Whoosh! How Fast Our Last Two Weeks Have Gone!

Sunday, April 6^th through Saturday, April 19^th

In a nutshell, our last week in San Diego began to speed up on Wednesday, April 9^th. Until then, we did the usual – very little. Skip and Susan came to Santee Lakes to camp during their grandchildren's Spring Break. Each day, Landon (10) and Reagan (now 9) spent the day at the campground. On Wednesday, Duffy and I boarded the Trolley bound for the San Diego Santa Fe train station – the very same station where my grandparents took Skip and me for a train ride to Los Angeles across 100-miles of unpopulated terrain to ride the region's only escalator at Macy's. On this day, we boarded the Surfrider to Anaheim where we picked up Ahna for her first ride on Amtrak, back to San Diego to spend three nights with us and play with her cousins.

Jamin, Maya, and Ahna's Spring Break coincided with Landon and Reagans. Kurt, Heather and the kids drove to S. California for four days at Disneyland, followed by three days in San Diego where Jamin and Maya attended a National High School Journalism Conference. While Ahna was with us, Kurt and Heather were able to spend a few days together, just the two of them.

For Ahna, Thursday brought fun on and in the water. Starting with paddle boats on one of the lakes at Santee Lakes, the three cousins fed the ducks, causing a parade of waterfowl following Susan and the kids like the Pied Piper's mice. After an hour paddling, they transitioned to the Spray Park within Santee Lakes, running through the programmed, intermittent fountain. Fast track to the swimming pool for some more cooling off on this hot spring day. After playing with Landon and Reagan for hours, late in the afternoon Ahna took a nap along with Duffy. She slept for an hour-and-a-half, testimony to a wild week of fun in the sun at Disneyland and Santee Lakes.

On Friday, Skip and Susan, Duffy and I took the three cousins to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is a lot like Disneyland in being impossible to see in one day. So we hit the highlights, which depending upon who is going to the zoo varies with each person. Our day included the bus tour, lunch, a 4-D short movie of Rio - the Disney animated flick, a walk through the reptile enclosure to two of my favorite exhibits, the Galapagos tortoises and Kimodo Dragons. Our last stop was a visit to the polar bears. Having left so many exhibits unseen, except by bus, it was time to head back to camp. But, not before dinner at Souplantation in La Mesa, joined by Landon and Reagan's mom and dad, our niece Nikki and her husband Tom. This was another early night for Ahna. We wore her out. She wore us out. The fun was mutual.

Saturday, April 12th was Skip's 70^th birthday. For nearly two months, Susan and a friend had been planning a surprise party at Petco Park and the Padres/Tigers baseball game. Skip's closest friend from high school, Jim, turned 70 on April 4^th, and another friend, Mike, was turning 70 on April 17^th. In order to deflect Skip's attention away from the party and keep the surprise, Nikki and Tom turned the meal on Friday night at Souplantation into a birthday dinner. On Saturday morning, we along with Ahna, took Skip and Susan to breakfast as our gift (in addition to a Super Bowl T-Shirt honoring the Seahawks – a totally fun gift since Skip and I have a great Seattle/San Diego rivalry going). After a quiet afternoon, Duffy, Ahna and I boarded the Trolley bound for Petco Park to meet Kurt and Heather who arranged to attend the ball game and party along with Ahna and Jamin, who came from the journalism conference held just across the bridge from the ball park at the Hilton-by-the-Bay. Maya stayed at the hotel, feeling worn out from her crazy week.

None of us really expected Skip to be totally surprised, but to our great surprise he was! And, no more surprised than when Skip's son, Lance and girlfriend Sarah walked in, having flown in from Denver without Skip having a clue they were coming. All the kids, grandkids, closest friends, Duffy and me, Kurt and family were there. Skip watched very little of the game in his delight in the presence of friends and good food.

