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Adventures in the Villa

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2019-03-17 – Airstream Caravans Travel – Day 5 – Las Cruces and Alamogordo, NM

This Sunday morning we started walking at 7:30 am in 35 degree temperatures.  There is a nice United Methodist church about 1/2 mile from here.  However we wonder at the wisdom of holding a church service at 8:00 am… It was a beautiful church, but only 50 people were in attendance. I was reassured that their later two services were better attended… ( a total of about 300+ people each Sunday…)

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While walking back to the Villa we passed the Railroad Museum.  We may need to return here in a day or two…

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We packed a lunch and pointed the truck towards Alamogordo… The road to Alamogordo is named the “Bataan March Memorial Highway”.  White Sands Missile range was closed today while they do an re-enactment of the Bataan Death March – without the disease, torture, bugs, humidity, starvation, and death… This is an annual event since 2002.  Hundreds of people (maybe thousands) were walking along the highway and on the roads in the missile range…

We continued on to Alamogordo, to the New Mexico Space History Museum, which includes the International Hall of Fame, along with a Planetarium…

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We walked around the outdoor exhibits…

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This is a memorial for the astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 fire and the two Space Shuttle crashes…

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They also have here the grave site of HAM, the first space chimp, who flew into space in 1961, and died in 1983…

Inside were four floors of exhibits of space exploration:  early astronomers, rockets, the cold war space race, all the manned space missions, and on and on… Some of it was esoteric technology and other exhibits were current events for us… Lots of hands-on exhibits for kids, too.

Also outside was an acceleration/deceleration track, where various devices were tested for both going fast and stopping from going fast.  I’m no mathematician (they said there would be no math in retirement…), but one rocket used on the track accelerated from 0 to mach 1.3 in 4.2 seconds.  I think that is even faster than a Tesla…

From the hill at the museum we could see the White Sands National Monument… It isn’t really clear in the photo, but these white sand dunes extend for 275 miles…

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White Sands National Monument was our next destination for the day… There are 150,000 acres of, well, white sand…

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I dressed as the invisible pedestrian.  You can almost see me in this photo…

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We returned to the Villa, had lovely happy hours and dinner…

And an enjoyable time was had by all…

 

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2019-03-16 – Airstream Caravans Travel – Day 4 – Las Cruces, NM

We rolled out of the Queen Mine RV Park at about 9:30.  Today we are heading to Las Cruces, NM.  We are traveling in southeast Arizona in some of the most remote areas we have ever seen…

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Some of the mountains are still covered in snow… There is also “snow” or the slushy remnants of hail, alongside the road…

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We stopped at a monument commemorating the surrender of Geronimo, the Apache chief, to the US Army in 1886.  He was the last Apache chief to surrender…

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New Mexico welcomed us!

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There was even more snow on the ground in New Mexico!

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We pulled into Sunny Acres RV Park in Las Cruces at about 3:30.  In, connected, and paid for…

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Happy Hours ensured… And an enjoyable time was had by all…

And, as is our custom on travel days, here are pictures of our great grandchildren…

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2019-03-15 – Airstream Caravans Travel – Day 3 – Bisbee, AZ

Once again we awoke to sub-freezing temperatures.  But between the fireplace, the heat pump, and the furnace we were able to keep warm and keep the pipes from freezing…

We began the day with a tour of the Queen Mine…

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We were outfitted with hard hats, miner’s lights, and safety vests… We mounted the mine tourist train and headed into the mine…

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About 700 feet into the mine we dismounted and walked up some wooden stairs to a large cavern…

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We were told about the various jobs going on in the mines at any one time.  Our tour guide worked in the mines for about 15 years, starting two days after he graduated from Bisbee High School…

 

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We were told about the various ways to make the holes for the dynamite and how these methods changed over the years, from hammering a steel spike in 1915 to pneumatic drills in the 1960s… Every few years improvements were made to efficiency and safety…

