Thursday 24 January 2013

Whirlwind Tour Of Southern California Quilt Shops

My first day as Quilt Shop Chauffeur was a long one covering 265 miles and taking a little over 9 hours.  We left the Sands just before 9am and it was 6:30pm and already dark by the time we got back.  I figure I should be getting overtime for all this driving so it might turn out to be more dough for gizmos and gadgets, right??

The last stop of the day in Corona at 4:30 and still going strong!!IMG_0420

It seemed to me like we had stopped at about a dozen different quilt stores but I’m told it was only four.  The stops ranged from a low of 30 minutes to a high of 90.  We drove through the desert, over hills and out to the Pacific Ocean.  We passed wind turbines generating power in the desert and a nuclear power station at San Onofreo on the California coast – a very strange place for a nuclear power plant if you ask me (but, nobody did)!

Here was yesterday’s route – we got to see desert and the ocean!Fullscreen capture 1232013 74930 PM

It was a pleasant day for a drive as it was mid-70’s for most of the time which meant we didn’t have to use the A/C nor the heater.  The trip must have been a huge success because at each stop Claire, Judy and Paulette came out with lots of bags thus bolstering the economy of California.  I forgot to mention, we added one quilter to the tour from here at the park, Judy, who lives in Seattle, WA.

Shopping takes energy – so that called for lunch at In-N-OutIMG_0404

All of this shopping and being driven around makes a girl hungry so around lunchtime we ran across an In-N-Out burger place while we were in San Marcos so we stopped for lunch.  Even Molly and Rylie were hungry from all the work so they shared their very own cheeseburger patty.  Then, it was back on the road.

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Our first stop, and the longest was in Temecula.  Paulette,  Claire and Judy flew out of the truck and headed for the front door of The Wool Lady Shop and I never saw them again for 90 minutes.  To pass the time, I took a walk with Molly and Rylie along the main street boardwalk.  Temecula has free town Wifi and since I brought my iPad with me I was able to pass some time browsing the web.

This is for Rod – he bought us lunch in Temecula – my turn next!IMG_0376

Temecula always brings back good memories for Paulette and I as we took a day trip here with Rod and Loyce a few years back when they were staying at the Sands.  Rod kindly bought us lunch at a great burger place – Mad Madeline’s Grill.  I promised to repay Rod one day by buying him lunch but so far have managed to avoid him.

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Leaving Corona, we got stuck for a bit in the southern California freeway madness.  Luckily, I was able to manoeuvre over to the HOV lane and after that we sailed right along without much trouble.

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When we got back to the Sands, we had some visitors come over to say hello – Sandy and Gary from back home in Duncan had arrived for a 2 month stay as well as our friends Tom and Jennifer from Williams Lake, B.C. – so our whole gang is here now. 

I’m tired and I still have to wash, dry and iron my Chauffeur’s uniform so I’m off to bed now and it’s only 9pm!

Have a great Thursday, and thanks again for visiting!

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