Driving Cross Country!

We did make the trip to our new place in Los Gatos by 4PM on Monday. We had left St Paul on Friday at 3PM so the total elapsed time was 3 days and 3 hours. Both of us were amazed by how well Robbie made the trip. He was amazingly easy to travel with, no accidents, and not a single bark the entire time! 

The trip itself only had two areas of winter weather. The first time was in southern Minnesota & northern Iowa. It was a freezing rain after dark. Tough driving but Stephanie handled it very well albeit with more than a little stress!  The second time was after we left my son's house in Denver. Interstate 70 was in the early phase of a snow storm so the driving after dark in a storm in the Rockies was, shall we say, tense. However, by the time we got to Vail, the storm was much milder and we took a few minutes to simply see and soak up the marvelous Christmas decorations. 

So why Denver?  As you know, I drove from San Francisco to Duluth the prior week in my Humette  (aka Honda Element), primarily on I-80 with a detour to spend a day with my son's family. 

One worrisome thing about winter driving is the very frequent signs that say "When (the lights are) Flashing, Chains Required". Well, it turns out a 4 wheel drive with snow tires qualifies as a 'chained' vehicle so no problem with Humette--it is 4WD with snow tires on it. We researched state law and found Colorado has a $600 fine for not carrying chains and a $1,300 fine for getting stuck in a chain zone without them. 

But we were driving Stephanie's Honda Accord back to Los Gatos. And it has all season tires, not snow tires. Well, a set of snow tires is outrageous in cost considering we have virtually no need for them in San Francisco. But a set of chains is very modest in cost. 

Finding a set of chains in stock in Minnesota, Iowa or eastern Nebraska is impossible. There are stores in western Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado that do stock them, but they tend to have very limited hours on Saturday, like 9 to noon. There was no way we could get there by noon. 

So we went to plan B. On Saturday morning as we left Lincoln Nebraska, I asked my son in Denver to pick up a set of chains that we'd swing by the house and pick up sometime later on Saturday. 

Stopping at Chris & Casey's solved another problem too. Robbie is diabetic so he needs to eat and receive his insulin on a pretty tight schedule. Friday night we fed him in a parking lot with howling winds and temperatures in the teens. Although Robbie seemed to eat well, Stephanie was, as I said it then, 'a bit edgy' during the feeding process. I recall words about 'never again' and nasty things I cannot repeat. 

Stopping at Chris & Casey's solved that too. Perfect!  

The last thing we did before leaving Denver was check the route and weather to Los Gatos. Much to my surprise, when I plugged in my Los Gatos address in from Chris' place, the shorter route was Interstate 70 to Interstate 15 through Las Vegas to Barstow, Bakersfield and into Los Gatos. 

The weather.com site showed winter storms along I-80 around Salt Lake City. And just the beginning of a storm immediately west of Denver. 

We kept our visit short with Chris, Casey and the grand kids and headed east on I-70 pronto.  The first miles were tense but the snowfall stopped by the time we got to Vail. We did a driving tour of Vail with their gorgeous Christmas decorations. A nice, relaxing thing to do after the rough drive out of Denver. 

For our second night, we stayed in Grand Island, Colorado.  

The next day, we had the most beautiful drive through Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Somewhere along I-15 we learned during a pit stop from another couple who were Salt Lake City police officers heading out for the holidays that I-80 was nothing but snowstorms, crashes and bumper cars for two days. Wow, were we lucky!  

Stephanie has never been to Las Vegas so we toured the strip. She was stunned!  We fed Robbie in a parking lot that evening too, but in Las Vegas the temperature was more like 70 than 17. 

From Barstow to Los Gatos was an easy drive on a sunny day. We arrived at 4pm, the time we were to meet our movers. After a quick tour of the new place, I met the movers at the storage facility and by 7:30 pm we had a bed, sofa and dining room table set up!  

We were home!

A December to Remember...

Stephanie and I loaded up her moving pod after my arrival in St Paul. The last of the preparation and packing took a wee bit longer than planned, so we left Friday at 3:00 PM. We had planned Thursday morning departure so we were 30 hours later than planned.

The pod fully loaded and ready to travel to Los Gatos. 

If the weather stays in our favor, we have a good shot of reaching Los Gatos by Monday. We are gonna try. 

