AHHHHHHHHHHH HOME

Tucson
Ah, home...what a wonderful feeling. We arrived home Tuesday, around 2:30 p.m. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

Monday, Oct. 19
We are off ...headed towards Tucson. We left Acton a little after 10:00 a.m. When we were leaving the RV Park another couple had pulled their motor home onto the access road and where having trouble getting their tow lights to work...I had to maneuver and squeeze past them...not fun, but I managed to do it without damaging anything.

We had planned to drive to Quartzsite, AZ today. But to do this we had to drive through Blythe, CA. Now, let me tell you about my hate-hate relationship with Blythe. NOTHING GOOD HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME IN THIS TOWN! Years ago we were in Blythe, on our way to LA when we got the phone call that our daughter Jennifer was in the hospital in Seattle with life threatening blood clots. Then next time we went through this hell town, we were headed to Lancaster for a funeral of a good friend. We spent the night in Blythe and Al got very sick and we had to turn around and head back to Tucson. Well, Blythe held on to it's title of the most hated town....we were 20 miles west of Blythe when my cell phone rings. It's Jennifer...and she doesn't have good news. She has just gotten out of the doctors office and she has pre-cancerous cells in the uterus and has to have a hysterectomy. WTH? When? Well, she doesn't know a schedule yet, but she (and I) are pretty shook up. GRRR...I tell you it's this hell town.

So, we decide to keep going, not stop at Quartzsite and head for home. I am feeling good and not tired, so I told Al I would drive until I felt tired. Things are running smoothly, it's getting dark...hmmm...I look in the mirrors and its really dark behind me....wait, I don't think we have any running lights on the trailer. We pull into a rest area and sure enough, no damn running lights on the trailer. We had just had these fixed...or so we thought. So, we decide to head to the nearest RV Park, which happened to be eight miles down the road in Tonopah, AZ...in the middle of nowhere! However, the RV park was beautiful, apparently a snow bird retreat.

Tuesday...we are wrollin towards home. Every nerve in my body said HOME. We were all tired of travel...that includes cats and dogs. I finally pull up the hill to the house and we let the dogs out and the cats explode out of the trailer. It is the first time they have been allowed to run freely without leashes in over 5 months. All four animals explore the area to make sure no one has invaded their territory. A little bit after we arrive, Dick and Lano arrive. They had been over here to see a doctor and they had good news...no surgery for Lano.

We unload just what we need for the night and collapse in the house. IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME.

Wednesday and Jennifer calls....she had just talked to the oncologist .. he doesn't think it is a good idea to wait too long for surgery, so she is scheduled for her hysterectomy Nov. 4. WHOA...guess I had better get busy unloading the trailer so we can fly to Seattle to be with her during and after surgery. Just when I thought I was going to get to stay in one place for a little while....not.

The weather has been beautiful here...I love October in Tucson. Oh heck, I love Tucson, period.

Friday and we have no air conditioning. Hmmm...so I call the repair man and after $1000 of repairs, we have A/C. OUCH! I am pretty much finished unpacking the trailer, it is now all in the house and waiting to be put away, which may not happen right away! With Dick guiding me, I got the trailer backed in next to the house...and I am proud of myself for being able to do it in one shot.

Saturday, Dick and Lano go home and I go do some grocery shopping. Now I face the task of getting everything put away before we leave for Seattle....so for the next few days I will be busy.

Wroamin' thru California

Acton, CA

Leaving Medford behind on Oct. 10, we ventured into California. Had beautiful weather driving down I-5 to Sacramento. Finally arriving in Sacramento around 4:30 p.m. --- but trying to find our RV Park proved to be a little more difficult than I anticipated -- even Lucy, our GPS was confused! After a few wrong turns and doing a U-Turn with the trailer behind (I am getting good at this) we finally found CalExp RV Park. I think RV Park is to strong of a description for it....it is in the parking lot of the fairgrounds and it is basically a parking lot with hook ups. No TV, (altho they say you can use your antenna, ours refused to work) and no WIFI (which they say they have, however, we were parked so far away from the hotspot it wouldn't recieve), but we were there and staying put for a couple of nights.

Sunday, Oct 11

Around lunchtime the next day, my stomach realized were were in In n Out Burger country! So off I went with Lucy the GPS and found an In n Out. YUM! Later that afternoon we went over to friends Kathy and Richs for a nice visit and dinner. However, they did something very odd just before we got there; they went swimming in their clothes!! Apparently, Kathy was skimming the pool for leaves, lost her footing, Rich being near she grabbed for him, and they both went in the pool!!! I am still laughing Kathy. They are great people. You know, we are so very fortunate, we have so many great friends in our lives.

