Thursday, December 31, 2009

Good Riddance!!

Tucson

As I sit here I am counting down to the end of this horrible year.  I have 100 minutes left of 2009 and I can't get rid of it quick enough.  This has truly been a horrible year for us.  Just a recap.

Jan   --  My brother Dick starts out the year in the hospital and comes home mid January and dies Jan 21.

Feb.  --  Our wonderful doctor dies of a sudden heart attack.  Leaves us scrambling for a new doctor.

Mar --   Al becomes sick while we are visiting friends in Lake Havasu.  I get him back to Tucson as fast as I can.  He winds up in the hospital with a staph infection and ultimately has to have one of his knee replacements re-done. He spends 28 days in hospital/rehab. 

On a good note, we welcome Ada JoEllen into the world, great granddaughter #4.

Apr. --  Al goes back into the hospital for a couple of days as his picc line is infected.  ENOUGH of the hospitals!

May  --  We are prepared to leave Tucson and head back to Washington, however, we are held up because I am having some medical problems......

June  --  We finally head north...Al takes a nasty fall in Idaho Falls, ID and cracks two ribs. 

July  --  In Alaska, we hold my brothers memorial.  Then a few days later his daughter, my niece dies.

Aug --   We take a cruise from Alaska to Vancouver....and we had a good month..FINALLY!!!

Sept.  -- Billie and Dan almost lose their home to the horrible brush fire that engulfs southern California.  

Oct. --  Finally, a fairly quiet month.  We get back to Tucson in one piece and start to breath a sigh of relief...this year is almost over.  However, end of Oct. Jennifer calls and says she will have to have a hysterectomy...pre cancer cells have shown their ugly heads.

Nov. -  We fly back to Seattle to help Jennifer through surgery and get her back on her feet.  She is doing well.
Also in Nov. we fly to Missouri to meet great granddaughters Sophie and Ada and to visit with Grandson David and Tiffany.  We spend Thanksgiving with Mike, Bev, Sarah and other two great granddaughters, Natasha and Nadia.

Dec.  --  It's almost over, this year of 2009, but not before it knocks us around one more time.  Natasha has a small brain tumor and is operated on for removal.  She bounces back quickly, thank God, but is it really over?  We won't know for sure until 2010 if she will have to have radiation or chemo. 

So the drama that was 2009 is almost gone.  I can only pray that 2010 will be a much better year for us. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our family and friends.......I have 62 minutes left of 2009.  Not gonna answer my phone................

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Tucson,  68 degrees
Ah, Christmas.....all the hustle, bustle and rush is over.  Now to sit back and enoy. 

This Christmas is a little different for us in that Jennifer, who usually flys to where ever we are for xmas isn't here.  We are all, and when I say all, all of our kids and us, are going on a cruise next month, so Jenn elected to stay in Seattle for xmas this year.  I have talked to almost all of our kids today, or texted them. '

Today I am mostly reminded of Christmas' past.  I remember childhood Christmases where we opened our presents on xmas eve.  We usually went to my Aunt and Uncles for dinner and Mom or Dad would always dissappear for a while after dinner.  Then when we got home Santa would have been to our house.  I was told we were first on his list of deliveries.  I knew we didn't have much money, but we always had gifts and lots of love.

Then I remember when my children were small....the wonderment on their little faces when they would see the tree with Santa's gifts under it.   Jenn shared some pictures today of her and Melanie on xmas morning and I was instantly transported back in time. 

And last, but certainly not least, my prayers for our men and women that serve our country, either in the military, or as police and fire fighters....they are our hero's.  I am fortunate to have our adopted daughter Billie and her husband Dan, Billie as a Lt. in the LA County Sherriff department and Dan as a fireman in Los Angeles City Fire Dept....our own personal hero's. 

We are both so very thankful that our great grand daughter Natasha who had a tumor removed from her brain a week ago is doing well and home from the hospital.  We are also so very thankful for our entire family, Mike, Bev, Stephen, Sarah, Natasha, Nadia; Jerry, Jennifer; Melanie, Ron, Victor, Lori; Ric, Janet, Ashley, Cammie; David, TIffany, Sophie and Ada; Billie and Dan, our wonderful children, grandchildren and great grand children...we are so blessed.



Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Bah Humbug

Tucson
Boy, talk about someone being the Bah Humbug Christmas elf...that would be me.  I am not in the Christmas mood  and can't seem to get into the spirit.  I do have some of the outside lights hung, and the Christmas cards are done and mailed (thank goodness); but for the rest of it, UGH!

Part of the problem is my great grand daughter Natasha.  Natasha is Sarah's oldest child, (10) Mike and Bev's grand daughter.  Last week Natasha wasn't feeling good and Sarah took her into the ER.  What they found was shocking!  Natasha has a mass (tumor) on one of the 4 main veins into the brain.  Natasha will have surgery on Friday, Dec. 18 to remove the tumor.  Please pray for her and her family.  Needless to say I am worried sick.

In other news, our weather has been great...however, last week it was cold and rainy.  Our friend Carolyn was here from Seattle last week for a visit and the weather did not cooperate....it was cold, rainy, windy and generally ugly while she was here.  We had a good visit and hope she will come back, the weather isn't always rotten.

