3/24/08 – Goodbye SnowBirds!

We have returned from our little trip to New Orleans, and we will probably carry those memories for a long time to come.

Paul has his 6th chemo treatment this Friday, and at that time we hope to find out what window of time we will have until he has to report for another biopsy (probably in 4 to 6 weeks).

While we were in New Orleans we came up with the great idea that we could drive the motor home from El Centro over to the Crescent City and volunteer there for a couple of weeks. The distance from El Centro to New Orleans is 1700 miles and a 1700 mile round trip within a month made us rethink about such a possibility. It is hard not to imagine joining the other volunteers there, but unfortunately, it just doesn’t seem a good idea at this time. Perhaps once our health challenges have stabilized, we can consider that possibility. We stayed in the El Centro area last winter to be close to a Kaiser facility (our medical care provider). That’s why we elected not to go to San Felipe for the winter. Being 1700 miles away at this time is probably not a smart idea.

We were so impressed with the On-Site folks, and all the other volunteer groups and individual volunteers we met there (including Michelle and Cody in particular) that we wanted to be part of that awesome group.

Cody captured this heartbreaking message when he and Michelle drove around in parts of the lower ninth that Paul and I missed.  The picture is so poignant that I felt moved to add it to this blog.

When Kathleen had her eye exam this past Friday, she found out that she has cataracts in her left eye and will probably need to get that taken care of. So it looks that between Paul and his cancer and Kathleen and her eyes, we may be spending more time in the San Diego area this summer than we thought. So we will wait and see – making no decisions or travel plans until we know more. It’s really not a bad place to spend some time!

For two individuals who have not seen the inside of a doctor’s office for all these years, 2007-2008 opened up a whole new medical world to us. But hey, we spoke just yesterday with a fellow resident who was told (two days ago) that he has cancer of the liver (the tumor is over 3 centimeters). That is really bad news. A very dear friend we’ve met since we’ve been here is having very serious health problems and it is taking the doctors so long to find out what’s wrong and if it can be fixed. So who are we to wonder and complain? Each day is precious and we realize how very lucky we are.

One day this week (tomorrow or Wednesday) we are definitely going to drive over to Anza Borrego State Park to view the wild flowers. We were going to go today, but Paul has been working diligently on the Income Tax returns. It is not an easy job, but he’s been plugging away for weeks now and I believe he can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Being back “home” again is good – even after such a memorable trip. We enjoyed all the beignets we could stuff into our mouths (including the powdered sugar that comes with them – one might say that we had beignets with our powdered sugar!) We also enjoyed the delicious southern cooking and never did our normal exercises the whole time we were gone. Returning back to El Centro gets us back to our healthy eating and doing our daily exercises. But it will take awhile to work off all the pounds we put on in New Orleans!

The City of El Centro has plans to really change the looks and usefulness of Sunbeam Lake. Presently, earth movers are moving back the sides of the lake. Huge piles of soil (from the lake) line one side of the Lake. The level of the lake has been reduced, so some of the earth moving can take place. The plans are to have a paved walk that will go all around the Lake. There will be a larger swimming area for residents, and the fishing area will be enlarged and stocked with fish. Close by are new fields for baseball and soccer. There is also a small area set aside for the town’s children to enjoy some dirt biking. We are happy for the people and children of the City of El Centro and nearby Seeley – this will give them a very pleasant and larger park where they can enjoy swimming, fishing, ball games, bike riding, picnicking and relaxation.

As for Sunbeam Lake RV Resort, many, many Snow Birds have left and are on their way back to their respective homes. Most of the winter residents here hail from all over Canada. There is a small percentage of winter residents who hail from various states in the U.S. The state of Washington, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, Nebraska, and California and a few other states are represented. However, the majority of winter residents are Canadians. We are in awe of the distance they have to travel to get down here. On the other hand, we recall all the Canadians we met in Baja and in the Yucatan! They are a hardy lot!

