The streak is over.....

8:00 am - Sunday - January 7th - GNHS - 55° F, humidity 57° F, wind 11 mph out of the north by northwest.....cloudy today with rain and a forecast high of 62° F.  On this date in 2019 TLE and I were in Georgia visiting goof friends Roscoe and Geni whom we met whilst working at the Yellowstone General Store in Mammoth Hot Springs back in the summer of 2017....Geni and Roscoe...."Miss you, love you, mean it!".....↴ 

Saturday TLE and I enjoyed our first day off since New Years Day.  Shortly after publishing my latest blog post TLE and I headed out on a 2 mile out and back walk.  We haven't walked two miles at one time since I hurt my knee, but that knee is feeling so good right now we decided to give it a shot.....we covered the 2.07 miles in 36 minutes, 48 seconds averaging 3.4 mph, and burning 355 caloric units.....

.....and even though we were not working, there were three 4 hour rentals handled solely by Hunter.  After finishing our walk I headed directly into the trailer to do my workout, which consists mainly of toning exercises (modified pushups, lower back, situps, hand strengthening, arm curls, and triceps), after which I changed clothes and headed down to the hot pools/tubs for the first soak of the new year....

.....after which I sat outside in by anti gravity recliner watching golf and football for an hour, or so, before the chilly south wind chased me back inside the Newell.

Around 2:30 pm TLE and I took our second walk of the day, this time just the 1 mile out and back version (it actually ended up being 1.2 miles) averaging 3.3 mph and incinerating another 205 caloric units.....

.....shortly after returning from our walk I was checking the COA rental app to see if there were any rentals for Sunday when I noticed that one of the 4 hour rentals for Saturday was marked as 'WRECKED'....wait, what?  TLE and I hurried outside to find Hunter staring at a wrecked General 2 seater....it had been rolled out at the Bat Caves.  Thankfully, all the damaged is cosmetic, but it is extensive, including a bent roll cage, so it will be out of commission for a while.....

....so, our no accident streak has come to a screeching halt, but at least no one was injured.

It wasn't long until the Chocolates began to be lit by the setting sun....

....followed by a sunset which lasted over 45 minutes beginning to end.....

Looking west

Looking west

Looking east

.....on a side note TLE and I began working in earnest the day after Christmas to get rid of those holiday pounds.  So far the pounds are shedding rather quickly, and we are on course to get to new lows before the end of this seasonal job in late March.  Also, we continue to be in good health, and still asymptomatic to the Wuhan Flu.

Thanks for stopping by!

Eight out of nine......

7:34 am - Saturday - January 6th - GNHS - 45° F, humidity 64%, wind 4 mph out of the east.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 64° F.  On this date in 2021 TLE and I were on our way to Los Algodones around 5:30 am for our annual dental appointments.....↴ 

We only had one booking for Friday, but it was an all day rental, so we were on the job by 8:30 am.  As it turned out the lone customer had car trouble, and didn't arrive until 10 am.  In the mean time TLE and I busied ourselves with things that needed doing.  We had the customer on the road by 10:15 am in one of our 2 seat Generals.

We had numerous inquires throughout the day about rentals this weekend, and next, so I expect there may be some walkup business on Saturday (today), but TLE and I will not be working as we have the weekend off after working 8 of the last 9 days.  For the first time this year we have had rentals for 10 consecutive days, including today (Saturday), which is pretty great for COA!

After our all day customer left the staging area I took another of those 1 mile out and back walks, and managed for the third successive time to average 3.5 mph.....

....after my return TLE took her walk.  The day was delightful, and reminds one why people flock to SoCal in the winter time.  It was another balmy, pleasant 64° F day with no clouds.....

.....the balance of the day was laid back.  TLE and I took separate 30 minute lunches, and then second 1 mile walks in the afternoon....

.....around 3:50 pm we began to see our tracker returning along the Canal Trail, and within 15 minutes we could hear them coming, and eventually they came into sight....

It's 4:15 pm, and there they come

....and thus ended another successful COA rental day....no rescues, no breakdowns, and no accidents!

Shortly after our customers returned we bid them adieu, closed the COA office, and retired to the viewing deck to celebrate the end to a long 9 days.....

Look at those Chocolates lighting up!

