The Best Laid Plans

Things do not always work out as planned. Yesterday we were supposed to fly on United to San Francisco via Washington, DC. instead we flew to SF on Continental via Houston. We arrived about the same time, but there was hassle in between. For folks who don't like to fly/travel, don't read on, as it will just reconfirm your fears.

The main reason for the hassle was the weather. That's something the airlines cannot control. Our flight from Tampa was delayed due to weather problems in Chicago. There was a one hour delay and that meant that we would miss our next flight. That's when the domino effect happened. Not only did we miss our flight but so did hundreds of other folks. The end effect was everyone scrambling to find a way to get to San Francisco.

The person who was helping me had the patience of Job as folks were screaming for flights. I tried to remain cool and calm as I was told that the flights to Denver, Salt Lake, LA, and Seattle were booked. Next she tried an alternate airline and after a lot of keyboard tapping and phone calls, we were booked on Continental to Houston, then SF. Sounds good...but don't be fooled...we had 20 minutes to go back to the main gate to GET the new tickets. That meant we had to take the shuttle back to the main terminal, find Continental, get the tickets, reboard a new shuttle to another terminal, then go through TSA security one more time and finally run like the dickens to get to the gate at the far end of the terminal to board the plane before it shut the doors. We were the last folks on the plane as the doors slammed behind us. One of us in first class, the other in an exit row in the back. So much for our United upgrade.

The flight was 2 hours long and uneventful. The exit row seat was roomy and the rest of the row was empty, so it was doable. The next flight had us in the back of the bus in different rows. As soon as we landed I asked for an upgrade and we were moved to an exit row with a chance of first class. Well, the first class did not happen, but there were only 2 of us in the 3 seat exit row, so we lifted the arms of the seats, and enjoyed the room. Not bad. Continental has roomier exit rows than United. I wonder if that will change when the merger is complete? My guess is it will, worse luck.

We arrived in San Francisco. Our luggage did not. It stayed on United and it is supposed to meet us at home. We are hopeful that will happen.

The flying experience is never easy. It's never straight forward. Given that, it's still very interesting. TSA is a bit intrusive. The other DrC was given the full pat down at the beginning of the trip...how he looks like a terrorist I cannot imagine. Maybe TSA should start profiling people to stop some of the needless, not to mention, RUDE, searching that is happening.

Time to board the next flight. It's short, direct and should be relatively easy. I'll let you know what happened.

Cruising back to Reality

We have spent the last 2 weeks on a Caribbean cruise. It was great. When we get home I'll post some pictures but for now, it's getting back to real life. We have not been on an ocean cruise since January, but we got into the "swing of things" quickly. Room service breakfast, leisurely days, going on shore excursions to different places!

It came to an end yesterday when we left the ship. This morning I had no idea what day of the week it was. Since then I've learned it's Saturday. We will be home tomorrow. Until then it airports and airplanes. On a positive note, we have been upgraded to first class!

RV Lot

As you know, we are RV-ers...have been for a long, long time. So, looking at RVs is something we like to do. Going to an RV show is fun and dangerous...fun because we get to see the new stuff that is out there...and dangerous because we might end up buying a new RV. You never know.

So, the other day, when I was on my photo-safari, I was surprised to come upon this group of old Shasta trailers. These small trailers were common when we started to RV in 1972. They were little, about 15 feet long, and had “wings” in the back telling the world that they were futuristic, forward thinking trailers! They were made by the Shasta company, of Goshen, Indiana.

What fun to see these old RVs. While they don’t have slide-out rooms, microwaves, queen sized beds, or LCD TVs, they do have the essentials you need to have fun in the great outdoors. They look really good considering they are all over 40 years old!

Covered Bridge

I discovered that the Covered Bridge is NOT old. In fact it’s supposed to be the newest covered bridge in the CA. It was completed in 1984, and it was a work of love by a city planner. Mr. Castleberry had a dream and he volunteered his time, effort and his network of friends, to build a covered bridge to Oregon City.  The barn red bridge is 50 feet long.

Here’s a look at the internal construction. The wooden beams are hefty. Sadly, there is one piece of graffiti...and the miscreant can take it off immediately and then I hope he/she will disappear into oblivion! We don’t need that stuff! 

Cherokee and Oregon City

Not too far away are two tiny towns, both from the Gold Rush era, that somehow cling to life!

The first town is Cherokee. If you can read the small print, you’ll find out that a lot of gold was extracted from the mines here. There was even a diamond mine (the first in the US) and the largest diamond extracted was 6 carats! When the town was founded, in 1853, 2 years after CA became a state, it had a population of over 1000. There were 2 churches, a post office, and 17 saloons! Now you know what was important!

Not too much is left of the town today. The ruins of the mining facility, 

the well for the town, 

and this caboose, standing on the grounds of the Cherokee Museum. I have no idea how they brought the caboose to Cherokee as the road is narrow, twisty and not well graded. It’s still nice to see a caboose as they were taken out of operation about 30 years ago.

Continuing down the twisty road, there’s a fork...to the left is the covered bridge at Oregon City. Oregon City was established in 1848. That’s an old town for CA. In fact the first civil governor of the state came from Oregon City. At least that is what the sign says. I have no idea what a “civil” governor is...but I wonder if CA still has one?

Then there’s the covered bridge. I don’t know when it was built, but I’m guessing it’s a recent reconstruction as it’s in pretty good shape.

Lastly, the old school is still standing.

It was a good day for a drive to historic California.

Veteran’s Day

It’s Veteran’s Day and we need to honor the brave men and women who have kept our country free. Thank you!

Fall Colors

The trees are beginning to wear the reds, oranges and yellows of their autumn dress. Today we went for a rainy day autumn drive to look at the colors. Looking at the colors in the rain gives them a muted tone you never see on a sunny day. Here are a few of the images that we are seeing right now.

I took this at the local community college. The red leaves dominate the landscape, with just a hint of yellow. A pretty place for a picnic (if it was not raining).

I liked this image because it shows 3 of the colors we are seeing. The bright flame red, the yellow, and the green that has not changed yet. When you see the 3 colors together, the image is striking!

The delicate leaves of this tree, (I think it is a pistachio) are in high contrast to the greenery in the background. A good place to take a leisurely afternoon stroll....and if you take a few steps more you will see the creek.

What is up on the trees, will soon fall down to the ground. The blankets of leaves are amazing this time of year. What I liked about this shot is the green sprig that refuses to admit that autumn is here!

It’s a pretty time of year...the last big display of color before winter arrives. We’ll enjoy it while we can.