Kathleen, her kids, and I went to Donner lake for a week. We left San Jose last Sunday after church and drove in a motor home. Let me tell you about the motor home. We got it from
https://www.freervrental.com/ and it was a dream. It has less than 60,000 miles on it, everything works, it is super well equipped with everything you can imagine needing on a camping trip, (I especially like the outdoor rug the company provided so we could sit out side and not get dirty.), and it is spotless. This company is so excellent that Kathleen did a lecture about them in her economics class. We get one more free week. I can't wait for Kathleen to tell me where were are going to go next.
We had to pick up the RV in Morgan Hill so, from there we left the bay are via the Pacheco Pass over the Diablo Mountains. Of course, we stopped at
Casa de Fruta. It was the first time Kathleen and her kids had ever been there. It was fun to watch them enjoy it for the first time.
Coming down into the San Juaqin Valley I began to feel very nostalgic. Sometimes, I think California holds too many memories for me and that is why i have to leave. If there were people in my life to whom I could say, "remember when Uncle Fred burned himself with the pressure cooker?" Or "remember when Bryan and I went swimming in the pigs' watering hole?" Or "remember when I taught Billy and Devon to shoot a pistol in the eucalyptus grove?" "Remember when Ken almost drown in that irrigation canal?" "Remember when the fog was so thick on 99 that everyone had to drive 5 miles per hour?" But my parents are dead. I don't see my siblings much. I'm divorced from the women with whom I made the most memories. My oldest son is dead. I haven't seen my second son in years. So, here in California there are a thousand things each day that prompt me to ask, "remember when?" but there is no one to answer. But I still have a couple of decades left, maybe.
Kathleen took me somewhere I have never been; someplace that doesn't make me remember anything. For this trip we stayed at
Tahoe Donner. Kathleen's dad (He's a real
knight. Not something you come across very often in America.) owns a house there so she is a member and has access to all the amenities. For example, we parked the RV, ate most of our dinners, and played volleyball and table tennis at the
campground. We swam, saunaed, jacuzzied, steam roomed, and flopped on super comfy couches at the
Trout Creek center. We swam, and ate pizza (my first pizza in a very long time. I won't do that again.), played bocce ball, and
shot arrows at the
Northwoods Clubhouse. On Independence Day we drove up to the top of the
ski slopes at Tahoe Donner and watch the fireworks over the lake.
A friend from Reno came up the mountain and spent one afternoon with us at the Northwoods Clubhouse. Another day we walked around
Truckee. One morning we went fishing but were not successful. I am sure our poor angling performance was due more to all the powerboats on
the lake than any lack of fishing skill on our part. Kathleen and I left her kids at the campground and went to Reno for a couple of hours. We took some pictures under the famous sign on Virginia Street. Had coffee in one of the casinos but did not gamble. The best part of Reno was buying old post cards at an
antique store to mail to Sons 3 and 4 (Son three is staff at a Boy Scout camp all summer and Son 4 is not well enough to travel. Although the doctors have him on lithium now and he seems to be doing better.) , Kathleen bought a wallet for me there, and I bought her a turquoise necklace. Oh, I can't forget stopping on a tiny Indian reservation to buy pipe tobacco. It was 40% less than I would pay in California and the profits went to the descendants of
the first people who grew tobacco. It was a win-win! We also went to
Squaw Valley and listened to a blues band in the little village. They might have sounded better if we had been drinking.
We cooked out over a fire almost every night. My food is kind of boring now - just meat and low carb vegetables - so I won't write much about it. But I did make some desserts for Kathleen's kids. I showed them how to wrap bananas, marshmallows, and chocolate chips in aluminum foil and set it in the hot coals to cook. I helped them make
s'mores almost every night. I also tried to make a giant chocolate chip cookie in a skillet over the fire, but I forgot to adjust for altitude. It came out like a giant souffle! Everyone said it was amazing good but it wasn't what I was trying to make. Oh, well.
On the way home from the mountains today I stopped in
Roseville to pray at
St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church. It is a beautiful town; clean like San Diego or Disney World. And the church was super welcoming. There is something so beautiful and comforting to walk through the doors and instantly be in Heaven.
