Napa Day 1

The long awaited day finally arrived and it was time to get in the car and drive the hour and a half to the Sacramento airport. Last night I downloaded some new music onto my iPod and fell in love with a "new to me" artist, Jason Mraz. I car danced the whole way down. When I was about 2 miles from the airport my cell phone rang and it was my little sister Lynnie telling me that they had arrived. I was surprised to find out that there plane had arrived early and they already had their luggage. I drove up to the terminal and there they were. We hugged, loaded up the car and were on our way to Napa and the Silverado Spa and Resort. We checked in and made our way to our room, or should I say apartment. I was delighted to find out that our "room" was located in a gated community and we had our own portico garage. We parked the car and opened the door to our 2 bedroom suite.

Lynnie and I will be sharing the beautiful king size bed and she promises me that she won't be snoring. We also found that we had a fully appointed kitchen.

 

We also have a dining room and living room with television, private porch which overlooks a pool with our own lawnchairs.

You can see the slider and the lawn chairs on the other side of the windows.

 

After settling in, we headed out to find somewhere to have lunch. We headed north to Yountville and found the most quaint downtown area with loads of wonderful restaurants.  We chose to eat at Hurley's. Tere and Lynnie ordered a salmon chowder and decided to split the most heavenly version of "grilled cheese." When I heard what they were ordering I decided I wanted an order just for myself.

 

When the waiter brought our order I was so taken with our order that I had to take a picture of it to remember for all times. It was the best grilled cheese sandwich that I've ever had. I also had my favorite margarita. We ate outside where the temperature was perfect with a light breeze and just enough sunshine. It felt like we were eating in a postcard. Once done with lunch we headed back to the resort, checked in with the concierge where we booked dinner in St. Helena at an italian restaurant and made arrangements to rent bikes tomorrow morning. It was then time to go to our spa appointments. I had a full body massage while Tere and Lynnie had head, neck, and shoulder massage. We then met up and together had our pedicure. This was the first time I ever had a pedicure where I could talk to the girl doing my pedicure. This pedicure included a parafin wax, which was delicious. By the time we left the spa we were thoroughly relaxed and it was time to head back to our suite and relax until it is time for dinner.

 

More on our wonderful adventures in wine country later...

Anticipation

The day is fast approaching when I will be getting in the car, driving to the Sacramento airport and picking up my two sisters for a long weekend at a spa right in the heart of wine country. What could be better? However, I've got a pile of work to wade through before I get there. I have to tell you that envisioning the "spa experience" really does lead to a "whistle while you work" experience. Even thought 94 students have turned in 20 page midterms, which take 30 minutes to grade each, I'm feeling light-hearted and giddy. I will not even begin to put a dent in those mid-terms, but this planned escape enables my denial mechanism and I've got to say that I'm grateful for it.

Boot Camp

Yesterday my tea party girlfriends, Ronda and Cindy and Cindy's husband Loren, attended the Central Valley Tea Party's boot camp in Fresno. We all left Chico on Friday late morning and arrived at about 4 pm at our hotel in Fresno. Thankfully Loren and Cindy arrived before us and scouted out the rooms and found them wanting and were able to secure three rooms that turned out to be quite nice.

We decided to enjoy "happy hour" at the hotel bar before heading over to the dining room for a very nice dinner. I had my favorite margarita and then order chicken alfredo for dinner. The three of them have a great sense of humor and we spent most of the evening talking and laughing. We headed off to bed at about 8:30 pm and agreed to meet at 7 am for breakfast. We ate breakfast again at the hotel restaurant and then headed off to the Fresno Fairgrounds for the bootcamp.

We arrived in plenty of time, found terrific seats in the front and watched with amazement at how many people were in attendance (approx. 500). This tea party group really has their act together. I can't remember the last time that I attended an event that went so smoothly. They had muffins, coffee, and juice waiting for us upon arrival. They had multitudes of brown bag lunches prepared, the most beautiful grapes, and sodas for lunch. The efficiency with which they served attendees was amazing and the thought occurred that if we put these people in charge of our government we might actually get things done!

The first session addressed how to become an effective activist including how to make impactful protest signs, how to speak to the press, and becoming a community organizer. If you can't beat 'em, imitate 'em. The second session focused more on becoming organized and taught us how to research precincts and mount an effective campaign. We then broke for lunch where we were able to meet other tea party members. The best news was that we found out that the problems that we were having within our group was happening in other groups as well and that our group seems to be right on track. Ronda was asked to talk to the TV station that was there covering the event and she did a bang up job.


After lunch we returned to a session on healthcare. The woman who did the presentation was so impressive. She is an RN and has worked in numerous areas of the healthcare industry. She also has served on the board of a hospital and is currently the owner of a home healthcare agencies. This gal really did her research and I learned a lot about where our tax dollars are being spent in medicare/medi-cal and the way in which healthcare is being administered via our tax dollars, including the various regulations that are driving up costs. We video taped this session and will be posting it to our tea party website. For the last session of the day, Tom McClintock spoke and as always made a whole lot of sense, squewering both parties regarding the Cap and Trade legislation. The day was finished off by the State and National co-ordinator for Tea Party Patriots, Mark Meckler making a big announce regarding our next project. It's a big one. Sort of a David and Golaith project, but the enthusiasm in the room shows that we are ready and able to take on Golaith. 


On the drive home we all agreed that the day was well worth the 4 1/2 hour drive and the day away from family. We're really energized and ready to start putting into action what we learned.

