Up, Up and Away! Menifee, CA

December 8-23, 2021

We had heard over and over again we would enjoy our stay at Wilderness Lakes RV Resort, which left me with a little hesitation.  I don’t intend to sound negative, but it often seems that when something gets so built up, there is just no way for it to live up to expectations.  Well, Wilderness Lakes RV Resort did not disappoint us!

During our stay there, we had a canal side RV site giving us the enjoyment of many water fowl, including Mallards, Canadian geese, Chinese geese, Black crowned and Yellow crowned night herons, Great Egrets, Hooded mergansers, and other exotic birds that no one could identify for me!   Hummingbirds, Finches and plenty of other birds were also frequent guests to our site!

It’s getting so close to Christmas, and the California campgrounds seem to be in competition with the Florida campgrounds we experienced last Christmas for holiday decorations and lights!  This made for very fun evening strolls!  I grew up going for car rides around town on Christmas Eve to take in all of the decorations and I was certain this would be one of the things I missed most when we made the commitment to travel full time in our RV for a few years.  Nope!  Enjoying holiday displays during an evening stroll in this temperate climate simply can’t be beat!  

Once again, we had delightful neighbors and met wonderful people during our stay here.  One afternoon, Mary and Joseph (coincidence that it’s Advent season?) visited our campsite for happy hour.  This particular Mary and Joseph are native Californians who decided to go full time in their RV a few months ago and are also living the “good life”!  It was fun chatting with them and getting to know them a bit!

On another day, Mary and Joe suggested a trip to “wine country”.  It seems ALL of California claims to be wine country!  We soon learned Temecula Valley definitely is in the running for the title!  Driving down Rancho California Road, you find vineyard after vineyard!  We went to the Baily Winery for lunch and then crossed the street to Churon Winery for a wine tasting.  It was a fun afternoon of eating, drinking and great conversation!  On another day, Joe and Mary broke out the dominos and we played a game of Mexican Train, in which the low score wins.  I earned the title of “Biggest Loser” by racking up 180 points in a single round!

Thirty miles from Menifee is Old Town Temecula.   It sounded like a destination to us and, before long, we found ourselves strolling the streets and enjoying the shops of this quaint area!  We also treated ourselves to a late lunch at Be Good!  In addition to a tasty meal, this restaurant gave me fond memories of my dear father.  As I was growing up, before I headed out for the evening, Pops would always tell me “Be good.  But if you can’t be good, be careful!”  It’s been six years since I lost my dear Pops and I continue to miss him so very much!  Pops never failed to bring a smile to my face.

Although we are on the longest vacation of our lives, real life rears its head from time to time.  During our stay here, our truck insisted on a little attention.  “Big Red” seemed to think it should be included in our Christmas shopping and demanded a new battery, oil change, and a new set of tires.  I guess after all the miles Big Red has safely provided, it’s really not too much to ask!

The truck was not the only thing that needed a little maintenance!  It will be a year before we get back to Hastings, so we found a dentist in town who gave our teeth a checkup and cleaning.  All these west coast coffee shops were providing us with a souvenir we really didn’t want to keep.  Our smile is a bit more sparkly now! 

We found several trails in the area to hike.  Three Peaks Trail was really delightful!  This undulating trail meandered around three small mountains, each with a cross mounted at its peak.   It was a perfect workout for us and provided some wonderful views of the valley from the peaks.  

Not far from us was Lake Skinner Recreational Area.  There, we hiked the Lake Skinner Loop Trail. The portion of the trail on the reservoir was particularly scenic!  The water in the reservoir provides drinking water for the area and, therefore, human contact is prohibited.  No swimming is allowed, which during this time of the year isn’t really a problem!  I would imagine the temptation to get in the water during the summer would be hard to resist, however! 

Another nearby trail was Keller Trail.  This trail provided great exercise and some nice views, but really is more of a mountain biking trail than a hiking trail.  Word is, within the next six months, bulldozers are coming in and turning this trail into a shopping center and a housing development.  The biking community tried its best to stop this “progress”, but to no avail. 

