Missoula, Again

Last week we drove route 200 from Sandpoint to Missoula and spent several days there...our book club, friends, doctor and dentist and another doctor, and, of course, our storage unit. Home is where you store your stuff. It was great to see all the friends--especially Tammi and Bruce and Luke, who put us up--our visits to the storage unit were successful (except for finding the dark suit I may wear June 12), the dental check-ups were good, and the orthopedist's prognosis for Vicki's knee was very promising. A steroid shot and six weeks' PT, and she should be able to do the Tour du Mont Blanc this summer, he said. Vicki on steroids. Oh well.

Missoula was wonderful and entertaining, as always. The lunatic fringe were protesting a proposed anti-discrimination policy before city council, and the ensuing demonstrations and testimony before council--the largest number of people ever attending one of their meetings--were, um, interesting. The measure passed, 10-2, I am pleased to say. You can read all about it at the Missoulian, www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_413f00c2-46d1-11df-9b94-001cc4c03286.html. If I weren't planning on cremation, you could bury my heart in Missoula. We drove back to Sandpoint on 200 Tueday afternoon in snow and wintry mix, dodging deer all the way. Even in crummy weather, the lower Clark Fork valley is spectacularly scenic.

Demonstrators overflowing city council chambers...

The opposition's website/logo

Someone else's photo, but that's pretty much how it looks

Big News

The big news for us is that, while we were  in DC, daughter Rebecca became engaged to Jeremy. They announced subsequently. So we are in full, if distant, mother- and father-of-the-bride mode, and very pleased for them. The wedding will occur near Half Moon Bay, CA, June 12. Details to follow.

Jeremy and Rebecca at the Orangerie, last August

Pondering Ponderay

So today finds us in Sagle, near Sandpoint, ID, at the home of in-laws Bob and Beth. They're off RVing in Arizona, so we're enjoying the views across Lake Pend Oreille (Ponderay, as some of the locals say) to Schweitzer mountain and nearby snowy summits. It's spring here, near or below freezing at night, in the 40s during the day. Clouds, sunshine, rain, snow, wintry-mix, in some combination pretty much every day. There is still plenty of snow in the high country. And burning season is underway too, just like in Montana, only about 30 miles away. Northern Idaho is an interesting and diverse place. Log McMansions here and there, compounds with ammo dumps here and there, normal people, nice folks, filling in the gaps. Great scenery and recreation everywhere.

Delta got us here Tuesday, on-time, with no unscheduled stops. They apparently gave everyone on last Tuesday's Flight 721 a $100 voucher. Actually, I assume some got more, some got less; those who did not complain got nothing. Our next scheduled flights are with Southwest, so that should be fun.

We plan to hold up here for a couple months, with occasional trips to dear Missoula, to see friends, doctors, dentist, financial advisors, et al. Our book group meets Friday evening, and, yes, we both have read the book, Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long and Strange. And, just for the record, I finally finished—second try, interrupted by a visit to China—Gao Xingjian's Soul Mountain, a book, like China, that I will be processing for some time to come.

Cloudy view from Bob and Beth's deck

Our exact location, according to GoogleEarth. is
48"12' 50.82" N, 116"42' 18.02" W

So today finds us in Sagle, near Sandpoint, ID, at the home of in-laws Bob and Beth. They're off RVing in Arizona, so we're enjoying the views across Lake Pend Oreille (Ponderay, as some of the locals say) to Schweitzer mountain and nearby snowy summits. It's spring here, near or below freezing at night, in the 40s during the day. Clouds, sunshine, rain, snow, wintry-mix, in some combination pretty much every day. There is still plenty of snow in the high country. And burning season is underway too, just like in Montana, only about 30 miles away. Northern Idaho is an interesting and diverse place. Log McMansions here and there, compounds with ammo dumps here and there, normal people, nice folks, filling in the gaps. Great scenery and recreation everywhere.

Delta got us here Tuesday, on-time, with no unscheduled stops. They apparently gave everyone on last Tuesday's Flight 721 a $100 voucher. Actually, I assume some got more, some got less; those who did not complain got nothing. Our next scheduled flights are with Southwest, so that should be fun.

We plan to hold up here for a couple months, with occasional trips to dear Missoula, to see friends, doctors, dentist, financial advisors, et al. Our book group meets Friday evening, and, yes, we both have read the book, Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long and Strange. And, just for the record, I finally finished—second try, interrupted by a visit to China—Gao Xingjian's Soul Mountain, a book, like China, that I will be processing for some time to come.

Adios, California, For Now

More travels in Middle California took us to...

A sea-side restaurant in Pacifica

An old favorite, actually, the Pacifica Taco Bell, which

we'd visited years before with Tawana and Wes (it's a

long story, and none of us really likes fast Tex-Mex all that

well...)

And the Half Moon Bay environs

Ditto

After which, and another of Jeremy's truly memorable seafood feasts, we packed up and said our thank you's and farewells to Rebecca and Jeremy for a great California week, Rachel returning to DC, and Vicki and I on to our next stop...

iEaster Sunday in Palo Alto

Although three of us are serious Apple devotees, we did not venture to the iStore (as Vicki calls it) on iPad Day. On Easter Sunday, however, we ambled down to the Palo Alto store, where Steve Jobs Himself had been photographed the day before.

But a huge stone blocked the entrance

He is risen... (from TIPB or somewhere 
else on the web); casual California look...

Interior of the new iPad (from Geekologie); yes, but can you
 make a telephone call from the iPad?

The Family That Surfs Together...

So after a busy day of sightseeing and shopping in the Bay area, and a wonderful dinner at Roy's, we went back to Rebecca and Jeremy's and re-connected with our laptops and desktops.

Rebecca

Me

Rachel and Vicki

Jeremy