I didn't want to bore you

My sister Lynnie called me today and commented that I haven't been posting on my blog. I gave her a rather long winded answer that came down to my life is boring and I don't want to inflict that boredom on the family. What's so boring? Dealing with the issues that tend to come up when working with a group. Let's just say that our tea party group is going through growing pains. Because I'm part of the core leadership group, I've been having to navigate the waters of disagreement combined with burnout. The point of disagreement centers around the direction of the group. There are some who wish to dump the "non-partisan" designation and begin endorsing candidates from one party. I feel very strongly that the group must remain "non-partisan." Thank goodness the bulk of leadership shares this committment. I believe that both parties have contributed to our current mess and I am interested in changing the paradigm, more specifically I'm interested in putting the principles on which this country was founded first and putting the agenda of parties last. That's all I'm going to bore you with. The good news is we have finalized our committment to non-partisanship and are moving forward vetting candidates based on our core values of constitutionally limited government, free markets, and fiscal responsibility.

Next weekend I will be going to Fresno to attend a bootcamp to learn how to be a butt-kicking activist. I'm not going alone. I'm going with a couple of my tea party girlfriends. We hope to be able to learn some valuable tools that will make us more effective as a group in the future. While I'm not all that excited about going to Fresno, I am excited to meet new people, make new connections, learn new skills, and get to know my new friends better.

Then the weekend after next I'll be getting together with my two sisters for a weekend at a spa resort in Napa. I can't tell you how much I'm anticipating this get together with my sisters. It is long over due and I have never indulged myself by going to a spa resort. I plan on treating myself with a full body massage and a mani/pedicure. Then, of course, there is the opportunity to wine taste, eat great food, and spend quality time with my two sisters.

Gone but not forgotten

I've been persona non grata because I've been working my tuckas off getting caught up with my backlog of grading that resulted from my prolonged sickness. The good news is that I'm beginning to feel like my old self. The bad news is that I got my first paycheck since the pay cut. Yikes, I'm going to miss that $300 every month! It is a bit discouraging as I've been working so much and then to receive less money for all this work...it just feels so wrong. That's it for my complaining as my gratitude for having a job far outreaches my irritation at the lessened compensation. The other good news that came from my being sick is that it really jump started my weight loss efforts. I have lost a total of 40 pounds thus far. It feels so good to go into a regular clothing store, instead of the plus size store to buy clothes. The freedom that comes with knowing that I can go into most stores, find something on the rack that fits, is simply wonderful.

Broken Record

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I've been sick all week. I finally broke down on Wed. and went to the doctor. He told me I have bronchitis and placed me on antibiotics. While the antibiotics have helped with my lung congestion, I have fought nausea and vomiting all week. I couldn't cancel classes as Friday was a scheduled furlough day and I couldn't afford missing any classes. On Thursday, during Principles of Psychology I had to excuse myself mid-class, run to my office (because the downstairs bathrooms are closed for remodeling), and in the nick of time grab my trash can (which has a plastic liner) and emptied the contents of my stomach. I returned to class, a little shaky, but continued on with the class. I know this sounds hardcore, but I have little choice in the matter. I know that my inability to cancel classes due to illness has contributed to how long it is taking me to recover from this horrid virus. Today is Sunday and I'm grateful that I have now turned a corner (knock on wood) and am beginning to feel more like myself. Just in time for a full week of classes. I pray that I don't have any further relapses as I think I've more than paid my dues!

Getting Through

This past week has been all about just "getting through." The virus that I wrote about in my last posting is still with me. The coughing and fatigue are what have taken hold. I can deal with coughing, but feeling like there is no fuel in my tank is what is difficult. But it is not enough that I'm still under the weather, I had to go and get braces on my teeth this past Tuesday. I had braces years ago for 3 1/2 years and I hated every minute of it! Now the braces are back because to quote my orthodontist (who has been treating my TMJ) "your mouth is a mess." He said the only way to correct the TMJ problem is to put the braces on. He told me I would have to wear them for a year, but that was before he took impressions and made the "your mouth is a mess" comment. I'm thinking they are going to be on for more than that. The good news was that he only placed them on my upper teeth as he needs to "open up my bite" before he can put the lower braces on. It hurts enough getting used to just the uppers so I'm grateful that I'm not having to deal with soreness on the inside of my bottom lip. I hope the next time I post here, I'll be talking about something other than being sick or having a sore inner upper lip.

Sickness in the House

Last weekend Cody began to complain that he had a sore throat, congestion, headache, bodyaches and fever. He clearly wasn't feeling well. He missed school on Monday and I prayed that I wouldn't get it. I simply do not have the luxury of cancelling classses due to sickness. We've already had to cancel two weeks of classes because of furloughs and there simply is no more room in the schedule for sickness. I made it all the way to Wednesday afternoon before I began to feel a heaviness in my upper chest. I immediately knew that "something" not good was coming my way. By Thursday morning I had bodyaches and fever and chills, but I drugged up and got myself to work. Thursdays are my shortest day as I only teach 2 classes and am done by 11:30. Happily I made it through my work day, but I was beginning to feel much worse. I took more drugs, went to bed early and prayed that the worst was over.

After a very rough night of chills and fever, headache, coughing, and body aches I knew that I wasn't going to be able to make my first two classes. I thought I might be feeling better to teach my 1 pm class. I went downstairs to call in and inform the dept. office that I needed to cancel my morning classes and was greeted by a voicemail message that the office was closed for a furlough day. Oh great! How am I going to cancel classes when no one is there to put the notice up on the classroom door? There were no instructions on the voicemail message on how to handle my circumstances. So, I sent a frantic email to my boss and thank God he has OCD tendencies just like me! He answered me within 2 minutes (he's always on line, just like me) and kindly offered to post a notification on my classroom door. The chair of the dept. is willing to do clerical duties to help one of his teachers out, simply wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better boss. He is so kind and helpful. I hope he's the chair for as long as I'm there because he simply is the best. No ego at all!

