Our First Breakfast At Sherman’s Deli

Paulette and I knocked another item off of our Palm Springs “to-do” list yesterday morning.  Although we’d been to Sherman’s Deli for lunch and dinner several times over the past 6 years, we’d never made it there for breakfast, until Saturday morning.  It was beyond good – it was our all-time favourite breakfast and was much, much better than Pinocchio’s which I raved about just a week ago.

This Sherman’s Deli Omelette goes right to 1st Place!

Before going to Sherman’s, we drove around the Las Palmas area of Palm Springs just to see if any famous folks just might be happening to have a garage sale.  No such luck.  There was an Estate Sale though and Paulette did manage for find a few small items to add to her collection.  One of the items she bought was another yardstick!!

Las Palmas neighbourhood

It was another beautiful morning and as we drove through the Las Palmas neighbourhood with its towering Palm Trees lining each side of the street, we realized that would probably be our last tour of the downtown Palm Springs area for this year.  It’s so hot here right now though that we’re really looking forward to some cooler weather on the Pacific Coast in a few days.

It was around 10am by the time we got to Sherman’s and there was a line-up outside waiting for a table.  It was moving fast though and we were seated at an outside table in less than 10 minutes.  Dogs are allowed at the patio tables at Sherman’s much like they are at most downtown Palm Springs restaurants.  It’s a very dog-friendly place.

Sherman’s business was booming as usual.

Paulette and I both ordered different omelettes that came with fried potatoes and a bagel with cream cheese (I opted for toast and jam instead of a bagel and cream cheese).  It was a big breakfast for sure but we never ate much at all for the rest of the day.  We just had a light snack about 6:30 and that was it.

The guy on the left was giving our pups a real dirty look

Molly and Rylie were both very good dogs at Sherman’s.  In fact, all of the visiting dogs were.  There was no growling, snarling, barking or misbehaving at all.  We sat opposite a couple of long-haired some thing or other type dogs (see above) and one of them kept giving our pups the evil eye and gritting his teeth but that’s all he did.  We snuck Molly and Rylie a little treat once in a while to keep them happy.

Molly and Rylie are big Sherman’s fans now too

We began packing in earnest yesterday even though we’re not pulling out until Tuesday morning.  I packed up our Weber BBQ and the small propane tank along with everything else that goes in the front compartment under the 5’er hitch.  I’d been thinking about doing that for the past 3 days and finally got motivated enough to do it.

Sunday, we’ll be busy with laundry and more packing, organizing and getting ready to travel.  Most of our friends here at the Sands are also leaving on Tuesday but I think Paulette and I are the only ones planning to take the Pacific Coast Highway route home.  The last time we took this route was 2 years ago so we’re really excited to be heading back to the cool ocean breezes for the trip home.

Have a great Sunday, and thanks again for visiting!

BBQ Dinner With A Few Good Blogging Friends

Friday night we were invited over to blogger’s Rene and Jeanette’s for a BBQ.  They are staying just a bit down the road from us at the Caliente Hot Springs RV Resort.  We had heard from Rene that our friends and fellow bloggers Allen and Lolita were arriving for a stay at Caliente that same afternoon so they invited them over as well.

Paulette holding the “I Love Grandma” quilt gift from Jeanette

Paulette and I drove over about 4pm to find the party just getting underway.  We were happy to meet Rene and Jeanette’s good friends and RV travel companions, Hector and Diane too.  We’ve been reading about them in Rene’s blog for a few years now so it was great to finally meet them – what a wonderful couple. 

We discovered they live only about an hour north of us on Vancouver Island – it’s a small world.  We also met Chico, their terrific pup who is a Portuguese Water Dog – extremely friendly and well-behaved.  Chico could teach Rylie a few lessons!

Jeanette made this quilt and was happy to explain her technique

We had just sat down outside when Jeanette went into the trailer and came out with an absolutely beautiful gift for Paulette – what a wonderful surprise!  It was a gorgeous quilt Jeanette made for Paulette to celebrate the birth of our first Grandson this June.  The wording on the quilt says “I Love Grandma’!! 