On Sunday morning, Jamin and Maya flew home accompanied by their journalism advisor's husband and son, close family friends. Kurt, Heather, and Ahna, who went back to the hotel with Kurt and Heather after the party, stopped by Santee Lakes for a quick lunch before taking off on their three-day drive back to Olympia. Duffy took a nap while I took laundry to Skip and Susan's to run a couple of final loads before our departure. After a meal at Chili's Restaurant, we said our goodbyes until our next trip south.

On Monday, after stopping by the park office to arrange our camp spot for 2015, we departed San Diego via I-395. Our route took us to Lone Pine, CA (D
iaz Lake) the first night, Carson City, NV (Gold Dust West Casino Resort & RV Park and fantastic Mexican Restaurant Olé Olé), the second night, Paradise, CA (Debbie's home), the third night, Canyonville, OR (Seven Feathers RV Resort) the fourth night, and home by 8pm on Friday, the fifth night.

Spring has blossomed in Olympia. The tulips and daffodils Duffy planted in pots by our front door in February are in full bloom. Our home remodel progressed in our absence: we found cabinets installed, flooring laid, doors and wood trim installed, granite countertops in place. Amazing! Yes, there is a lot to be done. Yet, what a difference two months make.

Tomorrow (Monday) we get back in the swing of our routine. Hopefully, we will be able to pace ourselves and concentrate on the things we need to do to finish the remodel. Next time we travel, we will really have earned the break.

Until next time...Pam and Duffy

The Lost Week

Sunday, March 30^th through Friday, April 4^th

This past week is a blur in my memory. And, Duffy has pretty much lost a week-and-a-half while suffering with the bronchial pneumonia he had (has). Duffy is on the mend, thank God, yet will probably harbor a cough for a few more weeks as he gets it out of his system. He is no longer contagious, and feels like returning to the land of the living once again.

On Tuesday, one of Duffy's harder days dealing with the coughing spasms and difficulty breathing, it rained and I awoke in the trailer to two drips from the ceiling during a period when it rained pretty hard. According to the Casita Travel Trailer Service Department, we need to put a silicone application over the two spots on the roof of the trailer to keep it from happening again. We may just do it to all of the rooftop rivets at the same time as a preventative. Next week's temperatures are supposed to be hot here in Santee, so that should afford an opportunity to get it fixed.

During the rainy periods, and Duffy's absence, I found ants In the trailer. They are common here in the park, but normally later in the spring and summer, I think. One of my errands was to the store to get
Comet to apply around wheels and support struts of the trailer, and ant traps for inside. We also smeared vaseline on power and water lines coming into the trailer to inhibit their entry. Little annoyances, but like straw on the camel's back when stress piles up. (I am happy to report that the ant problem seems to be under control, or they are in hiding.)

Duffy returned to the trailer on Wednesday, and slept well for two nights and most of the days. Sleep he needs, and it has done him good. Today, Friday, he was noticeably feeling much better, more energetic and interested in life going on. We actually joined the gang at 'Por Favor' for the regular Friday night meal.

It's so good to have Duffy back. I did not realize how much of a strain the worry put on me. I can say that I am grateful for health care affiliates when and where you need them, family to provide a bed when needed, and sunshine to help the healing process. We are staying in an RV park with some very supportive long-term residents, and for that I am equally grateful.

For a change of pace yesterday, with Duffy getting better all the time, I drove to Descanso, a small mountain town at about 3500' elevation in the San Diego County back country where my high school friend, Peggy, lives with her husband. We had planned the visit a week prior, and both were happy it worked out. The three of us drove the 20-miles to Julian a quaint town dating from the 1870s where Apple Days are famous and Apple Pies are more famous. There must have been three or four pie bakeries in the three-block-long town. It had been so many years since I had gone there with my family as a child. I was enthralled, and thrust back in time when I entered the old soda shop. It has hardly changed at all. The best part? Well, the best part was in spending the day with Peggy and Norm, a delightful reunion. The second best part was in finding a gluten-free apple pie in Julian. Now, that I could not leave without. And, oh, it was so worth buying! Mmmm-mm!

