When blogs collide

When we arrived at Aqua Caliente I jumped out of the rig and went up to the window of the Ranger Station. A very pleasant lady greeted me and I looked at her name tag. It was Rhonda!

She checked our site allocation and told us the best place to unhook the toad was right there at the entrance so we uncoupled and found the site. It was our first time trying to back into a spot in the dark and soon another flashlight appeared to help. Wayne!

As were only going to be here 2 nights and it was already well dark we just hooked up power and water for the night and didn't bother with jacks and the slide. Another lesson for us. Plan to arrive when it's light.

We sorted a few things out and headed over towards Wayne and Rhonda's site across from us where Wayne had his fire already going. A voice in the darkness said "back in a minute got to walk the dog" and Rhonda went by with Lilly.

Wayne and Rhonda's rig

I felt immediately at home with these guys and we launched straight away into places we'd been and trips we wanted to make. I introduced them to COSTCO tequila while Wayne generously grilled up some nice sausages over the fire to save us having to go work on some supper.

Before we knew it it was 11pm and we broke up the party for the evening.

Next morning we slept late and did some serious relaxing in the warm desert sun. Due mainly to a guilty conscience we took a short walk around the campground after lunch. Rhonda and Lilly dropped by followed by Wayne as the went off to work. 

Even the bathroom;s are scenic at Agua Caliente

Eventually the sun went behind the mountains and we went inside as the temperature dropped rapidly. Wayne and Rhonda finished work at 6 and we sauntered over to join them they invited to meet Jim and Linda who they knew from working with Jim at the campground.  Turned out that Jim and Linda are fellow Escapees and have just bought into the Escapees Jo-Joba CA Co-op not too far of home. 

A warm fire and a few libations soon had a great conversation going about RVing and travel, electronics and our histories with the developing technologies in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I tried to take some pictures of the group but my camera batteries were dead so Wayne kindly took some for me. 

http://turnwhentheroaddoes.com/2014/12/07/new-friends-around-the-campfire/

And suddenly it was time for bed and we all drifted off back to our nice warm rigs.

We had to get to the upholsterer's in Yuma on Sunday and then drive back to San Diego in the Fiesta, an early start was needed. The alarm was set, promises made. And we actually were ready to go at our target time of 9am. We stopped by to see Wayne and Rhonda before we left and discovered we were all going to be in Yuma January 2/3. On the spot we arranged to hook up again for a couple of days, wonderful. It suddenly occurred to me that we'd made brand new old friends! HUH?? We've only met Wayne and Rhonda this one time but already they feel like long term friends because of the things we have in common. Then we just met Jim and Linda and they fit the same way. 

We hate to say goodbye and could have stayed another month.

This makes full timing even more attractive, meeting new friends and sharing new experiences is so much fun.

So our goodbyes lasted longer than we planned but still it was only 9.30 when we drove down to a flat area to hook up the toad. Where another camper came to watch the show and discuss how it was we could tow the Fiesta 4 down and share some experiences. The Jim appeared and we said some more farewells! 

And right on time at 10.15 we left for the 120 miles to Yuma.

We filled up in Yuma before we dropped the rig at the upholstery shop. That way when we pick it up we'll be ready to go straight away. The rig got locked in the shop's compound and we'll call a couple of days before we pick it up to check everything is good and we'll call as we exit the freeway to give them time to get to the store for the pickup.

Talking of filling up we finally got a tank to tank fuel consumption check and we're getting slightly under 8 mpg towing the Fiesta up and over the mountains from Yuma to San Diego twice so it's in our expected range. And at 50 cents a gallon cheaper in Yuma than San Diego we saved enough for a dinner out. So when we got back home we went to Mountain Mike's Pizza for dinner and a pitcher of "Fat Tire" beer.
http://www.mountainmikes.com/
Good Pizza , Good Beer, Around the corner from our house. It doesn't get much better than that!!