Days

The days are dragging by.  Craig has been glued to the computer most afternoons watching the Olympic games.  I'm not big on sports, even if they are world-class.  I did watch the first few days, but after several days I am quite bored with curling, skiing, and even the figure skating programs.

I had hoped to be on a trip this week, but because we were waiting for a package delivery we ended up putting it off for a week.  I'm pretty sure we will be heading down to Pismo Beach next week. It is about 200 miles from here.  We have passed by Pismo several times on our way to San Diego, but this will be our first stop there.

I always remember Margie and Roger.

I exchanged emails with a relative in Wisconsin,  and mentioned we might be off to Pismo Beach next week.  She wrote back "Right now any beach would be nice to be at. We would do more winter get-a-ways, but we don't have anyone to guard our house. I worry about break-ins."

I guess that is one reason I am looking forward to the full time life.  We will be taking our house and every tangible thing we own with us. No storage! Nothing to come back to, take care of, fix, or clean. That which didn't fit in the Alfa is gone.

I have felt a bit uneasy about not having a hoard of possessions to surround myself with a few times in the last month, but mostly I look around and think we still have too much stuff in the RV. There are a few additional things I will be getting rid of!

I wrote the following couple of paragraphs in bed this morning. I usually read  the news, blogs, and the funnies in bed while drinking my first cup of coffee each day. I do so on the iPad, and sometimes start a rough draft of a blog post.

"I know I should be out walking and enjoying my home territory, but I just have not been in the mood to do so.

Unfortunately, our main pastime for the last several months has been eating.  I am very distressed to report that I have regained much of the weight I worked so hard to lose.  I keep using the delay in the close of escrow as an excuse.  Food can be an addictive substance.

Some days I resent Craig because he can eat and drink all he wants and never get fat.  We have just such different metabolisms. I'm good at making excuses, and have to once again kick myself in the butt and get back to eating right.  Fat is so depressing." 

When I did get up, I saw it was quite sunny and well over 60F.  So instead of eating breakfast, I put on my walking shoes (and some clothes) and drove to one of my favorite walking spots. 

Across from our local school there is a public park that includes a lovely redwood grove, 

with a very peaceful amphitheater.  Teachers will sometimes bring their classes over for an outdoor lesson.  It is so beautiful there, what lucky kids!

In among the trees there is also a play area.

I don't think this merry-go-round will turn anymore, but I imagine the little ones still love climbing on it.








The path through the redwoods only goes a little way before reaching a fenced-off gully.

I turned back and went across the highway to the Summit Tree Farm.

It is fenced and has a sturdy locked gate, but it is well known to the locals that anyone is welcome to walk there and off leash dogs are more than welcome if their people remember to pick up after them.  

There is a unfenced pass thru next to the gate.  I haven't walked there for a long time.  Years ago, when I had my dogs, I bought them to the tree farm several times a week for a good run.  Since it is fenced all around they were safe from running onto the adjacent highway, and were able to explore while I walked the dirt road thru the trees.  For every mile I walked, I think they ran two or three! I have had two yellow labs and a sweet black shepherd.   As much as I loved them, I have decided not to have dogs in the RV.

As I hiked along I passed and greeted several other walkers and a few joggers, I couldn't help remembering my doggie friends. 

At one point on the very dry trail I came to a  muddy puddle. I'm not sure where this water comes from, but I had encountered similar puddles in this same area in the past.

I remember one time when Picabo, one of my yellow labs, trotted up to a  muddy spot in the trail, laid down and did a doggie roll! 

What a mess she was.  Of course we were almost to the end of our walk that day and because of her soggy state we had to do another circuit so she would be dry enough to get into the van.  (I put her on a leash before we got to that place again.)

As I walked this morning, lost in my memories, this fellow seemed to just appear out of the shadows.

Wagging his tail he greeted me like an old friend.  For a moment I felt like I was seeing a ghost dog, but then his person came down the path as well.






Walking along the road, on my way back to where I had parked, I noticed a few other interesting things.

A road gator.

A totem pole dedicated to the many games played on this old field.  

And a flock of matching bikers.












I'm really going to try to get out and walk more.  It's good for me!