We do hope our Holiday Letter finds you and yours in good health and spirits. As usual we cannot believe another year has passed and as usual it has been a bit hectic in both good and not so good ways.
Our year was once again centered around our love for travel in about every form. I have been informed by our friends Jerry and Ginny Kenny that our previous Holiday Letters lack some specifics in regard to our travel. They suggested we include the miles we travelled in the pursuit of sun, fun, and family. While some details of our travels will be at the end of this letter for those interested, I did some quick calculations which just includes our "trips", not all the local travel and travel while visiting various States and countries is included. Our motorcycle travel covered over 9,000 miles, our autos covered 7,000, our motor home covered 6,000 and we flew over 40,000 miles and the year is not yet over. Makes me tired even thinking about it!
This year we had a few wrinkles with some health issues surrounding our Aunt Myrne in Bellingham, WA and Pam's mother Becie in Honeoye Falls, NY. I am happy to report that both seem to be improving from their respective encounters with the medical system. About a month after our annual arrival in WA we found Aunt Myrne was having a repeat of her only real medical problem, a poorly working esophagus. After surgeons in Bellingham could not clear it out she was taken via ambulance to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, WA. After a week in that hospital she finally made it to surgery, cleared the esophagus and installed a PEG tube through which she is now fed to bypass eating orally. Since she turned 99 years old on Sept 11, recovery has been slow and she doesn't move around quite as well as in years past. We look forward to celebrating her 100th in 2012. Pam's mother collapsed at a Dr's office two weeks later and off Pam flew to take care of that problem while I remained with Aunt Myrne. Pam found that her mother's Doctor was just simply not doing a good job and with assorted medical issues developing over her 82 years, to many pills counteracting each other, poor diet choices, etc had lead to the body saying, "I quit". So improvement came with the assistance of a caregiver monitoring those issues until her mind cleared up, so she has just about got back to her old self.
Pam and I remain in a life style that moves us between our homes in CA and NM and living in our motor home at least five months a year in AZ (3 months) and WA (2 months). Pam keeps busy as our travel coordinator and will admit we did perhaps travel more than planned in 2011, but I see her efforts to curtail that in 2012 don't look very promising. Well as my father once warned, travel while you are able! Part of our travel remains centered around the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club. I am in the middle of my second two year term as Chairman of the West Coast Conference which covers to Australia, New Zealand and the West of the USA and Canada. We have finally eliminated our election meetings in Bangor Maine every other January but we still attend about three to four conventions around the USA/Canada each year.
Daughter Holly remains in Temecula, CA and like many people in our country she had to survive staff cuts within her pharmaceutical sales company as they faced the economy. Her husband Dan has moved up the career ladder of Home Depot and is now in the Merchandizing unit and applying for another promotion. Most importantly they seem happy with their current jobs while looking to the future. Grand daughter Emily (7 ) remains a shy one but she is doing real well in school. Grandson Luke (5 ) is much more outgoing and getting ready for those school days. We try to spend some time with their family a couple of times each year but I may have to watch the keys to my motorcycle, Luke seems taken with that big bike. I have not had contact with Kimberly or Bryce in several years. I have heard that Kimberly looks great and that her husband Dave has moved into management from sales at the same jewelry store. They have two children and live in Riverside, CA I believe Bryce is still employed in the computer industry in Orange County, CA
Son Brian and his wife Christie are real busy parents of granddaughter Sadie who continues to mystify the experts by accomplishing many tasks not expected for a baby with her disabilities. Brian also survived changes at Starbucks and remains in the Phoenix office with some changes in his responsibilities. Christie is teaching again but does it from home via computer. We just learned yesterday that they will be moving into a new and larger home in the So. Phoenix, AZ area. Plans are underway for us to spend some vacation time together in 2012 with a resort stay in Texas.
