Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #63 – She Said Yes!

 

Two posts today............                     

                      Please read the previous post first!!!!

Sunday, October 24^th., 2021……  I had a few things to do this morning to prep for the day. I moved the cars out of the garage and brought in a large tarp for the floor, then brought in tables for the folks to carve pumpkins on. Cathye found big Halloween tablecloths in one of the seasonal bins, and we used those on the tables. I brought in my battery power drills and saws for use as needed and we decorated the garage with spiders and pumpkin lights, and we were ready!  The girls (and Butch) did a number on those pumpkins, and everyone had a great time!  

Here’s a pic from later in the evening…

I fired up the bbq and cooked up some hot dogs for the chili that Tamara had made and brought over. She also made cornbread and Cathye made squash pie. Everything was really good. We had asked the girls to ask about our wedding venue so that we could drive over to see it. I gave Penny my phone and asked her to videotape the walk through the garden. I wasn’t even nervous when I took her to the spot (where she wants the wedding to be held) and dropped to one knee and proposed! I have to say I was shocked at her reaction because she had no idea it was coming at that time!!  

SHE SAIDYES! I am the most luckiest man alive to have found this woman and I want to spend the rest of my live with her.  And now that she said she will marry me, my dreams have come true!  We are blessed to have found each other and she says to write that here too and to say she is the happiest woman on earth!  Wow, I love this woman!

We left there and went back and visited for a while before the girls and Butch left. We had time to be alone and reflect on the day. We talked some more about the wedding and made more plans. We have to keep the numbers down so we will have just a few friends and family in attendance. We talked about that day (April 24^th if you hadn’t heard that already) and the days after and how to make it all work for those coming from out of town. Lots to think about but it was wonderful, and we fell asleep with plans and dreams of the future, happy and content.   

Monday, October 25^th., 2021…… The weather has turned nasty up here in the NW. We have had rain off and on for several days now and the winds have picked up and the temps have dropped. But today, it was a lot warmer, and the winds have died down a bit. We don’t have too many trees on the property but those that we do have, have lost most of their leaves. This pic was from last week showing the brilliant color of the trees here.

Most of those leaves are now on the ground and in someone else’s yard. I will have to have Kirk’s guys rake up leaves and I also want them to clean out the ditch out front so the water can flow easily to the drain down the street.

Cathye has her booster shot today. She will also get a flu shot while she is there. She says that last time she was down for a day or two, but this time I will be here to take care of her.

Ok, it’s later now… She is back from the pharmacy, and everything went well. Some soreness but not too bad.  But later in the evening she felt tired and achy so she went to bed early. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.

Tuesday, October 26^th., 2021……  No worries on the leaves today. Justin and Tyler were here today and took care of all of the leaves in the ditch and around the flowerbeds. The grass is my next project. As I had posted, I mowed it last week but had to set the blade high and now it’s ready to be done again. But, again, I am stuck with a wet lawn for who knows how long?  

As far as Cathye goes, she is still achy and cold. No fever but she is tired and just wanted to hang around the house today. So, I took the dogs out and then went out and got us breakfast. She stayed in her jammies, and we relaxed on the couch and watched tv all day. So, other than Kirk’s guys, we had an uneventful day and just took it easy and stayed inside. I fixed stuffed salmon for dinner, and we watched tv until she couldn’t stay awake any longer and we called it a night.  

Wednesday, October 27^th., 2021……  Not much on the agenda today. Cathye is back to feeling better and decided she could go off to her volunteer job today, and I hung out here and did a few chores and kicked back most of the day. She said she was tired but ok, but we still didn’t do anything other than hang around the house. We had to go to the trailer for something and stopped and got dinner and brought it home. Tonight, was Survivor and The Masked Singer.  Plus, we are also watching Tough as Nails and got caught up on those episodes. Didn’t catch tonight’s episode but we will probably watch that one tomorrow.

