Previously on "Denise and Don's Big Adventure - Winter"... Just kidding!! Don't be scared. I'm not going to recap, except to say we were in pouring rain, our awning plastered to the side of the motorhome, and the laundry stranded in the trunk of our rental car. A few days later, we had enough of a break in the rain that we were able to bring laundry in and wrapped presents out - through the front window. Now, that was a sight. This was good because the kids' tree was short on gifts, and on and I were short on clean undies. FIn the meantime, Don had found a repair guy in the area who suggested we call our insurance. yay! He would not be able to fix it in the time we were there (he has since), but he did roll it back up and zip-tied it in place. No joke. Big, strong zip-ties.
The rain was really epic. In fact, there was some pretty serious flooding in So Cal. And HARD rain!! Don and I usually love the sound of rain on our motorhome roof - but this sound was more like being surrounded by about a thousand middle school, rhythmically challenged snare drummers who are jacked up on about a quart of red bull. But it did eventually abate...
We also were all dealing with various mutations and variations of colds and/or stomach bug (hit and run variety). I managed to fight off the worst of my cold, but Don (at this writing) is STILL not rid of it! But as big of a nuisance as it was for us, you can imagine how much fun it was for Kristin with two little ones and rain rain rain. You can visit the mall just so much. Josh was also a little off his feed - sorta. He still managed to eat a pretty good lunch. We know this because a while later, he launched it halfway across the living room. So, now we have Josh crying, Grampy sneezing, coughing and blowing, Kristin taking care of Josh, Kyle and I trying to clean up the toxic spill, and Amber doing her level best to walk in it. And the rain continued. K&K's laundry is out in a little room on the balcony. SInce it was still coming down persians and poodles, Kyle and I just tossed the contaminated towels, rags, and baby blanket out on the balcony. I like to think of it as passive pre-treating, you know...going green....
The real concern was that we had the schedule of a young socialite for the next few days - family gatherings, church services, manic gift opening, and general gluttony - and we didn't know how welcome an entire family of Typhoid Mary's would be. Kristin did end up with a short but nasty bout of the tummy crud, but we were all in fine fettle (exactly what is a fettle and why is it good when it's fine!?!?) by the time the first of the festivities began. Amber really figured out the whole opening-presents-with-my-name-on-them-for-fun-and-profit this year, and by the time it was Christmas morning at Chez K Dalt, she was in a veritable frenzy. Sadly, her daddy was in a different type of frenzy - he got not one, but BOTH bugs. It does not matter how old you are, being sick on Christmas is just wrong. Kyle did his best, but while the rest of us enjoyed a big breakfast in the morning and a big turkey dinner that evening, his Christmas breakfast-lunch-dinner was crackers and Sprite. The efforts to settled his tum-tum met with, shall we say, limited success. ah, well...
The next few days were jam-packed with more stuff, including two more sleep-overs with Amber. She brought her tea set so we could have a tea party, said beverage served with sugar and...cheese. yum. We had another visit to Sea World, then celebrated Uncle John's birthday with Guncle (Uncle Greg), Nana Claire (my mom)...but no Uncle John. He had to work on his birthday, and pretty late at that, so we just had to chowie it up without him. We had a shared and delayed celebration a couple of days later when Josh turned one - a dinner with all the Daltons, tall and small, as well as friend and business partner, Autumn, with her soon-to-be-fiance, Tarkus. Wow. Lotta people. Sadly, that was our last total clan gathering before we headed back to Maui.
Our last day was spent putting the motorhome back in storage, zip-tied awning and all, and have one last afternoon and evening with grandkiddies and their parents. After a minimum of drama getting the coach ready to go, in good shape to be stored, and over to Hemet to its little spot, we had a nice dinner with the K Dalts. We smooched and squooshed the heck out of Amber and Josh, hugged their mom and dad, then off to L.A. to spend the night in a hotel close to LAX, so we had a quick trip for our early flight.
Don and I like to pride ourselves in being smart enough to learn from our mistakes. In this case, we learned from last year's stay at the grimmest Hilton ever to stay at a nice Embassy. This also meant free breakfast. Very cool. Very comfy. I also learned to dress for my destination instead of departure, so I was back in shorts and slippers, ready for travel. But I also had a jacket, so I was being sensible. After a nice night's sleep, we got up - but a bit later than we planned. Not to worry. Still had plenty of time. I was concerned, and thought that since we had the car to return, perhaps we should forgo breakfast, and just get some coffee and a muffin downstairs. No, by gum, Don was determined to have the hot breakfast offered by Embassy. We got our breakfast, and by this time I was getting pretty spazzed - about the passing time but I was also beginning to regret my wardrobe selection as the temperature in Los Angeles was in the low thirties and the large atrium at the hotel was anything but cozy. We finally got out of there and headed for the car rental agency - and time was moving. All this time we had been downing water and coffee - water because we would not be able to take these last three or four bottles of Aquafina onto the plane and coffee, well... because it was free.
