October 30, 2013 -- --In Needles, CA, for tonight.

We had an interesting thing happen last night in Bakersfield, CA.  We went to bed around 9 p.m. and when we woke up at 11 for the first of the “nightly old-age calls,” we discovered our electricity was off.  Weird?  The first thought I had, cynic that I am, was that possibly someone was up to “no good” and waiting to see if we would come out and check why the power was off.  Just in case, we didn’t respond.  It really isn’t the best part of town and we didn’t need to be outside in the dark.

So, we just went back to bed and decided to check it in the morning—as the refrigerator had cycled over to gas and was working fine.  Someone could have caused the power outage by pulling the plug or flipping  the breaker switch, or it could be trouble with plug or our cord.  At 5 a.m., I decided I needed to see if it was our plug or something in the camper—which would mean a trip to Camping World and Larry could sleep in until 8 a.m.  (Figured it was safe by then.  If someone had hoped to lure us out,  who would stay around all night??) 

I went out and looked at the breaker and it was off?  I flipped it and we had power—giving Larry nice warm heat when it was time to get up.  Went back in and back to bed for another hour.

We were up and on the road by 8, a great time to climb up Tehachapi Pass. We drove to Barstow for fuel and then on to Needles, CA, Elks’ Club. We expect a much quieter night here.  Tomorrow we head for Gila Bend, AZ.  Tonight was decision night of going I-40 or I-10.  There is some ice warning up on I-40 for the next day or so—so I-10 and possible dust storms wins.  We will move from Gila Bend to Casa Grande, AZ for a night to get an early run through the Tucson area to try to beat the winds.  If windy, we will delay another day.  Those dust storms are really terrifying!

So, until tomorrow night—good night.

October 29, 2013 Parked in Bakersfield, CA

The Lodge RV parking area is much to brag about, but it gives us a place to spend the night with electric hook-ups—and we stop here on a regular basis.  We find it convenient to stop and spend the night and carry on the next day—with the ability to run the A/C or heater.  What’s not to like?

We had a smooth ride down I-5, but I didn’t take any photos as the air was quite dusty-looking all day.  Earlier today, It rained here in Bakersfield and we expect there may be a smattering of snow when we go up Tehachapi Pass tomorrow morning.

We are heading to Needles, CA, for tomorrow night.  Slow but at least forward moving……Good night.

October 28, 2013 -- Going to try it again….

We have been here at Sugar Barge Resort for a month.  We enjoy our time here in this beautiful park.  We enjoy the wonderful staff—they are friendly, outgoing and helpful.  The laundry room is clean and neat—it’s easy to do our laundry here.  It has everything going for it—I enjoy walking in the evenings because I feel safe.  I have even did a bit of weeding just to keep my hands busy—but it is time to try and head for Texas.

We really enjoy being on “rally row.”  This road was filled this weekend with Elks’ Club members from Chico.  They were just one of many clubs holding rallies in Sugar Barge.  I enjoy visiting with the visitors—they have interesting stories.  But, it is still time to head south and east!  We have had wonderful weather most of the time.  A bit of wind now and then—but it is still time to head out.

Larry’s blood pressure is back into the safe range.  The doctor added two more doses of his current medicine and over time, it seemed to help.  He added a daily walk into his routine again.  We stopped eating out so I could control his sodium intake—which helped too. So, unless something else happens in the next 24 hours, we are heading out.

The car is packed again—for the fourth time.  The camper is washed—and tomorrow morning, we cut out electrical, water and sewer ties to Sugar Barge Resort and head to Bakersfield.  We are only about 5 weeks behind schedule!

Keep tuned to see how our trip goes—as we will post every other night as we creep along toward Livingston, TX. 

Sept. 26, 2013, On the move again…but not far!

We left Salem, OR, with plans of heading for Texas the day after we saw our doctors.
We had a quiet two-night run from Salem to Antioch, CA.  We stopped early the first day in The Valley of the Rogue State Park, where the scenery is beautiful and the weather was very mild.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the Redding, CA, Elks’ Club the next day, the temperature was 103.  We were lucky—as it had been 106 the day before.  That’s a bit too warm for me!
Apparently rice does well in warm weather—as we passed miles of rice paddies north of Sacramento, CA.

A few fields were still green, but most of the rice paddies had already been harvested.