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #62 – Finding a Wedding Venue & Visiting with Friends and Family

 

Sunday, October 17^th., 2021……  A relaxing day. I watched races most of the day and Cathye and I talked about our next trip. Plus, we talked about wedding venues some more. I think we (ok, she) pretty much have figured it out. We are looking at April 24^th. 2022 (one year to the day that we had our first date!). We are looking at the Boulder Falls Inn and Event Center, in Lebanon. She had never been to the garden area before and when she saw it, she knew right away!  She will be going back later in the week to meet with the planner there and book it. Decisions will need to be made…

But we also have a few trips planned before that. First up is a trip to Branson, MO. We are going there Nov 15^th-20^th. We have lined up some shows and we would have been looking for venue for April but that’s done so this is now just a relax-and-have fun trip! I have also booked us a room at the Oregon Gardens for Dec. 1^st.-2^nd. This is another rest and enjoy trip!  The package includes their Christmas Lights display and dinner and breakfast.

Later in the day, Penny and Cherrelyn came by to take us to a belated dinner for both our September birthdays. They gave us gifts and then we headed over to The Point in Sweet Home for a nice meal.

Thanks girls!  Cathye has asked Penny to be her wedding planner and she accepted. They (and Judy, another friend) will be going to Boulder Falls this week to ask questions and book the place for April. Now, she just wonders when that crazy dude will ask her already!!!       

Monday, October 18^th., 2021…… We spent the day running errands and picking up things for the trailer and the house. There are only a few things left to do before the trailer is done. Cathye will be looking for more décor items and I will do most of the little installs and hanging thigs, etc., but we are still dealing with the plumber about the work left undone and have questions about his invoice to date. The icemaker install remains and I do not have the confidence to tackle that but will do so if needed. But the electrical is all completed now and is good to go, other than a breaker on one side of the kitchen that trips when the tea pot is plugged in! She has plugged it in to the side with the GFCI outlets so that is resolved!   

Tuesday, October 19^th., 2021……  Got a call from the dermatologist telling me that the biopsy showed no issues.  Cathye met up with Penny and Judy at the venue while I worked around here. Kirk’s guys were coming, and I wanted to get some things worked at the trailer before they got here. I took the floor register we got yesterday over to the trailer and installed it in her bathroom. I also installed that dimmer in the bedroom. I got everything cleaned up and headed back home. Later, after Cathye got back and Justin and his brother were done here, we went back over and picked up a cabinet that she wants out of her tiny bedroom. It will go in nicely in her office here.   

Wednesday, October 20^th., 2021……  Cathye left for her volunteer work at SHEM. That stands for Sweet Home Emergency Ministries. Its mission is to provide food, information, and supportive service to the folks in the local area.  She spends Wednesday mornings there and was able to go back now that their required 14-day quarantine is over, due to her being out of state with me on our recent trip. Gotta be safe…

Once she was back, we drove over to Costco in Albany and got a few things. Then it was time for dinner and tv and a relaxing night before bed.  

Thursday, October 21^st., 2021…...  We got up late and got the dogs out and walked and fed, then drove over to Elmer’s in Albany for breakfast. We had a few other errands to do while we were there, so we accomplished those and headed back home. Cathye went to her nail appointment, and I worked on the last blog and posted that. She has asked a couple to come over for a visit at the new trailer tomorrow, so she wanted to go get some cleaning/straightening up done over there. I rested a bit and tried to catch up on some of my taped auctions. I will be heading over to pick up sis later this evening. We are driving up to PDX to pick up Tamara, Cassandra, and Lauren, her daughter-in-law, and grandkids, who are going to be up here for a few days. They are scheduled to land at 8:00pm so it will be a late night by the time we get back.  

Ok, we got up there with no traffic, got them picked up ok. We stopped at an Arby’s up by the airport and I got them back to the house around 10:15 or so. Not too late, I guess.  Penny has plans for them while they are here, including an afternoon horseback riding!  We are planning one afternoon here. We had a pumpkin carving party when they were here last year, and the kids liked it so much, we are doing it again. I will need to move the cars out of the garage so I can set up the tables, but not until Sunday morning.   