We got our car turned in with no drama, and one bus had just left for the airport. Not to worry - another pulled right up. Unfortunately for us - but fortunately for a bunch of others - this generous driver decided to wait for each new person heading for the airport until his bus was full. I know what you're thinking. But the previous bus left with only about four or five folks and there was another bus right behind us for these other people!!! We finally got moving, and by this time we knew we were reeeeally cutting it close. For those of you unfamiliar with LAX, there are about 3,301 terminals, with an equal number of airlines per terminal. The 97 people in the bus with us, I swear were each flying separately as we stopped at every airline and every terminal. Okay. So the math doesn't work. But still. We were the LAST two off the bus after being the first ones on. I realize there is something very Biblical about that, but by this point, we weren't the least little bit interested in scriptural metaphors. Fortunately, the lines to check I weren't long, and we had done the online boarding so all we needed was to check our bags and print our passes. Everything was going nifty - until one of our bags weighed in at 53.4 pounds. Yes, that 3.4 pounds was going to cost us a couple hundred so I had no choice but to redistribute 3.4 pounds - kind of like Price is Right in pounds: higher, lower, lower, higher, oooooh, time is up!! Actually, the guessing wasn't as bad as the contents spilling out onto the airport linoleum. Usually when I pack, all my dainties are neatly folded underneath pants, tops, etc. Usually. But not this time. There for all to see was my undies flying out as my not-even-close-to-calm husband frantically tried to feel his way to 3.4 pounds. I grabbed a pair of shoes and a couple of sweaters, smooshed them into one of the other bags, pushed the dainties back into the larger bag, and all was weighed, tagged, and tossed onto the belt. Don and I breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the security line.
At this point, we were also beginning to do the toity tango as our waters and coffee had pretty much reached the end of their journey through our system. To make matters more interesting, LAX boasts some of the most inefficient and slow security lines we've ever experienced. Now, to be sure, we are anything but jet-setting world travelers, but we have seen enough of security lines to recognize when, just perhaps, things could be better. We were in what looked like a relatively short line, but it was veritable slug in speed. There were only two x-ray machines for the bags, one metal detector, and one rather bored looking TSA agent in front of said detector. Even though t was New Year's Eve, and travel was relatively light, it was still the end of the holiday season and plenty of folks like us were headed home. This was nuts. The line was long enough that there was one of those breaks to allow for traffic to flow through, with a rather grim looking guard to make sure that harried travelers knew that this was not the end of the line - that could be found about 25 people to his right. So, we crawled our way at a slug's pace until we reached the glum guard - and realized that we had neglected to get our boarding passes printed. Yes, really. Sometimes the self-check-in has incompetent people doing the checking-in. Think about it...We told Mr. Guard and he told us that we had better get them. REALLY?!!? We charged over to our ticket agent, but she was busy elsewhere with another agent. At this point, after flashing my undies (in the SUITCASE!!), we weren't concerned about looking like fools. That ship had sailed and was clean over the horizon. So we started waving her down like we were hailing a cab in a rainstorm - and she finally saw us, and helped us get our passes. Back to the line -WHICH HAD NOT MOVED BY A SINGLE PERSON!! The guard let us slide right back in, so now we had passed the break and bean the snakey Disneyland line.
Things were getting hairy. Not only was our departure time getting closer, our toity tango was getting downright manic. A TSA agent came around the lines and asked if anyone had an 8:30 flight. We held up our hands and said that we had and 8:34 departure - to which he replied (not even kidding) "Oh, you're fine. Plenty of time" In what universe is 4 minutes plenty of time to catch a flight at a gate nine miles away?!!? We were also behind a large (about 9 people) family who we heard was going to Mexico City. They had 7 extra minutes. Oh, the luxury of so much extra time. The family reached the front of the line and at this point, about three of them starting giving kisses goodbye to the other six!! And they were some huggy-kissy-smoochy emotional goodbyes!! The agents moved them along, and split them over the two x-rays, so we were still stuck in line. But wait!! They have three more minutes than we do!!! You could also tell that these good people had totally enjoyed their time in SoCal, as every Disney Princess doll, Universal Studios hat, and Sea World stuffed Shamu sort of erupted out of their bags. So we waited...and trotted in place.
Our turn finally came. Remember how I was dressed? (I know. It was many, many paragraphs ago) I quickly slip off my flipflops, put them in the bin with my jacket my jacket, put my camera bag on the belt, and head for the metal detector. This young woman, who had a sort of glazed over expression - until I showed up. She took a double take at my long shorts, tank top, and bare feet and said "Aren't you freezing?" Of course, I am!! Which I told her. In those words. But I told her that this was appropriate for our destination, so she didn't think I was too crazy. Much.
So, now Don and I were now at as much of a sprint as two grandparents with arms full of bags and bladders full of...well, just full. We didn't find our respective potties until the area near our gates. With an agreement to meet at our gate, we reached dashed in. As I exited much more comfortable, I looked for our gate. It was at the faaaaaaaar end of the giant hallway. As a departing traveler, there is a sound that will make your blood run cold and your legs move fast: "Final Boarding for Flight 42, departure for Kahului, Maui. Looking for passengers Dalton, party of two." Oh, lordy lordy lordy. Again, since my dignity had long since vanished, I moved as fast as I could, waving my arms frantically, saying, "It's me! Me! Me!" I made it to the gate - but there was no hubby. I finally see him exit but he isn't moving as fast as he needs to. He doesn't even hear as his name is being called!! He finally sees me waving frantically, and sort of scoots a little faster. But we get there, boarded, carry-ons stored, seat with seat belts fastened and tray tables up.
