June 13, 2023

 Tuesday June 13, 2023

Blog time 1630 on June 16, 2023 at Hampton Inn

Since our arrival in LA area we have visited Steve and family in Long Beach. Attended a Graduation party on Sunday for Grandson Lucas.

The Graduation party was well attended.  We met Veronica’s cousins and their spouses.  Lucas had many friends.  We spent time with his girlfriends parents.  Nice couple.

Veronica and Steve hired a couple to prepare tacos. The tacos were great.  But my favorite was the churros. 

Wednesday is big day for Alessandra who is graduating from middle school.  Grandson Lucas is graduating from Long Beach Poly HS also on Wednesday.

We hung out on Monday and Tuesday getting ready for big day. Monday Steve took us on a tour of UCIrvine.  Tuesday Nancy and I took a walk to n the beach with Missy and AJ.

June 10, 2023

 Saturday June 10, 2023

Blog time 1600 on Friday June 16 sitting outside Hampton Suites.  Yes I am way behind.

Travel day.

Loaded up Debbie’s Honda and headed to LA.  We drove I5 to Missy’s condo in LA.  Debbie and Nancy in front and I sat in back with Violet.

Pleasant drive of a little over four hours.  Drove through the valley.  Signs everywhere saying to protect agriculture’s water.  The environmental lobby is against large agriculture using water for crops.  

We arrived at Missy’s Brentwood condo in early afternoon.  Dropped off Violet and headed to Hampton Inn in Long Beach. We will stay in LB until the 18th. 

June 9, 2023

 Friday June 9, 2023

Blog time 1730, sitting at Debbie’s dining room table.

Up this morning at 0600.  Sunrise today in SJ was at 0546, temp in 50s.  

Debbie is working at home today.  First thing Nancy and I took Violet on a short mile walk.  

Later we walked to the Donut Shop for coffee and donuts.  Great donuts.  Nancy and I were the only English speaking customers.  Steady stream of customers buying donuts to take to work.

At home I put on bike clothes and took a ten mile ride on the Los Gatos Creek trail.  Once again traffic was heavy on the trail.  The first 5 miles I am pedaling uphill.  The trip home is downhill. Took a quick shower followed by short nap.

Spent quiet evening.  We did take Violet on a mile walk.  Another cool day.   The locals call it June gloom.

June 8, 2023

 Thursday June 8, 2023

Blog time 1030 at Debbie’s house in San Jose.

Woke up to sun and mid 50 temps at 0600.

Both Nancy and I slept well.

Debbie worked at home until early morning then headed to Apple’s office.  Will return later this afternoon.

First thing I put collar on Violet,  Debbie’s dog and took her for a 90 minute walk.  

At home (Debbie’s ) we locked up and Nancy and I walked to Donut shop for coffee and donuts.  It was sunny but cool.  Temp in 50s.  We overindulged in our selection of baked goods.

At home I started getting caught up on blogs. Also read the morning papers.  

Last year I had Ada Bike box up my Nishiki single speed bike and ship it to Debbie in San Jose.  Today I opened the box and started putting it together.  I did make a FaceTime call to Ada to make sure I had the handle bars attached properly.  I did.  

Pumped up the tires and took an 8 mile ride on the Los Gatos Creek bike trail.  The trail is flat so I had no problems with the single speed.  Traffic on the trail was heavy.  Great ride.

At home showered and shaved before a light lunch.  Debbie got home from work about 1700.  We took a short ride to a sports store.  I am looking to replace my Chaco vented walking shoes.  No luck.  I did buy bike shorts and gloves that I had left at home.

For dinner tonight Debbie and I had salmon with pesto sauce.  Nancy only had toast.  

After dinner we took Violet on a short walk. Spent the rest of the evening talking.

Nancy and I were in bed at 2130.  A very pleasant day.  Temperature was in 50s at bed time.  San Jose’s weather has been cooler the GRs.  

June 7, 2023

 Wednesday June 7, 2023

Blog time 1000 on Thursday sitting at dining table in Debbie’s house in San Jose.

Wednesday Morning June 7, big travel day.

Up with alarm at 0500.

Arrived at airport at 0630.  No problems checking in or getting through Security.  

Plane was right on time.  Trip to Denver went without a hitch.  Smooth flight.  Layover in Denver about 2 hours.

Boarded plane to San Jose on time. After being seated we’re told a slight delay for a maintenance issue.

An hour later were told the problem will take some time to correct.  However, they found another plane.  We got off and headed to new plane. Our bags were transferred, as was all the food. 90 minutes later we were on our way to San Jose.  Just like the song.

Debbie met us at the airport and drove us to her nice home.  For dinner tonight Debbie cooked a salmon with pesto sauce.  Very good.