We pulled into the Antioch Fairground RV Park and made ourselves at home, such as it is:

The Antioch area is suffering some severe crime events—including a murder on the fair grounds just three nights before we arrived.  Twice we heard gun fire during the night. What is more perplexing is the lack of sirens afterwards—it appears no one bothers to call the Police Department—located just four blocks from the fairground.   It wasn’t the best of times!  The worst assault was on our ears:  a five-hour Rap Concert held just behind the RV park.  It was LOUD and it was disgusting!  I have never heard so many swear words so loud and so often.  No wonder the kids are killing each other—they are being egged on toward violence in their music.  It actually was a blessing when the stock-car races started as the roaring cars—just off to the left in the photo, were quieter than the disgusting rap music we had endured from noon to 5 pm.  We just smiled at each with the race noises!
We thought we would be leaving for Texas on the 20th—the day after we were finished with doctor appointments.  Wrong!  Larry’s blood pressure had been climbing over the past month—until we realized it was just too high to start east.  We decided to hang on until Sunday, the 22nd—and then Wednesday—in the hope it would level out. We emailed his kidney doctor to see what we could do to bring it down into a safer level.  When she emailed back on Wednesday that we needed to adjust his current dosage for a week—and then add two more pills if that didn’t work—we called our favorite resort, Sugar Barge RV Park, and made a month’s reservation.  We are looking at least two week’s delay if her readjustment of his Terazosin works or 3 or 4 if she has to add or change one of his BP meds.
Sugar Barge is beautiful and so much quieter—no gunshots waking us up at 2 a.m.  I can walk in the evening—without having to keep an eye on the road outside the fairground watching for cars slowing down to do us harm.  So, I reluctantly cancelled our plans to be back in Livingston for the annual Fun Fest celebration.  I had signed up to help with event cashiers and market day to sell  my pottery.  Some very nice friends have picked up my slack and will make sure the cashiers are there to sell dinner and lunch tickets!  Thank you Joan Anderson, Sherry King, Joyce Houck and Beth and Wayne Roberts.  You are the best!!  Now if I could get someone to display and sell my pottery bowls, ha ha!
Tomorrow I will unload the car and run to the storage shed to put some stuff back in and to pick up the patio chairs.  We were ready to go—everything was packed!  And now we are on hold—until Larry’s blood pressure is back in the safe range.  Darn, and double darn.  There goes those plans—again and again!  And that is what RVing—and getting older—is all about.  Our plans are written in the sands of the Sahara—and can change with a soft breeze!  I had to remind myself—when we kept trying to make it work to get to Texas in time—when you are stuck in a hole and trying to get out—stop digging!  It could be so much worse—this is just another hick-up in our lives, not a major event.  We always have next year to make Fun Fest!
Meanwhile, I can help my sister by stringing more beads for her necklaces.  A good therapy for impatient hands!  This is just part of her bead stash!

So, until my next post, think of my eyes getting blurry and my clumsy fingers threading beads onto wire—in a labor of love!  If I didn’t love her, I wouldn’t be doing this, smile!
Happy travels—for some of you!  

Sept. 7, 2013 Saying Good-bye to Salem, OR.

After a great summer in Salem, OR, it is now time to pack up and head south for the winter.
I spent a lot of time at the Willamette Art Center.  I want to thank Karin (class instructor), Ken, Lee, Kate, Jim, Pat, Sue, Nikki (who fired the gas kiln), Jan, Jeanette, and all the other potters who generously shared their tips—and lots of laughs--with me.  It was pure heaven being able to “talk clay” with so many talented and creative potters!  I learned so much—a bit here and there from everyone at the W.A.C.  The Salem community is very lucky to have such a wonderful resource in their midst!! 
I have carefully packed away 8 bowls that are coming home with me—here are two:

The blue bowls are a new concept and the Ohata Red/White bowl is a glaze I used in Hawaii in the 1980s.  Many of the glazes did not work out—so they aren’t coming with us, ha ha.
We did a raku firing on the last class day:

That metal pipe at the bottom shoots a gas fired flame into the kiln—after the fiberglass shield is dropped down over the base.

Yikes! The fiberglass is lifted when the correct temperature is reached.  Those pots are about 1700 degrees!  I stood back to take photos—too hot for me!!
 
Kate applied her horse’s hair to her “HOT” vase to create a horse-hair glaze effect.  Yes, it smells—but the effect is beautiful.


The hot glazed pots are placed in a container filled with shredded newspaper or leaves, etc. to create a fire—which blackens the unglazed areas. This is my bowl.  Raku fired bowls are always a surprise!

