Tonight is the last night of our trip, hanging out here at our airbnb rental in beautiful downtown Dunsmuir, CA. Attached below are pictures from our stop in Big Sur, CA, seated on a bench overlooking the Pacific Ocean (plus the doggies looking out the window).
With Jeremy and Megan cooking we have eaten very well along the way, although there were also several amazing restaurant meals (Dad is all about the food). Megan and I perhaps drank a little too much on that one late solstice night by the pool in Rancho Mirage. There have been many teary, bonding, joyous, memory-making moments on this trip, and wonderful visits with friends and family along the way. OMG Megan and I together (plus Vodka) with this Dad stuff going on gets sloppy pretty fast... ;)
Dad has been a real champ, despite lots of car time ("I have sore butt"). His energy levels and strength, as well as his blood counts, have improved significantly over the week of the trip and we are very happy for that change. The Kaiser visits for blood draws in Oakland and San Diego were easy and close-by. There have been virtually no major snags except for when Harry dog rushed into Sean and David's house in San Diego and tried to eat their kittens (bad dog!).
Cousin Judy and her step-daughter Cynthia jumped into the pool Saturday night after dinner with their clothes still on, adding a festive exclamation point to our days in the desert. Jer and Meg and I took off to give Mom and Dad some chill time in Santa Barbara and found a fun outdoor drink spot and incredible local/artisan ice cream to bring back for desert (the Oaxacan Chocolate was incredible). Everybody has gotten along in close quarters for the whole ten days flawlessly, except for an ugly passive-aggressive hissy fit on my part a couple days ago which passed relatively quickly (47 & single, go figure...)
The trusty Eurovan has been great, despite a fickle air conditioner which conked out early on in the hot weather. Undeterred and feeling thrifty, we decided not to do a rental and instead picked up some squirt bottles and washcloths to face the hottest driving days old-school. Windows down, cold towels on the dogs and Dad, and constant misting with the squirt bottles got us through just fine. As a bonus, this brought out lots of good road trip stories from the 50's and 60's.
We are looking forward to being home and getting back to a routine, with our own beds and the beautiful Portland summer days in front of us. The sorting and down-sizing of the Portland house in preparation for a move to Georgie's condo later this summer is the next big project, and of course Dad begins round 2 of the chemo next month.
The timing is uncertain but in the next few weeks we plan to do another online calendar for visits and meals and other Dale-focused social things. We look forward to hearing from and/or seeing you all again soon. Dad is a deeply social creature who is energized by people around him and good conversation, especially over food and a nice glass of wine, and we hope you can join us for such sometime soon.
Love and thanks and big hugs to you all from the Dale Sherman Walhood family! m