Friday, October 22^nd., 2021…… I slept in this morning and felt rested.  After we ate, Cathye headed to the store to get a few things for David and Oma Lea’s visit later. I came over before they arrived and worked on a few things and helped straighten up. We had a nice visit and later, they dropped in to tour our house before heading back home. They live up above Philomath (west of Corvallis), on the road up to Mary’s Peak, and I am anxious to go see their place, which David built himself. He’s a retired contractor, and Cathye says the place is really nice.   

Saturday, October 23^rd., 2021…… This morning we decided to drive up to Oregon City (east of Portland) to go to the radio auction. Cathye heard back from the radio club’s president (Pat), who had sent her a 19-page neatly cataloged itemized listing of the radios and misc. items that they had picked up from the house a few months ago. These have all been donated to their club which Jim was an avid member of. They are a non-profit group, and all proceeds are part of a 501-3c donation by her and/or her son. We were curious and drove up early to see the process. She was welcomed with open arms and got a standing ovation from the group in attendance. These guys had all of the radios out with bid sheets on them, which you could submit a bid on if you wanted that radio.

Almost all of the items (I didn’t count the inventory list, but I’d say over 900) had active bids on them. Now she knew they would go for next to nothing, but she was ok with that, and was just glad they were going to people who wanted them and would appreciate them. While we were there, it dawned on her that she needed one more cathedral radio, which she had promised to send to a friend back east, so they pulled it out of the auction and gave it to her, and I put it in the truck.  

We drove back home, happy about the whole process. Kay jewelers was on the way home, so we made a call to check to see if our rings had come in yet. Not yet.  We also stopped by Camping World and Cabela’s on the way home.  Once we got home, we rested up and prepared for the busy day tomorrow, when the kids will be here for the pumpkin carving. Plus, I have another thing planned for tomorrow….   

 

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #61 – The Start of Something Big!

 

Sunday, October 10^th., 2021……  Cathye went to church this morning and I stayed around and worked on cleaning up the shop garage. I didn’t get far. When she got back, we went to Walmart to get groceries and a few other things for both places. I spent most of the day at home watching races and catching up on my taped shows, while she went back to the trailer and worked on opening boxes and putting more things away. I did go over later and put doorknobs on the bathroom and bedroom doors. She now has an appointment with an electrician to come look at her remaining tasks. She has decided to not stay at the trailer that much (for which I am super happy about!) but we still need to get it all done. Tonight, we ate at the house, and she stayed here.

Monday, October 11^th., 2021…… Today was a BIG day! First up was taking the Acadia in for service in Corvallis. We did that then headed over to Wise Cracks for breakfast. We had previously stopped at the local jewelry store in town. Today we are looking at engagement rings! Yes, that is in the works!  I haven’t asked her yet, but that will happen soon!  I have a timeline and devious little plans in my head. Soon though, I promise!

Anyway, we headed off to the mall in Woodburn. They have both Zales and Kay jewelry stores there.  Zales didn’t have much but we did find and bought both her rings and mine at Kay!  They showed us the ring and colored in the sapphires we want on the side so we could get an idea, and I took a quick picture of it...

We asked for some changes and of course they have to get both our sizes so it will be a few weeks before I can go get them. I am so happy with this woman I can’t stand it. We have been talking and planning dates and venues for some time now. The trip down to Calif. gave us so much time by ourselves and we talked and talked about plans for the future. Did I mention how happy I am?  She said to say for her that she feels the same way too!  All it takes now is me asking her!    As I said before, you will all have to wait for it…..

We stopped at Costco and then headed back home.   Dinner and an early night.

Tuesday, October 12^th., 2021……  I heard back from the GMC dealer, and they told me they found the left front axle was bad. Plus the motor mounts!  Plus the other suspension arm (another dealer replaced one earlier in the year). Plus an oil change and lube and I was looking at $1845.00!  Yeah, I know. Randy said to go ahead and trade it in for the truck I want!! Haha.  But that’s not happening right now. So, they went to work fixing it. Parts have to be ordered so it won’t be today.  So, today was spent at Cathye’s trailer. I needed to install more doorknobs and hang pictures.  We also needed to check out the new stackable washer/dryer. Turns out it has a couple of issues!  First, we couldn’t get the power to turn back on. But I did a quick check via google and we solved that issue. But after putting a load in, we can’t seem to get it to go into spin mode. The book says it is a clog but it’s brand new!  So, she will be getting back to Lowes for a service call since it’s still under warranty. But before that, I needed to get out the shop vac and suck out the water from the tub. I did that and checked for blockages but didn’t see any so we will get that call in soon. The electrician fixed a few issues and installed a dimmer in the kitchen, but I still need to work on the furnace door and also install another dimmer in the bedroom.

