October 2005 Archives

Awake 5:45am Partly cloudy Overnight @ Seattle, WA

By coincidence, we catch the same time frame bus # 194 @ 10:10am to
downtown Seattle. Today, we have less time to linger as the boys will be
attending the weekly Tuesday 1:00pm company meeting @ Isilon. So we stay
on the bus until 5th & Virgina, then start walking to the Isilon Company
down 5th and on to Mercer(45 min).

Walking the downtown streets of Seattle is comforting: cross streets are
timed for the pedestrian. @ our average walking pace, we rarely had to
stop @ a cross street before crossing.

Eriko walks downhill from the Queen Anne area to meet with the rest of us
@ 11:30am. Then it's a short walk to a lunch spot selected by Eriko &
Nick.....the Japanese restaurant: "Shiki" on West Roy Street. Nick & Eriko
eat here @ least once a week...I can see why, it's authenic Japanese food
& most delicious. We all enjoyed our meals.

After lunch, the boys go back to Isilon for their meeting...K & I walk
with Eriko back to their condo up the Queen Anne hill...then K & I walk
back to the downtown area & through Pikes Landing looking casually @ all
the vendors wares for sale + the fish market where they literally throw
fish from one counter to another to please the crowd.

Next we walk back to Pine St. & 4th Ave to Walgreens for Kathy's
Ricola(Herb throat drops)...then across the street to visit Bob @ Ken's
Camera & purchase 4 rechargable batteries after figuring out if my charger
can handle the higher milli-amp load for a longer life battery---which we
think it can.

And then, I introduce Kathy to the "City Kitchen" Store....loaded with
kitchen accessories. We spend 30-40 min just looking around.

And now, we visit a place in Seattle that has class.....a school! NO..
just kidding. It's the original & main store of Nordstrom....and again, we
are just looking but very amazed @ the high prices & quality of clothing,
many items actually made in the USA.

Then, more walking....back to the Queen Anne hill with a short stop @ the
Safeway store for a bottle of wine & mixed nuts before dinner. @ the Eriko
& Nick condo, we sip wine(not Eriko), look @ some wedding photos of N & E
not before seen by us, munch on nuts & have some good family chats.

Then Zack drives us 5 min to "Banjara Cuisine of India" restaurant for an
8:30 dinner in the Queen Anne area. Kathy & I share the the Tandoori
Salmon dinner with spinach bread...very good....& it's time for us to say
our goodbyes to Nick & Eriko for a few months. It was really "Great"
seeing & spending time with them again & we'll be excited to see them in
PA for the upcomming Christmas.

Zack agrees to drop us off @ 2nd & Pike again so we can bus it over to
Sea-Tac. We enjoyed our time with Zack as well & will look forward to
seeing him in PA in a few short months. We are back to our hotel @
10:20pm.

Lights out: 11:20pm

Awake 6:50am Partly cloudy Overnight @ Seattle, WA

K & I have a complimentary breakfast downstairs....then walk over to the
Sea-Tac terminal, board the # 194 bus for downtown Seattle & get off @ 4th
Ave & Pine St.
Visit Ken's Camera & talk about extra rechargeable batteries for our
digital camera. Bob questions me about how much potential milli-amp
battery am I looking for! "Gosh, I don't know but I'll find out & drop by
here tomorrow" I tell him.

Then...to kill time, we make a brief stop @ the Nordstrom Rack where we
both buy some socks. Next, using our bus transfer,we travel past Seattle
Center to Mercer St in the Queen Anne area, walk West for 10 min to the
Isilon company & who do we see walking out of the building: Nick & Zack.
We had planned on a 12:00 noon rendezvous but we were 2 min late!

Nick was expecting us to rent a car so he told Eriko she would be picked
up for lunch. Luckily Zack had his Camry nearby & we all rode up the Queen
Anne hill, picked up Eriko & rode back to Mercer St for lunch @ a Thai
restaurant call: "Phuket." The boys look great, Eriko is feeling better, &
the Thai meals were very good.

