From Seven Feathers to Seven Feathers

The original plan for our annual trip south was to leave Monday afternoon, but the day got away from us, so we slept in the driveway and headed out on Tuesday morning. We stopped in Albany for a short visit and lunch with Ken's cousin, Harriet, and then made our way to Seven Feathers. They have opened a very nice rest area on the west side of I-5 so we settled in for the night. This morning, we arose and stopped here at the station for diesel when a trucker came up to say there was smoke coming from the engine compartment and it smelled bad! We ended up being towed back to Roseburg where it was determined that we had lost an alternator and the belt. But the shop recommended by CoachNet turned to, and we are now up and running and back at the Seven Feathers rest stop for a second night. Fortunately we have CoachNet so our towing bill was covered!!! The driver was the BEST. Experienced, personable, efficient, and knowledgeable. So if you ever find yourself in Grants Pass, Oregon or its surrounds, be sure to call Caveman Towing. We have had no rain today, but drove through a lot of it yesterday, and the rivers are looking pretty high. We actually saw a bit of sunshine for a brief period this morning, but the rest of the day was overcast. Tune in again, and I will make an effort to update my blog once in a while. Ciao.

Two weeks plus one day

The time is growing short before the wedding day. I think we are still on track and are pretty well prepared. The pie social (in lieu of a rehearsal dinner) has taken on a life of its own, and it is shaping up to be lots of fun. We will have a marathon pie baking day on Friday for the desserts to go along with the pulled pork sliders. The colors are red and white and most of the seating will be blankets on the grass.

My dress shopping has continued. Even though I have one hanging in my closet, it just seemed too easy so decided I should look around a bit more. I have ordered and returned about a half dozen dresses, but I now have another three that are waiting the wings.

Colleen is wearing the veil that I wore at our wedding, and I have added three rows of tatted lace that her Grandma Lilly made for her many many years ago. It does look quite lovely.

Brian is now officially retired. Sheila went back to North Carolina on Thursday to attend his change of command and retirement ceremonies. They stayed with Sheila's mother in Virginia last night, and today is a 700+ mile day to stop for a visit with air force friends in Indiana. We expect to see the four of them back here next Saturday.

Ciao

And the beat goes on..........

The wedding invitations have been mailed so we really do have to go through with it:) We have plenty of "to-do" lists, but everything has gone quite well and we have had fun in the process.

Brian and Sheila are about to become Seattle homeowners. It is a house that they saw on day two of house-hunting, and then they waited and waited on the sellers to finally take their offer over another. They don't take possession until June 30, so we will be very cozy around here for a few days after the wedding. LOVE IT!!!

Their new home is an early 1900s craftsman that has been completely restored and is beautiful. It is in the Laurelhurst neighborhood and it will be walking distance to Husky stadium; no wonder Brian liked this house.

Sheila treated me to the Seattle Opera to see Madam Butterfly; my first opera and I LOVED all of it including the music, the voices, and the set which was very minimalist. I have attended performances in Benaroya Hall, but this was a first at McCaw Hall which is just as wonderful. Seattle does have some great venues.

I think all the family students are finished for the year. Warren was inducted into National Honor Society, and Nolan has returned to his Chapel Hill campus to particpate in some ROTC activites. Rachel moved home this week, and I think Keith has finished his class but still has some papers to grade for the class he is co-teaching at Johns Hopkins. Sum sum summertime.

Ken has spent many hours outside and has the garden and flower beds looking good. We have had a great run of sunshine to encourage everything to grow, but this is a week of clouds and drizzle.

I am off to Seattle for some more wedding planning, and then this evening Colleen, Sheila and I are going to attend a presentation and reception at Seattle University for Cinda and Linea and their book, "Perfect Chaos". Their lives have been a whirlwind since the book release on May 8 to include several days and events in NYC.

It is certainly a book to be read by anyone who suffers from some type of mental illness or knows someone who does. It is proof positive that the battles can be won and it is a powerful message directed at removing the stigma of mental health issues. If you perform a google search on their names or the book title, you will find many reviews and articles from the likes of Prevention Magazine and major television networks. It is in lots of bookstores as well as on Amazon.

Ciao

Oops

So now it has been six weeks since I blogged.

There has been lots of activity for us: Brian and Sheila were with us the first week in April. She started her new job at Boeing, and Brian spent the week house-hunting. She is into her second month on the job (she is staying with us), Brian returned to Goldsboro, and still no house.

The market in Seattle has been very tight with properties receiving multiple offers in a matter of hours. They are now waiting on an offer they made just this week.

Ken has been working furiously in the yard. The winter storms downed so many branches that we couldn't even get the motor home in the driveway, but most of that has now been hauled away. Everything is very green because it has been very wet!!