And then took time to thank God for getting us there on time, for giving us a warm home to return to, and for blessing us with kids and grandkids to miss.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
"Winter" (chuckle-snort!), Part deux
I guess I should be counting in Hawaiian....but I don't know how.
So, let's move to this past Christmas visit to the mainland, and further evidence that Don and I are the modern day Laurel and Hardy of the travel set.
After last Christmas' lengthy fiasco (with lots of fun and blessings throughout), we made some different choices. Last spring, we moved our motorhome down from Portland to a storage area near Kyle and Kristin's place in Temecula. Pechanga (site of the oh-so-traditional Family Christmas dinner last Christmas) has a beautiful RV park, so that would be our home base. The other thing we opted to do was scoot over there earlier and not stay as long. Well...it was only about five days shorter, but, whatever.
We didn't take the red-eye, but we still arrived pretty late in the evening. Do not ask me what I was thinking when we left warm, lovely Maui, but I was wearing slippers (flipflops) and crop pants. I think I had a sweatshirt or light jacket or something, but it was, to say the least, insufficient. It was about 9:30 by the time we were getting our rental car, but the office was warm and comfy. Unfortunately, there is no valet at car rentals, so we were just told the number of the stall where our car was. We got to our cars designated space, and found there was nothing there but...space. My teeth are chattering by then, and the office building is closed, but Don found someone to go get our car - all the while I stood there guarding our bags, teeth chattering, knees knocking, toes frozen - until our car finally arrived.
The drive from the LAX area to Temecula is more or less a 90-minute drive. Our tummies were still on Maui time, and that fruit and cheese tray on the airplane was a distant memory, so food was very much on our mind. I won't bore you with the gory details, but we were making time on freeways and my husband thought that a Denny's would simply announce itself a mile or so before the appropriate exit. I, however, thought we should, perhaps, look at surface streets, maybe, where there are RESTAURANTS!!! Sooooo....maybe I was just a little hungry and tired and cold and cranky - but that doesn't mean I wasn't right. We arrived in Temecula, still starving, and Don took an exit that had a Jack-in-the-Box. I was desperate at this point, so I was begging him to turn around and go back to Jack. He finally agreed to do a u-turn at the next intersection - which was just across the freeway from our hotel. And thar she blew!! Denny's. By that time, it was about in the low forties, high thirties and the rattling of teeth sounded like castanets played by a flamenco dancer jacked up on half-a-dozen triple espressos as we walked to the front door - but we had warm food and then a warm bed in a warm hotel.
The next day we began our vacation in earnest - seeing grandbabies (and their parents), picked out a Christmas tree, decorating said tree, and just general hanging around. We also picked up the motorhome from storage, but since it was getting a new HD antenna the next day, Don just parked it out front of the hotel. I was still doing a little Christmas shopping, so he decided to relax and have some yummy popcorn. Unfortunately, Don failed to notice that the bag was a mini bag and he set the time for the regular sized bag. By the time I got there, he was opening up all windows in the RV. He pointed to a still smoldering, charred, mini-sized bag of what used to be popcorn resting in the shrubs. I would venture to say that he was making the same panicked sounds he had made almost one year before. And I just cracked up...again. In a bit of a deja vu moment, we had a stench to clear and a blackened microwave to clean. We opened up windows, sprayed febreze, washed out the microwave, and left for the kids' house - Don still muttering, me still laughing...quitely.
The next few days were pretty much bliss. We have now become THOSE people - the grandparenty-types who swoop in and do everything fun! Amber spent the night in the RV with Grammy and Grampy on the eve of our first big adventure: Sea World and ...THE DENTIST!!! Wooo-hoo!! Do we know how to spoil our grandchildren, or what?!!? This first time having a little slumber party with our granddaughter was something we'd been looking forward to since....ummmm...forever. Her mom assured me that Amber loved showers, so I got it nice and warmed up, then plopped my little nakey grandbaby in. Have you seen Jurassic park?? You know the velociraptors that have that ear-piecing shriek as they hunt!?!? Well, that is approximately the sound that emanated from my sweet granddaughter's mouth as the shower streams hit her. After fearing for a moment that I had done something horrible cruel to this child, I realized that she probably liked the handheld shower. Handed her the shower. Crisis ended. We got our girl snuggled in her jammies, read a couple stories, and had to tell her to put her head on the pillow only 2,619 times. In other words, the evening was perfect.
Since it was time for a dental check-up for Don and me, we fit that in on our way to Sea World. This is the same dentist we have had since before Amber's daddy was born, so the dentist and his were really tickled to meet Kyle's progeny. Of course, that meant that Amber needed careful watching while one or the other of us was in the big chair. Grampy went first, so Amber and I sat quietly and read in the waiting room, going in a couple of times to see how Grampy was doing in the big chair (Grampy was verrrry brave!) Then came Grammy's turn for her check-up. As I'm all laid out with the dentist and/or his assistant spelunking in my mouth, I hear our little granddaughter racing up and down the hallways, peering in at me once in a while. AH, well.
