Day 36: Home again, home again

We spent the night south of Redding at Camping World and hit the road early, 630 or so. We stopped and got gas and coffee and made a beeline for home. Comet seems more and more comfortable and she came up to the cab to visit.

Soon we were in our home turf and at home. Comet wasn't sure where we were, but the dogs knew.

The kitchen remodel is essentially complete. It looks fantastic.

The carpet is all clean. Kasey had that done as soon as the kitchen was complete.

The upper cabinets and tile are complete and the trim all done. There is so much storage compared to the previous kitchen.

Spring arrived while we were gone. The grass is growing everywhere and the oaks are leafing out. 

Kasey made sure that his Burro and cactus were placed in the yard.

It is good to be home. Let the laundry begin.

Day 35 - Last Night on Road

We got an early start for home this morning. It's always hard to leave Family, so we gave our hugs and headed out.

We planned to have dinner in Red Bluff with our friends, Steve Lamon and Pattie Shaffer on our way to Baja but the weather delayed us a day so we stopped on our way back.

It was great to catch up and talk about our adventures. They also did a lot of traveling over the last year. Steve introduced Janice to the Spotted Owl when he was doing his PhD at Berkeley and Janice was getting her BS there. It was fun listening to them talk about birding. Pattie and I nodded a lot and discussed our shared passion for pillows when birders sneak out in the pre-dawn morning to bird.

We hope to do some traveling with them when Steve retires in August and they get finished with multiple trips. Pattie just got back from visiting her older brother in Tulsa and tomorrow she headed to Alaska to see her granddaughter compete in a regional gymnastic competition. 

We got to Red Bluff a couple hours before dinner. Janice found a place to do our sanidump at the Tehama County Fairgrounds. We took the dogs for a walk and then took a nap as we were both up after midnight last night celebrating Family.

We are excited about being home tomorrow. We miss our home, Friends and Community. It's been a wonderful trip but there's no place like home!

Day 34: A day in the life

Monday is a workday. Katherine prepared for work and Maria, Linda's caregiver arrived to be sure Linda ate enough food. 2 full plates were prepared and Linda ate it all. She likes Maria and Maria is kind and loving with Linda. She gets her dressed, puts on earrings and does her hair.

The excitement of the morning came when a big semi-truck following Google maps sent him down this dead-end residential neighborhood. One of the utility lines, luckily not a power line, was brought down in the wake. It turned out to be an old cable line not being used. The truck is 13 ft 6 inches and all lines are supposed to be 14 feet. So in this section of the neighborhood, they all are now.

We got him the correct directions and he oppologized for the disruption and the mishap.

We were trying to figure out something fun to do with David but he didn't have any desire to explore. I mentioned a pick and pull and that piqued his interest. His ankle was bothering him so he went to lie down. Meanwhile, I got the green light to clear out the old paperback books that Linda used to read. I carefully separated all the novels and similar romance books and boxed them up. I think there were 8 boxes but forgot to get a before picture. 

The shelves were fairly empty by the time I got done. Just trying to help.

Tad was bored and not impressed.

Marty came over to continue to work on his pickup and David got up to continue tackling his "to do" list.

Kasey can't wait to ride in the truck.

We gave Comet a break from her confines of the motorhome on this sunny day in the bay area.

Soon, it was time to start cooking. My sister Sharon and niece Raina were coming for dinner. Several of my siblings live close to each other, but they don't always see each other with their busy lives. Having a dinner to gather the  family is a must. Sharon brought an awesome potato salad and Raina brought a loaf of baked sweet bread. For her efforts, I gave her 4 boxes of romance books, or David did anyway. Sharon always has ideas on how to use items or find homes for them.

There is always good conversation, stories from our past, and catching up to do. David is always accommodating but we don't want to add to his workload. Kasey ran the grill and I assembled the veggies and utensils for the meal. 

Marty brought some old photos he had of my mom abd niece Katherine worked her magic to restore and colorize them.

I think it must have been midnight when I went to bed. A productive day.  I am not sure how we will adjust to a smaller bed. The one we have been sleeping in is on David's spare room. It is a king sized bed. After a month in the motorhome, it seems gigantic. Kasey says that it should have it's own zip code. I thought I would need to call him on the phone if I needed to talk to him. Mighty comfortable. 

Day 33 - San Leandro, Quality Time with Family!

We love traveling together and exploring new places on our adventures. Nothing compares though to spending time with Family. We haven't visited the Reid's since December of 2022 and our time together is long over due! They always make us feel so welcome and our time is filled with laughter, stories, great food and beverage and most of all, love.

Love is the predominant theme here and nothing exemplifies this better than the time and loving care given to Linda. She has been battling alzheimers for several years and can no longer walk, speak or feed herself. Yet she is at the center of everything and she is often alert and aware of the bustling activity and conversations. 

The love David and Katherine have for Linda is so powerful and inspiring and it is very evident that Linda knows it. It is very hard work caring for someone who can't do things for themselves but no one I know could do it better than David. He has rigged up pulley systems in the kitchen,  bedroom, bathrooms, and living room that it makes it possible to transfer Linda from her wheel chair to where she needs to go.

Marty came over and made a pancake breakfast for everyone. After playing in the backyard with the Boys, I went with David to run some errands while Janice and Katherine spent time with Linda and Marty worked on his car restoration project. Janice took Comet for a walk in the backyard.

I enjoyed spending time with David. I call him the "Peter" of the Reid Family because he is a rock like Peter, the disciple of Jesus. David is a man of great faith. For many years he has served at the church he and Linda were married in. He helps maintain the large fleet of vehicles owned by the 3 Crosses mega-church in Castro Valley. After doing some shopping, we stopped in to check on some of the busses. He showed me the shop. Like David's garage, it was very organized and everything was labeled and easy to find. 

We returned home and spent the evening just hanging out, laughing and talking. David showed us the new Friend he obtained for Marty that reminded us of Marty. He always has a joke or a story. We cherish making memories together and our time here couldn't be more special.

Day 32: 400 miles before I sleep

Welcome back to the USA. Temperatures were near freezing in the morning. We happened to be travelling during a winter storm advisory. We had snow and ice on the vehicles when we woke. And no heater! Despite having our heater and air conditioner worked on before we left, we had neither the entire trip but we ran the engine to get us through the night. The boys wore their jackets to bed and Comet wanted under the covers. But we made it and got on the road after a brief stop for coffee. 

400 miles was the goal today. The desert was in bloom.

The Tehachapi Mountains had snow. Travelling was easy with lots of scenery. 

Kasey was getting groggy on I 5 so I took over and he took a nap until I woke him with my singing.

He got to ride with Tad.

The valley was so green and the cows were very stinky.

We arrived at my brother and sister-in-law's house in San Leandro. 

Niece Katherine greeted us as soon as we drove up.

David heard of our sand trap adventures and set to work equipping us with a tow chain and converting a tool holder to a tow chain holder. My brother Marty came over and we were soon talking about his antique vehicle restoration.

He welds so he creates parts he needs sometimes. The vehicle is a special military issue version. It has special guards on the headlights and a couple of bullet holes in the rooftop. It is a 45 Dodge.

We talked into the night. Ah family.