We begin making plans for dinner but Zack informs us of his racketball
commitment after 6:00pm so he won't be able to join us. Meanwhile, K & I
ask Zack if we could spend sometime this afternoon in his apartment using
his computer.... & he agrees. His keys however, will have to be picked up
from us after his tourmenent game at N & E's condo. The boys then return
to their respective jobs @ Isilon....& we walk with Eriko back up to their
Queen Anne condo.

Next K & I walk back to town & Zack's apartment(45 min)....stopping along
the way to buy 2 bottles of wine @ Safeway. During my hr of computer time,
Kathy thoroughly cleans Zack's stove top. During Kathy's hr of computer
time, I made sure that Zack's 2 fat cats were getting a good exercise
workout by using the fishing rod, mouse on a string playtime method.

Then....it's walk back up the Queen Anne hill again(45 min) & visit with
Nick & Eriko in their condo. We have a little wine (not Eriko) with our
social time....then walk over to the "5 Spot" restaurant for dinner @
8:00pm. Kathy & I share a salmon & shrimp patty dinner.

Back to the E & N condo...Zack calls to visit & get his house keys....
Nick checks the bus schedule on his computer & we ask Zack if he would
drop us off @ 2nd & Pike for our bus ride to Sea-Tac terminal on the way
to his apartment....of course he will & he also offered to drive us to
Sea-Tac but the bus is simple & works great. We are back in our hotel @
10:10pm. We will rendezvous with our Seattle family again tomorrow for
lunch.

Lights out: 11:17pm

Awake 5:19am Temp 67 Light overcast Overnight @San Diego, CA

Shrink the bus...all slides retracted. Water off...Temp set to 80...shades
down & curtains closed, etc.

Larry & Sally arrive @ 9:05am..our ride to the San Diego airport. By
coincidence, their son Alex is arriving from New York today @ 9:30am so
our timing is good. We say our "thanks & goodbyes" for now & check in with
Southwest airlines.

San Diego to San Jose=1.0 hr. San Jose to Seattle=1.6 hrs. Arrive
Seattle @ 3:10pm. Walking through the terminal we spot an Ivars....so we
each have a bowl of their famous Clam Chowder. Then shuttle to the Coast
Gateway Hotel @ 4:15pm.

In our room, we begin making calling card calls to my siblings that we
didn't have time to do before leaving the campland: my bro, sis, a few
cousins, aunt, etc. Then we call Zack & Nick in Seattle. Zack just exited
from a movie...we talk about the possibility of getting together this
evening. But considering the time, distance, rain + Nick & Eriko's earlier
bed time, we nixed the idea & will meet them for lunch @ Isilon tomorrow @
noontime.

8:00pm dinner just across the parking lot @ Roasters & Ale House. K & I
share a beer & a slow cooked pork dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy,
broccoli & red cabbage.

We watch a little TV late evening.

Lights out: 10:35pm

Awake: 6:19am Temp 67 Overcast Overnight @ San Diego, CA.

Mid morning, I call my sister Mary Jo in Lodi, CA. We talk things over for
about 20 min & then Kathy takes her turn. They are doing fine.

Around 10:00pm Larry strolls by as he is walking the dogs. He has the
morning newspaper & shows us an ad from Fry’s Electronics: A (1-GB) memory
stick for our digital camera for a very reasonable price & I am
interested. Kathy calls for directions & we are on our way to the store
(20min) & make the purchase.

Early afternoon, we visit Larry & Sally in their motorhome for over an hr.
Larry has a similar digital camera as do we, so I pick his brain on some
highly technical issues.

Late afternoon: K & I attend 5:30 Mass @ Saint Brigid Church on Cass
Street, then back to the bus for dinner.

8:00pm dinner: Chicken & broccoli in cheese sauce, mixed salad + garlic
toast.

Watch movie on cable: “Sunset Boulevard” with William Holden & Gloria
Swanson. Quite the interesting movie!

High temp today=75 Lights out: 11:52pm

Awake 6:00am Temp 63 Clear Overnight @ San Diego, CA.

Kathy does 2 small laundry loads early morning….then some ironing while
watching her TV programs.

Mid morning: we walk to the campland office & pay our camping bill in
advance for 2 months & 9 days.

