July 20, 2014

We made it to Stewart/Hyder

This has been a banner day.  We left Smithers this morning after spending the night in a great municipal park.  Note to anyone RVing in BC; never pass up a visitor's center or a municipal park.  The visitors' centers are always manned with friendly helpful folks, and sometimes there is a community bake sale or some other local interest.  And some have free wifi.

We headed up the Cassiar Highway and turned right to get to Stewart/Hyder with the intention of seeing bears.  After several hours at Fish Creek, we saw two eagles fly by.  There had been a glacier flood about three days ago which washed all the salmon downstream.  If there are no salmon, there are no bears!!!!!  We, along with about 30 other folks persevered, and lo and behold, down under the highway bridge trudged a big beautiful golden brown grizzly bear.  He sauntered downstream and suddenly made a dive into the bushes on the side and came out with a good-sized salmon in his mouth.  Probably the only salmon in that part of the creek.  He promptly waded over to the far bank, climbed out of the water, and feasted on his take.  All making our several -hour wait worthwhile.

Having been very pleased with our stay at the municipal park in Smithers last night, we made a beeline for the municipal park in Stewart………………stellar decision.  We are tucked in amongst some lovely big evergreens with nary a sound of anything.  The office was closed so the sign said to pick a site and to check in with them in the morning.  This for almost half the price of a commercial park in the area, and the one we saw was right on the highway with nothing but bare gravel.

The end of the Cassair

We arrived at the junction of the Cassair and Alaska highway on Tuesday afternoon and made a side trip of 15 miles east to go to Watson Lake to replenish some supplies…………oooooh expensive.  We purchased the bare necessities and decided to pass up the $30 watermelon!  Back on the Alaska highway westward took us to the outskirts of Watson Lake and another provincial $12/night park.  All the mosquitoes were free!  Actually, they could have been much worse!  A very large park with just three or four sites taken so of course hardly a sound except for the occasional seaplane out on the lake.

Today's drive took us westward on the Alaska Highway until we took a cutoff across Highway 8 to Carcross to pick up Highway 2 south to Sitka.  There are only two RV parks in Sitka and the best one was full so we are parked right next to the marina (and the piers for the four cruise ships that were in port for the day) for a mere $38/night with no hookups, no water, and therefore no showers or bathrooms.  The town determined that the park's water supply might be contaminated so shut it down.  Not to be overwhelmed, we drove around the corner to the marina and used their showers and restrooms.

We did a bit of grocery shopping, stopped at the Red Onion for a beer and then came back to the campground for the night.  Good night.

And so it begins...........

We managed to get out of the driveway by about two on Wednesday afternoon with Lynden being our destination for the night.  We wanted to be sure we had whatever we needed before crossing the border; which was as easy as declaring two bottles of scotch, estimating how long we would be in Canada and where we were from.  Now we will see if we are treated as well by the US border folks tomorrow when we get to Stewart/Hyder.

We are finding lots and lots of RV parks/campgrounds in BC, but most are pretty "rustic".  The bare minimum for maintenance, although the showers and restrooms have been clean, and the high end of the scale for price considering we don't require any hookups.  Smithers  Muncipal Park has proven to be quite nice, right on the river, and a reasonable price.  Obviously the season is short and they want to make the most of it.

The power supply for the HP computer decided to die as soon as we left home, but we found a replacement in Smithers and are back up and running.  We find Visitors Centers are a good bet for free Wifi. 

Every single little town has a visitors center staffed with very friendly folks.  Today, there was an Amish bake sale in one of the side rooms so we availed ourselves of some bread and rhubarb crisp.

Helmut, the Westie, has purred right along, helped, I am sure, by the great roads we have traveled here in BC.  We have encountered little if any construction interruptions and the going has been good.  He was so bright and shiny when we left but the rains have left him looking as if he needs a bath.  We drove through several rain storms today that were some of the hardest we have ever seen.  But it has pretty well cleared off by this evening.

Wildlife sightings so far have consisted of six deer and one black bear who was grazing alongside the highway this morning.  We are hoping to increase the count as we drive the Cassier Highway.

Until next time, I remain your rainy-day correspondent.  Ciao

Purple and Penguin Wedding

Friday, June 27 was our wedding of the year with the marriage of Sarah Elizabeth and Trevor Forest Stiltner. Of course the Kirkwood family knows how to party, so it was party time leading up to and following on after the wedding. Ken and I boarded our direct flight from McChord to Baltimore on my favorite private jet the C-17. Many times we are only two of perhaps a dozen passengers, but both coming and going on this trip we shared the mammoth space with about fifty other folks, almost all being young families on vacation. There were baby carriers, sleeping bags, and air mattresses galore.

