Travels with The Rayman

From the shores of Pismo Beach, April 21, 2015

It all started on Saturday.  Our Italian friends invited us to dinner along with our friends, the Wyatts.  It was a delicious dinner featuring Italian food.  And the wine flowed freely.  The evening started out with Diane asking us about our upcoming trip to Pismo (25 miles from home, more or less).  We recounted that our plans had us leaving on Sunday, the next day and that we were meeting two other couples from Gilroy and the plan was to eat, drink, golf pretty much in that order but not at the same time.  Diane wanted to know why they weren’t invited.  OMG.  Of course, the answer was, “Gosh.  We never thought about it but why don’t you come.”  She said, “Okay.”  She grabbed her phone, called the Pismo Beach RV Resort and made a reservation.  Talk about decisive.  That was decisive.  And that’s the way it happened that 8 of us were heading out the next day to Pismo.

We arrived about 3 p.m. because check-in was 4 p.m.  As we were setting up the Gilroy couples arrived.  Judy and Larry and Barbara and Gary.  Judy and Lar have a golden doodle dog that is about twice as big as Beau and 7 months old.  Judy and I decided to walk the dogs.  While we were gone, Hal and Diane arrived and Diane came over to our site.  She was visibly upset because as they were entering the park, an RV was coming the other way and was almost in Hal’s lane.  Hal moved over to avoid hitting the RV and that’s when he hit the pole.  It was on the passenger’s side.  It ripped off the mirror, dented the body and broke the awning holder.  Basically.  OMG.  Enough to make one drink as if one needed an excuse.  And as Rayman and I were feeding the masses that night, everyone came over for happy hour and dinner and the evening began.  Empathy was poured.  Commiseration was exuded.

I made poulet au poivre (pepper), creamy beans from scratch, and endive with a fabulous dressing from scratch.  Oh, and the apple galette for dessert.  From scratch.  Rayman had a hard time getting the fire started so dinner was later than it should have been.  And while he was tending the fire and darkening the endives, the dogs were playing and the dogs proceeded to knock over the grill that was on the ground.  That’s when the endives “bit the dust”.  Rayman was going to throw them away.  Uh, nah.  I ran out and saved the endives, brought them in, rinsed them off and tore a few leaves off it they were too sandy.  Rayman in the meantime collected the hot coals and placed them back in the barbie.  Then when they were browned, dinner was served.  Everyone was a good sport.  And only one person got grit in their teeth.

We ate in the RV because it was cold and breezy outside.  Some people had an exceptionally good time and were unable to play golf the next day.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.  Actually, Diane hadn’t been feeling well before they arrived and Hal didn’t bring his golf clubs for some reason that remains mysterious.

So…the next day there were only 5 golfers as Barbara had a procedure on the bridge of her nose and her Doc warned her not to play golf and so she came along for the fun and tended the flagstick a lot.  We were lucky to have her.  Seeings how we had an afternoon starting time, the man behind the desk said we could play as a five some and so we did but we had to let smaller groups play through.  Understandably enough but, there were a lot of 2 somes out there so the game dragged on.  And the wind was blowing and it was mighty cold.   We finished late in the afternoon and didn’t sit down to dinner until 8 p.m.  4 of us ordered in, Barb and Gary went out and Hal and Diane, they ate early on in their RV.

But I digress.  Sort of.

Larry is a big barrel chested man with a mighty swing and on one of the holes, he drove his ball into a backyard of a house sitting too close to the fairway.  Said ball ricocheted off the fence and thru the window of the house.  The owners were home and so names, addresses, telephone numbers were exchanged.  An expensive round of golf for the Hazens that day.  Ironically, the Hazens live on a golf course fairway in Gilroy and have replaced many windows in their own house over the years.

Today, we took the day off and went wine tasting in Arroyo Grande at Talley Vineyards after picking up sandwiches at a local deli.  Again.  Cold.  Foggy.  Breezy.   It was at lunch at the winery that we decided to alter our plans for tomorrow and play the 12 hole challenge course instead of the long, regular 18 hole course.  In the a.m. before the wind.  Learn by doing, I guess is the classification this change of plans illustrated.   Enough with this wind already.

