Fall Colors,...a little late!

I had intended to write a blog entry a couple weeks ago about the beautiful fall we have had in the northwest but somehow the time just time just flew by and now we are busy moving into the new house and fall has eased into the beginning of winter.

Personally, I have been through approximately 50 autumns in Washington as this is where I have spent the majority of my life. I was born in Port Angeles and lived there until I was twelve at which time my family moved to Tacoma. After high school I spent several years in San Diego before returning to Vancouver where I resided until 2008 when I sailed off into the sunset to begin spending cold, dark months in places more along the tropical lines.

Chris, on the other hand, has spent most of his life in Arizona where fall does not, apparently, arrive and depart with the same impact. It is mostly desert there and cacti and palm trees don’t react the way the deciduous trees in colder climes do when the days get shorter and the weather gets colder.

This year we have had one of the most spectacular seasons of color I have seen in a long while. I don’t know the reason for it. Maybe because the Spring lasted so long and summer (what there was of it) didn’t really arrive until sometime in August. Maybe the cause was global climate change. There could be any number of factors, but the reality is the colors this year were spectacular. Every day, as we drove or walked around the area, we’d see dramatic trees showing off their autumn finery. A sharp intake of breath and “Wow!” would ensue. Chris was continuously telling me that he’d never seen anything like it and how much he loved the beauty of the whole thing.

The trees are mostly naked now and every morning we wake up to find a thick coating of frost on the grass. The sunny days are spectacularly clear and crisply cold and when the fog settles in it often sticks around all day. I know the weeks and weeks of rain and gloom are on the way and already the weather guys on TV are beginning to speculate on the possibilities of a white Christmas but for the moment I’m good. I, like many long time north westerners, have always disliked the long, cold, rainy winters in this part of the world but the summers are spectacular so we slog through one to enjoy the other. I suspect it will be a lot different now that I don’t have to go to work. Oh, and it will probably help knowing that we will be heading for Mexico again come January!

Dreamin' 'bout Mexico!

I have awakened the past three mornings from vivid dreams of being back in Mexico and it is making me homesick. Adding to the feeling that time is fleeing is the unavoidable realization that the weather is clearly getting colder and wetter, the trees are shedding their leaves at an alarming rate and every day is growing shorter by 4 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much but when you add those 4 minutes up into one big lump it comes out to TWO HOURS in one month! Then, in just two short weeks Daylight Saving Time comes to a screeching halt. Once that happens the days will REALLY get short. Judging by my “old life”, when the weather gets cold, wet & dark I tend to get very bear-like. Chubby, grouchy and somnolent.

The land and sea cruisers are beginning their annual migration to the south. “Follow the sun” being our motto. I am jealous. And restless. I find myself wanting to go shopping for boat parts, canned food and paper products, top off the propane, start planning a route and all the other last minute things we would normally be doing at the end of summer.

Under normal circumstances we, too, would be starting the southbound trek but this year is different. This year we have made the (possibly idiotic) decision to purchase a house in Vancouver. The offer was made in early September and we have still received no answer from the bank. This is a short sale and we were appropriately warned of the traditionally longer timeline to obtain these homes but this is getting a bit aggravating. One would think the bank could at least give you a “yes” or “no” but alas that is not the case. Our realtor has been harassing the seller’s realtor. The seller’s realtor and the seller have been harassing the bank. All to no avail. In the meantime, time is whizzing by as we wait and hope that the snow doesn’t arrive before we get some sort of resolution. Our “moorage” in this RV Park expires on Nov. 3^rd. In past years we’ve been in Mexico by then.

Suffice it to say I am clearly missing Mexico. I miss the sunshine, the heat (it is currently 90 daytime/75 nighttime in San Carlos), the traveling, the food, the beautiful sunsets and anchorages, and, especially, the people. Walking back to the boat in shorts and tank top after an evening at Philo’s. Fish tacos and a cold cerveza at a palapa on the beach. Pelicans dive bombing next to the boat while they collect their dinner. Ohhhh…CATCHING a nice big Mahi Mahi for dinner! Dinghy raft ups. Local bands providing impromptu beach concerts.

OK. I’ll stop it. I’m sure it won’t be long now. Will it????