Sea World with Amber was a blast! Since it was before the schools were out on break, we pretty much had the run of the place. Amber could go on rides pretty much at will, and as many times in a row as she pleased. This did not work out so well a few weeks later when returned, along with half of San Diego as well as both teams - with their families, boosters and marching bands - that were playing at the Holiday Bowl. But I'm getting ahead of myself. When we left Sea World that afternoon, we had a tired little girl who proclaimed that her favorite thing was the rollercoaster. Of course, she hadn't actually gone on said rollercoaster, but I guess that wasn't an issue since I hadn't been specific enough in my query. A couple of days after that, we did the whole Disneyland trip, with Uncle John coming along. Grampy Don, ever the trouper, drove the motorhome so the gang was all together. Amber finally did get to go on a rollercoaster, but it was just the one in Toon Town. This child is fearless - but not soundless. Grampy, Uncle John, little Josh, and I were hanging out a good couple hundred feet away. Remember that raptor screech I described two paragraphs above?!!? Yeeeeah....that screech. We could hear that over all the crowds and music and rides - but this was a screech and squeal and scream of absolute excitement. Although, I'm not sure that the people on the ride whose ear drums were bleeding appreciated the difference...
A couple of days after Dizzyland, Don and I flew over to Phoenix to take care of some business for his clients/friends, as well as see his family. Somewhere between the Happiest Place on Earth and our first night in our friends' guest bedroom, a bug found its way to Don's head. It found mine the next night. Are you kidding!?!? By the time we got back to Temecula, we were both moderately miserable - but not enough to get in our way of a good time.
While we were gone, the first of what would turn into several days of rain hit, and the Monday after we got back, it was still miserable and mushy. We were going bowling with the K-Dalts, and when we left the motorhome the rain was no more than an annoying drizzle with nary a breath of wind. That changed. We knew that when Don got a call as we were changing into our regular shoes (sadly returning the high-stylin' bowling shoes). The manager of the RV park calling him to say that our awning was now ON TOP of the motorhome! Now, many of you may be unfamiliar with awnings for RV's, but let me assure you - on top of the roof is decidedly not where they belong. The route from bowling to RV Park was not only rainy and blowy, but full of Christmas shoppers trying to get everything done on their lunch hour. Fortunately, I was the one behind the wheel because Don was too busy laying a litter of kitties in the passenger seat. Can't say as I blame him.
As we pulled up to our spot, we could see that the manager did not exaggerate. There it was, plastered on the roof top - and covering the brand new HD antenna. My husband scrambled up the ladder onto the roof, through the rain and the wind and my admonitions to be careful. Threaten a man's electronics, and he is a most valiant and brave knight. Once he got up there, he lifted this extremely heavy swath of wet vinyl and tossed it to the side - much in the same way a petite mother of two can flip over an SUV to save her children. And Don saved the antenna. So this wet, half-ton piece of striped vinyl came over the side, carrying with it - no, not my husband - but the remains of what used to be the frame for the awning. It slapped onto the side of the RV...right over the door. hmmmm... This was a problem. There is a driver's side door, but it Don deemed it too high up for me to get in without risking several broken bones. He climbed up and in, unlocked the door from the inside, then climbed back dow, came over to the awning that was glued to the side of the coach, and pulled it out as far as he could so I could open the door as far as possible. That was about 10-12 inches. My next move was to squeeze in all of me through this opening. Please, as you imagine this....be kind. SO, I was in. Eventually. Keep in mind all of this was happening in a storm where the rain was essentially coming sideways.
After getting wet clothes off and dry clothes on, Don began the process of trying to find someone to repair the awning for less than three body parts and six internal organs. It also occurred to us that we had laundry over at Kyle and Kristin's, which meant that I had to get back out. Out climbed my hubby, and out squoze me as he held out the wet awning in the still pouring rain. A couple hours later, I returned with the laundry - but the rain had not let up one bit, so the clean clothes were essentially going to be held hostage in the trunk of the car until it let up. Too bad we didn't know that it would be three more days until that happened...
This blog is already too long and there is a beach lounge with my name on it. oh, I'm sorry...did I say that - write that, out loud...?!?! Now....I wonder if I have enough sunscreen....??
So, let's move to this past Christmas visit to the mainland, and further evidence that Don and I are the modern day Laurel and Hardy of the travel set.
After last Christmas' lengthy fiasco (with lots of fun and blessings throughout), we made some different choices. Last spring, we moved our motorhome down from Portland to a storage area near Kyle and Kristin's place in Temecula. Pechanga (site of the oh-so-traditional Family Christmas dinner last Christmas) has a beautiful RV park, so that would be our home base. The other thing we opted to do was scoot over there earlier and not stay as long. Well...it was only about five days shorter, but, whatever.