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Sometimes the shoring seems a little improvised…

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These are the ore cars and the chutes from above where the ore is dumped…

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The supervisors traveled up to 10 miles per day around the mines, mounted on these rail-cycles…

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After another train ride we dismounted at the 1,500 mark and walked down a cross-tunnel…

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There are fire doors every 500 feet or so…

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Next was the lesson on where to drill holes and how to set off the dynamite to get the largest cavity possible…

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Finally we saw a typical 11-man elevator cage…

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And the porta-potty…

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Tour over, we walked back to the train and we were returned to fresh air…

After lunch we spent more time walking about the town. We visited The Bisbee Mining Museum, and enjoyed browsing the many vintage, antique, and junk shoppes…

This evening we returned for an anniversary dinner – It has been 51 years since our first date… The town was lit up and it was a beautiful sight…

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We had asked all over town for recommendations for the best fine dining, white tablecloth restaurant.  Every person we asked stated, without hesitation, “Roka”.

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They were right.  Great service, interesting, innovative food, and a lovely bottle of Turley wine…

And an enjoyable time was had by all…

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2019-03-14 – Airstream Caravans Travel – Day 2 – Bisbee and Tombstone, AZ

Overnight in Bisbee the temperatures dropped into the mid- to high-twenties!  This is ridiculously cold for us Californians.

We began the day by walking down to the Queen Mine and made reservations for tomorrow for the mine tour.  Then we walked into Old Bisbee and explored.  Since most businesses were not open it was very quiet.  We walked up and down hills, looking at anything that seemed interesting.  It’s a great little town!

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There is the “Copper Man” sculpture, in honor of copper’s importance to the town, sharing a small plaza with a telephone pole…

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There are several churches, this one seeming to be the most prestigious…

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The County Courthouse…

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The County Administration Building…

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Lynda found a comfortable chair at a gas station-turned-restaurant…

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The old cinema is now an event venue…

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The Grand Hotel…

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What we found very interesting were the number of stairs leading up and down the hills, providing shortcuts between streets and access to houses far above or below the street…

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Adjacent to the stair pictured above was this lovely sculpture garden, or some such thing.  It appears to be a private space…

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There are quite a few partially demolished buildings, but with remnants of walls, doors, and fireplaces remaining…

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After our walk around town we returned to the Villa and drove to Tombstone, about 25 miles away.  It contained all the requisite tourist venues, and lots of historic buildings…

The main street is nicely car-free… the streets around town are very busy and parking is hard to find, even on this mid-week day…

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You can take a tour around town in a stagecoach; (we didn’t…)

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In its heyday there were over 110 saloons and many 24 hour gambling parlors…

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You can watch a “humorous gunfight re-enactment”; (we didn’t…)

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We saw the County Courthouse from the days before the county seat moved to Bisbee…

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You can have lunch and drinks at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon; (we did…!)

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After lunch we returned to the Villa and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon; about 4:30 we walked back into Bisbee and had cocktails at two of the town’s many bars…

First was Room 4 Bar, located in the Silver King Hotel.  It has room for four!  It bills itself as Arizona’s smallest bar.  Great fun.  For most of the time we were the only patrons there, and then three others came in.  It was packed!

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Next stop was the Copper Queen Hotel…

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It was fun and relaxing.  We walked back to the Villa, enjoyed a light supper, and retired early once again…

And an enjoyable time was had by all…

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2019-03-13 – Airstream Caravans Travel – Day 1 – Bisbee, AZ

We’re off!  We left Redlands at a very leisurely 6:00 am.  We are heading east to Arizona and New Mexico for a week or so, then on through Texas to Louisiana, where we will meet up with the Cajun Country Caravan, starting March 26.  Interestingly, the Airstream Club is running this caravan twice this year because it is so popular and the waiting list is so long.  The first run started March 5, and we have been reading blogs and seeing posts on Facebook about it.  Sort of a “sneak preview”, so to speak…

After the Cajun Country Caravan we will wander around the south, mostly looking at Architecture and visiting friends and relatives.  April 25 we will meet up with another caravan – Springtime in Kentucky.  After it is over we will meander home, expecting to return sometime in mid-June…

But for today, we are driving through the desert.  It’s amazing how much traffic there is at 6:00 am…

The desert is always a boring drive, but today, at least, we were seeing a lot of green, due to the unusually heavy rains we have been having lately…

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We crossed over into Arizona… The Grand Canyon State welcomed us!