Still Waiting

Summer is definitely over and the fall rains are beginning. Yesterday we paid for another month in the RV park. EEEK! All our cruising friends are readying to go south and here we still sit, waiting for a decision on the house. The offer we made included a deadline of 15 (we thought it was 10 but apparently that got changed) working days for the bank to either or accept or reject. We are now 7 working days beyond that deadline and still have received no response. Why is it that this bank lost 2.39 BILLION dollars due to the huge number of foreclosures they have had to do and yet they are in no hurry to sell these homes. The realtors have become quite reluctant to show short sales and repos specifically because it can take as long as six months for the sales to be completed. It is not unusual for the banks to decline a legitimate offer and counter with a request for more money than they were originally asking. We have heard plenty of these stories from folks who have purchased (or attempted to) these homes as well as from realtors. Given the fact that houses are like cars and boats, and they deteriorate when they sit vacant, one would think the banks would be happy to reduce their inventory. It appears that is not the case. The house we are interested in buying is no exception. The exception (that I am sure the bank does not realize) is that we are NOT married to this house. If they continue to dick around, we WILL withdraw the offer and go south. After all, we already have two homes so we aren't exactly going to be on the street. Besides...neither of us is terribly excited about spending the winter here!

The Tennessee Trip

I’m finally back in Vancouver and happy to be here. I missed Chris, Abby and “home” in general.

Tennessee was an interesting experience.

When we arrived in Knoxville our first difficulty was picking up the baggage and our rental car. Dad is 85, mostly deaf and fairly infirm. He is able to walk, very slowly, with a cane but the distance he can go is pretty limited. The airlines were very good about pushing him around in wheelchairs but they tend to drop him in the baggage area and go on their merry way. It was a long walk to the rental car pickup so we just took our time. Of course, the vehicle I had ordered was not in residence and instead of giving me a free upgrade, I was offered the next smaller size. The other option was to wait 15-20 minutes for the right size car to come in. I don’t think so. Dad was already pretty tired out and there was nowhere to sit and rest.

The rental company provided a cryptic map of the Knoxville area but it didn’t cover our destination so it didn’t help much. The agent gave me directions to Pigeon Forge but, unfortunately, he wasn’t exactly correct. In addition, the highways in Tennessee all have two (sometimes three) numbers and road signs and “towns” are extremely far apart. This means you can drive a long way before you find out you are going the wrong way. It took over two hours to drive the 50 miles to our destination but since I am pretty strong in my “cruiser’s mentality” I was able to remain calm and enjoy the scenery. Dad was a bit tenser and couldn’t hear the small talk I was attempting in order to reassure him. By the time we arrived at our hotel the group was preparing to go out for dinner. They waited while we got our luggage into the room and then we were off.

Pigeon Forge is best known as the home of Dollywood…a country themed Disney-esque amusement park but that is only the beginning. The main portion of the town is a huge “gut” that is lined with hotels, restaurants, souvenir buying opportunities and entertainments. Remember the 60’s when we used to cruise “the gut” showing off our cars and trying to pick up guys/girls? According to Trip Adviser there are 95 hotels and most are along this long main drag with restaurants, shops and entertainment options filling in the spaces between.

Besides the regular fast food options (McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, etc) there is a plethora of local restaurants, many of which offer the ever popular buffet. Dad loves a good buffet but I diligently ordered off the menu in order to reduce the likelihood that I would be taking in enough calories to feed a small village. If you aren’t familiar with southern food it generally has lots and lots of carbs and calories. Think fried chicken, biscuits & gravy (both favorites of mine), beans, cornbread, corn on the cob, home-made chicken and noodles (I actually learned to make this yummy dish from my ex-mother-in-law), green beans cooked with bacon, macaroni and cheese, okra and grits. Delicious food but given my current propensity to “put on a pound or two” if I ate like that I would very soon be as big as a house. I also discovered that Tennessee is a dry state…except, of course, for the moonshine.

I was surprised to discover that this part of the country still has a great number of smokers. Everywhere we went people young and old were smoking. I have gotten spoiled by living on the west coast where smoking is becoming rarer by the day. I’m just guessing here, but maybe the smoking and high fat diet contributes to the fact that Tennessee ranks 45^th in life expectancy.