Our wild animal kingdom is alive and well.  The other night we had 12 javalina's around our flag pole and they stole the quail block we had out to feed our birds.  Drove the dogs crazy!!!  Then yesterday morning I let the dogs out because they were barking and saw why they were barking...2 bobcats were walking up our road.  Plus the coyotes seem to be busy singing every night.  It can get very noisy around here at times!!

We have done our donation to our local food banks and Toys for Tot's and I have a few bags of clothes ready to go to the local clothing bank.  Have you made your donation yet?  Support your local food banks and Toys for Tots to ensure that a needy family will have a Merry Christmas.

Our Christmas wish for everyone is simple...peace, joy, happiness and good health. 

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Hmmm---it's been a while

Tucson
I thought I had posted a blog from St. Louis, but guess I didn't! 

We had a fabulous time in St. Louis with Mike, Bev, Sarah, Natasha and Nadia.  What a treat for me....Bev pretty much wouldn't let me do anything and I got some much needed rest.  Mike took over the care of Al for the most part and Bev and I played.  One day (in a horrible rain storm) we set out to find a Quilt shop in Florissant,MO.  Helen's Hen House Quilt Shop...what a great place.  It is in one of the many old mansions in the area.   One day we went to the mall; had lunch at St. Louis Bread Company, which for everyone else is Panera Bread Co.  One day all of us went to 5 Guys Hamburgers...that was good as well.  But for the most part we relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Mike and Bev and their great cooking. 

Nadia and Natasha

Natasha is growing up so fast....at 10 years old she is already beautiful....and nice.  Nadia is a typical 2 year old, cute as can be and into everything she can think of.  She really is a good baby, not fussy or cranky at all.  At least when she was with us....Sarah may differ with that tho.

But it all has to end, and on Friday after turkey day we headed back to Kansas City to catch our flight to Phoenix, but not without seeing David, Tiffany, Sophie and Ada one more time. 

We arrived back in Phoenix 30 minutes early (love SW Airlines!!) and got to our hotel early.  We were both tired, but looking forward to a nice dinner out and then bed.  Got to our car and guess what?  DEAD BATTERY!  Dinner was delivered pizza!!!  The next morning AAA came out and installed a new battery...I knew I was on the ragged edge of needing one, just trying to eke out another few starts!!!

We met Dick and Lano in Gila Bend and picked up the dogs.  Boy were we glad to see them.  And they were glad to be home, however, not getting as spoiled as they were when they were with Dick and Lano.

Since we have been home we have had several doctor appointments.  AL is doing fine; however, I am having trouble with carpal tunnel and will have to have surgery sometime in the near future.  I am going to try and postpone it until after the cruise in January.

Now I am deep into Christmas...cards, decorations, etc.  Last Sunday I baked 20 doz cookies; 10 doz went to the cookie drive for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq; 10 doz went into my freezer for future use!

Good friend of ours, Carolyn from Seattle will arrive here this Saturday for a short visit and we are both anxious to see her.  That will distract me from Christmas for a while, which is fine with me.  I am just not ready for the holidays. 

It is cooling down nicely here....tonight in the low 30's, but during the day in the 60's.  We are suppose to get rain over the weekend and part of next week, which will be fine with us as we really need the rain.  I imagine Carolyn won't be to happy with it tho!!!

Jenn is doing well...had her post op appointment today and all is well.  Thank goodness.  She is having a hard time with no appetite and has lost 14 pounds in the last month...wish I could say the same.  Oh well, such is life.

Until next time, live every day as if it was your last....life is ment to be lived.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Kansas City

Nov. 18, 2007
Kansas City

After being back in Tucson for a grand total of 6 days, we hit the road, or skies again. We flew in to Kansas City yesterday. We left from Phoenix where the weather was warm, and arrived to cold, gray, wet weather. It had snowed here the night before and all I am doing is hoping it won't snow again in this state until Nov. 28....after we leave.
First priority was meeting our great granddaughters! Grandson David and Tiffany have provided us with two beautiful babies. Sophie is 18 months old and Ada is 8 months old; and of course, Grammy thinks they are the most beautiful babies in the world! We met at the restaurant where David works...and the babies were soooo good. Sophie came right to me and so did Ada. Ada wasn't too sure about Grampa for a while, but she warmed up to him.
SophieAda

Nov 18

Today we met the kids at the mall where there is a play area. Sophie loved it, a bit timid, but had a good time. She loves other kids and waves "hi" to them. She says a few words as well; mine, no, up, and does sign language for "please". Very cute. Ada boo is so darn sweet...smiles all the time and is trying so hard to walk and talk.

The past few days in Tucson have litterly flown by. I was busy from the minute we got home right up to the minute we left. Between doctor appointments for Al and Chiropractor appointments for me, that takes up plenty of time. I tell you, getting old isn't for sissies!! We had a lovely dinner with friends Roger and Jude the night we got home and got caught up on each other's lives. On Sunday niece Claudia and husband Larry drove over from Casa Grande; Gary and Jeannette; Bruce and Holly; Cortney and boyfriend Josh came over for dinner, so we got to see them for a bit. I know, people think I am nuts, but I love to have people for dinner...gives me a chance to try out new recipes that feed just more than 2!!

