Outta Here!

Not us, the Seadoos and trailer.  We decided at the last minute to drive them up to Clearlake.  The motivation came from "finding" a possible toad and recognizing we couldn't move on it because we still needed to tow the Seadoos 400 miles. There was the issue of Bill sitting "bent" for that long but there was no rush and we could make as many stops as needed for both of us to stretch our legs. Even the weather was going to be clear all week..... So with nothing holding us back we tossed a couple bags and Tessa in the truck, hooked up the trailer (thank you Corey and Richie), and Monday morning we were on the road heading north.

Passing the "scene of the crime" at Fort Tejon we celebrated getting farther than our last attempt  :-).  It was an uneventful trip and we landed at the lake house just before dark.

We had a wonderful visit with Wayne and Marilynn, and Tessa was a well behaved house guest.  She was polite to their cat Gumby and shared doggy kisses equally among the deserving humans.  Marilynn and I drove to Ukiah for her appointment while the guys hung out at the house on Tuesday.  Clearlake is really beautiful and there was still light snow in the shadows along the drive.  The water in the keys is very low and we didn't spend any time out on the deck although the temps were fairly warm for December.  It was great to spend time with family, just relaxing and sharing a few yummy meals.

As I drove from their place on Wednesday morning I felt another link in the chain break away.  Now we are free to find our toad and trade in the truck when we do.  Yahoo.

The return trip was easy as well.  We took a quick detour to pick up Christmas presents from Janis and Nick in Sacramento.  Bill hadn't seen their place yet so it was fun for him to see where I spent two nights a week before retirement.  Unfortunately the Phaeton is in the shop so he didn't get to see that.  Bummer.  Before leaving Sacramento we stopped for breakfast at Lumberjacks.  I don't know how people eat that much food at one sitting....the biscuits are the size of pies.  It was a tasty meal but Bill felt yucky for the next few hours.  We are definitely not the eaters we used to be.  Yahoo again :-)

Five and a half hours later we were in our driveway and Tessa was VERY happy to be out of the truck!  She got a new travel bed for this trip so she could see out the window while lying down and hopefully be less fretful while traveling.  She had some periods of whining but she was definitely much happier on this trip.  Obviously she needs to be comfortable in a moving vehicle so we're glad to know she is going to be just fine.  With her calm personality, good manners, and off-the-leash discipline she is such a perfect dog for our new life style. 

It is wonderful having Bill home full-time, we talk about his retiring earlier than 2015 and what it would take to do that.  We can't head out full-time until Richie graduates but there could be alternatives including an RV, intermittent travel, and getting debt-free.  Ahhhh, the pleasure of dreaming!

After our setback in November it was great to make the successful delivery. Everybody's happy. They are delighted to have the Seadoos for family to enjoy come summer, and we are just as delighted to have them "outta here".