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As is our custom, we stopped once per hour to stretch our legs and keep our Apple watches happy. Sometimes we used rest stops, sometimes we simply pulled of on the side of a road.  A short walk was always in order…

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We were making good time.  Our original idea was to stop for the night in Mesa, AZ, but we weren’t really ready to stop.  We made a few telephone calls and changed our destination for this day to be Bisbee, located in the far southeast corner of Arizona, about five minutes from Mexico and about one hour from New Mexico.  It made for a long day, but after a brief nap it was no problem.

About 4:30 pm we pulled into the RV park in Bisbee, the Queen Mine RV Park.  Not surprisingly, it is located directly adjacent to the Queen Mine.  It is a pretty basic park – nothing but gravel, and only 25 sites.  We found RVs from 11 different states and four (4!) Airstreams!

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Since it was late in the day we set up quickly and settled in for dinner. We walked about the park and enjoyed the views of the strip mine and the town of Bisbee…

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Bisbee is located in Cochise County, Arizona, 92 miles southeast of Tucson.  The population of the city is 5,575.  The city is the county seat of Cochise County, having been moved here from Tombstone in 1929. 

Mining in the Mule Mountains proved quite successful: in the early 20th century the population of Bisbee soared.  Incorporated in 1902, by 1910 its population had swelled to 9,019, and it sported a constellation of suburbs, including Warren, Lowell, and San Jose, some of which had been founded on their own (ultimately less successful) mines. In 1917, open-pit mining was successfully introduced to meet the copper demand during World War I.

The mines were all closed by 1975; the town struggled trying to reinvent itself.  Today it is a popular tourist destination with many art galleries, restaurants, tours and other attractions.

After our long day we turned in early; an enjoyable time was had by all…

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2019-02-28 to 2019 03 04 – Airstream Club Rally at Pechanga

We left San Clemente at 10:30 am and arrived at Pechanga RV Resort (at the Pechanga Casino in Temecula) at 11:40 am.  We are the first of the club to arrive, and we set up easily.

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The others of the club who are arriving a day early soon started showing up, and by 4:00 pm we had 11-12 rigs here.  While we usually stay pretty close to “home” on these early rally days, tonight a few of us set out for Old Town Temecula to visit a restaurant named Devilicious.  The restaurant is pretty unremarkable, but behind the hostess stand is a hidden door, and behind the door is a tiny “Speakeasy” – a “hidden” bar.  We ducked through the hidden door and through the dark curtain and we pretty much had the place to ourselves…

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We enjoyed some interesting food – fried olives, charcuterie platter, bacon-wrapped dates… And, of course, some nice drinks… Luckily, I was not driving, and we had a lovely evening.

Friday was another rainy day.  We found this morning out that our daughter had taken her 4-year-old son to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles with Appendicitis.  We’ll know more later in the day.

We had a nice breakfast at the golf clubhouse at the Pechanga Resort.  The Clubhouse has always been my favorite part of golf… We spent the rest of the day greeting the other club members as they arrived.  The rain cleared a bit.

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Pechanga RV Resort is a very nice place.  We were parked next to the pool.  I don’t think it has been used much lately – we just heard that this February was the first time in history that SoCal never got above 70 degrees!

Lynda went wine tasting with some of the others while I enjoyed a few good movies.

