ABCs of A Trip Worth Waiting For + PNWMM: P: A Practically Perfect Pacific NW Mouse Meet- pg. 26

[Grumpy's Wife]

Kudos to you for staying in the hotel the first night. I think after I drove up I'd have gotten the heck out of there. I'm too scary a person, every little sound I would have thought someone was trying to break in.

I'm glad to hear that your mom is on the mend. Hopefully your next trip back to Bowling Green will be for a happier occasion.

 

[Steppesister]

At least yours will make the mac n cheese. Last trip I left on a Tuesday morning, got back midnight-ish the following Wednesday. I left behind my 63 year old husband and 23 year old son. Adults. Supposedly. Knowing the husband is "kitchen challenged" I bought "simple food" before I left. My husband has the most limited palatet of any person I have ever met. So they were left with hot dogs and buns, sliced ham, ham salad (yes, ground bologna, but I grew up calling it "ham salad", so I'll blame mom for that name) and bread, there were also frozen pizzas, pizza rolls(hubby wouldn't eat those but the boy might have), chips and some canned tuna. There was other stuff too, but these were purchased specifically to keep them from starvation.

So what do I hear about on Sunday evening of my trip? "I thought you bought new bread? It's dry" well, yes, I did buy bread...on Friday after work...if you are just now opening it over a week later, I am not responsible. I also heard on Saturday that my youngest was going to visit my oldest to go to opening day Cubs at Cardinals game. And that he figured instead of stopping to eat on the drive down or when he got there he'd take a couple ham salad sandwiches so it wouldn't go to waste (5 days into the trip). I get home, the sliced ham is gone. Husband would take a slice, roll it with a slice of cheese and eat it...no bread. Son 3 took ham salad to son 1. And the chips were gone. Everything else was still there. So basically they ate 3-4 bags of potato chips, a package of sliced ham and American cheese, and a portion of the ham salad in over a weeks time.

Mine actually have quite a repertoire if given the tools. In addition to bean burritos, they will do a tuna casserole, ragu, and pancakes. Your crew sounds like starvation is preferable to anything but chips. UGH! Especially after you went through the effort of stocking up too. Dang! That would be frustrating to be sure.

Oops... Poor Brian Somebody! He'd really have been in trouble if it was me, I keep my boarding pass in my "personal item" not my carry on, so I wouldn't have noticed it until much later.

Could you imagine if i'd have taken it onto the next flight?!

Sir, we found your bag in Nashville. We can get it to you in about 3 days.

 

[Steppesister]

Agreed. When I was driving 2.5 hours at 5am every week or so for about a year....

Yeah... nothing helps. Was a few times that I had to pull over because I was passing out at the wheel.

Better to pull the safe option than the dead option.

Been there!
My first lemon meringue pie. Beautiful meringue floating on a sea of lemony liquid.

But... you've had success since then?

So just a hair below the Grand Floridian?

Only a little. I mean there WAS hot water.

Um.... I'm sure he was from AAA.
(Or AA...)

Yes. Probably. Maybe.... ok, not likely.

No. There are times when it is wise to be cautious.

See comment #1 up there ^^.

I'm thinking there weren't enough bolts on your door for your liking.

The bed was super heavy to move over there.

Normally, 3 strikes you're out is the norm. But not in Liesa's world!

Normal is so boring.

I dunno. That seems to be how a lot of adult films start. So there's that.

This begs the question...

Oh.. never mind.

No smaller sizes available?
Or did you order it by mistake?

No. Only 1 size.

Or even pizza?

You got Sprite? Didn't you order Coke? (You wrote that a bit earlier.)

OK, here's the deal. I don't know about now, but when I was growing up in SoCal, EVERYTHING was called a "Coke". When we asked our friends if they wanted to go out and grab a soft drink, we'd say, "Hey wanna grab a Coke?" So, it's all the same to me, unless I am asked to specify. Make sense?

It's not like you could take it with you.