Nov 19

Picture day. Tiffany had made arrangements to get pictures done of all 6 of us. Sophie and Ada were good, but by the end of the session, Sophie was DONE! I agreed with her....poor baby was tired and she was DONE! We went out for a quick lunch, and by then both the babies were tired. I think we wore them out yesterday!!! So they are down for a nap; GPa is snoring in his chair in the hotel room and I am eyeing the bed.....more later, yawn.


Monday, November 09, 2009

And we are in Seattle again?

Seattle

Yup, we are in the land of gray and rain again. This was a unplanned trip. Jenn had a hysterectomy last week and is doing amazing! She is up and around, sore, but day by day she is getting much, much better.

I must say I AM DONE WITH THIS YEAR! First my brother dies, then our doctor dies, then Al is in the hospital for 30 days, then my niece dies, my sister in law has surgery, now, Jenn. GOOD GRIEF! Enough all ready!

Seattle is holding true to it's reputation....rain and gray. It has rained all but one day that we have been here; and the one day it didn't rain it was gray. Oh, wait, we did see the sun for one day for awhile, but then it disappeared and we haven't seen it since. Last week we had a big storm, rain, thunder, lightning, wind, etc. Kinda' fun for a change.

And we haven't been doing much but taking care of Jenn and the house. We did get to have lunch with Ric and Janet yesterday and Rowland and Kathy were here last night for dinner. We have seen some of Jenn's friends; they are all so helpful and want to help her so I am not worried about leaving here tomorrow. Sherrie has been a big help, with us during surgery, here to support when ever we need her and I am sure when we leave she will be here to help Jenn if she needs it. I am always so glad those two have each other for support.

We head home tomorrow for 6 days, then we are off to Missouri to see kids, grandkids and great grandkids.....can hardly wait. I will finally get to meet my two youngest greats. Sophie is 18 mos and Ada is 8 mos. BABIES! Then I will get to see Natasha, 10 and Nadia 23 months as well. I will be in heaven! Tired, but happy.

More later..................

Saturday, October 24, 2009

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.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

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

Sunday, October 11, 2009

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.

Friday, October 09, 2009

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.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

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.


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

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.

Friday, September 04, 2009

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!!!










Monday, August 24, 2009

Breath taking Beauty

Noxon, Mt


All I can about this area is it is breath taking, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping beautiful!!! Who'd thunk I would love this area like I do?


Kootnai River near Libby, Mt

We spent last week just hanging out, doing a lot of nothing and getting some much needed rest! We made a quick trip into Sand Point on Thursday to get some groceries, and saw a moose on the way home.

Friday morning we were awaken about 4:30 a.m by a loud clap of thunder. YEA...thunder and lightning storm. I stayed awake and enjoyed it...rain and all. However, I was hoping it wouldn't start any fired and so far I haven't heard of any fires being started around here by it. I love a good thunder and lightning storm. Unfortunatelly, my animals don't. We wound up with us, 2 cats and 2 dogs in a queen size bed! Yup--it was a bit cozy!

Friday night we went to a local restaurant in downtown Noxon (population "very small") and had some excellent ribs. Met some of Gordon and Denise's friends--great bunch of people.

Saturday night we drove to Troy, Mt to a little, restaurant for some great prime rib. Now, I have to tell you about this restaurant. The little lady that runs it is 75 years old, has ran it for 40 years and mostly by herself...I mean, by herself...no help! She does the cooking, cleaning, serving, etc. This place probably seats 35-40 people and usually is standing room only. We got there at the perfect time and got right in. I think we will go back before we go home...it was that good.
Jacks Cafe...not much to look at, but great food and a great lady!

We nosed around a little in Troy and then drove to Libby. Libby is larger than Troy, but still small town. Cute town and I got some great pictures of the eagles they have all over town...eagle scupltures I should say.


Sunday we lazed around in the morning then Gordon and Denise took us to some of their friends house...what an amazing house. It was an old homestead and these people bought it and re-did it. It is absolutely beautiful. A lot of work, but well worth it.

A here is a blast from the past...anyone guess who these two are?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Noxon -- wonderful NOXON

Noxon, Mt
Any way you spell it is right...backward, forwards, upside down! I love this place. So peaceful and beautiful. And boy do we need the peace and quiet for a while and just settle down.

We spent Friday in Odessa; Al had a chance to get his hair and beard trimmed; I, on the other hand, still look like a shaggy dog!!! We stayed with Jerry on Friday night. Got to play with Simon and the dogs really had a good time. We all went to Chiefs (the local cafe) for dinner and then back to rest at Jerry's. About 9:00 p.m. Al went to bed and I was relaxing when I heard "Jo, I need help"--I ran into the bedroom and Al was in horrible pain with cramps all over his body. I got him up and into the recliner. I gave him some extra potassium and had him eat a banana (anything to get extra potassium in him) and gave him some Tylenol, hoping he would relax. The cramps were getting worse and he was having a trouble breathing...so I called 911 for an ambulance. Jerry and I tried to massage the cramps, but they were all over his body. The ambulance took him to Odessa Hospital, where they dosed him with more potassium. Finally after about 4 hours the cramps subsided and we could go home. Poor Al was really in agony. This happened in June as well when we were on the way back to Odessa from Tucson. The doctors still don't know what causes it, however, I have increased his daily potassium.