Today, as we looked out the window of the rig, we noticed how many of our neighbors have moved out. The place is beginning to look as it did when we arrived last November. Many of the folks who are still here will probably head out the first of April. Right now we expect to join them, but don’t know where we’ll go from here – we live each day and will make that decision then! Only a few folks will stay here until mid April or even May. The managers and a few staff members remain here all summer (where temperatures get into the 3-digit numbers). I can’t imagine what the early residents did in this area of southern California (the “Inland Empire it is called) without air conditioning. Mornings are usually delightful – perfect for walks and being out doors. From about 11:00 to 5:00, the place can look deserted, as most folks find a shady spot, the pool, or remain inside their air-conditioned rigs or park models. Our overhead fan works quite well, but there are days we just turn on the air-conditioner and are very comfortable! There are folks in the north who are still experiencing snow storms, so how can we complain?

03/23/08 – Happy Birthday Paul David!

Today marks the birthday of our first grandson – Paul David III.

A student at a local parochial high school, he is interested in so many things. Football, soccer, lacrosse, you name it, Paul David has participated. Most recently we have been more aware of his participation in Lacrosse. We have watched Paul David and the Lacrosse team ply their talents in this very active sport.

Paul David’s grandfather likes to remark that Lacrosse is a perfect sport for teenaged boys. “When else can young men participate in a game that allows the players to beat the dickens out of their opponents?”

We still hold dear to our hearts the summer we took Paul David and his sister across the country in our motor home. We traveled from California to Chicago, IL. and consider that experience to be one of the best summers we’ve ever had.

We hope Paul David enjoys a very happy birthday.

This is Paul David last Christmas, enjoying his Christmas present….

March 21, 2008 – Happy Birthday, Christina!

Although she is presently in Mexico, enjoying the good life, we think about our second child, born on this day almost two years after her older sister.

Christina Marie has been another miracle for us. A talented, successful woman, she was determined to earn her PhD before she “settled down”. She married Chet before she earned her degree, but earn it she did, so we have two “Dr.” Smiths in the family!

In addition to her educational aims, Christina is accomplished in nearly any area of home building – from the drawing up of the plans to the execution of most of the tasks involved in building a house from the ground up! She honed this accomplishment in addition to taking care of Catie and Becky as well as being involved in civic matters and especially of being the family historian and genealogy researcher for the family.

Backpacking is probably her favorite thing to do, and this summer Christina, Chet and their two daughters will be joined by Christina’s younger sister, Michelle and her family for a “Llama Backpacking Trip”.

We wish our dear daughter a very happy birthday!

So Little Time!

This blog has an interesting format, but after reading many of the FAQs for Word Press, I discovered this method to get paragraph breaks. Hopefully, Word Press will correct this dumb little glitch – but in the meantime, this is the best I can do. The paragraphing (or lack thereof) doesn’t always happen – short blogs don’t seem bothered; long blogs do. It is such a simple function – (creating paragraphs), but Word Press gives the blogger little independence….. (Browse the Flickr pictures on the left to see many pictures of this adventure. Click on the “More Photos”.)

How quickly our time in New Orleans went! What an impression of the Crescent City we bring back to California.

From 1951 to 1957 Kathleen attended Xavier University (in New Orleans) and taught at a local parochial school. We returned to the New Orleans area in 1965 while Paul worked for Shell Oil Company, and visited a number of areas of the City then, but what a change we witnessed on this visit!

Daughter Michelle and her eldest son, Cody spent nearly a week working with an inspiring group of people. The young couple who founded “On Site Relief” spent their honeymoon in New Orleans trying to help out with the needs of the Katrina hurricane victims. That “honeymoon” evolved into the creation of a non-profit organization that helps people rebuild/repair their homes that were destroyed in the hurricane. Check out their site “www.onsiterelief.com” – (browse through it to watch and hear the various videos).

Cody and Michelle met with Genevieve (one of the founders) early Monday morning and drove over to the site in the lower ninth ward to the houses that were presently being worked on this week. They spent most of the day applying “mud” to the ceiling and walls of what will someday be the kitchen of the house.

When Michelle and Cody were finished their work for the day we all drove out to a local Target where Michelle and Cody purchased shoes that they could wear when they beginning painting inside the house. Paul and Kathleen purchased some lunch food that will be served to the volunteer crew tomorrow.