Actually, I did have a few more bites around 4:00 just before I tossed in the trash, moved the bed, and headed out the door. Man that bed was heavy.

Oh?
What sort of purposes?
Conventions?
Family reunions?

Well, there's a place for everything.

So... in retrospect... would you have been better off staying at home and getting up at 2am?

Pretty much, yes.

I saw that photo!
And have seen similar from you, before.

It must be done.

Apparently it's not the only thing people in Portland do...

https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...-content/uploads/2013/09/gif.gif&action=click

See? Easy mistake.
But... small.... was it a carry on that had been gate checked? Or did you have more than one checked bag?

No, here's what REALLY happened. There was no overhead storage above my seat, so I put my bag a few rows back. When it was time to grab it, the aisle was clogged with peoples, so I glanced at the bags in the bins and spied a black one that looked JUST like mine and asked a guy in the aisle to grab it and hand it to me, which he did happily. I rolled it off the plane and onto my next gate across the concourse.

Oh? And what might the "and more" entail???

Just the usual bomb making materials.

 

[Steppesister]

This does not sound good at all.

Not one of my happier memories.

I'd worry about the bed sheets.

The word heebie jeebies comes to mind...

Nice. I hope you packed all your valuables.

I did! The only thing left in there was a coke cup from my stop at McDonalds.

Don't. Just don't. I will not patronize this company. Ever. I don't care how long ago it was, trophy animal hunters are bad people.

I'd not heard of that.

If you had Fran with you, that wouldn't be a problem!

At least they didn't have cockroaches or flies in the food.

Or worms coming out the top that looked like a little wisp of steam...

No, you were having a crappy day that just kept getting crappier.

Some days are just like that. I was happy to have finally landed.

Yeah, I've encountered that before. I used to carry one of those flat bathtub stoppers in my bathroom bag it happened so often.

Now THAT'S a brilliant idea! I am totally going to do that. This is not the first time I've run into this.

Maybe your room was underneath the Honeymoon suite.

Awww..... Such a nicer thought... yeah, let's go with that. I mean every honeymooning couple would choose THIS place.

OK, now that's getting weird.

See gif up there ^^.

OMG! It started back then!

Well.... I may or may not have a string of brainless moments. I wonder if there's a support and recovery group for this...

Now I feel quite happy about my purchase of a purple carry on bag last fall!

THis was the bag I'd bought as a personal gift to myself for getting accepted into the Nursing Program. I knew I'd need a bag to carry around all the books and binders and uniforms and crap. I'd have been really sad to have lost it. Boarding passes can be replaced. Sentimental bags can't. BUT, I"m wondering if for travel, I need to re-think my choice.

They get my bag. Every. Single. Time

I'm starting to wonder how "random" this is..... It's times likes this I worry just a little about our 4th amendment.

Not a problem. We wouldn't expect you to, besides everyone wants to hear about what items you lose at Disney!

HEY!! I'm getting there. (Which brings up the very next amendment.)

 

[Steppesister]

I'm looking forward to the rest of your trip report!

Thanks, Michele! Lots more coming up, but if PB keeps giving me fits, could be a bit...

I have a very good visual of this. Last year we stayed at a Holiday Inn close to the New Orleans airport for a robotics competition and it was horrible.

Scary and gross, huh?

Thank God you made it to safety.

I'm so glad you finally found food.

Me too. Hungry is not a good place to be when you're already stressed out and tired.

I'm so sorry. I hope you found some time later to get caught up on your sleep.

My parents took a few naps, so I took advantage of the time.

My very first time flying I had to use the little white bag. Fingers crossed I don't have to again.

It's not a pleasant experience at all. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I'm sure they loved having you too. You'll always have that memory too. How is your Mom doing now?

SHe's doing so much better. Her spirits have lifted and she's back to her normal routine, which I'm sure has really helped in making her feel happier.

 

[Steppesister]

This made me laugh because, have actually done this, and recently too.

LOL! I hate having such high hopes and ending up with a total fail. Did you drink it? LOL!

