Goldilocks (6/20/24)

 Sitting in the camper with the air conditioner running literally all day is not our idea of fun (its very noisy) so for our next move we looked for some place cooler. And boy, did we find it. Moving north towards Salt Lake City is our game plan and since we loved Cedar Breaks National Monument when we were there, we headed that way again.

There is dispersed camping just outside the national monument, and we picked out a really nice spot. Being at 10,000 feet, the weather is totally different than Vegas.. It was sunny, but a little too windy and cool to sit outside. There were even pockets of snow near our campsite. Our intent the following day was to do a hike, but the wind was still whipping, and it was Cold! 

We elected to drive some back roads in the Bronco instead. That night the furnace ran a lot, and we realized the temperature had dipped into the 20s.

I felt like Goldilocks at this point. First it was waaaaaay too hot, then it was waaaaaay too cold. Time to move on, again.

Our next stop was Provo Utah, where we met up with our friends Liz and Randy, who were staying at the Elks lodge. Since they were busy entertaining their granddaughter, we took off for the nearby mountains to explore.

We had two goals- one was to hike and another was to drive the scenic road, looking for potential places to camp in the camper. But first we stopped at the visitor center for Timpanogos Cave National Monument.  Before we even got inside we were approached by someone who asked if we were doing a cave tour. Of course, we had no idea that there even IS a cave tour. He explained what it was and offered us free tickets because he had overbought for his family reunion. That changed our plans, but that’s ok too.

The cave tour begins with a 1.5 mile hike up a paved trail. There is 1100 feet of gain, so they give you an hour and a half to do it. 

It was pretty warm that day so by the time we got to the top, we were ready for the 45 degree cave. 

It is actually three caves, which have been connected with tunnels. We have been in many caves so this one was just ok for us, but the price was right.

One of the people we met in the RV park told us about a nearby museum (Richard W Erickson Foundation Antique and Classic Power Museum) that they thought was pretty awesome, so we decided to check it out. When we arrived, the place looked closed, but we parked the Bronco and walked around. It was acres of open air, and lots of buildings.

A few minutes later we ran into the owner, who had seen our car and was looking for us. Turns out the museum is really only open a few times a year for special events, or by appointment, which we didn’t have. She was gracious enough to show us around for an hour or so.  Her dad had owned the property and started collecting vehicles of all sorts, many years ago. 

He left a trust hefty enough to take care of the property. There were probably a dozen buildings, each holding a particular kind of nostalgia…one building is bicycles, one is race cars, etc. After a couple of hours we said goodbye to Pam, with the promise of sending her a few things we think she needed from our collection of stuff in the garage.

Before leaving the area we reached out to one of Paul’s (second? first cousin once removed?) cousins on his mom’s side.  We had an awesome dinner with Lori and her husband Rick, but of course, I took no pictures.  Paul wanted to pass along to Lori all the memorabilia he had about the cabin in West Yellowstone that has been in the family for generations.  Lori and her family still spend time at the cabin every summer.

The main reason for our visit to Salt Lake City, was to fulfill Paul’s parents last wishes.

Once they both passed, they wanted their ashes to be buried together in their plot in Salt Lake City.

Paul’s grandparents and great grandparents are also buried here.

They wanted no service of any sort, so it was just Paul and I, doing what they asked.

Our last afternoon was spent at a house on Murphy’s Lane in Salt Lake City. We have visited this house before, with Paul’s mom, but that time, there was no one home. This time there was.

The house used to belong to Paul’s great aunt and uncle, Alla and Tom Mulhall. At that time there was a house and a cottage. The cottage is now gone but the house has been restored very meticulously.   During World War II Paul’s mother and grandmother lived in the cottage while Paul’s grandfather, James Vegene Laird, was away fighting for his country.

Built in 1848, the original owner of the home was Robert Gardner. He and his brother also started the first saw mill in Salt Lake City. In 1928 the house was sold to Paul’s great uncle and aunt, but in 2012 the Gardner family regained possession of it, and decided to restore the house. It is now the oldest house in Utah that sits on its original foundation.

We met Sherril, a member of the Gardner family, because she happened to be staying at the house. Paul had brought whatever documentation he had regarding the house and his family’s part in its ownership, and he gave all of it to Sherril. She, in turn, happily showed us around the property, showing us the restoration that was done.

Our visit to Salt Lake concluded, we continued on our Goldilocks journey, seeking higher (and cooler) ground, in a national forest.

