San Diego

With Alex successfully on his way to Alaska to work with a team from 2^nd Ranger Battalion for their “Climb for the Fallen” up Denali, the kids and I drove to Phoenix to pick up my mom and continue on to San Diego.

Having spent very little time in California other than Joshua Tree, I was surprised at how much I loved San Diego. After spending our first night on a strip of beach on Coronado Island, we found an amazing hotel on the Navy Base on North Island across the bay from San Diego. With Mom and I both having military ID’s we were able to stay at this place, which was situated right on the beach with the Pacific Ocean rolling in. We were conveniently located close to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World and the Port Village of San Diego. I was so impressed with the sailors and facilities available to us on the Naval Base. It was also fun to imagine my husband at the ripe old age of 18 going through Basic Training here and starting his career as a Navy Sea Bee.

On a cruise in San Diego Bay

Hospital Ship Mercy. Responded to Katrina and the tsunami in Indonesia

Jackson checking out the aircraft carrier

In front of the USS Midway

I've only seen these signs on military posts

My Sea Bee, 26 years later. This was actually taken in DC, but thought it appropriate to post now.

So Mom treated us to another indulgent week of entertainment. After full days at the local attractions, the kids came back to the hotel to swim in the ocean. The air temperature never reached above 65 when we were there, so imagine how cold the Pacific Ocean was. My crazy woodchucks were playing in the waves while the locals looked at them like they had lost their minds.

Crazy woodchucks

On the beach outside the Navy Lodge

I was so grateful for Mom’s company and generosity providing for fun, great meals and accommodations, another break from our house on wheels. It’s helped ease the transition to doing this solo while Alex works. Now it’s back to Phoenix to spend time with Sus and her family. Mom has to return home to VT to keep Dad from getting too lonely and to continue treating my patients while I’m gone. 

Thanks Mom!

Mesa Verde and Moab, UT

I think our bodies were in shock waking up outside of Mesa Verde, CO in 32 degree temperatures. I found it unfair that my resolving heat rash still itched unrelentingly under my down layers and poly p. But one advantage of making the push from FL to CO was to see the kids react to the changing landscape. It was also cool to be able to contrast the commercialism of Disney with the natural beauty and history of Mesa Verde.

Anna....always on her bike

Pulled into this place in the dark and woke up to the most beautiful campsite.

So check this out. The Ancient Pueblo Indians created these cliff dwellings of different sizes in 1200 AD using nothing but sticks and rocks for tools. They farmed the top of the mesa and raised their families hundreds of feet up on these cliffs. No baby gates. Not even a guard rail. The infant mortality rate was 50% and the average life expectancy was around 30. Ca-razy!

Balcony House

Cliff House from across the canyon where about 100 Ancient Pueblo Indians lived.

Alex stuck in the entryway.

Kids and the canyon. Cliff dwellings are on both sides.

I couldn’t wait to get my family to Moab, one of my favorite places on Earth. It’s known as the Adventure Capital of the US and for good reason. You can mountain bike, hike, climb, swim in the Colorado River. I absolutely love this place. So we explored Arches National Park, found some amazing climbing, and hiked in some canyons. We could have spent an entire month just in Moab. Even the kids didn’t want to return to our campsite at the end of the day. It’s definitely on our list of “have to go back to “ sites. 

Jackson said, "Hey Mom, take a shot of me looking at the Arch." Too funny.

Anna exploring the canyon.

Beautiful Delicate Arch

Our climb for the day, Owl's Head.

Savannah and Disney

I couldn’t begin to talk about Disney without mentioning our pre-park hostess and guide, Daniele. Dani and her husband, Brett, both friends of mine from Cincinnati, live in Savannah, and served as the perfect staging point for our week in Florida. Not only were they a half-day’s drive from the parks, but they were knowledgeable about how not to get swallowed up by the commercial monster that is Walt Disney World. They have three beautiful children all born in the month of May, so many birthdays have been celebrated at Disney.

Unfortunately our original plan to spend two and half days with Dani, one of my dearest childhood friends, and her family got squished into a precious 24 hours due to having spent a day and half at the car dealer in SC. So we made the most of it and had a fantastic time. It was so much fun to watch all of our children become fast friends, not wanting to leave after having had too little time together. Dani and Brett made us so comfortable and at home that we didn’t want to leave either. But we promised we’d be back, hopefully sooner than later, and made our way down to Florida.

