Sacramento - February 25 - March 13, 2007

On February 25th we blasted off the Space Coast heading north to Kelly's Country RV Park in Callahan, just north of Jacksonville, Florida.  Suddenly our lives entered a hectic phase.

We planned to fly from Jacksonville to Sacramento to celebrate Bill's mother's 80th birthday, but first we had a few chores to do.  On the 26th we took a jaunt over to Suwannee River to install a satellite system, and on the 27th we put the rig in storage and prepared to catch a 6:00 am flight to Houston then on to Sacramento. 

Claire picked us up at the airport and drove us to DeMartini RV Dealership in Grass Valley.  It was snowing!   Oh my, apparently our blood had thinned while we were wintering in Florida.  Brrrr.  We signed the purchasing documents for our new home with trembling hands (Cold?  Fear?  Excitement?) then drove to Auburn for a late celebratory lunch.

Since Claire was leaving on Sunday for Thailand and Cambodia we spent the first couple of days with her.  While she was in Asia we lived in her home, drove her vehicle and took care of her four cats.   We couldn't have picked a better time to be in Sacramento, or a better neighborhood.  Everything in East Sac was in bloom, beautiful and springtime fresh.

Sunday was Peaches' big day, which we celebrated with Bill's sister Ginger and her husband, Chris.  The four of us piled into a rented minivan and headed to Kelseyville to pick-up mom.  Peaches' most fervent wish for her birthday was to go to the beach, smell the salt air and see the beautiful Pacific.

We drove to Bodega Bay for lunch, and then to Doran Beach to get our toes in the sand.  We then drove north along the rugged coastline to admire the views and revisit old haunts, then back inland along the Navarro River, through the redwoods and vineyards to Kelseyville.  The weather was wonderful and Peaches truly enjoyed her birthday.  The four of us got back to Sacramento a bit road-weary, but sure that the day was a success.

The following week was a blur of dentist appointments and visiting friends and family, including Susan's sister, Judy.  Susan hadn't seen Judy for at least a dozen years so the trip to her niece's home in Vallejo for a mini-reunion was very exciting.  We had a wonderful time getting reacquainted with Judy and her daughter Tamala, and meeting her granddaughter, Niveah.  Tamala, Jim and Niveah have a warm, welcoming and loving family and home.

Susan also traveled to San Andreas in the Gold Country to visit her stepmother, Winnie.  Once again a beautiful day including lunch in the gold mining town of Murphy's and a visit to the Ironstone Winery to see the tulips and daffodils in full bloom. 

We had a great time in Sacramento and were so happy to touch basis with friends and family again, but two weeks was not enough.  Sorry to say, we ran out of time and were unable to visit with everybody we wanted to see.  On our next return "home" we will bring our house and stay longer.

We jumped on a redeye flight back to Florida, but more on that in the next journal.