The journey continues...

Wednesday Uber got me to PDX in plenty of time to catch my flight to SMF.  After I was seated a fellow got on with a huge box of Voodoo Doughnuts as his only carry on. I took it as a good sign.

 Flew into SMF and was picked up by a girlfriend, and was delivered to my granddaughter Ali's in Grimes. Got Hank (my pickup) going and ran some errands. The next day after getting Hank serviced, I drove up to RB  to spend a few hours with friends, have last eye exams, and check in with the estate attorney. The judge hadn't signed & had the estate papers filed, yet. I will have to finish the rest via mail from up here. This will end someday.

Lauren's graduation went off without a hitch, and her speech as ASB pres was very well done.  Marymine's kids are a very tight group, and always looking out for each other.  Love my grandkids.

Friday, Sean drove his pickup down from Vancouver in time to attend Lauren's HS graduation in Arbuckle. Saturday morning he had a meeting with a good friend of his in Woodland. I was sent on a mission to get the flowers for a party for Lauren. After Sean & I got back to Ali's house that afternoon, we decided to hitch up and head North a day early, as Sean had the long drive to the Arlington project Monday.  Sean pulled his trailer, and I followed driving Hank. 

headed North with Mt Shasta in the distance

When we stopped in Redding for gas it was 103 degrees of hot. After two more fuel stops and a lot of miles we pulled into the driveway in Vancouver at 1:30 AM Sunday. 

The things you see on the road never fail to amaze... as we were passing Mt Shasta we came upon this Cadillac Escalade (with Oregon plates) ripping down the road. Not only did it have this very large precarious load, but was packed full of very large people... I was laughing so hard I couldn't take a pic... but Sean got one...

Day by day wandering..

On Sunday My Sean took a couple friends, their little girl, and his mom(me) up the Columbia to the Willamette River in his boat. (Let me tell you... the glare off all those white PNW sunbathers on shore was nearly blinding for someone who just had eye surgery.) We put in at Caterpillar Island boat ramp on the Columbia River and sped up to the Willamette and Portland. Good day on the water for sure. 

Mt Hood

The Bridge

OMSI one of my favorite places

Portland

Houseboats on the Willamette

Mt St Helens

Not as many sail boats out as I thought there would be

Flying to Sac tomorrow... Haven't flown commercial in quite a while! My suit case is too big, off to Costco I went to get a carry-on.  I'm putting Harley and Sig Sauer stickers all over it, so no one messes with it or me. I don't really think anyone wants to, but I live in hope.

Tried to sign up for Uber today, ended up ordering a driver for this morning, got that cancelled but now my phone is stuck on that cancel. I might get it figured out before tomorrow. Yay, got it unstuck and rescheduled the Uber to the airport for tomorrow.

Willie is going to the pet boarding spa (jail) while we are gone. Will take his food, and blanket (which smells like home, dog, & chicken poop?) when I drop him off in the AM. Not sure he is going to like this, but we all have to suck it up at times.

Granddaughter Jacey drove down here yesterday in her jeep, and after Sean and J went to breakfast (father-daughter time) she and I went ​shopping for a dress for Nanny to wear to  granddaughter Lauren's graduation. We decided everything was too frumpy, flowerdy, and ended up each getting a pair of Van's. It will be fine, I have clothes in the trailer, somewhere...

Jacey setting on Sean's Black Betty with the boat in the background.

Trail to Vancouver...

Was at my BIL & SIL in RB two days after second eye surgery, wondering if I should find another place to stay as they were having their hardwood floors redone, and my Sean called. He asked if I could come up to his place in Vancouver, WA and house sit for him while he is managing a big build project in Arlington.

Willie and I packed up and headed North bright and early Sunday before last. It was a fast, easy eight hour drive even with the stops for Willie, and gas. 

We have settled in, though Willie has gone walkabout twice.  Thank goodness for the GPS tracker and kind neighbors. 

I've been having more fun! Sean told me to do what ever I wanted with the yard and house!  He may be rethinking that this week when he gets home, as several shrubs have disappeared into the yard waste bin, and even more have been pruned within an inch of their lives. Flower pots have been planted, weeds pulled, lawn mowed, bark replenished. 

In the house it's just been some minor fixits. Sean is such a neat nic you could eat off his garage floor, so there isn't a lot to do.  Cleaning windows, slider tracks and lubing them. Need to re screen a couple of windows and a screen door.   I have been to all the good hardware stores looking for window screen retainer clips. None of the guys even knew what I was asking for. I take out my phone and show them a photo on Amazon and get: "Well I'll be damned, never heard of them before!" And I'm the Blonde, LOL, I will be ordering them from Amazon. 

Next week I fly back down to Cali for the final on the estate, the last eye checkup, and the HS graduation of Marymine's youngest. Sean will drive his pickup down to see the family, and get his trailer with my stuff. We will caravan, his pickup & trailer and my pickup backup here on Sunday after next. I have a buyer for my pickup "Hank" when I get him up here.

Lov'n the weather, cool at night, nice breeze, sunny and warm in the afternoons. 

 

Shasta Lake...

Lake Shasta with Mt Lassen in the distance

Love being on the water, especially early in the morning when the lake is like glass...

Yesterday, my BIL & SIL took me fishing on Shasta Lake.  All the years I spent time on that lake I never fished for bass. Have no idea why not. That has now been rectified and I'm hooked. What a good day!

We caught about fifty bass, only kept the legal limit, and returned the rest back to the lake.

the pros

I'm quite sure I would have caught diddlysquat without the tutoring of my BIL & SIL. 

one of the coves we fished

 

casting for my dinner

When we got back to their place, my BIL showed me how to fillet bass, and my SIL made the yummiest fish tacos I've ever eaten for dinner. I did the dinner dishes, which seemed a pretty poor thank you for all their effort, and a glorious day on the water.

Closer to being a Wanderer of the West...

Willie and I are starting our second week of staying in the travel trailer at my BIL & SIL in RB. We are getting a feel for living in one.  Though the travel trailer I hope to get, will be much smaller, I think we will do just fine.

First eye surgery went well, one more this coming Thursday, and then recovery time... After that I'm hopefully off to the river house on the Columbia in Oregon.  Going to get my travel trailer and pickup up there as no sales tax, YAY!  

Final paperwork on the estate has been sent to the judge and will be on his docket the 29th of May. After he signs, I can close out this chapter.  It has taken way longer than it should have, but will be behind me soon.

I love RB, and will miss it, friends, and family. Trying to get as many normal health care things taken care of as possible ahead of leaving. Squared away with voter registration for One more time to vote as a Californian.  Need to find another bank/credit union to use while on the road, and sort out how I will get mail.  

Will leave you with a few photos from my BIL & SIL place. My BIL is a retired co sheriff's detective, and my SIL (the Cowman's sister) is an attorney's admin assistant, who will be retiring this year. They are so talented, and such hard workers (neat nicks). I'm blessed that they have taken me in for the time I need to be here for the eye surgeries, and that they said I could use the spare bathroom in the main house anytime!