I have to say that for a small town, Odessa Hospital is wonderful. They have great equipment, doctors and nurses and treat a patient so kindly. It is good to know you will get good care in a small town.

We left Saturday morning for Noxon. Stopped in Liberty Lake to have lunch with Gary and Jeannette. Just when we were getting ready to leave their house we looked to the north and big, black storm clouds were gathering. Gary and I quickly wrapped our luggage in plastic bags (it was in the back of the truck) and we took off. We didn't get a mile from their house and it started to pour. We drove in rain until we reached Hwy 95 in Couer d' Alene; then it was just off and on all the way to Noxon. Sand Point, ID had gotten a heavy rain right before we got there and it rained heavy right after we left, so we were running from the rain. When we pulled into Noxon it was just sprinkling, so Gordon, Denise and I quickly unloaded the truck and just as we finished it poured like crazy. Talk about timing.

Yesterday I unpacked; 5 suitcases, 5 boxes etc. Today I paid bills and caught up on book work, so now maybe I can relax and enjoy this beautiful spot for a while. I don't know how long we will be here, maybe another week or two. It is just too pretty to leave.

Gotta go outside and enjoy the sun and trees, river, etc. Look up Noxon, Mt...we are in the NW corner of the state.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Heading to O

Redmond, WA
We arrived back in Seattle late on Monday night. The Amtrak train was absolutely wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Vancouver or back. The train was fairly new and very comfortable. Of course it was raining and getting dark when we left Vancouver, but still a great ride.

Jenn met us at the station with the dogs. Needless to say we had a great reunion with the dogs..however, Schuster won't let me out of his sight...and Beau watches us both like a hawk!

Tuesday was doctor, doctor, doctor appointments. Most of them went okay. Al's alzheimers has progressed, but I knew that. His kidney function is bad, but still at 50% so I guess we can be thankful for that. BP was good, blood glucose count bad, etc.

Tuesday night Al went to his Elk Camp meeting at a local pub and really enjoyed it. I had dinner with my traveling pals, Kathy, Janet and Jenn. Had fun getting caught up.

Wednesday was laundry day and more appointments. Whew...

Thursday was the annual Boeing HR Retiree's lunch and it was good to see old friends. However, we missed a few---Pete and Shirley; Pete and Diane we missed you! After that was yet another doctor appointment. The last of the appointments for this time.

Then we went to see an old friend who is in assisted living in Redmond. Jan is a year older than I am and has been a good friend for many years. In the last few years she has had some real memory problems, leading to her moving into assisted living a couple of years ago. I hadn't seen her in two years and I was really anxious to see her. Boy, was I in for a sad surprise. She has been moved into a locked down area of the facility and didn't know who I was; or for that matter, didn't really remember any of her old friends. So sad to see...the last time we saw her she didn't remember things, but knew who we were and others we talked about. Now she really doesn't remember anyone. The one person she remembered was her son, but as she put it "He is grown up now"; however, knew nothing about if he was married, children, where he was, etc. Dementia/Alzheimers is a cruel, cruel illness. And especially for someone so young (relatively speaking). However, I was very pleased with the facility she is in; everyone was clean, everything was spotless and it didn't smell bad like so many of the nursing homes do. At the attendants were very good. But still very sad to me to see.

Dinner last night was at an excellent Italian restaurant and we met up with good friends Bill and Lorie Lince. It has been a couple of years since we have been able to see them so it was a good visit. Sad tho, their daughter who is Jenn's age has been going through breast cancer...Lorie had gone through it a couple of years ago and now Gina is. We really feel so bad for them. Another terrible disease that should be cured by now. Another reason to contribute to Ric/Janet/Sherrie on the 3 day; 60 mile walk they are doing for breast cancer. If you wish to contribute to a good cause go to Wraspir's Saving Second Base and donate. Remember, some how, some way, breast cancer will enter your life someday.

And now, we are off to Odessa and beyond.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Vancouver still

Vancouver

Okay, I need to make a correction to my last blog. The Firefighter and Police World Games is what has been in Vancouver for the past week. It is sort of a trial run for the city before the 2010 Olympics arrives. This town is stuffed with firefighters and police….I feel very safe. Billie and Dan, where are you????

Speaking of the Olympics, you can see preparations everywhere in the city for the games. A lot of streets are torn up and being repaved; a lot of buildings being built for the games and more transportation being added. I am glad I won't be here for the games. The crowd this weekend was enough.

Today we went to Granville Island….think Pike Place Market. Almost identical, but fun. It was rainy today and everyone had umbrellas but Al and I. We toughed it out!!! From the market we had luncha t the Boat House, which was excellent. Then back to Gastown so Suzi could buy some souveniers. From there we couldn't figure out what to do, so we went to Costco!!!! This Costco was interesting…it was downtown and you parked underneath (and paid for parking) but once inside it was Costco.

Tonight we went to The Keg for dinner. I laughed at the oddity of it….when we left Seattle we had dinner at The Keg the night before we left and here we are ending our trip at The Keg!!! We should have gotten a free drink or something!!!