While the volunteers were working Paul and I drove out to Metarie to see if we could find the house which was Michelle’s first home (for all of two weeks). However, the first two blocks of the street have been removed to make room for commercial enterprises. So we were sorry to report to Michelle that there is nothing of her “first house” left We also drove around some of the “upper” ninth ward, where Kathleen taught school for several years (50 some years ago!) The neighborhood would have changed because of the years between 1951-56 and now, but the hurricane washed away most of those changes. This area of New Orleans (Gentilly and the upper ninth ward) were hard hit by the hurricane. Many of the houses remain as they were right after the storm, but there is some building and hopefully the neighborhood will rebuild itself. The church, convent and school have all been closed – the convent that had been built by the parishioners in 1951 is all locked up and abandoned. A new and much larger church replaced the original little church. It to, was locked up tight and we saw nary a soul around. What a sorrowful sight! Some of the school rooms appear to have been destroyed.

On Tuesday Cody and Michelle spent much of the day on the outside of the house, putting up siding. For our part, we packed lunch bags with sandwiches, cheese, chips, apple sauce, cookies, candy and water.What a pleasure for us to see the crew enjoying the repast. We also were able to visit with some of the other volunteers. An interesting young man and woman hail from Fordham University (Mike Hilton and Leyla Pearl). He is in the process of writing a production about New Orleans, the hurricane and its ramifications. Leyla is going to create the stage sets. Part of their volunteering brings them into contact with what volunteering down here means and they are getting some good ideas for their project.

A father and his son are also here, contributing their expertise in building repair. Everyone contributes what they can and if they lack anything in experience, their enthusiasm and generosity make their contributions doubly effective and appreciated.

A family who drove here from Birmingham, Alabama are here so their daughter can satisfy her high school freshman requirement for 60 hours of some volunteer work. The family all agreed that this would be a good place for that! Father, mother, freshman and younger brother are all busy helping out on the project.

On Wednesday there were more volunteers, so Michelle and Cody were able to leave their posts a little early so we all could spend a little time seeing some of the City of New Orleans.After they showered we all met and headed for the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.After many visits to the John G Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, this was much smaller by comparison, but we all enjoyed viewing the sea otters, black footed penguins, jellyfish, stingrays, sharks and the variety of animals that inhabit every place from the Amazon, Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi area to name a few. http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Aquarium_Exhibits In addition to our tour of the aquarium, we also enjoyed viewing the IMAX Theater where we saw the presentation “Hurricane on the Bayou” which presented us with the fact that the wetlands were destroyed, the natural flow of the River was changed, canals were constructed, and the natural protection for the city and surrounding area was compromised. The movie points out how necessary steps must be taken immediately to bring back the wetlands.

We left the Aquarium area and walked along the river.The Woldenberg Riverfront Park (named after

philanthropist Malcolm Woldenberg) is located on 16 acres of green space along the Mississippi. Among other pieces of sculpture, the “Monument to the Immigrant,” crafted from white Carrara marble faces the riverfront with a ship’s prow topped by a female figure reminiscent of Lady Liberty. Behind her stands a turn-of-the-century immigrant family looking toward the French Quarter.Nearby is the city’s Holocaust Memorial, which was dedicated in 2003. It is a lovely area and we enjoyed our stroll.

Our experience here in the City has been illuminating and fun. The downtown area, including the French Market

area, have pretty much been restored (not everything, mind you, but much has been restored and improved). Much construction in the downtown area continues, and that part of the City holds much hope. Lots and lots of visitors are certainly helping the economy of New Orleans. Not surprising, the poorest of the poor of the City (upper and lower ninth wards to name just a couple of areas) still have much work to be done.In addition to the group with whom Michelle and Cody volunteered, other groups, such as Common Ground and Habitat for Humanity and many, many more volunteer organizations are doing a gargantuan job of helping out. The devastation is so great, and the needs of the poor people is so varied, that it will take a long time before some of the neighborhoods are populated again.

This evening would mark our last dinner together, starting off with a final stop at Cafe du Monde (beignets again, of course!) where we also enjoyed the music of the street musicians. After a stroll past interesting shops, a stop at the praline shop, and a yarn shop.We eventually enjoyed the excellent food at Mila’s (again). We spent a long evening together, enjoying one another this last time before we head back to California (early Thursday morning) and Michelle and Cody head back up to the cold Minnesota “Spring” later Thursday morning.