At 5:00 we joined the others for Happy Hours…

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We heard this evening that our grandson’s surgery went well and everything was as well as could be expected…

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We turned in early…

About 4:00 am the rain started again.  It is always lovely to hear the rain in the Villa…

Breakfast was at 9:00.  We had a text message from our daughter saying that Ian had had a rough night.  Lynda wanted to be there to help out juggling the other three kids, so I unhitched the Villa and we drove the truck home.  Lynda drove to Burbank, then to the hospital.  Things were going better today…

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I returned to Pechanga, where I set up my new internet connection – an A&TT hotspot.  My other hotspot is Verizon, and there are some places where we get zero Verizon signal – such as here at Pechanga.  When we travel for long trips across the country we often find places where one service or the other works well, or vice versa.  So having both is my solution.  A&TT works great here.  I even set up Apple TV and watched a movie on Netflix!

Lynda reported that Ian was intently watching a video on YouTube and he didn’t really care that she was there, but she felt better…

Dinner tonight was meat with a side order of meat.  And chicken.  The other women had completed Lynda’s puzzle:

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Dinner was great.  Everyone enjoyed the time together, as we usually do…

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The rain continued into the evening but was starting to fade… I returned to the Villa and turned in early…

Sunday morning was rainy but it soon stopped.  Breakfast was had once again in the Club House, and I went back to the Villa and had a lovely quiet day.  At 2:00 a bunch of us again returned to the Speakeasy, then afterwards returned to the Villa to drink some more…

So Monday morning I cleaned up the Villa, hitched up, and returned home.  I spent the day catching up on mail and putting things away…

And an enjoyable time was had by all…

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2019-01-27 to 2019 01 31 – Crystal Cove State Park – Moro Campground

We left Chula Vista RV Resort at about 1:15, hoping to arrive at Crystal Cove State Park, El Moro Campground, at 3:00, which is check-in time.  We drove north on the 5, the 15, the 805, and the 5 again, finally exiting at the 1 in San Clemente.  We then drove north on Pacific Coast Highway for 12 miles, passing through Dana Point, Monarch Beach, Laguna Niquel, South Laguna, and Laguna Beach.  Naturally, on a Sunday afternoon, with great sunny weather, Laguna Beach was packed, but the drive was wonderful, despite towing The Villa through the crowded, narrow highway…

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We arrived safely, checked in, parked, and were set up by 4:00.  Then we hit the beach.  We haven’t been here since March… Before we moved to Redlands we walked this beach two-three times per week…

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The beach was lovely, the tide was low, and the weather was warm… Sunset was even nicer!

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Today is the last day of “Restaurant Week” in Newport Beach, so we broke form and went out to dinner.  We went to Pescadou, a great French restaurant on Balboa peninsula.  We haven’t been here in several years and it was great to see Jacques again…

Monday morning found us walking the beach again…

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After a day of relaxing and puzzling we again had our Happy Hours as the sun set…

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Tuesday morning we were treated to breakfast by our Airstream friends; a day of relaxing and puzzling ensued…

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Tuesday evening we again ventured outside the RV Park, going to Fashion Island to watch a big screen showing of “The Wizard of Oz”.  Much fun…

Wednesday was pure relaxation.  Walk along the beach, a stop at Starbucks, puzzling, movies on TV, and more relaxation.  4:00 brought Happy Hours…

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Thursday brought the rain.  We packed up and headed for home…

And an enjoyable time was had by all…

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2019-01-24 to 2019-01-27 – South Coast Airstream Club – Chula Vista RV Resort

Our second rally of the new year.  Technically this is the February rally, but the Chula Vista RV Resort is closing January 31, so we moved our dates up one week…

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If you recall, we had left our Airstream at the dealer in Temecula for service.  So today we loaded up the truck and drove to Temecula.  It seemed quite odd to be heading out to a rally without the Airstream!  But once we arrived at the dealer and hitched up, all was well again.  We arrived at the RV park at about 1:00 after an easy drive.  We set up and relaxation began.  That evening we had a nice small Happy Hours at the picnic table in our site – there were 5 Airstreams which had arrived early as we had.