We didn't take the red-eye, but we still arrived pretty late in the evening. Do not ask me what I was thinking when we left warm, lovely Maui, but I was wearing slippers (flipflops) and crop pants. I think I had a sweatshirt or light jacket or something, but it was, to say the least, insufficient. It was about 9:30 by the time we were getting our rental car, but the office was warm and comfy. Unfortunately, there is no valet at car rentals, so we were just told the number of the stall where our car was. We got to our cars designated space, and found there was nothing there but...space. My teeth are chattering by then, and the office building is closed, but Don found someone to go get our car - all the while I stood there guarding our bags, teeth chattering, knees knocking, toes frozen - until our car finally arrived.
The drive from the LAX area to Temecula is more or less a 90-minute drive. Our tummies were still on Maui time, and that fruit and cheese tray on the airplane was a distant memory, so food was very much on our mind. I won't bore you with the gory details, but we were making time on freeways and my husband thought that a Denny's would simply announce itself a mile or so before the appropriate exit. I, however, thought we should, perhaps, look at surface streets, maybe, where there are RESTAURANTS!!! Sooooo....maybe I was just a little hungry and tired and cold and cranky - but that doesn't mean I wasn't right. We arrived in Temecula, still starving, and Don took an exit that had a Jack-in-the-Box. I was desperate at this point, so I was begging him to turn around and go back to Jack. He finally agreed to do a u-turn at the next intersection - which was just across the freeway from our hotel. And thar she blew!! Denny's. By that time, it was about in the low forties, high thirties and the rattling of teeth sounded like castanets played by a flamenco dancer jacked up on half-a-dozen triple espressos as we walked to the front door - but we had warm food and then a warm bed in a warm hotel.
The next day we began our vacation in earnest - seeing grandbabies (and their parents), picked out a Christmas tree, decorating said tree, and just general hanging around. We also picked up the motorhome from storage, but since it was getting a new HD antenna the next day, Don just parked it out front of the hotel. I was still doing a little Christmas shopping, so he decided to relax and have some yummy popcorn. Unfortunately, Don failed to notice that the bag was a mini bag and he set the time for the regular sized bag. By the time I got there, he was opening up all windows in the RV. He pointed to a still smoldering, charred, mini-sized bag of what used to be popcorn resting in the shrubs. I would venture to say that he was making the same panicked sounds he had made almost one year before. And I just cracked up...again. In a bit of a deja vu moment, we had a stench to clear and a blackened microwave to clean. We opened up windows, sprayed febreze, washed out the microwave, and left for the kids' house - Don still muttering, me still laughing...quitely.
The next few days were pretty much bliss. We have now become THOSE people - the grandparenty-types who swoop in and do everything fun! Amber spent the night in the RV with Grammy and Grampy on the eve of our first big adventure: Sea World and ...THE DENTIST!!! Wooo-hoo!! Do we know how to spoil our grandchildren, or what?!!? This first time having a little slumber party with our granddaughter was something we'd been looking forward to since....ummmm...forever. Her mom assured me that Amber loved showers, so I got it nice and warmed up, then plopped my little nakey grandbaby in. Have you seen Jurassic park?? You know the velociraptors that have that ear-piecing shriek as they hunt!?!? Well, that is approximately the sound that emanated from my sweet granddaughter's mouth as the shower streams hit her. After fearing for a moment that I had done something horrible cruel to this child, I realized that she probably liked the handheld shower. Handed her the shower. Crisis ended. We got our girl snuggled in her jammies, read a couple stories, and had to tell her to put her head on the pillow only 2,619 times. In other words, the evening was perfect.
Since it was time for a dental check-up for Don and me, we fit that in on our way to Sea World. This is the same dentist we have had since before Amber's daddy was born, so the dentist and his were really tickled to meet Kyle's progeny. Of course, that meant that Amber needed careful watching while one or the other of us was in the big chair. Grampy went first, so Amber and I sat quietly and read in the waiting room, going in a couple of times to see how Grampy was doing in the big chair (Grampy was verrrry brave!) Then came Grammy's turn for her check-up. As I'm all laid out with the dentist and/or his assistant spelunking in my mouth, I hear our little granddaughter racing up and down the hallways, peering in at me once in a while. AH, well.
Sea World with Amber was a blast! Since it was before the schools were out on break, we pretty much had the run of the place. Amber could go on rides pretty much at will, and as many times in a row as she pleased. This did not work out so well a few weeks later when returned, along with half of San Diego as well as both teams - with their families, boosters and marching bands - that were playing at the Holiday Bowl. But I'm getting ahead of myself. When we left Sea World that afternoon, we had a tired little girl who proclaimed that her favorite thing was the rollercoaster. Of course, she hadn't actually gone on said rollercoaster, but I guess that wasn't an issue since I hadn't been specific enough in my query. A couple of days after that, we did the whole Disneyland trip, with Uncle John coming along. Grampy Don, ever the trouper, drove the motorhome so the gang was all together. Amber finally did get to go on a rollercoaster, but it was just the one in Toon Town. This child is fearless - but not soundless. Grampy, Uncle John, little Josh, and I were hanging out a good couple hundred feet away. Remember that raptor screech I described two paragraphs above?!!? Yeeeeah....that screech. We could hear that over all the crowds and music and rides - but this was a screech and squeal and scream of absolute excitement. Although, I'm not sure that the people on the ride whose ear drums were bleeding appreciated the difference...