Wow, they show such quality on a plane? Impressive!

Oh no, that was at mom and dad's. They are really into Film Noir and Foreign Films, so we always end up watching at least one when I visit.

No worries, Liesa.
Life.

It happens.

Just trying to keep up lately.

Kudos to you for staying in the hotel the first night. I think after I drove up I'd have gotten the heck out of there. I'm too scary a person, every little sound I would have thought someone was trying to break in.

I'm glad to hear that your mom is on the mend. Hopefully your next trip back to Bowling Green will be for a happier occasion.

I suppose I could have gone a bit closer in and found a Marriot or something, but didn't want to break the bank. Might have been a good idea though.

I'm going back again in June, and I'm ancipating a much nicer time.

 

[KathyM2]

LOL! I hate having such high hopes and ending up with a total fail. Did you drink it? LOL!

The funny thing is, we thought if we put it in the fridge it would thicken...which it did...too much...then it was like trying to scrape a rock hard chocolate bar off the bottom of the bowl...

 

[Steppesister]

The funny thing is, we thought if we put it in the fridge it would thicken...which it did...too much...then it was like trying to scrape a rock hard chocolate bar off the bottom of the bowl...

oh dear! I've made brownies that that has happened to.

 

[pkondz]

Better to pull the safe option than the dead option.

Good point.

But... you've had success since then?

Nope! One and done!

Truth is... I'm the only one in the house who likes lemon very much. Some day I'll try again.... you know.... when I have time.... Time! I crack myself up.

Only a little. I mean there WAS hot water.

Hot water trumps all.

See comment #1 up there ^^.

Ah yes.

The bed was super heavy to move over there.

You didn't!

Normal is so boring.

I'm beginning to see that about you.

This begs the question...

Oh.. never mind.

Mark told me.

OK, here's the deal. I don't know about now, but when I was growing up in SoCal, EVERYTHING was called a "Coke". When we asked our friends if they wanted to go out and grab a soft drink, we'd say, "Hey wanna grab a Coke?" So, it's all the same to me, unless I am asked to specify. Make sense?

Yes it does! I did a poll about this a few years back.

Actually, I did have a few more bites around 4:00 just before I tossed in the trash, moved the bed, and headed out the door. Man that bed was heavy.

Okay... Did you really move the bed???

Well, there's a place for everything.

Glad to know where to find it now!

https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...-content/uploads/2013/09/gif.gif&action=click

Meh. Pretty normal.

No, here's what REALLY happened. There was no overhead storage above my seat, so I put my bag a few rows back. When it was time to grab it, the aisle was clogged with peoples, so I glanced at the bags in the bins and spied a black one that looked JUST like mine and asked a guy in the aisle to grab it and hand it to me, which he did happily. I rolled it off the plane and onto my next gate across the concourse.

You did that.... on the plane?????

Just the usual bomb making materials.

Don't even joke about that!!!

Or worms coming out the top that looked like a little wisp of steam...

That could never happen.

I mean every honeymooning couple would choose THIS place.

BUT, I"m wondering if for travel, I need to re-think my choice.

Re-think travel?

 

[mom3sonstt]

. Your crew sounds like starvation is preferable to anything but chips. UGH!

Yeah, apparently one ingredient is the max. I thought maybe they could handle two, especially if one was something like bread. Now I know better.

 

[vamassey1]

Scary and gross, huh?

Both! At least I wasn't alone.

Me too. Hungry is not a good place to be when you're already stressed out and tired.

The trifecta of a bad night.

My parents took a few naps, so I took advantage of the time.

I love naps!!!

SHe's doing so much better. Her spirits have lifted and she's back to her normal routine, which I'm sure has really helped in making her feel happier.

Good to hear. No one likes to be sick and helpless.

 

[Steppesister]

Truth is... I'm the only one in the house who likes lemon very much. Some day I'll try again.... you know.... when I have time.... Time! I crack myself up.

Too bad. Lemon is so GOOD! You should MAKE time... (then you could sell it and have more of it.)