This beautiful quilt has a nice, warm and cozy fleece backing

Well, Grandma loves the quilt too!  This beautiful quilt will have a very special place in our home and I’m sure our new Grandson will love it every bit as much when he comes to visit us.  Thank you, so much, Jeanette!  This gift was extremely generous and thoughtful of you.  Both Paulette and I thank you very, very much!!

Rene busy grilling up some great Chicken Burgers on his Weber Q

We sat outside on another perfect, warm afternoon in Desert Hot Springs.  It was somewhere in the 80s but we were lucky to be in a bit of shade beside Rene and Jeanette’s fifth-wheel.  We enjoyed a lively conversation covering all topics involved in RV’ing as well as our plans for traveling home and what we intend on doing next year.  Then, it was time for Rene to fire up his trusty Weber Q.

Rene, Allen, Hector, Lolita, Diane and Chico

Rene proved to be a master griller and it didn’t take long before he was serving up perfectly cooked Chicken Burgers.  Jeanette added a few delicious salads so we were treated to a terrific dinner.

For dessert, we enjoyed a Strawberry cake which certainly topped off a great meal.  We sat outside and chatted until it started to get dark which is getting later every day now.  It was 7:30pm before it began to get dark.  Just before it got pitch black out, we said our goodbyes and wished everyone safe travels home.  Thanks for a great dinner and wonderful evening with friends, Rene and Jeanette!

We just had to have a photo of Jeanette holding her handiwork

As soon as we arrived back at the Sands, we took Molly and Rylie for a long walk around the street loops in the park.  It was a perfect evening with zero breeze and the temperature still in the 80’s.  Wow, are we ever going to miss this kind of weather after leaving the desert!  The walk tired us out so much we didn’t even bother watching any TV last night.  We just did our blogs and then called it a night!

Have a great Saturday, and thanks again for visiting!

You Know You Want A ‘Bambook’ & An Opinion!!

I’m sure that as soon as most readers find out exactly what kind of new gizmo a Bambook is there will be an immediate rush on-line to order one – I know you’ll all want one, just give up and admit it.  So, what is a Bambook?  It’s a smartwatch which is a wristwatch device that connects to the Internet and runs apps – like Dick Tracy!!

Bambook smartphones!

By now, I’m sure I’ve got the attention of Retired Rod over in Mesa, AZ.  Rod’s a fanatic watch collector (along with scooters and Honda Gold Wings) but when he reads about smartwatches, I’m sure he won’t be able to resist maybe trading in one of his new Android smartphones for a brand new Bambook! 

Bambook eReader – it’s all Chinese to me!

Up until a few days ago, I’d never heard of a Bambook.  Neither had I heard of the massive Chinese tech company Shanda whose company called Guoke (another new one to me) plans to sell the Bambook Smart Watch this June for a little over $100.  It will come in two models, one will run Android, the other Firefox OS and like eReaders it will sport an e-ink screen.

It’s official:  How about an Apple iWatch with curved glass?

If there are any thoughts about smartwatches just being a crazy idea then be aware that Apple is rumoured to be working furiously on their own watch called the iWatch – what a clever name!  Apple is rumoured to have over 100 tech engineers looking at the device that will take advantage of recent developments in hi-tech curved glass, cheaper sensors and better voice recognition software.

Ever heard of Pebble Smartwatches?  They’re pretty hot!

Every major consumer electronics company, including Google, Samsung, Sony and many others are actively working on developing the most attractive watches with the best features at the lowest prices.  Apple changed the music industry, then cellphones and tablet computers.  Will wrist watches be next?  Don’t bet against it.

In reading blogs each morning I really enjoy the different writing styles we all seem to have as bloggers.  It seems we’re like snowflakes – no two blogs are identical.  Some folks write about their experiences in a matter of fact fashion, some use humour, others tend towards emotions and all of us at some point or other seem willing to offer our opinions on all subjects under the sun.

Opinions, mild or strong, interest me the most, I think.  And, again all of us bloggers seem to have a different style of writing when it comes to expressing opinions.  However, lets all keep in mind that an opinion is not a fact.  A fact can be verified and proven.  An opinion is simply someone’s belief and we’re all free to agree or disagree.  You can’t argue with facts – you can about an opinion.