A couple of days after Dizzyland, Don and I flew over to Phoenix to take care of some business for his clients/friends, as well as see his family. Somewhere between the Happiest Place on Earth and our first night in our friends' guest bedroom, a bug found its way to Don's head. It found mine the next night. Are you kidding!?!? By the time we got back to Temecula, we were both moderately miserable - but not enough to get in our way of a good time.
While we were gone, the first of what would turn into several days of rain hit, and the Monday after we got back, it was still miserable and mushy. We were going bowling with the K-Dalts, and when we left the motorhome the rain was no more than an annoying drizzle with nary a breath of wind. That changed. We knew that when Don got a call as we were changing into our regular shoes (sadly returning the high-stylin' bowling shoes). The manager of the RV park calling him to say that our awning was now ON TOP of the motorhome! Now, many of you may be unfamiliar with awnings for RV's, but let me assure you - on top of the roof is decidedly not where they belong. The route from bowling to RV Park was not only rainy and blowy, but full of Christmas shoppers trying to get everything done on their lunch hour. Fortunately, I was the one behind the wheel because Don was too busy laying a litter of kitties in the passenger seat. Can't say as I blame him.
As we pulled up to our spot, we could see that the manager did not exaggerate. There it was, plastered on the roof top - and covering the brand new HD antenna. My husband scrambled up the ladder onto the roof, through the rain and the wind and my admonitions to be careful. Threaten a man's electronics, and he is a most valiant and brave knight. Once he got up there, he lifted this extremely heavy swath of wet vinyl and tossed it to the side - much in the same way a petite mother of two can flip over an SUV to save her children. And Don saved the antenna. So this wet, half-ton piece of striped vinyl came over the side, carrying with it - no, not my husband - but the remains of what used to be the frame for the awning. It slapped onto the side of the RV...right over the door. hmmmm... This was a problem. There is a driver's side door, but it Don deemed it too high up for me to get in without risking several broken bones. He climbed up and in, unlocked the door from the inside, then climbed back dow, came over to the awning that was glued to the side of the coach, and pulled it out as far as he could so I could open the door as far as possible. That was about 10-12 inches. My next move was to squeeze in all of me through this opening. Please, as you imagine this....be kind. SO, I was in. Eventually. Keep in mind all of this was happening in a storm where the rain was essentially coming sideways.
After getting wet clothes off and dry clothes on, Don began the process of trying to find someone to repair the awning for less than three body parts and six internal organs. It also occurred to us that we had laundry over at Kyle and Kristin's, which meant that I had to get back out. Out climbed my hubby, and out squoze me as he held out the wet awning in the still pouring rain. A couple hours later, I returned with the laundry - but the rain had not let up one bit, so the clean clothes were essentially going to be held hostage in the trunk of the car until it let up. Too bad we didn't know that it would be three more days until that happened...
This blog is already too long and there is a beach lounge with my name on it. oh, I'm sorry...did I say that - write that, out loud...?!?! Now....I wonder if I have enough sunscreen....??
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"Winter" (snicker!), Part I
Sorry to be so smug, but it's January and I am preparing to go to the beach, slathered up in sunscreen, so can you blame me!??! But we did visit some winter. Well, at least it sure felt like winter to us.
I should start with a brief (or not) look back at Christmas 2009 - not to torture the reader, but simply because it only supports my theory that we are the Griswold family (of "Vacation" notoriety) in real life. We took the red-eye from Maui on December 20, 2009. It was clear and beautiful....and I froze immediately. Within 48 hours, I was sick. We were going to be staying at a friend's condo in SD while they were out of the country. Let me rephrase....these lovely people OFFERED their condo to us while they were out of the country. Their place was gorgeous - 1/2 block of of Mission bay, with a bay and ocean view - but we froze even more. These good people are German, and very much minimalists. We are American, and pretty much, maximalists. So, with me sick, and Christmas being in a couple days, and my second grandchild due any minute, we headed to the local doc-in-the-box. I was delighted and relieved to see a woman doctor about my age. Didn't have to explain a thing. She popped me full of antibiotics and I was good to go. But I was still freezing. There was no heat in the place, except for a heater that didn't work very well, so we wandered the house in just about every article of clothing we had.
By Christmas Eve, I was feeling well enough to go to church at The Rock with Kyle, Kristin, Amber, & Jpsh-to-be, then to Kristin's family for a little celebrating and dinner. The plan was for us to go back to the condo for a little bit, after the dinner, so we could get some things together for a couple of days up in Temecula, and pick up Greg on the way. Everything was going smoothly, but by the time we hit the refrigerated condo again, I was feeling less than nifty. My beloved decided to make me a comforting, decongesting cup of Refresh tea. I took off for the bedroom downstairs while he worked on the tea. About ten minutes later, I hear Don making sounds of panic and horror, accompanied by banging and crashing and more unintelligible speech. Seems he had not noticed that our friends' tea kettle was of the electric variety...and had set the rubber-bottomed kettle on the range...on high, of course. I won't bore you with details, but suffice to say we spent a while trying to clear smoke and stench (which meant opening the doors and windows, making it even colder) and clean off the top layers of soot on the cabinets. And we still had to grab Greg and make the hour long journey north. I had to admit, I was kind of chuckling while Don was still horrified. Actually, I was laughing my head off. The damage wasn't that great (we did replace not only the tea kettle but the destroyed burner, and left everything clean as a whistle) and it was HILARIOUS!! Don did not agree.
