Farewell Tour

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Trip Start May 12, 2006 Previous
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  San Diego, California, United States
Friday, June 2, 2006

Time is counting down to departure. There is less than a week to go. We did well with our packing. 4 checked bags, not to heavy and 2 carry-ons. We made quite a scene at the airport with the extra bags that Josh and Sarah were bringing too. One of the great things about having kids is that they like to show how young and virile they are by carrying their poor old parent's entire luggage at the airport.

The last week of packing went well with a flurry of furniture moving the last morning. Unfortunately, I found the mind was willing but the body was weak. I developed a mild case of shingles and then found that the medication made me sick. But everything got done in the end. The hardest part of leaving was saying good-bye to my cat. He was freaked out by all the activity and it took a really long time to find him.

Our Farewell tour started with Ray and I and Sarah and Josh flying to Portland on May 12th. We had a really good visit with Ray's mom and his sister's family in eastern Oregon. It was just a short visit but we had a great Mother's Day there. Next it was down the length of central Oregon to Redding California. We lived south of Redding for awhile about 14 years ago. The city has really grown and changed and we got thoroughly lost. The next morning we went to see the house that we had built in Cottonwood and were pleased to see that it was still standing and very well taken care of by the new owners. Then it was over the Shasta-Trinity Mountains to a friend's house. I have known Dottie and Dennis since I was a kid. They make their living selling specialty soaps. They have a home off the power grid. They generate their own power from wind, solar and water. The whole set-up is really cool. Their daughter and her husband's family have built a really nice house out of straw bales. It is faced with plaster and is very warm and comfortable. We were wondering how folks out in the mountains get such interesting ideas when we rounded a corner and saw a flying saucer in a clearing down the mountain side. I knew all those ideas had to come from somewhere else.

Next we went down the California coast to Mendocino to visit my family in the redwood forest. Again our timing was perfect as it was the birthdays of my mother and brother. Had a really good visit there too. Josh even did some work with Rob to boost his meager funds. Josh also got to try his hand at being a choker setter. That is the guy who puts the chains on logs to move them after they have been cut down. Rob had cut a few dozen redwoods around my mother's house to let more sunlight in and all the logs had to be brought up onto the flat area to be stacked for later removal to the mill. After a very short visit we were on the road again. The kids had to fly back to DeKalb for work. It was really sad to see them go. I watched them go through the line at the airport until Sarah scowled at me and waved me away. I guess she didn't want a scene.

Since then Ray and I have been winding our way down to San Diego visiting friends and relatives. It has been a very pleasant trip and has kept our minds off the wait.

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