When we get time, we want to write about our favorite New Orleans restaurant. It is called Mila’s and we fell in love with it, it’s chef, waiters and everyone we met there. The food was delicious (all three times we ate there!) href=”http://blog.nola.com/living/2007/09/longbranch_chefs_to_open_new_r.html”
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New Orleans!

After Paul’s chemo treatment yesterday (Friday) we drove into San Diego to our motel (Ramada Limited) which is very close to the San Diego Airport. It’s an older building, and the rooms though small, were clean and nicely appointed. The staff on duty were ever so helpful in suggesting a restaurant and the closest Von’s (we needed to purchase water for Paul.) For 24 hours after his treatments he is required to drink 2 quarts of water.

So off we went to find the Von’s. We recalled our first ever visit to a Von’s market. Kitty was living in Hermosa Beach and at the Von’s close to her apartment, we not only were introduced to Von’s, but also to the scrumptious fresh sushi sold there. We remembered the magnificent sushi meal we all enjoyed that day. When we arrived at the San Diego Von’s not far from our motel, we were unprepared for such a handsome building. The store was actually two stores, connected with an atrium that featured flowers and plants of all kinds. It was a very “upscale” place and we both decided to see if they offered the shushi we remembered from our original Hermosa Beach store. Sure enough, delicious shushi awaited our approval and purchase. We decided to pass the meal at a restaurant in favor of the sushi. We also picked up some soup. Before purchasing our loot, we strolled around the store. It really is a beautiful and inviting place – and would be able to stand up against the equally attractive Whole Foods market at which we usually only “window shop” in San Ramon, CA.   Between the soup (heated up in the micro wave in our room) and the sushi, we were well fed and satisfied.

 

 

Early on Saturday we repacked our belongings, took out to the Element anything we didn’t need to carry on to New Orleans, partook of their Continental breakfast (a nice array of breakfast foods), then readied ourselves for the shuttle to the airport. We had made reservations for the shuttle last night, and since we seemed to be ready earlier than the time arranged, hoped there would be an earlier shuttle. No such luck, so we waited for the 10:00 appointed hour. Our driver was right on time and it was a very short ride to the airport.

 

 

We were unaware that we are in that yearly celebration of “Spring Break” and the curbside lines to check baggage were long. There was a good breeze, so we elected to go inside the terminal to check our baggage. Again, a VERY long line awaited us. Even so, we never had to stand still very long; the line moved at a good pace and in short order we were relieved of our luggage and on our way to the boarding gate.

