I forgot to say "Happy New Year everybody" yesterday, so I will say it today. We didn't do anything special for New Year's Eve, in fact we were in bed and sleeping before midnight (as usual).

I did wake up to the sounds of fireworks but I didn't bother to get up and investigate. I'm sure they were spectacular with or without me seeing them.

We are enjoying our time in sunny California. Today, January 2, it was 70 degrees. I spent part of the morning soaking up the sun by the pool. I went for a quick dip but the water seemed kind of cold.....I guess that's why there is a hot tub.

The day after we arrived here I bought a swim suit. I didn't even have one anymore and I can't remember the last time I went swimming. I think it was in 1988, no kidding. My how the time goes by. Yes, it was the summer of 1988 when we went on a fabulous driving holiday through North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. We went to two Blue Jays games in the Metrodome and then toured through the Black Hills taking in all the tourist attractions. Almost every motel we stayed in had a pool and that was one of the hottest summers on record I think. I am sure that was the last time I went swimming. I can't believe it.

Anyway, I digress.

We went to the San Diego Zoo on the 30th and we have a week long pass to go to Balboa Park which is a lot of museums and things to see.

Duke is good and really likes staying in the trailer and keeping an eye on things. He doesn't even bark anymore when people walk by. I would hazard a guess that almost 75 percent of the campers here have dogs.

It rained on Tuesday evening but other than that the weather is perfect. It is nice and green here. We walked about three miles on the 31st. There is a farmer's market near here every Thursday so we walked to the downtown area. Not many vendors there because it is New year's Eve, but we had a look anyway.

Yesterday we took a drive along Harbour Drive and enjoyed the sailing vessels and big ships. We continued on a scenic drive and ended up at Point Loma which was discovered by Cabrillo in 1542. The lighthouse there has been restored. It was used in the eighteen hundreds for about forty years.

We stopped at a Pizza Hut, which is in a strip mall close to where we are staying, on the way back and I went in and ordered up a large pizza to have for supper back at the campground. It seemed to take forever and I was starving (as usual). When we got back to the campground there were five police cars at the entrance with cops all over the place. They let us in without an explanation. There is a security gate which closes at eight o'clock so we feel safe here anyway.
Today they were still around although not as many of them. When I asked at the store why the police were around I was told that there was a robbery at the strip mall yesterday and the police were looking for somebody. Well, I guess it wasn't the Pizza Hut they robbed at any rate.

Today we went to a shopping mall. Not my favorite thing to do but we were looking for a camera store or at least a department store that sold cameras. We wanted to look at getting a zoom lens for our camera and we really needed a new lens cap with a little elastic thingy on it so I don't drop it every time I take it off. We were unsuccessful in our quest.

I could just stay here and not go anywhere else. We are paid up until Jan. 7th so I guess we have to decide what to do before then.

I see there have been wind chill warnings for Coronation.......I hope the nasty stuff doesn't last too long. And I hope that the weather smartens up to be a lot milder by the time we get home.

Today would be a shorter drive since we were going to stay in Salt Lake City a 336 km drive.

We slept in a little later than usual and were on the road by 9:30 a.m.

It was still pretty cold in the trailer. I was glad that Bernie threw in the little electric space heater at the last minute. I finally ditched my boots and found my runners!

The day was basically uneventful and we arrived in Salt Lake City and found the campground without too much trouble. We arrived about 1:30 p.m. which was nice. Bernie could get a rest since so far he has done all the driving.

The KOA had a code for the bathrooms and showers. Once again we were close to the facilities.

The fog came and went and there were also a few snow flurries, but nothing to get excited about.

On Monday December 21 we were up very early and on the road by 7:25 a.m. It was -4 C.

This would be the last leg for a while since our destination was Las Vegas. I drove a short leg of the journey until we got to Cedar City where we stopped for gas. We also found a Wal Mart Super Centre and shopped for groceries and dog food (of course). We grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonalds. The store was very crowded with Christmas shoppers.

All went well on this journey even though there were a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns through the mountain passes.

