We had planned since Tuesday to drive into Indio to do a 'big shopping'....we hadn't done a 'big shopping' for several weeks as we have not been near a TJ's, or any of our other favorite stores, so knowing it was supposed to be raining all day Saturday (that had been the forecast all week long) we decided to drive in Friday. Usually in this area when there is any rain forecast at all they also predict with alarming regularity the chance of flash floods. Well, there are numerous flash flood areas between our boondock site and Indio, so yeah, lets drive on a day when there are no flash flood warnings.
We left home around 9 am for the 50+ mile drive into Indio. It was a perfect driving day......partly cloudy, light wind, and not much traffic until we got to Indio. Of course, this being President's Day weekend there was a lot of outbound traffic from the L.A. area, and the streets in Indio were quite congested with the beginning of the weekend rush.
Our first stop was RiteAid where I picked up another bag of Panatella Cigars......I got 25 for $17.97! I used to pay $5-10 for a single cigar, and they were good cigars, but a year ago my good friend Michael Viccari introduced me to Panetelas (apparently only sold at RiteAid as far as we can tell), which cost me about 72¢ each, and to me and my unsophisticated palate they are just as enjoyable, plus I don't have to keep them in a humidor.....they come in a plastic bag, and are individually wrapped in cellophane. At any rate I was down to two so it was time to resupply. I typically smoke fewer than 3, or 4 a month, but I find when I am boondocking I tend to smoke them more.....probably because I'm spending more time outside (I don't smoke inside.....of course).
Next up it was the long anticipated stop at the Trader Joe's near the intersection of Washington and HWY 111......
.......we stocked up on wine, vodka, scotch, brandy, carne asada, pollo asado, etc. Our next stop was the local Smart and Final to pick up whatever else was on our list. By this time it was closing in on 1:30 pm and I was a little hungry so we crossed the street the the local Starbucks where I ordered my usual, Grande Mocha Frappuccino, to take the edge off my hunger.
By the time we stopped at the ARCO Travel Center at the intersection HWY 86 and S-22 it was 2:20.....we needed to fuel up the VW, and buy some more of their great hardwood firewood for future fires. We were home just before 3 pm with smiles on our faces. Our batteries only managed to get back to 98% due to the heavy cloud cover most of the day, but no worries.....we have another week of horizon to horizon sunshine coming our way.
Around 4 we decided to drive into Borrego Springs and treat ourselves to a couple of craft brews, and a pizza at Kesling's Kitchen......Yelp gives them 4.5 stars on 57 reviews.....they have about a dozen craft beers on tap, and a wonderful selection of wood fired pizzas, fresh salads, as well as other typical Mediterranean offerings, and top it all off they offer alfresco dining, and gluten free pizza, so what is not to like?
We enjoyed a wonderful salad and pizza chased with two good brews (a Ballas Point Sculpin IPA for TLE, and I wish I could remember mine....a Red something.....kind of an amber). It was all very good, and just the way to end a very enjoyable day spent with the love of my life.....The Lovely Elaine.
By the time we got back home it was getting dark, and the skies looked ominous. Around 8 pm it began to rain a gentle rain, which, as I reported to begin this blog post, continued on all night until just before we decided to break our slumber.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sounds like a wonderful day, getting things done.
ReplyDeleteYou picked a good day as long as the wind was kind to your little bug. Today might have been fine too since not much rain has fallen.
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