A weather front is moving in and there have been weather problems to the east of us. It doesn’t look as though either Houston nor New Orleans are in the storm’s path, but of course, there is a delay in flights. So our 11:25 flight from San Diego to Houston is going to be at least an hour delayed. We are fortunate that we had no time constraints, and we didn’t mind the one hour wait for the plane that took us to Houston (where we did not have to change planes, but stayed on board the few minutes for folks flying only to Houston departed). It took only an hour to fly from Houston to New Orleans.   We picked up our baggage and our rental car and headed for the hotel close to the French Quarter. There has been a lot of construction since Katrina, and many years since we lived in this area, so we felt lucky to make only a few “wrong” turns before arriving at the hotel.This particular hotel, like the other buildings in this area, had their share of hurricane damage, but this part of the City was not hit as hard as other parts, and because the return of the French Quarter and downtown New Orleans is so crucial to the City’s survival, much work has been done to get hotels and restaurants up and running. Our hotel is not completed, but we were lucky to be assigned to a room that has just been remodeled. This picture shows the 5th floor and the construction right next to our room. (That’s our room on the left!) Other hotels have been fully restored, and the prices are proof! Everything in New Orleans is very expensive, and we feel that in some small way we are contributing to keeping it up and running!   Naturally, first on our list was the Cafe du Monde. When we lived in Metarie (some 40 years ago) we often drove from Sunday Mass to downtown and toCafe du Monde for their famous beignets.  (Nothing like them.)Our initial visit gave ample proof that the beignets are just as good as ever.   We took a nice stroll along the River Front and eventually wound up at the hotel where Michelle and Cody will be staying (four blocks from ours). We decided to wait there for them to arrive from Minneapolis.While we were waiting for their arrival we noticed a large group of young people (at the opposite side of the lobby) who were having some sort of meeting. Kathleen wanted to get a picture of their T-Shirts, and ended up meeting these delightful volunteers. The young woman is from Sudan and the young man hails from Australia. In time we were able to greet the whole group and capture them in one of the pictures.These young people are a small part of the larger group, known as the “Clinton Global Initiative”, represented by college activists from six continents. Bill Clinton addressed 700 students at Tulane University Sunday afternoon. These young people were part of that organization. I read that former Pres. Bush and Bill Clinton created this group I thought Clinton’s words to the group were worth repeating.Because humanity is tied together by technology, “we can blow each other up,” Clinton said, “but it also means we can lift each other up in ways we never thought possible. Everyone can do something, no matter how small, to help change the world.”We were much impressed with these young people, and what a promise of the future!   After Michelle and Cody arrived and stored their various bags and suitcases in their room, we four took off for a restaurant that is close to our hotel. We enjoyed a most delicious meal there last night, and wanted to share the experience with Michelle and Cody. l We were not disappointed in the excellent fare. The name of the restaurant is “Mielo” and we highly recommend it. The restaurant looks as though it is part of the hotel on the site, and like our Barrone Palza Hotel, is still under construction.    Oh!  I forgot!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  I could use several pages talking about the celebrations in New Orleans for St. Patrick’s day.  So here’s a “quick” rundown on some of the local activities:The “kick-off” on March 14 with a “beer party” – including St. Paddy’s Day Red Ale.  During the celebrations, a boot is passed around for all to share (this is an old German tradition) – we only read about it!  Thr Irish of Metarie kick off the parades with theirs on March 16th  (a sort of St. Patrick’s Day Eve affair).    A neighborhood club of working class Irish immigrants (joined by other immigrants from Germany, Italy and Africa) in 1947  formed a group called “The Irish Channel”.   This year 1,400 members of the Irish Channel  will passed out paper flowers and beads as they marched through the City on their 61st Irish Channel parade!    Another parade, called the Irish-Italian Parade has been marching every year since 1983!  The Irish-Italian parade marches on March 30th!  Neither of these aforesaid groups only march.  They are philanthropic organaziations, but come St. Patty’s Day, they hold religious celebraions, have Toasting Parties,  put on a dinner dance where  corn beef and cabbage is enjoyed, as well as muffelettas and other Irish and Italian food as well as non-stop entertainment.   I think there’s been one parade or another ever since we’ve been here – more green beads, hats, feathers, shirts, etc., that I’ve ever seen.  In spite of Katrina, New Orleans knows how to party! 

The Blue Angels

Last Friday we drove the 100+ miles up to San Diego again for Paul’s 3rd chemo treatment. His nurse, Kathy, is really a treasure who makes sure that if we have any questions, she has an answer. She’s been in the business a long time, and we feel so confident with her.

On the drive to San Diego and back we noticed more wildflowers in bloom Yellow and orange seems to be the predominant colors, although we did see a little purple here and there along the way.

The following evening we drove over to the Naval Air Facility (about 2 miles from here) to what was billed as a “Food Festival”. A number of local restaurants in the area provided samples of their menus, and the local Ice Creamery provided a sample of some of their ice cream flavors. There were a number of lines to each restaurant’s table, but the ice cream table had no line – just lots of little dishes of ice cream – just for the taking. (We had about 4 samples, but a friend with whom I spoke the next day claimed 10 samples!) . (There was also a table set aside with food samples just for children!)
We had a nice time – but left before the Blue Angels joined the crowds for picture taking and answering of questions. The evening ended with a spectacular fire works show.

My camera does not take very good “night” pictures, but we were able to document a few sights we saw during the course of the evening. The Budwiser Clydesdales made a handsome appearance, and the Dalmatian rode in the back, high atop the boxes!

A young high school group of musicians surprised and delighted us with their professional musical presentation.

The following day (Saturday) we drove over to the NAF at 9:00 (the time the gates opened) and were amazed by the number of cars, vans and trucks already in line! Once in the parking lot, we walked around the grounds where there were ample sights to see and enjoy. There was even a special area with amusement rides for children
We secured seats from where we could enjoy the show.

After the National Anthem and opening remarks by the Commander of the NAF, we were all treated to a spectacular display of precision parachuting from the British Falcons (a tactical demonstration). They were awesome!

