Friday, January 5, 2018

Beautiful Morning = Gorgeous Day! Quiet Times in Hot Springs, Wing Night

So, after another great night of sleep, I was awake and rising on Friday, Jan. 5th at 6:45. Bill was up through the night with Clemson, we don’t get the little guy’s tendencies to piddle at 3 am, so he was still sleepy. I crept out of bed, quick washed my face and bundled up. The open blinds indicated another sunny day coming our way. Just what we need to keep the batteries charged. Yay!

Today's sunrise

Crossing E. Evans highway to the hot springs
Now I understand why this road is so noisy when road vehicles go down it!
that is not water, just rough pavement

Sorry for the picture overload, I love this place

Standing on the edge of the lagoon overflow from the springs

double vision

The fenced in springs area

The shining on the palm fronds make a nice picture

By the size of these trunks, I can't imagine how old this lagoon and these trees are

I  love how this picture turned out
 With the outside temperature registering at 48F/8.8C I wore my fingerless gloves and long bum-covering hoodie. I was toasty! I walked out and snapped a quick picture of the sun rising to the east, just over the tops of the Dryden groups rv’s. I headed to the E. Evan Highway and crossed it to the Hot Springs area. This is such a breath-taking, unexpected grouping of aged palm trees circling a lagoon. The reflections of the fronds in the water amaze me.


More double vision, which is up?
There were 2 young people in the springs and one lady showering off afterwards. I didn’t want to snap pictures of them in particular, so waited until I could focus more on the area itself. They said the water was ‘very hot’. I have to go back for sure, later on so I can say I’ve been there, done that. I wandered down the road towards another section of the LTVA along the canal and met George out on one of his walks.

To me, it is mesmerizing

Catching the sun from the west side of the lagoon

The fenced in area from a different side

And then I played with a Slate colour setting
When I returned, Bill was still sleeping and yet Clemson was up on his bed on the couch. I made myself a tea with our Keurig, our batteries were reading 12.4 volts and would soon be boosted to full capacity. Since I was still bundled up, I took my laptop outside and sat under the awning. After catching up on our friend’s blogs, I had finished my tea and moved inside to find my sweetie sitting at the table. He’d just made his coffee.
I chose to walk along the canal towards another part of the LTVA
At 70F feeling like 80F, with the light breeze it was beautiful outside and warm inside. At 10:30 I made up fried eggs on toast for us and poured myself another tea. When dishes were cleaned up, I was outside again with my book. Bill joined me with his second coffee and his book.
The 'Y' in the road
I chose the left, it was paved
Real bookworms we are on these lazy hazy days of winter. I’m into another James Patterson story, Alex Cross, Run after finishing my David Baldacci one last night. I recommend First Family if you haven’t read it. We sat and read for close to an hour when I knew I had to get my butt out of the chair and go for a walk. I took my camera, a Royal Gala apple and headed off to the back trail of this LTVA area.

There were a few sites back here too and a few rv's
When I was almost to the end, I received a text from Suzie saying they had company, Len and Brenda, whom we shared Christmas dinner with, so I turned around and Bill and I took our chairs over. It was a nice informal gathering and Oscar also joined the group. This was going to be Happy Hour for us today, even though it was only water being consumed by Bill and I.

The busy #8 highway overtop of me

Another cool picture looking at reflections and more double visions
It was close to 2 when we came back to the Suite and we stretched out in our recliners for what could be a catnap before our evening out. I had a sudden pang of a headache and hate to think it was from the Amaretto that George offered me to try but………. I’m leaning that way. It tasted pretty good but perhaps because of not having much food in my stomach or just a taste that didn’t sit well with me. Not all things are a good deal for everyone.
George and Suzie are set up just over there
At 3:30 I moved back to the laptop at the table and caught up here. My headache had eased even though I only rested. We had plans to meet up with 6 other couples and drive to Holtville for the wings special tonight for dinner. 
Clemson bounces inside then outside following his comfort zone
My husband 'sneakily' snapped this picture of me when I went for my afternoon walk
The Barbara Worth Golf Course is the same place we went last year and Bill and I ordered fish and chips instead of the wings. We’re not wings people. My Angel wings aside. (teehee)

Many really nice sites without going too far back into the area

But off the beaten path, lots of thick sand to get stuck in


Nice open areas

Goes back way farther than this

Lori and Roland took advantage of another great day and went for a bike ride today.  

