It has been WAY TOO LONG since I have sent out a Travelogue, and there is a very definite reason. You’ll discover more near the end of this message.

We have managed to stay very busy and keep our time occupied with all the activities here at the church. I never get bored as there are plenty of little projects that are on-going. Dottie spends a lot of time with Mother as they go out to bingo hall on a regular basis. I have no love for the traffic in San Diego and prefer to stay put at the church and keep the projects going.

So far we have managed to replace a window pane that was broken by an errant ball. During the summer a neighborhood vandal struck havoc on The Point, our outdoor amphitheater, and broke and stole 10 of our low-voltage lights. We replaced the lights and have constructed a mounting bracket that allows us to remove the lights and store them in a secure room when not being used. The sanctuary roof has been repaired and missing shingles have been replaced. We have lots of gardening to do on a regular (weekly) basis, so that is always on-going. We are renovating the entry to the church parking lot and attempting to make it more appealing and inviting. We have torn up a lot of landscape and tilled the rock-hard soil in preparation to laying sod. We also planted four queen palm trees and are preparing to have a 4’x8’ marquee installed. Many light bulbs have been replaced with more energy-efficient bulbs. And, of course, there is weekly cleaning of the sidewalks and parking lots in addition to the other custodial jobs that need to be done. We are having fun while getting these tasks accomplished!

Our plans are to depart on Jan. 3rd and start a series of small trips including a rally in Indio, a couple of weeks in Sierra Vista, AZ, and another rally in Lancaster. We have been hoping to travel to Arkansas prior to going back to Hart Ranch in Rapid City for the summer. We haven’t traveled out of the parking lot except for a three day trip to the desert before Thanksgiving. Our winter travel plans changed due to all the events taking place at the church - I wanted to be here for the Christmas programs and services. So we canceled our three week stay in Sierra Vista and remained in San Diego for the duration. I have managed to get all the routine service work done to the coach so we’re ready to start our travels again.

One of the advantages of our lifestyle is the flexibility of our plans. And we may have needed to adjust our travels. We both went in for our annual health appraisals. My blood tests came back with a PSA count that had doubled over the last test. I was immediately scheduled for a prostate biopsy which happened on the 11th. What an enjoyable experience!! The Doc took out 12 biopsy samples and I was through with the procedure in about 20 minutes. Then we waited for a week before I could get the results.

This afternoon I received a phone call from the urologist. There are no signs of cancer in the prostate. I need only to touch base with the Dr. before we depart San Diego. This news was a GIANT relief and we can continue with our plans. I haven’t been communicating with most of you because of not knowing what changes we might have needed to endure. But it looks like we’re back on track and will be forging ahead with our travel plans.

Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas Holiday and a very pleasant New Year! It will certainly be a wonderful one for us as we’ll have family around for the Christmas week and be looking forward to the pending travel plans!!