We left to grab our #2 son, and after we did, we made the decision to surprise the Young Daltons with a Christmas tree (they had moved into their home only a couple of weeks earlier and had focussed on getting moved in before the baby came - a tree didn't even make the short list). We found a tree lot still opened at 9:00 on Christmas Eve!! The only problem was we had a compact car, our two small bags, Greg's duffle, and some Christmas gifts in the trunk, and Greg and his guitar in the back seat. Five minutes later, we were on I-15 north, with Greg, his guitar, and a four-foot Christmas tree in the back seat. By the time we reached Chez K Dalton, it was fairly late and Kristin had gone to bed. Kyle looked at his parents and brother like they were nuts. Well...they are. But we still had a tree to decorate!! Needless to say, the decorations were pretty sparse, but Amber, the-almost-two-year-old would not know the difference.
Christmas morning brought Uncle John to the happy home, and the day's festivizing began. Of course, Amber was delighted with the tiny, half-naked tree. Kristin was just kind of stunned. She was also quite tired of being pregnant. But that was not the only issue of the day: the Chargers were playing Tennessee, K&K didn't have NFL network and EVERYTHING was closed that normally would carry the game. Everything except Pechanga Casino. So, our traditional dinner was at the sports bar & grill inside of Pechanga. There we were, grandparents, a tot, a preggo and her husband, and the uncles. Not quite a Walton Family Christmas, but we were together, having a blast and feeling so blest.
The next few days were an eventful blur. Greg's gift to the Dalton men was...(drum roll).... TATTOOS!! Yes, indeed. No beer stein or sleeve of golf balls from this gift-giver, no sir-ee-bob. Greg had actually researched the Dalton Coat of Arms, gave a small talk about it on Christmas morning (like a true future teacher), and the guys all got their arms tagged- uh, tattooed, the day after Christmas. They wanted Dad to get one, too, but Dad being a bit more advanced in years opted out. I concurred. A couple days later, we celebrated John's birthday up in Temecula. It was a day after his actual birthday - and more importantly, the day after Kristin's due date. SInce she was wildly uncomfortable and they had a little one, we opted for the northward trek again. After returning late that night to the condo/cooler, we flopped into bed....only to be awakened by a text telling us to boogie-oogie to the hospital! Kristin was giving birth in the same hospital in SD in which she had Amber, so we were to meet them, and Grampy would do an about face in their car, taking Amber back home. A few hours later, Joshua Blake Dalton finally arrived! My bug was long gone, so I again had the indescribable blessing and joy to be there. And my precious, beautiful daughter-in-law was amazing! Don had Grampy duty, of course, but he got to hear his son tell him it was a boy, and he heard his grandson's healthy cries. I'm getting misty....
SO, baby arrived and we were still trucking back and forth - with a side trip to Disneyland, a visit with friends in Calabasas, Ca, and family in Vegas - then Don got sick. Nifty. We were still freezing, and now Don was going to sleep upstairs from me, on a very comfortable white sofa. The problem was, we needed an extra blanket. My mom had one - problem solved. Except that it was a vellux wannabe from the Nixon era. And it was red. And it fell apart. No, that's not true. It completely DISINTEGRATED!!! So, I'm downstairs the next morning, hearing my husband make more of those panicked, unintelligible sounds - this time banging madly on the white sofa which now looked like it had some kind of rash. Don did the smart thing and got out our friends' canister vac - which promptly belched out an enormous cloud of dust. A couple of hours later, having found a broom and borrowed a vacuum, the red dandruff was gone.
We had stayed on the mainland for a month and we could not wait to get back home to our Maui! We actually managed to do no more damage for the remainder of the trip, and left the condo looking as clean as when we came - with the addition of a new electric kettle, new burners and spill pans, and a new blanket. But, ummm...our friends kinda haven't spoken to us, since... Understandable
I should start with a brief (or not) look back at Christmas 2009 - not to torture the reader, but simply because it only supports my theory that we are the Griswold family (of "Vacation" notoriety) in real life. We took the red-eye from Maui on December 20, 2009. It was clear and beautiful....and I froze immediately. Within 48 hours, I was sick. We were going to be staying at a friend's condo in SD while they were out of the country. Let me rephrase....these lovely people OFFERED their condo to us while they were out of the country. Their place was gorgeous - 1/2 block of of Mission bay, with a bay and ocean view - but we froze even more. These good people are German, and very much minimalists. We are American, and pretty much, maximalists. So, with me sick, and Christmas being in a couple days, and my second grandchild due any minute, we headed to the local doc-in-the-box. I was delighted and relieved to see a woman doctor about my age. Didn't have to explain a thing. She popped me full of antibiotics and I was good to go. But I was still freezing. There was no heat in the place, except for a heater that didn't work very well, so we wandered the house in just about every article of clothing we had.
