Chico, Anxiety and Grandma Pretzel! Part 2

Anxiety to Peace!

Thursday 10-13-16

I woke up at 2 am with a racing heart. Was it my vivid dream that caused it?  I have to believe it has something to do with my life doing a 360` with no longer owning our home to leaving two of our three adult children behind....temporarily.  It is a big life changing event!  I fell back asleep and several hours later was awakened by Daisy who desperately needed to "go out".

Walking yesterday at upper Bidwell Park made me feel it was straight out of a movie or perhaps on a different planet.  Bidwell Park is made up of hundreds of acres of tall, dried grass with sparse trees on what is known as upper Bidwell and mid and lower Bidwell parks are full of green shrubs and plants, tall trees changing to a bright orange, amd a river.  Dogs are allowed off their leashes and free to roam the tall grass at upper Bidwell, whereas at lower Bidwell, the dogs have to be on leashes.  The beauty her is undeniable and the four of us are getting our exercise.

Today I decided to check out the oven for the first time, promising Brandon and his roommates homemade lasagna but before doing so Perry and I had to check out a nearby winery.  I'm thinking it's like other wineries (which I enjoy) but not in this case as it is owned by an order of Trappist monks.  It is called the Abbey of our Lady of New Clairvaux but the winery is simply, New Clairvaux. The monks' purchased the vineyards and surrounding walnut groves back in 1955 and over the years produced some amazing red wines. We decided to do a self-guided tour around the grounds designated for tourists.  We walked down to the church currently being built and went inside the "old" church.  I figured after a terrible nights sleep a little prayer couldn't hurt! The church had a few visitors inside listening to the  Cistercian   monks chanting their prayers.  There were about seven monks from young to old and of many different nationalities who speak very little as they have the vow of silence and prayer.  What a beautiful and serene place! Good wines too!

Saturday 10-15-16

It was raining today and the rain forced us to stay indoors and do house chores.  Yes, I know, a 500 square foot fifth wheel isn't a lot to keep up, however, the floors still have to be vacuumed and mopped and laundry has to be done (okay save that for tomorrow)!  My only saving grace was having a nice dinner out with our very busy son. Most of the outdoor Greek activities (including the parade and Brandon's frats' prize winning float) were postponed to the following week.  A little rain didn't stop us from visiting downtown Chico  We saw a lot of interesting types some of which made me feel very uncomfortable. I wasn't uncomfortable just curious as we saw several young guys with carved pumpkins on their heads.  "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"!  Knowing our son was in the middle of Greek week surely this was part of a fraternity but come to find out it was a contest from a local radio station.  The contestants had to see how long they could stand on a box with pumpkins on their heads without going to the bathroom or without food or water. The grand prize was $1,000. Definitely something for the young.

Sunday 10-16-16

Fast forward to Sunday, Perry said from the beginning of our journey "when I go to church with you, it's a fishing credit for me".  I didn't realize he really meant it so.....score church-2 fishing-0. Tomorrow is the day for me to get my own fishing pole ...yay. Should I be excited? Well, let's say I've been fishing a couple times growing up and would much rather see a musical but marriage is a compromise!

This morning we went to the same church as last week and I have to say it's really growing on me.  It's a very sweet church and I admit being in the  "bubble" made we well somewhat "spoiled".  Part of my husband's quest has been to expose us to all walks of life.  I think he's onto something.
Back home I pile my large bag of dirty clothes and throw rugs into the truck to drive the short distance to the laundromat. As I head towards the door that says "laundry" a red car pulls aside and the woman driver (she appears to be in her seventies) rolls down her window "Are you doing laundry"?  Smiling, I politely said "yes, but there's enough room for both of us".  There are two washing machines and dryers.  She looked at me, scowled, made a comment and drove off. I noticed her license plate frame that read "Grandma Pretzel"  What did that mean.......I could tell you where my thoughts went as she wasn't the pleasant type.  The wash cycle is about 30 minutes and I wanted to be sure to transfer them to the dryer right away so someone else could use them.  After the dry cycle was complete, who shows up but "grandma pretzel".  She apologized for being so rude and went on to explain her husband had unexpectedly ended up in the hospital but now released and was having well.....bowel issues and needed to wash bedding.  I felt sorry for her!  I was glad I held back my sarcastic thoughts because this poor woman was going through a lot!

You NEVER know when you meet a stranger what they might be going through.  I think this trip WILL be good for me! Maybe a few kind words and a nice smile will bring peace to us both!

Upper Bidwell Park                                               Winery owned by Trappist Monks

Pumpkin Heads

Dinner with our son, Brandon

                                                                     

Yay! Look of excitement holding my first fishing pole!

 

Chico, Anxiety and Grandma Pretzel! Part 1

Friday October 7, 2016

OFF TO CHICO...