And with any luck at all, we will escape any future problems.

As a follow up, the Wyatts will have the Ford dealership in Arroyo Grande fix their coach.  They (the Ford people) came out today to assess.  This is the first day Diane felt good enough to go along so lunch was fun with all participants participating!!  And Rayman is taking a nap as I type.  I’m swearing off wine…sort of.  One glass with lunch.  One glass with dinner tonight.  I’ve been partying too much, if there is such a thing…there is.  And I will continue this behavior for a while.  The old grey mare isn’t what she used to be…In fact, I think she may take a nap now.  After all, I got up at 8:45 this morning and I’m not sure that was enough rest for me!!!!!!!

There are a few other interesting things that I have noticed in our travails.

Do we look like we’re asking for the worst spot at the RV park when we sign in?  or is this just a coincidence?  Do we look like the perfect couple to put in a direct landing pattern spot when there are other sites available.?  Are we alone on this or does it happen to you?

Really, folks.  This park is mostly empty and we the one that small planes and helicopters use to hone into the runway.

The swimming pool looks like Cocoon.  Let me explain.  The swimming area has a lap pool and a “splash” pool.  So, all the people gravitate to the splash pool leaving the lap pool unmolested.  And the people in the splash pool hold on to these styrofoam snake-shaped things.  Now, mind you, the pool is only 4 feet deep.  So why they need those snake-shaped things is beyond my wild imagination.  But there they are.  Cocooning in Yuma.  And some of the people are sporting hefty tans.  They have not gotten the memo.

The unmolested lap pool.

The funny thing is…I have rediscovered my love of swimming.  I was a pretty good swimmer when I was a kid.  There was a plunge located across a street and a meridian from where we were living in Atascadero.  Oddly, it was located behind a church.  In the morning I was out the door and going to the pool.  Too young to take the advanced swimming classes, my modus operandi was to sit on a patch of grass and watch the older kids take their lessons.   As the clock rolled around, it would be my turn for my classes.  One of the happiest days of my life was when I finally qualified to swim in the deep end.  Nirvana.  Anyway, after the lessons, I stayed on and swam all afternoon.  No wonder I look like a lizard now.  But, oh, how happy I was in the water.  Because of my swimming laps here, I have resolved to continue swimming at the Cuesta College swimming pool at home.  They have lap swimming early and late many days and I think I will just “do it” as those Nike people say.  But no Speedos for me.  OMG.

A few random other thoughts now that we have returned from the desert.

I’m glad to live near the ocean.

Boats on Morro Bay.

My Uncle Ralph looks great.

It’s raining here today.  Yippee.  Though Beau is unhappy because he isn’t getting his walk on time.

Has anyone been watching TV?  Fortitude on Pivot.  Durst on HBO?  Going Clear on HBO?  John Oliver on HBO interviewing Edward Snowden?  Better Call Saul, I think on AMC?  House of Cards on Netflix?  TV is much better these days than the movies.  And with a big screen TV and Hi-Def, staying home has never been more fun and interesting.

Just started reading the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.  A real downer but very important as it is told from the American Indians’ point of view.

It’s pouring now.  Cloud burst, perhaps.  Yippee.

Hope you are having a great day!!