Walking back to our site, the sky was quite pretty with sprawling clouds 
At 10 to 4 I watched them pull back into the campground. It is so nice seeing someone truly enjoying their wheels like that. I’m sure they had a great ride. It is 81F now and no, we certainly can’t complain about the weather this winter has brought us.
There we are, hidden behind the bushes
Early Happy Hour with George, Suzie, Bill, Oscar, Brenda and len
It was right around 5 when we piled into Black Beauty and followed Roland, kind of, to dinner. From the get go, it wasn’t going to be one of the best restaurant experiences we have had, alone or with a group. For 5 at the table and Bill, it was easy, they knew exactly what they were getting. For Suzie, who thought something other than wings would be nice and for me who wanted pizza or a steak sandwich, we were a bit disappointed.
I snapped a quick one of the group tonight
No pizza, no salmon, no rib-eye and therefore no steak sandwich. Bummer. I ordered the fish and chips again with Bill. They were good but a second choice isn’t always as enjoyable. Anyway, it was a fun night, albeit the service being very slow, and it was a cheap night out for us. At 7:10 or so, we said our goodbyes and Bill drove home in the dark.
seasoned fries, a nice coleslaw and 4 pcs. of fish
Suzie got a kick out of the ‘cookies’ on our truck gps, showing us the way we came. It helps us to not get lost! We came inside and were greeted by Clemson, after he stretched lavishly from his position on my recliner. This indeed to show us we weren’t missed at all! “Oh? You’re home? How lovely”.
And then Tom took one with me in the picture
It didn’t take long to download the rest of today’s pictures and finish my post. This has been a nice easy day but I still haven’t got to the hot springs for a dip. Bill isn’t keen on going in but he has offered to go over with me so tomorrow is the day! I hope! I hope also that you have had a good day today.


Goodnight from our site at Hot Springs LTVA, Holtville, Ca


Thank you for reading. Feel free to drop a comment.

14 comments:

  1. Come on Bill... jump in, the water's fine.

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  2. Love the reflection pics Pat, especially the slate color. Happy 2018! MB

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  3. Beautiful pictures of the palms and their reflections in the water! We have never been to that area but now I definitely want to take a drive out there. Hmm, sounds like a future blog :-)

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    1. Water reflections are so interesting and each one is different.

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  4. It is such a wonderful area and the hot springs are very warm, really love it here.
    Really loving this weather.
    Too bad about the Amaretto Suzie and I really enjoy it, no side effects for us.
    Dinner was disappointing though I got my wings but have had better. Oh well we have enjoyed them there for years in the past.

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    1. Today is the day for the hot springs!
      No worries about the Amaretto, we are all different. :) Thanks for the test tho!
      Dinner was not bad but maybe we'll have to find another place.

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  5. Beautiful pictures of the lagoon, bet it has an interesting story to tell..the hot springs look like would be nice to do, if not too many people. Too bad dinner experience wasn't the greatest. Another beautiful day!

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    1. thank you, yes I don't know the story behind the lagoon. Hmmm. google search!
      You never know what dinner will be like, this one wasn't perfect but not a flop either.

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  6. The hot springs are fantastic and the water IS hot. I like the area where the water sprays on you. I was not ready for the beauty of the natural lagoon when I first saw it. Breathtaking. They say you can swim in it but I would think carefully. Have fun.

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    1. I'm getting in today by myself or not. If it isn't crowded.
      Same here, it just seems to be sitting there in the middle of nowhere and I love it!

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  7. What a great spot. Tom and I have never been there; we will have to put it on our list.
    Today's pictures were great. Really loved the ones with the trees reflecting in the water. Though there was not a bad one in the bunch. Enjoy your dip in the Hot Springs.

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  8. Your sunshine seems as consistent as our cloudy skies, snow and cold!

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