Before Summer 2023 (06-26-23)

 After returning from Mexico, we didn’t let any moss grow under our feet.  We headed home for a brief few days before heading to our next destination- Southern California.  We originally planned this part of our trip in order to meet up with Paul’s brother Tom and his wife Sue- we call her Sue1, and I am Sue2 because we are both Sue Porter, but she was in the family first.

Anyway the plan was to meet up with them and head to the Zydeco Festival in early-mid May. It also was Tom’s 70th birthday so we planned to arrive early to celebrate that. Then Paul and I found out that Jimmy Buffett was playing in San Diego the first weekend of May, so we added that into the mix.

So, plans were made.

We arrived in Chula Vista CA on the 5th of May- the Buffett concert was on the 6th.  We loaded up the truck with everything we had that screamed “It’s 5 O'clock Somewhere” and drove out to the stadium. This is a brand new stadium and Buffett is the first concert to be performed there. We had never tailgated before but we were quick learners. We set our food and drink up in the bed of our truck and of course, posted on Facebook. 

Then we took off to wander around drinking a margarita while observing the crazy antics of our fellow parrot heads.

Unbeknownst to us, after Paul posted on Facebook, some friends saw the post, and they were a 2 minute walk from us. So as we were walking around enjoying the ambiance, they were at our truck looking for us. Too funny. We did catch up to them and chatted for a while before heading in to the concert.

The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert. Jason Mraz opened, followed by a set by Mac McAnally who was joined later by Jimmy Buffett. I am not much of a concert goer but we definitely enjoyed it and yes, the tailgating was really fun and crazy- but it didn’t speak to me like the Eagles Concert did.

 I think the only performer I am interested in seeing perform live now, is Garth Brooks, if I get the chance.

Ok, so, concert over, we moved from Chula Vista, CA up to Oceanside, a couple of days before Tom’s birthday.  Our first day there, the guys were looking for a project to work on together, so they headed off to Sue’s son Shad’s house. Years ago we spent a few days working on projects here, and this was another smaller project.

 UNFORTUNATELY, while the guys were outside looking at water sprinklers etc. I was inside the house and managed to take one BAD step. I knew immediately that something was wrong, and called Paul on his phone. Fast forward to Urgent Care, and I have two broken bones in my foot, with doctors orders not to put any weight on it until I see a surgeon.

Peachy. Our daughter Jess had already made plans to come and stay with us for a couple of days while we were in southern California. Luckily we were still able to enjoy our time with her, and spent a wonderful two hours sitting outside a restaurant on the water, enjoying the smell of ocean air.

The three of us went to Tom’s house for his birthday and had a great time celebrating the fact that he is getting old, haha.

The Zydeco Music Festival (Gatorbythebay) was out for me, so Paul and I called it a day and headed home instead. We found an orthopedic surgeon in Kingman, about an our from our home in Havasu, and headed there to get X-rays, CT scans, and the news that unless the piece of bone sticking up from my foot causes me a problem later, I should be ok. However, I still had to do two weeks of no weight bearing, followed by incremental weightbearing, as tolerated.

Although I consider myself a crutches Pro, apparently that was many years ago because crutches are not fun. It took one day for me to order a knee scooter, so I could zip around the house to my hearts content. Weirdly, I received two scooters from Amazon, although I only ordered one. They kindly told me to donate the extra, which I did, when someone local on Facebook put out a call for a knee scooter because she broke her foot.

My birthday weekend was spent at the house with my cousin Linda and her husband Michael. Although quieter than usual, the 4 of us still had a great time, hanging by the pool and playing games.

I love my daughter’s sense of humor. She made this card for me for Mother’s Day: And yes, I opened it again on my birthday, lol. 

Next up on the agenda was Memorial Day weekend. This is always a fast paced crazy drunken weekend. We called all the participants to let them know that I might be a bit of a Debby downer, but they all decided to come anyway.

The good news is that my foot was never put in a cast, so I could lounge in the pool as much as I wanted. I already own a walking boot, so that made life much more tolerable. I wasn’t up for going on the boat, but I heard they all had a great time.

Memorial Day over, life settled down, for a few days.

We had made some plans for June that were now impossible to do. I was supposed to fly to MA on my own, to spend time with my family, and our son Stephen, but of course, now I can’t drive, so I canceled my flights etc. Very disappointing. Paul had planned to go to Fresno CA during that time frame, to help our friend Kirk build a deck. Since Kirk had bought all the wood, Paul still went, but for a shorter time, leaving me home alone for a few days.

It was around this time that all kinds of things started going wrong, actually. 

The dryer broke.          