You didn't!

Oh?

Mark told me.

As you recently said on your own TR...

SHOTS FIRED!

(I recently saw a comment referencing statues and pigeons.... @Captain_Oblivious )

Yes it does! I did a poll about this a few years back.

And I remember that.

Okay... Did you really move the bed???

Gonna leave you guessing on this one.

You did that.... on the plane?????

Well technically *I* didn't. I mean the guy I asked to get it down for me touched it first.

Re-think travel?

No, Silly! Re-think my carry-on.

 

[Steppesister]

Yeah, apparently one ingredient is the max. I thought maybe they could handle two, especially if one was something like bread. Now I know better.

Geez, Louise. I see unhealthiness in someone's future.

The trifecta of a bad night.

It coulda been worse. I mean I could have missed my shuttle in the morning too. LOL!

I love naps!!!

Me too!! I wish I got more of them!

 

[pkondz]

Too bad. Lemon is so GOOD! You should MAKE time... (then you could sell it and have more of it.)

If I could make it, I'd hoard it.

I could really use some sleep...

Oh?

No.... really?

(I recently saw a comment referencing statues and pigeons.... @Captain_Oblivious )

Then you're ahead of me. Haven't got there yet.

And I remember that.

What?!?!?!? You do????? That was eons ago!

Gonna leave you guessing on this one.

What kind of TR writer are you?!?!?!?

Well technically *I* didn't. I mean the guy I asked to get it down for me touched it first.

The one *you* pointed out?

No, Silly! Re-think my carry-on.

You may want to rethink that answer. Just sayin'.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Somehow I totally missed that you had started this TR. I'm sorry, Liesa!

We even put up with Dad Jokes.

Thank goodness. Otherwise, I serve no purpose here.

Now, with a BFP (Big Fat Plan) penciled in (never, EVER pen in your plan!) I waited. And waited and waited. Waiting for a Disney trip takes almost as long as waiting for your laptop to be returned when it’s being serviced. In case, you’ve never had the joy of that, it feels like approximately 14 years.

Story checks out.

Time off from work was secured, the bags were starting to get packed (kind of), the house was given a preliminary cleaning (because the family needs a visual of what you’d like it to look like when you return, but never does), and the bills were paid (because if the power is off, they can’t cook the Kraft Mac n Cheese they’ll resort to because cooking the chicken you bought is “way too hard”).

There was no way I could just NOT go see my Mama. PEs (Pulmonary Embolisms) kill people. Yes, she was stable, but she still had the clot.

Man, that's scary. Can't blame you in the least for wanting to rush out there.

Trust me, I’ve stayed in some dives before, but this particular Ramada Inn was run down, had less-than-savory looking guys loitering in their cars near the entrance like they were casing the place, and the lobby reeked of stale smoke.

Ew. We're talking Super 8 territory here.

I started to wonder if my rig would last when I saw a guy trying to shove a coat hanger down the window on a compact 2 spots over.

Pizza Hut….. You’re my only hope!

If Pizza Hut is the answer, we probably don't want to know the question.

Who knew Pizza Hut could crank out a tasty anything other than pizza?

Who knew they could crank out tasty pizza?

Ooooooooooooooooooor not. Clearly this motel was used for other…. purposes. Groovy.

Oh my. Lots of rooms getting pizza deliveries, then?

On the way in, I saw this that I thought was amusingly ironic. Someone certainly has a sense of humor.

I have a sinking feeling I’m about to be flamed…. again….for yet another brainless act, but well, I find it rather hilarious that when I got off the plane and across the concourse to my next gate, and reached into my bag to grab my next boarding pass, I....


HAD THE WRONG BAG!

D'oh! Poor Brian.

I don’t feel comfortable sharing all the ups and downs of Mom’s recovery from her knee replacement, except to say, that it was not a fun time for anyone involved, especially her.

It was hard, but I’m so glad I was able to spend the week with my folks at a rather dark time for Mom.