My time has been occupied with wedding plans and everything seems to be falling into place. I have purchased three dresses and two pairs of shoes so I should be able to come up with something! We are looking forward to the festivities and the opportunity to meet some of Jim and Colleen's friends from out of town - and even out of country; Germany and Canada!

We made a quick trip to Spokane last week to get a pig. Actually, it was already cut up and in the freezer so it was easy to transport. We stayed with Rod and Karen for three nights and enjoyed their hospitality and their company. Lois celebrated a birthday while we were there so Cinda and took her shopping and to lunch at the Davenport Hotel. Calla and Sam and Maja hosted all of us for dinner in the evening.

Bob and Sharon Jayne are in Seattle today and will be here for dinner this evening. Their daughter, Rana, just accepted a job as a buyer for Nordstrom so she and her husband are embarking on a move to Seattle. Fortunately for them, they have already purchased a house.

That being said, I had better get busy. Ciao.

Hello again, Travis AFB

We parted ways with Rod and Karen yesterday morning as we left Tecopa Hot Springs. Tonight they are in Boise spending an evening with Wendy and Roger (daughter and son-in-law), and we are in the Famcamp at Travis AFB listening to the rain pound on the roof. From the looks of things, there has been a lot of rain go through here and lots more to come.

Two nights in Las Vegas gave us an opportunity to have a brief visit with Bob and Sharon Jayne before they left for home, and Rod and Karen spent the better part of a day visiting Hoover Dam. They were not able to join a tour group, but they spent lots of time sightseeing on their own.

Then the four of us went on to Tecopa Hot Springs, a quirky little RV park in the middle of nowhere near the southern border of Death Valley. We did take several opportunities to soak in the mineral baths. One lady has been staying at this park every winter for the past 27 years and insists the water is why she isn't in a wheelchair due to arthritis and osteoporosis.

We will stay here for five nights and probably go to San Jose on Monday to see the Schulers. Then we will begin the homeward trek in earnest, but we haven't decided which route we will take. Ciao.

Hello again, Quartzsite

We left Casa Grande yesterday and are parked on the desert at our usual spot about five miles north of Quartzsite; the moon was full last night and absolutely spectacular. Today we drove to Parker and Lake Havasu to look at some other parking possibilities and a quilt shop in Lake Havasu. The consensus is that we stay here for two more nights and then move on to Las Vegas and Tecopa Hot Springs. There is a lovely state park here in the area, but it is pretty well booked at the moment; so we will move on to Las Vegas.

We are traveling with the Spragues, and Karen and I have decided that we are pretty fortunate to have the husbands that we have and love. They are very patient when it comes to our whims and desires, and they are pretty willing to go along with whatever we want to do. Ken and Rod; you rock!!!!!!

After we returned from Lake Havasu today, we sat outside to enjoy margaritas and snacks, and then we combined efforts for dinner; hot roast beef sandwiches, coleslaw, fresh strawberries and ice cream and WINE!! Ah the life of retirees.

Welcome, Ms Pat Hanson to my blog. Pat is a wintertime resident of Foothills West at Casa Grande, and a summertime resident of Carson, Washington. She, and her "never met a stranger" personality, is the reason we return to Foothills West every winter.

Okay Northwest weather, we are on our way home and we do not want to encounter endless rain and cold and snow. We expect spring!!!!! Ciao

Beginning Plans to Start Home

As we head into our third month away from home, we are beginning to make plans to return. A bit earlier than usual, but we want to be home by the last week in March...

Brian and Sheila are definitely moving to Seattle, and they will be with us the first week of April to house-hunt and for Sheila to begin her new job at Boeing so of course we want to be home when they are there. We need to get there a few days before they because I think the driveway is pretty well blocked with tree limbs from winter storms.

Are we excited about their move? YES! I don't think we ever believed or hoped that three of our four children would be living nearby; now if we could just uproot Keith and Janet:)

We have been engaged in the usual wintertime activities of sleeping in, reading, and socializing. Our "Wisconsin Mafia" group here in the park has grown to about ten couples so we are a good-sized happy hour bunch. Karen and Rod have been here for about three weeks and we have been out and about with them on occasion.

Spragues will be leaving when we do, so we are taking a look at a route home that will give us something to see and do but avoid snow. Right now, it looks like we will spend the first night on the desert and then go on to Las Vegas for a day or two, then to Tecopa Hot Springs and Death Valley. It has been several years since we visited Death Valley, and there is certainly more to see. Then we are considering Sequoia National Park before going on to the the Sacramento area with a day spent in San Jose. From there we will be homeward bound.

