Wednesday, August 3rd

What an amazing weekend that we have spent! We left the Lake of the Springs Thousand Trails park on Friday morning, the 29th, a day earlier than we had planned. The weather had turned to summer and the temperatures were into three digits. With only a 30-amp electrical supply, it was beginning to tax the air conditioners on the coach. I really hated to leave LOTS because the park is such a beautiful preserve. We could sit outside the coach in the afternoon as the sun started to set and watch the deer roam among the parking sites. One young deer had a noticeable limp on the left rear leg. It won’t be long before that animal will be food for a coyote or hit by a car in the area. We will definitely return to the park at a later time as it is one of the prettiest ones we’ve visited!

We were on the road by 8AM on Friday and headed for Redding. We were driving on some very narrow back roads with some amazing scenery. Everything in the area is severely brown and appears subject to a wild fire. We took the road slowly and carefully and finally got through Chico and over to Red Bluff where we joined I-5 and drove to Redding. We arrived about 11:30AM and heard the weather forecast on the radio. It was going to be 102 degrees! With that in mid, I decided to press on to Grants Pass. We phoned the Elks Lodge in Grants Pass and confirmed that one of the two sites was unoccupied. So it was on over the Siskiyous and to the Grants Pass Elks Lodge. When we got there, we called our friends, Bob & Sally Nason. Mary’s cell phone wasn’t working correctly and would switch us over to voice mail. Nasons phoned the motel where Mary Anderson was staying and left a message that we were in town and were going to the Wild River Pizza and Brewing Co. for dinner. When we got to Wild River, Mary was waiting for us and we spent the evening together.

The next day we met Mary, the Nasons, and some other friends at the Powderhorn Café for breakfast. We were walking in to the café and I happened to look over at one of the booths recognizing some old friends from San Diego. It was quite a shock to see (retired SDPD motor Sgt.) Perry Grossman and his wife, (retired Lieutenant) Shawna Selby Grossman. I haven’t seen them for almost ten years and it was a blast talking with them. I spent about ten minutes with them before returning to the table with our friends and family. It was a great time talking about the good ol’ days of San Diego Police. They now live in Grants Pass and offered us a place to stay if we wanted.

Seeing Bob & Sally Nason was a real treat! Bob has been through some difficult surgeries, but looks great and they are now thinking of moving into town from their acreage in Williams. We spent one night with them a couple of years ago and enjoyed the deer and the foxes that Bob has residing on his property.

We joined Mary later that afternoon at her motel room and went to Applebee’s for dinner. It was wonderful to see Mary again and we will miss a family reunion that will happen the following weekend in Grants Pass.

We packed the coach and left on Sunday morning, the 31st. We drove north to Coburg, north of Eugene, and met up with our great friends, the Clarksons. We hadn’t seen them since April so it was a terrific reunion. We stayed at the Coburg Cummins Coach Care facility for one night. Clarksons planned to leave on Monday for Pacific City Thousand Trails park and we left before they departed. We needed to go over to Oregon Motorcoach Service to get things lined up for our refrigerator replacement. I had ordered one refer that would not work. It had been delivered, but Lowe’s said they’d take it back and replace it with one that would fit. So, after measurements by the Service Manager, Bob Vinson, we headed for Lowe’s to order another refer. When we got there, we discovered that the Maytag that we liked wasn’t available for over 28 days! So we settled on a 21.8 cu. ft. Whirlpool side-by-side that was in stock and would be delivered the next day. What a relief to finally get that done!

That afternoon we drove to Albany to look at the parking lot for the Western Come Home Rally the end of the month. I took some measurements to determine the best method of parking about 200 motor homes. After spending almost an hour measuring and talking with the staff, we left and drove back to Eugene.

The next morning we packed the coach and left Oregon Motorcoach Services with a pleasant drive to the Coast. We went north to Salem, then through the foothills to the Oregon Coast town of Pacific City. The Thousand Trails park is just north of town and is a beautiful park full of trees and rolling terrain. We were met at the gate by the Clarksons who drove us around the park until we found a suitable site. We are parked across the street from them in a site that has privacy, tall trees, 50-amp electric, and satellite exposure. We are really pleased with this park and the surrounding area!

This morning we all drove in to Tillamook to do some shopping at the Fred Meyer store - much like a Super Wal-Mart. I picked up a few groceries that we needed, but am attempting to be very careful as we will need to have our refer fairly empty when we get back to Eugene. Our next couple of weeks will be careful planning of meals and some wonderful time with friends!