Me too. Is she more out of the woods now? I hope she's doing better.

But, apparently, it is not kosher to answer the door in a towel for a pizza.

I dunno. That seems to be how a lot of adult films start. So there's that.

Mark told me.

As you recently said on your own TR...

SHOTS FIRED!

(I recently saw a comment referencing statues and pigeons.... @Captain_Oblivious )

Most days, I'm the statue. Every once in a while, I get to be the pigeon. But I never, ever get to be the pizza guy.

 

[pkondz]

Most days, I'm the statue. Every once in a while, I get to be the pigeon. But I never, ever get to be the pizza guy.

 

[Steppesister]

Most days, I'm the statue. Every once in a while, I get to be the pigeon. But I never, ever get to be the pizza guy.

More comments later, but...

 

[Steppesister]

Chapter 3: C is for Coming Home and Catching Up- pg. 4
​

Despite the week of more hard things than fun, the time did go by quickly and soon it was time to finally make my way to Southern California, my birthplace and homeland. For you locals who know the basic geography, I hail the ‘Inland Empire’ as my Motherland, specifically, Hemet. My childhood home was breathtakingly beautiful in its heyday. Vast orchards of apricots, olives and orange groves filled the picturesque little valley, while looming to the east stood Mt. San Jacinto tall, proud, and occasionally even snow-covered. The Valley was removed just enough from the LA urban sprawl in the late 60-80s that the smog rarely clogged up our air. Everyone knew each other, mobile home parks outnumbered the gangs, and we didn’t have a mall until 1980 or so. We affectionately called it "The Small".

I grew up riding my bike all over town without the fear of foulplay, we rollerskated on Friday nights, and watched the boys play league ball on Saturdays. We had TPing-Each-Other’s-Houses Wars every weekend, and swam in our friends’ pools until midnight all summer long. I could not have asked or wished for a better place to grow up.

Sadly, Hemet has turned into a cesspool of filth, gangs, urban sprawl, and crime. And yet….



...and yet, it still has some of that natural beauty that I remember so vividly. Some parts of Mother Nature are hard to kill off. Every so often I get a strong pull to breathe in those still familiar cloying scents of orange blossoms on the morning breeze, watch the pink evenglow on majestic Mt. San Jacinto and Taquitz Peak, and gaze on the beauty of the wildflowers that overtake the hillsides each spring. Perhaps it is also that innate call to revisit one’s roots and find solace in the fading, yet familiar, places that still draw you there.

But first, I had to get there. And there’s no better way than in a beautiful and very fast car. For those of you who don’t know me, I will never turn down a ride in a car meant for speed and luxury. My ride for the short trip to the airport (usually an hour, but today much less) was in one of these:

I haven’t gotten to hit triples in a car in quite a while, and it was FUN! Best part? Wasn’t gonna be my ticket. Worth the risk of missing my flight due to an unfortunate citation? No, probably not. But I still enjoyed a real-life spin on Test Track. I won’t be pretentious enough to pretend I know all the makes and models of sports cars, but given the chance, I’m always up for riding in one. Better yet, if someone were to offer me a Corvette, I’d say yes faster than the IRS can find a auditable mistake on your return. Nash-vuhl is a teensy, easy airport to deal with and I was to my gate with plenty of time to grab a coffee and relax.

No issues with the flight at all, and a customary tomato juice was consumed. I lament the fact that a Bloody Mary was going to cost more than my kids’ orthodontia work, so, I reluctantly passed. LAX wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be either on the other end. Checking to see I had my OWN carry-on , I gathered my once-again-TSA-pilfered, checked bag and headed to find the rental shuttles. Easy-peasy. Within an hour, I was headed onto the SoCal freeway system and back in my element. Why yes, I did drive 80 with KROQ cranked. And ummm, no, I didn’t dally in the #1 lane. With no real slow spots to stand in my way, I was in Beaumont in no time. I was on a ROLL and loving it!

