Bohemian Living

We made it into Ohio, to Bubba's mom and step-dad's place. Bubba spent the afternoon, in the humidity, working on his latest invention: home-made crutches for me. He measured me from armpit to ankle and used bamboo rods to build a set of crutches. The handle-rests for my palms are affixed sturdily into hand-carved holes Bubba made with a knife on the bamboo rods and held together with duct tape. It works.
Bubba's mom, versed in alternative medicine, plucked comfrey leaves from her yard to wrap on my left foot. This herb is supposed to draw out and dissolve (bruise-like) discoloration due to blood compacted in one area caused by ruptured blood vessels.
I have yet to bear full weight onto my left leg. I look forward to being able to function fully in a few weeks as I will be a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding. I'll be back in San Francisco for a week to partake in this lovely occasion. My cousin has chosen to have a gothic, Victorian themed ceremony so there will be a lot of black.
We are leaving for Tennessee in a few days. We have to deliver our delightful, sweet Kat back to her mom's...and it will be heart-wrenching. I am quite attached. She has been icing my foot daily and serving me my meals. Bubba is suggesting we stay put in Tennessee for a few months so that we can get Kat every weekend. Come this winter, Bubba and I are migrating to Honolulu for some tropical living. We will be attending the wedding of two of Bubba's former Army students. We searched for a sublet rental through VRBO but the best reply came from the Craigslist want-ad we put up. We confirmed we were dealing with the actual owners, by calling the Honolulu Property Tax Office before sending them our deposit. We will be waking up to a view of Waikiki Beach from our bedroom window and enjoying the jacuzzi bathtub in this 21st floor condo!
When the time comes to generate income, I'll figure something out. When I worry, I often recall the philosophy of a French friend, who leads an admirable bohemian life. He would save enough money to get to his vacation destination. On one trip he made to Greece, he ran out of money, so he found a job in an olive orchard, plucking olives until he made enough money to get home. Once stranded in Spain without a cent, he played his guitar on street corners until he made enough donations to get home.
In all of his postcards to me, there is never any tone of anxiety or worry...just an adventuresome spirit! Indeed, we ought NOT to take life too seriously, afterall as the saying goes, "we don't come out of it alive!"

Wipe Out...

Spent the last three days nursing a major wipe out. I injured my left foot and ripped out a chunk from my knee during a run. While we were in Indiana, Dina took Kat and I out for a run on the Monon Trail, a 15-mile long path for jogging and bicycling enthusiasts. After running a mile, we started to add some variety...we did some lateral skipping, backwards jogging and I came up with a spin-jog. Kat and Dina did 'em and it looked so pretty, so choreographed. That's when I decided to lead with the ballerina leap. I used to do 'em all the time. I told them to watch and follow. I made a running start, leapt up in the air but crash landed on the side of my left foot. The contortion caused me to pummel into the hard, cement ground. I tried to catch myself but I still wiped out, tearing my left knee and spraining my left foot.

I got up immediately, dazed...not wanting to look at the blood coming out of my knee. But it was Kat and Dina who sat me down, telling me that I cannot go further. Kat, an aspiring surgeon, took off my shoe to examine the damage. There was a small lump on my left foot but it felt like a minor sprain, didn't hurt as much as the scraped hands and knee. It wasn't until we returned home (Dina went to get the car) that my foot swelled up and turned purple. They think I may have sustained a hairline fracture. But there's no way to confirm, I don't want to go to a hospital as I am one of the uninsured statistics in this country. My only form of medical care is Bubba's first aid sack and Kat's tender loving care. I have been seated for the last three days...unable to walk on my left foot hopping about on my right with the help of a cane. Bubba thinks it will be a few weeks before it gets any better. He got to emphasize his regular saying, "Its all fun and games 'til someone pokes an eye out," and in my case, 'til someone breaks a leg."