Monday, Oct 12 and we are off to Chowchilla for the night. Down I-5 we go, stopping in Santa Nella for our favorite soup stop, Andersens Split Pea Soup. We have made this a stop everytime we go down I-5 in this area. Doesn't matter if it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, we stop. Once we arrived in Chowchilla we were surprised to see how this little, sleepy town has grown. My parents retired and died in this little town, and are buried here, so it is a definite stop when we are in the area. Al and I both like the town and would consider living here if it wasn't in California! Anyway, we arrived at the RV Park and when I was checking in, the clerk said she was going to block out two nights for us just in case. Just in case of what??? They were expecting a terrible storm and were forcast to get at least 5 inches. 5 inches or what??? RAIN! Oh! Right, I am in the rainless country now. We get parked and take off to put flowers on my parents graves and then over to visit a short while with my niece Joy and husband Stan. By the time we get back to the RV Park it is dark and getting a bit windy.

Tuesday, Oct. 13

About 3:30 a.m. we were being rocked by the wind and the rain was really coming down. By the time we got up that morning it was still raining...we tried to wait it out, but after a couple of hours we went ahead and hooked up the truck to the trailer, getting soaked in the process. My jeans didn't dry out all day! Down Hwy 99 we went. We finally ran out of the rain about 100 miles north of Bakersfield. About 30 miles north of Bakersfield we hit a dust storm...visability was poor, but we pushed on. My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight I was thinking they were going to have to pry them off! Through Bakersfield and up the Tehachapi grade we went...wind blowing across us so hard I thought the trailer was going to topple over. Then we got into some more rain....we were one, big, wrolling, mud ball! Finally arrived in Acton around 4:00 p.m., somewhat tense, but very relieved to be here! After getting set up and a short rest, Billie and Dan arrive and take us to dinner. I was so tired I could barely eat, all I wanted was bed. It was windy here and spitting rain, but nothing like what we had been through that day.

Wed. Oct 14, up and rested we head off for Lancaster to get some needed supplies. For the most part of the day I finish up our income taxes and get them ready to mail the next day; and rest. That evening Billie, Dan, Al and went to Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant in Beverly Hills for dinner to celebrate both of our anniversaries, albeit, a few weeks late. All of us had done this years ago and decided to do it again since it was so good the last time. This time? Well, either I had it so built up in my mind how wonderful it was; or they have gone down hill a bit. It wasn't as I anticipated, good, but not fabulous. But we had a good time anyway.

The next day dawned bright and sunny and warm. Thursday is the day to mail income tax after filing an extension last April. Nothing like waiting to the very last day huh? So off to the Lancaster Post Office we go....hmmm, where did it go? Even Lucy, the GPS couldn't find it. Finally after driving around and driving by the houses we used to live in, we found it, right where we had left it! Well, actually, it had moved in the past few years, but I had forgotten it. That evening we had dinner with the only friends we have left in Antelope Valley (insert a cry here). All of our other friends have moved, or, unfortunatly died! WOW...what a revelation to us. Any way, we had a great visit with Glennie and Fred and most of the conversations started with "What ever happened to (insert name here)???" It was good to see them and we hope they will at least stay put for a while here.

Antelope Valley from Hwy 14

Glennie and Fred

Friday was work day. We have been having a problem with the truck's temperture gage, so Dan volunteered to replace the thermostat for us to see if that was the problem. Ford wanted $300+ to do the job. I bought the thermostat for $10.32 and Dan put it in for us. We spent the better part of the day at their house, I did laundry and made cabbage rolls for dinner. We also saw just how closes the Station Fire got to their house....to close for comfort if you ask me.

Billie and Dan's house...middle of the burnt area.

Saturday arrives in all its glory. We are off to see my brother in Glendora for the day. But not before I battle an army of sugar ants that have decided to invade the 5th wheel. I spent a good hour and half trying to find out where they were coming from. Off to the hardware store for some ant spray I went. I sprayed around everything that touched the ground on the trailer and sprayed the hose and cables as well. Then inside I sprayed where I saw them coming in and I cleaned everything that even hinted as food for them. GRRR...one of natures mistakes...ants! I am not sure what good they are except to be annoying.

Once we were on the wroad to my brothers we were hungry and were headed to The Hat, the best pastrami sandwich in the world awaited us. As expected, it was great. Found my brothers house as he has moved since we were here last and Lucy the GPS found it perfect. It is really a nice place and so glad they are comfortable in a larger house. Had a great visit with him and family . Then we decided to go out to dinner. Now, we were raised in the town of Azusa and all of our growing up and adult lives, when we wanted Mexican food there were only two places we went; El Patio first and second La Tolteca. Well, El Patio finally closed after 40+ years a few years ago and we thought that La Tolteca may have done the same, so we decided to go to the fall back restaurant, Carmens. Off we go, me following John. Just as we get to Carmens, we look and across the street in the old Safeway building is La Tolteca. You can't imagine how excited our stomachs were!! Yum, it was just as good as we remembered. Hope they stay that way.