Back to bed and then I hear Dan starting to cough, that same hacking cough that I started to have 24 hours earlier and I know, he's starting down the same path. I was also very grateful that morning that Chelsea was able to drive herself and Cody to school and I didn't have to drag my virus ridden body out of bed to take them. At noon, I drugged myself up and got my virus ridden body into the car and made it to work and taught my Abnormal Psychology class. It was rough, but I couldn't cancel class as we start group work in one week and we didn't have a single class to waste in preparation.

I'm feeling better this morning. I'm still mucus filled, but the bodyaches are gone along with the chills and fever. I believe I'm well on my way to wellness, but poor Dan is where I was yesterday. He's drugged up now and soundly asleep. Chelsea thus far has made it through healthy, with no signs of viral invasion. I hope she will be able to escape this one because it is nasty.

A Full Plate

This last week was overwhelming in so many ways.

1. Classes began at Chico State. I knew that the classes were going to be impacted because so many classes had been cancelled and the number of emails requesting to add my classes were more than I've ever received in the past. But nothing prepared me for the onslaught. I had waiting lists for every one of my classes. One waiting list was 12 people long. Students were showing up at my office hours (which never happens the first week) to request to add. A line formed down the hall. Each student had their own special sob story which was accompanied with various version of doe or puppy dog eyes. It was heart wrenching.
2. Because of the press from students to add classes, along with the usual anonymous dropping of classes, my head was in a constant state of confusion. How many students were in each class and how many openings were available kept changing hour by hour, which made giving students any kind of concrete answer virtually impossible. By Thursday I was no less clear on the status of my class rosters than I was on Monday.
3. In addition to dealing with the stressors at work, Chelsea was scheduled to take her driving test on Thursday. This event took on far more personal import than I ever could have imagined. It was so not about whether or not she would pass. It was about my child taking one more step toward independence and away from me. I had difficulty sleeping. I didn't know if I wanted her to pass or to fail. Of course, this was a purely selfish dilema. I did want her to pass, to experience the joy of success, but the selfish side of me wanted to hold her closer and failing would ensure that she would be tied to me just a little while longer. I wished that anyone but me would take her for her test. I feared that my nerves would some how affect her and get in the way of her doing well. But, she insisted that I be the one to take her, so I bucked up and did.
4. She passed. I knew before she came back into the DMV. She chose to park the car after her test right in front of the window that I was sitting by. I looked out, saw her look nervously and expectantly at the driving evaluator, and then I saw it...she threw both of her hands up, smiled bigger than I've ever seen, and let lose with a scream of joy (I couldn't hear it but I could see it). She came bounding, yes bounding into the DMV, stumbled over a poor woman who was between us and gave me the biggest hug and told me the news. I was so proud of her. I'm so glad that I didn't miss that moment.
5. Amid the stress at work, I received an email from the person who headed my dissertation committee. He edited the first Encylopedia of Creativity and apparently he is editing the 2nd edition now. He requested that I write the chapter on Creativity and Therapy. I had to read the email several times to make sure I was reading what I thought I was reading. Out of all the creativity researchers out there he wanted me to write the chapter? Wasn't there anyone else out there with a little more gravitas to ask? So, I emailed him and thanked him for the opportunity and accepted. In his return email he told me that he and Art Bohart, a man who I respect greatly in the field of counseling techniques (he was also on my dissertation committee) were planning on co-authoring a book on Creativity and Therapy and they wanted me to write a chapter for that as well. I was thrilled and honored. Now that I've accepted I have to dust off my dissertation and get to writing.
6. I was supposed to attend the March in Sacramento on Friday, however by the time the end of the week approached I felt so wrung out that the thought of being on a bus for most of the day, standing in the hot sun, and interacting with others was too much. Priorities have to be set. I had loads of work to do, plus class rosters to sort out, and kids who had things that needed attending to, so I chose not to go. I'm so glad I did. I was able to sort everything out and after school was able to take Chelsea to buy her first wallet (now that she has a license she's got to have a place to keep it) and went to the bank and opened up a checking and savings account. I thought it was important for her to start learning how to manage money now rather than waiting until she heads off to college. Yet another step toward independence. I've got to say that she really is rising to the occasion and I'm extremely proud of her.

While it was a full and stressful week, I find myself reflecting back with much gratitude. Every challenge had its object lesson. I learned a lot about myself this week. I found strength that I didn't know that I had. I was humbled beyond words. I was honored by visits from past students who wished to stay in contact. I have a great job that affords me the opportunity to interact and sometimes impact others. I have great children who have goals and who do not shrink away from obstacles and challenges that may get in their way as they move toward achieving their goals. They make me happy and proud.

Our Town Hall Meeting

Last Wednesday I decided to attend the congressional town hall meeting for our area. The location had been changed three times because public interest in attending the town hall was so great that they had to continue to look for a venue large enough to accommadate all who wanted to attend. The final location was the Neighborhood Church which is the largest church in Chico. It seats approximately 1500. Upon arrival I was surprised to see how many were waiting to get into the church. I parked my car and headed to the end of the line.
The line snakes around the perimeter of the church and I think this picture captures the number of people waiting to get in. The line moved quickly and as we approached the entrance we were greeted by numerous signs by those who are in favor of universal healthcare. The ACLU was there in force, grumpy faced and "patrolling" like they had any significant function there at all. About 90% of the people there were ordinary citizens who are highly interested in this issue. The other 10% were your garden variety picketers. Everyone behaved themselves, as I knew they would, so my declining the ACLU's offer to speak to our group about conducting ourselves respectfully was validated.