Until next time...Pam and Duffy

An Unusually Long Day

Friday, March 28^th through Saturday, March 29^th

Friday dawned and Duffy elected not to trying visiting his cousin in San Clemente. He just did not feel strong enough to travel that far and spend quality time on a long-past-due visit. So after canceling, Duffy puttered around the trailer attempting to replace the broken slide in the screen door. I, however, did not even wake up until noon or later. The week must have taken its toll on me. When I did change clothes, I climbed back into bed to read a book. Come 5:00pm, I decided it was time to take a shower to see if that would revive me. We were due to meet Skip and Susan, Tom and Cathy Larsen at Por Favor for dinner. Duffy was feeling enough better to have a meal out; maybe the four Casita walls were getting a bit tight – it's a pretty small area to be confined in.

Dinner was great, the company was better. We always enjoy spending time with these four, make that five with Tom and Cathy's daughter Kimberly. I ate a light meal, which was a wise choice because I was not feeling at 100% of my normal energy and appetite. Duffy, likewise, ate light.

The rest of the night went downhill. Duffy really thought he was getting better. During the night, he was unable to sleep. His cough was persistent and turned into spasms of coughing during which he was unable to take in a breath. A couple of times he nearly passed out. I did not get to sleep because I had slept the day away, and then Duffy's coughing and odd mutterings when he did doze off, kept me awake. At 3:30am I finally said, “I am not asleep, so if you think you need to go to emergency, we can.” Not one to race to the doctor before the critical point in an illness or injury, he surprised me by agreeing to go. The inability to take a breath was scary and becoming more frequent.

Long story short – by 4:00am we were on the road to emergency at Kaiser Permanente, having first contacted Group Health's Consulting Nurse. Four o'clock is a good time to go to Emergency it turns out; the rest of the world is sleeping, even on a Saturday morning after a clear and reasonably warm Friday night when lots of accidents and injuries could have taken place. Duffy got right in, especially after I let the staff know he was having difficulty breathing. Five hours later, after blood tests, xrays, and an EKG, Duffy was released with three prescriptions and a diagnosis of bronchitis and a bit of pneumonia in his right lung. Five hours seems to be the norm, give or take an hour, even if a patient is seen right away in the Emergency room.

What caused the respiratory problems, who knows? Most likely not the smoke in Laughlin or air conditioning at Viejas Arena. I am guessing this has been coming on for some time. We are more than grateful for the professional and cheerful care, and amiable attention Duffy received at Kaiser. We cannot say enough good things about the quality of service and care.

Tonight, Duffy is staying at my brother's house where he may get a better night's sleep. He may stay there for a few days all told. He is equipped with a Codeine cough suppressant, powerful antibiotics, and an inhaler, plus an admonition from the medical staff to drink lots of water - one-half his body weight in ounces. I am back in the trailer where I hope to get a restful night's sleep after only a two-hour nap since mid-day yesterday. 

(NOTE: Awakened at 9:15am Sunday morning after 11 straight hours of much-needed sleep.)

Good night all. Happy dreams.

Until next time...Pam and Duffy

NOT the Routine, Plenty of Down Time

Saturday, March 22^nd through Thursday, March 27^th

Either the smoking environment in Laughlin or the March Madness Marathon got Duffy down. On Saturday, he mustered up just enough energy to watch SDSU Aztecs rout their opponent, and has been sick ever since with a nasty chest cold. Sunday through today he has spent either sleeping, reading, or taking short birding walks here in the park. It's times like this that our Baby Beluga gets mighty small.

On Satuday, Duffy decided it was time to do something about the flashing lights he'd been seeing inside his left eye, followed by an organized cluster of floaters. After at least an hour trying to connect and on the phone with the Group Health (our Washington HMO) consulting nurse, he was advised to call Kaiser Urgent Care. Then after what seemed like another hour, he managed to make an appointment with Urgent Care at 8:30am Sunday.

