September 2023

We started the month with what may become an annual trip with Ryan and Beth,,,,doing to an Indycar race. This year, we headed south to Laguna Seca. Rog and I drove to Salinas Friday and checked into the Salinas Elk’s Club campground. Ryan and Beth stayed in a hotel about 3 miles away.. They picked us up after breakfast the next morning and we headed to the raceway to check it out for the big race on Sunday. We watched some practice laps and NXT and NTT races. A highlight for Rog was getting up close and personal in the pit lane, watching the officials checking the cars. We headed back to Salinas for a short nap, then went out to eat together. We blindly picked Stonie’s Taphouse and Bistro which ended up being a doggone good choice. Great meal and great first day! On Sunday, we got picked up about 9am and headed south. We got a pretty decent parking spot, but took advantage of the shuttle service and took it over to the main grandstand at the starting line. We watched the NXT race and the warmups. A little after noon, the main race started. It had almost a record number of safety laps due to crashes, which made it less fun than it could have been, but it was still exciting. Beth had to pick up a rental car at the Monterey airport before the agency closed so we caught the shuttle at 2:30 back to the parking lot. Coming back from the airport, we had to pass the exit from the race but luckily got there just before the end of the race so didn’t get caught in dead traffic. Ryan dropped us off at the van and headed home, Beth headed to Fresno and we headed out to refill our propane tank and get more coffee for Rog. The next morning, we got an early start planning to get home before noon. Unfortunately, we got delayed in Walnut Creek with engine problems. Mercedes Benz wouldn’t even look at it, the diesel shop referred us to a mechanic about 3 miles wavy. We spent a little over an hour there while he worked hard to get us back on the road. Problem was with injector #2. He removed the loose bolt and temporarily replaced it with a standard bolt and we were on the road again. Needless to say, it was late afternoon when we got home. When we took it into our mechanic the following week, he said the fix was pretty good and he sealed it up and gave us the green light. All good.

The following week, I had a fine needle biopsy of a lesion on my lung that they have been watching since April. In at 6, out a little after noon. Rog pampered me the rest of that day and I was back to normal the next day. Biopsy results showed precancerous cells but no definitive cancer. So the plan is to remove the lesion but no need for follow-up chemo or radiation. We took Michelle and Eric to Boudin’s for an anniversary lunch. Weather was perfect so we ate outside. Beth’s mom was having lunch here so we got the bonus of seeing her as well. Afterwards, we walked down through the Fountains to Pete’s coffee for dessert caffeine. Rog had made a bokken (wooden sword) out of some scrap poplar he had. It turned out so well, he bought some black walnut and made another. This time, he carved a dragon into the handle. Looks pretty nice. Not quite as hard as he would like, so he may try some oak, but it is quite the piece of art!!

We made the final choice for tree trimmers and they are scheduled for the end of October. Rog also did some annual caulking and paint touch up on the house exterior. Finally, we met with Joaquin and Martin to start planning the driveway project for next April. My project this month was to clean out the hydroponic system and plant the winter crop. This time we went to Green Acres for the plants and I am switching to Fox Farms fertilizer. I covered the new plants with empty milk containers for a week and all are thriving. so we will see!! We have already harvested some Romaine.

At the end of the month, Max was treated to 4 days at College of the Atlantic as they tried to persuade him to make them his first choice. He flew out Wed night and was home late Sunday. He attended classes, hiked in Acadia National Park, took a boat ride in the Atlantic and ate with the dean. All with room and board on their dime. What an adventure!