We toured Shamrock Dairy recently where they are milking 10,000+ cows twice a day and have another 7,000 plus heifers on the property. It was an amazingly clean, well-managed operation. The cows lounge in perfectly pristine dry enclosures dining on a special diet of mixed ingredients including cotton seeds, and are ushered off to the spa for hoof and health maintenance. The milking parlor is a continuous stream of cows coming and going at the rate of 200 every 12 minutes. "You can take the girl out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl."

Wedding plans continue. I have been appalled at the dress styles I have been seeing for MoB dresses, but I did find one yesterday that will be satisfactory unless I find something else that I absolutely fall in love with. Colleen says she is going into panic mode since the date is less than four months away; June 24 sounded so far off last November. We are excited and looking forwad to it.

I have been up for two hours and all I have accomplished is coffee, this blog, and lots of computer time. Ciao

Our hearts were warmed

With a loss comes something positive. We spent some very special time with family last Monday when we attended Bud's memorial service in Moses Lake. The officiant was a minister who had been an athlete under Bud's tutelage during his school years in Moses Lake. It became very clear to us that there were hundreds of young lives that were impacted by their association with Coach Kirkwood. Over and over we heard an emphasis on his ability to quietly impart a bit of wisdom without ever preaching or lecturing.

Colleen was able to drive over to join Keith, Craig and Ken and I at the memorial. The afternoon and evening was spent at Clara's house with some very special time with all of Bud and Clara's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Ken and I stayed the night and went on our way on Tuesday.

We flew on Allegiant Airlines and they only make the Mesa Pasco run on Sundays and Thursdays, so we found ourselves with two free days before coming home. We usually spend time in the Yakima and Columbia Valleys for wine tasting, but we took advantage of the time and spent the two days in Walla Walla. We did enjoy some very nice wines, but since we were not checking luggage, we couldn't bring any back with us.

Now we are back in Casa Grande and have several fun plans coming up. Rod and Karen will join us here on Tuesday when they return from their sojourn in Mexico. We are having Daryl and Jan Ziemer here for dinner on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we are going to Mesa to see friends from Lakewood.

The weather has been very pleasant; not toasty toasty, but warm enough to run the air conditioner when in the car. There has been no rain, but I suspect that will 9change just as soon as we have someone come and wash and wax the motor home:)

Ciao

Farewell William G. Kirkwood

Bud passed away late last week due to cancer. It has been heartwarming to read the comments in the Kayser Chapel (Moses Lake) site and to see so many affirmations of the difference he made in students' lives over the years of teaching. There will be a memorial in Moses Lake next Monday, and we will attend as will Keith and Craig.

We spent about ten days on the desert at Quartzite providing moral support to Rod and Karen in their hosting duties of 94 coaches for a five day rally. They are very thorough and conscientious so it went very well, and their efforts were much appreciated. The highlight was a pig roast. One of the rally members has a custom-built roaster that he towed to the rally and it became the final resting place for a 200+# pig. It was quite the novelty.

Franz even made head cheese the likes of which I have not had since I was a kid on the farm. It is fabulous in spite of what many others think.

We arrived at our usual park in Casa Grande yesterday afternoon and today we will try to get the desert dust out of the coach and catch up on organization and laundry. Airline reservations are the other task for the day.

It is a bit cool here yet this morning, but the sky is clear and blue. Ciao.

Quartzsite is within striking distance

The weather was so nice, and we were so comfortable that we stayed longer at Travis than planned. But several days were spent with the Schulers, including the New Years Eve annual evening of good food. The Saturday after New Year's weekend, they came to our area for a day of wine tasting and a German dinner in San Francisco capped off the day.

After two days spent at RV repair shops, I think we are all in tact for our time on the desert. We had to have the house water pump replaced, but it was still under warranty, so we only had the cost of labor. The next day we had a failed control board in the water heater. And so it goes.

Last night was spent at Edwards AFB famcamp where the nighttime temp dipped to 12F. Ken had disconnected the outside water hose, and we kept heat going in the coach to keep the bays warm enough to prevent tanks from freezing so we managed. Right now we are bumping along I-10 in the area of Palm Springs and will get to the desert about five. Karen and Rod will have dinner waiting for us:)

There are some interesting rock formations near the junction of state highway 38 and I-15 north of San Bernardino. Called the Mormon rocks (I still don't know why), they are a hard cement rock that has withstood the winds and weather while the surrounding sand and geology disappeared. They look like big mounds of the expanding type of foam insulation used around the house.

But along with the carefree fun comes reality. Ken's brother, Bud, has been failing at quite a fast rate and has slipped in and out of a semi-comatose state, so we are braced for that last phone call that could come at any time which means we would be going to Moses Lake for his funeral.

It is overcast where we are at the moment, but I don't believe that translates to rain in this part of the country. It is 67 outside even without sunshine. Ciao