Of course, Stephanie's last morning in Minnesota was the traditional December greeting!  We'll be back in the spring for an extended visit and do more dress up. 

What is a Mnnesota December morning without snow?

We did successfully button up our St Paul condo. We still have much to do, but these pictures give you an idea of the place. 

The view towards the kitchen and dining room from the living room. The plaid chair is Stephanie's, the area rug and small stool are from Los Gatos.  We purchased the dining room table and chairs and counter chairs together a month or so ago. 

The new kitchen, tile floor, appliances and dining room furniture.  

The living room with Brazillian hardwood flooring. The carpet and light stools came from Los Gatos.  The end tables, lamps, two chairs and ottoman were Stephanie's.  We purchased the sofa recently. 

Both the Humette (2003 Honda Element) and Cruiser (1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser 'Woodie' station wagon) are safely parked indoors in the condo complex. 

35,000 miles on the 1992 Olds Cutlass Cruiser now safely stored in the heated garage at our condo. 

And Humette is safely stored in the heated garage.  

They should be fine until our return in the spring. 

Lastly, I talked with my contractor yesterday for the Los Gatos place. We passed inspection, virtually everything is done. He has the baseboards being installed today (Saturday) and the cleaning crew working the place today as well. 

If you read my previous posts, you know I was hoping Steve would be Santa Claus for Stephanie and me. Well, sounds like he is!  

A December to Remember. Well, it could be because I did a round trip driving from San Francisco to Duluth and back (with Stephanie and Robbie) in 12 days in December.  It could be because we packed Stephanie's moving pod in cold, cold weather (mid-teens) and I probably made a couple of hundred trips carrying boxes and household items out to the pod. It could be because we are traveling cross country with a 12.5 year old, blind, diabetic dog with IBS requiring a special diet. It could be that our Los Gatos townhouse completed on schedule and is is ready for move in. It could be any of those things, but it's not. 

It is A December to Remember because Stephanie is pulling up her lifetime stakes in St Paul to live with me in California. That is truly special and I am so glad she has agreed to this move. I, for one, am looking forward with great anticipation to our future together. 

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus. 

On the Road Again...

The drive has been amazingly easy. The worst weather I encountered was between Rawlings and Laramie both in Wyoming. A bright sunny day, with wind gusts up to 55 miles an hour!. These winds were so strong they pushed the canoe out of alignment with the car.  I had to stop about every 30 minutes, resecure the holddown straps, and realign the canoe.  And I lowered my speed from the limit of 75 down to about 60 mph. 

In Denver, did have a very nice visit with my grandchildren, son and spouse. We went out to a sushi restaurant on Saturday night. Sunday morning is my son's traditional pancake breakfast and we had a wonderful time together. 

My son made the driving a lot easier.  When he saw the canoe he said he would like to buy it. I told him that I would be more than happy to leave it with him for a year and he can determine if he really wants it or not. So the canoe came off the Humette and I was able to do a very nice speed across the rest of Colorado and Nebraska. I averaged 72 miles an hour including stops for gas and snacks! Hey the limit is 75!

I only spent one day because the weather is good and I need to get Reenie's chair delivered in Duluth. I also need to help Stephanie finish up her packing and then we jump in her car and return to California. The 10 day forecast says that we can make the return trip across interstate 80 which is both the fastest and the shortest route. 

Here's hoping the weather holds. 

And I am about to jump out of my skin. My contractor (Los Gatos) sent an email and said the hardwood is being installed and the faces for all the kitchen cabinets were installed on Friday. I can't wait to see what it's going to look like when it's finished. I am so excited!

As for St Paul, I am hauling area rugs, furniture and wall hangings. Those will combine with the furniture Stephanie moved into the condo this week. And I'm very excited to see how this one looks as well!

Before the area rugs arrive. 

Ciao!

December, real time

Enough history, already!  I am now caught up with current affairs and I intend to publish at least once a month from now on.

My return from Minnesota was uneventful, well, if you consider 6 inches of snow on my day of departure as uneventful.  It took a few minutes longer to get to the airport, but its not so bad (as they say up there.)  Stephanie is a true Minnesota girl. She drove and am I glad. She knows how to handle the car and the traffic in these "not so bad" conditions.  There was a time in my life that I had the knowledge and the skill but it has faded over the years.

