When three dogs share your bed, there is not much moving around. Lucky prefer the area just below my toes, Sammi curls up behind my legs, and LuAnn insist on sleeping just below my chin. Sometimes, I think we move in unison. If I turn over, so do they. Then Luann is tucked in behind my shoulders, Sammi changes to the other side of my legs, and Lucky, well I am not certain, but I am sure he makes some kind of adjustment down there by my toes.

This morning when I woke up, I made a whispering noise in LuAnn’s ear and was rewarded with a leap and bound on Lucky’s part to reach my face for a first light of dawn kiss. Even Sammi seemed anxious to get the day started. So after a quick trip outside for the three of them, we came back inside and Bob had coffee ready.

Our morning consisted of a leisurely breakfast with fresh bananas, sliced strawberries, and home-made muffins.
Then we fed the dogs and took them for a run in the doggie park. After which, the birds went outside in their cages to enjoy a little early morning sunlight and I did a little housekeeping.

In the early afternoon, we caught up with the reunion group and toured the Palm Springs Air Museum which houses one of the nation’s largest collection of World War II flying aircraft displayed in modern, well lighted, air-conditioned and clean hangars. The docents were well-versed in both the history of WWII and flying the planes of the time and our docent had seen action in the Pacific during the war. He was a walking history book for the times.

Then it was back home to our RV and our menagerie before heading back to Palm Springs in the early evening for dinner. We enjoyed new friends, laughter, old stories, and some excellent salmon. The traffic was light and we made good time on the road. Interestingly enough, we discover that RVers all seem go to bed early. Even at our 9:30 PM return to the park, everyone seemed to be inside their rigs and tucked away for the night.

Tomorrow we have the entire day free to just relax and enjoy time together. Tomorrow night we will rejoin the group for the Palm Springs Follies.

We left at 11 in the morning, took old highways rather than the freeway and arrived here at Emerald Desert RV Park a little before 4:00 this afternoon with plenty of time to set up, have a glass of wine, and walk the dogs before dinner.

Our drive took us from high desert through Apple Valley, Lucerne Valley, Yucca Valley and finally down hills onto Highway 10 and into Palm Desert. We had desert winds with gusts to 50 mph almost the entire way and it looks like it is going to be a very windy first night.

Josephine surprised us by opening her cage and crawling out. The cages are fairly new and we didn’t think she had figured it out yet. Fortunately she did this while we were stopped roadside for a quick lunch of Rye-Krisp and cheese. We put her back in the cage and clipped the door shut. Josephine is amazing at escape and keeps us on our toes at all times.

The real surprise though came much later when Tweetie who has never figured out how to open a cage door managed an escape of her own. It was shortly after the birds cages were secured in the shower. This is their quiet night place. The shower curtain was pulled shut to keep out the RV lights and we thought the birds were sound asleep. So when I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed, I was startled to find her little grey head appearing around the edge of the curtain. We wonder if she watched Josephine, and stored the information in her little bird brain. Then when it was quiet , she worked on her cage door. Bob put her back in her cage and secured it with a large clip. From now on, both bird cages will be clipped shut.

The young Maltese were pretty rambunctious when we arrived, but a long walk calmed them down and they only needed a few reminders of doggie RV good manners. Sammi is an old hand at camping and is happiest with a short walk and the privilege of curling up on the drivers seat. . . her favorite “get-away” place.

Dinner tonight was fresh mixed vegetables, Spanish rice, and a delightful meatloaf. Thank heavens for microwaves and some of the newer already prepared foods, which really do taste like home-made.

So now it is off to sleep. The wind is gently rocking the RV and rather than turn on the heat, we will use sleeping bags tonight. The weather is to turn quite warm for the rest of our trip and we are looking forward to the pleasant 80 degree days.

This morning was spent making lists, grocery shopping, and choosing clothes for our trip to Palm Springs. The afternoon was spent putting it all in its right place in the RV. Now it will be early to bed so that the last minute items can be added in the morning. We have a 11:00 departure time in our minds and so far it looks like we will make it.

We will be staying at a RV Park in Palm Desert, close to Palm Springs and we will be meeting up with a World War II reunion group. This group were 90 day wonders from Northwestern University. Bob was a 90 day wonder from Columbia University. We are attending their reunion in the hope that next year the two groups will join together to make a larger reunion group. It is sad, but inevitable that so many members of the Armed Forces of that era are no longer able to travel or are no longer with us.