Wednesday, October 13^th., 2021…… My appointment with Dr. Horner, the dermatologist, was this morning. Cathye and Penny had both asked me to go have a raised blood blister on my lower leg looked at. I have had this for well over a year by now, and it doesn’t bother me but I said I’d go. He examined it and said it was an above the surface vein/blood vessel and not to worry but said he could remove it if I wanted him to. So, I did. He numbed it and sliced it off and cauterized it. 

They will do a biopsy on it just to make sure. Meanwhile, Cathye headed off to Corvallis for her scheduled acupuncture appointment. We had originally scheduled them back-to-back for today, but Dr. Horner was not available any other time, so I chose to cancel the acupuncture this time. We both got back and then headed over to work some more on the trailer. More pictures to be hung, and boxes to unload and put away. The two sheds are finally seeing some relief as more boxes come into the house to be put away. I still have the furnace door to work on, but that’s on hold until the end. I have a few other things to work on. One is the icemaker install. I took another look at the instructions and decided to wait to see if someone more qualified comes along in the next few days!  But, in reality, I will probably tackle it myself. Cathye has recently received a bill from the long-lost plumber, who was never there when she needed things worked on. She is close friends with his mother, so she will write him and tell him she is not happy with the whole process and will ask him to please explain each of the charges on his bill. Hopefully, this will help reduce his bill, but we’ll see. (and no, the charges for the icemaker install were not on his bill!)   

Thursday, October 14^th., 2021…...  I got a call today that the car was done so Cathye took me over there. We stopped for breakfast along the way and when I got the car, we headed back home. Later in the afternoon, we headed back out again, this time for a haircut. I really like her shop, so she makes appointments together there for both of us. We got that done and stopped and picked up dinner to take home.

Friday, October 15^th., 2021……  Today we discovered Jama had an issue with her kidneys. She had peed in the house (not usual) and Cathye said it smelled BAD! We called the vet later in the morning and they assumed she had a uti and we should try to get a urine sample. Yeah, that will be easy! They said to use a soup ladle to capture it and get it to them to test. Well, that didn’t happen today and probably won’t until her appointment next week. But Jama acts and looks normal, and has had these issues before, so we will just have to wait and see…    

Saturday, October 16^th., 2021…… We have been waiting and waiting for the lawn to dry out enough to be able to mow. I think today is the day!  So, I texted my sister and she was available to come and help. Cathye had a breakfast scheduled with her volunteer group this morning, but I needed some time anyway for the dew to evaporate. The sun cooperated but it was still pretty damp when we started out around 1:00pm.  The girls used the lawn tractors – without baggers – so they were good to go and got most of the field and around the side yard mowed with no issues. I decided to set the cutter way up on the zero turn since the lawn was super long!  It was the right call, and I was able to get through most of it without clogging up the bagger hose too many times. We did have a full truck load to dump though but once we were back from that task, we were done!  The negative from that is that the lawn is still pretty tall and thick 

and the rains are coming in the next weeks ahead, so I don’t know when the next mowing will be.     

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #60 – On the Road to Home & Getting Back and Gearing Down!

