Grandkids, One of Life's Sweet Surprises

Our middle boy has moved to our area with his 2 young sons 2 & 4.  He works with our oldest son and lives with their family. There is a community of family and friends for him.

This is not to say we are not needed, alas, we are needed by both sons on a regular basis to babysit. Since we love the grandkids and enjoy being with them it is usually not a chore. We have really enjoyed having our middle son’s kids around since we did not see them much before.

So tonight we are caring for our middle boy’s 2 year old. He has only stayed here alone with us a couple of times but we are seasoned grandparents now so are fearless!

Our grandson went to sleep early. He started to cry a little so my husband put him into our bed, I came in right away as I was having a quiet break writing for the 1^st time in ages. Our little grandson woke up and wanted his toys meaning a tractor and back hoe that we’d bought him. These are small toys but maybe 4 or 5 inches long each, not something you’d want to sleep on. But I got him his toys and he put them under his arm. A little later he woke up and wanted his little blanket so I went and got his blanket.

We thought that we just pull the covers up over him so I moved his toys a little bit. We were pulling the down cover over him when he woke up and said what are you doing? We said that we were just covering him up better. Then he started to cry “don’t play with my toys”. I assured him that I was not playing with his toys and he turned over and went back to sleep.

As I patted his little back I thought back to 38 years ago, I was staying in a cabin in Yosemite, to be married in the little chapel the following day. How much has changed in those 39 years tomorrow. I never imagined that I’d have grandkids, of where I’d be in life. Grandkids, one of life’s sweet surprises!

Losing a Part of our Family

We dog sat for a couple of years while our kids lived in an apartment where no dogs were allowed. When they moved to a house we give the dog back promising grand kids to get a dog after our summer vacation. Twinkle had traveled with us to Canada, Alaska and across the U.S. on several occasions.

So 2 weeks before being called to VA to work we took to the grand kids to the local animal shelter to pick out a dog. We thought we’d get one before the new flooring went in.

Walking up and down the rows of dogs we chose the ones who didn’t jump up on the fence, we didn’t want a jumper.

The 1^st dog had been surrendered by her owner, loved to play fetch and seemed to want to be with us. The 2^nd was 7 years old and mostly wanted to lay around and be petted. She was really pretty with a fuller coat but was also a jumper. The 3^rd dog just ran around, didn’t let us pet her, but jumped on us when she did come around. I did feel sorry for this dog, she was also given up by her owners where she was use to sleeping in a bed and living indoors. 

We went around the pound again but still felt like the 1^st dog would work. Her prior owners had a small child so this one would be fine with Zaya, Lucian and Sequoia. We filled out all of the paperwork and brought her home.

1^st thing to do is pee in the living room and then do a poo in the office. Great start! But we figured that she was scarred and nervous so we cleaned up the mess and went on.

Leia was a great dog, she followed the little grandkids everywhere, and they couldn’t turn without her being right beside them. She was a big as our little 3 year old but would let Zaya pull her around by the collar just waiting for new commands. And she loved her toys especially her ball. She learned to play ball by herself in the kitchen even.

We did find that Leia would not like to be alone, and she especially wanted to be with her new family. When we went away for an entire day we came home to the door trim and jam completely chewed off. We’d left toys, her bed and blanket, food and water out for her but instead she tore off the door trim. Since she’d also started going to the bathroom again in the house we packed her and took her back to the pound. We didn’t take her in, only told the staff what she had done. They put us in touch with a personal trainer who then determined that she had separation anxiety and how to work with it.

We hadn’t quite started working on her anxiety, couldn’t bear to put her in her crate yet, and were not going anywhere for any length of time anyway. But we would leave her in the yard for an hour or so just to get used to being separated a little.

We’d gone to the gym and before we left we couldn’t find her. We just figured she was on the side of the house getting into something but were not worried. When we returned home she was waiting for us, glad for our return. Then a couple of hours later she started having twitching. The twitches became jerks and I screamed for Dale. We found a hospital and rushed her there but she was in full convulsions by the time we arrived. I couldn’t bear to watch.

The doctor asked if we had snail bait and I answered no, but then he asked again and I thought about it; yes, I did think maybe we had some but didn’t know where it was. My brain was reeling; snail bait, those are just little pellets, but I didn’t know where it was either. No matter, she had gotten into snail bait most likely and needed transfusions now- $1,000 now. Maybe she would live but it would cost lots more and be more days before we would know anything.

We had to make the split decision to have her put to sleep. But what if that was a bad decision? We had no way to determine that on the spot: her chances of living and would she be the same dog.

We both cried as they gave Leia her shot, petting her and telling her how good she had been, how sorry we were for not looking out for her.

We both miss Leia and still feel so bad for letting her down. She trusted us to make sure she was safe but we didn’t. It will take a little more time before we get over this.

1st Stop Indiana

Our niece, Heidi lives in Indiana so our 1^st stop was to be at a birthday party for her husband. They were holding the party at a park and we made the party just as food was being served. We’d planned to make something for the potluck but alas, we arrived too late to take the time to cook. We shared our disposable cups with them.

Heidi looks good but steroids have left her bloated and red from the radiation. She was wearing a hat at the picnic so that we didn’t see the baldness. Even with a bunch of people attending the party we found time to sit and talk a bit.

We did go on to Heidi’s house from the party spending the afternoon doing cake stuff and then visited with my sister-in-law in the evening. It was good to let my sister-in-law talk alone; her job downsized so she took the severance just before my niece was diagnosed with melanoma. She is faced with making lots of decisions and many will not be easy.

But now we must press on to the west coast; 2,100 miles yet to drive.

Gettysburg and Life

When visiting Gettysburg, I recommend seeing the movie after an orientation tour. We saw the movie first but many places in the following diorama didn’t make much sense to us.

1^st thing in the morning we went on a bus tour, we wanted the private car tour but those are not easy to find, 1^st come/1^st serve. The bus tour is fine for getting a feel of the area; the tour guides are volunteers and are good for some basic info. Our guide was eager to impart as much info as he could and did some by examples; how the regiments were lined up. But they cover the entire park in a loop so there is mostly general info.

We then took a ranger led hike at 3:30 from the cemetery. The ranger led the hike out to the area of Picket’s Charge. Of course this was a specific area and over the same amount of time as the bus tour so there was much more info here.

Because it was overcast and off and on rain it was easy to get a sense of the enormity of the horror here creating a dark mood. But then the beauty of the changing fall foliage combined the past and present. Life goes on.

This dark mood was fitting as we had just learned that our granddaughter will be born with a defect and much too early, plus we planned to visit my niece who is full of melanoma. We were full of despair and sadness already then to see a place like the wheat field where 4,000 bodies lie from the bombardment was so sad. It appropriately started raining.