Wednesday, March 17th

So far, it’s been a fun time at the Rally! On Monday night there was a sponsored party around the new show coaches. There was plenty of finger food and an open bar. We managed to restrain ourselves and hold off on all the munchies. But at 6PM we left the grounds and drove over to the Nimbus Brewing Co. brewpub. It’s in a commercial area just a short drive away from Beaudry’s. We got there and told the one bartender that we might have 10 people coming. By the time everybody arrived, we had 12 folks! It was a gathering of some of our old favorite friends - Dave & Marie Ostrander (and two friends of theirs), Jim & Peggy Grich, Ron & Wanda Farrar, Rick & Joann Stone, Ray & Glenda Roe, and the Andersons. The menu was simple, the beer was excellent, and the company was outstanding. We all had the opportunity to get caught up and share some excellent camaraderie!

Tuesday morning was the beginning of all the events - seminars, classes, and touring the vendor area. Dottie was able to do the laundry and I kept busy with little odd jobs around the coach. The Tuesday night catered dinner was great with the 5-6PM Happy Hour followed by dinner and entertainment. We stayed for about 15 minutes of the entertainment and went back to the coach. It was a couple of impersonators that did a mediocre job of the impersonations. I had the chance to stroll through the vendor area and find a couple if items that I can pick up.

Wednesday morning breakfast was followed by a trip to the local Wal-Mart. We went to a couple of the Monaco seminars and were brought up-to-date on the changes within the company. April Klein and Mike Snell, both Vice Presidents in Monaco, were there to tell us about the progress of the integration of Navistar and Monaco. Where they once employed over 6000 employees, there are now only 800 employees. The new engines will be able to meet the 2012 emission standards and Monaco will be slowly changing over from Cummins to the MaxxForce engines. They will be able to meet the Federal standards without having to use the urea tanks to scrub the exhaust components. It’s very painfully obvious to me that we have a gem in our “antique”, 10-year-old coach and we will keep it for a long time!

We had received an email from an old Rotary motorcycle friend, Tony D’Arcy. He now lives in Casa Grande and had a luncheon appointment with a client in Tucson. So we made arrangements to meet Tony here at the rally. He arrived about 4:30, just before I needed to be over in the dining area to fulfill my duties as a Sheriff (checking credentials to be sure the participants were actually attendees, and not free-loaders). Tony accompanied us to the dinner area and it gave us a chance to visit as I watched the entrance door. Tony stayed for a short while and then left for Casa Grande. It was terrific to see him again and have a chance to visit for a short period. Tony and I go back to some fantastic Rotary motorcycle rides through the Sierras in Northern California. After Tony left, we finished dinner and sat through a few numbers of the 60’s-era band before we returned to the coach for the night.

Tucson has blessed us with some warm, but windy days. We are conscious of the potential for dehydration and trying to keep on top of it with plenty of water. The great news is that there’s a warming trend coming and we will probably be getting some warm weather as we move east on Friday.

Monday, March 14th

What a wonderfully enjoyable week we have spent! We spent five nights in Yuma with our close friends, Andy & Linda Clarkson, at their lot in the Foothills. We arrived on Monday afternoon to a spaghetti dinner that Linda had prepared. It was the first of several tasty meals that she prepared for us while we were there. Our plans were to stay three nights and then move on to Casa Grande for two nights at the Western Horizons park. We had so much fun with the nightly Pegs’n’Jokers games and the other activities/side trips that Andy and Linda convinced us to cancel our reservations in Casa Grande and stay in Yuma. The breezes were strong enough that we ate our meals in the “man cave” garage since their casita is being remodeled. All in all it was a wonderful five days.

We were able to go to the Arizona Marketplace (Yuma’s huge flea market) and purchase a couple of electrical adapters to replace the ones that had gotten burned while we were at the church. When one leg gets an electrical overload, it heats up the metal spade to the point of melting the rubber on the plug. I had two adapters that were burned and I was able to replace the ends with new ones and have reliable replacement cords.

Another accomplishment was getting the coach washed and waxed. Since my surgery I’m very hesitant to get up on the roof of my coach. I found an advertised service that came out to the coach, washed the roof and sides of the coach, and shined the tires. They left for a couple of hours and returned to hand-wax the whole coach with Meguiar’s wax. While they were at it, they threw in a wash job for the car. All this cost only $99!!! It was well worth the cost and the coach wax job is terrific!