What brings all of this to mind is that in reading some blogs this past week, I’ve noticed a few bloggers telling others, including a few new bloggers, what they “should be doing” to make their blogs better.  This really annoys me because it goes back to the opinion thing.  What’s important to one blogger may be totally irrelevant to the other.  One blogger may want to publish great looking photos while another is perfectly happy with fuzzy, awkward looking snapshots!

How does one blogger know what’s important to another?  I don’t really care too much for Dr. Phil stuff in blogs so I don’t go there, but some really like it.  Others have told me I post too many photos of food – that’s tough!  I like food – and, that’s my opinion.  In fact, that might just be a real fact!

So, what to do?  From time to time, I get questions from readers asking “what laptop should I buy?”, “what antivirus is the best?” or “what digital camera do you recommend”? Whatever the question is, I’ve always tried to avoid saying “you should buy an ‘x’ laptop, or you should use ‘yy’ type of virus program or buy this ‘zzz’ type of camera”! 

My opinion is the best way to answer these types of questions is to simply say “I’ve bought Dell laptops for years;  I always use MSE for virus protection and I’ve bought the Canon G series cameras for a few years now and I like them”.  I don’t believe it’s a good idea for we bloggers to be telling others “you should do…”, but that’s just my opinion, it’s not a fact and anyone is free to disagree.

Have a great Friday, and thanks again for visiting! 

Made Our First Trip Home Reservation Today

Next Tuesday morning, we’ll be pulling out of the Sands early and heading west on I-10 towards Los Angeles.  On the eastern edge of LA, we’ll swing north thru Pasadena and Burbank before we connect with Hwy. 101 at Thousand Oaks.  A little over 4 hours after leaving the Sands we should arrive at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort where we’ll be staying for 3 nights.  We are beginning to get excited!

We’re looking forward to a change of scenery

Unlike a lot of snowbirds who spend the winter down here in the desert, Paulette and I never regret having to head home.  Heck, if we did, I suppose we’d stay longer.  But, after 4 months away from Vancouver Island, we’re looking forward to trading the sandy desert floor, the brown hills and the bone dry Palm Springs River for our home and the charging waters of the Cowichan River, the lush green rainforests and the mountain trails we so much love to hike.

Can’t wait for our hikes along the Cowichan River

Our next stop after Pismo Beach will definitely be on the Monterey Peninsula again for 3 nights.  From there, we’ll wander up the California coast on Hwy. 101 and follow it up along the beautiful Oregon Coast.  Somewhere, we’ll turn east and head for Portland and the Dalles area.  Paulette has a few favourite Quilt Shops to check out and I’ve got some Columbia River exploring to do.

The River Walk complex in Rancho Mirage

In the meantime, we’re trying to make the most out of our last week here in beautiful Palm Springs.  It was in the high 80’s again but the winds were strong enough here in Desert Hot Springs to cancel an afternoon golf game with my friend, Mel.  I guess we’ll try again on Thursday.  Mel and Deb are leaving this Saturday for their home in Edmonton, AB.  They may get a rough welcome there as the last we heard it was cold and snowing (hint:  move to Vancouver Island). 

 

Even though the wind was blowing it didn’t stop me from heading up to the pool for a swim Wednesday afternoon.  With the temperature around 86F, the wind was hot so the pool was the perfect place to cool down.  Back at our rig, we set up our loungers in our shady spot by the rig which also blocks the westerly winds.  It’s a perfect place to sit outside in the afternoon and read or simply relax.

About 5pm last night, I started thinking about all those great places to eat I featured in my Wednesday blog post.  I knew Paulette was going for a perimeter hike at 6:30pm with a few friends so not having a whole lot of time I suggested we hop in the truck and take a quick drive over the 5 Guys Burger place at the River Walk in Rancho Mirage.  She agreed as this would be our last 5 Guys until next year!

The River Walk is a fairly up-scale mall in Rancho Mirage that has many different restaurants along with some specialty shops.  The restaurants range from expensive to regular joints like 5 Guys, Pizza places, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.  There’s also a really big Cheesecake Factory there as  well.  I would have loved to check that out but we ran out of time – just as well.

By the time Paulette got back from her walk, I had finished writing this blog masterpiece and we just settled in for a quiet night of watching a few TV programs.  No plans yet for Thursday, but we’ll see – something interesting usually comes up.