Perennial "Coolness"

Everyone of us knows someone that we admire, whether its for their style, their accomplishments, their confidence, their 'coolness...'
There are quite a few people that I admire near and far for different reasons and Bubba's younger sister, Dina is one of them. We are staying in her home in Indianapolis. She lives in a beautiful neighborhood, where each house sits on half an acre surrounded by trees. Dina's interior decorating looks so much like a showroom, a page out of Towne and Country. She has very elegant pieces of furniture and no clutter anywhere. Everything seems to be so meticulously planned and placed. For example, on her rustic dining room table there are five tall rectangular, glass jars. The jars are handmade, not entirely perfect in shape and has a vintage aura about it. Water is filled one fourth of the way, each containing one distinctive colorful flower.

Dina also has a successful, professional career she enjoys in the pharmaceutical field. Currently she lives alone and I'm sure its by choice that she is single. The perfection she embodies now has always been a part of her life. In high school, she was a cheerleader, ran track, was the President of the Honor Society and was the salutatorian at graduation. She also held the title of Junior Miss Ohio.
Being around people like Dina is very comforting and inspiring. She is soft-spoken and humble. Bubba's two daughters look up to Dina and I am so glad that they both have her as a role-model. Even though Dina and I are close in age, I too feel inspired to accomplish as much as she has in her life. She has customized her home but she single-handedly built her custom life. Some people are just perennially 'cool!'

Truckers, "Blast that airhorn, please."

On our last 40 miles into Indianapolis, Indiana, Bubba and Kat taught me a new game completely foreign to me. It is a game we could have played all along during our long drive. Bubba's late father, Dean, may he rest in peace, showed his toddler-aged Bubba this trick. When one is driving alongside a trucker on the interstate, one can signal the trucker to honk. All one has to do is to make eye contact with the trucker and use one's arm to make a motion of pulling on a cable. (The cable resembles a U-shape so the arm is at a 90-degree angle, hand is balled into a fist and arm makes an up-and-down pulling movement.)
Inside the trucker's cab, if it is one of the older trucks, there is a cable above their head, that allows them to honk their airhorns.
Long-time, long-distance truckers are familiar with this arm motion and will accomodate the signaler by blowing his or her airhorn. Kat showed me the trick by signaling every trucker on Interstate 70 yesterday. Nearly every trucker blew their horn for us. She would flash a wide grin and give them a thumbs up. Bubba and Kat made me do it to get a feel for it and it was so fun to get these truckers to oblige. Bubba said we were making their day. He reasons that these truckers only have the road. The road is their lives. It is therefore important for us to acknowledge the important role they play in our economy.

"Can I have nunchuks to eat with?"

We arrived into the border of Missouri late last night. Today we made it through St. Louis within five minutes. Six different interstates converge into downtown St. Louis. I wanted to see the arch but only got a few snap shots of it while we drove on interstate 55. We crossed into Illinois where we will stay for the night and make it to Indiana tomorrow, home of Bubba's sister.
During our drive, we laughed and reminisced our recent stay with Mark's family in Oklahoma. Kat and I bonded with Mark's wife, Lola. The two sons, both exceptionally smart and athletic, bonded with Kat and Bubba. Bubba gifted them with his Army paraphernalia and showed them survival tips and games.
Lola is a fantastic homemaker. We woke up each day to an inviting kitchen filled with hot food consisting of biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausages, pancakes, toast and fresh fruits. I loved the freshly brewed, strong, hot coffee.
During the day, while her kids swam in their in-ground 9 feet pool, Lola would prepare lunch and dinner. She wow'd us with an authentic German meal of rouladin and kartoffelknödel. Each night the kitchen turned into a fragrant room of desserts; brownies, egg cake, hot cookies, fresh whipped cream, ice cream and more fruits.
Bubba suggested we make the family a meal of kalbi, a Korean dish of teriyaki seasoned beef shortribs. I sliced the boneless rib meat paper thin and marinated it overnight in soy sauce and sugar and a few other spices. (Sugar is the secret recipe!)
Lola took us to Oklahoma City to a Vietnamese supermarket that we learned about online so we could hunt down roasted seaweed, sushi rice and pickling cucumbers to round out the cultural meal.
The kids liked the beef, which was pan fried on medium heat for 15 minutes until the marinade turned into a carmalized coating. The younger son wanted to try to eat with chopsticks. He speared the meat since he hadn't figured out the grip. The family were gracious and delighted with the meal, intrigued by the novelty of wrapping rice and meat into lettuce leaves and roasted seaweed.
On the day we left, Lola made a delicious lunch meal of pasta with a rich mushroom and chicken cream sauce. The boys were schooled on weaponry during the week by Bubba so the younger son mistakenly asked for 'nunchuks' to eat with when he really meant chopsticks. We had a good laugh. We were all sad when the time came to leave. The The family did not want to see us go and invited us to come back to stay at any time.
I could feel the genuine-ness of this family and the true friendship they offered to us.
I remembered Bubba once said to me that family isn't just the group of people we are born into but the people we pick to have in our lives. I witnessed this statement firsthand through these beautiful people who have given us the gift of family.