Since we have to travel when the opportunity presents itself, we found ourselves arriving several days earlier than was necessary and undoubtedly earlier than Keith and Janet needed our presence. So after arriving at Dover Air Force Base at one in the morning, we cooled our heels for a while (there isn’t much going on in Dover) and called a cab to take us to IHOP (it stays open all night, right?) for some coffee and a very early breakfast and to wait until seven when the car rental office opened. It turned out that there was a huge music festival in Dover coming up that weekend, and to discourage loiterers, IHOP chose to close during the wee hours of the morning. Sigh. “So Mr. Taxi Driver, take us down the street to the Hilton Garden Inn. “ We explained to the manager that we had Hilton reservations in Columbia, Maryland but couldn’t get there until we could get a car at seven and make the one and one half hour drive. We were welcomed into the lobby, given a paper and coffee and then presented with complimentary vouchers for breakfast. Nice.

Knowing we were several days early, we agreed we would hide out at the Hilton in Columbia for at least two days before presenting ourselves to Keith and Janet. All went well until we went down the street for dinner to a restaurant that we were familiar with and knew that Keith and Janet frequented often for happy hour on Fridays so we thought. We walked by a window only to be “busted” by Keith, Janet, Rachel and her boyfriend, Mac, who were there for dinner on a Saturday night! So we joined them for dinner but did go back to our hotel for one more night before moving in with them.

Wedding preparations were well in hand with the exception of just a few last minute details so we pitched in and helped where we could. Of course one never arrives at the Keith Kirkwood household without being overwhelmed with food and drink. The bride and groom joined us at various moments as did Mac Rachel's boyfriend).

Janet’s parents and brother and family arrived a few days after us. Our entire family was in attendance with Brian, Sheila and the Harriotts coming from Seattle, Craig from Tacoma, Warren from Virginia, and Nolan from North Carolina. Curt and Cinda Johnson, Marty Sells (our grand niece) and Jeff and Bev Schuler rounded out our entourage. On Wednesday, the Radisson in Baltimore became party-central as we all settled in prior to the wedding on Friday.

 There were three restaurants within a few steps of the hotel as well as a hotel bar so we had plenty of places to gather. Over the past six months, I have ordered and returned at least eight dresses, none of which was the “perfect” dress. I had a dress shipped from a Palo Alto store to me, another I had shipped from Nordstrom to the Schulers because we were still on our winter road trip, and another I had shipped to Colleen because I wouldn’t be home. I even went out on a limb and ordered from Lord and Taylor which we don’t have in Washington but knew I could return it when I got to Columbia if necessary. None of them was perfect, but I did finally settle on one that would work. The courtyard outside our hotel was home to a number of shops so Bev, Colleen, and I decided to stroll around for a while in the afternoon of the wedding, and lo and behold I found THE DRESS! The PERFECT DRESS!! How is that for waiting until the eleventh hour?

 I was privy to seeing Sarah in her dress when she went for her final try-on, and I was invited to join Sarah and her eight attendants and Janet for a glass of champagne prior to the wedding. Colleen was the practical one and loaded the girls’ room fridge with meats and cheeses and fruits to help offset the champagne and to be sure no one fainted during the ceremony.

The venue for the wedding was a manor house on the grounds of the Baltimore Zoo and it was lovely. It was the shortest wedding ceremony I have ever attended, but Sarah made it clear that the order of the evening was to get to the drinking, dining and dancing. And we did all of that with gusto. Sarah has a love for penguins, and sure enough, Tails the handsome little penguin made a guest appearance right after the ceremony. We had not met Trevor’s family so were happy to do so and enjoyed them all. They were responsible for the corsages, boutonnieres, and centerpieces and they were spectacular. Lots of white and purple (Sarah’s favorite color).

The flower girl and ring bearer were Trevor’s niece and nephew. William is only three so his Grandma said if he would walk down the aisle he could then go to her and she would have candy for him. As you will see, the ring pillow (Janet’s mother made it from fabric from Janet’s wedding dress) is upside down, but he made it down the aisle. Colleen said she heard him singing “London Bridge is falling down” as he came down the aisle.

Of course a Kirkwood celebration calls for the akvavit toast and Colleen’s gift was to make the charms for the akvavit glasses.  At the beginning of the dinner, Keith welcomed the guests, explained the family ritual of toasting with akvavit and then asked me to “skoal” as the matriarch of the family. My feet were killing me by the time we sat down to dinner so I had kicked my shoes off assuming I would simply stand for the toast, but no, I had to go to the front in my bare feet because there was no way I was going to get the shoes back on.