.....TLE prepared Jalapeno Poppers, and Carne Asada salad for dinner, which I grilled (poppers and carne asada) on the Sea-B-Que, after which we retired to the 'lido deck' for a fire, and to watch the end of the 2nd round of the current PGA tour event being held in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.  It is good to have golf on the weekends again.

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Jiggling Jello...

6:48 am - Friday - January 5th - GNHS - 45° F, humidity 84%, wind 3 mph out of the east by southeast......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 64° F.  On this date in 2013 I posted this map of our travels from February 1st through December 31st, 2012....12,445 miles in all....we have never driven that many Newell miles in one year since....not even close.....↴ 

Click on picture to enlarge

......we drove all the way to Florida, up to Washington, and back south to Florida in 11 months.

We 'slept in' Thursday thinking we would not be working.  There were only two 1/2 day rentals booked, and they were for the same family, so we left it to Hunter to take care of things while we took a day off work.  Since the Thursday before New Years we've only had one day off, and that was New Years Day.  Of course, as you know, sometimes things don't work out the way you wish, and Mr. Jello decides to shake things up a little.

Around 8:30 am I received a call from Casey Harper, one of our bosses, asking us to work instead of Hunter as he, Hunter, was about to go over 40 hours for the week, and they did not want to pay overtimes, which I can understand.  TLE and I were only at 20 hours each for the week.  At any rate, I finished posting my blog, and we got dressed and headed out to the COA office to begin the rental day around 9 am.  

The booked 1/2 day rentals were not due to depart until 10 am, so we had plenty of time to get the two RZRs prepped (take pictures, check air pressures, oil, etc.) before our customers arrived.  During that 60 minute interval we had three additional walkups, two more 1/2 day rentals, and one 2 hour rental, so it became a very busy rental day just like that!  It got a little hectic for about 40 minutes, but by 10:30 am all five rentals were on their way.

Since we didn't have Hunter to back us up when we take our daily walks, TLE suggested I go by myself, so I did.  I managed to cover the out and back 1 mile walk in 18 minutes, averaging 3.5 mph.....that's the first time I've been able to walk that fast in over a month....the old right knee is getting better quickly now.....

.....the rest of the day went very well, and by 4 pm all of our rentals had returned without incident!  How long will this streak of no rescues, and no accidents last?  I don't know, but I am knocking on wood furiously right now....lol!

In preparation for our single, all day rental on Friday (who knows if we'll get more walkups, or not, but we need to be prepared) TLE and I drove all four rentals down to the fuel station to top off their tanks.  By the time that was done, and we had closed the office it was closing in on 5 pm, and I was ready for a long, hot shower.

TLE had me grill a salmon steak for dinner, to which she added a side of boiled spinach....I love spinach.  The salmon steak she bought Tuesday was so delicious.  She marinated it for about an hour in lime, cilantro, oil, garlic, and honey.....OMG, it was so delicious and I am still thinking about it as write.  And thus another GNHS day came to an end.

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Some excitement......

 7:58 am - January 4th - Thursday - GNHS - 48° F, humidity 82%, wind 4 mph out of the west by northwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 63° F.  On this date in 2016 we were still at our first boondock site in the Anza Borrego Desert on Rock House Road....Steven Dempsey launched his drone to get an aerial view.....↴

TLE and I were not planning on working Wednesday, but when the bookings went from 2 to 4, with two of them being all day we got dressed to help Hunter. This year's post New Years Day business is much busier than last year's.  After New Years Day last year we had just 2 rentals over the 9 days following New Years.  This year we have a total of 8 so far (if you count New Years day we have 10...we had no rentals last year on New Years Day), and I'm sure there will be a few on the weekend.

All four rentals were on their way by 10 am, and then it was just a matter of hanging out hoping there would be no issues.  Hunter and I fueled up the rest of the RZRs during that time, and washed four, or five for good measure.  When we've got the time we prefer to wash them, rather than using compressed air....they just look cleaner.

Around 11 am it began to rain.....

.....we weren't really expecting rain, and that it lasted a couple of hours was even more unexpected, but delightful, nonetheless, but probably not so much for the customers way out in the desert....

  

...during that interval TLE and I took another of our 1 miles walks and averaged, for the first time since I injured my knee, 3.2 mph covering the mile in just over 18 minutes....

