From Joshua Tree NP we headed to Lake Elsinore, CA.

Lake Elsinore is the largest NATURAL lake in Southern CA.  We thought for sure it was human made because it is very rectangular, which you can see from our breakfast view at The Lookout Roadhouse. Very peculiar for nature!

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We were supposed to stay at a campground called Weekend Paradise, sounds fun, right?  Well…we get there and the first sign of trouble is when the manager looked at our rig and said “have fun backing that in”.  What??? I asked.  She said, “oh, it can be done, it’s just very tight.”  Those were words uttered by no less than 6 people that fateful afternoon.  They were all WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!!  We spent a good hour, with directions from at least 3 of those people trying to get the camper “in between the trees, but don’t hit the metal post, and watch the front of the truck it’s going to hit the retaining wall”.  Let me also say, one of the guys that helped us had lived at this teeny, tiny, crowded campground for 25 years. I don’t know how many of you have been to, or through, a campground with long term residents but they tend to have tons of “stuff” outside and it looks rather junky, this one was no different.  It was also reminiscent of the time our friend, Martin Dawson, pointed out in a New Diggins, WI tavern late one Sunday afternoon “the tooth to patron ratio has dropped dramatically low”.  In this case, the ratio started out low!  So, not “fitting in” worked out just fine. 

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The owner was a great guy, did not meet him, but the manager called and told him the situation.   He called another campground and told them they must find us a spot.  It turned out to be a wonderful place!!!  Amazing where there are stories to be found!

Before we left WI, we joined the Moose Lodge organization.  We did this mainly because many lodges throughout the country have rv hook ups and we thought it would be a good place to stay on our one night pass throughs.  Well, just a few blocks away was a lodge.  We did not need to the rv site but it sure was nice to receive such a warm welcome, from patrons as well as staff.  Needless to say, with it being so close, we enjoyed a few sudsy brews with fellow “mooses”!

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We arrived on Wednesday, and Thursday Allan and Sandy Hall drove over from their home, about an hour away, to take us on a wine tasting tour.  Allan and Tracy had gone to high school together.  It was great of them to travel over and be our “wine chauffeurs”.  It was a very, very fun afternoon/evening!!  We look forward to stopping in to see them in the spring.

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Our reason for being in Lake Elsinore was for our nephew Andy’s wedding.  He and his fiancé, Genny Pritchett, rented this awesome house right on the lake for the event.  We were only a couple of miles away, which was nice.  We helped them set up on Friday and tear down on Sunday.  They were so grateful to us, but…. these are the two who are taking days out of their lives, at the end of October, to fly down to Florida, pack Mom’s (Andy’s grandma’s) stuff into a Penske truck and drive it back to Green Bay, WISCONSIN!!  I think we win on the Thank You battle!!  What a relief to all of us to not have to deal with a long-haul mover!!!

Back to the wedding.  Some of my favorite moments:

1)    The ceremony, of course.  No pics but believe me it was beautiful.

   2)    Watching my sister and Ryan, my great niece Hadley’s Dad, try to keep her out of the sand during the ceremony. She had this nice white dress on and it was “dirty sand”, she would have been a mess! They did a great job!!

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  3)    You know how they introduce everyone these days before the dinner?  I loved seeing my sister dance her way to the table with a Cheese Head on!!!  Amazing she got that in her suitcase. Also, love my brother in laws face! 

4)    Andy and Genny’s first dance…sniff, sniff. (wish I could get the video to load)

5)    Andy and his groomsmen surprising everyone with the “dinosaur dance”!! (wish I could get the video to load)

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     6)    My great niece calling me “Soupie” and letting me play “uppy” with her!!!  “Uh-Oh, Where’s Soupie” she was heard saying…warms my heart!!!

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The only downer about our time in Lake Elsinore was the fire that started about an hour from us and the fires that were causing deaths north of us.  One day, the wind blew so hard we could not see the mountains because of the dust in the air!!  Very sad!

However, we take away many GOOD memories with us and send thoughts to the folks who try to recover from such devastating losses!

From Lake Elsinore, we make our way to Austin, TX for a few days and then Crystal Beach, TX (across the bay from Galveston) for almost 2 weeks!!  Catch up with you from there!

Thanks for coming along!!