March 5, 2002
The Jeep is getting its combination 30,000 mile and 60,000 mile service at 50,000 miles, and I'm killing time writing this and some (77 messages) e-mail catch-up while I wait for it. We really love the Cherokee. Put a little over 2,000 miles on it since the 13th of February when we picked it up, and nothing but praise. Even went offroading a little and did some fantastic bird watching at the Sutter National Wildlife Refuge near Yuba City, CA..
Mom died on the February 23rd, quite expectedly. She was 91, had outlived two sons and a husband, left two sons, 8 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren. We'd been fortunate enough to be able to say our goodbye's a couple of days earlier, and she was very ready to leave us. The paperwork is about done, and we're making plans for our next adventure. Currently planning on heading to Santa Cruz after getting the nose of the Road Abode patched up on the 12th/13th. Santa Cruz is where the family cemetery plot is, and we're planning on "planting" her ashes under a plaque alongside Pop and brothers Charlie and Bill. Then it's off to San Bernardino for the 2002 Escapade! Fun times again! Contrast with the past month, that's for sure.
The rig hasn't attracted any serious interest, even though we've lowered the price a bit. As usual, we're finding it easier to buy stuff than it is to sell stuff. I've been doing some surfing on the weekends using the cell phone (thanks, Ray, for the lead on that), and we're not going to have any trouble finding something suitable in this great country of ours. I found an older Country Coach in our price range in Georgia, and a nice looking Monaco Dynasty in Texas. And there are even some older Prevost conversions that we might be able to squeeze into. We're debating the advantages of a bus conversion with no slide outs verses a motorhome with some slide outs. Tough issue, and if you have any suggestions, let us know.
The webserver I use went through some changes recently, and I need to finish posting all the pictures to the new server. I appreciate the comments from several readers that were so encouraging. Sometimes I wonder if anybody but Barb and I are paying attention to any of this, and when there's a hiccup and you take the time to mention it, it puts grins on our faces. Thanks! Things should be back to normal within the week.