Daughter Stephanie is still employed from her home by Hewlett-Packard Corp while husband John operates his swimming pool contractor company. They live in Orangevale, CA. Grandson "CD" Cody (15) is now in High School, has a pickup truck and is anxiously awaiting those long agonizing months until he gets his driver's license. Grand daughter Jessica (11) took up the clarinet and we attended one of her concerts at school this past fall. All the family is into ATV's, taking them to the desert in the Toy Hauler 5th Wheel trailer for riding the trails. We will be spending Christmas with them again this year.
Well it is that time of the letter to say, don't go on if our travel itinerary and adventures will bore you, OR if you already follow those travels on Pam's blog at www.sojourners-1@blogspot.com. For those glutton for punishment, here goes an attempt to cover our year.
We started our 2011 travel with a car trip from our Citrus Heights, CA home to our Rio Rancho, NM home. After a quick packing of the motorhome we headed to our RV lot in Surprise, AZ. That lasted a week in the sun before we hopped an airplane to Bangor, Maine. Yes it was again a fun filled COLD and snowy visit to the Northeast. All to attend the bi-annual ballot counting for the Blue Knights elections. In the future this will be combined with the annual convention every other year. After a long weekend in Bangor we returned to AZ and later in January headed to the Western part of AZ to meet relatives Shari and Ron Carlson for the annual RV show in Quartzsite, AZ. We were also able to spend some time with a long time colleague Barry Garland in Palm Desert whom had just lost his wife.
In February we were once again hosted by former Riverside PD officer Rick Boyer and his wife Fawn for a great Super Bowl Party in Peoria, AZ. During that month we spent a few days back at the NM home just to make sure it was still standing. We were also finally able to catch up with daughter Holly who had been travelling for work. This was a short visit with the grandkids in Temecula, CA. Also during this month I had the pleasure of joining four former Riverside officers and take a motorcycle ride over to Barstow, CA from Phoenix to meet up with another six-eight former officers who rode over from the Riverside area, nice reunion and hope to do this annually.
In March I flew to WA and met up with our friend Mary Eden to visit Aunt Myrne and tend to some of her business matters. It was our first visit without having to work on the old Ferndale farm. Upon my return to AZ I sold our Honda Goldwing Trike and purchased a new 2010 Honda Goldwing two wheeler. Since it was getting to the end of our winter stay in AZ, this new motorcycle will get more use in 2012. We ended the winter by moving the motorhome back to NM and flying to CA.
April and May were spent off the continent. We had two weeks in Hawaii with friends Tom and Debbie Struthers, one week in Kauai and another at Kona on the Big Island. After leaving them on Kauai we flew to Sydney, Australia. Over the next few weeks we toured the Sydney area, flew to Auckland, New Zealand and toured North Island before wrapping up our stay down under with a return to the southern part of Australia around Melbourne. All in all, a real fine trip. We basically stayed in rented cottages with only about three hotel nights. No tours, Pam put her life in my left hand driving abilities and away we went. I didn't even hit one Kangaroo while there. We wrapped up May with a return to CA and a quick motorcycle ride to Boise, ID for a Blue Knight gathering which has included for a number of years a gathering of former Riverside PD officers for a BBQ. A great Memorial Day weekend.
In June we were back on the motorcycle and headed for Prescott, AZ to attend a convention. We had won the free hotel week at last year's convention so we just had to go!! From there we rode down to see Brian, Christie and Sadie in the Phoenix area before the long hot ride to NM. It was time to pack up the motorhome and head to Donner Lake, CA for the Fourth of July celebration on our way to spending a couple of months in WA.
All started well in July with a nice trip to WA from CA. We arrived in Ferndale, WA and were joined by Carole and Jim Rowe who is a former RPD officer. I was able to attend my 50th Lynden High School Reunion with my friend Dixie Tromp Scheffer. We have attended the annual function for many years but this year it was our turn to be the honored class. Of course many of you know I did not graduate from Lynden but since I went most of the way through school with this class they have always graciously included me. The next couple of weeks found the Rowe's headed to a wedding in Mexico and Pam and I flew to a convention in Norfolk, Virginia. A very miserable weather and flight trip. With all the travel we actually did not get to spend much time with the Rowe's this summer, but we may make up for that in Surprise, AZ this winter.
