We have a new friend to share our lives

I know it's been a long time since we've posted any blogs but a lot of things have happened in our lives, making it difficult to find the time to sit and write our blog.

Tonight I'm trying a couple of new things, first, we hit the black Friday sales and learned that at Staples they had Dragon Naturally Speaking software at a great price. The software enables you to just talk into the computer any transfers addenda type for you which is what I'm doing right now. I'm still getting a little used to the software and how it works in some of the different little quirks ago with software but it seems to be working pretty good.

I wanted to bring you up-to-date on something that's been going on around here at the Fretts household though over the last month or so. After a couple years of being without a dog we were asked to take a serious look at a new pointing griffon dog. This is the same type dog Mark as his beloved Hans who is one of the best hunting dogs that I've seen around in a long time. Griffon dogs are normally pointing dogs used for field work such as pheasants quails and things along those lines, but after seeing pictures of the dogs we fell in love with one's very special dog that seem to really want to come home to Western Washington. These dogs are located just outside of Spokane a day at a kennel and breeder and they happen to have two litters of pups at the same time from the kennel and were looking for ways to get rid of or I should say to adopt out a lot of the dogs fairly quickly.

So we get this call from Mark who tells us about these dogs that are available and how they are rather the cutest thing that ever has been seen. He said several pictures and there was one that seem to stand out throughout all the pictures. I was very hesitant to take a dog as we get ready to go to Hawaii again and in January and didn't really want to take on the responsibility of having a small pet in the house that was good to require a lot of care. Then there was one picture that was sent and that's all it took, we found the dog or should I say the dog had found us even though it was through pictures.

We asked Mark to do a couple puppy tests to make sure that she was the right pup for us. She seemed to do very well on the puppy tests and was passing with flying colors. I get a call from Mark and he's sold on the dog and fallen in love with this particular little female and wants us to consider adopting her. I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and give it a try.

So Mark picked up the puppy and brought her home to his house for the first night and agreed he was coming over the next day and so he would bring her with him and we would get all set up and see how things worked out. Now what we name this pup? There so many names that come to mind but that one picture stood out and maybe want to call her Maggie so we talked about it and we shared it with the grandchildren. After long consultations and a little bit of bribery Maggie it was! I don't know why but she just looked like a Maggie dog to me.

We got numerous reports throughout the evening and night from Mark as to how she was doing and he was amazed at how smart she was for just being seven weeks old at the time. The next morning he set off from Spokane and headed west with our new little treasure.

Maggie seem to get along well with his two dogs both Hans and times but Tubbs seemed a little bit kicked out a joint because he was having to share his bed with her but everything seemed to work out that night and she was doing okay going out go to the bathroom. The next morning as Mark was headed west he told us the story of when they went out to go to the bathroom in the morning that all sudden Maggie went on point and just stood there while the other two dogs went out about their business. Soon Maggie will move forward and went into the brush and up comes a Quayle out of the brush on the back of his property. Mark was both proud and disappointed because a seven week old puppy had just shown up his dog on who is this grizzled veteran at bird hunting.

Soon Mark was in Western Washington but he had to stop and can't wear his fiancée Amber was staying for the time to introduce her to little Maggie. It seemed like it was a little bit of a struggle to get her away from Amber as they fell in love immediately. Once we finally convinced him that it was our dog and that she needed to come further west Maggie made her last little trip towards the coast and her new home was soon to be found.

The second she came out of the truck it was love at first sight. What a beautiful little puppy she was and she was so affectionate and seem to be what seemed to want to be friends so much. We let her explore the property and the backyard and get used to her new surroundings she seemed to fit right in. But now the work really started.

I guess this brings me to the reason for this blog and why am keeping track of everything that's going on. It's not so much to inform people about what's what took place the first few weeks in and/or months with Maggie but kind of a way of keeping track of things for ourselves, and why not share our fun adventures with Maggie and I have to be honest there some not so fun memories so already.

Day one was interesting to say the least when you have a seven week old dog or should I say she turned eight weeks the day we got her, her attitude and personality was already coming through. It was fun to watch her explore and to see how her attitude was while she explored the surroundings of the new home. Then there was the cat's we had to introduce her to both ki ki and Darrell. Neither seemed all that impressed nor excited to have somebody else getting in on their attention.

That first day was very interesting as we tried to figure out how she was doing things and what was going on with potty training we knew that it was good to be a little bit of work with her but I know how much. I was very surprised to find out the shortly after she's got settled into the house she was still having a little bit of problem let us know about going potty but she already was going to the door wanting out to do her business outside. What a smart dog Maggie is.

Day two was Saturday and we had things we had to do that day. This may be very nervous as she had just traveled across the state had even got settled in yet for an eight-week-old pup she has a lot of learning and socialization to do before she really feels comfortable being around her new home in an surroundings.

But with things the way they were, we needed to attend a memorial for a good friend who passed away a short time ago. But we had no supplies whatsoever for our new found puppy initiated only been a matter of about three days since she had come into our lives we needed a kennel for her, dog food, toys, and just about anything else you can think of that a young puppy at that age would need.

So we left a little early for our our trip down to Raymond, and stop by Dells Farm supply in Montesano. We found a crate for dog treats and several other little toys for her to play with and soon it was off to Raymond. Maggie didn't seem to like being in the crate that much in China wind a little bit for a part of the trip down. But soon she settled down and laid down with some of her toys and can arrested, after all it is been a tough couple of days for her and she didn't know what to expect from here.

We attended the memorial and Raymond and after the service was over we immediately went back out to the car to get her hooked up and take her for a walk. Lori decided to go out and grab her hooker upping bringer furl take her for a walk to try to get her to go to the bathroom. I soon came out of the memorial to find Maggie on the sidewalk next to the front door with approximately 15 people standing around giving her all kinds of attention and what was even worse was she was accepting it and just enjoying every moment. I knew this dog was good to be very social from that point on because she had no idea what was going on but yet she really enjoyed being around people.

Over the next few days Maggie settled in and got into her routine but it was soon time for work and trying to figure out how we were going to do this with a new puppy and both of us working full-time. I decided that I would come home whenever possible for lunch in an attempt to get her out before she would have of accident. First couple of days was a little rough but soon she was get the hang of it issues get used to her new surroundings and getting used to trusting me to get home in time.

We jump to spring 2013.  Maggie has become part of the family and is one of thos dogs that are very special to their family.  Her constant energy is a problem sometimes, but with a couple trips behind us, she has become our camp dog.  She does very well and enjoys her many walks.  Life is good and we hope to share many adventures with Maggie.

Maiden voyage of our new pickup

Maiden voyage of our new tow vehicle

Couple weeks ago I was minding my own business driving around the Centralia area. I happen to drive by that Dodge dealer and noticed to brand-new Dodge pickup sit and out front I had been wondering for quite some time about my old pickup truck you it wasn’t that old but I was having problems with it. It seemed every time that we went somewhere or traveled somewhere a trouble light came on her there was some kind of a problem.

I guess the final straw was when we went to Wenatchee to watch Peyton’s baseball tournament. On the way over the truck seem to perform just fine but on is soon as we pulled out to head for home yet another trouble light came on.

I called the Dodge dealer here in Aberdeen and asked them take a look at my truck and of course they couldn’t get me in for an appointment for several days. So on a suggestion from a Shawn I stopped to cut rate auto parts and had them check the trouble like to find out what was going on with it. It showed that I was having some kind of a fault with the thermostat which made sense because my temperature Going up and down in the truck. Now why am I telling you all about my old truck.