The process of breaking down camp seems a little easier  today, even hitching"Edna" was easier for Perry!  Practice makes perfect as they say.....pretty uneventful four hour trip to Chico.  Gracie (our Aussie) whined for the first hour eventually settling in.  There are always a lot of big rigs on interstate 5 and we happened to get stuck behind one with reflector mudflaps....blinding!  After several miles, we eventually passed and because of the big rigs, we opted to take route 99 (mostly a 2 lane highway).  A much slower and less stressful option.  Both dogs were antsy and of course as we're still getting used to pulling this long fifth-wheel behind us, we had to make a bathroom and water stop.  It's not an easy process trying to pull off the highway with a long truck and fifth wheel, but as luck would have it, we found the perfect place to pull off in a small town called Live Oak.  We found a little burger restaurant and sat at a nearby park to eat and within minutes were surrounded by children getting out of school.  At this point I'm getting anxious to move on to Chico!  Thank goodness for GPS as it helped guide us through hundreds of acres of almond groves, tree lined streets and eventually to our destination for the next two weeks at Almond Tree RV park.  

Beautiful landscaping caught my eye as we first drove in but so did the "older" people hunched over, grey hair and canes with many playing card games. " Please God, I'm not THERE yet, am I?" Ewww boy.....my new RV life?!  We are fortunate enough to take on this journey at a so called "younger" age.  Thankful to my husband who retired from the U.S Navy after 22 years and working hard for twelve more years for a non-profit organization. He deserves this time enjoying life and seeing the U.S.!   We set up camp and anxious to see my youngest who is currently "busy" with fraternity activities!  No problem...I'm patient and we're here for two weeks to enjoy " parents weekend" and next week is "Dad's weekend" for the fraternity.I was so happy to see Brandon our first night, and with school and frat activities I was beyond delighted to do his laundry the next day ( I didn't know he had SO many clothes).  Quiet night, peaceful park.....good night's sleep!  

It took Perry a couple of hours to hook up the cable....too much football not to be missed!  He lay aside the frustration so we could walk to a coffee shop half a mile down the road and take pleasure in some tasty lattes We discussed needing food because granola bars wouldn't sustain us for long.  Our refrigerator is one third the size of our old one, we had to be careful not to overbuy.  It's not easy when you know your hungry college aged son will be looking for home cooked meals.  With the dogs nestled in their crates we headed to the grocery store.  Afterwards, Brandon invited us to see his apartment, to meet his roommates, and oh yes to pick up all his dirty laundry which was pretty much everything he owned!  The boys were off to a fraternity party and us "ol" folk returned to our "home" to watch the movie "RV" with Robin Williams.  There were so many hilarious scenes we could relate to.  In an RV and fifth wheel, there are three different hook ups, the shower, the sink and the toilet (2 grey hoses and 1 black....well you can guess what hose is what).  When we first got our instruction on "Edna:, the first thing the guy asked was "have you owned an RV?", we answered "no". " Have you rented an RV?" We had to be honest, and once again "no"!  He laughed and we could only imagine what he was thinking!  Unlike Robin Williams, Perry had no problems connecting hoses.  Entertaining movie!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

We left the RV park heading for Lassen National Park but before getting there, we stopped at a little (not much happening) town of Chester.  We needed to exercise the dogs and first we stopped at an old coffee house where retired locals hang out.  I overheard a conversation with an older couple and the young girl at the counter.  The couple had lived in Newberg, Oregon and the gentleman was from Pendleton, Oregon.  After settling in California, they expressed their dislike for Oregon because of the lack of sunshine.  I became a part of the conversation and added "my husband gets tired of California because it's so expensive".  The woman, " there "is no perfect place"  in our journey for "retirement shangri-la", this resonated with me.  We took our coffee and dogs to the local park and let them off their leashes.  Gracie wanted to play fetch with a tree branch and at one point while we were playing tug of-war, she latched onto my sweatshirt giving it a good "rip"!  They were tired from the car trip up to Mount Lassen.  We climbed in elevation and the temperatures were dropping.  The pine trees were big and dense and soon we were at the park entrance.