I opened a bottle of red wine and we all sat at the dining table and talked.  We were in bed by 2200 PDT.  

June 6, 202

 Tuesday June 6, 2023

Blog time 0945 on Thursday sitting at dining room table in Debbie’s house, San Jose, California.  

Tuesday morning up at 0715.  Temp outside in 50s with sun.

Because we must spend time packing for our trip to Ca I am going to do my exercise routine at 50%.  

Took short bike route to MVP.  Calisthenics as mentioned earlier at 50%.

Stopped at coffee shop in Talsma’s Furniture Store.  Purchased coffee and bagel.  Read the Mi newspapers.  Before heading home.  Total miles 7.5.

Nancy and I started packing.  We are going for 14 days.  It is difficult deciding what to pack.  Bike clothes for San Jose.  Nice clothes for Grandkids graduations in Long Beach.  We also are meeting with Missy and AJ.  We hace a set of white tail deer antlers for AJ.  We both are taking our large suitcases.

We finally were packed in late afternoon.  I put the bags in the Escape before going to Happy Hour.  Spent 45 minutes at HH before before heading to Dining room.

I had made reservations for Monday and Tuesday dinner using Cook Valley’s app.  Both were for 0545 seating.  

When we got to the dining room we could not find our name on any of the tables.  I showed the manager our reservation on their app.  She said that for Tuesday I forgot to push confirm.  They would not let us have dinner.  Bummer!  As you might expect I was not a happy camper.

We were in bed by 2200.  Busy day tomorrow.

June 5, 2023

 Monday June 5, 2023

Blog time 1635 sitting at desk in sunroom.

Up at 0725.  Dressed in bike clothes, had an apple for breakfast.  Today I am attending the Cook Valley Men’s monthly meeting at 1100.

As usual I biked to MVP.  Normal Monday crowd.

After workout I head straight home.  Total miles 9.

 Quickly showered and made it to the Men’s meeting at 1100.  About 20 men attended.  Coffee and rolls were provided.  

Several men had questions about the new meal plan for long time residents.  The new costs are significant.  However, being new residents we are not impacted.  The best part of the meeting was the joke session.  Bruce Barnhart was on top of his game with several great jokes.

Lunch and then brought up suitcases from locker.  We started packing for our trip to CA on Wednesday.

Tonight we attended Happy Hour followed by dinner in the main dining room. 

We watched an episode of “Happy Valley”.  Of course we must wait another week for another episode.

Warm sunny weather continues tomorrow.

June 4, 2023

 Sunday June 4, 2023

Blog time 1000.

Slept in until 0730.  Dressed, fixed oatmeal breakfast and at 0845 drove to Trinity Lutheran.

Good crowd at Trinity today.  Big push to get parents to sign kids up for Vacation Bible School.  Luckily I never attended.  My Grandfather needed me to work on farm.

After church we headed downtown to check on the Art’s Festival.  The City closed several blocks downtown for booths.  1000 and folks were already arriving.  Perfect day for the Festival.

After a hour’s drive we stopped at Panera for coffee and a croissant.  At 1000 we also stopped at Talbot’s.  Nancy needs a night gown to take to Ca.  No luck.

At home I brought up our suitcases.  Tomorrow we start packing for the Ca trip.

Took a short 8 mile bike ride.  Great day for a ride but I did not encounter any other riders.  Showered before lunch.

Finished the afternoon with a nap.  Tonight we attended Happy Hour.  We sat outside.

Lean cuisine for dinner. Tonight we watched 60 Minutes followed by Fubar on Netflix.  Fubar stars Arnold Schwarzenegger. I gave it a B+.

Nice weather continues tomorrow.  Sun and temps in low 80s.

June 3, 2023

 Saturday June 3, 2023

Up this morning at 0730.  Quickly dressed and headed to “The Gathering Place” for breakfast.  The place was very busy.  In fact the busiest I have ever seen.

We had our usual.  Western Omelette for Nancy and Oatmeal w/scrambled egg for me.  We both had raisin toast and coffee.

After breakfast we headed to Ada.  Drove around the Village before heading to Panera for morning coffee.

Stopped at Meijer’s for Nancy’s prescription and supplies to take with us on our trip to Ca.  On way home filled the Escape up.  Gas was $3.64.  The Escape get better gas mileage than the Fusion.

Once home I put on bike gear and headed out on a 9 mile ride.  It was very hot, high 80s.  Showered and shaved as soon as I got home.  Took a short nap.

After a light dinner at 1930 we headed down to patio for a marshmallow roast or S’more’s. The event was lightly attended.

For our viewing tonight we watched the last episode of “Shrinking”.

This and that:

The turtles in our swamp have been very active laying eggs.  What is uglier than a snapping turtle?