Brings me back to driving through Centralia and I spot these two new Dodge pickup sit in on the lot.

I noticed they had a special price in the window and it seemed like it was awfully good pricing. Almost too good to believe so I figured there was a bunch of rebates and that I would be able to qualify for. I noticed one was silver and the other one was the dark mineral gray which is always been my favorite color as I decided to give him a call the next morning and see what they had to say.

While on the phone I learn about all the different rebates that they were offering and a couple of factory incentives back to the dealership as these were 2012 3500 pickups. I did some calculations and crunched a bunch of numbers and realize that this was a very good opportunity in a very good deal. The dealership promised that they would give me a fair price for my trade-in so I went for. We drove down Saturday morning and within a couple hours we were driving our new truck home. Now all I have to do is get ready for camping.

It seems that a lot of dealerships want to sell you new trailer hitches a new fifth wheel hitches but not many want to put in an existing hitch to there’s not a whole lot of money in it. After several calls and a lot of frustration I finally found a dealership for Paul right in the Olympia area. They agreed to install my hitch for $300. They also had the electrical plug relocation kit in stock so I went ahead and bought one of those also and put that in myself. Now the truck is ready to go at all we need to do is have a decent weekend to be a will to go try it out.

Mother’s Day weekend was fast approaching and we decided that it was time to drive back down to Woodburn Oregon and stay at the Portland Woodburn RV Park. We love this park because it’s just right across the fence from the outlet stores and Lori can just shop all day if she wants to. It’s also not that far from Washington Square which is a huge mall and has lots of different types of stores. Now to just find the time to go down there and guess what, the weather started get in better pretty soon they were forecasting 80° weather it was time to go.

As the day neared I realized I had drivers training scheduled up in Auburn Washington that day. It would be a long day as I had to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning drive up to Auburn, take the take the course, drive back home, and then hook get the trailer ready to go in head South.

I got back home at 3 o’clock Lori had everything loaded and we were ready to go Maggie was running around the yard just wait for opportunity to get the truck. She loves to go traveling and loves to camp. Soon we were on the road headed south and 75 to 80° temperatures depending on where you’re at.

We stopped at a rest area just down south of centrally and took a couple minutes to check out the truck in the make sure everything was working right.

My initial observations on the new truck were great I’m very happy with what I’ve got now, the truck rides well, it has a lot more power, and the gas mileage seems to be a little bit better than my 07 Dodge was. I wasn’t sure why there was so much difference but I soon realized I had made a good decision in buying this truck. Lori and I both were enjoying the trip is as wasn’t Maggie she had a full backseat now to sit on and relax.

It was very surprising as we went to Portland, you it’s usually very busy through that entire area and it takes quite a while. Today there was hardly any traffic we stated the freeway speed all the way through town and state on I5 all the way south. It was a welcome surprise as we are still getting used to how the brakes worked on the new trailer controller. Soon we were pulling into the Woodburn RV Park and had our site all set up. The truck was easy to hook up and unhook. Not much difference from the other truck except for’s it’s a little bit taller. It was nice that they put us down on the end of the park near the dog park giving Maggie a lot of room to run around whenever she got the chance.

It was just a little after 8 o’clock and Lori thought the store stayed open until nine so we walked across to the was a very nice evening and decided to just check things out. We found out the stores a closed at 8 o’clock in the sidewalk over see if we could find ice cream at any of the fast food places right there in that little area. But it was for not because none of them had ice cream, one fast food place carries milkshakes all the time had a broken machine which upset Maggie quite a bit she was seen at the door waiting for somebody to come out that had a uniform on so she could take a bite cheek out to show her appreciation for their broken machine.

We settled in a relaxed for the evening and soon were your embed but it was pretty warm still and difficult to sleep for a while till the trailer cool down. Bright and early the next morning we were on the road after breakfast and headed to Washington Square.

Lori and I went to Macy’s and we found a dress for Lori and also some clothes for grandma Munson in the store. Lori was pretty happy about her fines wanted to continue looking just in case there was something else there. It was nearing lunchtime so we walked through the mall over to the cheesecake factory. It was already nearing 2 o’clock in the afternoon and as we walked and we could see the place was completely crowded with people. When I checked in it was good to be at least a 40 minute wait which was not something we wanted to do. We are Lord our heads walked off and decided that we were ago just get a quick sandwich back at the trailer.

After a quick lunch Maggie went there kennel and we walked across to the outlet stores had to do some serious shopping. It was now in the upper 80s but there was a lot of humidity now because of the approaching storm front. It didn’t take very long walking between the stores before I was pretty well worn out had relegated myself to sitting on benches wait for her to continue going through the stores. She did pretty good but she too was getting tired because of the heat. After spending a little bit more money and finding some neat buys we decided to call it an afternoon and headed back to the trailer.

Shortly after we returned to the trailer some people pulling a toy hauler pulled into the site next to us. We notice the plates on the truck and trailer bowls from South Carolina and we were intrigued that they could be that far away from home at this time of year. As they were setting up we engaged in some casual conversation a course Maggie played the routine of the outcome pet me and beautiful. We learned that this couple kneel and Mary were on a 49 state Odyssey. They had set out a little over six months ago and were going to ride the motorcycle which happened to be upon the Gold wing in every state in the in the 49 contiguous states.

Lori Maggie and I cooked up some nice hamburgers and enjoyed a nice Dinner that evening it was still in the 80s but it was very nice nose a light breeze made it very comfortable to sit outside and enjoy the evening. Soon we were talking again with Neil and Marion they came over and sat told us their stories of their travels with their trailer and truck and motorcycle. Seems right after they bought their toy hauler and set out on their journey, they started having all kinds of issues. It seemed like one thing after another would break down requiring more warranty work as they traveled. They driven up from southern Oregon today and while in route lost their water pump. As a were setting up they turned on the air conditioning and went for a ride on their Gold wing. Upon their return they found out that the air-conditioning was pumping out hot air instead of cold and now they needed more repairs. We had a great conversation with him throughout the night and was amazed by some of their stories as they traveled across the United States. They’re going to stay around this area for a while and then there headed to Alaska to be part of the caravan before they start to work their way back across the top of the United States and some portions of Canada. We realized it was getting late and everyone was tired so was time to turn in for the night and said our goodbyes.

Sunday morning I made Lori rectus for Mother’s Day, and sat enjoying our coffee for the morning. It was still warm outside almost 70°, so made it hard to leave. We can see the clouds on the horizon a new that the reins and some when were coming our way but were really surprised at how nice it was outside. We got all loaded up and as soon as we were leaving the park Maggie was already asleep she’d had a very busy weekend.

I guess the only problem that we had all weekend was Saturday afternoon when Maggie and I decided to walk over to Starbucks is was just on the other side of the parking lot from where we were staying. We went into the drive-through lane to order a copy to take back to the trailer and nobody would answers on the intercom. After several minutes finally somebody yelled from the other window that they don’t serve pedestrians in the drive-through lane even though there were no cars nobody around no problem. I walked up to the lady and asked her what the problem was that I couldn’t come inside because of the dog. She explained that their liabilities will not allow us to be served at the drive-through window and went on in quite length about the rules and regulations at which time I stopped or said you know you could of had our drinks ready by the time you got finished telling me this. The lady smiled and told me that I can come in with dog and if anyone asked I could to say it was a service dog. I told her that after two seconds anybody would realize that Maggie is not a service dog if she is still a little wild being so young. I also explained her that I feel comfortable saying something that wasn’t true just to get in the order coffee she turned and walked away for me at that point. I intern walked away from her and didn’t buy any coffee I was now in a pretty foul mood. I got overwritten later we went and had a cup coffee anyway Maggie did find she said outside well or a wedding got our coffee it just was aggravating with the way she was acting.