Our two half day rentals returned around 2 pm, and they were pretty dirty, so Hunter gave them a good bathing after which I dried them.  One of our two all day rentals returned around 3 pm, a little early, and was also pretty muddy.  So three rentals back with no issues....good!

After they were checked back in TLE and I took our second 1 mile walk of the day and averaged 3.2 mph once again, and my knee feels wonderful...

....the skies had begun to clear by then, so the Chocolates began to light up.....

We watched the tracker on the other all day rental as it slowly made its way back to the office on the canal trail....that was about 3:45 pm.  Anyway, we thought they would be back within 20 minutes so we stopped tracking them.  Around 4:05 pm I checked again, because they had not yet returned and saw they had made a beeline down to Bombay Beach....doh!  They were told specifically not to go there.  Our RZRs are not licensed for highway use, and you have to use the highway to get there.  Doing so invalidates your rental agreement, and the insurance, and makes you 100% liable for all damages.  We tried calling them, but it went straight to voice mail, so Hunter and I hopped in the company van to drive down there (it's only 6 miles).  As we turned onto HWY 111 northbound we saw our RZR coming at us in the southbound lanes going about 70 mph.  We flashed our lights, but they continued.  We made a U-turn, and tried to catch up with them after they turned on to Hot Mineral Spa Road, but they were going even faster.  We thought they were trying to get back to GNHS by 4:30 pm, which they would have, but then they suddenly turned onto the Fountain of Youth road.  We continued following them, and finally caught up with them near the entrance gate.  I got out and told them they were in trouble, and to immediately return to GNHS, which they did.  We arrived back there around 4:40 pm.  Thankfully, there was no damage to the unit.  We will never be renting to them again, for sure!

All that being said, all four units came back unscathed, so another good day for COA on that front.  We were treated to a beautiful sunset, which lasted for about 30 minutes....I took some pictures around 5 pm well after the sun had dipped below the western horizon.....

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A day in the life.....

7:01 am - January 3rd - Wednesday - GNHS - 49° F, humidity 73%, wind 9 mph out of the east by southeast.....cloudy today with a chance of rain around mid day, and a forecast high of 60° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I arrived at Rock House Road for our first Anza Borrego Desert boondocking experience.....we were with Michael Vaccari (foreground), Steve and Linda Dempsey (their motorcoach is in the background)....we have returned many times since.....↴ 

After a very laid back New Years day TLE and I decided to drive into La Quinta for the first time in a few weeks to do some shopping, and pay a visit to the local Supercuts....it's been 6 weeks since my last haircut, and I was getting just a little shaggy, to say the least.  We left GNHS around 8:55 am, and arrived at the La Quinta Supercuts at 9:55 am, just in time for their 10 am opening.  Within 5 minutes I was seated in the barber chair, and getting my ears lowered.

We like to take a walk each morning, so on this day, since we were headed to La Quinta early, we decided to take a walk up and down HWY 111 after my haircut, then get an early lunch....I've had a hankering for a chicken Caesar Salad for a while....and were doing just that (walking) when I received a call from Casey Harper, one of our bosses at COA, that there was a potential customer in the park that wanted to do a rental beginning at 1 pm, and would we be amenable to taking care of that?  TLE and I agreed to be back by 12:30 pm, so we turned around and headed back to the VW, and drove down to the local Ralphs Supermarket to do our shopping, and then head for home. By the way, we covered around 1.26 miles on our walk averaging 3.1 mph.  We arrived back at GNHS around 12:30 pm, put away the groceries, then got our customers on their way a tad after 1 pm.

Back from our 1.26 mile walk sporting my new coif (Supercuts in the background)

Since I didn't get my Chicken Caesar Salad TLE bought one for me at Ralphs to eat after we got our customers on their way.....what a woman!  We just hung out for the next 3.5 hours....I with my salad, and TLE with her book, and by 4:30 pm we could see our four seat RZR coming up the street....right on time!  Our customer had planned to watch the sun go down at the Bat Caves, hence the 1 pm start, and didn't know they had to be back by 4:30 pm when they made the reservation, so their rental only lasted 3.5 hours.  All was well, and for another day at least, there were no incidents, just smiling, happy customers.  As I tell TLE all the time, we are in the business of selling smiles.