 After dancing the night away, we sent the bride and groom off with a walkway lined with the guests holding sparklers!! Then it was back to the hotel bar where who should appear but all the family, some of the wedding party and the bride and groom! They are not going on their honeymoon to Aruba until August and wanted to be around this past week while family was in town. It was a late night!

 Sarah and Trevor continued to pop in and out at Keith and Janet’s and spent the second night of their married life in a tent in the back yard because every available sleeping space inside the house was taken. Saturday was another day for visitors and celebrating and EATING. Smoked pork sandwiches and coleslaw were on the menu. Keith must have smoked an entire pig, so as usual there was enough food to feed an army. Fortunately, Keith and Janet purchased an excess of wine and Prosecco for the reception so we felt an obligation to help them dispose of the leftovers!

 Monday night we were joined by Trevor’s parents, sister, and grandmother so we could watch them open their gifts. Another great opportunity to get to know his family.

If you go to http://www.lizandryan.com/maryland-zoo-baltimore-wedding-sarah-trevor/ you can see some of the wedding photos. Ryan worked with Keith at Northrop Grumman and he and Liz were going to give her five years to establish their photography business and then he would join her. He had to leave his job after eighteen months to move in to their very successful business. They did a great job.

 I love each and every one of our family gatherings, be they large or small, and spend many moments afterward reliving the moments and reminiscing. Ciao.

Central California Coast

We spent an uneventful month at Travis AFB with several comings and goings by us and the Schulers. They spent New Year's Eve with us - about the 30th that we have spent together. Now we are parked at Camp San Luis Obispo, about five miles north of the city itself. This is a small National Guard base, but it has a very adequate RV park with about one dozen spaces. We drove to the dining hall for dinner the first night we were here (we won't be "dining" there again), but it was so dark coming home, with no street lights, that we couldn't find our RV. Since there is pretty much nothing moving around here, especially on a Sunday night, it was just a matter of minutes before base security stopped to ask if they could help. Thank you!! We have visited San Luis Obispo which seems to be driven by the local campus of Cal Poly, and yesterday we drove south to check out Vandenberg AFB and Solvang. There was little happening in Solvang, and we walked a lot before we could find a place for lunch. We have made three treks north; driven primarily by the prospect of wine tasting, of which there is no shortage. So we now have some favorites from central California. We drove north on Highway One today to take a look at the sea lion colony that is located just north of Hearst Castle. It is a great viewing area with an elevated walkway right above the animals. One of the docents pointed out a calf that was just 45 minutes old. The adults, especially the males, are enormous and look extremely ungainly when moving around on the beach. Hearst Castle now belongs to the state, but the Hearst corporation has retained ownership and control of the surrounding ranchlands. Right along the highway are herds of cattle grazing............and zebras. Hearst accumulated quite a collection of exotic animals, but the zebras are the only ones that remain. Our plans are to leave here next Tuesday and drive to Edwards AFB, then on Thursday we will go on to the Quartzsite desert to meet up with Rod and Karen at the Desert Rat Rally. After the rally, Karen and I will drive to Ontario (CA) to meet up with Bev and a friend of Karen's for a quilt show while the guys go on their merry way. Ken and I will meet up in Casa Grande. As we have observed the comings and goings of our fellow RVers, we have taken to assigning these strangers nicknames that we use for reference. "Harvey" was parked next door, so named because he was as fussy and fastidious as someone we knew by that name. Trailer Man was parked here behind us for several days. We were told he is a veteran who spends his days at a local veterans' center, and sleeps in his "trailer". It is a well-made aluminum clad "trailer" about the size of a large chest freezer and just a bit taller. He had 3 ice chests stacked outside and the rest of his worldly possessions inside a small station wagon. I approached a couple parked nearby to ask if in fact they were from Airway Heights. They weren't, but they were from Deer Park and knew the one person I had known when I was a teenager - Mike Layton. In fact this man and Mike were classmates and are still friends. We did get acquainted with this couple and had them over for dessert one evening, but since their names didn't seem to stick with us, we referred to him or her as "Deer Park" and the other of us immediately knew who we were talking about. it is time for a walk in the sunshine. Ciao.

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

California Sunshine

We have enjoyed more family time this past week with Jim and the girls and Colleen and Jim's family. Christmas dinner was yummy with a Montana ham and lots of other goodies including two of Jim's pies; apple and pecan. All good things revolve around food it seems.