On her way home Sunday, we always like to stop in Hazel Dell, at the Safeway store. I fueled up Lori and Maggie walked across and got there walk out of the way before I was done. At the other end of the parking lot is a nice Starbucks or we can sit outside watch traffic and enjoy the company of each other. We enjoyed our coffee and soon it was time to continue heading north we could tell we were getting close as soon as we started to head back for the truck there were a few sprinkles dropping on her head. It was still pretty warm outside the mid-70s and that surprised me. But of course as you get closer to Grays Harbor you start noticing the temperature gauge dropping like a rock and soon we were in the upper 50s with heavy rain as we neared our home. It only took a few minutes to get everything unloaded and soon we were inside relaxing and reminiscing about our fun weekend on her maiden voyage trip of the new truck.

Next trip is over the Memorial Day weekend were hauling supplies over to Mark and Ambers house and Cheney and can spend four days over in that area when I can spend it all with the those two because we have some other things we want to see.  See you on a road in be safe.

Is it Spring?

It's 1230 on Friday and it's all I can do to concentrate on work.  Time for a command decision...yep cant waste what promises to be a great and sunny weekend.

I pulled out my RPI card and called.  I was hoping to score a site at the Seaside Resort, a Thousand Trails resort that is very nice and not too far away.  Sure enough, we got a site and after making the reservation, I excitedly called Lori to tell her what I felt was good news.   I was met with a wife who sounded terrible and advised she was headed to the doctor after work.  I offered to cancel, but she told me she could lay around in the trailer as well as at home.

We had not done anything to ready the trailer, but it is pretty well set up for quick escapes.  I headed home and loaded the fridge, put some clean clothes in and hitched up.  I was ready to roll as Lori pulled in just before five.

Soon we were on the road and as we headed south, the beautiful sunset gleamed off the ocean and soon settled into a starlit night which made for an enjoyable ride south.  I do not like to travel in the dark with the trailer, but light traffic and clear skies was relaxing.

Shortly after seven, we arrived at the park.  Although it is a much better system, I hate having to pick my own site, especially at night, but it is what it is.  We drove around the loops hoping to spot that perfect site, and found a small loop off the beaten path.  Lori stood behind with a light and with little effort, we were parked, set up and ready to have drink and relax.  Lori was pretty much under the weather, so we had some 'medicine' together and slept very well.

Saturday brought warm and sunny weather.  After breakfast, we went to the indoor pool and hot tub.  Very nice and clean. We both relaxed and enjoyed pool time.

Back at our site, I put-zed around for awhile outside and then a frightening thought came over me.  Last September we put the barbecue away while at Sand Lakes wet.  We had awoke to a nasty rain storm and I hastily put stuff away wet.  I promised myself I would dry it out when we got home.  Guess what, forgot all about it.  I pulled it out expecting a rust bucket with things growing, but wow, no rust, a little furry in spots, but after I fired it up, it cleaned up well and another one of my senior moments has a happy ending.

 It hit 63 and we decided to go look for a coffee shop downtown in Seaside.  As we drove past the outlet mall, I asked if she wanted to stop and she declined!  Should I get her to an ER?  Lori and shopping go hand in hand.  For her to turn it down was a very big clue to just how bad she felt.  We parked and found the town to be packed with people and several local events taking place. we walked to the beach and was surprised to find it crowded with people and animals.  What a nice day for all to escape winter for awhile and make the best of our winter break in the weather.

As we walked, we found a coffee shop on a side street and stopped for a cup.  We were surprised at how good it was.  What a nice find and made for a nice stop.

We headed headed back to our site and settled in for the night.  Lori had bout Chicken Parmesan and a spare rib for dinner.  I nuked it and we feasted like royalty.  bed time came soon and we drifted off to a fairly goods nite sleep.  When the main heater comes on it tends to warm up alot in the bedroom.  I know I should turn it down a bit, but with Lori's crud, I left it warm.

I awoke around seven to a cold trailer.  Yep, tank one had gone empty.  I had to flip the switch and we were back in the heat.  We were in no hurry to get home so it was tv, coffee, more coffee and breakfast.  We were set and ready to hit the road home.

It seems about this time every winter, we get that taste of spring, you know, kind of a teaser.  It lulls us into that false feeling that better weather is on the way and we have seen the last of the snow and ice.  Got home to see rain in the forecast...oh well, I'll take our little hiatus in the sun and go back to work with a little tan and a smile!

California or Bust!!!

When I sat down to write this blog entry, I realized it has almost been a year since my last entry.  Theirs a reason for that, I guess.  My work life took a dramatic turn right after our trip to Hawaii and things got a little turned around.

Shortly after our  arrival back to rain and cold, I went to work knowing my time in investigations was nearing the end.  I knew I had four years and would be returning to the road.  It was no big deal and I had an invisible date circled on my calender for retirement.  That date was June of 2012.  This would work well for my retirement paycheck and I could possibly go without another job.

Then a short time later, I was just cruising the net and decided to check out jobs.  I ran across this position for the state and to make it better, it was in Aberdeen!  Wow, these things don't come around often.  I chose to apply and after resumes, interviews, sleepless nights and much soul searching, I, with Lori's blessing, accepted the job.  I had pretty much given up on the position and finally towards the end of Janurary, I received a call.

My start date was February 1.  I had little time to let the news and decision set in.  I was off to a new adventure and new friends.  It was very difficult to pull the plug and then start a new career all in two weeks time.  So, now you hopefully understand the absence a little.  I was in training for three months and working hard with no time off as I was anew guy.  This was very hard as I had become accustomed to having more time off than work!.  What a life to have to go back to real work hours.

So fast forward and here we are.  Months...well maybe weeks, okay, about two weeks into planning and we were off.  With my limited time off, I had to come up with creative time off 101.  A couple hours from here and 5.2 hours from there, add a holidy (labor day) and I had managed to get a full two weeks off.

Our destination this year was the San Fransisco area and then south towards  Las Vegas.  I only set up the first week as we were still making arrangements to possibly hook up with my brother Craig and his wife Debbie.  This left our trip pretty open so we could adjust for weather and things we wanted to do.

With the trailer packed and the truck ready, we were off on 9-2-2011.  Time on the road was about 2:41PM.  Tonight's destination was Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville Oregon.  This is a pretty good jump, but by making it that far south, we could make our first destination of Vacaville, CA on Saturday.  I was a bit nervous to be on the road in the afternoon on Labor day.  As we headed south, technology gave us an assist during a rest stop just north of Portland.  I used my phone to check the street maps of Portland and any travel alerts.  Turned out there was problems on both freeways, but I 205 was showing a little less problems going south.  We followed the advice and trusted the GPS to alert of of the exact trouble spots.  We soon found out the GPS was set to route us around problems and it kept trying to have us exit the freeway.  We stayed on and encountered heavy traffic just as we re entered I-5.  As soon as we got on I-5, a semi merged directly in front of us and hit the brakes.  I slammed on the brakes and literally came within inches of striking the trailer.