The Cruiser got its first snow travels in December.

My 1992 Oldsmobile Cruiser wagon with the surfboard on top experiences its first snow! 

When my brother was packing up for his move to Manila, he came across my Dad's ring. Unfortunately, the stone had fallen out and the ring was bent out of shape. Perhaps something really heavy had landed on it.

Dan gave it to me and I took it to my jeweler in Los Gatos.  Ken worked the ring and now I wear it.  None of us kids know why Dad had that ring and what it meant to him.  We don't remember him ever telling us what it meant although he did wear it on his ring finger, left hand. It is tiger eye with a carved roman centurion head on it.

My Dad's ring, rebuild after being crushed. 

As for the townhouse, all I can do is show you the pictures I took yesterday.  They are moving along smartly!

The electrician was working yesterday and this is one of the two dining room sconces.  The hardwood for the living room-dining room was delivered and will be installed soon!  

The electrician has the lights working, the plumber installed the kitchen faucets, disposal, etc. and we're ready for the installation of the appliances. 

Finally, and to prove I am absolutely nuts, these will be my last pictures of the Los Gatos towhnouse until Dec 22 or 23.

Why am I nuts?  Because in about an hour, I am heading east in my Humette with the various bits I want to take to Minnesota, including the Humette itself!  I have Reenie's (Mary's sister) chair plus rugs, furniture and wall hangings for the St Paul condo.  I'll be stopping in Denver along the way to see Chris, Casey, Danny and Sarah.

Weather.com has a great site that allows you to see the forecast along any particular interstate you choose.  Right now, the five day forecast on I-80 to Des Moines Iowa is clear and cold for the next five days. I should be A-OK!  To see the weather.com interstate forecast, click here.

So that is it, I need to finish packing and I'll be on my way in a few minutes!

Oh, and did I mention that Stephanie and I will be driving her car back to CA next week (weather willing)?  Yup, she is moving to California!  Her furniture and items have been carefully 'split' and some items are coing to the St Paul condo and the bulk of her possessions are being shipped to Los Gatos.

A new phase begins!

Ciao!

November Report

November had another massive low and high.  My friend, Mary R needed yet another surgery for cancer.  She came through with flying colors and she is doing fine.  Recovery was quick and the surgery was successful. You go girl.  As I mentioned before, if you'd like access to her Caring Bridge blog, let me know and we can set you up.  

In October, I flew into Minnesota just before Halloween for a week's visit.  Upon returning to San Francisco, I pointed Humette north and drove to Crater Lake in Oregon for an overnight stop on my way to Corvallis to visit with my cousin Mary Jo's Daughter-in-Law, Angela, and grandson.  Mary Jo's husband arrived a few days later and I then pointed Humette south back to San Francisco.  Stephanie arrived and we had a wonderful five days going to the theater and also picking more detail items for the Los Gatos place including paint (do-over) and other odds and ends.  

St Paul  

The St Paul trip in late October-early November was short and sweet and a lot was done.  My cousin, Mary Jo, had a birthday party for her oldest son and Stephanie and I were invited. It was a lot of fun. 

I took Stephanie to her first visit to an up-scale consigment shop.  We found some exellent items for our St. Paul condo. And, they were delivered the next day!  

As for the condo, our contractor declared substantial completion which was true.  We were certainly feeling like it was darn close with a very short punch list of things left to do. Now, if I could only find my pictures...

Los Gatos Townhouse

Things moved along smartly!  The basic message is, "Wow, they are humming along." This picture taken November 6 showing the smaller window size we wanted over the sink, is an illustration of where we were at the beginning of the month. 

Picture taken November 6.  

Picture taken November 20.  .  

 As you compare the two pictures (above), you can see the window over the sink is done.  And, the reason for making it smaller was to add the cabinet that is showing to the right of the sink.  More impressive is that the sheetrock is all done, electrical is roughed in and the cabinets are placed by Nov 20.  The cabinet facings are not installed to protect them from possible damage during the rest of the project.  

Picture taken Nov 20

This picture is notable because it shows the 'moved' wall. If you look at the linoleum on the floor, it shows where the cabinet line used to be.  There was a patch of linoleum under the old stove and that is the 'peninsula' of linoleum in the lower right of this picture.  You are looking at the new wall that holds the refrigerator to the left and the stove in the center of the wall. 