We looked at several other properties in the Foothills, but still didn’t find anything that really got us excited. Clarkson’s neighbor is planning to sell his lot with a 570-sq.-ft. casita and plenty of porch/patio space. It would be a perfect lot for our needs, but it may be priced out of our budget. In talking with him, he said he’d come off his price and work with us if we wanted it. However, it would still be more than we can probably afford - or at least it would crimp our traveling adventures. Sadly, we will most likely have to pass on it.

We left Yuma on Saturday morning and drove all the way to Tucson. The rains that the desert have received gave all the short desert grass enough moisture to be green all the way. It was a pleasant change from the brown landscape we’ve seen so much. We arrived in Tucson around 12:30 and got parked with the rest of the Parking Crew. We were able to get settled in before starting work on Sunday morning.

On Sunday morning at 7:30 we had a Parking Crew meeting. We were given our instructions and location assignments and started greeting the arrivals. Since this is and RV resort, there isn’t any marking to do and we only take the attendees to their assigned site. It was an easy day with a steady flow of arrivals until 4PM when we shut down the entry gate. There was a volunteer dinner where we were able to see a lot of old friends that have worked these rallies with us in the past. We’ve had the chance to see and visit with the Ostranders, Griches, and many other close friends that we have missed over the last six months or more.

Tonight we are going to dinner to have a chance to get caught up before the rally starts in full swing tomorrow. It’s nice to be back on the move again and we’re looking forward to the possibility of another Habitat Build in Farmington, NM. The Build is still “iffy” until we get at least six coaches to confirm their participation, but we’re hoping. Since it’s in Farmington, we could be in for any kind of weather. Sorta makes it interesting…

Monday, March 8th

The time has come for us to get back in the Travel Mode. We are headed to Tucson for the Monaco Pre-Rally to the FMCA Convention in Albuquerque. Since I’m on the Parking Crew, we have to be in Tucson on Saturday, the 13th. We’re going to Yuma to spend three nights with our friends, the Clarksons, on their newly remodeled estate. While there we hope to look at more properties and possibly make an offer on one. After Yuma we’ll drive to Casa Grande for two nights and be able to visit one of our favorite eating establishments, the Organ Stop Pizza. The pizza isn’t the best in the world, but the entertainment is terrific! We enjoy sitting and watching the 1927 Wurlitzer theater organ mastered by some incredible musicians. We will spend a few days in Tucson and then go to Valley Vista RV Park in Benson, to the Escapee park in Deming, and on up to Albuquerque. We plan to stay at the Elks Lodge in Albuquerque while we enjoy one day of the FMCA Convention and see some friends who live there.

We had planned to go to Las Cruces for a two-week Habitat Build. However, we were informed that the affiliate had goofed and didn’t have a house for us to build. So the Build has been cancelled. We are seriously considering driving to Santa Rosa, CA to visit my Mother and sister for a few days. Then we have to be in Laughlin, NV on April 12th to meet up with some other friends who will be with us at the 21st Annual Baker-to-Vegas Law Enforcement Relay. It’s a foot race relay that goes from Baker to Pahrump to Las Vegas. There are 216 teams of runners from all over the world that will compete on the race. We are going to be at one of the checkpoints assisting in any way we can. It’ll probably be two nights of dry camping in the middle of the desert. We are looking forward to the event and possibly seeing some runners that I may know from my working days.

After the B2V Run, we aren’t sure where we’ll be going. We may head slowly east toward South Dakota via Nebraska, OR we may head back down to San Diego or Yuma to get things settled there. We’re not anxious to get to South Dakota before May 1 for fear of getting into snowy weather. We could stay a while longer in San Diego and enjoy the good weather.

Just a few thoughts - it’s been an interesting winter for us. With the surgery we were parked in one spot longer than we normally do. And it’s been a very good winter season for us. There are a lot of things we’ll both miss greatly. I’ll miss the phone calls from my buddy, Homer, and the opportunity to drive him to his various appointments and errands. I’ll miss all the terrific discussions I’ve had with Bill Large while we were running errands for the church or working around the church grounds. Bill keeps me thinking and pondering the more serious things in life and God’s Creation. We’ll miss the Wednesday Bible study class and the interesting discussions that Pastor Harvey leads. I’ll miss the breakfasts with Dave Dyas and the guys on Thursday morning and Saturday morning. I’ll miss the satisfaction of being able to replace light bulbs, window panes, and toilet flapper valves in the church buildings. And I’ll miss talking with the guys at the AA meetings on Saturday nights and Monday nights. And, of course, I’ll miss our church family that offered us support and friendship while we were parked on the property and involved in the Palisades Church life. I’ll especially miss the morning chats with Janice Klick, our church secretary. These were all a part of our experience while at Palisades Presbyterian Church.