We picked shorts out and continued.  It was time for dinner and soon a rest area made for our first meal stop on the road. After a quick meal and rest stop, we were off to a much less busy freeway.  We made it to Seven Feathers around 9:30.  The office was closed, but they had a spot for us and within minutes we were set up.  We got settled and headed to the casino.  We were tired, but needed to move around a bit.  We found black jack video machines at the bar and soon a bottle of Pendletons was sighted.  We relaxed a bit and decided to play some cards and dice.  We walked out with enough to cover todays expenses, so we were off to a great start!

We awoke to sun and warming skies in Southern Oregon.  Lori made us a breakfast sandwich and after fuel, we were off and soon entering California.  One situation was brewing quickly as Lori was desperately trying to take charge of the log book in a futile attempt to somehow discredit me.  She knew it would be tough and I reminded her that people remember the good things and to put her evil pen down.  She seemed bent on logging my every trip to the bathroom and then making some sick and uncalled for comments.  It was at this time, I remembered we had forgot her 'special' meds to calm her on our trip.  What did I do?  How do I keep her sedated for the entire trip?  How do I keep her from being committed?  Now you see what I go through on a regular basis.  I only mention this as during packing, one...yes one phone cord was left home.  She was determined to exploit this but quieted when advised it was for her phone.  Enough said!

Just before noon, the skies were heating up quickly and it showed it was about 95 degrees as we neared Redding, CA.  I found a coffee stop and we ducked off the freeway.  Luck was with us as there was a Subway next door and we were able to sit and enjoy the sun for lunch

Back on the road and it was agin time for a fuel and Potty stop.  We pulled into a Pilot Travel center and waited for one vehicle to pull away from the pump.  They kept screwing around as I was about to whizz myself.  Finally a restroom and relief.  We found a car cord and were back in business for charging phones in the truck.  Vacaville was a short 23 miles away on I-505.  When we pulled into the Vineyard RV park, we went quiet.  It looked old and not very pleasant.  We went in the office and I remembered this park was the one with a new section.  We were set up and ready to vacation in no time.  Other campers next to us were very nice and we were treated to Hors De Ovaries and local wine.  We had a nice visit and settled in for the night. Lots to do and much to see.

WINE COUNTRY

The date, 9-4.  Today, we decided to hit wine country.  We were off and soon driving through the vineyards of Northern California.  First stop was Luna.  Very expensive and classy.  Too much for us.  Lori educated the staff about the Westport Winery and mentioned how she got drunk once off Annie Green Springs.  We were escorted off the property when she asked if their brewery (ya where are those pills when you really need them) was nearby.

Next stop was Silverado and a much more satisfying experience.  Lori found a very nice bottle of Zinfindal.  We enjoyed our journey through the many vineyards, but something  much more important loomed in my head.  Yes, where to eat lunch?  I had an ace in the hole though, several years ago, we traveled this very area on our Goldwing.  I remembered a world famous barbecue pit restaurant in Calistoga.  We found it and had a wonderful lunch.  Ribs and chicken. Lori loved the corn bread so much, she went for seconds.

As we worked our way south, we found the Black Stallion winery.  This vineyard sits on the grounds of an historic Equestrian center. A beautiful fountain and some very good wine highlighted this vinyard.

Our last stop was Castello Di Amorosa  http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/.  We toured the castle and ended up at the tasting room.  Lori and I both tasted as they had many selections.  She found a great Muscat Canelli which is best shared with chocolate.  This was an expensive stop for us and walked out with quite a haul!

The office staff back at the RV park told us we must stop at the olive oil company ad tastee the different offerings in this unique location.  Traffic was extremely heavy in this area and parking was quite the challenge.  I had to 'Talk' to several motorists and finally found a spot to park.  I had to potty real bad but sucked it up and followed Lori into the Olive oil place.  One taste and I was ready to leave.  This place did nothing for either of us.  A struggle to cross the street and I went to a tasting room to use the potty.  As I exited, Lori had a weird stare and she showed me the price of the cheapest wine...$200.00!  We discreetly left with the exception of the lunch revolting.  We cleared the building before the smell hit...  we took some video with my new HD Hero and when we got to the trailer, I went to load it on the computer and found that I had forgot the USB cord to upload the video.  This went viral with Lori and her evil pen again...Women.

VACAVILLE

Today was a goof off day and see some loal sights.  We headed to the Jelly Belly factory in nearby Fairfield.  We got there early and looked around.  It was Sunday so the factory was not operating.  The tour was still very interesting and we learned all bout Jelly Bellies.  Loaded with free samples

We headed to old town and found a great deli for a sandwich and Latte.  We walked through the nearby park and enjoyed the sun and scenery.

Lori told me a place the Munson family always stopped was called the Nut tree.  We stopped into this combination shopping mall and kids place to walk, get a new camera battery and USB cord and get some ice cream.  It was a nice place and Lori explained the changes she had seen since the last time her family visited.


Next stop was the outlet mall.  Have you ever seen a cat in the window start twitching when they see a bird.  This is Lori every time we pass a large shopping center.  I gave in and soon regretted it.  As I rounded the corner, there it stood.  One of natures greatest tributes to commerce.  Here was over one hundred stores covering several square blocks.  Soon the walking was getting to me and my feet were killing me.  Lori marched on from store to store, oblivious of my demise.  To illustrate how much we walked, half way through she bought new shoes!  A quiet evening with barbecue salmon, and all was good.  Some medicine washed it all down and we crowned this another good day.

San Fransisco Day one

We re arranged our day tours as we could not get tickets to Alcatraz till Wednesday.  We extended a day in the area and were glad as there was so much to see.  When we had our tourist briefing in the main office, another great piece of advice was to take the ferry from Vallejo to San Fransisco instead of driving or taking BART.  We headed to the terminal and bought tickets. The hour long ride across the bay was a great way to get the lay of the land and see all the points of interest. 

Soon we were on shore.  I wore jeans today and this would later play into our afternoon.  It was already in the 70's and warming.  We walked a block up and caught the trolly up the hill.  We got off at China Town and walked through the area.  It was a steep climb up the hill to catch another trolly to fishermans warf.  I was already having lets say heating problems in my pants and it was getting a little painful to walk.  As we got off the cable car, there sat a Starbucks calling our name.  A rest and then the beginning of death march 2011.  Straight up the hill as we headed for Giradelli's chocolate factory.  We walked in and Lori gladly took a sample from a tall exquisitely dressed woman...no  guy...no...oh God!  We found a place called Lori's Diner and guess where we ate lunch?  Pretty good though and we sat over looking the bay and Alcatraz.


We walked down to the waterfront and explored the stores, sights and everything there is about Fishermans warf.  With walking came pain, uncomfortable feeling and more pain.  We were an hour or so from our ferry ride back.  We walked the several blocks to catch the Hyde street cable car.  This would take us to the top of the hill and then catch the California line to the ferry terminal.  Simple right?    The Hyde Street loading zone stretched around the block and we were going nowhere fast.  A look at the map and we decided to head to Powell street and hopefully a quicker loading.  Only problem was as I looked at the map, we head this way...oh boy straight up the hill for four blocks and then left for four blocks.  Pushing the limit of my heart and blood pressure, we made it too the street where we turned left.  Son of a &%#$.  The street goes back down and if we had just followed the waterfront, it would have led us to Powell street on a nice level street. Did I mention I am now bleed ing and a transfusion now seems appropriate.  We caught the Cable car and all was better.

