Lakeport, CA - May 19 - June 3, 2010

On March 18th we went to bed thinking we would be leaving the next day to meet Henry and Mary in Santa Barbara County.  At about 4:00 am on March 19th we received a phone call from Ginger, Bill's sister, informing us that Bill's mom, Peaches, had suffered a heart attack and due to the seriousness of her condition was flying by helicopter from Lakeport, CA to a Santa Rosa hospital for treatment.  We quickly altered our plans and headed for Lake County.  After spending two nights at Elk's Clubs in Beaumont (east of Riverside, CA) and Stockton, and retrieving Bambi, Peaches' Chihuahua from Ginger in Sacramento, we arrived at Konocti Vista Casino Resort and Marina in Lakeport. 

By the time we arrived, Peaches had already returned home to Kelseyville from Santa Rosa by car with Ginger and Chris.  Huh?!!  Peaches does not like hospitals and due to what can be best described as confusion at the hospital she got approval to leave.  Peaches later found out she had three blocked arteries (one of them by 90%), a condition referred to by her doctor as the "widowmaker".  The best option for solving her blockages was through a very difficult and risky bypass surgery.  For the next two weeks Bill spent nearly everyday with his mom helping her arrange for services to make her life a bit easier and just being a good son.  After talking with her doctor and weighing the risks, Peaches opted to forego bypass surgery.  As of this writing she is doing well and is in good spirits.

While we were staying in Lake County, we drove to Mountain View, CA to attend a 'Family Union' of Bill's siblings.  Hmmm, how to explain this?  Bill has one full sister, Ginger, with whom he was raised.  Before and after his marriage to Peaches, their biological father was VERY active and fathered many children.  Most of these paternal half brothers and sisters had not met each other until May 30th when seven of the siblings gathered in Mountain View.  One of the siblings, Donna, was instrumental in locating the siblings utilizing Facebook and other electronic means.  She and her husband graciously opened their home to host the gathering.  It was a surprisingly relaxed afternoon.  The siblings enjoyed each other's company, and the spouses were quite amused to watch the seven siblings share biographies, and compare features, including a foot-baring episode to evaluate toes.  Yep, they were definitely siblings!

After two weeks in Lakeport we bid Peaches adieu and headed to ML and Joyce's estate in West Sacramento.  We knew we would be returning to visit before we leaving California, so it wasn't a tearful departure.  I think Peaches was just looking forward to some peace and quiet.