Thankfully, we received our gasoline delivery Tuesday, so after bidding our customers adieu we drove four of the RZRs down to the fuel station to fill them up.  We've got rentals going out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so we need to be ready.  So far we have no bookings for Saturday, but I am sure we will.

TLE and I closed out the day with a fire on the 'lido deck', and then headed inside around 6:15 pm for dinner, a soup which consisted of celery and onions with a side of cheese toast.  Just another 'day in the life'.

Thanks for stopping by!

First day of the New Year!

7:23 am - January 2nd - Tuesday - GNHS - 46° F, 88% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 65° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I were enjoying an Ocotillo Wells sunrise and sunset......↴ 

January 1st of any year is always one of my favorite days of the year.  You get college football bowl games from 9 am to 9 pm....non stop.  TLE and I always begin the day watching the Rose Parade, at least until the first bowl game begins.  I think I might have mentioned this in past years, but I grew up in Pasadena, CA, so the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl have been apart of my life for decades now, and this year the Rose Bowl featured one of the semi final games for National Championship between Michigan and Alabama.  It figured to be a slug fest, with points coming the hard way, and it was.  For just the third time in the College Playoff era the game went to overtime as Michigan managed to score the tying touchdown with a little over a minute to play.  In the first overtime period Michigan scored first to go up 27-20, and then stopped Alabama from scoring on their possession to advance to the final game in a couple of weeks.  That was probably one of the best semi final games in years.

COA did have the last day of the 4 day rental which began last Friday, and a walkup for a 6 hour tour.  We let Hunter handle them, and they all came back without incident.  It's been quite a Christmas/New Year 10 days, but we got through without any units being damaged.

TLE and I took two 1 mile walks (7th and 8th of the series), but the rest of the day I was ensconced in my recliner watching one bowl game after another.  The final game of the day was the semi final game between Texas and Washington.  The game ended with Texas missing on four consecutive passes from the 12 yard line to win the game, but fell short, losing 37-31.

The morning walk

The afternoon walk 

That was the sum total of our New Years Day festivities.  Once again, Happy New Year to you and yours!

Thanks for stopping by!

Time to buy a lottery ticket!

7:15 am - January 1st, 2024 - Monday - GNHS - 46° F, humidity 84%, wind 4 mph out of the north....partly cloudy on this first day of 2024 with a forecast high of 66° F....↴

What is in store for us in 2024?

.....a new year of new adventures, new views, new friends coming our way. The first sunrise of 2024 at GNHS......↴

....on this date in 2023 TLE and I were awaiting our first RZR rental customers of the day.....↴

When I left off yesterday we had just finished a successful 11 RZR rental day, and were looking forward to another 11 RZR rental day on Sunday.  Unlike Saturday, we had all 11 RZRs scheduled to depart at 9 am.  I say scheduled, because very few show up early enough to depart at 9 am, and that is a good thing.  Just like Saturday our Sunday customers arrived at nice intervals enabling us to get them out without any stress, or pressure of people milling around awaiting their RZRs.  In actuality, it wasn't until well after 10 am that our final customer was on the road.  Once that was done it was just a matter of being available in case there were any accidents, flat tires, or rescues.

All empty save for the one RZR (on the left) with a broken axle

Thankfully, the rescue phone never rang the entire day, and all 11 of our all day rentals returned by 4:45 pm without incident.  How is that even possible?  We've never had a two day stretch like this without at least one flat tire, or accident, and yet Sunday was the second 11 rental day in succession without a single issue.  In fact, it's been about 9 days since we have had an accident, or flat tire.  Well, I for one will not be looking any gift horses in the mouth!  In fact, where is some wood I can pound right now?

TLE and I took another 1 mile walk averaging over 3.1 mph.  My knee feels amazing after a month of pain, and uncertainty.  There was a point about a week ago when I was beginning to wonder if I would be able to walk any distance again without pain....

That smile!

.....we closed the COA office on another rental day around 4:45 pm, and braced for the noise level to rise significantly as the park is packed full of New Years revelers.  Around 9 pm fireworks began to go off, so I wandered outside to video some of them for your viewing pleasure.....

....and with that The Lovely Elaine and I would like to extend our best wishes for a year filled with wonderful, new memories, family, love, new views, new friends, and good health!  May God bless you all!

Thanks for continuing to stop by!