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Sensory overload
Tuesday March 12, 2013
Dear family and friends,
At the risk of blogging myself into spam status, I will send another road note tonight. I wanted to tell you of the sensory experiences of road travel into California. First of all, let me explain that I am a total fan of Spring! Rather fitting I would say since, after all, I sprang into the world on the first day of Spring some many moons ago! (Get on with the story, sir!)
After leaving Woodburn (having purchased a new T-Mobile sim card for my cell phone – I would like to tell you that I slipped that one by Sandy while she was in purchasing quilting supplies, but that would be a complete fabrication!), we drove on and on in steadily warming temperatures, and clearing skies, until we crossed the Siskiyous just south of Ashland, and were rewarded with a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta and its smaller companion cone. What a sight on a clear day! Temperatures continued to climb, and by the time we rolled into Red Bluff at 3:30 or so, it was 27C outside: 15C above normal for this time of year. Many bird songs at Red Bluff RV completed the illusion of early spring where we were tucked into a private corner enjoying the remainder of the day outside with our books.
Oh yeah, before I ramble further into my sensory tales, let me add a further detail to the hot water issue…
Shortly after arriving in Red Bluff, Sandy tried to get some hot water out of the tap. It gave her a brief burst of hot, and then returned only cold water. Oh-oh! Something is really wrong with the hot water system, think I! Perhaps I should look for a mechanic after all. So, perplexed about the whole situation, I begin an Internet search for a nearby RV service. Gradually a whole new concept seeps into my mind – what if there were TWO taps from the hot water tank (intake and output) and I had only turned on ONE? I suddenly pulled the closet apart and sure enough – I found the second tap and turned it. Voila! NOW it all works well. As old Walter Brennan used to say in “The Real McCoys”… “Dagnabbit! You’re stupid!” (I don’t know whether he said that or not. I made that part up, too.)
Traffic today was fairly light, and I thoroughly enjoyed the miles with warm scented breezes at the various stops, and either music from my MP3, or NPR on the radio. The music can sometimes be a titch jarring! On “Shuffle” and with my playlist set to “All, but classical” (about 1400 tunes), I get many miles and hours of singalong time. However, shuffle can sometimes do mood changes that are dramatic, and shattering. We can be humming along with Andrea Bocelli’s, and Sarah Brighton’s “Time to Say Good-bye” – a stunningly beautiful duet, and before we have time to come down, the next song that kicks in might be Claude King’s “Wolverton Mountain” – “They say don’t go…”, or Delbert McClinton and Kacey Jones singing “You’re the Reason our Kids are Ugly”. Enough said!
Many, many bugs bit the windshield as we passed between rows and rows of olive or almond trees in bloom. The windshield spillage changes the hues of the fields to yellowish.
Oh, and one further note if you care about my scorecard of critters seen…
WILDLIFE:
Hawks – 11
Walking ducks – 17
NOT SO WILDLIFE
Coyotes – 2
Skunks – 2
What used to be furry tribble-like creatures (probably ground squirrels, raccoons, muskrats, etc.) – dozens. (I tell Sandy that these are just “sleeping”.)
POPES – 0 (This probably should have been included in “Not So Wildlife”.)
Sandy doesn’t approve of my counts. She says I should have included her counts. Okay – here is what she was counting…
colts, lambs (gamboling, of course), goat kids, calves. (She wasn’t sure of the numbers.)
Much love and best wishes to you all!
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter
Burned in Woodburn
Woodburn, OR, March 12, 2013
Greetings dear family and friends!
We left home 12 days ago, but have just spent the night in Woodburn, OR. This is in response to those who have asked, “Where are you?” No, we have not had any vehicle problems – we had a 4 day visit with family in Walnut Grove, and then we drove to Kamloops to join in the cheering section with the families of the Wellington Sr. Secondary Girls basketball at the Provincial AA championships. Both of our nieces – Montana and Olivia Mjaaland – played on this team, and Wellington eventually won the Bronze medal after losing only one game to the highly favoured Holy Cross Christian School from Surrey. We were so proud of the way the girls played, and eventually, the cheering squad even one an award for the most spirited support! Cool!
(An aside: private schools with the ability to draw and recruit students from anywhere on the planet should not be competing in a Provincial Championship with public schools that can only enlist students from their catchment area! Just my personal opinion, after seeing the size and skill levels displayed by some players from private schools which predominate in the Provincial rankings. Apparently, they also have their own final tournament.)