August was now here and the fun was over, we found Aunt Myrne sick and spent the next week living in a hotel in Seattle, WA or commuting while they got her medical situation stable. We were a bit tired but decided later in August to attend the Blue Knight convention in Boise, ID since I was the high mucky muck! On the way we were able to see my ex-mother in law Colleen Wood in Yakima as well as one of my former Toppenish Officers Kelly Rosenow who was recovering from some major surgery. We arrived from that hot motorcycle trip only to be awakened the next morning with a call that Pam's mother was in the hospital. Forty five minutes later she was headed to the airport and she spent the next couple of weeks in New York State.
September brought Pam back to Seattle. It took the assistance of our friend Gary Hildebrand from New Jersey, working for the Mariner Baseball team in the summer, to pick her up at the airport and get her to the motorhome. We were so tired we only made it to Tacoma that night. But we eventually made it to CA and attended a joint Birthday Party for grandchildren "CD" and Jessica. On the road again we headed for Henderson, NV to see friends Frank and Delores Atchley. Frank decided that 2011 was a rebuild the body year. Well it goes back a few more months than that but back surgery, a new hip, a triple by-pass heart surgery followed by pneumonia sure works as a record in my book. After a stay in NV we headed towards NM but stopped for a couple of days in Veyo, UT near St. George and visited with Roy Lineberry, former RPD helicopter pilot. That was a fun visit, great hosts. Finally we arrived in NM, rest was on the mind.
October rest in NM lasted one day. I was on a plane headed back to WA. We had problems with the facility where Aunt Myrne was recovering and my two day fix the problem ended up a nine day stay and yet another move for this 99 year old Aunt. She took it well. With the help of her nieces and nephews, Ron and Shari Carlson, Jim and Marilyn Larson and friend Dixie Scheffer we moved Myrne's furniture from one assisted living facility to storage, some to the nursing center and then moved much of it again when she was moved to her present facility. Glad they don't belong to a union! Now it was time to get back to Pam in New Mexico and see the annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with our friend Mike Martin who arrived while I was in WA. The weather turned sour and I never did see much of the Fiesta. So I hopped another airplane and flew to Riverside, CA to stay with another former RPD officer, Jim and Yvonne Rector. I was in Riverside to attend my 50th Ramona High School Reunion. YEP two reunions in one year. While in Riverside I visited Holly and family in Temecula as well as some former RPD friends. I headed back to New Mexico after a week but with one heck of a cold. It is now six weeks later and I am just about over my pneumonia.
Not letting a little cold stop me, actually I thought I was cured, other issues arose in WA and I was able to catch a ride from New Mexico to WA with a friend. This time things got worked out in a timely manner. Of course there is always something; this time former RPD Chief of Police Sonny Richardson was in the hospital with complications from his cancer treatments. I was able to spend some time with him and he is starting to do better. Pam had driven herself from New Mexico to CA and picked me up at the Sacramento Airport. We were now planning to spend the next six weeks, the Holidays with family and friends. Thanksgiving was a bit different having lost the sister, Pat Huberty, of our long time hosts Ed and Geri Hilbert during the summer. We continued a tradition of meeting up with my RPD training officer (1964) Wayne and Vi Durrington for drinks and lunch the day after Thanksgiving at a Biker Bar called Poor Reds up in the hills above Sacramento.
Well December should not be different than any other month this year, interrupted. As I write this annual letter I am packing for yet another return to WA, this time via driving with our friend Mary Eden, I have had enough airplanes for awhile. I can also tell you that when I say I am hoping for a three month restful stay in AZ this winter, those close to us can only laugh. As I leave CA I see that Pam is working hard on a cruise plan for Copenhagen, Denmark and another trip in 2012 to Hawaii. Got to keep those wheels rolling. Maybe a quiet Christmas eve dinner, or a quiet Christmas morning, or a quiet Christmas evening dinner will happen to end the year?
Karl and Pam