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Friday was the official start of the rally.  We had a relaxing day, and enjoyed lunch at the local eatery, The Galley, at the adjacent marina.

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By Friday evening all 14 Airstreams had arrived and Happy Hours ensued…

On Saturday we served 30 people breakfast (we are “hosts” of this rally, along with another couple, so we had a few extra responsibilities…).

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At 10:00 we walked the 3/4 mile to the trolley station and we rode into downtown San Diego.  We strolled the streets, eventually arriving at Little Italy.  We stopped in for a light lunch at a small restaurant, then we walked some more.  We eventually made our way to the waterfront, then we headed to “the oldest bar in San Diego:”  The Waterfront Bar.  We enjoyed some cocktails, and eventually we found our way to the trolley station.  We  were back at the RV park by 3:00 or so.

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Happy Hours started at 5:00 and Dinner began at 6:00.  Hamburgers and all the fixin’s were on the menu.

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Sunday morning was quiet and slow, with continental breakfast at 8:30.  Breakfast was done and the clubhouse was cleaned by 10:00 and we began to get ready to leave…

We are heading to Crystal Cove State Park, where we will be camping for another four  days…

And an enjoyable time was had by all…

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2019-01-07 – South Coast Airstream Club – Pala Casino RV Resort – Day 6

Final day of this trip.  Time to head home…

We were on the road by 9:30 or so; we stopped in Temecula and dropped off the Villa at Airstream Inland Empire for routine service and a few minor repairs.  All its life this Airstream has been maintained by C&G in Bellflower; however, this past summer C&G closed, with Rod and Darlene retiring.  So we are trying Airstream IE…

As we were approaching home we marveled at the mountains adjacent to Redlands:

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The little rain “storm” we experienced at Pala left a lovely blanket of snow on the mountains down to about 4,500 feet… We’re happy the snow stayed in the mountains where it belongs…

We unpacked and cleaned up.  I took our son John to the Apple store in Rancho Cucamonga to have his 2 week old iPhone replaced.  We were in and out of the Apple store in about 10 minutes and we were soon back home.

I spent some time starting to begin planning our trip east in March… More on that coming soon…

We had a delightful evening watching the final college football game of the season – The championship game between Clemson and Alabama. (As usual)

Spoiler Alert:  Rant Coming…

You’ve heard me rant before that these top football schools have gamed the system, scheduling their entire seasons with “cupcake” games, playing competitive teams as little as possible; the powers that be let them get away with this, and the sports writers and commentators do, too, rarely watching these games, merely looking at the numbers.  So Alabama beat Citadel 50-17?  Alabama beat Louisiana 51-14?  Why is Alabama even allowed to play teams like this and get credit for it?  Alabama beat Mississippi 62-7 in an SEC conference game?  Ole Miss only won 1 conference game this year!  For me it was a very boring season.  On most Saturdays there was only one real competitive game.  Back in the BCS days when strength of schedule actually mattered, there would be three or four, because schools knew they had to play these games to earn top rankings.  No more.  Now it’s all about the numbers…  The sports writers and commentators all crowned Alabama as the Champion back before the season even started.  Alabama football players were only going through the motions…  And the same goes for all the “elite” football schools…

Don’t get me wrong – I like Alabama, probably more than any other SEC team.  They are VERY good and are fun to watch most of the time…

So, as expected and predicted at the beginning of the season, Alabama and Clemson went at it tonight, going through the motions awaiting Alabama’s coronation.  But a funny thing happened on Alabama’s first offensive drive:  A pass was intercepted by Clemson and it was run back for a touchdown!  Alabama fans and players were stunned and perplexed… And it went downhill from there, the final score being Clemson 44, Alabama 16; Alabama never scored a touchdown after the 1st quarter…  It was a great game to watch two great teams play football!

And an enjoyable time was had by all, except for the Alabama fans…

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