Here’s an interesting factoid. Apparently lots of people go to Tennessee deliberately wanting a hillbilly experience. Thus, there are cabins for rent everywhere and the amenities range from very “rustic” (no electricity or running water and an outhouse out back) to luxurious. I was also surprised to learn that Pigeon Forge is a big wedding mecca. Of all the beautiful destinations in the world in which to tie the knot this one being on the list just seemed odd.

There isn’t much fear of becoming bored in this little town as entertainment opportunities are endless…the majority of them family oriented. Dollywood is, of course, the main attraction but there are also (to name just a few) the Titanic Museum, the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, the Dixie Stampede, the Black Bear Jamboree Dinner Show, a couple Comedy Clubs, indoor (?!) skydiving, the Motion Seat Theatre, the National Elvis Museum, Nascar Speedpark, Wonderworks Museum, several zip lining tours, whitewater rafting as well as several themed miniature golf courses and water parks. We attended the Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show and really enjoyed it.

The trip lasted five days and Dad was able to get in lots of visiting with the remaining members of his Army unit (the 532^nd) from WWII and the Korean War. I enjoyed meeting these friends of his but I was mostly there as Dad’s escort. On one day Dad & I made a trip to Gatlinburg which is a bit more quaint but it’s mostly another shopping opportunity. The 4 mile drive, however, is drop dead gorgeous. It is right on the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains and the road runs alongside the Little Pigeon River under a canopy of deciduous trees. It was beautiful and I’d love to do a bit of hiking through the area someday.

One of the really fun activities (for me) was the car show. Twice a year there is a Rod Run here that attracts people from all over the country. Everywhere we went there were old cars that had been beautifully restored. If Dad had been more able to walk around it would have been fun to just wander for hours looking at them. I wondered if my friends from California were there with one of their ’40 Fords but I had no way to reach them to find out.

So that was the trip. It was a great opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with my Dad and see a new area of the country. The state is beautiful and the residents are super friendly.

And, as I told Dad while we were between planes in Chicago on the trip home, “I love the whizzing through airports. I think I’m going to start traveling with a “crip” more often.” We both got a good laugh at that.

Travels with Dad

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack and where was I? Spending an entire day on airplanes and in airports escorting my Dad to, of all places, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This next few days is the annual reunion of his Army unit (he serve in the Korean War) and he has attended every year. Mom used to love going along but about three years ago her Dementia had progressed to the point where she really can't make a trip like this. Dad is now deaf and walks with a cane so he is really not able to go by himself so the first year without Mom, his sister went along and last year his brother went. This year, since Chris & I were in Washington for the summer and had no big travel plans I volunteered to go. So here I am, in the biggest tourist trap I have ever seen, hanging out with a bunch of very fun people in their 80's and 90's.
Due to the jet lag, we have missed the continental breakfast today and all Dad's friends have likely already taken off for their scheduled activities. As soon as Dad is ready to go I'll take him to breakfast and then I MUST do some walking around and picture taking. This place is absolutely mind blowing. You have never seen so many cheezy "entertainments" on one street in your life. I was stunned when we were trying to find the Best Western among what has to be hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shopping/entertainment "opportunities". As we drove here from Knoxville (the loooong way due to bad directions from the rental guy and a serious lack of road signs) we were treated to views of a very beautiful state but this town is beyond the pale when it comes to tacky.
I hope I can find a Walmart as I forgot my comb (that's a joke, folks!).

Summer Vacation

OK. You are probably asking yourself, “Where is Sandy?

What’s going on?” Yes. It’s been a while since I last made a blog post but, honestly, it seems like we haven’t done a thing since we got back to Washington. That is not entirely true, it just feels like we are back into an “ordinary” (and thus, somewhat boring) life now that we are on land. For those who are interested, here is the latest:

Last month we attended a lovely baby shower for Chris’ daughter, Keely. It was quite an event as the hostess is an extremely talented decorator. I have never been much of an event planner (I chalk it up to lack of imagination.). A few dips & chips, some cute napkins from the local party store, maybe a vase of flowers out of my garden and lots of wine is about the extent of my ingenuity. This party was planned to the hilt and beautifully executed. Keely & Josh shared the gift opening fun and they got a pretty good start on the zillions of things (based on personal experience) they will need for the new baby. Now we all just wait for little Asher who is due to make an appearance Sept. 23^rd.

