you have blogs, please let me know in a comment and I'll post it so we can all check out your blog, okay?
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST FOLLOWERS:
Linda Chapman
Karen S
Terrie Pressman NOTE: I just found her blog - Ponder in the Blue Yonder - that was started on April 5. :)
Deb Dean (One of my best friends in high school in San Mateo, CA, was Debbie Dean. Deb, let me know if that's you. Wouldn't it be cool to re-connect?)
Thanks to you all for following along with me and Katie - we are very happy to have you on board!
From me and Katie, have a great Monday, everyone! :)
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