Day 222: It's been a long time since I have been able to write a blog, and a LOT of things have happened. With one thing or another, such as no internet, I haven't been able to write. Our daughter and her family gave us an IPad for Christmas so that we can be in touch even without internet, but we haven't been able to figure it all out.
We are back in Desert Hot Springs, at Caliente Springs Resort, where there is that wonderful dog park for Snuggles. We'll be here for at least another week. We came here on Sunday, from the park in San Dimis where we met the Rally Group for the Rose Parade.
We had a wonderful time at the parade; we watched them build the CalPoly float, had great seats at the parade, and then had an opportunity to see the floats up close and personal the next day. In addition to all that, we went to the Palm Springs Follies, which deserve their own blog, if I have time later. And we saw an equestrian show featuring many of the groups from the parade. We also went to a band fest featuring several of the bands that marched in the parade. We celebrated New Year's Eve on East Coast time, as we had to be ON THE BUS the next morning at 5 :00 a.m. for the parade!
BUT, the most amazing part of the last few weeks was Dave's Christmas present to the two of us. When we got home from the Midnight service at Grace, Glendora, he told me we were going to Hawaii for 10 days! I knew nothing about this. My first thought was the pup; where would we leave her?
I told the Rector of Grace, Susan Scranton, about our trip and asked her if she knew of a reputable kennel. Before I knew it, she had us in touch with a wonderful couple who board dogs in their home. We talked on the phone and arrangements were made to go meet them. Susan picked up her Sheltie, and led us to Bonnie and Rod's home. There, wonder of wonders, were three more Shelties, all rescue dogs. Snuggles was beside herself with joy.
Bonnie works for the Animal Rescue League. They have a huge backyard that is safely fenced in, and the dogs have the run of the house and the yard. I told Bonnie I would bring Snuggles' crate so that she could be confined at night. "We'll put her in our bedroom," said Bonnie. I was convinced that this was exactly the place for our pup.
And it was. She had a great time. Bonnie and Rod couldn't say enough happy things about her. Bonnie sent us an e-mail with a picture of Snuggles sleeping on her husband's chest on the couch, to show us that Snugs was happy.
In fact, so happy that she has been lonely these last few days! She loved playing with the Shelties there.
The next surprise was at the LAX Airport. We walked to our gate, and there were Fred and Shirley Nagle. They are travelers, so I said, "Hey, where are YOU going?" "With you!" they said. Dave had made all these arrangement last year, trading our Peak n' Peek timeshare for a big one on the island of Kauai. So amazing.
We had a wonderful 10 days; three in HOnolulu, then 7 on Kauai. We went to see the Pearl Harbor Memorial and took a tram around the city. We walked to the beach, and generally enjoyed Honolulu.
Kauai is the Garden Island, and it lives up to its name. We had rain there, but except for cancelling our sunset dinner cruise, we didn't miss anything else. Dave and Fred took a helicopter ride over the island. We went to a dinner show, and a luau. But mostly, we drove around the Island, visiting lots of little beaches, and rural places. We shopped, of course (I now own 1 1/2 pounds of Kauai coffee and one pound of Kona).
It was a restful, happy week. Now I have to settle down to LEARN how to use my IPad so that even when we don't have internet, I can send a blog. My e-mail is set up already ("there is an App for that"), but the blog is another thing.
From here, after enjoying the desert for a few days (and the dog park and the hot springs), we'll finally head to Texas.
We are loving this gypsy life. And the only snow is in the mountains, which we can see from our "patio" here in Caliente Springs.