  

Sunday, October 3^rd., 2021…… Today was getaway day! We weren’t the first to leave this morning. Most everyone got going while we went out to breakfast with Rick and Janie. Once we got back, I got everything going on the outside while Cathye worked on the inside. Right before we were ready, Mike Myers stopped me with a problem. He couldn’t get his slide to go in. I looked at it and discovered that the battery was too low to make it work. I had him start up the coach while I went ahead and moved mine out and drove out of the way around to the next row so we could hook up the car. By the time I got back to his coach, their slide was in, and I knew he would be okay, so we continued on our way. The trip today was 200 miles, back to the Bakersfield RV Resort. I had already made reservations with all three parks on the way home, so we were good. I think I counted 6 highways/freeways just to get to the I-5!  But traffic was pretty light on all of them on this Sunday morning, so we made pretty good time.  We got up the Grapevine with no issues and stopped for fuel at Flying J in Frazier Park, before heading on to Highway 99 and going on into the rv park. We got in early and had time to set up and relax. We get the member’s discount at the Crest Bar and Grill on site, so we walked over there and had a nice stroganoff dinner. It was delicious and we will save leftovers for dinner tomorrow. We walked the pups and then settled in and had a nice relaxing evening watching tv and went to bed early.    

Monday, October 4^th., 2021…… The drive today was 245 miles to Flag City RV in Lodi. From Bakersfield, I routed us back to the I-5 so we saw a little different scenery going back this way. It was a nice drive, but that interstate is beginning to show its age in some areas!  We timed it so we were in the park early in the afternoon. This park has a really nice area for the dogs to be off leash and run for a while. Once we had them worn out, we got back to the rig and changed into our suits and hit the spa. We had it to ourselves and enjoyed the time together! Later, we fed the dogs and then ate our leftovers and watched tv until going out for one last walk and then calling it a night.  

Tuesday, October 5^th., 2021……  We were up early and since I had to unhook the car to fit into our site, we decided to drive out and go try the Hollywood Diner again. The website showed it was still open for breakfast and lunch and I remember the chorizo and eggs being delicious, so we left the doggos and headed there. It was as I remembered it.

They weren’t busy so we had excellent service and were out of there and back to break camp in record time.  The drive to Friendly RV in Weed CA was 265 miles but the weather and the traffic were both excellent and we got there just after the 1:00pm check-in time.  Our site was ready, and we drove right in. No need to unhook the car

but I did need to connect up the water and sewer lines so I could do a good dump and flush tomorrow before we take it home and park it away. We spent the day being lazy and walked the dogs and then walked over to check out the Flying J/Pilot truck stop store. Nothing there of interest. We did see a tiny house parked there. 

It seemed almost too tall for the road. I sure wouldn’t want to have to tow that too far!  We ate a light meal and got rid of some of the food we had left in the fridge. Last night on the road!    

Wednesday, October 6^th., 2021…… Today’s drive home was 287 miles. We got up and got going early. This was the ONLY day on the whole trip that we had any kind of weather. It was misting when we got up and when we walked the dogs and when we were getting ready but stopped soon after that. But the roads were still wet as we climbed the Siskiyou Summit so the tow car got pretty dirty!  We got a call yesterday from daughter Maryanne, who was out in her motorhome with her friend Brighette, on a reconnaissance trip to Idaho, where Brighette is looking to move to soon. They were returning from there and were in Washington state and were heading back to our house and wanted to see us, so I convinced them to stay overnight (since I have rv parking!) and we’d see them whenever we got in today. Yaay!

I did have enough fuel to get home, but I wanted to park the coach in the garage for the winter with a (near) full tank, so I stopped at the Flying J in Oakland OR. to top off. We got in around 2:30pm and got everything unhooked and parked safely away. It was nice to be home even though I now have the task of mowing the lawn to look forward to!  The weather has definitely changed since we left. Winter is hinting in the air. They have had several rain showers here and the grass is green and thick! But too wet to mow right away.  Maryanne and Brighette were here, and sis came by. Cherrelyn had been here while we were gone to stay and look after the place, but she went home last night or early this morning. Thanks, sweetie, for taking care of everything while we were gone! When we got finished unloading, the girls informed us that they had dinner plans already in place. They had gone shopping and – get this – bought bbq ribs, chicken, pulled pork, mashed potatoes, beans, corn on the cob, salad, and dessert and prepped everything for our large feast!  It was yummy!

We visited and Cathye did some laundry, and we had some wine and relaxed after that for the evening. We said our goodbyes tonight because they were planning on getting up and out on the road before 6:00am tomorrow. We went to bed early and had a nice sleep in our own home! 