Have a great Thursday, and thanks again for visiting.  

More Snowbird Awards – Today It’s All About Food!

Thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post about my 2013 MVP Snowbird Gizmo Awards – it was fun.  Since all I did on Tuesday was lie around outside reading and go up to the pool for a swim in the afternoon (which doesn’t make for very exciting blogs), I thought I’d pass out a few more 2013 Snowbird awards for a topic I like even more than Gizmos – that would be great food!

Best Hamburger:  5 Guys in La Quinta

My award for the best burger in the Palm Springs area definitely has to go to 5 Guys!  These burgers beat runner up In-N-Out by a whole meat patty and a bag of fries.  These burgers are terrific and if you do happen to go only get one order of fries for the two of you because you’ll never be able to eat them all.  As for toppings on your burger, the choices can’t be beat – All American, Hot Mexican or if you’re really hungry go for both!

Best Deli Sandwich:  Sherman’s Deli Grilled Rueben

I tried my first Grilled Reuben with sauerkraut and swiss cheese at Sherman’s this year and it was every bit as good as the waiter said it would be when she recommended it.  It’s their top-selling sandwich and after trying to eat this monster I can see why.  I managed to get through half of it and brought the other half home for lunch the next day.  Hmmm…the actual truth is I only ate half because I was saving room for Sherman’s to die for Carrot Cake.

Best Pot-Luck Dinner:  Quilters Club at Seattle Judy’s

We’ve been lucky to have been invited to several pot-luck dinners here at the Sands this season.  One of the best was in early February at Seattle Judy’s Park Model home here at the Sands.  Why is she called Seattle Judy?  I asked Paulette and was told it was to distinguish all the different Judy’s in Quilting.  There’s Calgary Judy, a Heritage Judy and maybe even a few more – I guess it works!

Not only were the hamburgers, salads and all the fixin’s good at the Quilter’s Pot Luck the desserts were extra special delicious.  We had a bit of everything!

Best Pizza:  Villiagio’s Pizza in Palm Desert.

Picking the best pizza is a tough one for me because I like them all.  But this year I have to go with Villiagio’s Pizza in Palm Desert.  This was a new restaurant for us and we were celebrating our big 2nd place win in the park’s Trivial Pursuit Night.  Maybe it was the great company that made the pizza taste better but in any event it was a winner.  A close second was the California Pizza Kitchen in downtown Palm Springs and also Rocky’s New York Pizza in Desert Hot Springs.

Best Mexican Restaurant:  La Casa Grande in Desert Hot Springs

In our previous stays in Palm Springs Paulette and I have always regarded downtown’s La Casuela’s as our favourite Mexican restaurant.  Although it’s very close, this year we have to go with a small Mexican food restaurant closer to home – La Casa Grande right here on Pierson Ave. in Desert Hot Springs.  We’ve been for dinner there twice this year and it’s excellent and very reasonable prices!

Best Pie in the whole World:  Mom’s Apple Pie from Julien, CA

This wasn’t even close – it was my easiest call.  Mom’s Apple Pie from the little town of Julien, 2 hours and 4,000 ft. up from Palm Springs, is the best Paulette and I have ever tasted.  I bought 4 of these pies at $15.95 each and they were worth every penny.  By the way, others who sampled these pies agreed that they are the best!  If you go to Julien, buy more than one as you won’t be sorry.

Best Breakfast:  Pinocchio’s in downtown Palm Springs

Great food.  Great atmosphere!  Bottomless glasses of Champagne for $3.95 beginning at 7:30am until they close at 3pm.  Pinocchio’s is packed all the time and we could see why after having our first ever breakfast there just a few weeks ago.  Eating outside on a patio table at 75F in the morning made it extra special.  We’ll be going back here for breakfast next year for sure!

Have a great Wednesday, and thanks again for visiting!

My Gizmo MVP’s For The 2013 Snowbird Season

Each major sport in North America designates a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at the end of their respective seasons.  This award goes to the player who is deemed to have contributed the most to the success of the team.  Well, we snowbirds have a season too and for me “Gizmo’s” are a big part of a successful year.  With that in mind, here are my “2013 Snowbird Season Gizmo MVP’s”:

#1.  Time Warner Broadband Modem/Router for only $35 a month

Hands down, our Arris router/modem setup from Time Warner Cable giving us lightning broadband Internet access has been the absolute winner of this year's Gizmo MVP Award.  For only $35 a month, and not a penny of cost for the modem/router, we no longer have to suffer with poor park WiFi.  We have unlimited downloads so there is never a 5GB limit to worry about. 

