Thanksgiving Road Trip, 2010
We picked up the 10' U-Haul on Friday. 10' is the smallest truck for rent. Even so, we had lots of spare room, after Nate helped load the electronic piano, the desk, the sideboard, the cello & a bunch of smaller things, including photos. This trip has been in the planning stage for months. Mostly taking Sanny (Lucy's mother) things to Dustin & Danielle's new home in Gilbert, just outside Phoenix.
We hope the pet-support team of Nate, Collen & housekeeper Kathy will function well. After returning from Starbuck's to get Lucy's tennis shoes, we were off, Mapquest predicting about 7.5 hours to Ashland. The bucket seats in the U-Haul are comfortable, but there's no room to tilt the seat back. North of Eugene, I switched driving duties with Lucy. Even tho' she complains about night vision behind the wheel, I had to remind her several times it was dark before she let me take the wheel back, north of Grants Pass. We made it just in time, facing a dinner window closing at 6:30 pm at Vance & Jane's senior living place in Ashland. We had a relaxed dinner before retiring to their spacious condo, with views toward both the Cascades & the Siskiyous.
Vance was Lucy's step-dad from about the 5th grade until she graduated from Northern Arizona U. Every December 7 the phone rings & it's Vance, wishing Lucy "Happy Birthday". We had last visited him in Bandon, over 20 years ago. Vance remembers teen Dustin skateboarding down the road Tired of the incessant wind on the coast & love of the theater prompted the relocation to Ashland about 3 years ago. Vance is recovering well from a broken hip a few months ago. Treatment for early detected cancer is also going well. They are content with their comfortable life at the retirement center, where they have endless opportunities to go on outings & activities, most of which they pass on.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Ashland#
Sunday morning, at the gas station in Ashland, we were told the requirement to chain up to go over the pass had been lifted at 7 a.m. While there was snow for miles, including along Mt Shasta in N California, we didn't encounter falling snow or icy road conditions. The U-Haul cruises well, up to 70-75 mph. It's reassuring that the speed signs in California specify the slower speed limit is for trucks with 3 or more axles.
The Garmin GPS system gave us an un-needed detour as we entered San Jose, but straightened out & got us to the motel in Sunnyvale, near Chip & June's apartment. Since parking is tight in their neighborhood, Chip, Lucy's brother, came & picked us up. Their 2 kids have grown a bunch since spending a week or 2 with us a few summers ago. Richard is now a tall 6th grader & Jamie is a stately Sophomore. They are still settling in to their apartment, having moved in the past couple of weeks. June cooked a delicious dinner. Chip talked about various alternative energy ideas, including hopes of buying a few acres near the central coast to grow crops that can produce bio diesel.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/ChipS2010#
Monday morning we headed south down Highway 101, destination Santa Barbara. We encountered just a bit of rain, intermittently sunny, with pretty clouds. Vineyards, rolling hills with old oak trees. Glimpses of the blue Pacific at Pismo & as we approached Santa Barbara.
The Garmin did its job & got us to Dave Curland's quaint home in the hills above Santa Barbara Mission. Dave was my Spanish teacher at Willamette HS in Eugene. After I graduated, he moved to the U of O, where he taught & developed a curriculum for teaching languages using video vignettes, something he continues to improve upon to this day, in his mid-80s (http://hispanidades.info/authors/). As my world expanded during my college years, when I was back home in Eugene, Dave was a receptive mentor, on many a visit allowing me to chatter on about all manner of exciting new ideas until the wee hours of the morning. We've kept in touch over the years & met a couple of times in recent years in Eugene, when Dave was visiting there. A few years after Agnes & Dave moved to Santa Barbara, she lost her battle with cancer.
