Magic of Moonshine and Sunrise

We crossed the Arizona line at sunrise.  There is something totally magical about driving along with a setting, full moon with no traffic (and fortunately) no wind or blowing sand.  Gil actually had to put the car visor down because the moon was so bright ahead of us at 3 a.m.  We watched a magical dawn and sunrise as we headed towards Tuscon.  This is beautiful country, with amazing rock formations, shadows and morning clouds.  It's very inspiring being on the desert at sunrise.  After I had several cups of coffee, I could finally admit that getting on the road at 3 a.m. was really a great idea.  I wouldn't have missed what we saw for the world!  No picture can describe the beauty and serenity...it is definitely a moment we'll remember forever.

We pulled into the the Cracker Barrel in Tuscon for much needed breakfast, ordered a Living Social horseback ride on line and headed for the last hour up  to Casa Grande....only to be confronted by those darn winds we'd been trying to avoid! Wow!  They were strong and produced much dust with guts exceeding 40 mph.

But we made it safely, checked into Palm Desert Resort a day early and crashed after getting set up.  Our good buddies from the lake, prepared a wonderful dinner (with chocolate martinis no less), so we didn't have to cook and gave us a warm welcome with another couple after we'd rested.  Willie was so glad to be out of the car, he celebrated on top of the table before I could get the slides out!

Today is Monday and Willie got his hair done with a warm bath and cut...he looks adorable.  I went to yoga, Gil worked on the trailer and we met tons of great people who stopped by to visit as we recovered and rested.

Our friends Lorie and Harold once again had us over for a great rib dinner tonight and we enjoyed a magnifciant full moon from their patio on the golf course.  They have a great park model with a fire pit and super views.  The best part?  Their friendship.  We feel so blessed to have them for our friends.  They are the veterans at this park and Harold has won several pickleball tournaments (the photo is the recent bronze metal) and Lorie is involved in many activities and walking around the entire park several mornings a week. It's a large RV park with about 1200 sites.  I got lost walking home from yoga today!

Other news?  We haven't found the spoon yet, the temps and sun are super warm in the day time, the winds are down and our other good friends from the lake Tom and Sandy will be here tomorrow for all you can eat pasta at Robson Ranch.  The best news....Gil paid 25 cents at a truck stop to check his weight and has lost over 20 pounds!  YAY!  Me, I haven't had the courage to get on a scale yet.  Maybe I need a quarter?

Happy birthday today to our son-in-law Jared and our daughter Stephanie on the 28th.  We love you both and wish you a wonderful year!  Huge hugs and kudos to dear Lindsay for raising her ACT score to a higher level to qualify for additional scholarship money!  We are so proud of all of our family!  We love and miss you all!