Castle in the Country

We made it into Oklahoma. I love the greenery all around. It is a pretty state. The weather is in the high 90's but not quite as hot as the years before, according to our hosts. We are staying with Bubba's old Army buddy, Mark and his family. Mark and Bubba were stationed in Germany nearly two decades ago.
Bubba was a platoon leader back then and Mark remembered Bubba as this exceptional, motivational force. It was a very sweet reunion. Mark has since become a very successful salesperson and director of sales for an automotive corporation.
Mark has an impressive castle-looking home, custom built to suit his two growing boys and darling, younger German wife.

They are a tall family. The boys, ages 7 and 10 are already playing football for school and bigger than the kids in their classes. They run around in all this wide open space with two giant English Mastiffs, that easily outweigh me.
I floated around in their pool today to tan my back and midsection. I watched the kids play and saw all these acres of land they have at their disposal and I realized how nice it must be to have the privilege of growing up in the country.
Bubba is also a country-boy and passed on his wilderness knowledge to his two daughters. They grew up learning how to hunt, how to fish, how to throw tomahawks in the woods, how to survive. They learned how to identify animals, birds and insects. I have always been a city girl...unable to appreciate the great outdoors and country living. Then I realized today how much more advantageous it is to have the country environment as a backdrop to come-of-age.
I shared this insight with Bubba and he agreed that it is indeed much easier for a country person to adapt to life in the city than it is for a city person to adapt and survive in the country.
On this trip, I am witnessing the variety and colors of our big country. If I had not had the chance to see and feel Oklahoma the way I am doing now, I would probably have continued to see this state as a land of country-bumpkin Okies...and they are far from it.

Having No Concept of Time

Since renouncing routines, I have no concept of time. It is nice to just let this sense of time go. I put away my watch and cell phone and just rely on sunrise and sunset, hunger and nature calls to mark the passing of each day.
We have been driving through Interstate 40, enjoying the scenery. We get a kick out of looking at license plates and today we saw a truck with the sentence, "Git-er done!," and I learned it's another one of those southern sayings.
We are currently in a hotel in Amarillo, Texas. It is run by the Ramada chain, with rooms facing an inner court yard. It has an indoor pool, gym, jacuzzi and sauna.
It's luxury compared to the disastrous stay we had at Travelodge in Alberquerque, New Mexico last night. Kat was tasked by her dad, Bubba to select a good deal in one of those travel-saver magazines for a hotel. She selected Travelodge because of its unbeatable price and impressive summary. "Heated pool, brand new remodeled-rooms and continental breakfast."
We checked in at 9 pm. As we parked in the lot, a woman came running out of her room, yelling, "I can't stay here! I can't stay here." We were mystified, somewhat mortified but it was already late. (Apparently, Travelocity, booked her there, 'what happened, gnome?') We went into our spacious room to find two queen beds. Further inspection made us realize this was indeed a ROACH motel. The shower did not drain, there were chunky food crumbs unvacuumed along the side of the walls and beds. The refrigerator was sticky and never wiped, the coffeemaker was dusty, the toilet had stains, the walls had stains and the window ledges had dead bugs. The toilet was built right against the bathtub. I think this Travelodge is privately owned and the franchise giant must not have any idea that its name is being misrepresented. We'll choose to camp over any Travelodge in the future.
We made the best of it as we had already checked in. By morning, Kat went down for the Continental Breakfast. There was a sign on a fridge stating that breakfast is served between 6-9 am. Kat opened the fridge to find an empty juice and milk carton. All she saw was a big punch bowl of fruit loops and the coffee pot was empty. That was their Continental Breakfast!
-Our visit to the Petrified Forest was an interesting trip. I imagined a big forest with towering, coniferous trees. The drive through a 28-mile long winding road with turn-off points consisted of flat and mountainous terrains...but no trees. The trees are fallen branches strewned across the park, fossilized after being buried by hot volcanic ashes. These tree branches turned into stone and some had beautiful hues of color in them. We purchased a few small chunks of petrified woods at a few shops around the area in Holbrook, Arizona. We were impressed by the variety and prices at the Rainbow Rock Shop and Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Company .
These shops had a wide array of natural crystals as well.