March 30, 2015 We are back in our Dog House with the Beaumeister.  This morning I regained a crown in the town of Los Algodones, the Mexican dental down on the border to California and Arizona.  We had to cross the Colorado River in order to get there.  There is still a bit of water in that grand old river.  Such a sad sight to see, the trickle that’s left as it hits Mexico.  And one only look as far as Yuma to know why.  Yuma is an agriculture town with a military presence.  If it wasn’t for the government, it probably wouldn’t exist.  The water is guaranteed by the U.S. Government/state governments and the U.S. Government pays for the military base here.  So why the right hates the government, is beyond me.  It guarantees livelihoods for thousands of people in this sun-drenched and parched desert location.  The only thing green here are the miles of veggies growing in the fields. Here’s American freeway eye candy…not.  Why have one when you can do double decker? Yuma is the name of an indigenous American Indian tribe that occupied this territory many moons ago.  Apparently they were named Huma which means smoke in some language other than english.  Seems the Yumanians in those days burned a lot of fires which created a lot of smoke.  And there you have it. Yuma is home to 2 Indian casinos.  It also has a roadway named Giss.  Really, people.  Giss.  If my name was Giss I would probably change it so that no one would think to name a major thoroughfare after me.  Giss.  Giss rhymes with hiss and miss and piss and the list goes on.  It is very onomatopoeia-ish.  But I think I speak for many that think the name is a turn-off.  I am sure this Giss person and their family are pleased getting all that recognition.  But they might be the only ones.  Perhaps Giss was a previous mayor?  or he ran the Yuma Territorial Prison (one of the only tourist venues here).  I am guessing.  Guessing is far more interesting than looking it up and finding the truth.  Did I just say that?  Yes.  And so I tried to look it up.  Hidden history, I’ll call it.  Couldn’t find a thing.

The Giss “offramp” and The Dog House. I’m driving (eek) the toad.

But I digress. We jumped in the Fit and headed for the land of mañana at 8 a.m.  My appointment was 9.  We arrived at the dental office at 8:40.  My dentist was sitting in the waiting room watching TV along with several “patients”.  This office has many dentists.  And they share rooms with many dental chairs (at least 3 in one big room).  Funny.    But really, it makes a certain amount of sense.  Why should each patient have their own room?  Maybe they are sound-proofed so when a patient screams or bites the dentist, no one will know?  Just kidding.  After my appointment we walked by one dental office (not mine) and looked in the window while passing only to see a woman with her mouth open and dentist inside it with a drill.  No glamour dentistry here. Anyway, I checked in at the front desk which has 3 people sitting behind it.  See picture below.  That’s the front desk.  When I sat down, the dentist got up and disappeared behind the cleanest door I have ever seen.  We’ve gone here twice and twice I had seen the aids cleaning that door.  The place is squeaky clean.  A few minutes later, Dr. Lopez came out and got me.  That’s another interesting thing they do here.  Your dentist fetches you.  Actually a nice touch, I think. And then I got my crown.  Took about 10 minutes.  And all that time Dr. Lopez and his assistant chattered away in spanish.  I heard a “casa”, a “nada” and a few other words but that was about it.  And it must have been personal because they spoke in very soft tones.  But I digress. After we left the office (had to write a check to get out!!), we looked for Zebra, the veterinary store in Los Algodones.  I had emailed them asking if they carried a certain ear medicine for Beau.  They emailed back and said yes, si.  When we arrived we were greeted by a chorus of honking, crowing, chirping, tweeting birds.  Inside the shop, Zebra, I asked for the medicine.  “Two days.”, said the very short Mexican man.  Needless to say, we left without the medicine.  I am chalking it up to language problems.   And we left without seeing a zebra.  However, we did see some camels, right across the street!!  Here’s the evidence. Yep.  A traveling circus with camels.  Perhaps they had a zebra.  Didn’t see one.   I have to report that the Rayman stood on the corner, looking away.  My picture taking must have embarrassed him.  Poor guy.  The things I get him into!! The people of Los Algodones are warm, friendly and polite.  And going there early is the best idea as the lines to get back into the U.S. are long and slow.  Forget driving.  It must take people a hour by car.  It took us about 10 minutes by foot.  The other day, later, it took us about 45 on foot.  Early birds win. We didn’t buy anything other than a root canal and a crown.  That set us back enough. So.  Was this worth it?  Yes and no.  The root canal was $320.  The decay removal and new crown was $385.  There is the cost to stay here and get here.  I may have concluded that if implants were required, it would be worth it since they are only $1500 an implant.  For just normal dentistry, probably not because of the cost of coming here and staying here.  However, we have The Dog House and we made it a vacation so there is that. Rayman and I do not think they oversell or take advantage.  They could have recommended an implant where my back molar and his back molar were previously located.  But they didn’t.  And the dentist told Rayman that veneers weren’t a good option.  So, Rayman escaped the dental chair completely. So, that’s about it. As they say, newly crowned and homeward bound!!!