We then got a call from our son, in a panic; it seems that our daughter-in-law had already started labor, at only 25 weeks. Please, he asked, can you come home now? We went back to the RV and packed up for the 2,700 mile drive back.

As we left the sun came out.

Moving On

How the itinerary changes with each hour sometimes.

We’d decided that we’d leave after spending one day in DC as I’d really wanted to do some stuff in DC. Then a couple of things came up on claims that I had to attend to so we couldn’t leave in the morning after all. We changed the plan to just go to Arlington but the Claims Manager asked if I’d just go in to meet, just to say hi. I did but unfortunately we made it to Arlington about 5 minutes after they closed.

We decided to shop for the remainder of our trip north and then home, instead.

After getting back to the RV we just wanted to get out of the whole place. Work was dragging on, we were not seeing anything, tired of being in the campground.

Wed morning we got packed up and started driving when our neighbor from home called, he was meeting the granite guy at our house in an hour. We needed to pick out our sink so 1^st stop was the nearest Home Depot where I found a copper sink that I just had to have. Of course this sink is not available at any Home Depot except for the one we were standing in, but that was lucky since I’d never known about it otherwise.

For the next couple of hours the phones wires were hot while we made decisions on the spot.

Due to the delays for the home remodel we made it to Gettysburg in time to see the movie. We found an RV park with a spot left for us about 1 mile away and spent the evening setting up camp then a little wine and cheese for dinner.

The Underground Railroad Condensed Version

As we didn’t make it to the Dorchester Visitor’s Center on Sunday we got there by noon yesterday. I was already armed with a list of places I’d found on-line of Underground Railroad sites, needless to say, a very condensed list. I’d been to the place in Africa where kidnapped people were put onto the slave ships so now was the day to come full circle, where they ran for their freedom.

The Visitor’s Center is a great place to start; the docent’s will direct you to the closest sites, just blocks away. They also have a nice interpretive section downstairs. This is the place to start.

The docent directed us to the court house where people were sold into slavery on the courthouse steps, just up the street from the docks. The original courthouse was destroyed and then destroyed a 2^nd time, but the front of the 2^nd rebuild is still in the front. It was here that Ms. Tubman’s niece and 2 children were to be sold; Ms. Tubman helped with this rescue in which the niece’s husband, a free black, bought his wife and 2 children. But before he paid anything he left with them, sailing up the Chesapeake Bay to freedom. I love this story!!!!

Across the street from the courthouse you will find a very old, wonderful church with graves from the 1700’s. Some graves are above ground and some below with the very old ones right next to the church.

Next stop I’d found just poking around online was the Old Trinity Church, built in 1750. The exterior is original but the interior has been remodeled as per the info. The church was locked so we couldn’t peak inside but we enjoyed the quiet of the outside. The church is not visible at all from the road, but the road is marked by a sign. As with most churches here, graves surround the church, with one important grave belonging to Anna Ella Carroll, a successful war strategist for President Lincoln.

http://oldtrinity.net/about_OLD_TRINITY.html

We had the brilliant idea that we’d go have a quick and very late lunch at Old Salty’s only to find the restaurant closed on Monday’s. We had to settle for nutrition bars as we went on to our next stop, the canal built by hand. This is a 7 mile canal built by slaves and free people. You take a little road that drives along the canal but it is not marked.

From the canal it is an easy drive, or it should be, to the Bucktown Store. Our problem was that we didn’t read the maps, (yes maps) properly since GPS doesn’t work in those parts. So if you are going to do this I suggest you MapQuest first and have a good idea of your route or you will end up like we did; driving in circles for a couple of hours.

The waste of driving time, however, turned out to be in our favor. But 1^st a very brief statement on the Bucktown Store: this store is where Ms. Tudjman was hit on the head by an overseer when she attempted to stop that overseer from hurting a slave. She was 13 years old.

We found the store, having read that if you are lucky you will get to go inside the store so I had only hoped to get inside. So we arrived but were unsure that this was the place; 1^st the guide called the store the Blacktown Village Store and this Blacktown Store looks all spiffy plus has a sign “Blackwater Paddle and Pedal”. We started to drive on but then stopped just to make sure.

I went to the door and looked thru the glass to find the most amazing sight; what appeared to be original store, right from Ms. Tubman’s time. I noted that the floor had dips in it, thinking about the women who must have shopped at this store so many years ago. I called Dale to come look.

Dale was looking in the window when a van up pulled up with kayaks on a trailer; a sign that maybe this was associated with the store. A woman was driving then she pulled around to the back of the store and was unhitching her trailer. I asked if she was by chance someone who could let us see the inside of the store and she said “yes”.

As it turns out we had just met Susan Meredith, co-owner of the store; her husband is several generations from the original owner. Wow! Susan let us in and gave us lots of history, more than we could have imagined.

I’d love to go back and do some major photos shoots; I missed a major opportunity to shoot Susan in her environment and could kick myself. I’d also love to just spend a bunch of time taping her stories in the store, but since I’m not a professional that probably won’t happen. But still I’d love to just get some of this down. www.blackwaterpaddleandpedal.com

We’d hoped to make it to the Mason-Dixon line but it got dark as we were driving.

We didn’t make it to the Mason-Dixon line but the visit in that little store was so amazing that we didn’t care.  And really it is the people that make the area.

Finishing Work and Starting to Explore

Yesterday morning I finished up the last of my work. I found that I’d gotten and closed 77 claims, now that is a decent storm. As it turns out 1 must wait for an estimate from the insured and another need the report to be tweaked but I got to those when I could.

I finished up by about 9 a.m.; Dale was making a celebration breakfast already so it was good timing. We had some Iron Horse champagne that we’d been saving for a couple of years for this celebration so we popped that and had a champagne breakfast celebrating his stopping work, meeting some financial goals and my finishing up a big storm.

After breakfast I was so tired and drained I went back to bed and slept soundly for an hour but woke up ready to get out of the RV. I didn’t want to do anything specific, just vege out.

We had several ideas for visiting but then I was looked up things to do on the East Shore and saw something on Harriet Tubman. I did a little more research and found an amazingly brave woman. And even though I’d heard of the Underground Railroad, I found that we are right here and have actually driving over some of the area while working. This is something I had to see.

We started for Dorchester County Visitor’s Center, the start of the Underground Railroad Byway http://byways.org/explore/byways/2260/itinerary/77287 but then when we got into Annapolis thought we’d look at the historic part 1^st.

As it turned out there was a huge boat show going on in Annapolis so everything was jam packed. We were stuck on a street and when we could turn around ended up in the real historic part where we passed the Marketplace. We wondered if the Marketplace was where the slaves had been sold but after some research I have not found any facts to back that.

We drove on to Dorchester but arrived as the visitor’s center was closing. We consoled ourselves with a walk by the water, chatting with a dad and his 2 sons; one of whom had just caught a fish and was proud of himself.