Dani and me

Anna, Riley and Dani at their pool

Jackson and Anna could not figure out what had come over Alex and I when they saw how giddy we both were on the ferry across the pond to the Magic Kingdom on the first day, especially as the castle and Space Mountain came into view. As cliché as it sounds, Disney really does make you feel like a kid regardless of how old you are. We truly had an amazing four days together, covering as much as we could of four different parks. Despite the 94 degree heat, my inevitable heat rash and sun poisoning, and moderate crowds, every minute of that four days was fun. Alex and I were reminded only a few times that we were adults. The best was while exploring the passageways of Tom Sawyer's island, a little girl about 8 years old, tried to push her way past Alex in a dimly lit, narrow tunnel. She smacked him on the ass and said, “Move it, old man.” He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with an “Are you serious” look on his face. Alex is always being told how young he looks, despite his graying locks. So I happen to find it particularly amusing when he’s reminded of his age.

Race car driver 

He had to wrestle Jackson off this thing to get a picture.

Anna took this one.

Rockstar Alex after getting spun around on the Rockin' Rollercoaster

A sight we don't get to see very often.

Reluctantly we packed up and left our comfy condo, courtesy of my in-laws, and hit the road once more. For the first time since leaving VT we planned on pulling a couple of 12 to 15 hour days to get through FL, AL, MS, LO, TX, NM and into CO to check out Mesa Verde. It seemed to take forever and reminded us that this country is huge!

I'll have to write about Disney tomorrow

I sat down to write about our time at Disney and just couldn’t figure out how I was going to write about a week at Disney World when my heart was breaking over the loss of our good friend, Bob Timmer. Bob died last Tuesday and this weekend we all flew home to lay Bob to rest. He’s been sick for a long time and when we hugged him goodbye in April, it was with the knowledge that we would likely not see Bob again. He’s been tenaciously fighting brain cancer for eleven years and he had been doing such a good job that we all thought he’d live forever. So when he was diagnosed with a third tumor this winter, we were first in shock, then denial that it was an aggressive glioblastoma this time, stage 4. We talked with Bob and Cathy about postponing our trip because we just couldn’t bring ourselves to feel ok about leaving home when we all needed each other so much. But true to Bob’s nature he insisted that we go. He said that we should carry on with our lives and remember him as the strong and capable man that he was, not the sick man he had become. So Alex and I left in April with heavy hearts, keeping an ear towards home at all times, getting updates from Cathy and speaking to Bob when he was alert enough and Cathy could hold the phone to his ear.

While we were in Disney Alex spoke to Bob one last time. He tearfully told Bob how we had been to Seneca Rocks, where he and Bob had climbed together a few years ago, and how special it was to climb with Jackson on that same rock. After he hung up, Alex looked at me and said, “I have to go home and see him.” See Alex is committed to working in Alaska from May 7 – May 31^st on Denali. He knew that once he was on the mountain, he wouldn’t be able to do anything if the worst happened to Bob. So we scrambled and got him a ticket home. Unfortunately, four days later we got the dreaded call in the middle of the night from Cathy, strong and steady as ever, telling us that Bob had died. So one plane ticket became four and we made our way home to wrap our arms around our friends and honor the amazing man we knew as Bob Timmer.

I’ve never been so proud to be in the company of such incredible people. I was amazed at how strong Cathy was, crying only here and there, still able to laugh and make jokes with her usual quick wit and irreverence. She and Bob loved each other and were fiercely loyal to each other. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose such a partner. I was also amazed to see how quickly friends came together to hold Cathy, Jacob and Josh (their sons) up. Emily who rarely left Cathy’s side, Brandi and her gramdma who swooped in and arranged for a reception in Waterville, Debbie who helped with the service and Cathy’s other friends at the bank, steadfast in their foodprep and words of support these last few months. And most of all, my beloved. Alex has spent an immeasurable amount of time with Bob, climbing, sharing building projects as well as their deepest thoughts on the world and their place in it. Despite his grief, Alex had the strength and presence of mind to write a thoughtful eulogy that captured Bob’s essence. He was able to deliver his loving tribute despite his own overwhelming sadness. It was such an honor to him to be given the opportunity to do that for Bob.

So again, it’s with a heavy heart that I leave Vermont. Alex is on his way to Alaska to work and the kids and I will find our own way over the next 3 weeks. My mom is flying out to keep us company and I plan to spend some quality time with one of my oldest friends, Sus, who lives in Phoenix. We’ve been friends for 30 years, so to be near her will be a great comfort. We may even be able to talk some of our VT friends into meeting us in California at some point along the way. Who knows? That’s the beauty of this trip.

Five days before Bob died I had the privilege of talking to him on the phone. I caught him in a rare moment when he was actually able to talk to me. He couldn’t say much, but I understood him when he asked me, “Are you having fun?” When I assured him, through tears, that yes, we were indeed having fun on our trip, he said simply, “Good. Keep having fun.” I promised him we would.

But I'll have to write about Disney tomorrow.