As we planned on being here for 3 months, I wanted to get involved and do some volunteer work, so I joined Salem Elks’ Club # 336.  (Larry is a 20-yr. member of Los Banos, CA Elks.)  To keep in shape, I started weeding the flower beds around the building, as well as helped at a few functions. As I told Brenda Holm, the Exalted Ruler, “My hands are available to be of use, but  brain not included.”  I wanted to help, but not take charge of anything, smile.
  Imagine my surprise at being given this honor on August 22, 2013:

Wow, I was blown away with the announcement!  I felt like I had been paid already with the satisfaction of lending a helping hand—so this was just frosting on the cake.
Some other things we did were:

We made a few visits to Willamette Valley Fruit Company for a treat as well as numerous market stands to buy fresh tomatoes—for yummy bacon and tomato sandwiches.  

We splurged and had prime-rib dinner at the lodge!  Yes, it was yummy too!

Larry wants a trailer instead of the camper, so a neighbor walked me through hooking up a pull-trailer to show I could do it.  He even offered to let me hook up his trailer for him--for practice; what a great friend, ha ha.  Thanks, Mike!  Still not sure I can do it, but did see it wasn’t as difficult as I expected.  Stay tuned to see what happens this winter!


And we rode around the country side. And day after day slid by while we were enjoying ourselves!  About a week ago, we realized it summer was almost over—and time to do some “packing up” work!  And just about then—I came down with the flu or a nasty cold!  Sore throat, chills and fever, sinus pain, chest congestion, and plugged ears—GREAT!  I lost the last two weeks—and Larry held out for 10 days before he got sick!  The couple that lives together—in a shoebox—cough together!
This has been one of the best summers in many years!  We were surrounded with friendly neighbors and new friends here at the lodge, we contributed to good works, and my creative needs were fed by the welcoming, creative potters of WAC.  It just doesn’t get any better than this summer in Salem!
We expect to be healthy enough to drive out of the wonderful Salem Elks’ Club on Monday, September 9th.  We are headed to Antioch for doctor appointments and then hope to head for Texas for a few months.  The Livingston house feels lonely and probably needs a ton of work—costing two tons of gold—just normal stuff!  Stay tuned as we explore old roads—again!

July 13, 2013 Oregon’s delightful summer season

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

July 2, 2013, Salem, OR--Views of the Midwest

Yes, it is hot in Salem too.  Not as hot as other places in the country where we hear numbers that are on a toaster oven--like 110 degrees, but we are enduring the 90s in this part of the country.  With the humidity, it means running the air conditioner from about 9 a.m. until midnight. 

One great point of being in Salem is the temperatures cool down after sunset and we wake up to comfortable temperatures. I love the early morning coolness and thank my lucky stars that we are here in beautiful Oregon.

We try to have a weekly drive around the Salem country side. The views transport me to other places we have visited in the past—such as Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  Here are a few views of the Midwest:

Is this a Wisconsin barn?  Or did we see it in Iowa?

I swear I saw this scene in Indiana!  (And, no, it is not a golf course!)

And this view….

Like Indiana’s Amish households with their fruit stands, many Oregon farms have produce for sale.  And it is yummy!

These fresh berries are sweet--no sugar needed!  (I swear I never thought I could say that, ha ha.)

Meanwhile, we have been busy with activities here at the Elk’s Club and my pottery classes.

The Salem Elks Club hosted their annual car show.  The owners show off their restored “antique” vehicles and some of us reminisce about dating in these cars—when they were just “used” cars—not antiques.

 

The show attracted about 40 vehicles.  The cars from the late fifties looked like big boats compared to our smaller cars today..

We saw these three cars pass us on the road in Molalla and followed them to take a photo:

  

The three 1929 Speedsters were on a road rally. Each car was restored by the driver.  They offered to take a photo of me in the white car, but I declined; the cars were cute enough on their own--without me in it.

This next photo is for my friend Marge—a picture of the Willamette River as it passes the town of Independence, OR.  Here is the boat launch in the middle of town.

And here is the Molalla River ferry landing in Canby, OR.  Don’t you just love the green water rivers in Oregon?  Texas rivers tend to be dirt-brown colored.

It is fun exploring the country side, but you need to come visit yourself—to absorb the beauty of this state.

We hope you have found a comfortable place to be during this hot summer.  Stay cool and look forward to Fall weather—coming soon to a place near you.