          
            

The front landing gear in the Mobile Suite let go, tilting the front down “on its knees” as we say. Unfortunately the fridge was running, which caused the cooling system to fail (due to being off level too far) and we had to order a new cooling unit. It took two tries to get one here and in fact we only got the fridge fixed 3 days before we were scheduled to leave for the summer.

Paul bought new tires for the Mobile Suite, since they were close to aging out and we are taking the trailer for the summer. 

 While the tires were off he noticed that the leaf springs were in bad shape, and the Trailair center point suspension was not working, or had frozen, or was cracked, (actually, the bushings were worn out) or something.  I can’t keep up with all the lingo. 

Anyway, many thousands of dollars later, the trailer is back into ship shape condition. Whew.  I am extremely grateful that my husband is so mechanically inclined!

In the meantime, Paul got up one morning and broke his glasses.  On the same day, one of his hear aids stopped working.  Luckily we were able to get appointments at Costco for both, the next day, so off we went. That turned out to be the first of many trips to Las Vegas over the next few weeks.  I needed to go there for a CT scan of my foot (all clear), Paul’s glasses required several trips because the first pair arrived scratched, and the eye dr. at Costco wanted him to see a specialist to check on his cataracts, so we went back again for that. Turns out he does need cataract surgery, but we will wait till fall for that.

Soon after Paul arrived back from California, our daughter Jess arrived with some of her friends. Brooke and Matt have heard about the PPP (Porter Party Place) but have never been here.

They arrived with my favorite 2 year old, Noah. Noah is the first toddler we have had in the house, which took some extra thinking and precautions.

We thoroughly enjoyed their company and Noah found plenty to do. He did great swimming in the pool, and his favorite saying seemed to be “beep beep car”.  Beeping the horn on my Mustang was definitely one of his favorite pastimes. 

He reminded me a lot of my son at a similar age, “driving” my brother’s Firebird.

Once they left it was yet another run to Las Vegas, and then serious packing so we could leave town on June 21.

Because we are taking the trailer, we decided to book campgrounds in advance. We have the entire month of July booked at various campgrounds in Colorado, but we will stop first in El Paso to check in on Paul’s mom. 

Obligatory Winter Post (01-23-23)

 Pretty much every winter now, I first decide I am not going to write a blog post, then I change my mind, and then the post becomes HUGE because I try to fit everything I want to say in one post.  This year is no exception.  I am writing it sooner though, because we are actually on the road now, exploring. 

Once we arrived home after our White Rim Road trip in late October,  several things happened. Liz and Randy arrived soon after us, so you would think the partying would have begun.  Well, it did, for a short while.

In early November Paul and I left for California to help friends Kirk and Karen celebrate their new cabin with an Open House.

Its always a fun time with Paul’s fraternity brothers, but when we got back home a few days later, we both tested positive for Covid. 

Of course we isolated ourselves, and Liz and Randy were kind enough to drop meals off to us on the back deck, saving us from having to cook.

Once we were recovered, we took two trips to El Paso to see Paul’s mom.  She had doctor/dentist appointments and we prefer to be there for those.  We weren’t missing much in Havasu- the weather was so cold and windy, we never heated the pool after coming home from our summer trip, and we never got a chance to take out the boat.

We were very happy that we were recovered  in time for Thanksgiving. Paul’s brother and his wife came in their RV, and brought their grandson for the weekend.  I think he had a great time being the only kid around all of us adults.

It always makes us happy when our Jess comes to visit, and this time she brought her boyfriend, so it was double nice!

Adults Only entertainment included a trip to our favorite country bar- in fact we actually went there a couple of times before Christmas.

We decided to skip the Christmas Boat Parade this year, but we did walk around the London Bridge, to enjoy the Christmas lights.

December brought more illness- first Liz and Randy were sick, and then Paul was sick again.  It wasn’t Covid this time, but it lasted quite a while.  So, we were back to isolating for a while. The weather was still very cold and windy for the most part, so there wasn’t much to do anyway.

With the empty “cold and flu” shelves in the stores, we knew we weren’t the only sick ones in town.

Everyone was finally healthy just in time for Christmas. And the weather improved too- for a couple of days anyway.

It was actually warm enough to eat outside on Christmas- a nice perk. By this time our Canadian friends Brad and Marilyn had arrived, and Jess was back again.

New Years brought the Californians, and we had quite the party!

Once things got quiet again, we made an executive decision- it was time for a road trip!  Lake Havasu is a lot of fun, but we are tired of the wind and the cold so the 4 of us decided to leave.

The one thing we never get tired of though, is the sunsets!