Tomorrow we head home. We have been gone from the mutts and kitties for over 40 days…time to get home and get back into a normal routine. We are taking Amtrak to Seattle. We will be in Seattle for a few days of doctor appointments and seeing friend and kids, then head back to Odessa to switch cars and pick up the truck and then back to Noxon, MT for a week or so. It will be good to get back. I love to vacation, but I am always ready to come home … such as it is. I don't count traveling in the 5th wheel vacation, I still have house work, dishes, beds to make, meals to prepare, etc. Just in different locations some times.

So until we hit the good ole USA again…..we are still Wroamin!

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Yes, I found the laundry!!!

Vancouver

Aug 8

Yesterday we spent the day exploring. Today I spent the day doing 1 load of laundry. Yup, 1 load! Took most of the day. The dryer here at the hotel took 2+ hours to dry a small load of cloths! Grrr

Jack and Suzi took the car and went to Stanley Park and walked the park. I knew Al couldn't do that and he wanted to stay at the hotel and rest. I was going to go with Jack and Suzi until I realized that Al couldn't be left alone today. Not the best of days. We did walk across the street for lunch, but even that was a struggle for him.

Tonight we went to the Cactus Club Restaurant for dinner. Very good. I had the ribs and they were tender and moist. Then our treat, Dairy Queen.

It has been cold and cloudy all day. Not the most perfect day for exploring. Our room at the hotel is immediately above the Press Box Sports Grill…and faces a main street. Needless to say, last night we didn't get much sleep until early morning. We asked to be moved, however, the hotel is full up, matter of fact, the town is full up. There is a firefighter/police convention from all over Canada here this weekend. I feel pretty safe…the hotel is full of fire fighters and police.

Tomorrow is another day.

Skagway to Vancouver

I just wanted to post a picture of Hubbard Glacier on the blog. I didn't have my pictures downloaded on previous post. The glacier is pretty impressive...300 feet high and moves at a rate of about 12 feet a day. To hear it move is impressive as well...sounds like thunder. We didn't see any major ice breaking off (calving) but some ice did slide into the water.Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier up close

Aug 3, Skagway
Since we all have been here before we didn’t book any shore excursions. Jack, Sue and I went into town and walked around a bit. Had lunch at a cute little café, “Sweet Nothings”. We found a Starbucks and a quilt shop, so I was a happy camper. We took a carriage ride around town…the town is about 300 people in the winter and swells to 1,000 plus in the summer to cater to the tourist. Tourism is their only industry. Food is barged up from Bellingham, Wa once a week, so even the milk they get is 10 days old by the time they get it. I don’t think I would do well living here.
There are fires burning all over British Columbia and we are in the middle of a very smoky city. It has been hard for me to breathe at times. The smoke is very heavy today; makes it look like fog.
Dinner tonight was in the dining room again. Nothing special.

Aug 4 Icy Straight Point, AK
Still very smoky and we all are having problems from it. We elected to not go ashore today….nothing but a Tinglit Village and tourist trap. However, they do have a zip line and I think I might like to do that someday…it looks fun. Perhaps on our next cruise when I can talk Jenn, Bev, Melanie, Janet and Suzi into going with me!!!!
Tonight was formal night on the ship. The last one. For such a short cruise there have been 2 formal nights…2 too many for me. We really liked not having a formal night on NCL. Jack, Suzi and I went to the show last night, a very good Broadway Shows Review. Al wasn’t up to walking that far last night (to the front of the ship) so he elected to go back to the room. He enjoys cruising, but doesn’t partake in a lot of the activities any more. It is really hard for him to get around anymore.
Formal Night

Wed. Aug. 5 Ketchikan (ketch me if you can)
We arrived this morning at 7:30 a.m. to a beautiful day in Ketchikan. NO SMOKE! What a cute little town this is. The ship docks right downtown so there was no problem for Al to get to town. We did the Duck Tour today, we had never done one and it was fun. Jack, Suzi, Al in front of the "Duck"

Ketchikan is a town of approximately 8,000 people year round. Of course the main industry is fishing, then tourism and logging. In the summer the town grows to about 12,000 people to take care of the tourist that come on the cruise ships. The only way in to Ketchikan is by boat or plane. Speaking of planes, this is a very, very busy float plane town. We are seeing/hearing about one or two landing or taking off every five minutes. Ketchikan proper is built on an island and the airport is across the river and there is no bridge to it, so you have to take a ferry to the airport.
There were 3 other cruise ships in town today. Our tour guide said they usually have between 12-14 ships a week in town. One of the ships, the Holland American Zaandam lost a passenger in Juneau on Sunday. It was docked right next to us there. Apparently a lady from Arlington, Washington jumped overboard to commit suicide. One thing for sure, if you live through your jump to the water, you won’t survive very long in the icy water. If I remember correctly, the water temperature in Juneau was an icy 39 degrees.
Tomorrow is a sea day and then we arrive in Vancouver, BC early on Friday. We are staying in Vancouver for the weekend, leaving late afternoon on Monday. We are both anxious to get home…our puppies and kitties await!
Aug 6 At Sea
Our cruise has really been smooth water. Hardly a ripple in the sea! Amazing compared to some cruises we have been on. We cruised the inside passage today and it was foggy this morning and we couldn’t see a thing. Then this afternoon it cleared up and WOW…what beautiful scenery we were treated to. Before we got to Prince Rupert there were a few logging or fishing villages along the coast. From Prince Rupert on down the houses that are built along the coast are amazing. We also had a beautiful sunset.