We missed our original departure time by about sixteen hours. We came home from Seattle on Christmas day and crashed; then arose at 4:30 to dismantle the Christmas trees, empty the refrigerator and finish loading the motor home. We left Steilacoom at 11:30 yesterday and finally stopped north of Redding at about nine last night. That is a long tiring day. Ken can't seem to remember that we are retired and don't have to race to our destination. He has a lot more stamina than I when it comes to driving, but he was concerned about getting over the Siskiyous.

We are now within forty miles of Travis AFB where we will set up camp for about a week. Departure from home is always hectic, and lots of stuff just gets "dumped" into the MH, so I can't wait to get stopped and organize my life. Stopping and sleeping while enroute is more difficult than it used to be with the Brave since we lose about 12" in the width of our bed and we can't get into most of the kitchen cabinets. But this is the first major road trip so we will adjust as time goes on.

Happy New Year to all. Ciao

Time Marches On

We have had our moments of sadness and remembrance, but time marches on, and Christmas is almost upon us.

We hosted an engagement party for Jim and Colleen last Saturday night, so those preparations spurred me to get on with some decorating and baking. There were about 25 of us, and judging by the non-stop chatter and the quantity of food that disappeared, it must have been a good party. We had a great time. Jeff and Bev even came from San Jose. Bev and my friend, Elisabeth, were responsible for a goodly portion of the foods that were served.

This Friday night we are having Jim and Colleen and the girls and Jim's dad and his new wife here for dinner. Then I am finished in the kitchen because Jim and Colleen are hosting all of us for Christmas day dinner.

If we can keep our act together, we plan to have the motor home packed and ready to go by Christmas day so when we return from dinner in Seattle, we can just hop in and take off. We will go as far as our favorite rest stop south of Portland and then assess the roads and weather for the next couple of days of travel. The goal is to get to Travis AFB by New Year's Eve where we will stay for a few days to regroup and restock before moving on toward Arizona.

I still have some shopping to do and gifts to wrap, but hey, we still have three days, right?

I wish for all of you a very happy and blessed Christmas. Ciao

On a sad note

We have had another loss in our family. Some of you remember our nephew, Bill Novotney who passed away about eighteen months ago; his wife Karla died suddenly yesterday after surgery. She had suffered a broken hip, and that surgery evidenced cancer which was the reason for a second surgery. A blood clot is the suspected cause. Although Bill was actually Ken's nephew, he and Karla were closer to our ages and our children are all about the same age. So we will be going to Harrington sometime soon for Karla's service and have been in touch with all of her family.

I will blog again in a day or two.

Brrrrr

We are not leaving for Arizona until after Christmas, and I think I will be a frozen popsicle by then. Right now it is just 30 degrees outside and there is frost everywhere. I know that doesn't sound like much for many of you who already have snow and live in colder climes, but we are not accustomed to such cold around here.

Even now that we have made the decision to wait and leave later, I feel like I am short on time for what there is to accomplish. Wedding planning has taken the forefront, but there is still Thanksgiving and Christmas to think about.

Jim's family will be in town for Christmas so I am planning to invite them for dinner since we have not yet met, and I am contemplating a small engagement party for Jim and Colleen. I get a reprieve for Thanksgiving; Jim and Colleen are cooking!

Colleen and I have spent two full days looking at reception venues and yesterday was the first trip to a bridal shop:) There are no decisions on anything, but we are close for the church and reception. Her church is too large, so we are looking for something that is more suitable in size. We can do lots of planning via phone and email, but I wanted to be a part of some of the early fun and shopping.

Ken has been busily making some modifications to the coach before we leave. I have an awesome pull-out double shelf in a kitchen cabinet that was just one big empty space in addition to the shelves he installed to convert the washer/dryer space to storage. He has refinished two IKEA tables that can serve as cocktail tables and since they are on rollers, I can use one for the computer in the cockpit while we are underway. After two recent trips to Southside Repair, I think all the little problems have been taken care of.

We visited Craig in his new digs last weekend, and he is as cozy as can be in his own unique spartan manner. He has yet to buy a bed, so he has been sleeping on a cushioned window seat in his dining room. He said he recently had to move the cushions to the floor because the window was too cold. We did convince him to take one of our extra blankets and he admitted it was a good move. He lives about three blocks from Sixth Avenue which has a host of restaurants, wine bars, and fast food shops. We walked to the Red Hot; a small local spot where they serve nothing but a variety of hot dogs and beer and wine. Quite fun.