His chest cold was just coming on, so getting up early was not as difficult as it would become in following days. Looking back, this was the most painless urgent care visit either one of us has every experienced. No waiting – Duffy's was the first appointment for the assigned doctor that morning. The doctor, an M.D. was careful to include both of us in his assessment, and very caring. Amazingly, he called an opthalmologist an call who was on call that weekend, and learned she was just on her way in to see two other patients anyway. It did not take long to be seen, since Duffy was already there and the other patients had not yet arrived. Wow! The verdict: floaters forming in his eye, good that he came in because the same cause can lead to detached lining or detached retina. She checked his other eye that his doctor at home has been watching, and found it to be stable. So...great relief!

The rest of the week has been spent at Santee Lakes, with occasional trips for me to the store. We are fortunate to be very close to a Sprouts Farmers Market for fresh and gluten free foods, a Starbucks for coffee (almost daily), a Walgreens for medicinals and incidentals, and a Costco for gas. Everything is within a few blocks. Oh, and did I forget a favorite spot of ours, the Friends of the Library Used Book Store, a full store of already-read books from library patrons and supporters. Oh, and also within just a few blocks o9f us there is a great little Mexican restaurant we discovered by accident when we were looking for a quick and casual meal out. This is not your remote kind of camping.

I have had time to go through photos I've taken and make some collages which I've conveniently ordered from the Walgreens just a couple of turns from here. I've been wanting to supply some family photos to my Aunt Bonnie, my mother's only sister, for a long time now. Bonnie lives in her home in El Cajon, and I hope to visit her today with photos in hand. She loves to read books she can hold, and look at photos printed on photo paper. Bonnie is very easy to gift.

Tonight we, or I, will go to Skip and Susan's to watch the SDSU game against Arizona – they beat Gonzaga on Sunday (I followed the scores online while I struggled to find a way to watch the game online. Duffy might have enjoyed the diversion from sleeping, coughing, reading, sleeping, coughing, etc.)

We had to cancel our scheduled visit on Wednesday with Duffy's cousin Linda and her husband Chuck in San Clemente due to his miserable cold, and are hoping he is well enough, and not contagious, to go tomorrow. I will report on the success of the trip in my next posting.

Until next time...Pam and Duffy

Feels Like Home: Errands, Errands, and Chores. Plus a Lot of Basketball.

Tuesday, March 17^th through Friday, March 21^st

Back in the Routine – Plus - March Madness

Tuesday: Upon our return from Laughlin we slept in and read. Then, the day began. Clean the Casita inside – vacuum, scrub, polish; do laundry, shower, catch a bite to eat, fall into bed. Laid the new Kokopelli mat outside our door to keep from dragging the outdoors inside the trailer. We purchased this at a market stand in Quartzsite, AZ, (of all places) on our return from Laughlin.

Wednesday: Drive to Kearny Mesa to look for cabinet hardware for drawers and doors at home, then to Miramar to explore lighting possibilities. Interesting light fixtures here, but definitely not our style, and most definitely not right for our pocketbook. Back to El Cajon Home Depot for a sanding block to shave the Lexan plastic replacement piece for the screen door. Join Skip and Susan for dinner at their house – yummy corned beef, cabbage, and carrots.

Thursday: Drive to La Mesa, about ten miles, to another lighting store. This one was more like it. We found some fixtures, and may order them before we return home. Back to El Cajon Home Depot for a different scraper/sander for the Lexan plastic replacement piece – turns out it's too tough for sand paper. Met Skip and Susan at Souplantation for dinner, then went to their house to watch the SDSU Aztecs marginally beat the University of North Dakota in March Madness basketball. SDSU plays again tomorrow (Saturday).

Friday: I am on my own until Susan finishes her day with her grandson, Leif. Nice, I can catch up on organizing photos. Then, if there is time, we will drive to Mission Valley and Fashion Valley shopping centers to do some, um, shopping. Duffy and I rendezvoused back at the trailer at 10:00pm. “Good Night, Duffy.” “Good Night, Pam.”

