Leg III Round I

We went all the way south, until we hit Alabama. we turned tight and went wild. Wild west to California. stopped by the ocean and the heat waves, we turn right again. This time North. Follow the Rockies, and the amazing National Parks of this magical path.

Don’t brake your Tooth in the desert

Friday, March 26, 2010 – The rest of the week just flew by. Thursday was another Von day. On Friday we had to find a dentist that would be willing to take Patti in a last minute notice, as she broke a tooth and was in big pain. Ouch – I hate toothache, Dentists and anything in between! Since we don’t have phone service or Internet in the campground we drove to Borrego Springs to search for one. Not and easy task – let me tell you.
The locals told us that in Borrego Springs the old carpenter is doing teeth on the side, so unless we want wooden teeth we better look somewhere else. The only somewhere else around this place is 80 miles away! If you are unemployed and looking for a change of career – look no more. Dentists are full of business. Any dentist we called was extremely busy and maybe maybe can get us in between two meetings in October 2015. We finally found a dentist in La Quinta, drove there to find out that the dentist would not touch anything without a release letter from Patti’s Dr who is in PA, and long gone home at this time. Not even pain killers. This is CA law. I guess in a sew happy state you have to cover your behinds. Drove all the way back to the desert with bunch of Orajel and IBU Prophen
So that was Thursday.

Last W/E in Anza Borrego

Saturday, March 27, 2010 – We are planning to leave next week, so I decided to spend the last W/E with my kids. Drove yesterday to pick them up, but Maya had too much homework and could not come. That’s a shame. A shame that they load the kids with so much homework that they can’t enjoy their W/E.
So Gal jumped on the car with me, and we drive back home, having some nice talk on the way. We planned to visit Julian village tomorrow, and stop by the Wild Animal Park. When we arrived to the campground, a neighbor suggested that we will go and take s short hike to the elephant tree, which is not so far from the campground, so the plan for Sunday is full!
Sunday, March 28, 2010 – Got up in the morning, dressed up and jumped in the truck. Our truck can seat three, and since Maya didn’t come – Patti joined us.
Our first stop was the elephant tree trail. A short hike in the blooming desert through a dry was to see one single elephant tree and bunch of flowers.  The trail is a short drive from the campground on the split mountain road right in Ocotillo Wells. It is amazing to see the amazing colors of the flowers popping out in the desert – Purple, Red, Yellow, Blue and White. Here are some pictures of what we saw.

View Full Album

Next, we stopped at the picturesque village of Julian. If you wondered where are the people of southern CA in the W/E, well – they are all here, in this little town. We stopped for lunch at a nice Mexican Restaurant (The food was excellent) and enjoyed walking up and down the main street.

People are standing in line to get Mom’s famous pies.

The wild Animal Park

Last stop before the end of the day – The Wild Animal Park. Not a cheap attraction, but they got some nice animals in the great open area that resembles living in the wild.
So enjoy this album and the wild life of this Park (On Hwy 78 just East of Escondido)

Passover in La Quinta

Monday, March 29, 2010 – Today went by pretty fast. We drove again to La Quinta, to get Patti’s tooth taken care of. She went to a different dentist who was willing to work on her teeth without any letters. I waited in Starbucks – my new favorite office…
As I was waiting, I looked for a place to do the Seder. This is a very traditional Jewish meal usually done with the family at home, but many congregations will have one as well.
Found a conservative synagogue that had some room for two guests (for a fee of course :) ) and made reservation for the night. When Patti came back from the dentist we realized we can’t go to a Seder with T-shirts and shorts so another run to Wal-Mart to get some clothes for the event. It was much better than nothing, but a far cry from a family feast. The time was limited as the place was rented, the cantor rushed through the Hagadah, and the Catering served commercial Passover food. But it was an OK Seder.

Movin’ On

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 – Enough with the desert and the isolation! I am going to miss my kids, but we will be back again. I think next year we will spend the whole winter around the kids.
We decided to move on and start our way North.  Not sure exactly where and when, but the next general destination is the Grand Canyon. Packed everything in no time, and were ready to go. Our left Slide-out is giving us hard time again. It won’t come in or out evenly, and it makes bad sounds as it moved in or out. This is the same one they fixed in Camping World in El Paso couple months ago. Didn’t last long… I think they have replaced the gear without investigating why it went bad in the first place, and the main problem was not fixed. Will have to schedule another visit to the Camping World…
A great dinner tonight – Mallawach with Schug and tomatoes – it is soooo good. (The recipe is on one of my blogs not so long ago)
…until next time – Happy Passover/Easter and great Week for everybody!