Every imaginable food offering was available. There was the usual hot dogs, hamburgs, chicken sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, French fries (of several kinds), bottled water, soft drinks, beer, flavored ice drinks, chips, ice cream, and other foods we tried to stay from (too much of a temptation!) We did have a sandwich each and toward the late afternoon (when we were feeling the heat of the day) a cold beer we shared tasted delicious!

A number of aerial performances entertained us all afternoon. Usually one plane at a time performed, but there was a group of three planes giving us a thrill, and two planes flying stunts and thrilling us all.

There was also a woman pilot who impressed us all with her pyrotechnic show. I had read a little blurb about her and I was anxious to see her fly. Her presentation was titled; “Serenade in Red, White and Blue.” It was choreographed to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” To enhance her routine, multi-colored wing-tip smoke trailed her every maneuver and she concluded her performance with pyrotechnics. She was a real crowd pleaser!

The highlight of the show, of course, was the Blue Angels performance. Even though we have often watched them in the skies above our RV Park, it was just as thrilling to see them perform this afternoon.

Late in the afternoon we came across some friends from our RV Park. The two couples have always been so friendly to us, and Kathleen originally met them during one or more exercise class that is offered here at the park.  We were sad to learn that one of the couples will be leaving this Monday, but Rena and her husband Lonnie and will return to Sunbeam RV Park next year, so we look forward to seeing them again then. The other couple (Suzie and Dan – from Ohio) will remain until the end of the month. Unfortunately (for us) Suzie and Dan plan to spend next winter in Texas. We hope our paths will cross again sometime in the future.

Anza Borrego State Park

March 2, 2008 – Looking for Spring wildflowers in the desert

Today was the day we decided to drive up to Anza Borrego to view the wild flowers. To reach the park we take the most scenic route around. Today we stayed off I-8 to Ocotillo, and went instead on “Old Highway 80″ which we picked up a block or so from the main entrance to Sunbeam Lake. This old route has been replaced by I-8, but we had never driven it before. Along the way we passed the turn off for one of the State Prisons, but more interestingly, we finally drove through Plaster City. If there is a “city” there, we didn’t see it. What is of interest is that much of the dry wall we’ve seen being transported to the east and to the west, comes from Plaster City.

Once we reached Ocotillo we picked up S2 which took us past many boondockers who had gathered for adventures on their ATVs, the campground at Aqua Calliente, and some of the other places of interest we visited our first time up to the desert park. We did pull into one of the small campgrounds along the route, and we were surprised to find it “full”. The reason appeared to be a contingent of horse people who were preparing for a trip on some of the trails in the area. We wanted to see the flowers, so did not stop at any other of the places along the way.

Last week we were notified (by post card) that the Wildflowers season would probably begin around the first of March. Today was a good day for the drive up to the park. However, the notice was more correct than we thought; it is the BEGINNING of the wildflower show. But you can see from this that the ground cover is coming along! One gentlemen who shared a park bench with us told us he and his wife have been camping in the RV part of the camp, and that each day they can see that the wildflowers are beginning to show more and more each day. Perhaps one week day this week or next we will drive up there again to get the full force of the wildflower show.

We were not disappointed with what we saw today. There were so many people there, all intent on seeing the wildflower display. Hopefully a weekday will be less crowded and we will be able to enjoy them in fuller bloom.

We had a sunny, but somewhat windy day today. Another camper with whom we talked told us that last night they really had strong wind gusts. Her husband enjoys sleeping on his cot outside, under the stars. So while she elected to stay in their trailer, he planned to be on his cot, admiring the night sky as he fell asleep.

During the night the winds came roaring out of the west. The noise and rocking and rolling of the trailer awoke her and she decided to check on her husband. When she was able to get the trailer door open, in spite of the blowing wind, she found her husband yelling for her help. The wind was so loud she couldn’t hear him until she opened the trailer door! With her help (in holding down the cot so he could get out of his sleeping bag), he found his shoes (that had been blown about), they collected their lawn chairs, table and a few other outdoor items that were not able to stay put during the wind storm. In spite of last night’s blowing, they are happy with their camp site right here in the park. One of these days we hope to spend a week or more in the RV park there, too.