Well.  It’s done.  I am happy to report that I have survived my dental appointment in Los Algodones, Mexico.  So, listen up all you gringos.  Here’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!

Los Algondones is across the border from Yuma, AZ but you must re-enter CA to get there.  In CA there is a big parking lot and you get the opportunity to spend $6 dinero to park.  We did that and walked across the border.  Easy peasy.  There are signs giving you all the rules you must follow.  The funniest was the sign that proclaimed, “Guns are illegal in Mexico”.   Funny and yet…not so much.  No NRA in Mexico.  AZ, on the other hand, is way into guns.  We saw a guy in the RV park today walking by with his gun (it was in the gun carrier).

But I digress.

When we crossed the border, we walked about 2 blocks to the dental office.  From there they “shuttled” us to their other office.  The Rubio Dental Group.  We made appointments there based on recommendations from friends of friends.  When we arrived, we checked in and moments later, Mr. J, was escorted into the innersactum.  After he emerged, he was provided with an estimate of work suggested.  No go.  They wanted to cap everything in sight.  Said whitening wouldn’t help.  So that was that.

I, on the other hand, have a mouth full of trouble called teeth.  The teeth gods were not with me in the genetic-material-that-matters department.  So, I had a tooth #25 that needed help.  The “skin” had broken off last summer so I needed a new crown.  But wait.  There’s more.  When the BIG Doc Lopez opened things up, there was decay and the nerve was too close.  He recommended a root canal.  I agreed.  It would be a good test.

The office was immaculate and filled with gringos from Montana, B.C., and points north.  The office had all the modern equipment including digital X-rays.  Everyone wore the latest latex gloves and mouth/nose masks.  Everyone spoke english.  But during the work, espanol was used.  So, I had no idea what they were talking about.   Probably sports.  Oh, and Dr. Rubio got his dental education at UCLA.

After the Big Doc Lopez took off the crown, he sent me across the street to the root canal adjunct.  Dr. Dominguez owned that office.  First I had a young woman dentist that “prepped” me.  Then Dr. Dominguez got involved.  He did the heavy lifting while singing to the voice of Ray Charles (in ingles) which was playing.  There were three dental chairs.  I was in room 3.  Everything was open and I looked out on a garden.  Quite pleasant.  When Doc Dom was done with me I was told to return at 1:30.  About a hour break.  So, we found a restaurant and ordered guac and beer and I had tortilla soup and Rayman had a chicken quesadilla.  Muy bueno.

But wait.  While waiting for Doc Dom, we met a fellow who showed up the same restaurant and I invited him to join us.  What a character.  He had a flu shot a few years back and the shot paralyzed him.  Then he was hit over the head by an intruder in his house and the guy kicked in his teeth.  Hence his visit to Mexico for dental treatment.  Rayman wasn’t particularly interested but I was mystified that one person could be so unfortunate.   He definitely had the stories.

So after we finished our lunch we returned to Doc Dom and I had a fourth dentist work on me.  He was a young guy.  When he stopped doing stuff I was directed back across the street to the Doc Lopez.  Impressions were cast.  That’s the only thing that really hurt because by this time the novocaine had worn off.

What was Rayman been doing all that time?  Being on his iPad so much that he received a message saying that he had accrued more than a $100 in international charges.  Say what?  So while we were waiting I called AT&T and they reduced the charges if I agreed to a $30 international charge for a month.  Perfect.  Sold.

