A Big Dose of Family

Beautiful Victorian Building in Ferndale, CA

11/25/04 - Thanksgiving Family Reunion
Today we got going early and drove the rest of the way up to Fortuna. We checked in to the Riverwalk RV Park there and then decided to go explore a nearby historic town called Ferndale. We had hoped to have lunch there, but because it was Thanksgiving there was nothing open. So we returned to Fortuna (Map) and had a good lunch at a Mexican restaurant which was the only place that was open.

Then we went to my cousins house and had a good time (and a great Thanksgiving dinner) with many relatives and their spouses and children. One of my cousins and her husband had flown out from Michigan and it was especially good to see them. I had not seen them for many years and they treated us to a slide show of their trip to Africa, where they had helped to set up a simple hospital in a remote village. Another cousin and his wife had come all the way up from Santa Cruz, it is always good to see them.

After most of the people had left, my Fortuna cousin and her daughter came to check out our coach. I proudly showed them both my new home on wheels and the video that I had created from photos I took at our cousins wedding in Sacramento last summer.

11/26/04 - Back to Sonoma County
We headed south again today, stopping a few times to enjoy the beautiful California Redwoods and to pick up the replacement modem that was shipped to our old neighbor in Redwood Valley.

The problem with traveling at this time of year is that it gets dark very early, so at about 6PM (an hour after sunset) we started looking for a place to stay for the night. We had heard about a NACO park in Cloverdale and decided to stop and check it out. However, because it was a membership park and it was late, they turned us away. So we found a nearby wide spot in the road and stopped for the night along the Russian River near the border of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

11/27/04 - Family Gathering at My Sisters
This morning we drove the rest of the way to Guerneville, near where my sister lives, and looked for a good spot to park the coach. We considered several wide spots in the road, but none looked great and so we just parked the coach along the side of the road and drove up the Rio Nido hill to my sister's house.

After saying hello to my sister, mom and nephew, we got back in the car with my sister and mother to explore camping options further. My sister had a few ideas, none of which panned out, so decided to stay at the River Bend RV Park, along the beautiful Russian River [photo]. After getting situated we went back up to my sister's house for a good meal and conversation.

It was great to spend some quality time with my sister, her husband, her two sons (one of which has recently moved out and is living with a nice young lady, who also joined us for dinner), a friend of theirs from Berkely (who we have met very often at their house) and my mother (of course). Unlike many families, ours has always been very close. unfortunately we don't see each other (or even speak on the phone) nearly often enough.

11/28/04 - Taking Care of Mom
Today we took my mother back to her home in Concord (Map). When we got there we decided we should take her grocery shopping which took quite awhile. We were happy knowing she would have plenty of good food to choose from for awhile at least.

My mother had open heart surgery a couple of years ago and she has never completely recovered. Her memory has become much worse and her energy and interest in life have waned considerably. Lately she has not even left her house very often. My sister has been actively working to find her a retirement home to move to, where she will hopefully have more interesting things to do and people to meet.

The current plan is to move her to a place in Cloverdale that they visited recently, sometime in the next month or two. My sister will meet with my mother's financial advisor in the next week or two, to determine what she can afford and what to do with her three bedroom condominium.

Tonight we drove back to Guerneville and had my sister, her husband and their younger son over for dinner. I barbequed a London Broil and we had a good meal and a good time entertaining in our new motor home. As we were preparing for dinner my sister leaned on the middle of the table we had built for us (which had its two extra leaves in it), and broke one of the supports. Fortunately it was still usable, but we will need to get it repaired on our next trip to Junction City and Davis Cabinets.