(Reviewing my blog, I need to mention Jessica did NOT end up going to Afghanistan after all, but rather left in June for an 8-month deployment in the Pacific.)
On 9/3/09, I drove my new 1986 Toyota Dolphin motor home down to Chula Vista, CA to visit Lewis T and drop off boxes of Jessica's stuff. I realized I need an HD radio for trips of any distance. The trip down went smoothly--no car trouble and for some reason I did not notice the heat. CV is a stone's throw from the Navy base and she is due back from deployment in Feb. Lewis has a trailer a few blocks from the beach, but he misses Oregon a lot. He might be coming back "after the winter."
I remembered from my SU reunion that a former high school classmate and his wife now live in Coronado, which is 11 miles from CV. Carmel and David Fleck are the most financially successful of any of my acquaintances. Dave ran a plastics injection company for 16 years, retired and then un-retired, buying a company that repairs yachts and becoming a distributor for an electric put-about boat called a Duffy. Yes, their back yard is a marina. Carmel is retired from nursing and collects Disney memorabilia. They took me out in the Duffy, and it whetted my appetite for a spin in their 36' sail boat. I hope Jessica gets a chance to meet them; maybe she can go out for one of their weekly races.
I visited the Dutch Consulate to discuss work and resident visas for Amsterdam. There is a three month limit for tourists. If I could find work there, I could apply for a work visa. It would be very comforting to be only 4 hours from the grandkids. I can see myself with a part-time job assisting a professor in a University English department.
I bought a kodak digital camera for $100--it only holds 6 pix--so had to buy a memory chip. Want to download some pix for this blog...wish me luck!
The return trip to Oregon seemed much longer than the ride down. I could not pull over and rest because of the heat. Turns out the A/C on the Dolphin does not work and I can't run the fan to keep cool with the inverter/battery connection for very long. I just could not take the heat and pulled over in Corning, CA; it was 105 degrees! I broke down and stayed in a motel--the first since I left 9/3. Tomorrow's my birthday--I will be back in FG! Kayla promised to bake me my favorite carrot cake!
Lucy's fine--still attracting friends. I was worried she had a flea problem because she was scratching a lot. The groomer in Santa Monica found ONE flea. I finally found some dogfood she will eat! Cesar (little plastic tubs with aluminum seals, about $1.)
Planning on attending a Peace Corps meeting 9/16 in Portland. The cutoff date for aps is 9/20 to be assigned for fall 2010. Fingers crossed.
What's up with you?
Friday, September 11, 2009
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