Still WiFi Challenged But Having Fun Anyway

2/15 ~ We’re in Palm Springs tonight and we’re still WiFi challenged.  I’m surprised too.  This time we’re in a Holiday Inn and the internet has just gone *poof*, “local only”.  If this stuff keeps happening, I’m going to start believing that I’m just not supposed to get “free WiFi” while on trips..

2/12 ~ We spent most of Saturday with a cousin of mine and his wife.  After we visited for a while, they took us down to Long Beach so we could sort of play “tourist” around the harbor where the Queen Mary is berthed.  The view from the parking area isn’t much, but it was neat to see.  Mom and I had been on the Queen Mary before, back when another cousin got married there, so we decided we’d be tourists everywhere but on the ship.  We checked out the Russian submarine that is right next to the Queen, and of course, we had to check out the stuff in the Russian gift shop.  There were a few events going on in and around the ship, so we checked out the “free” ones.  For instance there was a whole line of vintage bicycles that were pretty interesting to see.   We did a bit of people watching too as we wandered.  One of the events had something to do with clothing, and I can’t remember what the sign said and silly me, I didn’t take a picture of it, but some of the folks going into that part of the ship were unusually dressed to put it mildly.  You had to pay to get in there, so we decided to go across the bay and see what kind of mischief we could get into.  So we headed over to the free shuttle busses that take you across the harbor to Shoreline Village.  It was about time for lunch when we arrived at the village.   We ate at a very noisy restaurant there at Shoreline Village.  (And right now I’m really missing my internet connection because I can’t remember the name of the place and I can’t google it!! lol)  It seemed to be quite a popular hang out for the 20-somethings that filled the place.  The lunch was very good. Anyway, there was a really good view of the Queen Mary from that side of the harbor.  If you look real close at the bow of the ship you can make out the conning tower of the Russian Submarine.

We had fun wandering through all the unique little shops in the village.   One of the sights in the harbor near the Shoreline Village we saw a pirate ship! LOL!  At least it was outfitted to look like one with skeletons, cannons and even a parrot looking out the window in the cabin. The boat looked like it was better suited to sitting at the dock than actually sailing.  There was so much stuff all over the decks that it would no doubt take a while for them to get the boat sea-worthy.  Oh well.  It was neat to see.  After the shopping and wandering, we caught the shuttle back over to the parking area near the Queen Mary and headed back to my cousin’s home…

We spent another night at that motel in Torrance that had the 1 second WiFi connection.  Before we left the next morning, I found out what it was that was providing the “WiFi” there.  The motel manager had a cell phone sitting on the desk next to his computer.  He swore up and down that the WiFi was working and picked up his cell phone and showed me.  Somebody please tell me that cell phones aren’t what other places use to power their WiFi for their hotels/motels.  The other thing about that motel was the “breakfast” that they offered.  They had a few little cellophane wrapped muffins and sweet rolls on a plate and a coffee pot next to them.  I tried to get some coffee before leaving but the coffee pot was empty.. lol.. Time to go!  Before leaving town, we had a good breakfast with my cousin at a little place called “Scotty’s” which is right on the beach in Redondo Beach (I think!).

On the 13th, we went on down to Chula Vista for a visit with my Great-Aunt for a couple days.  (And no chance of internet connections.. lol)  On our way down, we stopped at a "Vista Point” that overlooked the ocean near Camp Pendleton that had a fantastic view of the sea.  Far out to see we saw a ship and a smaller boat closer in.  And that’s the last picture I took until now.  We had a great time there visiting and playing a dice game that my Aunt loves playing.  After leaving Chula Vista this morning (2/15), we decided to take the “scenic route” towards Palm Springs.  So we caught I8 towards El Centro and then took highway 86 north along the shore of the Salton Sea.  We, and all the other vehicles on the highways got slowed by a couple Border Patrol checkpoints.  Once on I8 and once on Hwy 86.  Everyone got shuttled over into one lane and then crawled past the Border Patrol Guards and their dogs.  We also came across the remains of a bad accident.  It looked like a semi had run off the road and down into a ravine for some reason.  The tow trucks had just finished bringing the cab of the truck up on to the shoulder of the road as we passed.  (And with my lousy luck so far with WiFi connections, I can’t google to find out any information about a truck accident on I8 this morning.)  I hope the driver came out of it ok.

We enjoyed the drive up along the Salton Sea.  It was interesting to see how much all the towns have grown over the years.  It was also interesting to see how many date groves are left.  We couldn’t find a single date stand along the road, so we had no chance of buying any fruit.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow when we go roaming around.  I should have more pictures to share tomorrow.  Hopefully I can get an internet connection in order to upload stuff tomorrow!  I mean, come on! We’re at a Holiday Inn! things should work here! lol

2/16 ~ Hurray!  The Holiday Inn we’re in moved us to a different room and I’ve got real WiFi! LOL! We’re catching our breath and then will head out to see if we can ride the tram and then later maybe go visit the desert zoo that’s here.  I’ll do another post tonight with some pictures and maybe some results of google search to straighten out some of my puzzles in the last couple posts..