Our seat was fairly close to the stage. The entire church was filled and it was standing room only. Congressman Herger spoke for about 20 minutes about his views on healthcare and the remaining hour and 10 minutes was devoted to questions from the audience. More than half of the questions were from those in support of healthcare even though 3/4 of the audience were not supportive of government run healthcare. There was occasional jeering from the audience, mostly from the pro-healthcare contingent. All in all I was impressed with the event. I think it is safe to say that the electorate is no longer apathetic. We do care and we are communicating that with our attendance at events such as this. Our level of care will be loudly demonstrated this coming Friday, 8/28. There is going to be a very big march in Sacramento at the capitol. They are expecting anywhere from 50,000 - 100,000 people. We are protesting AB32, which is California's version of Cap and Trade. We've chartered a bus, which is sold out and I'm still fielding emails from people who want to go. We are considering chartering another bus. The Redding group has chartered a bus and that bus is full as well. There are busloads of people coming up from San Diego and Los Angeles. I'm taking one of my furlough days in order to be there. This is the biggest event that I've taken part in and I'm looking forward to the experience. I'll take lots of pictures and post them.

Hardball Has Begun

Wow, I'm am learning by the minute how naive I am regarding the world of politics. In the past 24 hours I've personally felt the sting of hate coming from those who are attacking tea partiers. Because my name figures prominently on our tea party groups social networking website, I've received an email from the ACLU and one of the opinion writers for our local paper has targeted our group and the accusations of racism, violence, and affiliation with the Republican Party have begun. As I scrolled through the comments in response to the op ed piece the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The hatred was palpable. The email I received from the local ACLU asked to come and talk to our group prior to our congressman's town hall meeting and the stated purpose for this meeting was to ensure that we don't behave violently. WHAT? We have held three events thus far and our behavior has been exemplary. Most of the day and even as I type this I feel a low grade nausea. The hate that these people spew toward those of us who have chosen to voice our views is overwhelming. You have to ask yourself, why? Why are these people making personal attacks rather than entering into a reasoned discourse? Are these just random people who like to spend their time reading political postings and venting their anger and hatred or are these committed ideologues who's sole intent is to squash the opposition? I don't know, but it is not comfortable being in the cross hairs. My gut is telling me it is the later as these attacks are not only coming from the left, they are also coming from the right. It's a game. Both parties want to protect whatever power that they have. They don't care about what's best for this country. They care about what is best for their party.

I immediately went to our tea party website and removed my picture and created a phantom account that I will post events in the future to lessen the possibility of future contact with those who want to intimidate us. While I'm not willing to back down on my activist efforts, I'm learning that caution is needed. These people are serious and will do just about anything to shut us down. The lies just keep on coming and there is little that we can do to counter them other than document for ourselves what goes on at these events and use the internet to get an accurate portrayal of our actions out there. The fact that so many Americans are saying enough with both parties scares these people and they are playing hardball to shut us up. I pray that they don't win, because if they do, we all lose.

The Grind Begins

Wednesday was the first day of school for the kids. It just seems wrong to send the kids off to school on Aug. 12th. Anything prior to Labor Day seems too soon to me, but I'm a law abiding citizen so I insisted that they go to school.

Amazingingly when I asked them if I could take their "first day of school" picture, they both agreed. Chelsea, of course, had a precondition which I will share in just a second.
It's hard to believe that Cody is a sophomore and Chelsea is now a junior. It is beginning to feel a bit like a countdown. A countdown to their leaving home and beginning their adult lives. I try not to think about that too often. I simply banish it from my thoughts, but it does creep in every now and then, like when I remember that on Aug. 27th Chelsea will be taking her driving test for her driver's license and I will no longer be driving my kids to and from school. While I'll celebrate the lessened demand on my schedule, I'll miss the time together each morning and afternoon.

Now for the precondtion. Chelsea said I could take her picture if I didn't show her picture in my blog. I believe that I've stayed within the spirit of our agreement with the following picture...

See, you can't tell who it is in this picture. I could have googled images for a young headless woman and this is what I found. I could have!

I've been busy setting up my websites for my classes. While I've felt very pressured because of the short time I have until classes begin, I remind myself how fortunate I am to have a full schedule. They have posted the schedule and there are a couple of people who's names are sadly missing and many names who have less than their usual load. I recognize that I could have just as easily been given a smaller load, but was not.

On a political note, our tea party organization is growing and strategizing for the 2010 election, in addition to keeping the pressure on healthcare and cap and trade. It is very frustrating and sad to see our efforts dismissed and denegrated by this administration and most of the press. This movement is real, comprised of people just like me, who have stayed passive for all of their political lives and for the first time ever we are engaged and active. One really good thing that is coming out of all of this is that I have never seen a more non-apathetic citizenry. Our local congressman has had to change the venue for his town hall meeting twice to accommodate the number of people who wish to attend. I, along with many of my fellow tea partiers, will be at the meeting next Wed. I'm taking my video camera and may have some footage to post. It is important that we document for ourselves the reasonable, yet passionate, questions that are being asked of our representatives, while the press cherry picks the most emotional questioners and spins the footage as examples of the "angry mob." The internet is proving to be our best solution to this problem as we have the ability to show what is really going on at these town hall meetings by posting our own videos.