As we neared the top of the hill, I saw the other line cross and we exited the cable car.  Guess what?  Directions were from the other route and we were now stranded on the top of the hill looking about 20 blocks from the ferry landing.  Yup,  death march continued and we walked to the pier.  I passed out twice from blood loss, but as we neared, we both fell to the ground and gave thanks for delivering us to our ferry.  As I laid there, a nice lady gave me a dollar!  Did I look that bad?  I sat on the deck and cooled down for the trip back to Vallejo only to remember we had parked about a half mile away from the ferry landing.  Two different aid cars came to check on me as I stumbled and walked wide legged back to the truck whimpering in pain.  Today was a huge success with that asterisk set aside for injuries. Neo Sporin powder and Advil are standard tonight.

San Fransisco Day 2

We got to the ferry in time for a latte and cinnamon roll.  As we exited the ferry, we had 30 minutes to get to the loading area for the boat to Alcatrz.  I had recovered well and thought, it was a fairly short walk to pier 33.  By the time we caught a trolly and walked, it would be tight on time.  We looked, it didnt seem far, so off we went again.  Just kill me now!.  We needed to get to pier 33.  I looked up and we were at pier 3.  My medical condition quickly raised its ugly head and I still had to walk all around Alcatraz.  We got their in time and caught the boat.  Once on the island we were briefed and told the walk to the actual prison was the equivalent of a 13 story buiding climb...God, what I done to deserve this.  Do they have a first aid station at top?  Thankfully the wind was enough to keep the destruction down to a minimum.  We took the self guided audio tour and both had a very enjoyable visit.

Soon it was time to head back.  we were hungry and I remembered seeing a sign for Bubba Gumps at Pier 39.  Thats only 5 piers away! Right...another near mile walk and we found Bubba Gumps was all the way at the end of the pier.  We had one of the best meals ever, bought some shirts and caught a trolly back to the pier for our ferry ride.  The San Fransisco leg of our trip was a great success.  We were sad to leave as we had only taken in a fraction of the city, but we needed to head south.  Join us soon for our Southern exposure continues!

The End is Near

I am sitting at Starbucks in Kihei enjoying one last cup of coffee here on the islands.  Lori found room in one of her bags and is at ABC to buy last minute gifts.  We have had a wonderful time here on Maui and even though my attention span wains after a couple days, I have no desire to go back to the wind and rain.  I try to make the best of it by dreaming of our next trip.  We will most certainly be back in the not so near future as retirement looms and finances will dictate our travels.

With the Falls back in the hood, we were back to being tour guides.  We learned the pool reopened and all was good.   On Friday, we took a drive around the top of the island and headed for Lahaina for lunch.  Lorens sister is here and wanted to meet up with friends and family for lunch.  We went to Bubba Gumps and had a great time.  We had driven the top loop coming out above Kannapali.  Gwen was told about an area called Dragons tooth and we finally located the beach area near a swanky resort.  Very upper crust people in this area.  Just as we got to the beach, a rain shower shower came through cutting our stay short.. After lunch, it was a race to see how many shops we could go in and look at the same stuff.  We regrouped and with tired eyes, we headed back to our condo.  We all decided on pizza and had seen a Pizza Hut in town.  Of course the GPS could not locate it and as we drove around, we could not locate it.  We gave up and went to Round table.  It turned out to be a very good decision as they had a good salad bar and excellent pizza.  Back to the condo and we all layed around.

Lori and I were asked to go with Jeff and Monica to Warren and Annebelles Magic show in Lahaina on Saturday night Magic Show.  Loren and Gwen were goofing off celebrating Gwens Birthday and we left them the car keys.  Jeff and Monica picked us up and we were off for what promised to be a fun evening.  As soon as we got there, we were seated in a parlor style area and served great finger foods and drinks.  Soon it was off to the theater and a very funny and entertaining.  We laughed so much, it hurt at times.  If you go to the island, this is a must do event.  Click on the link above for more information.  We headed back and learned Loren took Gwen out for a nice dinner at The Outback.  It good to see the kids spread their wings and wander away from the nest!

Sunday morning was a mixed bag as Lori and I were sad to see our friends go. They were here for 7 days and today was go home day for them.  We had some great times and enjoyed playing tour guides.  It was nice to at least see them off with a smile in their now tanned faces! 

We stopped for coffee and lunch and headed back to just hang out.  It was quiet in the condo that night and seemed not right that they had to leave us so soon.

Monday met us with warm temps and low winds.  The news was warning us that ash clouds from Indonesia were drifting through and to be careful.  We could see the haze as the day went on, but felt no problems from the drifting ash.  I got a hair up my butt and felt I needed to go snorkeling.  We rented gear, made a lunch and headed for Makena Beach landing.  Once there, I spent a few hours snorkeling and was told there were turtles off the shore several hundred yards away from our beach.  I could see it and make the trek across the lagoon.  I had to be careful as I spotted a Greenpeace boat monitoring my every movement.  I felt as though if I got close to shore, they would try to prevent me from beaching myself!  I made it to this wonderful reef and saw tons of fish, but no turtles.  I was pretty tired and went to the beach and walked back down the road to Lori.  We ended the day in the pool and a late dinner.

Tuesday morning, I remembered Candi from work tell us about the Gazebo cafe up near Kannapali.  We made the drive and were treated to wonderful food and scenery.  We went down to the lava flow and found seevral tidal pools, teaming with life.  In one, a lady pointed out she had seen a eel but it went under a rock.  About this time as if posing for photo ops, it came out and cooperated for several pics.  Then we heard what we have been waiting for all trip.  A turtles sighting, just around the corner!.  It was reported that several large sea turtles were in the area and we could see them.  It was quite a hike on the lava, but soon we were treated to a wonderful show of turtle swimming with  swimmers and snorkelers.  We stayed for quite a while and finally worked our way south to the condo.  It was Lori's birthday and I needed to find a nice place to have a romantic dinnr on the beach.  I checked the internet and found Sorento's on the Beach.  I made a reservation and after a beautiful sunset, we headed to Wailea for dinner.  It was a five star location with great food and wine.  Everything was perfect with the light breeze, a good wine and a moonlit ocean to ponder.  As we left, I needed to use the bathroom.  I headed into a very posh and clean room.  As I washed my hands, I was amazed to see they had these little Italian candies in a dish near the sink.  I thought, why not and tried one.  I blew soap bubbles till 3 am.

Time to wrap up for now.  Lori just got here from shopping and we have a logistical problem to fix.  Aloha from Maui!

Footnote:

We made it home safe and cold from the crummy weather.  Time to get back to reality and dream of our next adventure..Aloha and Mahalo from Maui

A Quick Slide Show of Our Trip

A Little Rain must Fall

Alot has happened since our last blog.  We were up at 0400 and had Gwen and loren to the airport by 5 am.  We headed back to Kihei and went immediately to Starbucks (ya, I know, what a stretch!)  After a leisurely cup of Joe, we were now awake and looking to have breakfast.  I noticed at the park across the street, it looked like a walk way by the water.  We headed over to Kameole park and found a great water walk that turned out to be about a half mile long.  We ended up at our favorite breakfast cafe, the Kihei Cafe.  They make a great breakfast that is fairly reasonable.