Two years ago, Bob and I hosted the Palm Springs reunion of his group so we will skip some of the tours this time. We are planning to attend two of the dinners, and a planning meeting. We also have tickets for The Follies and and for the Air Museum. The rest of the week will be ours to relax and explore on our own.

I plan to post every day or two and take lots of photos. We will have all three dogs with us, plus the two parrots so our travel will be somewhat limited, but the RV park has a beautiful swimming pool , a beautiful golf course, and lots of places to walk the dogs. Best yet, the weatherman has promised eighty plus degree weather with great California sunshine the entire time we are there.

Welcome to this Friday’s writing. The theme chosen for the Writers this week is Heroes. There are some very creative and astute writers in our group. I know you will enjoy reading their posts on the subject so I have included links to their weblogs. Please click on their names for some enjoyable reading. Ashok, Conrad, Grannymarr, Magpie, Marianna , Rummuser,. Gaelikaa., Helen, Judy

I am glad that we are writing about heroes this week. As many of you know, I have just returned from a week long trip to Washington D.C. America’s Capitol and home to the many Memorials of America’s patriots and heroes.

The reason for the trip was the 20th reunion of the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Columbia University, New York City, New York. There were 26 Classes (1941 to 1945) at Columbia and I was attended the reunion as the proud wife of one of the members of the 26th and last class to receive their Ensign, USNR commissions there.

This Alumni Group meets yearly in different locations. This year for the first time they met in our Country’s Capitol. Certainly an apropos place for these men who the Navy called “90 Day Wonders”. A name given them because they completed Officer Candidate School in the short period of three months. They were a very select group of young men ordinary in many ways, but called on to become extraordinary leaders in the battlefields of World War II and although they would be the first to deny it, they are heroes.

Although these men now call themselves “Ancient Mariners, Americans proudly refer to them as members of “The Greatest Generation”. As young men they enthusiastically and with determination left their homes, families, schools and universities to become military leaders in suppressing world domination by our enemies on two fronts.

So I salute these heroes who know too well that freedom is not free. That it comes with a high price. Many of the men that were their classmates and many of the men they led in battle, paid the ultimate price for freedom war while others returned sadly as wounded warriors.

The men and women who survived and returned to the civilian world took full advantage of the Government Issue (GI) Bill, Veteran Housing, and turned their military leadership toward post-war goals and accomplishments. They prospered, made light of their own war time sacrifice while gravely and somberly never forgetting,the ultimate sacrifice of so many countrymen and our proud allies.

Perhaps, these photos tell it all. The first was taken at Columbia in 1945 (my husband Robert is fourth from the left in the front row). Multiply that number by 25 to get an idea of how many young men graduated in the program over the four year period. The second photo shows the dwindling numbers. It represents all 26 classes attending the reunion. It was taken at the very unique Navy Memorial in Washington D.C. a few days ago.

So much life passed between the first and the second photo. I watched these heroes as they entered the building. It was a home-coming. Their step was quicker, their stature taller, and their smiles broader. They were greeted by younger men in navy blue uniforms. Rank was acknowledged and brief stories exchanged. The mutual feeling of respect between the younger and older men of the Naval Service was electrifying.

We were there for a Fallen Comrades Ceremony for fellow graduates of Columbia’s Officer Candidate School. It was a quiet, reflective time as 14 new names were added to the ever rapidly growing list of those who have left this earth. The Navy Hymn was sung, a wreath laid, and the haunting sound of TAPS filled the room. It was played softly for fallen comrades, old sailors, and for a time of patriotism, bravery, and heroic ways.

And so for three days, we toured the Capitol and wined and dined with old friends. The men swapped stories and enjoyed a camaraderie forged years earlier. Soon it was time for goodbyes and promises, if God’s willing, to meet again next year.

Sometime midweek on one of my walks into town, I discovered Red’s Hot Dogs. They are large hickory smoked wieners and as decadently delicious as a hot dog from a vendor can be. When I returned to the RV, I of course told Bob of my discovery. Now, you might not know, but Bob eats a very healthy diet most of the time, but he LOVES his hot dogs. The next day, we headed to Red’s for lunch. The hot dogs were even better than anticipated. In fact so delicious that we went back again the following day. However, all good things come to an end and we found (we travel with a weight scale) we both had gained a pound or two. We decided it was a good thing that the week of camping was drawing to an end. However, we promised ourselves that we would back next summer and ready to enjoy many of these fabulous hot dogs.