Good News

I have a job. This morning I still hadn't heard anything. Out of frustration I called the department office. When one of the wonderful secretaries answered the phone, I said, "I'm sure you've been getting a lot of calls about this, but do you know anything about the schedule?" Her immediate reply was that she would get my boss on the phone. I nervously waited until I heard his kind voice, "Cindy?" He didn't sound like he had something bad to relay to me. So, I immediately relaxed. I asked, "I know how busy you must be dealing with this mess, but is there anything you can tell me about the schedule?" He told me that he has been prevented by the provost to communicate with any of his lecturers until one final issue is dealt with, however, since I called him, he could tell me that I was going to be assigned the schedule that I had before they took all lecturers off the schedule. He then proceeded to tell me that when making my syllabi that I had to build into it 9 days of NO CLASS (the furlough days the union voted for). This is in addition to Labor Day, Veteran's Day, and Thanksgiving Break. That's a lot of missed classes! This means that I'm going to have to pare down all my powerpoints and lecture notes to accommodate this change and I have to do this in 12 days. I guess I'll be a little busy, but I am incredibly grateful as my boss told me that he's had to make a few calls telling people that they are not needed. My thoughts go out to those people.

We're Making Progress

Because I have no work to do right now because I STILL DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A JOB (I'm taking a deep breath and recentering myself) I've been able to fill my time with my activist work. After a bit of a upheaval in the leadership structure of our tea party group, we've regrouped and have brought together a group of kick ass people (I humbly include myself in this group). I volunteered to get the website up and running. I crossed my fingers and began clicking away and before I knew it I had the website up and running. I'm very proud and pleased with how it is turning out. Here's the link: http://chicoteaparty.ning.com/. Go check it out. There are some pretty impressive videos of the town halls around the country. The number of people who are showing up at these town hall meetings is far greater than is being presented in the press. While these people often show a great deal of passion, they are no where close the to "manufactured angry mobs who spew hate" that they are being portrayed as by the media and the administration.

The next big event for our local tea party group is a nationwide protest on August 28th in Sacramento at the State Capitol. They are projecting between 50,000 - 100,000 people will participate. The focus of the march is on AB32 which is California's version of Cap and Trade which was passed 3 years ago, but is coming into effect now. The effects of this bill on agriculture, mining, transportation, commercial trucking, and the timber industry is devastating. We will also be protesting the cut off of access to water to farmers in central and northern California by a federal judge in order to protect a fish (minnow). The lack of water flow is causing hundreds of thousands of acreage to become fallow. In some central California towns the unemployment rate has reached 48%. Our tea party group is chartering a bus. I'm impressed that we have enough people who want to participate that we will fill a bus. Even more amazing is that we are considering chartering a second bus if we continue to get the positive response that we are getting. We really are starting to have an impact. We may be scoffed at, disparaged, and dismissed by those who disagree with us, but we are a sleeping giant that has awakened from a very long sleep. We've lots of energy, are highly motivated, and very talented. We will be victorious. Check out the following audio video of a song put out by a European rock group with libertarian leanings. Europe is ahead of us politically regarding this socialist issue and they are getting a clue and beginnning to say no more. Here's the link for the audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1viGgpwSY0&eurl=http://stereogum.com/archives/album_art/new-muse-uprising_082681.html&feature=player_embedded

Left Hanging

I still don't know if I have a job or not! They have only had the past two months to figure all of this out and they still can't say which classes are cancelled and which lecturers will or will not return. The fall semester starts in 3 weeks. I've spoken with other lecturers and none of us are willing to do any class prep knowing that the work may never be compensated. One girlfriend has a new text and even if she were to know today that she would be teaching next semester, she doesn't have enough time to prepare using the new text. Bottom line...government run ANYTHING leads to mediocre (at best) results. My frustration knows no bounds!

It Always Good to Come Home

We arrived home on Friday at about 6:30 pm. It took us 11 1/2 hours to drive from Kennewick, Washington to Chico. It was wonderful to pull into our driveway and see Chelsea running out of the house to view the new car for the first time. I promptly reminded her that this is the new "family" car. Her look at me told me that she knew I wasn't kinding anyone with that one. This car is hers in every practical sense, as I'm not going to be driving it and neither is Dan. She was tickled with it and asked if we could go driving the next day.

I finally found out the result of the union vote. The vote was to determine whether or not members were willing to take a pay cut in order to save jobs. Gratefully, 54% of the members chose to vote FOR the pay cut, thereby making the likelihood of my unemployment less likely. I won't know for sure until next week, but signs are definitely looking better.

Mom did a great job looking after the kids. She had dinner ready for us upon our arrival home. I know she didn't really know that we would be arriving then, but she quickly started serving us the dinner she had prepared, which was very sweet.

The End of a Wonderful Vacation

After our amazing drive on Tuesday, we felt like all of our expectations for this vacation had been met and that from here on out, any further great experiences would be icing on the cake. Tuesday night we spent in Bozeman, Montana. Upon arising we found a great little breakfast place before embarking on our drive west. I have to tell you that the area around Bozeman and points west of there have got to be my favorite spot on the planet right now. I could easily see myself spending more time there. The people were so nice and I don't know who was in charge of designing the buildings in town, but it seemed like there was a "grand plan," as all the buildings seemed to fit so well with the mountain setting. We stopped for gas around 11:30 am and after finishing filling up the tank, Dan said, "I think we should call Bob and Cathy (Dan's cousins) and see if they are still in Anaconda, Montana." They manufacture and sell decorative shirts at craft shows all across the country. They had finished up a show in Anaconda, which was only 30 minutes from our present location. Bob told Dan that they had planned on leaving for their next show in Washington State on Wednesday. Dan thought we might catch them before they left.