Until Next Time...Pam and Duffy

We Claimed We Never Stay In One Place For Long When Traveling. We Lied.

Thursday, March 6^th through Wednesday, March 11^th

Marking Time, Being Lazy

This is so unlike us! Duffy plans to make some repairs (bathroom window slide pull, leaky gas line he installed for a catalytic heater last fall, and the screen door slide that keeps bugs and insects out while allowing us to open the door with the screen left closed. And everyday, Duffy reads, sleeps, and maybe takes a short bike ride. Evenings we spend with Skip and Susan, or with them and old, mutual friends (emphasis on “old Friends,” not “old”) at a local restaurant.

Thursday we ate dinner at Skip and Susan's with cherry pie ala mode for dessert, Susan's favorite for her birthday.

Friday, Skip ran some errands with me while Duffy rode his bike along the Mast Park Trail, then dinner out at the favorite local Mexican restaurant with “old friends.”

Saturday, Duffy and I took a nearly three-mile walk in the park here, around the lake looking at, and for, birds, then up to the office to plan the remainder of our stay. (It's too nice here this year, we do not desire to go anywhere else). At 5:00pm, we left to attend the wedding reception of my cousin's daughter. Lindsay, who teachs elementary school in Gilbert, Arizona, came home to El Cajon to get married in her home Mormon Temple and to celebrate with family.

Sunday, Daylight Savings Time began – hurray!! Although we hoped to attend church, our need to change campsites before noon foiled our plans. Instead, we moved into our “new” camp spot in the same RV park, where we will stay for the next month. It feels both good and strange to be settling in one place for a while. Maybe this is why we are being so lazy – there's little or no incentive to accomplish anything. Except – Duffy did repair the bathroom window pull with some miracle glue. In the evening, we joined Skip and Susan for dinner at their home.

Monday, I spent the afternoon with Skip and his youngest grandson, Leif (aged 1½), while Susan sped off to her hair appointment. It took me all that time to get a hint of a smile from Leif. I played, he watched. I built, he took apart. And, he flirted. We might become friends yet! I did some laundry while Leif and I played, then after he went home, Duffy rode his bike from Santee Lakes and we dined with Skip and Susan – delicious tri-tip steak barbequed to perfection by Skip, salad, veggie, fruit, and all the squares a meal should have.

Tuesday, I shopped for Ahna's birthday gift. I hope she has as much fun opening it as I had picking it out for her. Suffice it to say, she is getting a colorful new outfit.I then drove up the hill to my Aunt Bonnie's for a visit and to take her to Souplantation to join Duffy, Skip and Susan for dinner. Following dinner, we returned to Bonnie's to view Skip and Susan's travel memories on DVD from their trip to China on the Yangtse River last year. We enjoyed seeing all the places they visited and saw as they cruised along.

Wednesday, that's today. This became a run-around-day: return broken or wrong items, replace them with others, buy a piece of polystyrene to fix our screen door, and Subway for the dinner salad we've missed this past week of dining with family and friends. Tonight we will prepare for a short trip to Laughlin, Nevada with Skip and Susan. We are riding over with them tomorrow, and returning on Monday, March 17^th.

Lights will be out on this blog for a time. We will be staying at the Aquarius in Laughlin, leaving our trailer here in Santee. It promises to be hot there, and even hotter than it is here now when we return. Loving the sunshine!

Until next time...Pam and Duffy

Santee: Our Second Home

Monday, March 3 through Wednesday, March 5

Staying Put In Santee

It is nice once again to pull in to a campground and know we will not be going anywhere for a while. Last night, after the post-drive nap upon arriving, we met Skip and Susan at Soup Plantation for a simple dinner of salad and soup. It's one of our favorite places to eat, a sister restaurant to Fresh Tomatoes in Tucson and elsewhere in Arizona.