Thursday, October 7^th., 2021…...  I was up with Rylee early in the morning but back in bed before 6. I did hear sounds and saw the lights as they backed out of the driveway. It was right at 6:00am!  She says they are planning on driving straight thru to Westminster (over 900 miles!) in one day!  Glad they are young because my days of doing that are way behind me now!!  We rolled out of bed and began our day. Cathye went over to check on her place, and I made the rounds around here. Everything was good except for that blasted grass! Showers and/or overcast skies mean that I can’t even think about it for a while! I cleaned up some more things in the coach. I was pleased as I could be that we had no major issues. The rv ran great and everything worked as it should. We did break a string on one of the pull up day/night shades in the bedroom, but that is an easy fix (but removal of the shade is tight!). I also want to change up a few things and we will be shopping for some different décor and more convenience items, including phone mounts, cords as well. No hurry on any of that though.  We ate leftover bbq and pork and such and just relaxed and planned what we need to do in the next couple of days.

Friday, October 8^th., 2021……  This morning I had to plan for my covid booster shot. I had made an appointment while we were traveling, and this morning, I had to drive to Walgreen’s in Albany to get the shot. I had also requested the first of two shingles shots at the same time. Cathye had the Moderna shots, so she was not eligible for the booster at this time. So, I headed out by myself and made it to Albany ahead of my 10:30 check-in time.  I was not impressed with how they handled the whole process at this particular location. Even though they had two separate lines for covid, they only had one person in the pharmacy for whatever you needed, and the person working was taking way too much time, so it backed up quickly. But I got through it and got the shots – one in each arm. I need to put a calendar reminder in my phone to schedule the second shingles shot for 2 months out. I got back home and didn’t have much planned for the day. I didn’t have a reaction to the two initial covid vaccines, but he said I might for the shingles shot. So, I took it easy for the rest of the day. Mild soreness in the shingles arm but nothing else.  Cathye and I had the last of the leftovers and went to bed early.

Saturday, October 9^th., 2021…… Ok, a minor reaction…. I had the chills last night and couldn’t get warm. I never took my temperature and she said I was not warm, so I didn’t take anything more than Tylenol. When I woke up this morning, I was fine and had no soreness at all. Go figure. Cathye’s friend, Lona, who is immunocompromised, was able to get the Moderna shot ahead of the general population. She got the vaccine last week and had a terrible reaction and is still not feeling well. I hope it goes better when Cathye is allowed to get hers!  We spent most of today working on getting Cathye moved into the trailer. The last guy (Randy) working there, has finished up her list, but she still needs an electrician to work on a few things. And someone to tackle the icemaker install. But she can still live there. I needed to get into the heater cabinet, but Randy made it a slide-in unit instead of putting the door on a hinge, so it took some disassembly to get to the thermostat that was laying on the unit. I got it open, and she set the temperature and we re-installed it and will meet with him later today to get it fixed. We ran some errands and got back to the trailer to meet up with Randy and to go over a few things. I think I’m going to repair the heater door myself. He will be installing the vent on the back side of the heater cabinet, and I will do the door. Cathye has decided to stay the night there. I will miss her, but I understand.  We came home and watched tv for a while, then she left to go home. It will be a quiet night tonight for sure!

☹

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #59 – Bonelli Bluffs, and on to Hemet!

 

Sunday, September 26^th., 2021……  A lazy day for me. I woke up and took the dogs out and then Cathye called. She had a late night at the reception because she was on the clean-up team. But all was good and she’s ready for the day. They are going out to breakfast and then will spend some more time together and then head to the airport. I hope PHX is going to be ok with her temporary license. She will probably have to show her Costco photo again! Haha!

Meanwhile, I caught up on my blog and got also got a returned call from one of my high school buds. Jerry Jeter is now in Florida, and I got his number the other day and he called back. We talked for a bit and got caught up. I took the dogs out for a good long walk, and we watched the folks breaking camp and heading out after their weekend outings. Some folks have it down to a calm science and others are panicked!  Fun to watch!