Amazingly, they painted the entire place before Thanksgiving!  The team is really moving along!  

Travel

Well, I started the month in Minnesota and I ended the month in Minnesota and in between I was in Oregon at Crater Lake and Corvallis. And home in San Francisco, too. So, not too active. 

Oregon was a wonderful trip.  I was gong to visit my cousin Mary Jo's daughter-in-law, Angela. She was in Oregon with her son (Mary Jo's grandson) for some medical procedures.  

My route took me to Crater Lake. Now, you would think I was out of my mind.  It snows there! Big time.  Well, yes it does but it hadn't snowed when I went through. Or, shall I say it snowed once some time prior and it was mostly gone. 

How do you know it snows there? Look at the extension poles on the road markers. This is to help the snow plow teams stay on the road.  

What snow?  Look at the guide poles. In some places, I am sure they were 15 feet tall and taller. 

Tourists the world over do dumb stuff.  Do we really need this sign? 

Really?

Angela stayed with a cousin of her father-in-law, Chappy.  And, her father-in-law arrived a couple of days after I did.  Here is a picture at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. 

From the left: Angela, Denny, Paxton and Chappy. 

Denny flew in to Portland a few days after I did. And, it turns out, Mary's oldest nephew lives in Portland.  I drove from Corvallis to Portland early enough to have lunch with Jacob.  After lunch, I headed for the airport and picked up Denny.  Jacob seems to be doing fine. He looks good, I get a sense of confidence from him and I think he is on a good track for himself.  

Upon my return from Oregon, Stephanie arrived for a quick visit.  We suscribe to ACT San Francisco and to the traveling Broadway series (SHN-SF).  Well, we had only a short window where we could see all the performances.  Stephanie arrived on Saturday afternoon, we attended "Porgy and Bess" (Broadway) on Saturday evening. On Sunday, we attended "Underneath the Lintel" at ACT.  On Tuesday evening, we attended "Peter and the Starcatcher" (another traveling Broadway).  And, on Wednesday, Stephanie flew home.  I joined her on Thursday.  As for the performances, the first two were great!  We could have skipped "Peter and the Starcatcher" which is a prequel to the story of Peter Pan.  

The Minnesota portion of the month was grand!  We did a lot of fun stuff making the St Paul Condo liveable.  Stephanie decided the brown shelves needed to be spruced up a bit so she grabbed some leftover paint and went to town.  

Fully dedicated painter, eh? 

We did a lot of the final 'finishing' work, ranging from installing the shower curtain rod, installing door stops, painting shelving, putting the non-scratch glides on the furniture that will be on the hardwood, etc., etc., etc. Other than Thanksgiving Day, it seemed like we were at the condo every day doing some last minute thing or other.  We've purchased kitchenware, towels, etc.  All the stuff you need to make a place liveable. 

We did declare that we were complete on the day I flew home. There was only one last item due from the contractor. And the material for it had arrived. All we needed was a carpenter to install the last cabinet facing.  

We set plans for movers to take some of Stephanie's household goods to our St Paul Condo the week of Dec 9.  The week of the 16th, a different moving company will take the rest of her stuff to our Los Gatos townhouse.  Of course, these are plans.  We'll have to make sure things are really happening in California.  

We have two scenarios for the trip to California.  One scenario has me flying and then Stephanie and I drive back to San Francisco with the dog.  The other scenario has me driving my Humette (Honda Element) back to Minnesota and then we turn around and drive Stephanie's car to California.  I really want to deliver the chair to Mary's sister so I prefer the idea of driving. I hope the weather cooperates!  

Errata

Oregon has a definite fog issue. 

I understand this is a beautiful drive.  

Ciao

October Report

The St Paul remodel is progressing nicely towards its August finish (oh, its October, isn't it?), the asbsestos and the regulators were done with the Los Gatos place (it looked a lot like that scene from ET when the guys in the giant plastic tubes and white bunnysuits entered the home), the engineering documents and calculations were done and we signed the contract to begin the Los Gatos remodel.  Totally accidentally, my brother Dan, Mary's son Tim and granddaughter Charlize along with Mary's son Daniel (aka DP) and his bride, Kamie, were in Phoenix the middle of October! Given they were in town, I drove to Arizona, dropped off some of Mary's estate items, and visited with Dan, DP, Tim, Charlize and Kamie.  We all happened to schedule departure on the 17th.  I flew to Denver to visit my son and family returning to Phoenix after a nice long Denver weekend.  Before heading back to CA, I drove to visit Barnes and Terry in Tucson and then drove down to Tombstone to enjoy a total flimflam ghost town.  I had visited a real ghost town on my way to Tucson and thus the pictures of the very dirty Humette.