"Betty" got us straight to the KOA on Circus Circus Drive right on the Strip. We made it without taking any wrong turns.

The "campground" was a huge parking lot. We got a site with a little grass strip and a table and chairs. There was a swimming pool and hot tub which nobody used and of course the store.

The most important thing was that there was no snow and that was why we came. We planned to stay in this campground until December 27th.

It was windy and kind of cool for a couple of days in Vegas. In fact it was so windy one night that I was afraid it would blow the trailer over, or at least blow our t.v. antennae off the trailer.

It was here that the snow finally melted for good from the back of our truck!

We went for many walks on the strip and took in the sights. Our site was right behind Circus Circus. It was also right next to the freeway so there was a lot of noise from the traffic day and night. The airport was very close as well so lots of planes and helicopters went over all the time.

We decorated for Christmas with some lights outside. Bernie took a small branch from a tree in Idaho and we put it in a jug of water and wrapped tinsel around the whole thing. We wore Santa hats and took our picture with our tree!

On Christmas Eve we left Duke behind for a while and we walked the Strip. We ended up in a shopping mall and brought home chicken for Christmas dinner the next day.

It was nice - sunny and warm on Christmas Day and the wind went down considerably. We called my sister's place and talked to Carol and Gord and Tracy and my mom. Bernie tried calling his mom and sister but they were not answering their phone.

We packed up the truck and drove to the Hoover Dam. It was not very far and easy to find. There was a huge line up of vehicles just to get to the parking lot. Since it was Christmas Day the visitor's centre was not open, nor were the bathrooms. There were a LOT of people there. We just parked the truck in the first spot we found and we walked and walked and walked some more. The funniest thing I heard was a little girl about nine years old saying to her dad, "We came all this way to look at some water. That's not very interesting." LOL

Once we got back to our little home on wheels we were ready for our Christmas feast of chicken.

On Boxing Day we found a Wal Mart and did a little shopping and we also stopped on the way back at a car wash. The truck was very dirty and it looked a whole lot better once it was clean. When we drive in the winter time at home we never wash the vehicle and everybody's looks the same with a lot of road dirt on it all the time. Then we come to a place where the weather conditions are very mild and warm and everybody's vehicles shine........don't want to be too different! Our trailer was kind of dirty as well and we would need to find an R.V. or truck wash to get it clean again.

December 27th saw us heading further south to even warmer climates. We got off to an early start for the 538 km drive. Of course we had to head through more mountain passes, but not nearly as bad as on the way to Vegas from Salt Lake.

We kept on watching the temperature gauge in the truck go higher and higher and we got more excited as the day went on!! Hurray! Warmer temperatures ahead!

We didn't stop much, just for gas and we ate lunch in the trailer in a Home Depot parking lot in Barstow.

We arrived in San Diego about 4:00 p.m. at the Metro San Diego KOA in Chula Vista. The temperature was about 20 C. at that time.

The campground is very nice with palm and cedar trees all over the place. Our site is very close to the store and the showers, etc. It is rather noisy because we are right beside a freeway, but I don't care, it's warm.

We were on the road early in the morning on December 19th, headed to Pocatello, Idaho. Surely the campground there wouldn't be full of snow and ice!! We were confident now that nothing else could go wrong and if it did we could handle it.

The further south we went the foggier it got and we travelled almost all the way in a low cloud. We travelled on Interstate 15 all the way and it was clear without a lot of traffic. It is a divided highway anyway so it is a lot easier to travel than one that isn't, especially pulling a trailer. Bernie took a picture of the snow in the back of the truck and was hopeful that it would melt a lot on this day!

Speaking of snow, it came and went. We were constantly scanning the countryside for signs that we were far enough south that it did not know how to snow!! I was still wearing my boots.

We stopped in Helena for gas and since IHOP was close by we went there for a good feed of pancakes. The waitress wished us a "Happy Holiday", and we both responded with, "Merry Christmas!". There is a reason for the season.

We arrived at the KOA in Pocatello about 6:00 p.m. We got turned around a bit but Betty, our GPS, came through and got us on the right track.

