Got Back & Things Are Going Well

The trip home was wonderful. At one moment we were at a rest stop called Shasta River rest area. It was absolutely gorgeous. I think we were there the whole afternoon and enjoyed the grass and river and then drove at night when it was cooler. Harvey and Pearl had already impressed several people with their talent for belly dragging on the grass. :-/ I noticed something this year. There must have been a police crackdown on people that solicit at rest areas because of all our stops, there were no people asking for money or such. It was terrible when a person doesn’t know who was in need and who is a scammer. :-( Anyways, I think it took about 4 days to get back to Kelowna – 55 was a lot slower than 70 for driving. But that was okay. I had one man in a morning at a rest stop, yell out, “hey novice! I saw you in Palm Desert. Amazing that we are at the same stop again in Northern California." Mind you, he had already been to San Francisco so he was hauling a lot quicker than me. I also had several people tell me they saw me on the highway and my driving was fine. Of course they are referring to my sign I wrote on the back window of my RV warning people be cautious near me. I think I will leave it on there for a long time as people seem to be more patient when they know someone was admitting they are not good at something. - - Harvey and Pearl are did well the entire way. We were out of the 117 degree heat (for you Celsius people, subtract 30 and divide by two) by Northern California. My truck has really good aircon, but even I felt a little warm one afternoon as the heat kept getting higher and higher. I was really worried about going up the Grapevine, but just crept and crept and made it over. Then I was worried about Grants Pass, but we did just fine going very slow. Downhill was almost as hard as going up hill because it was a bit of challenge for me figuring out what was the right gain on the brake controls – too much and steering column shakes violently as the trailer hops behind (the big rigs ripple the pavement in the heat), and too little and I can feel all 7,500 lbs pushing me. Anyway, I said lots of little prayers asking for calm nerves and it went good. I think the plan was to get to Portland or somewhere close to it, and then drive the rest of the way the next day…but it took more time. This was definitely my longest haul yet, but now I am getting ideas for some other jaunts. It REALLY was nice to have a little apt on wheels right behind though because I could drive until I was tired and then just pull off beside a CHEVRON or some other safe place because I had everything with me and just had a good night’s sleep. My unit is definitely not anything outstanding compared to others, or expensive but I sure do love it.

Now being here, things are going good. I am teaching afternoons at the college, and will be doing a little tutoring – not big bucks but enough to cover the expenses. And right now the schedule is allowing me to have more time for study, so I am really enjoying that.

Living in the interior as opposed to the Coast is a bit of an adjustment. I was told that the weather would be similar to Korea and so far it is. So I like that. However, I am not used to wildlife walking around the houses. I don’t mind the deer, but I don’t like the huge coyotes and bears that wander around. I find that my eyes are darting everywhere when I am walking Harvey and Pearl, and I am very thankful the yard is completely fenced. I am thinking within a couple months the bears will be hibernating, which will make me happy as they are the ones I worry about the most. I hear others say, “oh they fill up on other stuff. You don’t have to worry about them eating humans.” In my mind, that comment converts to: ”they eat all the cats and small dogs in the neighborhood”. Anyway, we are living on a mountain so I guess wildlife can be expected. :-/

Other than this, all is good. I am riding my motorcycle back and forth to work which means cheap gas. I am enjoying getting to know people in the congregation, and gradually getting to know the area better too.

Well, I better run. I have a little study to do. My Spanish needs to be a priority these days.

Love to everyone,

D :-)