 One of the benefits of being retired military is free entrance to all national parks.  In the visitors center we saw bear and mountain lion sighting warnings for the hiking trails.  I was relieved knowing the dogs weren't allowed on the trails in a national park.  Climbing the mountain, we stopped at sulfur mud pots that were boiling like a witch's brew.  (It is Halloween month).  I was fascinated by them because the rain runoff goes deep into the earth where the heat of the earth forces the mud back up to the surface.  The sulfur smell was so strong we had to move on and see more of this historic volcano.  The last time it erupted was 1915.....not that long ago for an active volcano!  We kept climbing and it was hard for me to take in the entire beauty of this volcano because of the sheer drop off.  The summit was 8500' and knowing Perry has dealt with vertigo issues in the past had me a little concerned.  I'm afraid of heights and there was NO way I'd be taking over the drive! After an hour and a half stressful (but beautiful) drive, we desperately needed lunch.  I'd say more Perry since faced with windy mountain roads that could rattle any drivers nerves.  We came across the ONLY food for miles at a little family operated restaurant called JJ's cafe located in the small town of Old Station .  I'm sure I've mentioned before that some small towns are not for me as sweet as they can be but Old Station assured me that this was the case.  We took our lunch to a nearby stream where we talked to a young family from Texas and enjoyed watching our dogs play in the stream.  It was a long, fun day and all Perry wanted was a nice cold beer. After returning once again to the RV park,  wouldn't you know, there was a tap room right down the street that would satisfy his thirst.

At the end of the day, we settled into our heated recliners and settled in the for the night watching our fuzzy connected cable tv.  It reminded me of when I was young and there were knobs you could adjust to get a clearer picture (yes, I'm dating myself)!  Modern technology has me spoiled.

With SO much more to tell........please come back to read my next blog about Anxiety and Grandma Pretzel!

Day 1 Time to Hit the Road!

October 5, 2016

With all the furniture moved out and stored, we wake up after a restless night in the fifth wheel with a neighbor having yard work done (A JACKHAMMER at 6:45am), another neighbor bringing in a barrel, not to mention the cars leaving for work in the wee hours of the morning.  Awe, the joys of suburbia and sleeping "on the street". By 7 am our wonderful neighbor, Cyle who has been more like a son over the years, brings coffee.  Now THAT was a good start to the day.  Much to my surprise my friend Lisa returns to finish helping me pack the fifth wheel and before long, Cyle returns with my much needed second cup of coffee. In the meantime, David and Taylor return from their own exhausting move and prepare to send us off!  After waiting for the housekeeping service to arrive to do the "move out" cleaning, we continue to pack and realize our 9am take off time was not going to happen.  We continue to work and as time gets closer, my stomach is churning with the thoughts of leaving family behind .  By 1:00pm (so much for 9am), the fifth wheel (Edna) is hitched up and ready to go.  My wonderful 6'3 first born child wells up with tears as do I as we say "goodbye" and we prepare for our year long departure, I can't help but ask myself, "what am I doing"?  As we slowing drive away from the neighborhood, I cry for the next few minutes!

Our dogs, Daisy and Gracie don't know what's happening as they whimper and cry for the first hour.  Eventually they settle in for the six hour car ride first to Santa Nella, Ca. Our first challenge was going down the Grapevine at a 6% grade with big rigs flying by us but  I have the utmost confidence in Perry and of course, Edna.  They both handled the elements beautifully!  Around 7pm we arrive at Santa Nella RV Park and are assigned a pull through lot.  Getting a pull through lot while pulling 33 feet is something any RV owner could hope for since you don't have to maneuver backing in....no easy task I may add.  The unhitching process couldn't have been any easier.  We breathe a sigh of relief !  We're pretty hungry at this point and enjoy some Chinese take-out (not much around here) and we're also very tired and can't wait to settle in for our first night sleep. Considering we were right across the street from a truck stop, we slept pretty soundly (at least until 5am) when I realized I was no longer in my king-sized bed but a queen with a 60 pound dog laying on my feet. As I nudge her to get off my legs this resulted in a major leg cramp. Okay, somethings got to change here and some dog boundaries have to be set!  Up at 7 to get my coffee and catch up on the latest news and emails, Perry joins me an hour later and we're ready to plan our day in the little town of Santa Nella.

 After trying to find space for all our belongings (not an easy task moving from a 2350  square foot house to a "mini house" on wheels), Perry convinced me to go to two wildlife refuge parks in hopes of spotting Sandhill Cranes and Tule Elk.  He grew up in a little town in Washington state and remembered seeing the cranes as a young boy.  Not knowing what to expect and driving out in the middle of nowhere, we come across the first preserve with not a soul in sight.  You drive through the marshland to find the wild cranes and we did just that (5 miles) to spot them.  Mind you I was born a city girl and could admire a beautiful animal (or bird), but after looking at its grey colored body and listening to its unique sound for five minutes, that was enough for me but "no", NOT my husband.  As I see him enjoying nature, I thought to myself "he's a nature person and I'm more a people person" and now in this new stage of life, he IS  right now my only "PEOPLE" person.  Ahh.....the old expression "opposites attract"!   Off to the next preserve to look for elk! We drive around the five mile loop and Perry spots antlers several hundred yards away.  In his excitement he grabs the binoculars and darts to the lookout.  The dogs got excited and Daisy flies out the open window to join him.  All I could think about were her sutures still in her belly from a minor surgery and praying she doesn't tear them open.  Gracie and I soon follow to spot the elks' antlers that could have easily been confused as tree branches.  It didn't take long for us to realize were being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  As we drive off, Perry admitted it wasn't what he thought it would be, but it didn't matter because it's one memory of many to follow.  There are no grocery stores in Santa Nella and we had no food in "Edna" so as we head back to camp, Perry was in search of Mexican food for dinner.  Time to settle in to night two in truck-noisy Santa Nella.