We are all tired of the food on board and are looking forward to having choices tomorrow! Not that you don’t have choices on board, but they all come from the same kitchen and it is beginning to all taste the same. I will say our dining room staff have been excellent. Actually the bar staff has Al’s number…the attendant will come to the table each night to ask Al if he wants his “coffee”, which is actually a Bombay Sapphire Gin Martini, with lots of olives. Packing tonight….UGH!
Aug 7, Vancouver
We arrived at 7:00 a.m., and by 9:30 a.m. we were off the ship. It is cloudy and a little cool in Vancouver. We took a scary cab ride from the port to our hotel. Of course we couldn’t check in until after 2:00 p.m., so we stored our luggage and took another scary cab ride to Gastown to catch the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We toured the entire route today, and tomorrow we will go again (ticket is good for 2 days) and get off where ever we want. After we did the loop we stopped and had a wonderful Italian lunch at Al Polla. We watched the steam clock go off a few times as well. Then it was time to hail yet another cab for a very scary ride back to the hotel. That cab will have my fingernail imprints in its upholstery forever. I had to laugh because there were 4 of us stuffed into this Toyota Corolla, Al being in the front seat and he took up almost the ENTIRE front seat. The driver kept looking at him as if to say “Geez, you are big!”
After we got back to the hotel and discussed that we had already spent over $60 in cab fares just today and we weren’t done yet, we just might want to look into renting a car. I called around and got us a car for four days for $200; so another $20 later and one more wild cab ride, we now have a rental car. Thank goodness I brought my GPS with me! Jack and I will be drivers, and we are now free to explore. We would try and depend on the bus system, however, with Al not being able to walk very far (across the street tonight for dinner was agony for him) we knew that the bus option was out. At least this way he can see some of the sites from the car.
As I said earlier, we decided to just go across the street for Chinese food tonight…Al had a really hard time walking that far. We had to walk about a block uphill to cross this busy street we are on and he had to stop and rest twice; then after crossing the street he had to stop again. Glad we will be seeing the doctor next week.
We are all tired tonight and retired to our rooms after dinner. I took a short walk down the street to Starbucks, but decided not to get anything tonight. By the way, there are over 204 Starbucks just in Vancouver….I wonder how many are in Seattle? There is a Starbucks almost on every corner downtown and in some cases, Starbucks are directly across the street from each other. For people to lazy to cross the street????

Want to bore your self? Go to Alaska Cruise to see all our pictures!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Juneau

Juneau, Alaska

We left Seward at 9:00 p.m. aboard the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship on Friday. Smooth sailing all night, sort of "rocked" me to sleep. Up and at it on Saturday. Jack and Suzi spent most of the morning in the gym doing gym stuff. Al and I lazed around doing lazy stuff....just my speed. Our ship went to the Hubbard Glacier yesterday afternoon.....and the captain backed this huge ship just about up on the glacier...I was humming the theme from the Titanic by the time he was done. It was an amazing site however. The glacier is about 300 feet thick right now....wow. Lpts of big ice chunks floating in the ocean as well.

Today we arrived in Juneau early this morning and was on our tour of the city and Mendenhall glacier by 9:30 this morning. For some reason, I just wasn't all the impressed with the city or the glacier. Right now we are sitting out side our room on board watching the float planes take off and land...a lot more exciting than the tour this morning. The tour guide was about as exciting as an old sock! AND, we had taken the shuttle into town (about a half a mile) and then when it was time to return to the ship, a shuttle couldn't be found. That meant that Al had to walk the half mile....which wasn't pretty! Took us about 45 minutes to get back to the ship.

Tomorrow is Skagway...I doubt if we will even get off the ship. We have all been here and have rode the train, so don't think there is anything more exciting to do in town.

I have to say that so far I am not impressed with Celebrity Cruises. The service is not as good as NCL or Princess; the food definitely lacks something,primarily taste and it is just blah! And I am not the only one who thinks that...there are a lot of people on board commenting on how disappointed they are. Celebrity is suppose to be one of the best cruise lines available (unless you want to spend BIG bucks on some of the real top end cruise lines like Silver Sea's, etc.) and yet we have found so far that it is just average. On this cruise we have barely seen our cabin attendant...and the food service is something we have never experienced. You can't touch a piece of food or serve your self...even in the buffet. You can't get yourself a glass of water, salt and pepper or anything. Now, one might say that is great service, however, I beg to differ since you have to wait in line to get water, food, salt and pepper, etc. Either the line is very cautious about the Norovirus or they are cutting expenses this way. Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.

Tomorrow is another day .... hope all is well with everyone else.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Sailing, sailing.............

Anchorage
Tomorrow, at about this time, we will be sailing....yes! Our cruise leaves tomorrow night from Seward. Hmmm...Seward..poses a minor problem. Seward is flooded! They had 2.35 inches of rain in less than 24 hours and everything is flooded there. Hope we can get there tomorrow! Bruce is driving us down. Jack and Suzi got into Anchorage early on Tuesday..we had dinner with them last night. They were suppose to take the train (very scenic) to Seward today, however, the train was cancelled due to rockslides on the rails due to the rains...so they went by tour bus today.