This tremendous setup has allowed us to watch Netflix and iTunes movies whenever we want.  The router creates our own WiFi network in our rig so that we can access the Internet at broadband speeds using our iPads.  When we return to the Sands next winter, the first stop I’ll be making is to our local Time Warner store!

#2.  My Canon G15 Powershot Camera (thanks, girls)

Coming in second on this year’s MVP awards is my beautiful, new Canon G15 camera – a Christmas gift from daughters Carrie, Erin, Maggie and Hayley.  This new camera has been a dream to use and I’m absolutely delighted with the quality of the images produced by the G15.  It’s compact, has a rugged build and it’s very easy to use and operate.  It’s been a great companion to my blog this year.

#3.  Apple TV

This small Apple TV gizmo is to me a surprise 3rd place finisher for MVP honours.  It connects wirelessly to our Time Warner router and allows us to watch first rate movies immediately with no waiting or having to go to even a Red Box.  We’ve already watched Academy Award nominated movies Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and we plan to watch Lincoln Tuesday evening on its first day of release.  We’ve had a lot of enjoyment out of this little $109 device.

#4.  Our iPads – terrific for Google Hangouts & Facetime

Our new iPads have also been a great hit this winter while here at the Sands RV Resort.  Along with the convenience of Internet access anywhere in, or outside of, our rig, they have been wonderful devices for using in video chats using Google Hangout or Facetime.  We’ve enjoyed long, extended video calls with all the kids and it’s really made it seem like we’ve been there in the same room!

#5.  Epson NX530 Inkjet Printer

Another valuable addition to our list of gizmos this year has been our compact, wireless Epson printer.  This is Paulette’s baby and she uses it almost daily for printing out coupons to Jo-Ann’s quilt stores.  She also seems to get a lot of use out of both the copier function as well as scanning – almost always quilting patterns I’m guessing.  It has saved a lot of trips to Staples for copying!

Speaking of MVP’s – Tiger is again ranked #1 Golfer in the World

Yesterday morning, I watched the end of the Arnold Palmer Golf Tournament won by Tiger Woods.  The win, Tiger’s 3rd of this short season vaulted him back into the #1 spot in the world of golf.  I was thrilled to see Tiger playing so well again and to watch some of the shots that only he seems capable of making.  What a golfer!

Another reason I was happy to see Tiger regain the #1 ranking is because it was great to see him rebound from both his serious personal problems and from major injuries to his knees and other aches and pains.

Many folks expressed doubts about Woods’ ability to regain his dominance in golf and he was subjected to a lot of ridicule.  One thing they forgot though is that Tiger is as mentally tough as they come.  He possesses immense resolve, determination, tenacity and perseverance.  Anyone who doubted Tiger clearly had no idea at all just how mentally tough he is.  Get ready – his best is yet to come!

Have a great Tuesday, and thanks again for visiting!

Another Relaxing Sunday As Time Winds Down

Yesterday was our second to last Sunday here at the Sands and we spent it just relaxing.  That included a game of birdie-less, par-less, golf for me and a swim in the pool with Paulette in the afternoon.  That was about the extent of our day as it was another hot one here in Desert Hot Springs.

Mel, Deb, Joanne, Kim, Don, Brian and Paulette

In my blog yesterday, I mentioned that we went out on Saturday night but I never said where as my post was getting long and I was getting tired.  We went to the Elephant Bar and Restaurant in Palm Desert for dinner with friends from here at the Sands.  This was a dinner that we had all scheduled a week or so ago but for one reason or another had to be delayed.

The Elephant Bar is a fun restaurant and the food was really good.  The service was excellent too.  I’m sure Paulette and I will be adding this restaurant to our list of favourite places to eat in Palm Springs.  We even splurged and shared two orders of their decadent Dessert Samplers!  