While picking our teeth, we decided to head to a state park named Iao Valley and walk the trails.  We were warned that this is rain forest and it is wet alot of the time.  As we entered the park, the bright sun made for a magnificent view of the peaks and hills surrounding the valley.  we spent a few hours hiking and climbing around.  Lots of pictures and a very nice out of the way wonder.

We headed back to the north end of Sugar Beach and walked along the boardwalk (are seeing a pattern here?)  After walking the boardwalk, we went on the beach and walk all the way back to the car.  It was lunch time and back to another beach for  a picnic.  We headed back to the condo and later walked around by the jetty.  The wind was coming up pretty good and we could see several wind surfers out front.  We were wading in the protected area and as I got near the rocks, the water began to boil!  It scared the crap out of me.  A school of fish were there and I must have scared them off.  My heart was pounding and all I could think of was PIRANHA!  I regrouped and checked my shorts in time to see a couple boarders in trouble.  One was blown way off course and managed to get to the beach south of us.  Lori and I guided a couple of their friends in to where he was.  He was tired but okay.  Another got knocked off his board by the wind and before he could retrieve it, it was gone.  The wind pulled him to shore and we kept an eye on his board as long as we could, but it was gone.  The guy went a mile or so down the beach but to no avail.

Lori talked me into going to an Italian restaurant in Kihei called Antonio's.  She enjoyed her meal so much she talked three couples walking by into having dinner there.  I walked off in disgust! 

We traded text messages with Jeff and Monica (Myers) all afternoon and ended up at their condo for drinks.  We had a good time, but the day was long and we headed back for needed rest.

This morning after breakfast, Lori decides we need to walk to get coffee. A storm has arrived and although dry, we have been blessed with 40 mph winds.  We have a choice...Starbucks #1 is 1.2 miles away and #2 is 2.4.  Monica had talked Lori into believing this would be a nice easy walk and we could make the return trip via the beach. Wow, I thought out loud that this sounded almost as much fun as taking a pair of pliars and pulling my toenails out!  To Loris credit, she listened as I explained my concerns about this trip and after she assimilated all the info, we walked to #2!

OK, not a bad walk so far, but as we get to the first light and shopping center, a Jeep pulls up and the driver starts calling me names.  I look over and it is Bill Larass and his wife.  Bill is a prosecutor and is also here on vacation.  He told me that as they drove past us, he thought it was me and called work to find out it was me on Maui.  We talked a bit and the march continued.  We made it for coffee and sat for awhile.  It was getting to be lunch time and we decided to head back and drive to a place for salads.  Again Lori asked for my input and walked off.  We walked down a back street and saw orange trees, Coconut Palms and various flowers in bloom.  It was nice.  We then headed out on the beach for the final 1.5 mile trek to the Condo.  Problem one arises...we are now walking into a 40 mph headwind in soft sand!  My legs are burning and the sand stings as it flies past us.  I think to my self as I try to keep up with "the guard" Lori.  As time passed, I began to have delusions from the heat and wind. Dehydration was setting in and I soon felt I was on a forced death march, not all that different than the Bataan death march in the Phillipines.  With a determined gait, Lori 'marched' on and was leaving my large profile behind as the wind took it's toll. 

Problem #2 arises.  Sand has made it's way into every part of my body and the damage is quick and decisive.  I have sores on my feet and 'other' areas from sweat and salt air etc.  I am in so much pain, I think of walking into the water and ending the misery.  I am now hearing the song in my head "Edmund Fitzgerald' and especially the parts about the gales of November and then it goes to the part about saying farewell to the crew.  As I contemplate stepping out of line so the guard can put me down, we round the last corner and the most beautiful sight was ahead.  It was our Condo!  I struggled to make it to the door and headed in to get Advil and Neosporin. 

Problem #3.  I grabbed my Advil and as fate would have it, I dropped one on the floor.  I went down and now could not get up.  What does the wife do...certainly not help me, but grabs the camera and starts taking pictures.  God I love her so much.  What would I have done without her...oh, I know, not go for a death march!

I finally got up and we headed to Freds for a taco salad.  As we sat there, the tall one and Monica walk in and join us for lunch.  He tries to tell me they went to Big beach, but some of their sunburns didnt match the clothes they had on.  I suspect they went to a location that allowed for not so many clothes.

After a little shopping, we picked up Gwen and Loren at the airport,  We were filled with tales of their exploits and travels On Oahu.  Seems Loren visited a WWII era submarine that is on display at Pearl Harbor.  Seems he got stuck in a hatch and now the Sub has been 'altered'.   They scrap it later this week.  They were very excited to tell us of their travels and the fun they had.

Dinner and a quiet evening at the Condo.  Bad news today though as we found out the pool is now closed for the remainder of our stay for repairs.  Not what we signed up for, but what are you going to do.  Off to bed.  More from the road soon.

From Shopping to Luau's

Todays blog starts with a warning.  Do not mention Loren or my name if you are on the islands and choose to shop at the Kehei ABC store.  With the sun and all, I decided I needed a hat.  We went in and they were a little expensive.  As Lori was checking out, I told her to leave the tag on the hat and we would return it when we were leaving.  Apparently the clerk thought this was tacky and cut the tags off as Loren and I commented.  I then felt we were no longer welcome and happened to see the condom display.  I merely asked if she had any extra large and she told us to leave and she was working every day for the next five days.  I felt it necessary to advise her we were here for ten days...Lori didnt get a free gift for shopping there.

Okay, now for the fun stuff.  When we last blogged, we were getting ready for the Luau in Lahaina.  Off we headed for the other side of the island and the promise of a great time.  We got to the lot at about 445 and again was able to park in the front lot.  Soon we were in line and a Mai Tai in hand.  Soon I was sipping on Long Island Ice Teas and thinking about how much I enjoy this.  Soon I was being accused of saying things by Gwen when I know I didnt say anything about that particular subject.  Of course the other two backed her and i could tell it was bash Steve night.  Why me and why now?  I never cause problems with the possible exception of the store earlier in the day.  Just because I was a little buzzed, they took advantage of me and it was not pretty!

Soon the hula girls were dancing traditional Hawaiin dances as we enjoyed great food and did I mention, open bar?  We had a nice evening and a beautiful moonlit drive home.

Today, we woke up to clear skies and warm temps (go figure).  We headed for the volcano and drove the long winding road to the very top.  As we were about two miles from the end of the road, they have this visitor center.  We took several pictures and then Lori and Gwen get this stupid idea to climb this trail to the top of a lava cone.  It was 60 degrees but we were at 10000 feet high and the air was very thin.  I reluctantly tagged along waiting for an embolism and stroke on the ten minute rock climb.  We were rewarded by spectacular sights and views of the crater.  It was worth the hike and made for a very nice trip.

Soon it was lunch and time for the famous Paia Fish Market and their fish Taco's  We stopped by the county beach after lunch and watched 25 foot waves hit the beach with hundreds of surfers looking for that perfect wave.  A little gang style fight right next to us made me a little uncomfortable, but felt pretty good no weapons were involved as most had bathing suits only.  It was broke up and I got out from behind Lori to again watch the surfers.  We ended the day with a beautiful sunset and a warning from the condo management.  Seems Loren grabbed a shell and tried to perform the traditional sunset calling to the fishermen or what ever the tradition is.  Seems his call was a little off and about twenty endangered dolphins intentionally beached themselves!