We got back into Anchorage last afternoon. Rained on us most of the way until we got around Turnagain Arm. The news just came on and they are giving flood advisories for the Kenai Peninsula and Seward. I have to say that the river was very, very high when we left yesterday. And moving very swiftly. There has been a lot of rain up in the mountains, causing more snow melt and run off into the river.

We sent Jerry off today on a plane to Seattle and on to Spokane. We decided to ship all the fish instead of having him carry some...just too cumbersome for one person. We shipped about 80 lbs of fish...salmon. We also shipped about 40 lbs of halibut. Al and Jerry each limited out on halibut, but they were 20-30 lb fish. Once filleted they weigh about half.

So, until we next time...I AM ON VACATION...NO COOKING, CLEANING, MAKING BEDS, DOING DISHES, ETC. PAMPER ME, PLEASE!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Homer Alaska

Homer
We returned to the river from Anchorage on Tuesday of last week. I helped Bruce as much as I could with things that needed to be done in regards to Janice's death, then decided he probably needed some time alone to absorb all of it.

Son-in-law Dan and friend Tim got in from LA on Monday and were already fishing the river when we got back. They did pretty good, however, the fishing has really slowed down the last few days. Son Jerry got in last Friday and the fishing has been pretty slow since then. He has caught a few however.

I have packed all the items we are taking with us from our camp trailer at the river. We have sold it; and it is bitter sweet to say goodbye to it. We have really enjoyed in over the years, however, Al can't get down to the river to fish and I am tired of paying the lot lease on it and maintenance. We sold it to a good friend of Bruce's so we will still have the option to visit it if we desire to next year.

Right now I am sitting in Homer Alaska looking out at Kachemak Bay and the mountains and glaciers beyond it. The bay is as calm as I have ever seen it...usually the wind is blowing hard. It is very cloudy and rainy today, however, when we got here yesterday it was sunny and beautiful, albeit, windy and cold. We drove around and did some site seeing yesterday afternoon. Jerry is with us and we found a great place up on the hills overlooking town for some picture taking opportunities. I am also watching a pair of bald eagles circle right now...too beautiful for words. I kept trying to get a picture of them, but all I got was a blur. Al and Jerry are out on a halibut fishing charter as I write this. I usually go along, but decided to save my back this year. This is the first time I have had a day to myself in a long time and I plan on doing some laundry first; then hit the local quilt shop and bum around Homer until the boys get back late this afternoon.

Wosnesenski Glacier as seen from Homer

Homer and the Spit

I am still at the motel we stayed at last night and I am going to take a long, HOT, shower before I check out. I may try and drain all the hot water from their tanks....if you have ever had to shower in an RV you know what I mean. When you take as shower in an RV you have to get wet, turn the water off, lather up, turn water on and rinse quickly before you run out of hot water. At least its been that way in any RV we have ever been in. Needless to say, a long, hot shower is very appealing to me right now. It has been so darn cold up here that I need something to warm these old bones up.

One thing I mentioned to AL yesterday and he agreed, we haven't seen a cat since we have been up here. NOT ONE! I am really having cat withdrawals. Plus, I miss our kitties and puppies. And I am sure that Jennifer who has the dogs and Denise who has the cats are ready for us to come claim the spoiled brats.

We will go back to Anchorage tomorrow evening. Jerry leaves on Thursday afternoon. We will leave for our cruise out of Seward on Friday, so Bruce will take us to Seward on Friday to catch the ship. Friends Jack and Suzi Waddick will be cruising with us again....I don't think we could take a cruise without them...they are too fun to have around.

So until next time, hope this finds everyone living their life to the fullest...life is to short to do otherwise.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Will this year ever end?

Anchorage
Ever had one of those years that things just continue to go wrong? This is my year.

Sad day today...my niece, Janice Jo, who is Bruce's sister and Dicks daughter; died. She lived here in Anchorage and the police found her dead in her bed early this morning. still don't know the cause of death, there are plenty of speculations; however, I don't feel like going over them here. What matters is that she is finally at peace; she has had a troubled life, a lot of mental issues. Poor girl was a tortured soul. Bruce is, naturally, upset and both of us are trying to cope with all there is to do. I am just glad we are here to help him with what ever we can. Tomorrow I will go over to Janice's and start the great clean up and clean out. It is a mess, but someone has to do it and while I am here I will do what I can. Poor Bruce has really had an awful year. He is such a great person, and I am so sorry he has to go through all this.

Dan and his buddy are due in tomorrow and we will have him drive the motorhome to the river. I don't know if Al will go back with them or not. Jerry will be here late Thursday; so I may wait around for him and get some things done here. Then I will really have to get busy packing up our stuff so we can get it packed and shipped. ARG!

More tomorrow or the next day when I have my head together.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

THE RIVER

Kenai Penisula
The River
July 15, 2009

We arrived at our camp trailer here on Saturday. All my sibs came with us; so we brought Bruce’s motor home down for them to sleep in. Bruce drove his car down and I drove the motor home…I really like driving it, even though part of the highway is very narrow and winding. The drive from Anchorage to here is absolutely beautiful….mountains and streams and just the way you would expect Alaska to look!