We departed San Diego on Monday morning after delaying our trip from Sunday morning. We awoke Sunday and discovered that our television had breathed its last breath. After warming up, the screen went black. We went to church and left in the rain for Best Buy where we purchased a 24” flat screen TV for the front of the coach. It continued raining all day and we decided to wait until Monday to leave. The weather forecasters were calling for rain mixed with snow over the mountains east of San Diego. We enjoyed staying home and warm in our coach.

On Monday morning we left in a light rain that continued over the mountain until we reached the desert. Once on the desert floor, we had beautiful, sunny skies and a tailwind that followed us to Yuma. Our arrival at Clarkson’s lot was a welcome occasion with a fantastic spaghetti dinner followed by a great game of Pegs’n’Jokers. Our day was complete and we are ready to enjoy a relaxing break in Yuma looking for a lot, unwinding a bit, catching up on emails, sipping some craft brews, and preparing for the Tucson Pre-Rally.

Friday, Jan. 15th, 2010

On a whim, we left San Diego on Thursday morning, Dec. 31st, New Year’s Eve. We drove over to Yuma and the Clarkson’s lot to celebrate the Holiday weekend with them. We arrived and enjoyed the evening watching the ball in New York fall (at 10PM, Arizona time). We opened and shared a special bottle of sparkling wine made with black currant that we had purchased in Deming, NM last year. The St. Claire Winery makes this delicious wine and it was an appropriate time to break out the wine to celebrate the in-coming New Year. We had a terrific time with Andy & Linda and enjoyed our short stay with them.

During our visit we made trips to the Sam’s Club and the Yuma Swap Meet. The Swap Meet has everything that the Quartzsite RV Show has and at a lesser price. We also had the chance to look at some more property. We found one lot that is very close to Clarksons, is a corner lot, and is “for sale by owner”. His price is way too high, but his retirement has taken a hit and we hope he’ll consider an offer from us. It’s an almost perfect match to what we are looking for so we’ll sit tight and wait.

We had originally planned to leave on Sunday, but there was a Charger game on TV (we were able to use our satellite connection to receive the game) and the weekend traffic from the desert would have been horrendous. We decided to stay one more night and left on Monday for Indio. Before we left, we all went to a local Mexican restaurant and had a great breakfast. On the way home we stopped at the corner lot and the owner gave us a tour of his property. It proved to us that the lot was what we would enjoy and could make us very happy.

We drove up to Indio and the Western Horizons Indian Waters Resort. We had a quiet site with water, electricity, and gravel. It was at the outer edge of the resort and very peaceful for our stay. We went in to the FMCA Rally each morning for the coffee and donuts, then to the vendors to see all the things we couldn’t live without. Somehow we managed to get through the week without spending much money. We did find a vendor that did windshield chip repair, so we had him fix two chips on the windshield of the coach.

Each night there was entertainment. For the four nights we saw some good ones - and some bad ones. And on two afternoons there was an ice cream social with free ice cream bars furnished by Schwann. The rally was enjoyable and we had the chance to see some old friends, including the Raes, Griches, Bahnsons, Wilkes, and Harsches.

We had to leave Indio on Sunday and return to San Diego as we both had Dr. appointments to handle. It was a beautiful drive back to San Diego. We returned to an empty parking lot and got parked and settled in. It was good to be back to our San Diego parking spot and the solitude of the church.

Tuesday I had a follow-up with the neurosurgeons and came home with a good report. Everything is healing well and the recovery is ahead of schedule. I feel good and am glad to be able to get back to work around the church.

On Friday we took the coach to Valley Truck & Auto for our annual maintenance. I had the filters and a case of oil, so the mechanic did the labor, lubed the coach, and got us back in shape. The price was extremely reasonable and it was done in about three hours. After all, the coach takes 22 quarts of oil and has many, many grease zerts to service. It’s good to have the work done for another year!

We decided we aren’t going to Quartzsite this year. With the cost of fuel and our search for a Yuma Foothills lot, we decided to hold on to the fuel cost and stay put for awhile. If something develops in Yuma, we’ll make a day trip to sign papers and get things arranged. Only time will tell…

Tuesday night, Dec. 15th

It’s been almost three weeks since the surgery and each day just gets a little better. Last Tuesday we went to the Drs. for a follow-up. They removed the staples and checked a couple of other issues and determined that the recovery is coming along fine. I had anticipated some discomfort in the removal of the staples, but it was a piece of cake. Dr. Cueva pulled a remover out of a sterile packet and it felt as though he was simply lightly tapping the side of my head as removed all 26 staples. It was a quick follow-up and they told me I could start driving whenever I felt up to it.

