Day 25 – January 30 – Saturday

Today we went to Knotts Berry Farm with Chad’s family to celebrate Cody’s 9th birthday. We had to be at Chad’s house at 7:50 a.m. because we had to stop in Loma Linda to pick up discount tickets. Melissa’s sister is a Deputy Sheriff for LA County, she had gotten the tickets earlier in the week. The kids rode the rides while J.W. and I visited with various employees and took in several of the shows. It was interesting to find similarities of both SDC and CC in the Park. We talked with several employees who knew employees at SDC and others who had visited our Park in Branson. All in all, it was a fun day. The train ride didn’t compare to SDC’s. The Conductor had visited SDC and was highly impressed with our train.
We ate at Johnny Rockets and paid an astronomical price for the meal. When we left the Park we found we could have eaten just outside the gate for 1/3 the price. A one day pass was $60.00 and there weren’t nearly as many shows as there are at SDC. Some of the rides were more thrilling than ours. It cost $12.00 for parking, and there were no trams, trolleys, shuttles or buses to take us to the entrance. And a bottle of water was $4.00. The Park is centered more around Indian Culture and, of course, Knotts Berry Farm jellies and jams.

On the way back to Hemet we encountered our first big traffic jam of the trip. For 17 miles we travelled at 5-10 mph.

Day 24 – January 29 – Friday

Today was spent exploring. We ended up at Idyllwild. A real neat little quaint town tucked away in the mountains outside Banning, CA.

We ate at an interesting place called The Gastronome.

This restaurant is hidden off in the woods on a back street. We sat right next to a fireplace, which we shared with a gay couple that appeared to be celebrating a special occasion. Very interesting to say the least. The meal was great. J.W. thought the bar tender looked like Thomas Jefferson or George Washington in their wigs and coats with tails. As it turned out, he was a gay guy in his normal attire. The trip up to Idyllwild took three times as long as it should have. We stopped at nearly every turn out to take pictures. The trip back to Hemet went quickly, not only because it was getting dark, but the fact is, going down the mountain was just not as scenic as the trip up. Fun, relaxing day.

Day 23 - January 28 - Thursday

Hooray!! J.W. arrived back in California. Flight schedule was quite interesting. I was supposed to pick him up at 4:05. However, due to an ice and snow storm his 12:00 o’clock flight was canceled and changed to 6:00 p.m. He was to arrive in Ontario, CA at 10:05 p.m. When J.W. got up this morning the Hotel Attendant told him all flights had been canceled for the day. J.W. called the airport, they told him all flights after 12:00 were canceled, which of course included his 6:00 o’clock flight. They told him if he could be at the airport by 9:45 he could fly out today. He was to be in Ontario at 2:05. Due to delays in Dallas/Fort Worth he finally arrived in California at 4:05 p.m. What a fiasco, but I was really excited to have him back with me and the family. Other exciting things happened today, but none that could top the flight fiasco.

Day 21 - January 26 - Tuesday

Betty L. Walker 1920-2010 RIP.

Melissa’s grandmother was also buried today in Minnesota. And, a great big Happy Birthday to Cody! Meanwhile, back in Hemet I spent the day with Chad. He was sick today so stayed home from work. He used a couple boxes of Kleenex blowing his nose and started looking like Rudolph. Cody turned 9 today. We celebrated with a nice meal and gifts in the evening.

Day 22 - January 27 - Wednesday

Happy Birthday Melissa! J.W. made his way back to Tulsa where he will catch a plane back to California tomorrow. An ice storm is to hit Tulsa around noon tomorrow. His flight is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. I slept in this morning. Chad got the kids off to school and himself off to work. I picked Deanie and Bill up from the Repair Shop while their car was being fixed. We had breakfast, did some shopping and just hung out until the car was done. Melissa got back from Minnesota today. Got a call late this evening informing me that J.W.’s flight has been changed to 6:05 tomorrow night and he won’t get into Ontario until 10:05 p.m. Deanie wasn’t sure she and Bill could take me to the Airport, so I made arrangements with Chad to go with me. Sure hope he is not delayed by the weather. If he doesn’t get out of Oklahoma before the storm hits who knows when he’ll be back. We are scheduled to go to Knotts Berry Farm on the 30th to continue to celebrate Cody’s birthday. We went out to Steer & Stein tonight to celebrate Melissa’s birthday.

Day 20 - January 25 - Monday

J.W. finalized funeral plans today. I fixed Cody some pancakes for breakfast. After the kids were off to school and Chad was off to work, I did some shopping and more cleaning on the Motor home. I had to be back to Chad’s house by 3:30 p.m. when Cody got home from school. The evening went pretty fast. Cody did his homework then we played more games before bedtime.

Day 19 - January 24 - Sunday

J.W. attended church services at the First Baptist Church in Oswego today. This is the same church he had preached at several times in the past when Pastor John was out of town. That was in our pre-SDC days. This was one of the things we had to give up due to our work schedules. Following services he went back to Parsons, ate at El Pueblito, one of our favorite Mexican food places. He then retired to his room to watch the football games. He was quite pleased with the outcome, which you are well aware of if you have been on Facebook. I enjoyed another day with the grandchildren. We went to the Park, which was flooded. The kids played until their clothes and shoes were sufficiently soaked, then we headed home to get the kids dried out and dinner prepared before Chad got home from work. I had a nice visit with my son and we played some video games after the kids were tucked in for the night.

Day 18 - January 23 - Saturday

Happy Birthday Gari Sue! Today is my daughter’s birthday and I just couldn’t resist . I am having a wonderful time with Cody and Natalie while J.W. is moving his mother’s things from the Nursing Home in Oswego to storage and making funeral arrangements. Melissa is on her way to Minnesota and Chad is at work. This day was a busy one with cooking meals, cleaning the Motor home, and learning Wii and Play Station 3 games. I am learning to be a good loser. Can you believe that an eight and a five year old continually beat the socks off me?

Day 17 - January 22 - Friday

12:30 a.m. and we just got reservations for a flight out of Ontario, CA at 2:05 p.m. today. My sister and brother-in-law went with us to the Airport. We got there in good time. J.W. had to change planes in Dallas and arrived in Tulsa, OK at 9:30 p.m. CST. After picking up a rental car he drove to Parsons, KS, the closest Motel to his home town, Oswego, KS. I stayed at my son’s house in Hemet, CA to take care of the grand kids while my daughter-in-law went to Minnesota to her grandmother’s funeral. She passed away on January 20, just one day before J.W.’s mom.

Day 16 - January 21- Thursday

My, oh my, oh my!! How time does fly. Here we are, actually ending Day 45 of our vacation and have not posted anything since day 15. So here goes, we will do some backtracking and try to play catchup.

January 21

Yesterday we received word from the Nursing Home in Oswego that J.W.’s mom was not doing well and they suggested we put her on Hospice. We got her on Hospice today, and J.W. has been trying to get a flight to Kansas. We have been getting updates about every 30 minutes on her condition, and just got notification from the Airport that all flights have been canceled due to the rain. We got a call at 9:50 p.m. reporting that his mom had just gone home to be with the Lord.