Alex
The purpose of writing our little monthly newsletter is to keep family and friends 'in the loop' as to where we are and what is going on in our lives, both good and bad. Unfortunately, we have to start this month's post with really bad news. A few weeks ago, our 21 year old grandson (the oldest of daughter Amy's kids) had a motorcycle accident and has been in a semi coma since. He has begun to show some really good progress, now walking and some speaking. Progress, in whatever form it takes, will be measured in months or longer, according to his doctors.
Alex was wearing a helmet but he suffered bleeding on the brain, in his lungs, broken ribs but few cuts and contusions. No other vehicle was involved. Alex lives in Idaho and is in a hospital in Kalispell near the Canadian border. He was in his final quarter of college, heading for a career in law enforcement. He is Christopher's older brother who you know as the little guy born with Spina Bifida.
On the road, again...
It is hard for anyone who does not experience closing up a residence for 8 months in the great white North, to know just how stressful it really is. People usually think you just need to bring in the furniture off the patio, lock all the doors and windows, turn off the power and go.
HA! I wish.
I won't bore you with recounting the 2 page checklist of items that need to be attended to, but suffice it to say that I am oh-so-very-aware how many of them would be.. well maybe I shouldn't be dramatic and say "catastrophic' but would be... bloody catastrophic if they got omitted!!! On the day before we leave, what I have dubbed "D" day, the entire water system gets drained. Any water left anywhere in the plumbing system, the toilet, boat or jet ski will freeze over the winter and engine blocks will crack as well as pipes in the walls. We had friends tell us that they miscalculated closing day one year when an early freeze set in and they returned to 22 burst pipes in the walls of their cottage including some behind the shower and kitchen cabinets.
You are right, catastrophic is too mild of a term to describe the mess. Anyway, The real stress comes from the pumps and various tools I use to get the job done. I have become so concerned that one could fail hours before we are to leave (usually to catch a plane) that I have started getting backups, just in case. In any event, we did get off without incident and we are on the road, so we dodged that bullet again this year. The good news is that the two weeks per summer we do rent the island are booked a year ahead once again, so the next availability is the summer of 2016. Good on us!
Murphy visits
Murphy descended for an unwelcomed visit 3 times this past month. The first was when Janice was driving our car from the US side of the river over the bridge to the Canadian side where we dock our boat. She happened to be in the 'no-man's-land' 100 yard (meter) area between the US and Canadian customs stations. Being between the two booths, you can think of it as the area between Gaza and Israel, without the rocket launchers and tanks.
Anyway, the car just died and she needed to be towed. She called me on the cell, so I walked from our dock where I was waiting for her, to the customs station to help. Once there, we were just 50 yards (meters) apart and could clearly see each other, customs officers would not allow me to approach her, as she had not been ' cleared'. It was like a scene of relatives waiving to each other through the North Korean DMZ. I was tempted to raise my hands and shout "don't shoot!" but I feared these folks wouldn't share my sense of humor. Come to think of it...few do.
It almost created an international incident as no official could decide if the tow truck from Canada could retrieve her car since she had not yet cleared customs in Canada or if a truck from the US would be permitted to do it. Finally cooler heads prevailed and the traffic snarl was undone.
Murphy's second visit occurred when we pulled our boat out for the season and had a little extra preventative maintenance done to it. Suddenly, a number of pending doom and gloom items were discovered and several thousand dollars worth of repairs were called for. That should help keep the marina mechanics employed through the winter.
Finally, feeling right at home with us, Murphy joined us for the start of our road trip. This is the first time we are driving back across the country in 10 years, to our home in California. This is partially because we want to return with a different vehicle to the island that we currently have in California, partially because we wanted to see 4 of the 5 kids and all our grand kids on this leg of the journey, and partially because I mentioned last month that we had commissioned some furniture to be built in New York that we wanted to take back with us.