Old White Marsh Church and Cemetery 

Celebration Breakfast

As the sun was beginning to go down we started back but Dale stopped at church ruins I’d seen on the way down. It turns out that we stopped at the “Old White Marsh Cemetery and Church”. I grabbed my camera and tripod ready to get back to the photo taking business. Turns out that the original church was built in the 1690 and some graves are from the 1700’s. Now after a little research I find that it is listed on the “haunted places of Maryland” list. Didn’t see any spirits though.

Almost Ready to Play

Now it is the push to get finished. I have 2 days of inspections left but several days of actual claims to write up. It is always hard at the end to take the time necessary to get everything done properly, I just want out of here. Funny because it is so exciting to start a storm but then so great to finish working. But like a supervisor said today, it is so great to go driving off for home with some money in the bank and a job behind you.

So tonight Dale and I started looking more seriously at the end game here. We have a bunch of people we need to see but we also had ideas of things we wanted to do. We mapped it out and found that seeing a few things but mostly driving and visiting with relatives and friends took up 16 days, then we’d need to drive straight home. We both got a little upset with this.

We then looked at what we had wanted to do originally and decided that we’d stick with our plan of doing what we want, not what everyone else wants. However, if our sister-in-law needs us we will help her out and then do our travels later. And we will try to visit my niece on our way home. Otherwise, we will see who we see.

So the plan now is to stay in the D.C. area for a couple of days. I want to go to see Kennedy’s grave, the monuments again, the Air & Space Museum and maybe a couple of other sites. Then start north via Gettysburg to Maine, Vermont and Long Island, then up into Canada. That is what we have so far.

I think that we have some travel books that I bought when Border’s was going out of business so we will need to find those in the next day or so to get a good idea of what it is we want to do.

We do want to be home by the end of October so we will only have about 3 weeks to do whatever it is we will do. But it is fun to think about being foot loose and fancy free.

Life's Uncertainties

Life can be so fickle, so unfair. I’ve put off writing this piece but alas I can no longer.

My husband has (had?) a brother just 2 years younger, married with 2 kids. We were really close friends for years, went to visit them when they were working in the Middle East, went camping, kids  (Heidi and Brad), were the same age as ours. The brother died about 4 years ago, fell over from a brain hemorrhage. But this is not about the brother, it is about those who were left to mourn and find a way to keep living.

My niece Heidi, (the oldest child) is only 6 months older than my oldest son, they were best friends when they were young, holding hands every second they were together, inseparable.

About 5 years ago my niece was diagnosed with malignant melanoma on her arm, which was removed with surgery leaving a huge scar. Recently she was not feeling well and finally went to the doc only to find out that the melanoma spread inside and is in her thigh, lung and brain. Needless to say we are all in shock and her family is devastated. She has 3 small kids, a career and so great of a person, only 37, still so young.

And my poor sister-in-law; she lost her husband and now such a horrible situation with her daughter. How she will get thru this, I don’t know. But I know we do thru and go on living. Still I can’t imagine losing my child after losing a husband or anytime.

My own husband had malignant melanoma in his arm but 20 years ago. Our doctor at the time cautioned him that it could come back but inside the next time and it would be too late when discovered. I was worried for a long time but insurance wouldn’t pay for an MRI and we couldn’t afford it so we just learned to live with the uncertainty. Fortunately he has survived but now the Doc’s words seem just a little more real.

 I guess that one of my fears is based on the fact that only a few years ago a cousin, young enough to be a niece died within 4 months from lung cancer. I just can't see a good outcome but hope that I am totally wrong.

And Look, He Has No Pants

Today I had an inspection scheduled at a large construction site where the earthquake damaged a 5 story parking garage. Now the damage is minimal but we had to inspect nevertheless. The insurance company had hired an engineer to inspect at the same time and since we were meeting on his schedule it was imperative that this inspection go on as planned.

The morning started with rain but when talking we decided to just meet and chance the rain. As it turned out the rain stopped and we were fine.

1^st we could not find the location, we passed the engineer several times going up and down the road, finally finding out that they gave us the wrong street name. So we ended up at the office at the same time and found the person we needed to meet.

We walked up to the porch area of the temp office when the construction supervisor told the engineer that he could not go on site wearing short pants. That it is against company policy to wear shorts. The engineer was really quite put out.

The engineer went to his car and looked through everything he had as he sometimes carries extra clothes. Alas, there were no pants.

I suggested that he trade pants with Dale and when the engineer couldn’t find any pants thought that it might be a good idea. Dale, who was sitting in the truck, slipped off his jeans and I handed them to the engineer. The engineer took the pants inside the temp office but came out without his shorts in his hands; he had put the jeans on over his shorts.

Dale had to sit in the truck in his undies!

A Maryland Wine Tasting

One thing that I learned early in my adjusting career is that every state produces wine, some good some bad. Lots of bad to find the nuggets of good.

I’ve probably written about our wine tastings, well I try to buy wine from wherever I am for the next wine tasting. And so it is here in Maryland, I figured that if Virginia wines are good then Maryland must be ok too.

I’d heard about a wine festival on TV, advertised that lots of Maryland Wineries would be there, lots of food and crafts. I thought it might be fun to do a wine tasting ourselves, eat some good food and buy some Christmas Presents at the craft show.

As it turned out we were really late as I had claims in DC. Dolly went sightseeing while I worked, we picked her up and went on to Baltimore. We only had 1 hour before the tasting closed but as it turned out we had quite enough wine in a very short time.

The festival was set at Carroll County Farm Museum, a farm and setting of old buildings. A sort of “Kern County Museum” in Bakersfield. So to set the scene; the parking is across the road and one walks by a grove of trees with a pond to the left of the party. White tents are set up to the right. The farm buildings are not really visible but then I didn’t know what I was looking for anyway.

This was their 28^th annual festival and we were shocked by how many wineries were represented. According to the information about 38 wineries were represented. Unfortunately, one winery used grapes grown in Lodi, CA so I refused to taste their wine. I won’t drink wine made from those grapes at home so I sure won’t here in Maryland. Yes you can call me a snob!

Now I am a pro at these tastings. My first one, in Paso Robles, I drank the entire amount poured in my glass and boy was I happy!!! Just wasn’t happy to be not enjoying the wine. This time I insisted on the tinniest sips and then threw out the rest if there was more than that. I was able to taste quite a few wines and not feel the effects. But we sure saw lots of people who felt the effects of the wine; loud disinhibited levity and then those who were a little sick! (or more than a little)

We tasted a bunch of wine, most of it not what I’d ever drink again but some not so bad and we did buy several bottles of wine.

For a reduced rate Dale became our designated driver. He kept asking me what I thought of a particular wine and I’d say “it’s really different”. Poor guy I said that about so many wines but I couldn’t articulate why it was different. After trying I don’t know how many wines I was tired of tasting and it was time to find some food.