Other than golfing and swimming, I read a bit and tried to catch the last 5 minutes of some of the NCAA March Madness Basketball games.  I don’t have the patience to watch an entire basketball game as there are just too many timeouts and constant stoppages for fouls.  The last few minutes can be pretty exciting though and there were a couple of good ones yesterday.

We didn’t go out anywhere for dinner last night but that didn’t mean we didn’t have a chef prepare our dinner.  We called on Chef Joe last night to make our dinner and it was excellent as usual.  I have no idea what it was called but it was some kind of pasta dish and it tasted great!

The beautiful, rushing waters of the Palm Springs river

Well, I can’t make up or think of anything else to say so I’ll just sign off for now and call it a day.

Have a great Monday, and thanks again for visiting!

The Early Bird Gets The Worm … But Not Breakfast

It was only 6:45am when I heard those words Saturday morning and I was just sort of waking up.  It was Paulette, all dressed and ready to go to some big community garage sale over in Palm Desert.  It took me a minute, but I gradually remembered telling her I would go with her as long as we didn’t leave until 7:30am.  So, quickly I was up to grab a cup of coffee and get ready to go.

Who goes to garage sales before 8am?  All these crazy people!

By 7:29am we were out the door – I never even had a chance to have breakfast.  All I was able to do was finish my coffee while I quickly browsed a few blogs.  If I normally leave a comment on your blog each morning and there wasn’t one Saturday then you can blame Paulette because we had to be out the door by 7:30am as “the early bird gets the worm.”

Who needs a genuine Ranch Mink Coat in Palm Springs????

Who goes to a garage sale at 7:30 in the morning?  I was amazed – lots of folks.  When we pulled into the huge parking lot where the community garage sale was being held it was already packed – I mean a few hundred people!  Just shows what I know about garage sales – not much.  Paulette joined the throng by jumping out of the truck before I even headed off to find a parking spot. 

How about a saddle for your horse?  What horse?

After parking, I walked around all the booths and tables with Molly and Rylie in tow.  To me, it just looked like piles of junk!  Old mugs, old clothes, ugly paintings, cd’s, dvd’s, glasses, dishes, chairs and even a saddle for a horse and a mink coat.  But, everywhere I looked folks were buying this stuff and hauling it out to their cars only to come back for more.  I spotted Paulette in the crowd and was thankful to see she was pretty much empty-handed.

Finally, after about an hour of wandering around, I saw Paulette on the last row and she waved saying she was ready to go.  Walking back to the truck she said “boy, was that ever great, if we were home I’d have bought a ton of stuff”!!  I never said a word, but couldn’t help wondering were we at the same garage sale?

I like the Palm Springs neighbourhood garage sales – interesting!!

Leaving Palm Desert, we headed west on Hwy. 111 towards Palm Springs and a big neighbourhood garage sale involving over 40 homes.  Luckily, all of these homes were in the same area and all within a few blocks of each other so there was very little driving.

That’s Paulette behind the iron gate looking for ‘bargoons’

I have to admit, I do like going to the neighbourhood garage sales in Palm Springs as the different style homes are so interesting to see and some of them are really outstanding in both architecture, features and landscaping.

Doesn’t this guy look very much like our friend Paul Dahl??

Another great think about garage sales in Palm Springs is you never know who you might run into.  It could be a movie star, TV celebrity, a friend from our RV park or even a fellow blogger.  I was sure it was Paul Dahl (R Sanity RV Adventures) sitting on a rock outside one house perhaps, like me, just waiting for his wife.  But, try as I may to strike up a conversation, he just wouldn’t talk.  It was all “hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil”!  Who knows?

We toured the Palm Springs neighbourhood for about 90 minutes before deciding to call it a garage sale day.  It was getting close to 80F by the time we pulled into the Sands a little after 11am.  First thing we did was grab some breakfast – garage sales work up an appetite. 

The rest of our day was pretty quiet.  We found a shady spot outside and just relaxed for a while.  In mid-afternoon we went up to the pool for a swim just to cool off a bit.  I think the pool is the thing I’m going to miss most about leaving the Sands in a few weeks.  We did go out Saturday night with some friends but I’ll leave that for my next post as I’m quickly reaching my 750 word post target.

Have a great Sunday, and thanks again for visiting!