Twentynine Palms, CA

We arrived in Twentynine Palms, CA on Friday and we weren't sure what we were heading into. After leaving I-10 and heading north on CA-177 and west on CA-62, the landscape was total desert...and lots of roller coaster hills for about 80 miles! It's a good thing we filled the gas tank before we left Quartzsite because there wasn't a single building, let alone a gas station, from the time we left I-10 until we got into the town of Twentynine Palms. About 2 miles east of the town we began to see shacks on both sides of the road that were completely boarded up and dilapidated...and we were thinking that we might just keep on going through town and find another place to stay...but we were pleasantly surprised. The town of Twentynine Palms is small and quaint and we immediately saw the Marine influence on the town...there were numerous barbershops offering 'marine cuts' as well as several tattoo parlors. Twentynine Palms RV Resort is where we are staying for the next week and it's about 2 miles north of the town and sits high above it...our RV is facing the town so we get a lovely view...I can't wait to see the town all lit up at night!

I must say, we have never been to a friendlier RV park... immediately after we arrived we were told about a luau on Saturday night and that the pig was being buried on Friday (the day we arrived) and we were invited to join everyone for the blessing of the pig and free frozen daiquiris! Several couples wore hawaiian shirts and several of the women wore grass skirts. They even had a 'witch doctor' bless the pig before they buried it (it was actually cut up pork wrapped in banana leaves, aluminum foil and wet burlap) in large pots in the ground, and cooked it for 22 hours.

Kristopher arrived around 8:30pm and I had made his favorite meatballs for dinner...he had been stuck in traffic so he was pretty tired and we just relaxed and talked.

Saturday, Kristopher drove us onto the Twentynine Palms Marine Base...the world's largest marine base. Kristopher needed new 'cams' (camoflauge clothes) for desert training so we went to the Exchange and were able to look around. He didn't find his cams but he gave us a great tour of the base. When we got back to the RV park, he and Ed watched basketball while I read and then we went to the luau. You have to picture a clubhouse full of old people surrounding Kristopher the Marine! I think Kristopher really enjoyed himself, even though Ed embarassed him by asking the speaker to acknowledge Kristopher and the fact that he was being deployed to Afghanistan shortly. The whole room exploded with applause and for the rest of the evening, people wanted to talk to him and shake his hand and reminisce about their own military careers. He told us later that it made him feel really good that these people actually appreciated what he was doing and he had a great time! After dinner, there was dancing... mostly swing, a few slow dances, and country dances. I requested the Boot Scootin Boogey and when he started playing it, no one else got up to dance... so Kristopher and I went out and he followed my steps...by the end of the dance, he had it down pat!

Sunday morning we went to breakfast at the clubhouse for an 'omelet in a bag'. You crack 2 eggs into a ziplock bag and squish them, then add other ingredients like bacon bits, onion, peppers, and cheese to the bag and the cook boils the mixture in the bag. After about 15 minutes...viola! Out comes an omelet! Add hashbrowns and toast and we had a great breakfast!

Kristopher headed home around noon and we settled into chores...laundry, cleaning, etc. I think Kristopher will take a nap when he gets home...Emma loves company and slept with him...or actually took over the bed and allowed Kristopher to sleep with her! He said he didn't get much sleep!

Tomorrow we'll go to the Joshua Tree National Park and explore...should be a fun day!

Love to all!