The other thing the Rayman was doing was stewing and worrying.  Not about me.  About Beau.  OMG.  Beau was back in the air conditioned RV alone.  We have never left him for more than 5 hours.  Today we managed to break that record.  And Rayman was feeling guilty and his guilt feelings …well, let’s just say, it caused some friction.  When I return on Monday for the crown, he may want to stay back with Beau.

Although… there is shopping in Mexico.  And good food.  And good margaritas.  And music with lunch.  Mexico is fun with their barkers, “Looking for a good dentist?”  “Need drugs?”    There are beggers but not many for a border town.  The Big Purple Store is a farmacia.  It is huge and painted purple.  We checked out our drugs.  No deals there.  Big pharma has figured it out.   Spain is the place for drugs.

So:  Key Learnings

Go early.  These dentists specialize in getting you in and out as quickly as possible but this a Mexico, land of manana.  Everything is hurry up and wait.

Take cash.  Or checkbook.  Dentists have waits of avoiding taxes, I assume.

Plan to eat there.  Food is wonder.  Inexpensive.  And people watching is great!!

Lots of old geezers from Canada and the U.S.  And the ones we spoke with all have all been going there for years.  It is a heck of a deal.  Old crown, new crown, decay removal, root canal for under $800.  Just sayin…Anyway, this Mexican dental deal is a well known secret…and so far so good.  And there are 400 dentists in this one little town.  I’m told that Tijuana has 2,000 for the same reason.  People come to Mexico for their teeth, their eyeglasses, their meds, their booze, and their varicose veins.  Even botox injections are offered.

Plus there is Yuma.  Boy has it grown.  It has a Marine air base so flying planes make interesting viewing.  Every train on U.S. soil must come through here…constantly, it seems.  The freeway is close to every RV park.  And this is the strange thing.  This RV park does not provide picnic tables at each site.  And everything in Yuma has been cemented or graveled over.

On the plus side, we have a great swimming pool here.  And there are small casitas you can buy at this RV park.  RV parks are starting to provide permanent housing too.  Mixed use, I guess.  Interesting concept.  Will investigate and report back.

Okay.  Got the lowdown.  The people here at The Palms will sell you a piece of land and you can build what you will.  Need an extra garage?  Just build one thru their pre-selected builder.  Install an outdoor kitchen?  No problemo.  Build a 1400 square foot house next to you RV pad if you so desire.  There are lots of permanent structures.  This is something new to me.

Yuma is the least interesting thing about this trip.  We did manage a few rounds of golf (cheap) and fast.  And we appreciated that.  And their Fry’s SuperMarket is very good.  I found sesame paste there!!  That’s for the baba ghanoush I plan to make with my barbecued eggplant from the other night.   The theaters are nice and you don’t freeze when you go to a show, so that’s good.  And there is that In-N-Out.

Back to Mexico on Monday for the crown.  Assuming all things go according to Hoyle, I think we will head home a bit early by heading to the ocean.  Think San Diego.  And once in CA at the ocean, well, we will enjoy the  moisture in the air!!!  And once our bodies and skin are rehydrated, its points north to home!!

Yep.  I thought that would catch your eye.  Gather your attention.  Stir your interest.  Titles matter, apparently.  And are you one of those that have not been reading my life’s work?   But now, here you are.  And it is all because of the title.  Too provocative to ignore?  Too salacious not to ponder?

But I digress. Our bicycle friends continue to make a big impression on me…especially when I stand on the scale to weigh myself.  Pure horror grips my heart.  I’m so out of shape when held up to the likes of them.  They are sticks.  Some are very tall.  Some are very short.  None are fat.  None are even pleasingly plump (isn’t that how we refer to poultry?)  No mind.  You get the drift. So my day started out really swell.  I talked the Rayman into coming with me to observe the bicyclists in their natural habitat.  We met up at the crossroads of Sunrise and Church, I think.  I know the church part is right because there is a cross on top of the high hill behind  the churches.  Not so sure about Sunrise but it sounds good even if it is wrong.  There we assembled and I took a few pictures which I post here.     No, we did not ride.  We followed them on their ride up the hill, part way (in our Honda Fit which is a car).  I don’t think it is an exaggeration to announce that this sent me into total envy.  There were tandems and single bikes on this ride.  As I learned over the beer I was crying into last night, tandem riders generally are slower on uphills.  Faster on downhills.  Those bikes can go fast too.  People were talking about 5% grades and 32 mph.  Myself would not be able to endure that speed.  When I used to ski and started chattering along about that speed, I usually headed uphill to slow down.  And snow is much softer than asphalt.  So.  There you have that.

