A Christmas Day Meal With Good Friends…

Jim says:

Yesterday I enjoyed a two-hour Christmas Day meal with my friends Jim and Joan. They drove the about 90 miles one way from Quartzsite in their towed vehicle to meet with me and returned to Quartzsite after our meal together. Like many friends in my full-time RVing life, we cross paths only occasionally. I last saw them here in Yuma in December, 2009..

I originally met them in 1995 just before I started my full-timing lifestyle. I met them through a gal I was seeing at the time. The gal wandered off, but Jim and Joan and I remained friends. They still own a home in Lacey, Washington so technically they are part-time RVers. In 2009 they accomplished a 50 week trip to the east coast. They spend much of the year on the road. It was Jim and Joan who “showed me the ropes” of RVing in the desert Southwest back in the Winter of 1995-96. We caravan-ed for several weeks together during which time they introduced me to Slab City, Yuma, Quartzsite, Las Vegas and Death Valley. I started RVing in 1962 and they started in 1958!

Jim and Joan look terrific for being in their late 70’s.

Despite the fact we do not see each other or communicate every day, like many others, we remain good friends. If you are not aware, when RVers part company they do not say good-bye, but rather “SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
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TWO DAYS IN TAHOE

We drove Highway 88 to Tahoe on Saturday with jewel like lakes and plenty of mountain vistas for our flatlander visitors. This is yesterday’s blog after the signal at our hotel gave out: Local Access Only.

Sunset over Lake Tahoe isn’t as spectacular as we thought it would be, but the air is clean, the visuals spectacular, the sand and the shopping fun. We found lots of kitschy stuff.
None of us gamble, but we watched the horse and dog races in the sports bar at Lakeside Inn and Casino. Dinner at Latin Soul and the $3 drinks at the bar…well, we stayed until 11 p.m. happy as toads.

On Sunday, restaurants were packed. We got a late start. we attempted to drive to Virginia City but a huge accident had traffic in both directions stopped. Like others, we turned around and headed back to Tahoe. Pat and Richard took the tram up to the top of the mountain for beautiful views while the rest of us cruised the shops around town.

On the way home we drove the narrow, winding Ebbetts Pass for beautiful scenery. There aren’t many stopping points for pictures. We managed one stop at Mosquito Lake, and home.