A beautiful day in paradise...life at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Haven't seen my cousin Dennys for a LONG time! He and Karen are following his son Jeff and his friend as they cycle Highway 1 from the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco to Los Angeles. They had planned to be here for dinner last night but one of the cyclists had a blowout and were delayed in Santa Cruz getting it fixed. And we were going to Schooners at the Monterey Plaza Hotel to enjoy dinner out on the deck!

So, instead Jim, Gary, Jorden and I had pizza at Angelina's in Toro Park before Gary and Jorden left for Fresno. Jorden is attending football camp at Fresno State University this weekend and Gary will be visiting with the Fresno Five.

Before catching up with their cyclists this morning Dennys and Karen stopped by Laguna Seca to visit and see the track. I am working this weekend doing decibel testing for Skip Barber Mazda MX5 Race Weekend. We had a great visit and I was able to tour them around during my off time. Also got to show them our latest fifth wheel which they hadn't seen. (This is our 5th during our 14 years of full time RVing.)

From a Starbucks cup

I don't drink coffee and seldom frequent Starbucks but picked up a Chai Tea Latte at Harveys in Tahoe while we were checking out. (Gary won't drink "designer" coffee so refuses to get coffee at Starbucks!) My peeve about Starbucks is the size names they use - for heavens sake why don't they just name them small, medium and large! That's what they are!

Anyway, I digress. On my cup I find a very nice thought. Here it is:

All children need a laptop. Not a computer, but a human laptop.

Moms, dad, grannies and grandpas, aunts, uncles - someone to hold them, read to them, teach them.

Loved ones who will embrace them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous generations.

Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams.

--General Colin L. Powell

My four grandchildren...they have human laptops:

Lempi, my Finnish grandmother

I was just organizing my books (bought too many more at Goodwill yesterday!) I have my Mom's copy of The Kalevala in the back of my book cabinet and was flipping through it when, back in the appendix, "Lempi" jumped out! I had flipped past and had to go back and find it. Well, this is what Lempi means "... this name, today a woman's name but until recently a man's name, occurs in Poems 40, 42, 43, and means 'pet, love, favorite'." Is that cool or what, my Finnish Grandma's name!?

And. . . upon further investigation in another appendix, C., Reference List of Finnish Names Lempi has a name-day in the official Finnish calendar of personal names according to Kustaa Vilkuma. (Nov 24)

Back to my organizing,
Betty

Journeyin' - 14 years and counting

Full time RVing is living and traveling full time in a recreational vehicle.


When Gary and I started full time RVing we didn't know if we would do it for six months or ???. Here it is, 14 years later, we absolutely love the lifestyle and have no intention of stopping. The thought of living in a home we can't move is scary!

Our "home" is a 2007 36' Escalade fifth wheel. Check it out: http://www.kz-rv.com/escalade/index.html We love it, love it, love it!

People have said to us: "Oh, I couldn't live like that - I couldn't do without my . . ." We have everything we ever had in a large home only it is a bit smaller and space efficient! We have two satellite tv's, (very important for the survival of a marriage - Gary is a football/sports fan, Bj is not!) each of us has a laptop computer, an all-in-one printer, my sewing machine and craft area, Gary has his tool area in the exterior hatches and in the truck toolbox. We have it all!

Of course, living in a small space involves living VERY close to your partner. Neither of us requres a large personal space. In fact, when we visit our kids' homes we feel a bit lost in their larger spaces!

We have traveled to all 50 states (but you know we didn't take the fifth wheel to Hawaii) and are making it around again. Where is our favorite place? Monterey, CA. Our second favorite? Santa Fe, NM. Having said that, there is almost no place that we didn't like - our's is a wonderful country.

Think this is enough going on for today. Off to the races! http://www.laguna-seca.com/

Gary at his studies.

"The Little Red Buckets" inscription

While we were thrift store shopping awhile ago Lee (my sister-in-law/friend/fellow fulltime RVer) found a nice sweet little book "The Little Red Buckets." It was a quick read and I enjoyed it, but it is handwritten inscription inside that is wonderful. It is signed Love Always, Lyn but that's the only clue as to why, etc! Is it a published poem? I don't know (I Googled it but found no matches) but here it is:

To my special angel

Day in day out

Month in month out

Year in year out

You laugh with me

You cry with me

You pray for me

You listen to me

But most of all

You love me

and

Day in - day out

Month in - month out

Year in - year out

I say a prayer of thanksgiving

for having you as my

Special friend -- my special Angel!

Kildeer bird nest

We have a bird nesting down in the storage area off B Road at Laguna Seca Recreation Area. As you can see its nest is in the open! When the nest is approached it acts as if it is injured and flops away! Jackie, Jim, Gary and I have been watching it for several days. This morning I went down and took some photos to see if I could identify it. I did...I think...its a kildeer?! Do you like Jackie's sign?

A wonderful day in paradise, aka Monterey CA. More specifically the day was spent "working the corners" at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Working the corners is one way of describing race marshalls. We flagged for Ferrari Club. Can you imagine all those beautiful (and expenseive) Ferrari's running on the race track? They also happen to be my favorite car which, of course, I will never own!