Around 2:30, I headed toward the airport but decided I needed another Weinerschnitzel fix and stopped at one on the way. I got to the airport and found the cell phone waiting lot. I got her call, got her safely back in my arms and we are back together again!  Yaay!  I sure missed her.   We came back to the rig and sat outside and enjoyed the evening. We shared the burrito leftover from yesterday and she really liked that I saved her some! Early night. 

Monday, September 27^th., 2021…… This morning I found out that Cathye’s stepson from Phoenix (Chris) was driving his wife (Angie) to Newport Beach for some much-needed R & R after the wedding and reception.  They left around 5:00am and we invited them to come by here for breakfast before heading over to their hotel. Cathye made a huge breakfast feast and we sat outside and had a nice visit while we ate. They left and I cleaned the dishes and then we rested for a bit. We decided to head out to run some errands. I had found a Smart & Final store close by and wanted to check to see if they had my much-craved Ramona’s burritos in stock. They did! I stocked up and we headed out. Ken and Sandie were in the area and asked if we were in San Dimas, but they were with another couple and couldn’t stop by. So, we stayed out for lunch and the next stop was In & Out!  She had never been, and the lines weren’t too bad. We had our double doubles and fries and shakes, and she was marginally impressed. We came back home and found later that we didn’t need much of a dinner, so we chose a chef’s salad and apple slices with caramel dip. We watched Dancing with the Stars and called it a night.      

Tuesday, September 28^th., 2021……  The weather is gloomy but that’s ok. The temps are down for now. Tomorrow they say will be way hotter! We got going, walked and fed the pups, and then headed off to breakfast. Norm’s Hanger today…  It was a quiet morning there and we got in and sat on the patio. Not too much aircraft activity but it was nice there and the food was pretty good too.  Nothing planned for the morning. Rick and Janie are coming by at 2:00pm to visit with the plan to go off together to San Gabriel to The Galley for ‘linner’. We sat around and enjoyed the lazy day and then fed the dogs and headed off. I had never driven there from this location, so I needed gps to get there. It was 35 minutes and we saw the back side of San Gabriel. The meal at the Galley was really good. They are part of the old North Woods Inn conglomerate, so they serve the really good purple cabbage salad, and they also have the cheese bread that North Woods Inn is famous for. I ordered extra!  After that, we headed west and drove Colorado Blvd. and did the Rose parade route backwards from Sierra Madre and ended up at Orange Grove Blvd. where they always film from. We also detoured into a palatial neighborhood and saw some of the homes of the rich and famous.  Well, rich anyway! We got back and rested, and they left to head home, and we walked the dogs and watched tv until bedtime.     

Wednesday, September 29^th., 2021…… Today was touring day!  We walked and fed the dogs then headed out with them for the day. The plan was to stop and have breakfast (McDonald’s) and then got to Norwalk and my old haunts there. We found a mickey d’s and ate and then went by the house. This is a side view. They have added a carport and driveway in the back yard. Sad. Boy, it has gone downhill! 

Sad, because most of the other houses on the street (Sproul St.) were kept up pretty nicely. We stopped at Norwalk Park and let the dogs walk for a bit. They still have the old Sproul House on the park premises, and it was looking good.

We went by my high school (Norwalk High) and my community college (Cerritos College) and then headed to Long Beach, where I drove us by the old Douglas Aircraft/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing facility where I worked. Most everything is gone and what’s left is Boeing support or re-utilized buildings for some other companies. I drove to the 710 and continued on to downtown Long Beach. We drove out to the Queen Mary and then cruised over the route that the Indy Cars raced on in the Long Beach Grand Prix. We drove down Ocean Blvd. and stopped at Cherry Beach so she could go dip her toes in the water!  No dogs allowed, so I had to stay up top and take pics!

From there, we drove over to the kids house in Westminster. Randy had been to Camping World and got a few items I had requested, and I picked those up. Before we said our goodbyes, we heard some jets in the air!  I caught the Blue Angels in flight right over the kid’s house!  There is an airshow in Long Beach this weekend and they were out practicing.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to San Dimas and rested up from the day. Later, we walked the dogs and came back to find out the left rear tire on the Honda was flat! I got the old one off and the spare on and we headed out to get it repaired.