The other thing is injury.  These people have injuries.  We were visiting with our friends Ron and Elizabeth and Ron, just in passing, mentioned, “Well, when I broke my neck…”   WHAT?  Yes.  He broke his neck in CA and drove clear back to Oregon thinking not much was wrong.  And when he had a CT or MRI, I can never remember which is which, the radiologist told him not to move because his fractures were “unstable”.   Once the docs conferred, it was decided that he drove all that way, waited to see the doc, had the tests.  Unstable, he was not.  So, off he went to get one of those collars.  Poor dear.  He is one of the very best riders.  Across the U.S. on a bike.  Up the Pacific Coast trail (up is harder).  Check.  Wife Elizabeth was with him on these adventures.  She told us a story of how they trained and trained for a double century ride.  Ron fell and was injured to the point he couldn’t do the ride.  Elizabeth did it by herself.  Picture this.  She was at the meet up place in Portland at 3:30 in the morning.  In the dark.  13 hours later she arrived in Seattle.  I mean, really people, she is a wonder woman.  I’m in awe.

Their friends, Nancy and Jonathan, are parked next to us in the RV park.  We joined them in the desert for coffee the other day.  And that’s where the sex comes in.  It seems that on the ride to Agua Caliente, I think, they were riding their tandem bike when all of a sudden Nancy spots rattlesnakes.  They were doing it in the road.  The snakes, that is.  Nancy is a nurse practitioner and she found this fascinating.  So they stopped to engage in a bit of reptile voyeurism.  For five minutes.  As she describes it, the snakes started from a base of intertwined coils and “stood up” straight with their legless bodies (which always freaks me out about snakes.  No legs).  And then they wound around each other in such a manner that they appeared to be one two-headed snake.  At first Nancy thought it was a stick.  Anyway, they (the snakes) fell over a few times only to resume this copulation activity in front of company.  The snakes never did acknowledge the presence of the peering pair.  They were busy making lots of baby snakes.   Nancy took a picture.  Too bad she didn’t video record it.  She is sure and  I agree that it would have been a YouTube sensation.  Here’s the pic she shot…too much romance and movement to get it clearly…Oh, well.  Don’t want to stand to close either.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lrmsVd4s5c is actual footage of the event taken by someone else.  Just cut and paste into your browser to view!!

Besides snake sex in the spring here in the desert, the plants are blooming.  Gorgeous wildflowers.  Flowering palo verde trees in bright yellow.  The citrus trees are flowering and the scent is intoxicating.  The ocotillos are stunning with their red flames shooting out the top of the spiky branches that reach toward the sky.  Prickly pears have bright pink flowers that are blooming now.  Spring is a great time to visit Borrego.  The bees are as big as your thumb and they chase birds away.  Hummingbirds are flitting to and fro.  Roadrunners are plentiful, beep, beep.  Quite a fetching environment.  And the nighttime sky.  OMG.  It is very dark here because there are no street lights.  And the population is small.  And it has been designated as one of those special places to stargaze by people that have the authority to make such designations.  As long as they are make designations, I think they should designate Borrego Springs as one of the quietest communities in CA.  The sidewalks roll up early and it gets really, really quiet when the air is still.  Occasionally, a jet or small plane can be heard.  And coyotes rejoicing in the middle of the night.  But overall, it is quiet, peaceful.

Sunrise.