Well, the hurrier I go, the behinder I get.  

October Plans

By total serendipity, the occupancy of the Los Gatos townhouse wasn’t happening in October, our original plan—yah think!  In fact, the plastic from the hazmat guys was still hanging in the space.  Stephanie and I had to do a reset on her plan to move to the bay area after her retirement in September. 

We might have lived in the one room San Francisco studio as our home.  After all, that is what I was doing.  However, Stephanie has a dog, Robbie, and we were not confident of Robbie in a high rise due to the relatively long cycle to get him out doors when necessary.  Robbie, a West Highlands Terrier aka Westie, is 12.5 years old so that is an important consideration. 

Another pending item is delivery of the 1800’s era rocking chair to Mary’s sister, Reenie.  Mary’s final papers bequeathed it to Reenie.  It was old, rickety and in pretty bad shape.  There is a guy in San Jose who rebuilds old furniture and I had the chair redone in 2010 as I recall. My expectation is that I would do a road trip to Minnesota and deliver the chair.  Well, the road trip never happened.  Because I am bringing things to the condo in St Paul, I figured that would be the road trip to deliver the rocking chair. 

Finally, we’ve decided to leave one car in Minnesota at the condo in the indoor garage.  I suggested the Humette (Honda Element with custom plates HUMETTE) be the car.  Its 10 years old, four wheel drive, it’s a Honda and it makes no sense to leave Stephanie’s new car or my convertible in Minnesota.

But, given neither place was done, we postponed those plans.  Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men…

Travels

My brother Dan returned from Manila to comply with visa issues and headed to Phoenix to work on the disposition of his remaining stuff.  He would be there for a few weeks.

Totally unrelated, Mary’s son Daniel and his spouse Kamie were visiting Mary’s oldest offspring, Tim, and daughter, Charlize.  Tim and Charli live in Scottsdale.

My son lives in Denver and I’ve come to a regular rhythm of visiting his family about every 2 to 3 months.  So October was a good time to see them. 

My trip, therefore, became a drive to Arizona, again delivering estate items to Tim, followed by a flight from Phoenix to Denver, followed by a drive from Phoenix to home.  The great part is that Denver to Phoenix is an airline battleground.  The round trip prices are amazingly cheap in October. 

In Phoenix, I had a great time with Daniel, Kamie and Charli as Tim was tied up during the day.  We went ice skating—well, Charli went ice skating while the adults watched. We had a nice lunch and in all had a great time.

 

Charli in the middle with two friends. 

We also arranged a lunch where Tim could join us along with my brother, Dan.  It was fun to have everyone together. 

Mary's Oldest son, Tim. 

My brother Dan and yours' truly. 

Girl of mystery, Charlize. 

Mary's youngest, Daniel, and his bride, Kamie. 

In addition to Tim, Daniel, et al, I spent time with my brother, Dan, and getting his remaining stuff repacked and then getting him on his way back to Manila.  He seems to be enjoying life in the Philippines and certainly excited about this big adventure.  

It was great to see Chris, Casey, Danny and Sarah again.  We had spent the 10 days in Hawaii in July and this was our first get together since then.  It was a great time and the kids are certainly more comfortable with me.  I’m loving it! 

Upon my return to Arizona, I headed south to visit Terry and Barnes. Along the way I went looking for an old Arizona ghost town named Sasco.  Well, after fjording a stream in Humette, I did stumble across the ruins.  It was both spooky and fun.  The town existed because of a metal smelting operation a short distance away. That too was abandoned in the early 1900s.

 

Sasco, Arizona

As I drove around the property, I found two guys doing target practice. I had heard the gunshots when I got to the area.  I was a bit nervous but when I found them, they were just two regular guys plinking at empty cans and rocks set up against a hill so their shots would not head off into space. 

