Hi, we're in Temecula...

Site of the Cahuilla Curse
Bling Bling on Rodeo Drive

Freakishly Long Dog Tongue; Good for Annoying Keta

Richard and his Buddy Paul, Enjoying a the Morning Coffee Mission

Before we left SoCal I wanted to crooze for celebrities, so I boned up on some current "US" and "People" magazines and we headed into Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive to see if we could catch a peek at Jennifer Anniston (Jason's wish) or Hugh Jackman (eye candy for Jaycie). We did not see any movie stars, but we stuck out like movie stars ourselves in our big 'ol rig!! Of note, that GPS we bought last week is the most awesome display of technology on the market!!! We were able to punch in "Rodeo Drive" and it navigated us straight there through the maze of LA freeways. Now if only Brittany Spears' address was in there!!!

Although we were unsuccessful in our search, we kept our eyes peeled through the thick smog and motored down the 5 to San Diego to visit Zack, Jason's stepbrother. He took us to the restaurant his wife works at. She was lovely and so was the food...I'll just mention that we had banana lollipops, banana chunks on a stick dipped in dark chocolate, drizzled with carmel for dessert. It was a great visit and we spent that night parked next to Balboa Park.

With visions of the desert, we left San Diego for Joshua Tree. We let a book we have guide us to Cahuilla Hotsprings on the way, but when we got there it was actually full of tall marsh grass and was cold and uninviting. Instead of bathing we had a resourceful lunch of home canned tuna (thanks mom) and cranberry sauce on tortillas and watched a great blue heron land and soar again and again. As we were wrapping up, we were briskly questioned and then asked to leave by a local native. Politely driving away, a clicking/electrical malfunctioning sound became audible from the steering column, followed by the transmission running through the gears without cause. The Cauhilla Curse had struck!!!! Were we being punished for unknowingly disrespecting the hotsprings and being run out of town to cleanse our filthy souls? We found a mechanic (The GPS has earned it's spot on the dash many times over already!) and isolated the "transmission relay" as the culprit. To get the part we had to drive back from Anza to Temecula, about an hour away with the tranny doing funky things, but we had no choice. Miraculously, the problem cleared up about 10 minutes into the drive and we made it to town and were able to order the part without problems. We parked in a shopping center to sleep and received our first harsh knock on the door as an alarm clock at about 7 this morning. You are aware that we have multiple implements for self defense on board that Jason has been bragging about using. But when the time came to use them, he used his best weapon: silence!! I swear, fear froze both of us we said nothing for an entire minute after the knock until I whispered harshly "Say something!!" Luckily, diplomacy was all that was needed, and for the second day in a row, we scuttled off in peace.

The dolphin is drivable while we wait for the part, so we are having mud and snow tires put on today as we are planning on enjoying the snow of the Rockies soon. If all goes according to plan, we will be in Joshua Tree tomorrow.