Our trip back to Walnut Grove after the final game on Saturday was beautiful, with clear blue skies, and dry roads on the Coquihalla. It was a 3 hour run with little traffic. On Sunday morning, we arose to the new Daylight Savings time, and as we drove, I listened to the beep, beep, beep, beeping of Sandy’s watch as she spent many minutes and long kilometres trying to reset it to the current time. (It still reads as a 24 hour time, and neither of us can correct it.) We crossed the border at the Truck Crossing for a smooth sail down I-5 to Woodburn. We are now officially on the road again! It was a 6 hawk day! (They are probably red-tails, or sharp-shinned hawks, but bird identification at 120 km per hour is a trifle tricky!)
On the issue of “getting older and wiser”…not so much! When we arrived last night we had to de-winterize the camper to get rid of the antifreeze in the water lines, and to stock up with water. Winterburn RV seemed to be a good place for this. We hooked up everything, cleared our tanks and lines, plugged in the tv cable, – and almost everything worked! Two exceptions:
1. Water from the pump area leaked all over the floor of the camper, but Sandy is Mrs. Efficient at making it go away;
2. When we turned on the hot water heater, it momentarily flashed, then ceased to work. That was that! (“Flipping the switch on and off won’t fix it, Tony!”)
The night was chilly, but the furnace works fine.
8:00 a.m. March 11
Moments ago, while I constructed my notes to you, Sandy busied herself with tidying, and reading manuals. Finally….”Did you re-open the hot-water tank isolation valve?” Yoiks! (That’s not exactly the word I used! I had NOT! I can hear you old time RV-ers out there tsk, tsking!) Okay, it is now opened. Although it hasn’t been said yet, I am pretty sure that I can sense a silent “You’re stupid!” being held back rather kindly!
However, we must have burned a fuse or kicked a breaker that I cannot locate since the system is still non-functional. I hope that we will have good news to report after the RV places open at 8:30.
Much love and best wishes to all – with special thoughts for the student and teacher Spring-Breakers who are heading for the breakers off Maui, or other vacation spots, and to my nonagenarian mother who is now getting ready to move into a new residence in Langford!
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter
P.S. As we began to pack up, I decided to check the hot water tank outlet at the back of the camper. Under the dust and grime was a black rubber pad with the word “Reset” stamped into the rubber. I had a final “Aha” moment as I pushed it and tried the heater button again. It worked!! Thank heavens I didn’t go into an RV service and have to see the “You’re stupid!” behind the eyes of some junior mechanic! So we are off, knowing that, for the moment at least, I am “NOT so stupid!”
Anticipaction – Just In Case
February 28, 2013
Hello once again dear family, friends and neighbours!
After a winter’s hibernation, and slowly becoming acclimatized to the gloom and cool of coastal winter after our Europe jaunt, we are once again about to begin the 2013 version of our Road Notes – travels to the southwest US.
Packing has been relatively unhurried and planned – quite different from prior years. Sandy has lists! “Has such-and-such been completed?” Yes! “CHECK!” All in all this is a rather organized solution to my own rather haphazard method of wandering into rooms, opening closets or drawers, and declaring “Aha!” as I find something else that cannot be left behind.
However, I do have some lists of my own – albeit obscure and not committed to paper. I have a “must bring” list of tools…for tie-downs, repairs, maintenance, building a house…whatever, and each year it elicits a raised eyebrow and bewildered “Why are you bringing that?” from my travelling partner. I really haven’t got a firm answer since the need hasn’t quite unfolded in my mind – yet! However, I generally placate her obvious impatience with “Just in case!” This usually ends the conversation though occasionally she adds an audible sigh as the final punctuation.
This year, the packing has been complicated. We are heading for Yuma – via Kamloops. This route, which most snowbirds haven’t tried yet, has been selected because the High School Provincial Basketball playoffs are in that still-wintery city. (Our two nieces play for the Wellington High School team, and we must continue our practice of attending their games until the season is over. And…well, we almost never see Kamloops when it is not uncomfortably blazing hot. Our turn south will begin after these games – around the 10th of March.
And so, today, we begin our journey. Sandy has been up since 1:00 a.m. (a little earlier than her usual 4:00) I suddenly snapped awake at 4:30 and immediately my mind gremlins intruded to throw off sleep confronting me with my mental lists of things-to-do-and-bring. I think that we have it all. “Kitchen sink?” Yes! “Check!” (I decided that the table-saw just won’t fit this year, but those other tools might help me to make more room for next year.)
I hope that you continue to join us in our travels. We love having you along, and hope that you will take the time to comment occasionally, or send us news.
Love and best wishes to everyone!
Tony (the Quill), and Sandy (the Quilter)
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