It just happened that the headaches stopped the night before the follow-up. When I asked about it, the Drs. offered that I may be “over the hump” and it would only get better. I still need to take the Ibuprofen tablets three times a day and a high-powered antibiotic for another few days. That eliminates any alcohol consumption and still keeps my appetite in check. But food is beginning to taste good again, especially breakfast.

I’m still a little uneasy on my feet and get an occasional dizzy feeling if I move my head (or eyes) too fast. I’m having fun getting outside and working around the church with my buddy, Bill Large. He keeps me from overdoing and we still have fun.

We still have plans to try to go to Indio after the New Year for a motor home rally. We’re not sure about Quartzsite yet, but we’d like to go for a few days to check out the vendors and see a lot of old friends that will be there. We’re thinking about finding a spot in Yuma for the month of February to spend some time there looking at possible lots to buy. Things are still up in the air, but we hope to be mobile by the end of the month.

Once again we both appreciate all the phone calls and emails we’ve received. It’s been an interesting experience and we’re grateful that it’s almost over!

Monday afternoon, Nov. 30

I can’t express my humble thanks for all the emails, phone calls, prayers and positive thoughts that came our way during and after the surgery! There is real power in prayer - and I truly felt it! Dottie and I have so many wonderful friends and they have kept us going through this entire ordeal. I’m going to attempt to type this out in spite of my headache and dizziness, so here goes.

On Wednesday we checked in to the hospital at the appointed 2PM hour. The Pre-Op didn’t waste any time getting me ready. They had just finished a surgical procedure and I was put on the “Git ‘er done!” list to get the surgery started. I remember being wheeled into the operating room around 3PM, but nothing after that. The next thing I remember it was 9PM and having my paper surgical gown being removed and a cloth gown being put on in the recovery room. The ladies were telling me that I am a “sweater” - the gown was soaked and I felt wet from perspiration. They rolled me in to ICU where I stayed for the next 25 hours. Every hour the nurses would come in to check blood pressure or blood sugar, usually resulting a few units of insulin. They were dumping antibiotics and pain killers into me as fast as they could. I was so groggy that I would just turn over and go back to sleep. I had a bandage that looked almost like the Phantom of the Opera - it covered my whole left side. And I was fighting numbness on that side.

The Drs. told me it was a good sized tumor and was nestled up next to the brain. Everything went textbook perfect in the surgery and last almost 5 hours. They were able to save the function of the facial nerves, but I’ve lost all sense of hearing on my left side. Right now that left ear is just numb and has no sense of feeling at all.

On Thursday night about 10PM they moved me to a room with a guy that left his TV on all night. The volume wasn’t the problem; it was the steady light all night long. I didn’t sleep well that night, either. Then on Friday morning the neurologist came in and recommended I be discharged. I wasn’t really excited about it, but after he mentioned the lousy hospital food, uncomfortable bed, plastic covered pillows, and susceptibility to hospital germs, I was ready to go. He removed the big shell bandage exposing the 25 stainless steel staples holding my left side intact. Dottie gathered up my belongings and we were off to the coach. Major brain surgery and only two days in the hospital!

Since I’ve been back I’ve done a lot of sleeping. Daytime TV can motivate a person to recover quickly, but it’s going to be a long and slow road to normalcy. I can’t lift anything over 10 lbs. for at least a month, and probably won’t be able to drive for two months. I doubt that we’ll be going anywhere until March. Getting the balance back in the inner ear on the left side will take several months. I mostly feel like there’s an axe embedded in the left side of my skull, but the heavy drugs every four hours help to alleviate that pain. I can’t move my head too fast or I get extremely dizzy.

Dottie has been wonderful taking care of me, and I know she must tire of it at times. She’s off washing clothes right now and I have a little caretaker parked at my feet watching every move I make. It’s amazing how they know that something is different. At night she tucks herself tight against my legs so she can feel if make any movement. It’s been a challenge sleeping with the C-PAP machine and positioning that so it won’t catch on any of the staples.

I want to emphasize the importance of all the emails and phone calls and what they mean to us. We have some wonderful, caring friends and those contacts meant a lot both of us. Both of us thank all of you for those thoughtful messages and all the prayers that we’ve felt through this ordeal!