Driving, Dining and Dancing

Fri - Feb 8

We took a drive to Idyllwild, CA, a town about 25 miles East and 5,400 feet up in the San Jacinto Mountains/San Bernardino National Forest.  It reminded us of our own Government Camp or Rhododendron - small, quaint and artsy.

The topography around here is very interesting.  The towns of Hemet and San Jacinto, which run together, are in a mostly flat valley.  But, it is surrounded by hills and mountains that just pop right up out of the ground.  Here is a picture of a house on a hill.

On the drive up to Idyllwild, we saw this valley with a creek running through it.  There are MILLIONS of rocks in this valley, some as large as a car. 

We don’t know the name of the valley or the creek but seems like it should have “rock” in it somewhere.

Lake Hemet is on the other side of the “hill” about 25 miles east of Hemet at an elevation of 4,340 feet.  It is a large lake where people come during the summer when Hemet temperatures are over 100 degrees.



Lake Hemet



OK, the days are starting to blur together. We had a really nice dinner with Terry and Nadia at their place – Weight Watcher’s Gumbo and it was excellent. Joyce has the recipe now. Then we played some Pegs & Jokers and they bought a set.

The other evening we played a dice game called “LCR” (Left Center Right) at the clubhouse. Joyce was the big winner - $6.65 (all in nickels) which represented 3 games at 15¢ per game x 15 players. We played 7 games. The most you could lose was $1.05 or win $15.75.

Thurs – Feb 10
We finally found the time to sign up for the Golf Mixer at the Golden Era Golf Club. They have been playing every Thursday for the last month. They play 9 holes for $10.00 per person and the proceeds go to charity. If you want lunch it’s an additional $5.00. It is a fun group and nobody takes it too seriously. Sometimes they play best ball or only count the putts. Today it was just a fun day – no winners/losers.

Mon – Feb 14
Happy Valentine’s Day!  As always, Jim remembered. He gave Joyce a darling miniature pink rose in a cute little pot with hearts all around it. And all she gave him was a box of candy hearts, but he loved it anyway.

We went to the Valentine’s dinner and dance at the Elks on Saturday night. The average age of the Elks members here in Hemet is around 80 and the party ends at 10 p.m. sharp.



Tim, Diane, Judy & Mike Dougherty



Ron & Sandy Mountain with Jim



Sweethearts for 50 years!