Dinner at Peggy Sues and back for a cool and restful evening.  We have to drop Gwen and Loren off at the airport at 0500 for their Oahu leg of their trip.  For some reason, Lori wants to go immediately to Little beach...

Back to Paradise

After months of planning, paying and waiting, the time has come.  Lori, me, Loren and Gwen have arrived in paradise, alos known as Maui.  Lori and I are here for 10 days as Loren and Gwen are here for 7.  On Wednesday morning, they fly to Oahu to be tourists on the island filled with history.

We both headed to Portland a day early to shop and just get away.  After sneeking out on the cats and making nice with Chad, we were off.  We needed to find a light coat for Lori in case it cooled in the evening.  Once we finally made it to Portland, we made a snap yet deliberate decision to buy a Netbook computer.  There was a best Buy right around the corner and it does everything we want it to do while on the road.  I wanted to add some RAM and remembered as we got to dinner, I had no tools.  I Mcgivered a clipper into a screwdiver and soon I was up and running.  Nice little HP unit with lots of battery.

We met up with the Falls at Joes Crab Shack and had a very good dinner.  We headed back to the room and soon were off to bed.  I have trouble sleeping in motel/hotel rooms and was up and ready to go by 0230. Lori got up at 5 and we headed to the airport and off by 0845.  It was a smooth flight and soon we were here.

Into the airport and as we dropped down by the main area, here was a beach bum and his wife holding up a  We received a lei greeting sign and a fruit basket!  We were surprised by Jeff (my boss) and Monica who got here on the 28th.  We visited for a few and headed to baggage claim and then to the rental car place.  Soon we had got in a very long line and felt it would take an hour or so to get a car.  I saw the quick check kiosk and within minutes, so quick it cost me extra for more time.  They told us they were running low on full size cars and had placed a few 'premium' cars in line.  We found a Mercury Marquis and loaded up the land yacht and headed for Kehei.  We got everything into the room and hung out most of the afternoon.  I drove the crew around a bit to get them used to the layout of the island and we later headed to our traditional 1st night dinner at Gator McGoons.  We tried to watch a movie, but soon went to bed and slept well for the night.

Day 2:
I made ham and pineapple omelets with our coffee  Today was a trip down to the lava fields and then end up the evening with a Luau in Lahina.  We drove down the coast and all enjoyed the great beaches and sights.  We found Big beach which is infamous for little beach right next door.  Once on the beach, we walked around and made it to the rock 'staircase over to little beach.  Loren was unable to make the hike as the path was pretty difficult to navigate on a bum knee.  We crossed over and the first thing we see is a female in the nude standing there watching us come down the path.  Soon there was skin everywhere.  Gwen 'told us' she wanted to check on Loren, but I suspect she got a little overwhelmed with the abundant display of male anatomy.  I made sure she got over the trail ok and turned back thinking she was standing right by me.  No, she was getting surfing tips from about five guys and commenting how the water must be warm today!  I was appalled by her actions the gratuitous nudity on the beach.  I was forced to walk all the way down the beach to get Lori to turn back.  She told me hot it was and was disrobing as I escorted her back to the other beach.  You think you know someone but wow! When we went to a few other beaches, she just moped around as everyone had bathing suits on. 

Soon it was time for lunch, goofing off around the condo and now its time to head to the Luau.  More from our travels soon.

Steve

A Day of Healing

After a very difficult weekend and Monday, Shawn, Peyton and I had previously made plans to make a day trip to Sand Lake for some fun in the sun!  The weather looked like it was going to be perfect and we were ready to tackle the sand.

I was at Shawns house at 0545 and both were ready to hit the road.  We loaded up and headed south.  Traffic was light and we made good time.  Once at the lot, we had few people to look out for and soon were out playing.  As we tested Peytons bike and made a few repairs, we started to climb a hill.  His bike started to smoke and we shut her down quick.  It cooled and we turned around.  A short time later, his chain broke and I towed him back to the truck.  I did notice alot of bikes breaking down around us and thought is was strange.  Shawn headed for the store and repairs. 

He returned a short time later and found he had the wrong type of master link.  He also realized he had lost his ATV key.  We looked and could not find it anywhere.  He returned to the store and they had it there for him.  He had also dropped it in the driveway at home in the morning.  He was lucky.

After we realized there was nothing that could be done there to get him running, Peyton bucked up and hopped on with me.  We rode for awhile and then he hopped on Shawns bike.  They played and climbed some hills.  I goofed off and we ended up having a great ride despite the bike problems.

Shawn said it best after we loaded up heading home.  I was getting a little cocky on my bike.  I went down a hill and had to turn at an angle.  The ground gave a little and I stopped and then managed to bury the bike. Shawn came and got it out for me and made sure I knew he had helped!

After a long and slow ride home, we unloaded and marveled at how few injuries we had.  Shawn had a sunburn where the lotion didn't cover but other than being a little sore it was a great day.

It's amazing how a distraction like this is good for the body.  I feel a little better about everything now and the healing has begun.  Thanks Shawn and Peyton for a wonderful day!

A Sad Day in the Fretts Family

 Part of us died on Monday.  Beloved companion and protector Walt was put to sleep after his battle with age and bad hips finally caught up with him this weekend.  Since he was a pup, he was the kind of dog that had a personality that always lit up the place he was at.  His love of travel was only second to his obsession for retrieving...yes he was a tried an true yellow lab. One of Walts favorite activities was diving for rocks or anything under water he could find.  He was inseperable from both Mark and Shawn and frequent trips to the river was just the thing for all.

As Walt got older, you could see his desire to be with Lori and I  was getting to a be a problem.  He was very vocal about being left at home and could be seen often hanging with us at the local coffee shop.  There were few dogs or cats that Walt didnt like.  He will be sorely missed,

A couple years ago, Lori and moved from our motorcycle to a trailer.  Partly as we knew Walt was getting older and mostly because we wanted him around us as he wanted to be with us,  I remember the many times as soon as the keys were picked up, he would bolt out the door taking out anything or anyone in his way.  He would do laps around the truck till I opened the door and he would jump from wherever he was standing usually hitting the door or truck and falling down,  He will be missed.

Last spring, the reality of his age really hit me in the stomach like I was getting socked.  He could not navigate the rocks and would not swim.  This site sickened me as the Walt we had been annoyed with over the years by  his tireless desire to make anyone in his reach happy by bringing them a stick.  I have come to associate our beach property with the many lives of both people and pets that have come and gone from this place.  Why Walt and why now?  It doesn't seem fair that God always takes the good ones way too early even if they lived a long life here on earth.  We are never happy or seem ready to accept the reality of life and death.  They will all be missed.

Last month we took Walt on one final vacation.  I knew from the start, it may kill him as he was slowing quickly.  He still managed to hold his head high and search the roads for us even though his sight was nearly gone.  We had to find a vet in Canada to help him and they gave us some great joint paint pills that helped him alot.  As we neared the end of the trip, we could tell poor Walt was too worn out to do much more and was content to sit and smell the air.  He faded quickly after returning home and began to have balance problems.  A couple weeks ago we came to grips with the inevitable and I tried to prepare myself for the trip to town that one last time.  I think he heard us and got quite a bit better.  We were relieved.  It was for not as this last weekend, he was now suffering and I needed to man up and get on with my responsibility as a pet owner and friend,  He didnt deserve to go out with anything less that holding his head up, making friends even in those last few breaths.  Even the vet was emotional as Walt layed in my arms taking a last few peaceful breaths on this earth for now.  I know his spirit will return soon and a dog will 'pick' us to help him grow up to be the same or better dog than Walt.  He will be missed.
 