How many of you with smart phones are addicted to "Words with Friends"? I am!! There is a limit of 20 games at any one time, and I have 20 games going all the time. It works well because you can simply take your turn whenever the time suits you. And speaking of technology, I just yesterday discovered how to read my Facebook pages in chronological order rather than in some random order that FB wants to impose on me. I always feel the online resources such as Facebook and Firefox are so focused on proving how innovative they are, that it is a constant battle for me to keep the order that works for ME!

In case I don't return to my Blog this week, I am wishing everyone a very happy and grateful Thanksgiving. Ciao.

Wedding Bells

Colleen and Jim came to Steilacoom this week to tell us that they are planning to be married next spring..............We couldn't be happier. And it isn't as if we have to get to know him since we have known him from his and Brian's college days. Jim had discussed it with the girls, and Ani is still taking some time to get used to the idea. But Colleen has a good relationship with both of them so it will all be fine.

I told Ken he is fortunate that we made the move to buy a different motor home earlier this year, because now it would probably have not been in the budget!!!!

The only details I know so far is that the wedding will be in Seattle and it will be aquvavit shots instead of champagne toasts:)

This weekend we are in lovely downtown Umatilla, Oregon to celebrate the 90th birthday of my cousin Ellen Jean, and it was fun to visit with family that we have not seen for some time. Mike and Mary are here so we will go out to have a bite to eat this evening and then head home tomorrow. We plan to make one or two stops in the wine country on our way:).

So November is well on its way and we are scheduled to leave for California the day after Thanksgiving. Jim and Colleen are hosting Thanksgiving in Seattle so all I have to do is make "funeral" rolls and tomato aspic and something else that doesn't come to mind at the moment.

We only plan to go as far as Travis AFB or Beale AFB in northern California for the first part of our trip. Then we are going to drive the car back to Steilacoom for Christmas. We are good at keeping everything just a bit complicated, but I really don't want to be away for two Christmas' in a row, and I am in the mood for a Christmas/engagement party.

In the midst of all this excitement, Craig has closed on his house and is now living in north Tacoma. He is very happy with his purchase and I am busily trying to get him to relieve us of some of our furniture and household items.

It is dinnertime. Ciao

It's my Birthday today

Actually, it is turning into a birthday week. Colleen and I drove to Yakima on Friday night to begin our annual October birthday getaway to stay in a lovely B&B that made us feel like we were in the heart of Germany. The host is German and he and his wife have made the entire abode look like a page out of a country German home.

With their recommendation, we stopped at an apple stand nearby and purchased a variety of lovely crisp beautiful apples for $.25/pound. Yes, twenty-five cents. They were considered seconds, but other than being a bit smaller, we could see no difference.

After a day of driving eastward via Dayton, Waitsburg, Pomeroy, and Uniontown, we arrived at the Spragues on Saturday evening. One stop made during our wanderings was at a working goat and sheep cheese farm. We tasted cheeses and sipped some wine before being on our way. The sidetrip to Uniontown was a double failure; the Sage Bakery had closed 15 minutes before we got there, and our favorite antique shop has been sold:(

Karen had a lovely dinner for us on Saturday evening, and Sunday was a frantic round of buying more produce on GreenBluff and then scurrying back to Karen's to get out the kettles and the peelers and the crockpots and the jars and the lids to begin the process of making apple butter and pear butter. Peeled apples were sliced and vacuum sealed for the freezer for apple pies, and the last of the season's tomatoes were cooked down for tomato sauce for the freezer. A very productive endeavor indeed.

Since there is serious construction on I-5 on the east side of the summit with extensive delays, we decided to drive home via Highway 2 yesterday. It didn't take any extra time, and it was much more leisurely. We admired the old hotel in Waterville and then stopped in Leavenworth for some German food for dinner. We arrived back at Colleen's about 9:30.

Ken had roses for me, and Craig had some very nice wine along with surprises from the two east coast Kirkwood families. All this love and attention helps ease the trauma of another year passing.

One of my favorite cousins turns 90 in November so we are going to meet up with family to help her celebrate next weekend .... in the thriving metropolis of Umatilla.

It is pretty quiet here this evening. Craig closed on his house this week so he has moved into his new home in north Tacoma. We are very happy for him, but we were quite used to having him around. We think he made a good buy, and he is only about a half hour away.

I have become obsessed with Words with Friends on my phone. There is a limit of 20 games at any one time, and I am always playing the maximum. It is addictive:) Excuse me, I have to go see if it is my turn:)

Ciao