Michale, John, Julie, Taryn, Steven and Christopher....family :-)

Today, Sunday, we are resting and doing a lot of nothing, except I am still fighting ants. I cannot find out where they are coming in from. I have used a can of ant spray, supposed to be replellant, but I am beginning to think they are thriving on it.

On another note, time for Grandma to brag. Our granddaughter Lori, has been nominated and accepted into the People to People Ambassador program. She will visit England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands this coming summer. We are so proud of her...she and 40 others will represent Oregon this summer. And what a great program this is and a wonderful opportunity for her. WAY TO GO LORI!

Tomorrow we will be heading to Tucson finally. We are all anxious to get home now. Even the cats are ready to have some room after being cooped up in the RV all summer. Don't get me wrong, our 5th wheel is nice and spacious, but after a few weeks, it does get a little confining.

So until next post from Tucson, hope all is well in your world.

The Wroamin' Wraspirs

Oregon Pictures

Here are some of the pictures from Medford/Grants Pass that I couldn't get loaded the other night.



The road to Crate Lake. I just love this tree lined road.



Fall colors were out everywhere....this was taken in Grants Pass....


Whats left of Savage Rapids Dam.



Family....Sis Jean, Nieces Pam, Sue, Kay and Kay's husband Mark.

Portland, Medford and Grants Pass

Central Point, OR

Whew, what a fun few days we have had, and busy ones too. Let me see if I can get it all recorded here.

We left Seattle on Oct. 1 as planned and got to Portland and got settled in. We had dinner at Ron and Melanie's that night and Melanie, Lori and I went to the People to People Ambassador meeting which Lori had been accepted in. It is a good program and she will have a great time this next summer. She will be visiting England, France, Belguim and The Netherlands. It will be good for her.

The next day while they all worked or went to school we vegged. Friday night we drove to Salem and had dinner with friends Arley and Betty Freauf. It was fun to get caught up with them. Saturday we met up with Ron, Melanie, Victor and Lori and had sushi for lunch, then rode MAX (the light rail) into Portland. What a great system MAX is...too bad Seattle can't come up with something like this. Sunday we went out to Eagle Creek to look at some property they are thinking about buying. It is beautiful out there. All in all we had a great visit with our kids, just too short.

We wrolled down the wroad towards Medford on Monday, but not before we had to have the break away emergency brake repaired on the trailer. I was amazed, it only took 10 minutes to repair and only cost $9.98. I am still sure they didn't charge me enough, but I didn't argue.

After getting set up at the RV park in Gold Hill, we went to my sisters in Central Point. Nieces Pam and Sue were both there as well. Had a great dinner and got some visiting in. Tuesday we went to Jacksonville and met up with my other niece Kay. Jacksonville is such a neat little town and I always enjoy going there. Wednesday sister Jean, niece Pam, Al and I went to Crater Lake. This has been on my "bucket list" for many years. Even though I was born in Grants Pass and lived there 10 years, I had never been to Crater Lake. Once, some years ago when we had our motor home we tried to go to Crater Lake, however, we had a gas leak on the motor home so we got to get out, look over the edge and we were gone! This time we spent all day there. It was breath taking. God's work is beautiful. We stopped at the lodge and had lunch and then went to the Rogue Gorge. Saw the lave tubes, and where the Rogue River actually goes under ground for a bit at the Natural Bridge. And Gordon, we even went to Trail! We had a great day....
Sister Jean, Niece Pam at Crater Lake





Thursday we did nothing but rest and run some errands. Had dinner at my niece Kay and husband Mark's house in Jacksonville. They have a lovely home there and we all had a good time just being together.

Today we drove to Grants Pass to take a trip down memory lane. I was born in Grants Pass; Jean has lived there off and on for years and niece Sue graduated from high school there. We drove the "old road" Hwy 99. On the Rogue river since 1921 has been the Savage Rapids Dam. Been there forever. As of about 10:00 a.m. today it is gone. We got there just about an hour after they had let the river flow free of the dam. Very sad to see this. The reason? "Although the dam has fish ladders, these ladders are old, do not meet current regulations, and only allow limited fish passage. Dam removal has been proposed to restore fish passage to natural conditions." GRRRRR After shedding a tear at the dam, we headed on into Grants Pass to go past old houses we once lived in -- I got to talk to the person that is living in the house I lived in here and my parents built. It has been changed considerably over the years and he was thrilled with the history of the house that I gave him. We also went by the school we went to and just did the memory thing. Then, as tradition for my sis and I, we went to Grants Pass Drug Store to have a chocolate ice cream soda. Ahhhh...heaven in a glass. YUM!