Just before I met up with my uncle, I needed to check my directions and thought it was a perfect time to snap a photo of the loveliness that is Southern California.

The air became surprisingly cleaner as I went east, and MY HEAVENS! What was THAT?! That glorious yellow orb in the sky? Shut the front door- it’s the life-giving, joy-inducing, spirit-lifting thing we call the… Sun. If NOTHING else happened that day, I was gonna be a happy woman. (Our area has come close to all-time rainfall records this year already…. Winters here in Oregon bite.)

Elated to see palms again, feel that warm breeze, ahhh….. it was gonna be a good day. In my piece of crap rental, (that barely COULD do 80 on a SoCal freeway) I finished off my 90-minute trek to my destination, and was treated to a nice lunch at Applebees with my uncle whom I hadn’t seen for about 10 years. Applebees sucks, so I got a salad which is pretty hard to mess up no matter WHO you are. We really had a nice time catching up with each other’s families and reminiscing about times waaaaaaaaaaay back in the memory banks. The one memory we both look back fondly on was the time we built a giant snowman and then dumped antifreeze all over it turning it a glorious shade of pink. That was before there was the child abuse cops, environmental police, and other fun crashers.

Originally, my plan was to just spend a couple of hours visiting with the cousins and my aunt after our lunch, but on the way to the restaurant, he informed me that she was planning dinner for me and EVERYONE was coming over- that’d be about 15-20 people!! Well, crap, you can’t just skip out on that and ditch your own party! I quickly changed gears and resigned myself to yet one more very late night. I wouldn’t be able to bow out until at the very earliest 7 or 8 and still had another 90-minute drive ahead of me. I was TIRED!! (Remember that! It may save me from yet more flaming.)

But, all of that is getting far, FAR too ahead of myself. Let’s take a step back and fill in the afternoon with a bit of exploring, shall we? (This is where you say "yes", because this is my TR and that’s where I’m taking us.) The drive from Beaumont takes you through a little canyon called Lamb’s Canyon and spits you out into “my valley”. (This was the same canyon my parents were hit head on by a drunk driver, but that’s a story for another day.) On the east lies Mt. San Jacinto, and the west will lead you to Orange County; heading south would lead you to San Diego and all things Mexico. It’s still quite picturesque in the grand landscapy scheme of things, and I found a few photo opps along the way towards my family’s home.

I am still a bit sad that I missed, for the most part, this year’s SoCal wildflower superbloom. It doesn’t happen very often and the last round of droughts left things pretty sparse for a long few years.

Same shot, but a bit zoomed:

Nevertheless, even in the hour I had to get to their house, I did quite a bit of tripping down Memory Lane.

The first place I went actually has some ties to Disney, believe it or not. I didn’t know this until I read some blogs and articles about the new area of Grizzly Peak Airfield. My destination was:

I found these to share with you, thinking that those of you who “wanna know” can dig a little deeper into the ultimate depths Disney goes to provide you with a believable, authentic story. I am thrilled that this particular one has a personal connection to me.


http://www.pe.com/2015/12/01/disney-grizzly-peak-airfield-attraction-modeled-after-hemet-ryan-airport/


http://www.pe.com/2014/07/24/hemet-disney8217s-8216planes8217-animators-find-inspiration-at-air-base/

You see, I grew up watching those slurry bombers working the fires we’d have every fire season. Over and over they’d circle to refuel and refill, countless times buzzing our house en route to their destination. More than once, brush fires came close enough to our house to have the pink “MUD” spray our own roof.

Bambi’s? Yep, we ate there on occasion. They had (and I assume still do) a pretty decent breakfast. (Bambi's is referenced in those articles above.)

I’ll never forget the time my grandpa flew into the airfield for a weekend visit, I think for a Thanksgiving, and after a couple of days went to get his plane and fly to a business meeting, only to find his plane gone. Who the heck steals a plane?!

Oh! That would be the “Mexican drug cartels”. Funny thing is, when he received news that his plane was found by American authorities, it was in the possession of a local Mexican Police group. LOLOLOL! Made us wonder exactly WHO the Mexican drug cartels really were….ahem.