Dan dialed Bob's cell phone and as luck would have it, they had just finished packing up and were about to leave. They agreed to postpone their leaving until we could get there and suggested we meet for lunch. So we made the 30 minute drive and found them easily as the town is so small that you can miss it if you sneeze. We had a quick lunch and briefly caught up on each others lives. We always love seeing Bob and Cathy. Before we went our separate ways we shared and took pictures.

What a wonderful opportunity to happen upon family and include them in our vacation.

From Anaconda, we continued our trek west and north. Our plan was to get to the gateway of Glacier National Park. Because we ate out for lunch, we decided to pull over by this beautiful lake and eat our left over sandwiches from Subway.

When we arrived in Columbia Falls, our "final" destination, we found out very quickly that motels are booked months in advance. Who knew that Glacier National Park would be such a hot spot. Dan was able to convince the woman at the first motel to call a couple of motels to see if they had any rooms available. Dan was able to locate a motel about 4 miles up the road in Hungry Horse, Montana. We made the quick trip and were immediately concerned as we pulled into the motel. The lady who greeted us was the sweetest person, but when she showed us the room I knew that I couldn't stay in the room. To say it was below standard (and our standards are not that high) is an understatement. I made the excuse that I had to have internet access so that I could find out whether or not I still had a job. She immediately got on the phone to a friend who owns a Motel 6 (I told you are standards are not that high) in Kallispell, located 30 minutes west of Hungry Horse. We were able to reserve a room. We profusely thanked the nice lady and retraced our steps back to Kallispell.

Our plan today was to drive through Glacier National Park and then started heading south for home. We entered the park, paid the $25 entrance fee, and joined the throngs of people who apparently had the same plans for the day. Going was pretty slow as the line of cars could only go as fast as the lead car, but we didn't mind because views were beautiful. About 20 miles into the park and as we are zig-zagging up the side of the mountain, we come to a complete stop. It is like a parking lot. We sat and sat for about 15 minutes and there was no indication that we would be moving. Dan and I looked at each other knowing that we still had 30 miles of road ahead of us before we would get through the park. We did the math and we simply could not afford an entire day in the park and still arrive back home when we planned. So, we turned the car around and headed the 20 miles out of the park. It really was a shame as we really did want to experience the park, but the crowds were just too great. If you've ever been to Yellowstone, you can appreciate the size of the crowds at Glacier Park, as they matched the crowds at Yellowstone.

The remainder of the day was devoted to covering as much territory as we possibly could as Dan wants to get home by Friday night. We made it through the panhandle of Idaho, enjoying the beautiful views that Idaho has to offer. We were able to finish the book that we started at the beginning of the trip, Tsar by Ted Bell. I highly recommend this book. It is suspenseful, romantic, terrifying, and informative. We arrived in Kennewick, Washington at about 9 pm and were able to find a motel easily. Kennewick is about 1 1/2 hours below Spokane. We plan on getting up early tomorrow morning and drive until we arrive home. It will be a long day, but once we get the smell of home in our noses, we're much like a barn sour horse.

The Top of the World

After leaving Colorado, we were able to make it all the way to Cody, Wyoming by nightfall. I didn't take any pictures of Wyoming yesterday as there really wasn't anything we saw that was picture worthy. We chose to go to Cody, Wyoming because the last time we came to Wyoming we came with Chelsea and Cody and had a terrific time. We wanted to revisit a place that we had such fun with the kids. Upon our arrival, we quickly found a motel and headed for the Mexican restaurant that we went to years before with the kids. We had very good memories of our meal there, so we were sure that we would have a similar experience this time.

The name of the restaurant is Viva La Comida and it has tables located outside in front of the restaurant which enables customers to watch the traffic cruising up and down Main Street. Believe it or not, Cody is quite a happening town. It is a haven for motorcyclists and the night air is constantly pierced with the thundering sounds of Harley's. We both ordered margaritas and began taking in the nightlife of Cody. When dinner arrived we were disappointed to see that the quality of the food was not as we remembered it, but it was still lovely to sit outside and enjoy the goings on.

The next morning we arose early and I asked Dan to take me to the restaurant that served the best huevos rancheros that I've ever tasted. I've dreamed of these huevos, I've told anyone who would listen how great these huevos are, and now I had a chance to have them again. I noticed that I began to salivate well before our arrival at the restaurant. With great anticipation we entered the restaurant and were immediately seated. The waitress handed us our menus and I almost said, "don't bother because I already know what I want." But I didn't. Instead I looked on the menu, seeking to find the long awaited dish. First read through I didn't see them. Second read through I didn't see them. Third read through my heart began to sink. I said, "Dan I don't see the huevos on the menu!" He carefully looked over the menu and they were not there. They no longer include huevos rancheros on the menu. I figured that it is just as well. Considering our disappointing meal last night, maybe it is better to simply remember the best huevos ever, rather than experience the disappointment of yet another subpar meal.

Once breakfast was history we set out for Montana. We headed north out of Cody and began climbing the moutain range. Little did we know that we were going to experience one of the most beautiful drives of our lives! We decided that we would stop at all of the scenic turnoffs and read all of the historical signs. The first turnoff yielded us the following gorgeous view.

As we got out the car, we noticed a group of people bending down and holding their hands out to "something." As we walked closer we saw these tiny chipmunks eating out of people's hands. Dan ran back to the car to get our bag of sunflower seeds and bent down to see if the chipmunks would eat out of his hand.