We saw no critters on the way down with the exception of a dead squirrel! Our critter count is way low this year so far, unless you count mosquito’s….then there are too many to count.

After we got set up here at the Fish on Inn, my sister Jean, sister-in-law Mary and I took off for Soldotna to do some shopping. As Jennifer said, “Soldotna will never be the same!” Actually all we did was go to Fred Meyers for groceries and to the hardware store for electronic bug swatters! I am bringing a couple home with me and they took a couple home with them…they are great little gadgets and work well.

We have pretty much just lazed around since being here. I am getting some much needed down time. The fish (sockeye salmon) aren’t running strong yet; probably in a day or two they will be running good. The last escapement count was at 7,000 a day and we really don’t start fishing for them until the count is up in the 16,000 plus.

There are over 60 wildfires burning in Alaska right now and it has been very smoky at times. One fire, burning near Tustusmena Lake is about 25 miles from us and we can see the smoke clearly from it. As of last night it had consumed 15,000 acres and it is one of the smaller fires in the state.

My younger sib, John, left on Sunday to go home; yesterday my brother Bob and wife Mary and my sister Jean all left here for Anchorage and they are all on their way home today. It is really, really quiet here now and we miss all of them. It was great to be with them all again and even though it was a sad occasion, I really enjoyed being with them. We just don’t get together enough! We are spread from Colorado, Oregon, California and where ever I am, so logistically we can’t get together very often.

My cousin, Patty and her husband and two other couples have been traveling in Alaska for the last month and we had a near miss the other day. WE ALMOST SAW EACH OTHER! Sorry we had to miss them, however, they were on the Kenai when I was in Anchorage; and then they went through Anchorage and didn’t call me, so we missed each other. What they didn’t know was I was just a quarter of a mile off the main highway when they went through Anchorage…so it was a near miss. Oh well, maybe next time 


July 16, 2009

THE LAUDRAMAT
I am sitting doing what I do best up here….laundry. And you will notice the dog, GAGE in the back of the truck that I made friends with!

It is cool and cloudy today and VERY smoky. This is a picture of the smoke from the fire that I took last night. Really burning good.

The fish are starting to come in…80,000+ in the river now, so it is time to wander down (all 133 steps) to the river this afternoon. Al wants to fish and I don’t want him down there alone, so I will put a hook in the water as well. Our neighbors here limited out last night, so maybe we will get some fish today.

It is so pretty up here…it is hard to describe and pictures just don’t do it justice. You just have to see it with your own eyes to appreciate how beautiful Alaska really is. Yesterday was clear and warm, with white, puffy clouds floating by, that is, until the smoke took over!

Dan and one of his friends are due to arrive on Monday, so the fishing will be good for them. Jerry arrives on the 23rd and there should be plenty of fish in the river by then.

Our good friend in Florida, Judy Rahbar is in the hospital and that has kept me worried. She went in with terrible stomach cramps and found out she had a perforated colin! They did surgery on Monday (I think) and as of last night when I talked to her husband Randy, she was resting comfortably. Our prayers and thoughts are with her and her family as she recovers.

I miss my doggies and kitties so much. Even AL is saying he wishes the animals were here. I talked to Denise and Gordon last night and the cats are being spoiled rottener. I also talked to Jenn and the dogs are okay, Schuster is being a little pill….I figured this would happen as he is such a momma’s dog. He just won’t listen to her. Beau is Beau, if there is a ball in the area he is happy…he is happy anyway, but with a ball around he is really, happy!

Until next time we are a fishin'!!!!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Saying Goodbye to my Brother

Anchorage

Today was the memorial/graveside service for my older brother, Dick, who died last January. It was a full on military service...I made it through it, but it wasn't easy. It was hard to say goodbye, however, I know he is resting in peace. About 40 people attended the service at Ft. Richardson. I was impressed by the respect we got by everyone, while in the procession from the gate to the national cemetary, led by the military police, the on coming traffic would pull over and stop out of respect for the deceased. I haven't seen that in a long time.


All of my siblings are here. The older two, Jean and Bob and wife Mary, arrived on Monday and we have had a great time catching up with each others lives and all of our kids. Then yesterday baby sib, Johnny, arrived and the real fun began. He has a great personality and is so funny...we have been laughing ever since he arrived.

Niece Janice, Nephew Bruce, Brother Bob and wife Mary, Sister Jean, my, Brother John and Al at graveside, Ft. Richardson.

On Wednesday, we headed to Whittier Alaska for the day. Al and I haven't been there, and Bob, Mary and Jean hadn't either. We had to drive through the longest tunnel in North America (2.6 miles) to get there. Until 2000 you had to take the train to Whittier, or load your car on the train. They have actually built the road on the train track. It is a single lane tunnel, one way at a time, and on a schedule. Whittier is a nice, little town, on Prince William Sound, lots of boats in the marina.

Whittier

Tunnel Entrance/Exit

After returning to Anchorage, we had dinner at one of the many good restaurants, Henry's Alaskan Restaurant.

We have spent a lot of time visiting, just enjoying each other. Tomorrow we all will go to the river. Johnny will be leaving on Sunday; Jean, Bob and Mary leave on the 15th. We will stay at the river until the end of the month.

Rest in peace, my dear brother. I miss you.

Followers