The campground had a little bit of snow but nothing to get excited about. All I cared about was that we were close to the bathrooms and showers. We were pretty comfortable with cable t.v., internet access and heat. What more do you need??

We have been gone from home for over a week now so it is time to blog! Right now I am in a KOA in Chula Vista, California and the weather is perfect. It was not so perfect when we set out but we knew it would get better.

We were up fairly early on December 18. I had packed the night before as best I could and Bernie had hooked the trailer up to the truck and pulled it around to the front of the house. So far so good. It was reasonably mild - not above freezing, but then again it wasn't forty below.

On Dec. 5 we were in Edmonton during the big dump of snow and we shovelled huge amounts of it into the back of our truck for weight while we spun our tires in our son's lovely neighbourhood. We just left the snow there since Bernie thought it would be good for traction.

We left Coronation for points south on the 18th at around 8:30 a.m. We were sure we would get somewhere, probably Great Falls by sundown. Things started off with a spin since we needed a little gravel to get the tires going in the right direction and then we were off!!

We stopped for gas at Cactus Corner and then again in Taber where we also had some lunch. So far so good.

We waited at the U.S. border for about half an hour which wasn't too bad. When it was our turn we produced our passports and waited for the questions. Bernie even had the trailer keys ready because the last time we went down there our trailer was searched. We had phoned ahead of time to make sure we could take frozen meat for our own use so we were fairly confident we were not breaking any recent agricultural laws they seem to change on a daily basis. I can still hear the border crossing guard asking the other guy for our license number. He hollers, "Charlie Two Charlie Two, Zero Zero Two." The guy says, "What??" and he makes him repeat it while he is shaking his head - I think he wanted to ask but he didn't. (We have a personalized plate C2C2002 in recognition of our glorious cross Canada cycling journey.)

When they finally established what our plate number was and that we did not have any citrus fruit with us they asked, "Why do you have the snow in the back?" Bernie told him it was for weight. Then he asked where we got it from and he says he got it in Edmonton. They both did not believe him when he said he used a shovel to get it there because they both said we must have used a "loader". Yeah, right, a loader. I shovelled too, I ought to know. Then the guard asked Bernie if we had drugs under all that snow and I couldn't help but laugh because I knew that was coming. He asked him twice and of course the answer was no both times. I was almost wishing that they would start pawing and shovelling through that truck box full of cold wet snow, without a "loader"!! ha ha Anyhow, they sent us on our way and didn't even ask for the dog's papers.

Finally we continued on our way, knowing that Great Falls would be our destination. We stopped to get some groceries and cheap beer and headed to the KOA. That was our first mistake of the day. We got there in good shape, paid, and were sent to our campsite. For the next two hours we spun, turned, twisted, shovelled and froze as we tried to get truck and trailer up icy hills and around tight curves. It seemed that the campground was the only place in Great Falls that it even snowed and froze. The manager helped us out and we finally got where we needed to get. It is all a blur now and I was just grateful that nothing happened to the vehicle or the trailer. I was ready to pack it in and head for home.

So we got set up, and plugged in, etc. and started the furnace while we went for a bathroom break. When we got back we discovered that the furnace had quit, the trailer was still cold and we didn't have any propane. Great. So Bernie took both tanks off and we trudged through the snow to the office to get our tanks filled. We got that done, put the tanks back on, got the furnace going and even turned on a little electric space heater that we had taken along. Before long we had everything toasty warm. I commenced to cook supper since by now it was eight o'clock.

I put stuff in the microwave and the stupid thing would not work......par for the course. I knew there was a trick because it acted up in the summer time but I couldn't remember what the trick was and I was hungry and losing patience. I finally got supper cooked and we were fed and watered by about 9:30 p.m. Not bad, only four and a half hours after arriving in camp!! Tomorrow would be better.

If we had planned things a bit better we probably could have had a visit with some hockey family friends we had met a long time ago, but we were about at the end of our tether by this point in time. Hopefully on the way home.