March 2019

10 October 2013

Fall is here and in full bloom. The leaves on all the trees have changed color. Our neighborhood is full of old growth hardwood trees, therefore coming home from the YMCA each morning is a treat. First we enjoyed the colors of green to yellow and now orange, now we are driving through piles of leaves on the streets.

We took a day and drove to Palisades Lake and on up to Alpine, Wyoming. There was a light dusting of snow on all the mountain foliage. The Snake River running through the canyon made the landscape beautiful.

At home we are preparing for the winter months. I have put away the camp trailer and the little VW for the winter. Also, in the back yard we have planted many strawberry plants and put them away for the winter.

The month has been unusually warm and beautiful. We have had a chance to golf several times at Cedar Park, Shelley and Heise. I sneak away and Woody and I have golfed at Sage Lake and Sand Creek. I also golfed one day at Pinecrest in Idaho Falls but it was very, very windy that day.

The flowers have hung on to the bitter end. Now that all the days are below freezing at night there are no survivors. No more having to mow the grass but there are still plenty of leaves to pick up.

We had our eyes examined this month. It has been two years since we had them last examined. Not much change but a slight increase in cataracts. We also had our teeth cleaned. That is about it for medical treatment. We continue to frequent the YMCA nearly every week day and often on Saturday. We also get a chance to ride our bikes while the weather is still permitting.

I must say Woody has been incredibly creative in remodeling his basement. He finished the upstairs bedroom with remarkable style. New bed and furniture he built himself. Now he is finishing the downstairs. I had to include the Capapella head board.

Now the trip we have all been waiting for: Santa Cruz family vacation. Julia, Dawn and I packed up the Toyota with the bikes racked behind and headed for Salt Lake City. We met with Josh and Danielle and visited with Angie Byetheway while in Layton. Then we visited Holly and Jon and kids in their new home. The first night we went to dinner at Taco Loco. It was so nice to stay with them in their new home.

The next day (15 October) we were on our way at 6:00am meeting up with Josh and his family on our way to California. Caravanning together we traded kids whenever we stopped. Our first stop was in Wendover where we had breakfast at McDonalds, then Elko, NV for a quick hike while Josh slept a bit. We found a hobo camp along the railroad tracks. Lastly, that day we stayed in Reno at the Sands Regency Casino Resort. The first time any of the kids had stayed in a hotel. We went to Circus Circus that night after dinner and played at the arcade. Wow, what fun. Josh broke the bank with his jackpot doing the “Light Jump” . They cashed in their tickets for their prizes. Daz got a stuffed tiger he calls “Stripes”. We watched the floor show from Argentina areal act and the hula act from China. Fun times.

The next morning we arrived at the Lau’s home at 10:30am. Shortly after that we drove to Santa Cruz. That was tough fighting traffic but fortunately we all made it at the same time. Wayne, Josh and I all driving separately.

The Santa Cruz house was comfortable and the weather was terrific. Dawn and I got to ride our bikes to Cal Univ Santa Cruz and also from the home we stayed at to Capitola with Robyn. It was great. The meals were great and I kids were having so much fun they collapsed at night. Then up early to start over again. On Thursday we went to Monterrey, CA and spent the day at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. We had a great day of fun and another great dinner with dancing to “The Rubber Band Man”.

Our big day came on Friday when we went to the beach to surf. Wayne had wetsuits for all. Dawn and I, Josh and the kids got into the ocean on boogie boards and surf boards attacking the waves. The dolphins were everywhere in the surf. The girls and little kids picked up sea shells along the beach. Julia walked along with them in the sand. What a day! Everybody had fun that day!

It was hard to leave but traveling back to Reno was again difficult through the congested corridor of San Jose and then Hwy 80 all the way to Reno. We stayed at the Days Inn motel, not quite so nice but had a nice meal at Carrols. The next day we caravanned home with Danielle, Josh and the kids. We left them at Wells, NV and we made it all the way back to Idaho Falls, Id at 9:00PM. Julia had to help me drive from Rupert since I have a hard time at night driving. She has had cataracts removed from both lens and does fine driving at night.

The last week of October has been extremely nice weather so we played golf at Cedar Park free of charge. It is such a delight playing there because we always get apples off the Macintosh tree on the 7^th hole.

Today it is raining and getting much colder. We are looking forward to our cruise in November back to the Western Caribbean.