Two of their 3 children came by Monday night to say hi. Susan & Matthew were in their teens when I used to invite myself over, during those mid-60s college years visits. Marty, the youngest, lives in Pacific Palisades, so we didn't get a chance to say hello this visit. One of those times in recent years that I saw Dave in Eugene was during the filming of Marty's movie, Zerophilia, which can be seen on late night Showtime (or is it HBO?) these days.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/StaBarbara#
Tuesday morning we continued our visit with Dave over breakfast at a sidewalk cafe in fashionable Montecito. Back in the U-Haul, we skirted around Los Angeles, one freeway after another. We had slowdowns a few times, but mostly flew along at 60-70 mph, in the midst of 4 to 8 lanes of traffic. Fortunately the weather was good & we had no close calls. Nonetheless, it was a tiring day. We arrived at Cimarron Golf Resort just about dark. Cimarron is one of our Raintree timeshare properties. The intake gal generously offered the studio suite, along with the one-bedroom, which we made good use of, as Lucy's nephew, Todd & his 3 (Amy, age 11, Christopher, 8, & Eddie, 6), joined us for the night. We found an Asian buffet & more than satiated our hunger, returning to the resort to frolic in the pool & Jacuzzi for about an hour.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Cimarron2010#
Wednesday morning, after breakfast at the golf club with Todd & the children, we headed east on our last leg. Smooth trafic until about 40 miles east of Phoenix, when 1-lane traffic over a river held us up for a stretch of something like an hour. Perhaps that bottleneck helped thin out eastbound traffic through Phoenix, which was surprisingly light, given it was the afternoon before Thanksgiving. We got to Dustin & Danielle's just after sunset. The proud first-time homeowners immediately gave us a tour of their wonderful home in Gilbert, about half an hour's drive SE of Phoenix. Cathedral ceilings in the entry, living room & kitchen. 3 smaller bedrooms plus the large master, complete with walk-in closet. Big, fenced back lawn, that their puppy, Cooper (Brittany Spaniel) makes good use of. Then out to dinner with Dustin, Danielle, Kate & Juliet (flew down from Seattle on Monday).
Danielle was apprehensive about cooking her first turkey. It was perfect, as was the entire Thanksgiving meal. The cheesecake too. Dustin's pecan pie took some extra care to firm up, but was also delicious.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Gilbert2010#
Dustin & I ran Kate & Juliet to the airport early Friday morning, to get Kate back in time to oversee a bustling Friday night at Ricky J's bar, after a slow week due to snow. Recovering from serious back spasms the day before Thanksgiving, Dustin decided to not join me for a round of golf, while the gals were off to Black Friday shopping. I played well, with the exception of 3-4 holes. The sand traps were unkind to me.
Saturday we drove up to Sedona, with a stop at Montesuma's Castle. We stayed at Sedona Summit, a Diamond resort where we have use via an agreement with Raintree Vacation Club. Very nice, spacious 2-bedroom lockoff, including big Jacuzzi tub. Blue skies with brilliant red spires reflecting the sun on Saturday. Ideal weather, brisk but comfortable in the warming sun. I had hopes of visiting the Grand Canyon on Sunday, but I relented, upon hearing reports of snow at Flagstaff & the 7100' canyon rim. We'll have to return in the spring or fall to include the Canyon in our itinerary. Instead, Sunday we took a walk through photogenic Red Rock State Park. Mostly cloudy, there were occasional bursts of sun, as well as a light dusting of snow, at 4500' Sedona.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/GoingToSedona#
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Sedona2010#
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/RedRockStPark#
We hustled back to Gilbert Monday morning, to get Danielle to work at Noon. Cooper was happy to see us--for the 2 days we were away, he had access to a small kennel in the warm house via the dog door & otherwise had the back yard for his playpen, where he entertained himself by shredding a few stuffed toys.
Last day, Tuesday, I hooked up with Cousin Ray, to play a round of golf. He & Carolyn live in nearby Queen Creek.
http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/GolfWRay2010#
Dustin made good time getting us to the airport Wednesday morning. 'Good thing, because as we went through Security we discovered I had grabbed Dustin's briefcase while unloading the car. He had just arrived at work & was able to return to the airport. I met him back out at the curb & had a second pat down--Phoenix doesn't yet have the total body scanners--by Security (my artificial hip & now my total knee replacement always set off the sensors), with still time for Lucy to wait in line at Starbuck's.
We got all 3 seats in the back row of the Southwest 737, so we didn't have to bump elbows on the 3-hour flight to Seattle. It was a good trip, with lots of catching up with old friends & family. Despite the wet, cold weather of Puget Sound, it'll be good to be back home to our own bed & our animals. And, when walking through the living room, we will no longer need to dodge the piano, having finally delivered it to Dustin, in his spacious first home.
