Well…we made it up to Las Vegas without much drama.
Of course, along the way, something had to blow up, fall apart, or be rendered inoperative with the motorhome because, well…it’s an RV! Accordingly, about 3 hours out of Murrieta, the convex mirror portion of my driver’s side rear-view mirror fell off. I actually saw it start to wobble, and was remarking about it to Charlie when it completely came unglued and left the rig. It’s not a big thing, because I can drive the RV safely without it, but I’d rather have it to help out seeing the guys on the left who are about to pass me.
It is a part that probably costs $5 to make, but, because it is original equipment on an expensive RV, will probably cost me $200 to replace. New shoes for some mechanic’s kid over at Temecula Valley RV…just sayin’.
We are currently residing at the Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort, a fancy own-your-own-lot RV resort. It is very similar to the one in Aguanga, minus the executive golf course. Charlie and I really like that one, but your rig has to be less than ten years old to qualify you to buy a lot there. Unfortunately, we have a 2005 Monaco Windsor…a very spiffy one…but, at Aguanga, it’s no dice. Here in Vegas, they’ve shit-canned that rule and have a committee that makes the decision whether a Class A motorhome is WORTHY. Ours would qualify, we are told.
Anyway, the Vegas facility is every bit as nice as the resort in Aguanga, maybe better. The lots vary in size, as do the improvements that owners have made to the spaces. The majority of improvements here tend to be of the “thatched-roof” variety, although there are quite a number of stucco-and-tile structures. The improvements usually consist of fancy cobbled driveways, executive BBQ set-ups, bars, and maybe an outdoor family room with giant screen TV. People (old rich ones!) are here for the good life…Some of the fanciest improved lots are “for sale”, asking prices in the $250-$300K range.
(I believe that they only allow Class A motorhomes in here, as opposed to the “5th Wheel” trailers that are commonplace at Aguanga.)
Here are some examples of the improved spaces:
This is the space that we are staying in, with palapas, cobbled driveway, and a major-league barbeque.
We’ve talked about buying a lot here, although there’s a few things that would have to happen first (like, first, sell our Murrieta house!). But, we’re interested in something like this for the long haul; if not here, maybe in Palm Springs or Arizona? Anyway, we’d probably get one of the unimproved spaces and do our own thing as far as improvements are concerned. There is a pretty good inventory of basic spaces here, and the asking price is about $70K, although one could probably pick one up for $60K. Here are a few:
If we were to buy a lot here, that would be our non-“Summer” home; i.e. we would travel in the Summer (when it’s hotter than Hades here!), and retreat to this location for the rest of the year. The weather’s actually better in Southern California, but it’s too expensive there, and those snobs at Aguanga won’t have us.
Yesterday, Charlie got her big chance to get a permanent tattoo. She has been itching to do so for the past couple of years, after enjoying henna tattoos at the beach in Mexico. So, we drove over to a local, highly-rated parlor and did the sinful (?) deed. (Hey, you only live once, right?)
Charlie’s tattoo artist was named Julia Steele…a very nice, young gal who was an art student before committing to the tattoo business a couple of years ago. She and her boyfriend Lev are planning to move to So Cal by the end of the year. Here she is:
She has a shaved head because she was involved in a fund raiser for cancer victims and decided to go bald in solidarity with the patients.
Anyway, she did exactly what Charlie wanted, and in an hour or so put a nice ring of dog prints around Charlie’s ankle.
As long as we were there…I decided to modify my Booger and JayJay tat, by including Baby. I came up with an idea of including the previous tattoo in a “thought bubble”, as if Baby was thinking about her best buddies. This will be the case in several years, when Booger and JayJay are not around to play with her (sigh!). Anyway, here’s the modified tat that my new friend Julia etched on my left shoulder:
What a waste, you might say. Well, if I’d gone to a local casino, and blown $250, I would have nothing to show for it…right? So, actually, I was a genius for thinking of this excellent way to spend my money. (I hope I don’t go to Hell for disfiguring my body…again!)
Speaking of the dogs, they are all doing great, including Baby, who has really taken to the RV life. She has yet to poo in the rig…knock on wood!
It’s a spacious RV with plenty of room for everyone, even when Charlie is working at the desk, helping out some businessman hundreds of miles away.
By the way, today was an interesting one for the reason that there was a “police action” going on nearby for several hours, with a hostage team specialist on a bullhorn trying to talk a guy out of a house…for hours. We could hear the whole thing quite clearly outside of the rig. I don’t know what finally happened, because I had some errands to run, but the police gave that stupid perp every opportunity in the world to exit the premises unharmed. If he eventually got shot up, it was his dumbass attitude that did it, because the hostage team leader guy was begging him, for hours, to please exit peacefully so that the SWAT team didn’t hurt him, his dog, or his family’s home. Criminals…go figure!
On to more pleasant news…
Tomorrow, JayJay and I will accompany the girls up to Grand Canyon Village, where we will set up camp for a week. I’m praying (even though I’m not a religious guy) that the Verizon service, hence our WiFi hotspot, is strong, otherwise we may have to skeedaddle away from there and miss out on some great views, hiking, and night skies. Keeping fingers and toes crossed…
And, hopefully, as we drive four hours over to the Great Abyss, nothing else will fall off the motorhome…