One last thought in my obituary for my companion.  I feared the final act more than anything on earth.  When the decision was made, there are three distinct acts that I had to complete.  The hardest for me was to make the call to the vet.  This was the moment of reality.  I was commited to following through now.  Then I sat and watched the clock waiting for the time to take the drive.  Walt enjoyed his final ride and seemed relaxed as he almost knew it was his last.  I dont know, maybe I wanted him to be ok with what I was doing to him.  He walked in mostly on his own and layed with me on the floor as the sedative wagiven.  We said our goodbyes and asked him to say hi to a few pets who have already gone to 'dog heaven' He seemed to understand as his eyes slowly closed and his pain went away.  A calm came over me and I actually felt ok.  Dont mistake what I mean, I still have moments I lose my composure, but it was the right thing to do and probably should have been done sooner.

He is missed!

Toutle River 2010

Radium Hot Springs and Beyond

My writing has slowed the past few days after getting home from vacation.  I have a few minutes to get caught up, so here I go.

After leaving Revelstoke, it was time for that long, hard drive to Radium Hot Springs.  The weather has finally warmed and with all of 150 miles to go, we were in no hurry.  We pulled the pass heading east out of Revelstoke with no problem and after an hour, it was time for a potty break.  Once  we pulled off in a pull out for a break, I happened to look over and got a great view of the Columbia River far below.  It was a great spot and we sat there for several minutes watching the river.  Back on the road, we pulled into Golden and had no problem finding our way.  We hit 93 south and made the final 30 or so miles to Radium.  Not alot to see as we head south till we got close to town.  What a beautiful area.  As we neared town, we spotted the RV park on our right.  We stayed at the Radium Vally resort.  AS we were there on our RPI card, they directed us to and area on the north end of the park.  It seemed small for sites, but one we started to back in, it was deceiving as there was a wood walkway and a patio complete with barbecue.  The site was right on the hill and looked toward the mountains on one side and out over the huge valley to the north.

We goofed off at the resort that day and hit the pool after dinner.  A very nice facility and not that many people.  We had checked in town and found a coffee stop with an outside patio and a spot for Walt to sit and watch people and critters.  The following day, we headed back north to Golden and hit Hiway one.  We headed up the the pass and stopped at the famous railway corkscrew tunnels.  We sat and waited hoping to see a train for over an hour.  This location is unique as it has two series of tunnels to lessen the elevation/drop of trains crossing the pass.  As the locomotive enters the tunnel, it make a turn and exits as the middle of the train is still on the top side of the tracks.  At one point you can see three different sections of the train at the same time.  We ate lunch and sat some more.  I was about to give up when a tour bus arrived and several people lined the observation area.  We soon learned they had spotted a train further up and it was expected soon.  Within minutes, the train passed by us and entered the tunnel.  It was quite a site and worth the wait if you are a train buff!

Day three here took us to the hot springs.  We went to the hot pool which was very soothing and enjoyable.  It is built on a rock canyon type setting with rock going straight up all around you.  It was enjoyable sitting and soaking while talking to all the people visiting the area.  As we sat there, I noticed two large big horn sheep walking the 90- degree walls just up from us.  What a site...wish I had the camera.

One thing about this area was the little canyon I mentioned.  When we leave town the following day, we have to pull the trailer through this area and there is one spot that requires me to straddle the center line as there is not enough clearance to get the trailer through in my lane.  They placed a mirror across the street so you can look and make sure the coast is clear as you round the corner.  Oh, did I mention it was also an 11% grade on top of that?  We made it no problem and continued on our way to our next destination, Canmore, Alberta. 

The following morning, we made the short drive to Canmore.  This town is located just east of Banff and at the eastern edge of the Rocky mountains.  We were planning on two nights here and as we dove in, marveled at the beauty all around us.  We found the RV park no problem and as we checked in, the gal told us we were a day late.  I showed the paperwork showing they had booked it correctly and she told me we would have to move sites if we wanted to stay.  I chose to head south instead and we set up for the night.  After getting settled, Lori and I walked to town.  We found a walking trail that took us around and to the center of town.  We shopped and found coffee of course.  After a couple hours, we headed back and found a boardwalk along a creek which ende at the bridge by the park.  It was a wonderful walk and very scenic.  We settled in for the night and talked with several people also traveling in the area.

The next morning brought clear, but windy conditions for our next leg.  We were headed for Lethbridge for a stop over before entering the US.  As we headed for Calgary, we reminisced about the many trips we had made through here on the bike.  Soon we were in Calgary traffic and once we cleared it was a straight shot south.  We made such good time, we made it to the area just west of town by 1100.  We decided to forgo the stop and find a place in Montana.  As we continued, the winds howled and made it tough to keep our speed.  The diesel was working hard to keep us headed down the road and the fuel gauge was dropping fast.

Once we crossed the border just east of Glacier park, it was up and down on narrow roads as well as the wind.  We hit a pullout and had lunch while viewing the park out of our back window.  It was great.  We continued and I felt we could make Whitefish by 5 pm.  We called the KOA and they told us they had a site for us.  We pulled in to a dusty, noisy and cramped park.  There was no way I could fit in the site they had for us and we declined to stay.  We called the KOA at Polson (our favorite) and they gladly allowed us to stay.  We love this KOA and enjoyed the two days  here on R&R just goofing off.  It got kind of cold and this made for early nights.  We made a day of Big Fork shopping a bit.  I have to say that Lori was great this trip and shopped very little.  I also have to mention that no Casinos were contacted either which is a record for me!

Soon it was time to head for Spokane.  We made the quick trip across and hooked up with Mark and Sandy.  I helped Mark change his water Pump and enjoyed visiting with the crew.  Our final two days were in Randle at the K&M park where we were to meet up with the Falls.

We left Spokane that Friday morning having so enjoyed our visit, but with the reality that this was our last stop on our great adventure.  We headed west and soon were in the heat of the Yakima valley.  Up and over White pass with no problems and soon we were pulling into the park.  We got set up and soon the Falls arrived and set up next to us.  It was a pleasant evening and we sat and talked, laughed and laughed some more.  Soon it was bed time and we slept good as we usually do on vacation. 

On Saturday morning, we woke to sunshine and great weather.  We walked to the latte stand and I was able to prove to myself I was better.  (this walk was the one that I had alot of pain on and came to the realization I had a heart problem a couple months ago.)

When we got back, Gwen and Loren wanted to go Geo Caching and hit the dusty road to their own adventure.  Lori and I had lunch and as I sat, looking out the window, I couldn't help notice there were not that many people on the golf course.  Soon Lori and I were on the course hacking and digging divots like the best of them.  We had a great time and headed back for dinner and much conversation. 

All to soon, it was time to head home.  Not much conversation today and Walt was worn out.  He had done pretty good, but the reality of his age quickly made me realize, he is not meant for too many more vacations.  He had a great time and every day stands by the truck waiting for that next great adventure.  We are too and hope to hit the road again soon!