We went around and found some really great Cajun food, and it was gluten free so I could eat.

We finally got to the craft fair when everything was closing down. Oh well, no one needs a present.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Every day is filled with inspections then back to the RV to write the claims up. I’m still way behind and nearly every day the big boss calls; how many inspections are set, how many claims without inspections. Now he admitted that it is the end of the month and they have numbers that they need to reach. It came back to me that bit from when I did work for the company in L.A. so long ago. Well I’ll close what I can.

So we had a claim why over on the east bay, actually a couple so this was the last one for the day. We got to the claim and it was for a really ratty carport and a mobile home on the property. We were nice, I mean why not be nice, people have what they have but it wasn’t the nice place with nice cars.

So after the claim is all over and we had gotten into our truck, the lady comes over and asked if we were hungry for lunch and what we were going to do. I said that we were hungry but didn’t know if any restaurants were around. She directed us to one on the water, said that it was a favorite and we should try it.

We followed the road around thru what is called the blackwaters. Now we know why they are called the blackwaters; the water is dark and it stinks. I don’t think I’d want to walk thru this muck. The area reminds me of the bayous around the New Orleans area but it is just a little different grass. We drove around the bay and finally came upon the place she told us about, “Old Salty’s” a fish restaurant in a nearby town, Fishing Creek, MD.

What a surprise!!! Old Salty’s has possibly the best crab cake in the world. I’d loved the crab cakes in VA but this had nice big pieces of lump crabs and no wheat or cracker fillers. OMG. I ordered the dinner with 2 crab cakes and ate them both, didn’t bother with the veges or sweet potato sides. I brought the sides’ home for breakfast. 

1st Days of Our New Life

Dale and Dolly arrived earlier than we had originally thought they would. Dale called as he was coming off the I-97 onto the 50 and I ran from my room all the way to the sidewalk getting there just as he turned onto the road from the freeway. It was so great to see familiar faces after being gone for a while.

We have now moved to a campground south of Annapolis but it is really nice, lots of tall trees between sites. Of course it is ½ empty since summer is over so we have no neighbors. And the price is right, about ½ of the price of other campgrounds or the motel so we can’t complain. It is a little out of the way but we figure we can drive a little extra and have the trees and space.

It is amazing in a way, this is the first day of our new life; Dale won’t go into work anymore but we will travel together and I will work when possible.

We had planned to celebrate with a nice dinner and champagne but Dale was exhausted after the drive here and I’ve been under the gun to get claims closed. I think that we will go to dinner tomorrow, an early dinner after claims on the other side of the Bay Bridge.

Any Maryland readers here with suggestions for good restaurants? I also need some D.C. recommendations! Help me out here!!!!

Claims Work Include Therapy

I am so tired, I’ve been working until the early morning hours then getting up early and starting all over again. Some days I get set several claims but most days I get 0 to 1 claim. My biggest problem is that I’m behind in writing up the estimates so I’ve had to spend lots of time doing that. Some of the claims are not large but take lots of time for the reports, just a part of the work. Other claims consist of 3 story houses with damages on every floor.

I came back last night to a bunch more work, another adjust got sick and went home so I’d been given his claims. I’m able to incorporate the new claims into the appointments for this week so it will be fine and I’m here to work as much as possible before going home.

One claim, the head of the catastrophe called me about last night requesting that I call the insured right away but gave no other information. I called the insured and left a message with my info. The insured called me back and since I was to be in her area today and could keep the appointment that her previous adjuster had made.

I went to my 1^st two inspections then headed to this particular insured’s loss. We went to her basement to inspect her loss; the basement was flooded during the tons of rain here. The insured started telling me about her recent events; father died, mother with issues was now in some trouble, basement flooded and the insured has health issues. Then she started to cry and I put out my hand on her arm just speaking quietly to her.

I finished my inspection and returned upstairs where the insured was. She then started telling me how someone representing a restoration firm had been there wanting to tear out much of the basement walls and a payment of thousands before starting to work. I advised that there was not that much damage then took her down and pointed out how I came to my conclusions.

We returned upstairs and after I went over how her claim would be completed the woman started to cry. She then told me that she had been so overwhelmed with everything that she had decided this morning that she just might not make it. She had told her co-workers that she was just about done with life, but now I had saved her life. She now knew that it wasn’t the end of the world now that she knew how to handle putting her home back together.

Wow! That stuff was heavy! 

Dale Is On His Way

So I think I’ve written about the fact that Dale will be driving here but now he is actually on his way. For a couple of years now Dale and I have planned that we will follow the storms; he will be back up for me and I’ll work. Then we will travel after we are done working.

We’d planned for Dale to come here after he got the RV and truck in shape but I was so worried about him driving alone across the country.  Then I remembered that Dolly Hei has always wanted to see DC, she would be perfect.

A bit about Dolly and hopefully I am not repeating myself: Dolly has been a friend since about 1979 when I helped start a food co-op that she joined. Dolly and her husband then came to a couple of our parties and put up a couple of exchange students when we needed to be gone.

Dolly’s husband passed a few years ago so she is on her own. I hadn’t seen her in several years and then ran into her at a peace vigil. We reconnected and exchanged email addresses.

Soon after the peace vigil I got called to Virginia started blogging for the very 1^st time and added Dolly to my list of contacts. I only blogged on myspace then so emailed the blogs to a few friends, including Dolly. As it turned out she was so interested in Thomas Jefferson that I encouraged her to join me for the remainder of my time plus the drive home and the travel I wanted to do: Monticello, Poplar Forest, Mt Vernon and so forth. She came and we have been close friends ever since.

So I thought of of Dolly to accompany Dale here. Dolly has always talked about visiting Washington DC and I thought this would be a perfect time for her. We can drop her off in DC, do our inspections, then pick up Dolly and go back to the RV. She can also come along when we are going to other areas.

Dolly agreed quickly to come along and promised to help Dale out on the drive by reading, talking, helping with meals and so on.

They left on Sunday afternoon. Dale reported yesterday that they woke up at dawn at the rest stop in Cedar City, Utah and started their drive across on I-70. They reported that the colors were beautiful driving down thru the buttes. I was so happy that they got to see that amazingly beautiful area in the early morning light.

If you have never driven that stretch of highway I-70 I strongly suggest that you incorporate it into a trip. It is a favorite highway- whoa; I certainly have a bunch of favorites!

Living Through More Storms

In California we don’t have many tornados and in Central California we don’t have a ton of rain, so it is that the weather has been unnerving for me.

I waited out Hurricane Irene in Fredericksburg, VA with no power and lots of wind and rain. Not real bad, I’d sat out Hurricane Ike while living in my RV in Nola. Figured that being in a motel would be a little better and it was.

Moving up to Annapolis was fine, we had power and everything was open. Fine that is until Tropical Storm Lee came by to visit for a few days.