(Sidenote)
Santa Nella is a few miles from Los Banos a small farming town where we had our van stolen in 2000.  We came back from a camping trip in Oregon and at the time our kids were quite young.  Los Banos was a place to" hang our hats" for the night. I had an arm full of children's' items to put back in the van but when I looked for it in the parking lot,  it was .....GONE! Stranded in Los Banos!  Ahhh.....distant memories!

Fast forward sixteen years, who would think I'd be "camping" once again not too far from this not so pleasant memory?  I can't wait to head out in the morning for Chico, California where our youngest attends college.  We cannot wait to see him!

Day Before Take-Off of our journey across the United States!

October 4, 2016


Reality has hit!  The journey across the U.S. over the next year that my husband Perry and I talked about for awhile was about to begin.  Exciting, but also bittersweet as we leave behind our grown kids David, Kaylyn and Brandon and a house that we lived in for the past fifteen years. We decided to bring our dogs, Gracie and Daisy.  Deciding on the perfect travel vehicle for us was no easy task and after a lot of research, we decided on a 33 foot Grand Design Reflection.  Perry has always felt the need to have nicknames for family or important things in his life so we "reflected" and decided on "Papi" for the truck (yes we're fans of Big Papi's) and Edna for the fifth wheel (also fans of Edna Valley chardonnay).

With so much to do after the sale of the house with packing up the fifth wheel, deciding what items will be stored over the next year and scheduling physicals for ourselves and for the dogs, our take off day of October 5th is coming quickly!  There is never enough time to spend with close friends and family!

The pre take off day was a little crazy trying to fit last minute things into our storage unit and waiting for them to pick it up to store for more than a year.  After watching our fifteen years of household items get carried away in a 16' pod, Perry and I stopped by the high school that I worked at for fourteen years to say "goodbye" to my dear friends. Afterwards, we needed to find a gas station that carried diesel for Papi.  You wouldn't thing finding diesel would be that hard but after a lot of driving around (I did use the app but once we got to the station, they either were out or no longer carried it), we found a station at $2.79 a gallon.  We now were on our way to pic up "Edna" from storage about 30 miles from home.  The entire process was about two hours with so much packing left to do.  I had a much needed hair appointment with my long term hairdresser, Faye and knew I'd be late for my 4:30 appointment.  Thankfully, she was willing to wait since it would be my last hair appointment with her for a long time!

A fifth wheel is such a wonderful way to travel because you have more living space and you can disconnect it from the truck to sight see.  It sounds so easy but yesterday was round one of patience testing.  Parking in front of the house with the 33 foot fifth wheel was a breeze but separating the truck from it was (an understatement) a chore! With no other means of transportation besides the truck, I knew I'd be more than a little late for my hair appointment (very important to a woman)!  Thankfully, my wonderful daughter, Kaylyn showed up just in time.  I took her car for my two hour appointment while she stayed to help Perry figure out why the releasing bar of the hitch wouldn't release. IT TAKES A VILLAGE!  With help from our kids, David and Kaylyn along with neighbors and a call to the place where the hitch was installed....victory! Hair done, hitch released and pizza for dinner. Several friends were over to help us finish packing up "Edna" and to wish us safe travels.  At the same time of our crazy move, David and his girlfriend Taylor were moving the same day into their own place in Woodland Hills.  Many moving parts to the transition of a lifetime!

For those of you who know me, family has always been my main focus! To have David and Kaylyn here made the transition easier.  Our youngest, Brandon was not here but in a few days we'll be spending a couple of weeks with him in Chico, Ca.  Okay, I have to do a shout out to my friend Lisa who really helped me focus on getting rid of things and to pack up the fifth wheel.  She saved me a lot of time and that being said, I slept a little better that night.  Knowing our kids are happy and excited for us makes the trip a lot easier and leaving our home (filled with memories) of fifteen years.  As I walked through each room for the last time,  I reminisced about the gecko that Brandon didn't particularly bond with but lived forever, the music that came from each room..(some desirable and some not), the many sleepovers, the holidays......ah I will miss the holidays and the beautiful church choir that Kaylyn and I were fortunate to share a year singing together! Snap out of it.....it's now time to meet the new chapter of our lives head on. It's also time to spend with my husband, dogs and well.....Edna and Papi!