Sadly, the firebase has relocated and the bombers have moved on. But the memories and Disney inspiration live on. Now, Ryan Airfield is the home to hobbyists restoring historical aircraft, pleasure pilots and other small craft.

Next up was the last of my childhood homes that took me from middle school through high school graduation. It was a beautiful home set on a hillside overlooking the valley. Each Winter/Spring morning, I’d wake to the scent of orange blossoms (yes there was a reason Soarin’ flies over my house and pumps in orange scent! Yes, for real!) and see the snow-capped mountains. Only a few times did we find dead rattlers in our pool filter. In all seriousness, I had a blessed childhood and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

When we lived there, we had several citrus trees (of all kinds), pomegranates, and apricots; all of those appear to have been swapped out for non-edibles. But the house still looks as it did. Fun to have swung by.

Continuing on my journey through once-upon-a-time, I drove up the hill from my childhood home to the site of the “Ramona Bowl”. This is the site of the outdoor play adaption that has shown every single year since 1923. It is the portrayal of Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel Ramona written in 1884. I won’t bore you with the synopsis, but if you are interested, here is the Wiki article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramona

My connection is that all the cool kids (pretty much everyone in the valley) was somehow involved in this production every April and May. If you were a “hot” guy, (this is middle school, we’re talking about, people!) you were an Indian boy on the hillside, and if you were really, REALLY cool, boy or girl, you scored an on-stage part. Our band provided musicians, Job’s Daughter’s sold souvenir playbills, everyone else in town sold concessions or were hostesses, sold tickets, or saw it. The most famous actress to have played Ramona was Raquel Welch; my parents to this day have a piece of sketched art singed by her as that part. It is still a massive big deal. My own dad was the on-site physician for many, many years during the productions and treated more heat exhaustion and heat stroke than he can count. Sitting in the hot Hemet sun for 3 hours is pretty hard on the elderly!

I took a couple of photos of the view from up there and then wandered finding some wildflowers carefully watching my step as it was then full-on snake season. Rocks, warm sun and spring make for a dicey situation.

Enjoy!

Lastly, just next door, sharing the same parking lot, is where I dabbled in community theater for a little bit. I remember being a bit part in Taming of the Shrew and playing my flute as part of the little Renaissance band for intermission entertainment. Fun little hobby for a kid.

Looking back up the hillside:
​

That’s what money can look like.

Finally it was time to head on over to the relative’s house where apparently everyone was to gather for a bigger than expected (on my part) dinner party. I opened the car door and was overwhelmed with orange blossom and couldn’t help myself but to take a photo of one of the many trees in their backyard. (I used my camera- remember that.):

So pretty!

Dinner was fun! My aunt and uncle have 3 kids (my cousins) and it was great meeting their SOs and children. One of the kids even gave me a foot massage, and I got to hold the newest baby in the family. So sweet! (Glad it wasn’t mine!)

We all enjoyed some lasagna, salad and bread, catching up with each other, and just generally getting reacquainted. My aunt’s sister showed up and we both remember her babysitting me as a very young kid when I’d take trips back to Ohio to visit my grandparents. That, Folks, was a hella long time ago!

Around 7 it was time for me to finally head on out and make my way to Orange County. I still had a rental car to return that night, had to check into my hotel, and get organized for an early day in the parks. Yes, there was drama… how could there NOT be? This is a SteppeReport. But, I’ll leave you in suspense until next time. This chapter is FAR too long already!


Until we meet again…

Cheers!
​

 

[Steppesister]

Yes, I realize I have some (inane) banter to catch up on. Alas, the weeds now outnumber the excuses I have to not go do yardwork today. Hopefully, I can DIS as a just reward for doing my most detested chore around the house. Seriously, I'd rather scrub a toilet, and that's sayin' something!

 

[Flossbolna]

Beautiful pictures!! And I think I know what happened. You put a massive hint in that update!