Here is a page from the Park’s website – showing some of this year’s display……

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=24977

Paul’s Second Chemo Treatment – Spring is Coming!

Yesterday we drove up to San Diego for Paul’s second chemo treatment. Last week the nurse who will be administering the medicine was “off” and another fine professional took care of him. Today we met Kathy, who will be with us as long as the treatments are needed.

Kathy has been a nurse since the 1960s and really knows her business. She gave us a full run-down of the treatments, answered every question we had, provided us with reading material on bladder cancer and then gave Paul his treatment. We are so very pleased with the professionals we have met at this Kaiser facility, and feel blessed to have found this place of healing.

Paul continues to retain the medicine longer, and feels about its efficacy.

The day was such a change from our last (rain-filled) trip up there. The sun was shining when we left here, and all across the mountains, the sun was bright. We had some wind, but not until we reached Alpine and negotiated our final descent did we see that the entire San Diego area was blanketed in fog! Thank God, it was not too thick, and we had no trouble in traveling.

On the trip west we noticed a number of spring wildflowers in bloom, and determined to capture some of the sights on the way back home. Unfortunately, the flowers on the eastern bound section of I-8 were not yet in bloom, except for one stretch of highway.

We received a postcard from Anza Borrego State Park, and we plan to visit there on Sunday; hopefully collecting a plethera of pictures of the blooming wildflowers.

One of these days we are going to stop along certain sections of I-8 to capture the magnificent rock outcroppings that continue to impress us.

We both felt like doing a little celebrating, so for the first time in a long time we decided to go “out” for dinner. We have a favorite Italian restaurant in El Centro which never disappoints us, and we were rewarded again with delicious and enjoyable repasts.

This morning (March 1st) saw the first of our neighbors who are leaving this SnowBirding Home for other places. Sherry was one of the first neighbors who welcomed me to the water aerobics classes. Sherry and her husband, Terry have been coming here for a few years or more, and we hope that we’ll see them again next season. We wish them both happy trails!

CanAm Annual Golf Tournament

This afternoon I noticed some commotion outside our rig. This place is usually peaceful and quiet most of the time, so I looked out the window to see what was going on. To my surprise I saw many neighbors dressed in red shirts, hats of various descriptions, wigs, flags, interesting outfits, and especially I noticed many golf carts (and cars) decorated with American and Canadian flags. I rushed outside with camera in hand to find out all about it.

My neighbors explained that this is a long-standing event. It’s been going on for more than 15 years, and extends over several days. A portion of the competition was played yesterday. Today was “fun and parade day” and tomorrow the teams will complete their rounds. Tomorrow evening there will be a grand banquet at which awards will be presented.

This was a perfect day for the celebrations, and I imagine everyone who plays golf was involved in the challenge to represent their country, and the fun of participating in the parade festivities.

For us newbies, it was lots of fun to view the parade and mingle among the participants.

Happy Birthday, Michelle!!

On February 26, 1965, we were blessed with the birth of our third daughter, Michelle. She was born in New Orleans, LA and her Daddy left for Army duty two weeks later.

During the time he was earning his Bachlor’s degree, Paul joined the ROTC. When he was graduated with his bachlor’s degree from Akron University, the Army agreed to defer him until he completed his Master’s work. He had a teaching assistant position which allowed him to complete his studies while still earning a living. At the conclusion of his studies at Lehigh University, he notified the Army that he was ready to report for duty. The Army told him that he would be notified of his reporting date, but it could be as long as another year. We were not prepared for this, so Paul scurried around looking for a paying position with some company who would take him, even though he’d be with them only a year. Shell Oil came to our rescue and Paul was hired by Shell. They spent the year before Paul reported to the Army in showing him how Shell works. While Paul was employed with Shell, we moved from Bethlehem to New Orleans, to Lafayette, LA, and finally to Metarie, LA. While we were in Metarie, Michelle was born. Two weeks later Paul left for Ft. Belvoir, VA. The children (Michelle made four) and I readied ourselves for our eventual move up to Ft. Belvoir a couple of months later.

Michelle was welcomed by her sisters and brother as a new toy. The girls were delighted to have another girl in the family – little Paul was outnumbered, but good!

She has grown up to be a model mother of our four grandsons. We are very proud that our little Mich