Morning broke hesitantly, with gray skies, but the promise of sun in the afternoon held true. Here in Santee the temperatures rose to the high 60s/low 70s. Nice!

Our plan to make this an “administrative” day catching up with tax returns needing filing, laundry needing laundering and drying, and a trailer needing cleaning from all the debris carried in from the storms over the past few days, and a bike ride for Duffy, once again in training for this year's STP – well, almost did not happen. Initially, we were slow to rise and it was nearly lunch time by the clock before we left to buy quarters for the laundromat (situated, happily, within the RV Park). Duffy oversaw the washing machines and start of the dryers while I hurried back to the trailer to give the bathroom a shower with the shower hose, and sweep, vacuum and sponge mop the floors. Running out of steam, I hurried back to the laundry to relieve Duffy so he could nap, while I finished the drying and folding.

Such activity is not newsworthy of itself, however, It was a race against the clock, because earlier in the day my brother, Skip, called to say our cousin John and his wife Elaine had returned to San Diego after a driving trip up the coast and back, and wanted to gather for dinner out by the beach. I don't think I ever cleaned the trailer, folded clothes and readied myself for a nice meal out so quickly. Even though we both were tired (Duffy's nap was much shorter than he needed), we revived enough to enjoy a wonderful meal and visit at a long-time San Diego restaurant called World Famous. It may indeed be – the food was absolutely scrumptious. Cousin John and Elaine Peterson live In Kalispell, Montana, and this was the second time in about four years that I have seen them. Duffy and I passed through an earlier time and met Elaine, and found John had gone hunting. Such a pleasant two hours spent. Hopefully, Duffy and I will see them again when we take a fall vacation across the northern tier of the U.S., hopefully this year.

Tuesday, March 4th dawned foggy before I became aware that I had forgotten to set my alarm to call Kurt at 7:29am to ask what he was doing 42 years ago to the day. Kurt started this tradition some years ago, when he called me to ask what I was doing at that time on that day, however many years ago. :) But, I did call and leave him a message about 16 minutes into his birth day. Celebrating in his absence (or more accurately, mine) I did what seemed to highlight the day best – I treated myself to a haircut, a manicure and a pedicure. I hope Kurt enjoyed his day as much as I did. Duffy, unfortunately did not – he spent the day at Skip's fighting the filing of tax returns electronically. Back to our trailer late in the day for a nap for Duffy and birthday shopping for me (sister-in-law Susan's birthday is March 5^th), then home for microwaved frozen pizza. I hope Kurt's birthday dinner was better than ours.

Wednesday, the 5^th, Duffy and I slowly dragged ourselves out of our toasty, warm bed, realizing the day was dawning bright and sunny, and promising to rise in temperature to the high 70s here in Santee and El Cajon (east of San Diego). Again, nice! Tired of eating oatmeal day after day, we treated ourselves to breakfast out, then went to Skip's (Susan babysits their grandson, Leif on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays where Duffy helped Skip rearrange office furniture. The repairs to our trailer that Duffy planned for today will wait for tomorrow. They are not going anywhere, and neither are we. Back to our campsite for a nap (surprise), then a bike ride for Duffy, some small chores for Pam, and out to dinner for Mexican food. All this to say, ours was a lazy day. We seem to be getting used to this.

The day of repairs will wait for tomorrow. We hope to get out and walk around these lakes (Santee Lakes at Padre Dam run by the City of Santee) to see what birds we can find. We nearly always see a variety of ducks including otherwise elusive Wood Ducks, Herons Great Blue and Green, Egrets Great and Snowy, hawks and a variety of passerines (perching birds). Duffy thought he saw a White-Tailed Kite driving back into the park this afternoon, normally a rare sighting for us.

Today, March 5^th is Susan's birthday. I did get to a couple of shops to hunt for a gift. We will celebrate with her tomorrow; she has plans tonight.

Until next time...Pam and Duffy