The war in Ukraine seems to be at a standstill.

President Biden cannot get a break.  Every stumble is instantly recorded.  Although I must say I am 5 years older and do not stumble as much.

China seems to be very aggressive in waters around China and Taiwan.  

I still don’t understand the threat from AI.  

The President and Speaker have done a good job with the debt limit.  Cooler heads have prevailed.

It was still hot when checked the temp at 2200.  Another sunny but cooler day tomorrow.

June 2, 2023

 Friday June 1, 2023

Blog time Sunday morning the 4th.  Why don’t I have more discipline.

Friday Morning and once again I slept in until 0730.  Boy am I glad it is Friday.  It was sunny and hot, 70 first thing.  High of 90 later. 

Nancy has a busy morning.  At 1000 she is planting flowers for Cook Valley.  At noon she is having lunch with friends.  No swim today.

After oatmeal I biked to MVP.  Once again the place was empty.  I asked and no one knows.  Performed my routine.  I have slowly been increasing my chin-ups and pull-ups.  7 chins and 5 pulls.  

For coffee I biked to Forest Hills Foods.  Bought a bagel and coffee before starting my morning read. Left at noon for home.  Total miles 9.4.

After Nancy’s lunch we headed to Meijer’s for more supplies.  I found time later for a short nap.

It was too hot to have Happy Hour outside today.  We had it in the cafe.  Happy Hour is always well attended.  For dinner tonight I had breaded cod.  Nancy had a salad.  Tonight we ate with a couple from down the hall.  They have been living in Cook Valley for 7 years and are still the youngest in the Building.

Tonight we finished “Shrinking” and “High Desert” on Apple.

The temperature at 2200 was still in 70s.  Before bed I looked out window and saw two turkeys.

Another hot and sunny day tomorrow.

June 1, 2023

 Thursday June1, 2023

Blog time 1130 sitting in Family Foods

Slept in until 0730 today.  It was sunny and warm.  High today 91.

Biked 5.5 miles to MVP.  Noted that Nancy had already completed her routine.  Did my calisthenics routine in 30 minutes.

After MVP I biked to Family Foods.  I bought a bagel and coffee.  Read the Alpena and Detroit News before heading home. Total miles, 10 miles.

Today Nancy has lunch at the Cork with fellow Meijer Garden friends.  Nancy had a salad.

Today I have an appointment with my Dermatologist Dr Cahill.  We gave me a thorough check over.  On several spots he applied Liquid Nitrogen.  Overall I was given a passing grade.  I was one Happy Camper.

On my way out of the Doctor’s office I spotted a familiar Face.  It was Walt Meinert.  Walt was a civil engineer whose specialty was ground water.  When I worked for Kent County we hired Walt to help us.  He did a great job.  Like me Walt had just visited his dermatologist.  Other than a bandaged nose Walt looked great.  He is 91.  We had a nice talk.

Tonight we attended Happy Hour and then had dinner in the Main Dining room.

Watched a cop show that I slept through followed by Shrinking.  I was wide awake during Shrinking.

Another warm sunny day ahead.

May 31, 2023

 Wednesday May 31, 2023

Blog time 1330 sitting at desk.

Wednesday my easy day.  Slept in until 0730.  Nancy was already getting ready for her Wednesday swim.

It was 70 and sunny when I left this morning.  Today I biked to Panera on Lake Eastbrook.  I had a yogurt parfait and croissant for breakfast.  The place was empty.  Read the morning papers before heading home.  Today’s bike mileage, 9.9.

Showered before starting some Wednesday chores.  I did a load of laundry.  Hung a wall hook in the guest bathroom.  

Finished yesterdays blog and started today’s.  I am finally caught up.  

This and that:

With outdoor grilling season now starting many climate activists wants us to stop.  The emissions from burning charcoal is bad as is eating meat.  Many folks think farm animal farting releases too much methane into the atmosphere.  What would our grandparents think?

I sure hope the debt limit agreement passes.  The GOP crazies might try to stop it.

Speaking of GOP crazies, our neighboring Ottawa County has been taken over by this group.

I noted several sane GOP members are thinking of running for president.  Anybody but Trump.

The High School Spring sports season started windy, rainy and cold.  The last two weeks have been perfect, warm and sunny.

This afternoon we attended Happy Hour.  The temperature was 91.  Too warm for most folks.  It was held inside and was well attended.

We had dinner in the dining room.  I had the salmon and Nancy had French onion soup and a snack plate.

Tonight we watched “The Morning Show” on Apple TV.  Also watched “Shrinking”.

Missy FaceTimed this evening.  Everything ok.

Temp was in 80s at 2200.  Tomorrow will be another hot day.