The little creature did not hesitate for a single second. He even placed his little paws on Dan's fingers. There was no fear whatsoever.

We got back in the car and began our slow climb up the mountains. Each ascent up the mountain would end with a beautiful plateau, followed by yet another ascent.

Our next scentic turnoff provided us with the beauty of this roaring river and waterfall.

Another couple was nice enough to take our picture...together!

Just to give a sense of the size of this waterfall, about 1/4 of the way down this picture you will see a man on a rock taking a picture. He is dwarfed by the massive rocks.

This is the view of the river and waterfall as we walked up the tiny path to our car.

Here are more of the amazing vistas that we enjoyed on our drive to Montana.

Wyoming definitely went out with a bang rather than a wimper! Finally our continual climb up the mountain range reached its apex and we were greeted with this awe inspiring view.

You can see that there is still snow on the ground on the far left of this picture. It was quite windy and chilly up on top of the world. By the way, that is not my designation. There is a sign that says it is the top of the world.

A very nice couple from Georgia offered to take our pictures together and we immediately accepted. Even though this spot is called the top of the world, we continued to ascend for several more miles before we started our descent into Montana. Our first stop was Red Lodge, where we stopped for a sandwich at Subway's. We then headed out for Bozeman where we found a motel for the night. Dan and I agree that the drive from Cody, Wyoming to Red Lodge, Montana has to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world.

Colorado Adventures

We spent our first night in Cortez, Colorado. Upon checking into our motel, the desk clerk told Dan about the nearby National Park, Mesa Verde. The brochure she handed him sounded instantly like something that we would want to check out. So, after breakfast we took off for Mesa Verde. It was a quick 15 minute drive.

Upon driving up to the booth at the entrance of the park, we were greeted by a nice looking female park ranger. The sign stated that the charge for entrance into the park was $15 per car. As Dan was reaching for his wallet the park ranger told us that today entrance into the park was free. The conversation went something like this:

Park Ranger: Welcome to Mesa Verde. Today entrance into the park is free. This free admittance is made possible by the stimulus bill.

Me: The stimulus bill? How does giving us free entrance into the park stimulate the economy?

Park Ranger: Well, they have told me to tell you that providing free entrance into the park will provide those who can't usually afford to come to the park the opportunity to see the park.

Me: How does this create jobs?

Park Ranger (with a mischevious smile): Madam, as long as I'm dressed in this uniform, I can only say what they tell me to say. I am not free to tell you what I really think about this plan, but you are free to interpret my statement any way that you want.

Thus began our trip into the Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde is known for the cliff dwellings built by Anasazi Indians. We drove approximately 15 miles into the heart of the park where we found this first set of cave dwellings.
Here is our first glimpse of the cave dwellings as we began the 12 minute hike down the hill. The hike involved zig-zagging down a very steep grade. We wondered how well we would far the walk back up as we passed panting and sweating vacationers who were making the trip back up the hill.

The cave dwellings were absolutely amazing up close.

We weren't allowed to actually walk into the dwellings as they were chained off. You can see the black soot that remains to this day from the fires.

They did, however, allow us to climb down into the undergrown Kivas. The wood ladder is seen the the right foregrounds. Kivas were used during the bitter cold winter months by the tribe to cope with the cold. The park ranger told us that the entire tribe would congregate down in this kivas. The space is really quite small and I have a hard time imagining an entire tribe hanging out in such small corners.

You can see this person is coming down the ladder, thus entering the kiva.

After our climb down into the kiva, Dan being Dan started a long conversation with the park ranger. Because I know how long these conversations can take, I chose to continue to explore the cave dwellings and took some of the following pictures.

The park ranger told us that this cave goes back as far as 60 feet in some places.

I loved the ordered demonstrated in these rock pads for grinding grain.

I took this picture on the far end of the cave dwellings to show the entire area of the settlement. That's Dan in the red shirt, still talking to the ranger.

Once we saw all that we wanted to, it was time to begin the trek back up the hill. I'm standing on the walkway below Dan and you can see the next walkway above Dan's head, thus showing the zig-zagging path, as well as the steep grade of the path. I have to admit that we had to stop several times to catch our breath. The altitude really made catching our breath quite difficult.

Here's another view from above of the cliff dwellings we had just visited.

I think I still look okay after the difficult trek up the hill. No worse the wear.

We got back in the car and were able to spot other cave dwellings throughout the park.

Once we finished up with our trip through Mesa Verde about 2 pm, it was time to head north. We ended up in Leadville, Colorado at the end of the day. Leadville is about 45 minutes south of Vail, Colorado.

We woke up very early the next morning as we had the most uncomfortable bed and we simply couldn't bear trying to sleep anymore in them. We left about 6 am, which is very early for us. We decided to drive to the town of Avon, which is right next to Vail, for breakfast. We found a Denny's, ate a quick breakfast and were back on the road.

Vail is such a beautiful area and you can smell the money in the air. One of the reasons that we are taking this trip is to look for property that we may purchase for use once we retire. Vail would be a beautiful place to spend one's retirement years, but it is clear that you have to have considerable resources to be able to buy property there.

About 1/2 hour outside of Vail, we came upon Lizard's Head Pass. We simply had to pull over to capture this beauty with a picture. Just as we pulled up, we saw a single drop of water hit our windshield. It was about 2 inches in diameter. We looked around to see from whence the water drop came from. Nothing, we could see the source. I roll down the window to begin to take a photo and a second big drop of water hits the windshield. I click this picture and the we see a third big drop of water. Now we're really curious. Where are these drops of water coming from? We open the moon roof on the car and just as we do we see a big flash of lightening, which is immediately followed by a downpour. I've never seen raindrops this big! I captured the following video of the thunder and rain. The "storm" lasted about 5 minutes and then it was over and the sun came out.