Two weeks ago we got itchy feet again so we packed up the trailer and drove to Randle, WA for a few days. I have wanted to show Chris Mt. Rainier for a couple years now but we just haven’t been able to make that happen. Nothing was on our calendar for over a week so it seemed to be the perfect time.

The Cascade Peaks RV Park, just east of Randle, had plenty of grass for Abby to run, dig and roll in and trees for shade. There was no cable, internet or cell service so it was like being at anchor in the Sea of Cortez. The lack of communication options might be a problem for some folks (who tend to carry their communication with them via satellite dish) but Chris & I are used to it and really enjoyed having four whole days just to ourselves. We never have a problem figuring out how to spend time together.

Early on Tuesday morning we drove up to Mt. Rainier. It was a beautiful, sunny day so the drive through the forest was stunning. We stopped at the very first parking area and asked a ranger where the closest trail was that led to a waterfall. I knew that Chris was still learning to use his “new” knee so one hike would be about all we could do and I really wanted him to be able to walk through the meadow at the top so we needed an easy trail. Off we went to Silver Falls. This trail was through beautiful, pristine forest. The clean, heavy smell of evergreen trees and moist, peaty soil interspersed with the sharp odors emitted by many of the low growing plants and forest flowers brought back many memories from my childhood.

I spent my grade school years in Port Angeles when the population was less than half what it is today. It was truly a small town and my friends and I pretty much had the run of the place without our parents fearing we would find our way into any of the dangers that plague big cities. Much of my growing up time was spent wandering through the forested areas around my home, climbing trees, hiding in thickets, feeding the neighbor’s horses, laying in fields of tall grass watching the sky, eating wild blackberries and pretending I was a cowboy or pioneer. To say that I was a tomboy would be an extreme understatement. I have been gradually sharing the wonders of the northwest with Chris and so far he loves it.

As we worked our way down the trail, I discovered that my woodland lore was a bit rusty. We crossed Laughingwater Creek on a one person bridge and try as I might I could not remember the name of the large plant with the red berries and many thorns that was growing nearby. Fortunately, a group of hiking women who were waiting to cross behind us provided the name: Devil’s Club. Oh, yes! Now I remember. Do NOT brush up against that one!

The deeper we went in the forest the louder the sound of running water became. We crossed several streams tumbling over moss covered stones, gurgling and laughing, merrily on their way to join other streams and rivulets and, finally, become one with the Ohanapecosh River. For a while we walked along next to the river and as the water gathered speed and crashed over rocks and through crevasses the volume increased dramatically. I kept thinking of my son-in-law's step-father, Gary, who is a serious whitewater rafter and asking Chris if Gary would float this river. He kept saying, "Nope".Finally we arrived at Silver Falls and it was well worth the walk. The power of the water roaring over the rocks and flinging spray every direction as it crashed into a pool of brilliant turquoise took our breath away. What it is about waterfalls that is so mesmerizing to human beings I don’t know but it does seem to be fairly universal.

I was pleased and proud of Chris as he negotiated the three mile trail with few problems. This was typical forest terrain complete with gnarly roots, rocks to avoid, twists, turns and areas of slippery dried pine needles and not only did his newly repaired knee perform beautifully but he was able to keep up with me. This is a very happy first!

When we returned to the truck we continued on up to Paradise Lodge and the anticipated alpine meadow filled with wildflowers. Alas, it appears we will have to make another trip to see this. The snowfall this past winter was 491 inches and while this is not the record (1,122”), or even the average of 676”, much of it still remained along the pathways at Paradise. Usually, this late in the summer, the meadows are carpeted with millions of wildflowers. This year, few were out and those were just beginning to bloom. We wandered around on the paved path taking photos and slipping over snow patches until Chris’ knee began to complain. It was time to head home for a glass of wine, a great dinner and a quiet evening of Scrabble and reading. We plan to go back again next year…later…in hopes that we can catch the flowers out and about.

So, that is the latest. We have been doing lots of visiting with family and friends. Today we are on our way to Cathlamet, WA for four days of hanging out with our cruising buds from Mexico. We’ve been busy looking for a house to purchase for that future time when we are too old and feeble to continue cruising (and to rent out in the interim). The market is so good right now that we just don’t want to pass it up. There are a few other fun things on the calendar before the autumn chill sends us south again so stay tuned and I will try to write more often.