By Christmas Eve, I was feeling well enough to go to church at The Rock with Kyle, Kristin, Amber, & Jpsh-to-be, then to Kristin's family for a little celebrating and dinner. The plan was for us to go back to the condo for a little bit, after the dinner, so we could get some things together for a couple of days up in Temecula, and pick up Greg on the way. Everything was going smoothly, but by the time we hit the refrigerated condo again, I was feeling less than nifty. My beloved decided to make me a comforting, decongesting cup of Refresh tea. I took off for the bedroom downstairs while he worked on the tea. About ten minutes later, I hear Don making sounds of panic and horror, accompanied by banging and crashing and more unintelligible speech. Seems he had not noticed that our friends' tea kettle was of the electric variety...and had set the rubber-bottomed kettle on the range...on high, of course. I won't bore you with details, but suffice to say we spent a while trying to clear smoke and stench (which meant opening the doors and windows, making it even colder) and clean off the top layers of soot on the cabinets. And we still had to grab Greg and make the hour long journey north. I had to admit, I was kind of chuckling while Don was still horrified. Actually, I was laughing my head off. The damage wasn't that great (we did replace not only the tea kettle but the destroyed burner, and left everything clean as a whistle) and it was HILARIOUS!! Don did not agree.
We left to grab our #2 son, and after we did, we made the decision to surprise the Young Daltons with a Christmas tree (they had moved into their home only a couple of weeks earlier and had focussed on getting moved in before the baby came - a tree didn't even make the short list). We found a tree lot still opened at 9:00 on Christmas Eve!! The only problem was we had a compact car, our two small bags, Greg's duffle, and some Christmas gifts in the trunk, and Greg and his guitar in the back seat. Five minutes later, we were on I-15 north, with Greg, his guitar, and a four-foot Christmas tree in the back seat. By the time we reached Chez K Dalton, it was fairly late and Kristin had gone to bed. Kyle looked at his parents and brother like they were nuts. Well...they are. But we still had a tree to decorate!! Needless to say, the decorations were pretty sparse, but Amber, the-almost-two-year-old would not know the difference.
Christmas morning brought Uncle John to the happy home, and the day's festivizing began. Of course, Amber was delighted with the tiny, half-naked tree. Kristin was just kind of stunned. She was also quite tired of being pregnant. But that was not the only issue of the day: the Chargers were playing Tennessee, K&K didn't have NFL network and EVERYTHING was closed that normally would carry the game. Everything except Pechanga Casino. So, our traditional dinner was at the sports bar & grill inside of Pechanga. There we were, grandparents, a tot, a preggo and her husband, and the uncles. Not quite a Walton Family Christmas, but we were together, having a blast and feeling so blest.
The next few days were an eventful blur. Greg's gift to the Dalton men was...(drum roll).... TATTOOS!! Yes, indeed. No beer stein or sleeve of golf balls from this gift-giver, no sir-ee-bob. Greg had actually researched the Dalton Coat of Arms, gave a small talk about it on Christmas morning (like a true future teacher), and the guys all got their arms tagged- uh, tattooed, the day after Christmas. They wanted Dad to get one, too, but Dad being a bit more advanced in years opted out. I concurred. A couple days later, we celebrated John's birthday up in Temecula. It was a day after his actual birthday - and more importantly, the day after Kristin's due date. SInce she was wildly uncomfortable and they had a little one, we opted for the northward trek again. After returning late that night to the condo/cooler, we flopped into bed....only to be awakened by a text telling us to boogie-oogie to the hospital! Kristin was giving birth in the same hospital in SD in which she had Amber, so we were to meet them, and Grampy would do an about face in their car, taking Amber back home. A few hours later, Joshua Blake Dalton finally arrived! My bug was long gone, so I again had the indescribable blessing and joy to be there. And my precious, beautiful daughter-in-law was amazing! Don had Grampy duty, of course, but he got to hear his son tell him it was a boy, and he heard his grandson's healthy cries. I'm getting misty....
SO, baby arrived and we were still trucking back and forth - with a side trip to Disneyland, a visit with friends in Calabasas, Ca, and family in Vegas - then Don got sick. Nifty. We were still freezing, and now Don was going to sleep upstairs from me, on a very comfortable white sofa. The problem was, we needed an extra blanket. My mom had one - problem solved. Except that it was a vellux wannabe from the Nixon era. And it was red. And it fell apart. No, that's not true. It completely DISINTEGRATED!!! So, I'm downstairs the next morning, hearing my husband make more of those panicked, unintelligible sounds - this time banging madly on the white sofa which now looked like it had some kind of rash. Don did the smart thing and got out our friends' canister vac - which promptly belched out an enormous cloud of dust. A couple of hours later, having found a broom and borrowed a vacuum, the red dandruff was gone.
We had stayed on the mainland for a month and we could not wait to get back home to our Maui! We actually managed to do no more damage for the remainder of the trip, and left the condo looking as clean as when we came - with the addition of a new electric kettle, new burners and spill pans, and a new blanket. But, ummm...our friends kinda haven't spoken to us, since... Understandable
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