No luck, most everything was closed for the day. I will go back tomorrow morning. We ate in and relaxed and prepped the rig a little for our trip out tomorrow morning.         

Thursday, September 30^th., 2021…...  First order of business today was to get the tire repaired. I went back to the place, and they got me in and serviced pretty quickly. Funny, in Oregon, they do not charge you to fix a tire, hoping for your future business, I guess. Not here. They charged me $30 bucks!  But it was all good and they had me on my way in 35 minutes. We got the rig ready and headed out. Today’s destination was Golden Village Palms in Hemet. The drive was easy and surprisingly the traffic was light and we got into camp a little after noon. They had our club in back-in sites that were very tight, but I got in and parked ok. We are here with the Camping Squares again for another outing. But this time, the club is sharing the campground with two other FMCA clubs. We have a total of 49 rigs. One of the other clubs has taken charge and even though we attended a meet-and-greet, it was really their meeting. We heard from several about how the weekend was going to go. Not exactly what we expected or wanted, but we kept quiet.  We had already been in the pools and spas and went there again after the meeting. We got out and got dressed and went down to the happy hour beerfest dealy. Not sure why they called it Octoberfest because the park was not allowed to serve alcohol. They did have a surprisingly good karaoke host who sang well and accompanied anyone who wanted to do a song. No, we did not do that! But we did dance. Macarena (Cathye), electric slide (me), and a slow dance and a two-step. It was fun. Our first dance!  Awww!  They are supposed to have a beerfest garden this weekend, so without beer, we will see how that goes.        

Friday, October 1^st., 2021……  I had to wear the duck that I had received last outing. It was given to me by Janie (just because I came the farthest to the campout!). 

Now, at this outing, I get to watch folks and see who I will bestow it upon. We had an enjoyable day, visiting and lounging around the campground. The other two clubs were socially distant but most of our group accepted it and was ok with that. The weather was hot!  We had short windows only in the morning and late in the afternoon when we could walk the dogs on the pavement. But they were happy to be out and content when they were in the cool ac in the coach! Later in the day, we met up with everyone (all three groups) in the small club room for ‘heavy hors d’oeuvres’. Cathye had made her triple berry cobbler, but we decided not to share with that group!. I had gone to the store to buy whipped cream for the dessert but brought back teriyaki chicken and we just heated that up. We will save the dessert for our group!  The interaction was better this time, but we did get another experience with their club’s game night rules that they were going to host later.  No worries, we were not attending anyway. The park set up a tent and for tonight, they had a hip DJ dude who had to play German oompah music and since it turned out to be ‘byob’ there was no one there!  They brought in a cheese sandwich truck (?) and we bought one (for tomorrow) just to support those folks.  We headed back to the pools and spa and relaxed and visited with friends before calling it a night.

Saturday, October 2^nd., 2021…… As mentioned, the campground was supposed to be hosting an “Octoberfest”, with food trucks and beer and music. Since they messed this all up, they decided to refund each rig $25.00. That was a good start. They did host a craft faire, and a few in our club set up and sold some of their handmade items. I hear they did pretty well! They also had a pet parade, but we passed on that as well. One of our group did bring their pet tortoise (yes, they travel with it as well as birds! go figure!) and walked it in the parade! I don’t know who won but I heard it was fun! Later, we went to their dinner and dance in the main clubhouse. The park manager met with each of our groups and said they were sorry they messed up. They would be bringing wine in for us to have. Not drink it there – just have!  Well, that didn’t work out too well! They had a dance band – a group who only wanted to play 70s and 80s rock – not our thing, and most of us figured out where to get wine pullers and glasses and it was on!  

Like I said, not our music but some folks did get up and dance. We left there and went and got our swim suits and hit the pools and spas and relaxed for the rest of the evening. It was a fun time, even though things didn’t go exactly as planned. Oh, I did find a candidate for the duck. Actually two.  But neither one showed up for the meeting where the duck presentation and the fines were done. The pic shows me passing it on to no one! 

But I found my guy (Mark) at the dance and presented it there!  He gets to wear it next month.  

 Tomorrow, we head out on our way home.