Mid afternoon: drive to the nearby Fdx-Kinko’s & have copies of documents
made for our foreign travel……then a quick stop @ an eye glass store to
have a loose screw replaced on her frames. Just as we are getting back
into the Suzuki, Katrina calls. She thinks she had a case of food
poisoning last night: vomiting + diarrhea etc. She feels better this
morning. In the meantime, her Honda has been analyzed as having a CVG
going bad on the left front wheel + a torn boot & a cracked boot on the
right side. Mark, the guy who sold her the car, has agreed to pay ½ of the
repair bill + whatever the cost is that is associated with the “check
engine” light being on.

By late afternoon, our packing for the most part…is finished.

7:45pm dinner: Salmon burgers, wild & brown rice + fruit salad.

High temp today=81 Lights out: 11:19pm

Awake: 6:06am Temp 62 Clear Overnight @ San Diego, CA.

We have copies made of our vehicle registration, insurance coverage for
the motorhome & the Suzuki + our driver’s license…all to be given to the
Campland for their records so we qualify for staying in their park on a
monthly basis.

Ranger Dave visits our campsite @ 9:10am to check our sewer connections….a
routine check for monthly guests.

@ 10:00am K & I attend the required orientation meeting @ the Café Patio.
Ranger Dave & Lindsey (monthly accounts person) & 3 other couples were
attending. Basically the rules & regulations of living monthly in the park
were reviewed. No one can stay year long in this park.

@ 11:50am K & I are on our way for yet…another shopping attempt…to find
that illusive short sleeve, button down dress shirt. We visit 5 stores in
this order: Goodwill (zilch); Mervyn’s (new stock but only 2 short sleeve
shirts), Target (cheap new stock….some were short sleeves but no button
down collar); Ross, Dress for Less…(new stock---no short sleeves). At the
Ross store I ask the clerk where I might find the short sleeve shirts? She
didn’t know but a lady who had just checked out whispered: T.J. Max… &
then she gave me directions on how to get there. Yes, T.J. Max had short
sleeve shirts….2 of them as leftover stock in bad shape……but, they had a
nice selection of shorts which I carefully tried on in the fitting room,
then purchased 3 pairs. I needed a few extra pairs. So we purchased the 2
short sleeve shirts from Mervyn’s, but only one with button down
collar….it was the best we could do. Lesson learned: shop for the season
ahead, not behind! Back to the bus @ 4:00pm.

Larry visits @ 4:15pm. I give him a tour of the technical aspects of our
motorhome. He agrees to keep an eye on the machine during our cruising
time.

Call my sister Mary Jo in Lodi, CA. We talk briefly & I agree to call
again on Saturday for longer talk.

@ 6:15pm we pick up Larry & Sally @ their camp site, drive to downtown San
Diego, look for a parking spot along the street for 15-20 min, then drop
off the ladies & L & I continue our looking for a parking spot. Finally we
give in to the public pay parking 5 stories up but we are parked.
The restaurant is called: “Mare & Monti” meaning sea & mountain in
Italian. Kathy & I share a glass of wine…..then share a halibut dinner.
The wine was fair, the food great & the company of Larry & Sally terrific.
The sidewalk setting & fair weather enhanced the evening pleasure. San
Diego’s downtown is very alive & well. We drop L & S @ their campsite & we
are back in the bus by 9:50pm.

Today’s high temp=84 Lights out: 11:28pm

Awake: 6:05am Temp 59 Clear Overnight @ San Diego, CA.

Early morning, I spot the site cleaner Roman, coming down the street
driving his golf cart & pulling a trash container. Quickly I go outside &
ask him who trims the low branches on the parking sites? He makes a phone
call & within 5 min, Bob & Eddie are cutting & sawing the limbs @ our
site. I was impressed with their fast response time, neatness & keeping
the customer satisfied. Now we can open our # 2 slideout.