Weather has been glorious and the changing colors are magnificent. We saw so many pretty trees in the last few days and the colors have ranged from light green to yellow to orange to brilliant reds. I bet I have 100 or more pictures of trees changing color.

Our time here has ended and we are headed down the wroad tomorrow for new adventures. Next stop, Sacramento for a day or so.

I would have posted more pictures on the blog, but it was taking way too long to upload them. Sorry. I will try and post some later.

Old Friends, Weddings and Enjoying Seattle

Everett, WA

Sept 26

We just returned from a beautiful wedding. Our friends Carl and Carolyn Beddingfield's daughter Tracy got married today. She was a beautiful bride; matter of fact, she is a beautiful woman. We were with Carl and Carolyn in Saudi and have remained friends all these years. It was fun to see other old friends at the wedding at well...Joyce and Rudy; Sarah and Keith and many more. We had a nice, albeit short, visit with Carolyn and Carl, as you can imagine they were pretty busy. It was nice to see them again...it has been a few years since we saw either one of them.

THEN, on Thursday night we had dinner with another set of old friends, Paula and Lew Hustead. What a great visit we had with them. They are friends from Saudi days as well. We haven't seen them in years...10 at least. I want to know why they haven't aged! They look wonderful and just as great as they always have been. We got caught up on each other's family as well. Jenn and Sherrie joined us for dinner as well. As Jenn said, they were some of our favorite people in Saudi. What a neat time for us.

Jo, Lew, Paula, Al, Jenn

We still have a busy schedule in Seattle. Tomorrow we are going to breakfast with Jenn and Sherrie; then tomorrow evening we are having dinner with Ric, Janet and Ashley. Late birthday dinner for Janet and Ashley and early birthday dinner for Ric...who will be 50 this year!!! How does this happen????? Monday are a full day of doctor visits again. We did some of that last Thursday as well...arg. Tuesday I am having lunch with old friend Ginnie and Wed is Nancy day and lunch as well. I should burst by then!!!! It is so fun seeing all of these people tho...and some I can't see due to schedule conflicts I have at least gotten to talk to on the phone.

I was just sitting here thinking that we have been living this lifestyle for 10 years now. And how things have changed! I remember having to lug my laptop to the RV park office to dial up to the internet. Then RV parks started putting phone lines at selected sites and we would always try to get on of those sites so I could hook up the internet. Then wifi started, but at first you had to be fairly close to the hot spot; now most parks have wifi available and if they don't I have my aircard and can connect just about everywhere. I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years from now!!! And we are still driving the same rig....99 F350 and Alpenlite 5th wheel. They have really served us well, we have had our share of problems, but that is all part of the lifestyle. Matter-of-fact, said truck is at the Ford dealer now being fixed and we are driving a rental car. We looked at the new F350's and if we win the lottery we will buy one, but otherwise I will have to beg, borrow and steal enough money to buy one! They are absolutely beautiful and we would love to have one, but man, it's a lot of money!! OUCH! So our 99 F350 will just have to run a few more years! Unless anyone out there wants to give me a few thousand dollars; about 50 thousand of them please!

The weather here has been incredible! Sunny and clear and warm during the day and nice and cool at night. Love Seattle when the weather is like this and I have thoughts of moving back to this beautiful place; then my brain kicks in and I remember the many, many days of rain and gray. UGH!

Dogs are missing the freedom they had in Odessa....they now have to be on a leash at all times and be walked everywhere. At least I am getting some excercise! However, we found a place to play "ball" so I have managed to let them off the leash and play for a while every day. This park we are staying in is nice, however, I like the park next door better...more room. We are kinda squished in here.

So for now, we are wroamin and will be wrolling towards Portland on next Thursday.

IT'S DEUTSCHESFEST TIME

Odessa
Sept 18


It's time for the annual Deutschesfest in Odessa. This little town of 1,000 will grow this weekend to over 20,000 as people from far and wide will come to participate/celebrate "Fest". This little town continues to amaze me each and every year as residents come together to make fest a success. Today our town is a busy place. For weeks preparations have been under way. Businesses have spruced up their shops; residences have cleaned and shined their places; the little booths have been set up; German music is playing on the loud speakers around town (I have so many German songs stuck in my head that they are fighting for play time!!) and a festive spirit can be felt all over town. We have participated every year by having a garage sale...and this year is no exception...a big garage sale starts on Friday and runs until Sunday or until we are sold out. Vickie and I have been busy this last couple of weeks getting ready.