  

We were able to attend Mass at a couple of different parishes during our stay here.  On our first Sunday here, we went to St. Vincent Ferrer in Sun City. Riverside County was not requiring masks to be worn indoors and I found myself really uncomfortable being indoors with so many unmasked individuals.  Covid has certainly changed so many things, including my personal “bubble”!  Dick and I are eagerly anticipating our family gathering for a California Christmas, and the last thing I want is to be sick and isolating while everyone is here!  

Another Sunday, we went to St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta.  With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, California put out a statewide mandate a few days ago for masks to be worn at all indoor locations, which thrilled me!  I was actually able to focus on the readings and enjoy this service!  The priest gave a wonderful homily on sharing your life (both positive events and challenging situations) with God and trusting God to guide you in your decisions.   

This is Advent season, so it’s been fitting to enjoy several Tuesday mornings with my long-distance book club!  We’ve been reading “Pilgrimage” which is Pope Francis’s biography.  It’s a good read and I highly recommend it!

We’ve also spent time doing some Christmas baking!  Last year, I didn’t bake a single Christmas cookie, which is unheard of!  With the family all joining us for Christmas this year, I got motivated to have a bit more of a traditional celebration.  Lefse, meatballs, salad and cookies are all on the menu!

Without a doubt, the highlight of this stay was taking a sunrise hot air balloon ride over Temecula’s citrus orchards and vineyards!  The tough portion of this excursion was the 4:00AM alarm that pulled us from our warm and cozy bed.  It was a thirty-minute drive to get to Temecula.  We certainly wanted to be on time for our 5:15AM check in.  The ride itself was incredible!  I am so uncomfortable with heights and seriously considered bailing on the experience as we were waiting to lift off.  Fortunately, one of the crew members offered to take pictures of us which distracted me long enough for me to miss my opportunity to jump out of the basket while it was still on the ground!  Before I knew it, we were Up, Up and Away!

The entire ride was smoother than glass.  We had no perception of any movement or motion!  The liftoff, hour-long ride and landing were all unbelievably gentle.  I give all of the credit for this to our pilot and crew members.  I did watch another balloon land and it definitely took a bounce and went into a swing motion that appeared a little scary!  

Our balloon left the ground before sunrise and there was a soft pink glow on the horizon as the full moon was getting ready to set in the west.  Meanwhile, the eastern sky was boasting all of the oranges and yellows in the horizon, foreshadowing the nice weather we were about to enjoy!  It wasn’t long before we had the most stunning sunrise I’ve ever seen!  This is really not saying a lot, as I am NOT a morning person. It’s actually pretty unusual for me to ever encounter a sunrise!  This could possibly be the convincing I need to turn into more of a morning person!  

See our shadow?

During our time in the air, we climbed 1500 feet, taking us to a high enough elevation to see over the mountain tops to a beautiful view of the ocean.  On the other end of the scale, our pilot brought the balloon down low enough to just barely float above the tops of the orange and grapefruit groves!  It was incredible!   We joked about being able to reach over the side of the balloon’s basket and pick some fresh fruit for breakfast!

After we were back on the ground -- physically, emotionally I was floating for the rest of the day! -- the pilot told us the history of hot air balloons.  Hot air balloons were invented in France by two brothers in 1783.  One of the brother's name was Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier.  Random fact:  Someone chose this guy’s middle name to come up with the term “pilot”!  We learned how, on the first flights of this newly invented contraption, they had no control over where or when the balloons would land.  Often, the landings would occur in the farmer’s fields and, in order to keep relations good with the farmers, they would offer a bottle of champaign.  Just to keep up the champaign tradition, a couple of bottles were uncorked and we toasted to a fantastic hot air balloon ride with mimosas!

What a wonderful time we had in Menifee!  Normally, leaving a place can be difficult; however, our family will be joining us in Anaheim in a few days for a Disneyland Christmas!  I can’t wait to see everyone and play with the kiddos!

We wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!  Blessings for a healthy and love-filled 2022!