It rained for about 3 days straight and the rain poured down, so hard. On one occasion I ran from my car up to my room and my clothes were soaked. I had so much water running down my hair that I had to take a shower to stop the dripping. I had thought that I’d not take a shower but then when sweat started running into my eyes I decided otherwise.

Out on the roads driving was a mess. Roads were flooded, I had to drive in the middle of the road. The rain was coming down so hard that it was impossible to see sometimes, wipers had to run full blast.

Night before last we had a tornado warning, or watch, they are both the same to me. I became more and more nervous as the evening wore on. Where would I hide, how do I protect myself? Dale said to get by a wall but I was thinking more of a center room. A TV program told me to get into the center of the place. I put my camera bag, tripod, purse, shoes and car keys in the bathroom while I went into the front of my room in order to sleep with my flashlight by my side.

It was very unnerving to sit out the storm, especially for this chicken! Rain poured so hard and at one point the thunder roared for nearly an hour straight. I looked up tweets on Weather.com and found that others were tweeting what I was seeing so I knew that I wasn’t along.

Finally all of the warnings or watches lifted. I went to sleep and woke up to another day of rain.

Thank You to The Workers

I am always impressed with people who do the cleaning, the people who do the jobs that are not high paying. Yet many of these people work hard and are clearly wanting to do a good job just because they want to.

Since I’m renting a car while here in Annapolis Avis hasn’t made it easy to keep the car. I had to extend the contract once again but forgot when I was leaving my last claim and was nearly back to the motel when I remembered. The over-the-phone computer wanted to extend the contract for $800. I was going to extend but then the computer wouldn’t take an answer so I had to talk to a real person who suggested that I go back to the airport yet one more time in order to save a bunch of money. It was nearly 6pm, bumper to bumper traffic going to Dulles. I was so upset, now it looked like an over 1 hour drive each way, I had not eaten since breakfast and had so many claims to close and to call.

I made it to Dulles and Avis after 8pm parked and went into the office. A young man who I’d seen the other two times was there but I don’t think he recognized me. I told him that I needed to extend the use of the car but the price by phone was over $800. As he worked we talked and being frustrated I told him that Avis was so difficult to work with. He finished the contract and said that my weekly rate would be $200. Well now I told him that I couldn’t complain anymore. I told him that I’d planned to write a negative report about Avis but now he proved them wrong. I promised to mention his name, a shout out to the Avis at Dulles to Dennis.

I also am referring to the people at the front desk of the Best Western here in Annapolis. I have had such a run around with motels and was so glad to have a place to plant myself for a while. The problem was that I was going to have to leave for the weekend because the motel was booked solid. I decided that I just wouldn’t worry about it.

I went to the desk and asked if there were any cancelations and the woman said “no, but she was going to make it work”. And make it work she did. I’m still planted in my room and will be until Dale gets here.

When I working away from home it is difficult enough so people who take pride in their jobs and help make that stay away so much easier.

New Day, Better Everything

The sun comes up and presto magic, a new day!

Claims today started across the Chesapeake Bay. I checked out of the motel and took off across the bay. What a beautiful drive, wish I’d had time to stop and take photos or just enjoy. But there was work to do. But it reminded me of other drives across other bays.

My third claim was near the center of DC. Driving to the claim I went past the Washington Monument, I saw it when I drove in yesterday too. It was so thrilling to see. We were in DC several years ago as sightseers but I was just so excited to see the monument again.

I finished up the DC claim and was off to the last claim, in the NW area. I had to take the George Washington Parkway to the next highway. OMG the drive is so beautiful. I really was wishing that I would have had someone with me to share that beauty with.

After the last claim I went to the new motel. Well it is identical in layout to the one last night but really spiffed up. Mattress isn’t a soft lump that feels like it just came from the dump and pillows are puffy, not flat and lumpy. Lights in the bathroom actually work. Paint and carpets are updated. It even has a coffee maker!

I went across the street and found a Kinko/FedEx who scanned the 2 sheets that needed scanning. Instead of needing to purchase a new scanner they scanned and put it in the computer for only $1.89. Then I walked across the lot to Boston Market and found gluten free food.

After a huge dinner of roasted chicken, green beans and spinach I got to work to start getting these claims out of here and get home! But I think that I’ll spend a little time sightseeing before taking off from here.

A Day Not to be Repeated

What a day that I hope to not relive any time soon!

Last night was not good. I was really concerned about how today would work out so didn’t sleep well. Then the wine I’d bought was way too sweet and fizzy, YUCK! It was a Virginia wine but not a good one so I really couldn’t drink much.

I had 4 appointments set up for today but 1^st had to drive from Fredericksburg to Baltimore about a 2 hour drive. I left late so knew that although I’d be within the range I gave, I’d be later than I wanted. Fortunately, roads were not busy so I flew on my way and got to my first appointment on time.

By afternoon I’d checked both of the bank accounts and my advance was not there. I emailed the company and told them that either the money would be in my accounts tomorrow or I was packing up and going home, I would not be sleeping in my car. Of course they expressed surprise that the money had not been deposited but then later said that the money would be there. Hum! Wonder if they didn’t do their job?

So in the meantime I had to hassle with getting more dollars in my account so that I could rent the car for a couple more days, at least until the advance hits and stay in a motel. I found both a Starbucks and a branch of my bank next to each other, so stopped to make some phone calls and make some decisions.

I called the car rental company to extend the days of my rental but was told that I had to go back to the airport and physically exchange the car for a new one. To extend the contract would cost $200/day and with a new contract it would be $50. Now the airport was about 1 hour away to the SW and the motel that I hoped to get for the night was about 1 hour to the north from where I was sitting. Not to mention that I had new claims plus claims from yesterday to be called and appointments set which meant mapping first.

I called Dale and just burst into tears, everything I touched was just falling apart. Gradually I picked myself up and got on the road to the rental car company where they arranged to give me the same car so that I did not need to unpack. They assured me that I can extend for the same price and won’t have to go back to the airport.

After getting the car I parked by a wall and tried to reserve a room close to Annapolis but it wouldn’t go thru. I ended up calling Hotels.com and they found that there were no rooms available. Since the hotspot on my phone doesn’t work when I’m on a call the person helping me reviewed the rooms and those in the price range I was looking out. He found one that I’d seen before and it sounded fine so I got it for 3 nights. BIG MISTAKE!!!!

So I got to my hotel, nearly all the way to Baltimore, way too far north. Then the bomb; this motel is really old, there is no hot water, no AC, no electricity in most rooms although mine works except for the bathroom light. I must stay for tonight because it is too late to cancel but they were allowing people to cancel the other nights. Fortunately I was able to cancel the next two nights and found a room right in Annapolis.

No dinner tonight since there is no working microwave on the premises. No wine since I never had time to stop and buy some. Just a few almonds and water. Oh well I didn’t want to eat anyway!