Granddaughter Cammie came up over Labor Day and helped me sort/price garage sale stuff. Then last weekend I went to Jerry's and sorted "stuff" again as he had stored some stuff for us. Now I hope all the "Stuff" will go away! It is amazing how much stuff we can collect in our lives. SHEEESH!



Last Monday we went to Spokane to take our sister in law, Gloria out to lunch and a movie. I don't think she has been to the movies in a long time. We say Julia and Julie and it was very good. Al had a hard time following it; but that was because he was up and down going to the bathroom!!!! I swear he has a bladder the size of a pea!

Sept 22
Well, "fest" is over...I would say the crowds were much smaller this year, but we had a good time. The garage sale went well, and what didn't sell was taken to a local charity and donated. It is done! Weather over the weekend was weird. Friday was hot...HOT! Saturday was windy, cold, hot, windy, cold, hot, oh, did I mention windy? Never fails at Fest time and garage sale time. We anchored things down and went on with the sale.

We signed the papers on the house today, so it is officially sold. Whew, big relief for us. We are now down to two houses in Tucson and the 5th wheel...I feel good! Light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't attached to a train anymore!

We will be wrolling out of here tomorrow, heading towards Seattle for our first stop of our trip to Tucson. I got the truck washed today, trailer cleaned and packed, laundry done, assorted miscellaneous items retrieved from the house that I want to go to Tucson identified so when our niece and her husband bring the rest of our "stuff" that we couldn't part with to Tucson it will all be together. I'm pooped. Busy day, but felt very productive.

So we are
Wroamin' Wraspir's once again -- all pets included I hope.

What is it with Our kids and fire?

Odessa

We arrived back in Odessa last Wednesday after being in beautiful Noxon, MT for over 2 weeks. Yes, I came back here kicking and screaming the entire way -- I have work to do here and know it has to be done, but don't want to do it. After all, it's WORK!!

Last Sunday proved to be a very interesting, stressful, worrisome, scary day for us. About noon I signed on to the computer to check the status of the Station Fire in LA. The last I had checked it was headed towards the town of Acton, CA, which is not far from where our daughter Billie and son-in-law Dan live. So, on the computer on Sunday and holy crap...the fire is heading directly at them. I called Billie and yes, the fire is on the ridge above them and yes, they are staying and not evacuating. After a few choice words to them, I really start to worry. Given, Dan is a fireman, but this fire is huge. There is an engine from Orange County at their house, along with other assistance; but, can they ward off this monster that is heading their way? I talked to Billie a few times during the day getting progress reports of where the fire is. That evening I was away from my phone for a few minutes, and when I checked, Billie had called. The fire had gone around and over them. Burned to close to their house for comfort, but they saved their house and out buildings. Unfortunately, some of their neighbors weren't as fortunate and lost everything. God definitely had a hand in saving them...and thank you to all of you who said prayers for them.




Fire on the ridge

Fire at the house

After the fire

Then, on Tuesday, our granddaughter Sarah called to tell us she had a minor fire in her apartment!! WHAT is going on with fire and my family????? Apparently the unit next to her was being worked on and where they were welding caught fire and burned through her upstairs bedroom and bathroom wall. Not a lot of damage, luckily no smoke damage so they could stay in the apartment; but scary none the less. ENOUGH!!!

I just thank God that none of them were hurt --- now stop with the fire thing.

It was windy here yesterday and the wind was rearranging all the dirt around. Oh goodie, no sense in dusting yesterday! We are parked at our house for the next three weeks. I will be sorting, tossing and going through all of our stuff that remains in the storage trailer and getting ready for a HUGE garage sale during Deutschfest (Sept. 18-20) and hope to get rid of everything. No, make that, I WILL GET RID OF EVERYTHING, either by garage sale or to the Senior Center Thrift Store!!! Todd and Vicki have been living in our house since December last year, and Vicki has the law office here in Odessa and Todd is working on a ranch. Their two children, Alyssa (6) and Austin (4) are so darn cute and so much fun. We enjoy having them around and they pop in and out of our trailer frequently. So much energy....wow, I wish I had an eighth of it. So, if you are in area during Deutschfest, stop by and take a load home with you!!!!

Speaking of work, I am helping Vicki out in her law office for a few days. Helping may be to strong of a word....since I haven't worked in over 10 years. But I am here to answer the phone and do some filing for her and little things that really take no brain power!!!! I have forgotten more than I ever knew about working!!!