An Ocotillo in bloom.

Okay.  What’s wrong with this place?  I’ll tell you what.  My skin looks like a lizard.  My Meyer lemons have sagging skin where once they were plump and pretty.  But back to my skin.  OMG.  This place sucks all the moisture out of your skin.  My chicken neck is even wrinklier.  My lips are dry and cracked.  Sunscreen is needed all the time and everywhere skin peeks through.   And it is hot.  Just like a desert. We leave tomorrow for Yuma and from I have figured out Yuma has 2 things going for itself.  It has an In-N-Out and it has a movie multiplex.  We plan to catch up on movies during the hot afternoons in order to stay cool.  We will still need to keep the coach air conditioned because of Beau, but seeing a few good movies in a cool theater is just too appealing to forgo.  We also have two swimming pools at the Palms RV Resort which I plan to spend time in even though my skin will shrivel.  It will feel fabulous after a hot day on the links.  That’s where you’ll find us…in the pool for a dip.  A dip for the dips!!

Update from Yuma.  OMG.  Not much here.  In a fancy RV park and they gave us an undesirable spot…but oh, well.  I’m not buying.   We managed to only get lost once coming here.  Ended up on a dirt road with farm equipment.  Don’t ask.  We also visited Costco in El Centro where the greeter speaks to you on espanol.  Good merchandise and plenty of tequila for sale!!  We bought more Advil, gin, dates, and lamb loin chops.  Priorities.  The pain meds are listed first!! Tomorrow it’s golf and Tuesday is the Mexican Dental Diaries!!  Stay tuned!!

Most of you, my dear readers, will be opening this missile to look for the silly things that happen to us or that we do…or both.  Well, sorry to disappoint you this time.

I’m here to report that not much is happening in the desert.  We haven’t been lost.  We haven’t burned down The Dog House.  No one has passed out.  It’s downright boring.

Life really is a series of events and some are more fun than others.  Some events strike terror in our hearts and we usually try to minimize them.  Did any of you watch the HBO series on Durst? My oh my.  He did not let terror stop him.   I was reading about him in the paper this a.m. and there were a few photos of him.  He always looked like, not quite there.  A cold and distant stare is how I would describe his look in those pictures.  Sure am glad I didn’t get stuck in his head.  Hard to imagine so I don’t even try.

But I digress.

We have no TV here.  Well, that is to say, our satellite such as it is only picks up 6 stations and they are all in espanol.  This would be useful if I was studying the language.  But I’m focusing on french at the moment and there is not one french speaking channel to be seen.   So, it’s Scrabble at night.  I beat the Rayman and he beats me.  At Scrabble that is.  And we are always just a few points away from each other.  It’s great fun except the waiting part…that sometimes gets a bit tedious but who wants to pass and throw in all those tiles for others?  I did that once and got back the Q and Z before the game was over.  I lost that one.

Reading is another activity here.  Just finished I Hate My Neck or whatever the name of the book was by Nora Ephram, or whatever her name was.  Quite funny and entertaining.  Then I switched to Lawrence In Arabia, a book I’ve been reading for about the past year.  It is dry.  It is a bit boring.  But it is extremely timely since it involves how the Middle East was carved up after the war.  At this point, I feel it my duty to complete it so I can be more or less learned about the affairs of the world.  But I’m reading it so slowing, I’ve already forgotten how tall Sir Lawrence was.  A rather short man.  And skinny.  His idea of a diet must have been to grab and camel and head for the desert.  Wearing long white robes.  Which shows how confused those Arabs are.  When we were in Turkey, we hate at a restaurant in Cappadocia and started up a conversation with our waiter.  He maintained that all those orthodox women that paraded around in black from head to tow to cover themselves and their clothes underneath, were cool.  “It keeps them cooler”, he exclaimed.  Well, this cleared things up for me.   Now I understand why they believe 72 virgins will be waiting for them if they say, blow themselves up.  They will believe anything they want whether it is true/factual or not.  Easy, peasy.