Ups and Downs of Working Out of Town

The good news is that I woke up to power this morning but it was still windy and rainy. The wind and rain gave way to a beautiful day.

I had received all of 6 claims up until this morning so I was quite concerned that I’d be making enough money here to cover my costs. I mean really who has earthquake insurance here. I was so upset about the few claims but then calculated and determined that I would probably make the advance that I’m supposed to receive, and soon I hope.

I spoke to the supervisor on this storm and he told me that he had 2 catastrophe adjusters here; one to work Virginia and myself to work D.C. and Maryland. He thought that we would be receiving more claims before the whole thing is over. I had my doubts but didn’t express them. I thought to myself “I’ll hopefully be on a plane this next weekend to go home”.

Even though we had some wind here from Irene, I really doubted that there would be work from the hurricane. Since late morning I have received 5 hurricane claims. Now I don’t have a ladder to inspect roofs which means that I’ll need to buy one that will fit in this little rental car. Fortunately I won’t need one until Wed so I can buy one on Tues.

Tomorrow morning my room is up here in Fredericksburg so I’ll need to move. When I spoke to the supervisor today he suggested that I move to Annapolis which would be lots closer to claims rather than Frederick. I’d actually started to get a room in Frederick yesterday but then just hesitated and then hesitated again today. This turns out to be a good thing since Annapolis is much closer to my claims.

I did check out campgrounds near Annapolis for both tomorrow and for when Dale comes in two weeks. I may have to check it out sooner than later. 

Surviving the Edges of Hurricane Irene

Luggage arrived this morning so I could take a shower and put on clean clothes. We never realize what we have until we do not have it at all. A shower and clean clothes was just want I needed! After I ran to Target, across the street and bought a lighter in the event that I needed my candles.

A few (precious few) earthquake claims came in today so I called and set appointments when possible. By afternoon, after a little power nap, I was trying to find a motel for Monday p.m. when the power went out. The internet continued for another hour but then that went down too.

The outer bands of Hurricane Irene had already started hitting but winds weren’t so high that it caused any concern, also rain was coming down but it wasn’t that bad.

I got my candles out, glad that I had miss-ordered the long lasting tea lights instead of the regular one. I set up everything and organized everything before it would be dark.

Dale had misplaced my inverter (I actually think he threw it away in cleanup frenzy) and I didn’t have enough money to buy another one before leaving. Unfortunately I’d run down my laptop battery so started downstairs to see what I could do. After waiting for the elevator I saw that I needed to use the stairs so on went the flashlight and down 4 flights of stairs I went.

Downstairs someone offered to loan me their inverter so up stairs to get the laptop but I didn’t think about the fact that the door is electronic so when I came back the door wouldn’t open. Down the stairs back to the front desk to get someone to help me, back up the stairs to get the laptop, back down the stairs to charge the laptop.

I sat in the car for about an hour charging the laptop and phone, sending claims info off and checking on the weather channel for updates.

Fortunately I’d brought some canned smoked trout and rice crackers. That made for an easy dinner with the rest of the red wine I’d bought last night. 

Travel to the Hurricane

Travel to the east coast has been crazy.

1^st: The claims manager called me at 5a.m. as he thought I was in Georgia, he wanted to just touch basis. He told me, I thought, that I should live as close to Fredericksburg as possible. I went onto the hotel site and found a place and reserved it for 3 nights. Frankly I wasn’t sure that there would be a significant amount of claims. Then the next morning I got an email saying I should be near Fredrick, MD. Opsy! Of course my hotel was paid for and non-refundable but I can work around it.

2^nd My flights included 2 connections. I really didn’t think a whole lot about it until I was nearing Phoenix and realized that I had 30 minutes between the flights. Well of course I had to run from one end of the airport to the other carrying my very heavy camera bag on my back plus a 2^nd laptop and my carry-on. I barely made the flight; everyone had already boarded but about 3 of us from the 1^st flight. This time though they took my wheeled carry-on as there was no room on the plane. They told me I’d get it in D.C.

We got to Charlotte and again I had 30 minutes total and gates were totally on opposite ends of the airport. I again made the flight as they were giving seats to the standby passengers. Someone was already in my seat so that as I was sitting down finally the plane started moving. I’d also noticed that I received some claims and that one said rush. RUSH? Sorry but there was no time to rush on my claim, I was barely making my flights.

By the time I got on the plane to D.C. I was really getting hungry. I’d had the fruit/cheese plate on my earlier flight but it was small- 2 strawberries, 2 very small bunches of grapes, 4 slices of cheese and 1 small wedge of brie. There were crackers but they were wheat so I couldn’t eat them and since my bag was taken containing my rice crackers I was out of luck.  So I was starving, wanted a latte, was tired.

I was so happy getting on that last plane because I was getting a window seat at least. The earlier flights were not by windows and everyone around me kept their windows closed. Well I got to my seat to find that there was no window at all, there wasn’t even a window close by, and I only had the smallest view out of the window by the person in front of me. Of course my books were all away so I decided to just sit still and clear my mind. I’ve forgotten how to just sit for a few minutes.

Finally we got into D.C. but then neither bag made it off the plane. When the announcement came that all of the bags were off about 5 of us were standing there. I went immediately to the customer service as I had located it earlier anticipating trouble. The woman took my info and thought that the bags might still arrive.

I got my rental car and drove down to Fredericksburg, stopping at a store to pick up water and instant food. Now to see if the storm does much.

Earthquake Claims in Virginia?

The call came asking for if I could work earthquake claims in Virginia; Virginia? The earthquake was only a 5.8 and who has earthquake insurance in Virginia? I’d heard about the earthquake but hadn’t paid any attention as we “Californians” sleep thru those little things.

I reluctantly said yes. Dale is going on terminal vacation in 2 weeks and I really wanted to be home when he came in the door that last time. Plus we’d planned to go to the eastern sierras for a little retirement getaway with some good champagne to celebrate.

Unfortunately the company I do lots of storm work for has asked for me to work on several occasions but due to vacations I’d turned them down. I thought about going for a minute and realized that if I turned them down this time I’d maybe take myself out of their good graces. So I said yes.

When a Cat adjuster agrees to go work a storm they have about 48 hours to get on site. I usually take longer as I drive and pull my RV. I can get away with taking 3 days to get on-site as the company knows that I’ll start working while on the road and stay as long as possible at the end of the storm.

As mentioned this is a major change of plans as we had planned a little retirement getaway in about 10 days. Unfortunately, the RV is not ready to go; we had some small items break that are now in the middle of repairs plus it needs 2 new tires.

We decided that this time I’d fly, get on location sooner, hence work sooner and Dale will drive across country by himself after he stops working on Sept 5th. Kids will all be in town the weekend after he stops so he can get the repairs completed, visit with kids and then head on to wherever I am.