Larry calls: As I am talking, I am looking out the window & he is outside
looking in the window @ me. We invite him inside & enjoy his company &
humor for an hr. Larry had a tumor removed from under his chest September
1st, so he is not allowed to lift anything heavy for at least 9 months. He
equates his tumor removal to an open heart surgery. Since his wife Sally
flew to Chicago yesterday, I volunteered to give him a helping hand in
moving to his reserved site today…. & this takes us about an hr. In the
process, I rode both his recumbent bikes: the single seat & the tandem. A
new & pleasant experience for me.

Most of the morning & some of the afternoon, Kathy is organizing & packing
her suitcase while watching her morning TV shows….then the cable movie:
“Twelve Angry Men” (1957) with Henry Fonda. “It was a great movie” she
reports.

Then I begin my suitcase packing….until Kathy calls for dinner.

7:45 dinner: Salmon burgers with wild & brown rice, baked zucchini &
tomato with mozzarella cheese, & toast.

Evening time: Watch movie on cable: “The Westerner” with Walter Brennan.
It was…… s-l-o-w & Kathy was the wise one to nod off during most of the
film.

High temp today=81 Lights out: 11:40pm

Awake: 6:06am Temp 64 High cirrus clouds Overnight @ San Diego, CA.

Casual morning for us. We talk with our nearby neighbors about the local
shopping malls. They have been living in San Diego for 12 yrs so they know
their way around. Mark, the brother of Polly, not only gives Kathy
directions but also lets us use his city street guide for the day.

Around noon time, we head to the malls again in search of a few button
down, short sleeve dress shirts. Some of the stores we visited today:
Sears, Ross, Robinsons May, Nordstrom Rack, Loehmans, & Target. Would you
believe…..all of these stores have their winter stock in place & the
shirts available are all: Long sleeves! Except for Target, they had a
small supply of cheap looking short sleeve shirts but no button down
collars.

During our casual shirt searching, my sister, Mary Jo from Lodi, CA calls.
We talk for about 10 min & we’ll talk again on Thursday. Back to our bus @
4:00pm.

Kathy visits the campground office & finds out we can move to our reserved
site this afternoon. So we ready the coach for travel…..just around the
block. Kathy assists my backing into this parking spot as this campground
is NOT big rig friendly. Our reserved site is much better with some shade
& a nice partial view of Mission Bay.

Next, we set up our barber shop outside & I spend 45 min cutting &
trimming her hair…then we switch & in 15 min, she is finished cutting
mine. This is the 5th “time of bravery” that Kathy has endured. Her
comment after the ordeal: “you’re getting better!”

8:15 dinner: Chicken eggplant casserole.

Watch 1939 movie on cable; “Ninotchka” with Greta Garbo. A fun to watch
movie.

Today’s high temp? Lights out: 11:38pm

Awake: 5:50am Temp 64 Clear Elevation 3500 ft Overnight @
Hesperia, CA. Not overnight @ Victorville….the cities are close to each
other but we were in Hesperia.

Melissa calls @ 6:45am from Indiana, PA. They are officially home owners
now as of September 23rd & Kevin is already beginning to sand the floors
using a “U” sand machine which is manufactured by my cousins right there
in Indiana, PA.

K & I walk the campground for 30 min of morning exercise. Then Kathy does
another load of laundry getting more of our clothes clean for packing in
our suitcases.

From here, we are about 2 hrs from San Diego so I call Lisa to make sure
it’s OK for us to arrive 2 days earlier than scheduled. She informs us our
reserved parking spot will not be available until the 28th but we can park
@ another site for 2 days.

Smooth roads on I-15 to San Diego with fast moving traffic & that was fine
with me. Arrive @ Campland on the Bay @ 2:10pm.

Today’s travel: 2+10 time 136 miles 14.6 gal used 9.31 mpg
55.8 avg speed.

After parking, I call Larry….then we walk over to their site & visit with
him & his wife, Sally for 2 hrs. We talked about caravanning together from
Denver but they wanted to be in San Diego for their grandson’s 1st
birthday party Saturday a week ago & we wanted to spend a week in
Denver….so this time, it didn’t materialize.

During our visit, Sam calls from La Veta, CO. …….then Katrina calls from
Denver, CO.

8:30 dinner: Italian beef sandwich with sweet peppers.

High travel temp=88 Lights out: 11:39pm