My question is, why don’t they wear gloves?

We are surrounded by health nuts here.  They come in the form of bicyclists.  Svelte takes on a new meaning with them around.  Almost daily or at the very least, every other day they take a ride.  Now my idea of a bike ride is what I did the other day.  We mounted our bikes and rode down to the Art Fair at Christmas Circle.  Let me explain.  There is a round-about downtown Borrego Springs.  It is a very large, generous affair that sports a grassy, treed area in the middle of it.  And roads jut off into the desert like spokes in a wheel.  It is a very cool round-about and so we rode to it.  About 9:30 before the heat of day enveloped us in, well, heat.  We looked around the Art Fair and decided there were things we could and should buy.  At that point, we jumped on our bikes and pedaled back up the hill (hardly a hill), retrieved our car and drove back to the Art in the Park and bought our little table and a picture for Claudia.  I like to bring Claudia things when we’re out on the road.  After that, I might have a taken a long nap to recoup.

Here are the lady bikers in Ashland, OR last summer. No pictures yet this trip!!

But I got lost on my own round-about.  My mind.  It is swirling and flipping off on side roads.  That is a condition called digression.

So.  This is not what the bicyclists do here.  They meet at 8:30 and roar up all the mountain roads around here.  They stop and have lunch and then race down the mountain they just climbed.  Average length of a ride is probably 40 miles.  They are animals.  And I’m a slug.  But everytime I get around these guys, I want to be one of those riders.  I live vicariously through them.  I know how to ride a bike, sort of.  It’s just fear that has me in it’s grip.  Fear of flying.  Through the air.  Perhaps over handlebars.  Like Rayman did once in the privacy of his own driveway.  He didn’t make it out of said driveway before flying over his handlebars and I can tell you that it wasn’t pretty.  So there is that.  And then there is this.  How the hell could I get myself up one of those mountains?  I can’t imagine it.  I’d be running off the road looking into the little “rear view mirror” they wear on the road side of their helmets.  So, here again, I am scared.  A scaredy cat.  And the heat.  How do they do it in the heat?  I walk to the dumpster to throw away my garbage and it’s almost too much.  How to ascend a 5% grade in the heat?  My vision of me is going slower, slower until I just plop over…possibly for good.  And then there are the clothes.  OMG.  My midriff would not grace the skin tight clothes these guys pour themselves into.  Actually, I would like to see one of them get dressed.  My imagination takes me to a place where they apply Vaseline before dressing.  Perhaps it takes more pushing and pulling than riding the bike itself.  Don’t know.  Just sayin.  I mentioned the Vaseline to one of them and she admitted to using Vaseline.  Another described herself as a “baby powder girl”.  The guys.  Now that is another story.  Rayman and I learned that the guys use a product called “Bag Balm”.  It is a salve that is made for cow utters.  I’ll leave it to your imagination where this might be used.  I don’t know.  I’m just guessing.

And they eat like birds.  If I rode 40 miles, my rig would not be big enough to hold all the food I would eat upon returning to The Dog House.  One of the riders said to me, “Oh, those medjjool dates!  One of those on a ride would fuel me for 20 miles.”  Hell, it took me three this a.m. to get up the energy to walk to the dumpster and stop by to collect our clothes that were hanging on the clothes line.  Really, people.  This is how they eat.  Or, just perhaps, that should tell me something.  About the way I eat.

Okay.  Change of subject.

We’re going to Julian today to get out of the heat and we are not going to bicycle our way up that mountain.  No sir.  High of 75 today up there.  Perfect.  I’ll be taking my coat.  My blood is undoubtedly thinner now after a week and a day in this heat.  I’ll probably get cold.  I just hope I don’t buy too much.  We need a few groceries.  Of course, you can’t tell with me.  The other day in Borrego, I went on a hunt for a salad spinner (forgot mine), and I ended up with a great pair of Jag capris.  Who knew?

That’s about it and up to the minute  More later.  Something is bound to happen!!