Dale driving across the country by himself, pulling the RV is a complete reversal for us and very strange for me. I’ve driven back and forth so many times from home to Florida or Virginia or N.C. but he has never done that. Now I’m already worried about him!

After buying airplane tickets, reserving a hotel and a car I finally turned on the TV to see that the hurricane will head right to my location. GREAT! So not only am I going to fly into the hurricane area but will be staying in the middle of it.

I made sure to pack candles, bars to eat in the event of no power but didn’t think to buy a new inverter to charge my laptop.

So we will see if this hurricane and the earthquake will produce some work. If it does We will work as long as possible and then plan to head north, maybe visit some family, go into Canada then head home.

I’d gotten a really early start on packing and thought we’d be able to get a good night sleep but alas, there are too many things to check and take care of before leaving for an indefinite time. It’s already 1:30a.m. and 5 a.m. will come too soon.

Catastrophe "CAT" Adjusting

Some time ago I wrote about working claims as a “cat” adjuster. When I wrote this I was completely out of sorts needing to get back to work ASAP and having mixed feelings about all of this. That time, I doubt that I even made myself clear; My Bad!

First, a Cat adjuster is a Catastrophe Claims Adjuster. We work property claims from storm damage. We are a group of property claims adjusters who are independent, meaning that we do not work for any particular insurance company. We generally work for independent vendors who have contracts with several insurance companies.

Having said all of the above, the work is not entirely easy, we get paid by the claim so it is in our interest to work as many as possible. And while I’ve been accused of trying to save the insurance company money, it is actually the opposite; the higher the amount of damage the more I make. But rest assured it isn’t a straight % of the amount of damage. Here is the catch; if I just made the estimate high then I wouldn’t be working now. We must justify and verify every decision so we try to get everything that is really and truly damaged repaired for the insured.

Now we can make a bunch of money, for those of us who are not afraid of really working our butt off but it is also an amazing chance to experience different areas of the U.S. by living there. On the down side the work takes us away from family and friends for stretches of time, plus we should work 12-20 hour days to really make it worth the while. It is easy to get burned out. But again on the plus side I get to find those little “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants and visit historic sites when time permits.

When a storm is actually on the way the adrenalin starts to flow, it is an excitement that is difficult to explain. So now we have Irene and now we will see what she blows in.

Making A Business Work

So I’ve been sitting here watching “How I Made My Millions”, I like financial programs for ideas. I’ve had so many ideas but nothing has ever really taken off but I always think that maybe I’ll find a way to market one of the ideas. Not that I am thinking I’ll make a million, just want to make a business work.

How is it that I can’t make a success off of my Almond Butter Cookies or the organic tote bags while others make it? Yes, I know that most go out of business but there are those who make it over the long haul.

A major problem is time; I still need to make money in a real job. Then there is motivation, it is difficult to keep making everything myself with a tight schedule. So many times I’ve had to put a project away in the middle of everything in order to work out of state for several weeks. When I get home I have no idea where anything is or where I was in the project.

Now I have no excuse anymore about going back to the cookies; I have this wonderful Viking that bakes like a charm. I just need to find a way to cut the cost and figure out better packaging. I know that the cookies are excellent but I can’t spend more on packaging the cookie than the cookie is worth.

Then next I need to try and figure out a different marketing approach. I’ve sent cookies to stores and even Oprah. The people at the farmers markets love them but they don’t buy enough to make it worth a whole lot. I did sell them to a couple of coffee shops but one when out of business and the other stopped buying them.

So I need to kick myself in the butt and go back to where I was when I left off last December when I picked up a ton of work.

Also I absolutely need to make some organic cotton bags and send them to the co-op in Hastings, Minnesota, where they have requested items to sell. But then I need to find someone to make the bags at a reasonable price as I can’t make everything myself.

So I’ll clean up the huge mess from the 3 grandkids and then see what I need to get done next.

Grand Canyon, Day 3

Today was the last day of our grandkids trip and we had lots to pack in.

1^st off, catch the 8a.m. shuttle bus to Hermit’s Rest for the Junior Ranger/Family Hike. We haven’t been to Hermit’s Rest in many years and think that we just stopped and looked much like yesterday, but we didn’t even know about the trail so this was all new.

We got to the trail and found the ranger, there was only 2 other people, a father and his son so we were lucky to be in such a small group.

The Hermit’s Rest trail is mostly unmaintained which means that it is rocky and uneven. It is really a beautiful trail but steeper than the Bright Angel with many steps carved out of rock that are tall. I think that it would be very difficult to hike with a large backpack on. The trail does meet up with the Bright Angel but again I don’t think that I’d hike this one with a big pack on. The kids had no problem with this trail though.

We spent time at the Hermit’s Rest after the hike and were so amazed at the structure. It was designed by Mary Colter who also designed the Bright Angel Lodge, Lookout Studio and Desert View. There is a huge fireplace that is lit, as per the staff, during the winter on very cold days. I think we will try to go there during the winter. They also welcome dogs during the winter, purchasing dog biscuits for our furry friends.

From Hermit’s Rest we thought that we’d stop along the way so that Christabel could finish up her Junior Ranger book. I had the big idea that we could stop at the Lookout Studio, we would enjoy the view and some coffee while Christabel completed her last page, a drawing.

Dale and I were sitting when Bel rushed up crying, she had placed her book on the ledge so that she could get her pencil when a gust of wind blew her book right off the ledge and down into the canyon. What a catastrophe!

I hurried Bel to the ranger at the Vercamp’s, now mostly a visitor’s center, thinking that the ranger on staff would help. We found Ranger Eric and I explained what had happened; Christabel had finished everything but one page including the Junior Ranger Hike (Charlotte brought her book along as proof). Ranger Eric listened to poor Christabel’s tale of woe and told her that it was ok. Ranger Eric gave Bel the pledge and the badge and we were able to obtain the Hike Patch after all. We got ice cream floats in celebration!

We then took the kids to see the Ancient’s ruins and Desert View before returning to the RV.

For our last evening I put into a large pot, sliced potatoes, sliced carrots, chicken thighs and dumped in leftover chicken broth. We then packed up a table cloth, napkins, our picnic basket and pack then took off again to one of the rim overlooks.

At the overlook we backed the pickup up to the rim walkway and put the tailgate down. We got the camp stove out and I put on the pot of chicken stuff. We set up our foldup picnic table, put on the tablecloth, poured some wine and enjoyed the evening. When our dinner was ready we all sat down and ate by the rim.

Wow, what a way to enjoy our last night together!

Grand Canyon, Day 2

We had planned to get up early, be on the 8a.m. shuttle to the end of the road at Herman’s Rest then go on the 9a.m. Family Ranger Hike down the Herman’s Rest Trail. Unfortunately we learned, earlier, that our campsite was reserved for the night so we would need to move.

