The months of October, November and December flew by in a blur. We had to make several trips back and forth from Arizona to El Paso, as Paul’s mom was declining rapidly.
On the way to and from we broke up the long drive by stopping to do some hiking and visit friends.
Our friends Tom and Dianne live about halfway, so we usually stopped to visit with them. On one visit we explored Ramsey Canyon Preserve, where we spent an enjoyable few hours hiking and watching the hummingbirds.
On one of our visits we got out the black light and went hunting for scorpions- and even found a couple! For those who don’t know, scorpions light up at night under a black light.
Thanksgiving was also spent at Tom and Dianne’s, on our way to El Paso.
After a few days with his mom after Thanksgiving , we backtracked and headed to Los Angeles to see our daughter Jess. We had booked a spot at a county park on the beach, one of my favorite places to stay.
I miss living near the ocean, and as soon as we arrived I went for a walk- as my daughter, the stalker, figured out haha.
Originally our trip was planned because Jess bought tickets for her and I to see a live show of Mamma Mia at the historic Pantages Theater. The show was awesome!
As it turned out, it happened to coincide with Jess and Justin’s move into their new apartment. They had hired movers, but it was still great that we were able to be there and help them organize and get settled in.
Once we left Los Angeles, we took a deep breath, enjoying the ambiance of Lake Havasu. It wasn’t long though, before we felt we needed to be in El Paso.
We knew this was likely to be our last trip, and we were not wrong. On December 16, about a week after we arrived in El Paso, Gerry Porter, Paul’s mom, passed away.
She had an incredible 93 year run, and just months before her passing, was enjoying life, and playing bingo-her favorite thing to do . We were very glad we were able to be there for her.
Taking care of everything that needed to be done didn’t take as long as we thought it might, and we made it home just in time for Christmas. It’s always nice to see London Bridge all decked out.
Our friends Brad and Marilyn were there ahead of us, and Liz and Randy arrived before New Years. It was a quiet year, but we still had fun!