Next stop is Wyoming.

It Sure is Hot in Phoenix!

My day began at 1:30 am as I couldn't get back to sleep for fear of oversleeping and missing our flight. Oh by the way, today is the day that we began our vacation. First stop was Phoenix, Arizona to pick up our new "family" car. We were picked up by AJ, one of the nicest and most knowledgeable used car salesmen that we've had the pleasure of working with, and believe me if you know us at all we've dealt with many used car salesmen. Upon collecting our bags, we walked out to the curb and waited about 2 minutes and there he was. We made the quick trip to the dealership and within an hour of landing we were on the road. Here's our new family car.

As you can see it is a claret red 2003 Honda CRV. We were so pleased that the car in reality lived up to all the pictures provided on line. The inside is extremely immaculate

It also has one of the most important requirements. Lots of good cup holders. I should have taken pictures of them, but I'm sure that soon I'll be including a picture of those as well. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Taco Bell, filled the car up with gas and hit the road.

First stop was Flagstaff. What a beautiful mountain town it is. We pulled over upon leaving town to take a quick picture of each of us with our new ride.

Before leaving Phoenix, we stopped at Fry's (similar to Raley's) and picked up two styrofoam coolers, a couple of bags of ice, some beverages and snacks.

We like to be able to continually hydrate without stopping all the time. It works for us.

We decided not to go through Monument Valley as we've driven through there numerous times and wanted to get to Cortez, Colorado to spend the night. Even though we chose not to make that wondrous drive, we still had the opportunity to see some amazing rock formations. This one reminded us of a crowd of people. I took this from the car driving 70 mph. Not too bad. We're staying the night at the Econolodge. I'm dead tired and look forward to catching up on my lost sleep from last night. More later from the road.

Oriented to Place and Time

I had to check with Dan today regarding what day it is. I was correct when I told him I thought it was Friday. I didn't win anything for having the correct answer other than the satisfaction of knowing that I'm still oriented to time. This is what happens when I'm not working and I don't have an event, like the Fourth of July, to help me keep track of time. I don't want to do any class prep until I know for sure if I'll be back next semester. The union is voting this next week on whether or not to accept a 2 day per month furlough, which translates to a 9.5% pay decrease. Amazingly the union didn't advise which way to vote. They said that this was too personal an issue for them to say one way or another. The other two unions involved on campus have already voted in favor of the furlough plan. So, I have to assume that our vote will probably go the same way, which is good for me, as this will mean less layoffs and because I'm full time, I'm further up the layoff food chain.

Dan is busy online looking for a new family car. We need this car so that Chelsea can drive herself and Cody to school next year. We're looking at Honda CRX's. We plan on buying the car somewhere west of the Mississippi, fly there, and then drive the car back by way of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. This will be our vacation. The kids opted out, so my mom will be staying with the kids while we're gone.

I've lost 22 pounds. I'm having a hard time believing this fact as I still have a rather large tire around my waist, but that's what the scales told me this morning. I have noticed that my butt is getting flat, which is very strange as I've always had a lot of junk in my trunk. In fact, my large rear end has always been the bain of my existence, so for it to disappear in this unexpected fashion is quite disconcerting.

Tying Up Loose Ends From July 4th

I said in my last posting that I regretted that I didn't have a picture of Cynthia Van Auken, Kasey Cowen, and Nancy Henry. Matt Miller was kind enough to pass on these photos. Sorry Nancy, but I still don't have a picture of you!
Here's Cynthia, our fearless leader. If it hadn't been for her efforts organizing the original tea party rally on April 15th, we wouldn't be where we are today. Ed Vallerga said to me in an email yesterday that for those of us that were at the first organizing meeting on May 5th, it is highly evident the growth and strides that our fledging group have made since that day and he is right. Only those who have been there from the very beginning can truly appreciate how far we have come and it all began with Cynthia. Cynthia is a veteran to the world of politics. Before moving to Chico to be close to her children she was a politically active resident of Atlanta, Georgia. She ran for congress against Cynthia McKinney, who by the way is sitting in an Israeli prison right now. She was arrested for running an Israeli naval blockade. The ship she was in was providing supplies to the Palestinians. Forgive me for that ADHD movement. What I'm trying to say is that Cynthia is experienced in the ways of the political world and it is helpful to have that kind of resource available to a developing group.

Kasey Cowan is in the white shorts and dark head visor. She is talking with Dan Logue, our State Assemblyman. Just to remind you, she was the one to work on logo development, t-shirts (which turned out to be a major source of fund-raising), and setting up our website.

Matt took this picture at the Elk's lodge parking lot prior to our cruise. He was able to capture more of the numbers assembled, but it is still an incomplete representation of our numbers for the cruise.

At the end of the day, Matt was able to finally take a picture of our booth. Ed Vallerga and Jim Fiack worked the booth to the very end.

But, remember, this is what our booth area looked like for the entire day!

Even though press coverage was practically non-existent, one intrepid reporter from the Chico Enterprise Record (our local paper) wrote the following article. I was impressed because she actually reported the events of the day as they actually happened without editorializing or trying to minimize or disparage our efforts. I believe that Stacey Kennelly, the author, of this article was a former student of mine. I sent her an email thanking her for actually being a journalist. Here's the link to the article: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_12756138