The host told us of another site which was likely to be vacated but we  needed to make certain. We finally saw the campers and verified that they would be leaving so went to dump while we waited. We dumped at a private campground and were happy that we were in Ten-X rather than have full hookups with internet and close neighbors.

By 11:30 we packed up a lunch, got into Grand Canyon Park, parked at the Bright Angel and hiked down the Bright Angel Trail about 1-1/2 miles. It was getting really hot so we just turned around after lunch but the kids had a great introduction to hiking the canyon. Christabel, the one who really didn’t like to hike asked if we could hike down to the bottom of the canyon sometime.

We took the shuttle all the way to Hermit’s Rest just for the ride then road one stop back to the Village where we hopped out to walk to the Abyss. The trail goes along the edge of the Canyon, some of it right on the edge.

 We got back on the shuttle at the Abyss, tired but happy!

Grand Canyon, Day 1

Another day of driving and we were at the Grand Canyon south rim. As the campgrounds were full we stopped at a campground just south of the park called Ten X. The campground host saw us looking for a site, we’d left Bel and Elias at one already. The host gave us the number of one he thought was perfect; he went and picked up the kids while we got into our campsite.

In the morning we went straight to the canyon as we wanted to eat breakfast at the El Tovar. When our boys were young and the farm was falling apart we went to the Grand Canyon and someone told us to go to the El Tovar for breakfast as one can find a cheaper yet just as lovely meal. We have always done that.

The kids were excited to go into the El Tovar for a meal but careful not to look like we were out of place. Bel reminded me not to look around too much as to seem as if I never go to a place so nice. We had a great breakfast, kids were convinced, once again, that they had the best meal ever.

From the El Tovar we gathered the Junior Ranger booklets and then walked along the canyon enjoying the views. At the lookout studio we took a photo of all of us, and found some books at the Kolb studio.

We had an early dinner back at the campground where the kids played rock hopping games and then a nice campfire.

A Day in Taos

I hate it when I’ve written a bunch and then it gets deleted. So I must start this day’s blog over:

The plan for Taos was mostly eating, the Taos Pueblo, The San Francisco de Asis and more eating. We have been to Taos many times and had our favorite restaurants, but as we all know, things change.

We had to check in at the office so I asked the person running the campground where to find the best sopapillas was. Unfortunately the place we’d always gone had changed hands and was no longer the best. She reported that the best place now is El Taoseno. We went to El Taoseno and found a very authentic restaurant, nothing fancy at all. We asked for the sopapillas but they were not serving them until 11:30a.m. The waitress asked the cook who did make them for our grandkids. I ordered chili stew which was some of the best I’ve had since “The Shed”.

We were able to get into the Taos Pueblo and spent a couple of hours wondering around. Dale and I have wonderful memories of Christmas Eve there years ago but it was nice to wonder at our leisure. This pueblo has been in existence for over 1000 years and people live much the same now. The council has decided to rebuild those homes which have fallen into disrepair so it was interesting to see how the building proceeds. I paid the extra fee to take photos but agreed to not use the photos except for my own use so cannot post any here.

We did do a short visit to the San Francisco de Asis, those of you who have visited us know that I have photographed this church. As a storm was approaching we did not spend much time and I don’t know if the kids took an interest in it.

The staff at the campground had made a recommendation for a place to eat great blue corn enchiladas at Orlando’s. This does not sound like a New Mexico name but the place is great! It is a very small restaurant, 2 rooms with limited tables and outdoor seating. Kids were very impressed too.

From the restaurant we found that we were close to the Rio Grande. If you have never crossed over the Rio Grande just outside of Taos, this is another must do. The gorge is a couple of hundred feet deep with the river running thru it. The bridge has walkways on both sides of the road and a lookout in the center. There was a full moon so we were able to see the river by the light of the moon giving it a different effect than in the day.

Trying to Get to Taos

We love Taos, we’ve even looked at moving to Taos or Santa Fe, it is a place we escape to when we can take a break. Taos not only has wonderful food but just an atmosphere about it, artistic and holistic. We wanted to share this place with our grandkids.

We started off with a bang, literally. Driving down I-25, just before the New Mexico border smoke started pouring out from under the RV. Dale was driving and I had been sleeping before my turn to drive. I woke up and was doing something or another when smoke pouring out on my side caught my eye. I told Dale “something’s burning; something is burning, smoke, smoke”.

Dale found a place to pull over on a wider part of the shoulder and found the rear right spring broken. This same spring broke a couple of years ago in the northern coast. At that time we had huge hassles with buying another spring and had to buy a set. Now we were glad that we had an extra spring along saving us the hassles of finding one.

Dale was working to get the spring off of the RV when another RV’er stopped. He came over and introduced himself offering to help. The man had been very ill and when his tire blew out was hardly able to change it. No one stopped to help him at that time and he vowed that he would never leave another RV’er by the side of the road without offering to help. What a great philosophy!

After Dale and our new friend worked for probably an hour we were ready to head on down the road again. We gave him a bottle of wine from our collection and we were on our way to Taos.

We arrived at the campground lots later than we had hoped and needed to start immediately on dinner. Charlotte wanted to BBQ some cod and steam some potatoes. We formed our plan to get everything done as quickly as possible.

Dale started a fire in the BBQ and it was about ready for the fish when a camper came by. He told us that there were no fires allowed at all, signs were all over stating that fact. That may have been true but we didn’t see any signs but then we were not paying attention to anything other than the fact we needed to get dinner on. The camper went on to tell Dale that if Dale were caught with the fire we would be fined or that he would be jailed. OPPS! Guess the BBQ wasn’t such a great idea after all. We moved the cod cooking inside and got on with our meal.

On the Road to the Top of the World

A road goes nearly around Rocky Mountain National Park that starts down in Boulder, thru Estes Park and then over a 12,000+ summit and onto the west side. The road, at 12,000 looks down onto most peaks full of snow and glaciers.

We thought that we’d drive up to the Alpine Visitor’s Center just past the summit on our last day in the Rockies. A plus is that part way up is a Junior Ranger Headquarters and Christabel could get her Jr. Ranger Badge here.

We started out and it is a drive that I highly recommend. Near the summit the road is above tree line and mountains are visible to the west. It is amazing to look down onto mountains that look so high from Denver and see the peaks.

Herds of Elk were at the top where we also encountered snow and hail then pouring rain. A visitor’s center has exhibits on building the road and a few other things, it is small but the gift shop next door is huge with lots of stuff and a café. We were able to eat our picnic lunch in the café without being bothered which was nice that we were not forced to purchase something.

Upon our return to Granite Basin we hopped on a free shuttle bus just to ride around once. We got off at Bear Lake and were going to walk around the lake but mosquitos were so bad we found the first shuttle bus out and hopped on it.

Time to pack up for the drive to Taos.