On the other side of the hill, I stopped to take some pictures of the abandoned smelting operation.  When I got out of the car, I heard a bizzzing sound go by.  It took a second to decide if it was some kind of a bug or rattlesnake but then I heard the gunshot.  A few seconds later and a second bizz went by.  I decided my target practice guys had taken out their rifles and were shooting at something near the top of the hill and I was inadvertently in the downrange part of their exercise.  Exiting quickly, I got out of there! (And I haven’t given a moment’s thought to the idea that someone out in the desert was warning me off!)

A little later I was standing on the tailgate of Humette to take a telephoto picture of an abandoned hotel a few hundred feet away.  A local sheriff pulled up, wished me a nice day, and asked if I needed anything—water, munchies, gasoline, whatever.  I declined, telling him I was fully equipped.  He asked how long I expected to stay in the desert and I told him I planned in being in Tucson by 5PM or so.  That seemed to make him happy and he left.  I thought it was really nice that he checked and made sure I had supplies out in the middle of nowhere.

The visit with Terry and Barnes was absolutely wonderful and their hospitality is superb! They didn't tell me until I walked in the door it was Barnes birthday so we had a wonderful celebration dinner.  We became friends back in the late 90s when Terry was doing interior decorating and she and Mary hit it off nicely.  It’s always good to see them and learn what is new in their lives.  Grandchildren seem to be the most frequent topic.

From Terry and Barnes, I headed to Tombstone Arizona.  I was on a “ghost town” kick, obviously.  Well, Tombstone is no longer a ghost town, perhaps it never was. But, it is one heckofa tourist trap.  Tombstone has dozens and dozens of cowboys in costume, Wells Fargo wagons, gunfights (staged), old buildings with ghosts and stories to tell. It is a marvelous place to visit and clearly a prosperous ghost town.

I then pointed the car towards northwest Arizona to visit another ghost town named Oatman.  Again, a very prosperous ghost town, although not as much as Tombstone, with a Harley-Davidson museum, wild donkeys in the streets and a daily gunfight held in the middle of the main (and only) street.  All in all, I had a good time in a not easy to reach ghost town.  It is located high in a mountain range and some distance from the closest freeway (I-40). 

When I returned to the bay area, I was pleased to find work had begun on the Los Gatos Townhouse! 

Los Gatos Townhouse

The story is best told in pictures. Here are October pictures to show progress. 

This is the picture from the listing realtor as I bought the townhouse. 

This is the demolition of the identical area shown in the prior picture.  The wall to the right in this picture is going to move about six feet further to the right. 

This wide angle view shows the enlarged kitchen space after the wall was moved and is definitely tells the story of how much needs to be done! 

St Paul Condo

Again, pictures are worth a thousand words.  Here are some snaps of the St Paul place with the countertops installed.  Progress continues! 

Looking from the kitchen to the living room. The hardwood floor is installed in the background. In the foreground, the appliances are not yet installed. 

Kitchen at the St Paul Condo before the backsplash installation. 

Bath

Its really hard to show the color of the granite used in the kitchen and bath. Its called Bordeaux Copper and it has rich red tones to it.  

Grandkids!

Granddaughter Sarah showing her tree climbing skills.  

Don't you just love the balance a cat has! 

Seems like October is soccer month.  We traveled to Colorado Springs for my grandson Danny’s soccer match.  In Arizona, I spent one evening watching Charli (and coach Dad) as they ran through the paces.  It was good to see the kids out on the field and active without having their heads bashed in (aka football). 

That's Danny throwing the ball inbounds during the soccer match.  

Oops!

My last notable item for October was that darned red light I didn’t notice soon enough. Or the car stopped at it.  By the time I stopped, I managed to do some minor damage to the car.  Take a look at the pictures…would you believe $6,800 to fix it?!?!?

Ouch! 

A Final note

And yes, there are a number of Daniels in my life.  My brother, my grandson, Mary’s youngest son, Casey’s late father, and Stephanie’s nephew

October closes with my flight to Minnesota to meet with Computer Joe who did the internet and coax wiring for the St Paul Condo.  Stephanie and I did some shopping for furniture as well and bought initial pieces: dining room table, chairs, sofa, bed frame, nightstand--that kind of thing that neither one of us had. 

Ciao!