Several weeks ago, I bought a small trailer from a kit and a friend helped me assemble it. We then shrink wrapped the furniture, loaded it on the trailer and set off for California or bust! On our second day out, just outside of Chicago, the trailer lost a wheel -not a tire- the entire wheel on the freeway in a raging rainstorm. It took 2 1/2 hours to have us towed to some podunk town nearby where we spent the next 2 days as the breakdown occurred on a Saturday after noon and everything would be closed until Monday, of course.
Once back on the road, we drove to Nebraska where part of our family has a farm. I have been hankering to take the monster combine out for a spin and finally got my fill. While I did not get to actually drive the beast that is the size of a small house and costs more than one (fair enough, I wouldn't let them fly my plane either) I did get a first hand experience from the inside of the large cab.
This beast processes 12 rows of corn stock simultaneously, right down to stripping the kernels off the cob at a rate of about 35 pounds a second! Our visit was cut short due to time lost getting our trailer fixed. I must admit that as much fun as this farming gig was (and it was) the truth is that I discovered yet another occupation that I would not pursue. I guess I am just destined to be an unemployed slacker.
On the road again, we drove to Kalispell Montana to see Grandson Alex in his rehabilitation center, then on to Sandpoint Idaho to spend a few days with #1 son Wesley. Next was a drive over the Cascade mountains this morning to daughter Amy's place in the San Juan islands in Washington state to see the 5 grand kids there. At this writing, we are still 10 days and 1200 miles from home.
Finally, feeling right at home with us, Murphy joined us for the start of our road trip. This is the first time we are driving back across the country in 10 years, to our home in California. This is partially because we want to return with a different vehicle to the island that we currently have in California, partially because we wanted to see 4 of the 5 kids and all our grand kids on this leg of the journey, and partially because I mentioned last month that we had commissioned some furniture to be built in New York that we wanted to take back with us.
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| So. Besides looking like the "Grapes of Wrath" and Jed Clampet's trailer, what's wrong with this picture? |
Several weeks ago, I bought a small trailer from a kit and a friend helped me assemble it. We then shrink wrapped the furniture, loaded it on the trailer and set off for California or bust! On our second day out, just outside of Chicago, the trailer lost a wheel -not a tire- the entire wheel on the freeway in a raging rainstorm. It took 2 1/2 hours to have us towed to some podunk town nearby where we spent the next 2 days as the breakdown occurred on a Saturday after noon and everything would be closed until Monday, of course.
Once back on the road, we drove to Nebraska where part of our family has a farm. I have been hankering to take the monster combine out for a spin and finally got my fill. While I did not get to actually drive the beast that is the size of a small house and costs more than one (fair enough, I wouldn't let them fly my plane either) I did get a first hand experience from the inside of the large cab.
This beast processes 12 rows of corn stock simultaneously, right down to stripping the kernels off the cob at a rate of about 35 pounds a second! Our visit was cut short due to time lost getting our trailer fixed. I must admit that as much fun as this farming gig was (and it was) the truth is that I discovered yet another occupation that I would not pursue. I guess I am just destined to be an unemployed slacker.
On the road again, we drove to Kalispell Montana to see Grandson Alex in his rehabilitation center, then on to Sandpoint Idaho to spend a few days with #1 son Wesley. Next was a drive over the Cascade mountains this morning to daughter Amy's place in the San Juan islands in Washington state to see the 5 grand kids there. At this writing, we are still 10 days and 1200 miles from home.
The view from the cockpit
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| Wellers Bay National Wildlife area, on Prince Edward Island |
Well, this is it. You wont have to read any more blah-blah-blah about the plane for another 239 days, but who's counting? I managed to rack up 64 hours in the air all by my little own self this summer and I am getting really comfortable with it all. I am now traveling further than ever, with a prudent amount of confidence, landing at new airports all over the place. Just before I left, I decided to take my grandson Christopher on a virtual flight with me, since realistically he will never actually be able to join me. You can see our flight here.
Flying simply makes the sun shine brighter, the grass greener, the world a more peaceful place and beer taste better (after, not during). A flight a day keeps the doctor away and does not count towards the time we have on earth.