Heat and Hail To View Grand Canyon

Whether one is geologically inclined or not, the trip to the Grand Canyon should be made in one's lifetime. We spent two days inside the National Park that houses the Grand Canyon. There is a $25 vehicle entry fee, which allows a week of at-will entries and exits. We entered through the Southern Rim on Interstate 64. The view was indeed majestic! The deep canyon is breathtaking and amazing. It was also a very hot day. We were happy to learn that there are campgrounds available for $18 a night. We set up tent and decided to stay for two days.
We spent the rest of the late afternoon shopping at the pricey Village Market as it is the only retail store inside the Grand Canyon Park. We bought food to cook over our propane Coleman party grill.
On our second day, we decided to ride one of the three different free buses that are provided by the National Park. These three buses take visitors on different routes to view the Grand Canyon from different vantage points. The buses last about 60 minutes round trip. We took one and it dropped us off along different points of the canyon and the bus runs every 15 minutes. On this trip, I learned that there are seven-hour mule rides to the bottom of the canyon including an overnight stay. Such a trip can reach $300 per person.
Just sitting along a rock ledge to take in the deep cavernous canyon was sufficient for me. On our second day, after we returned to our campsite to grill a lunch of hamburgers, it started to pour rain! We even experienced hail! Our tent got partially wet and our whole campsite became quite muddy. We had no choice but to dry the small flood around our tent. We had some minor leakage inside the tent that required towels but we were luckier than some of our neighbors, who came back at midnight to a tent of sleeping bags seeped in rain water.
We made the best of it and spent the rest of the evening doing laundry and showering at points available in the park. A five-minute shower costs $1.75. A load of laundry also costs the same. The premises were very clean. We encountered a large group of Europeans on tour. I was pleased to learn that there were a handful of Germans and French people visiting our landmark. The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
In listening to the French people talking around me, I reconnected with my Francophile-sensations. I recalled my wondrous year in Provence as a student in the year 2000. I was able to speak with some of them and Kat, with her German background, was thrilled to be able to use her conversational German with the tourists.
After two days in the park and no phone or net service, we were ready for our next destination, The Petrified Forest.

Needles, Mojave Hotter Than Death Valley!

We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express Hotel yesterday evening in Santa Nella, California. Bubba told Kat, this made us 'smarter.' Kat and I played around in the swimming pool for a few hours but the weather was in the low 80s. We raided the free continental breakfast first and then ran 2-miles on a treadmill in the gym this morning.
Right now we made it into the town of Needles. Bubba and I shared the driving today. I pushed for more hours on the road in order to get closer to the midwest.
Kat loved the sunset on our drive through the Mojave Desert tonight. She took a stellar pic with her cell phone.

Needles is on the border of Arizona and on the southern tip of Nevada. We are staying at Best Western. We are informed that Needles becomes hotter than Death Valley in the summer. They warned us not to leave anything in the car overnight as everything will bake and melt inside.
Bubba stopped today and bought me a 9x7 zip tent and a bottle of 99% pure Deet for our next camp-out. The weather throughout our drive today stayed at 113 degrees. It is still over 100 degrees in Needles tonight. Kat wants to continue camping but Bubba did not think it would be a good idea to sleep outdoors in this blistering heat tonight.
In the town of Needles, there are two Best Western Inns. Along the boulevard by the freeway exit are a row of motels with advertised $32 room rates. I told Bubba I wouldn't mind slumming it some as long as the room is decent. But with the 3 of us, the Roach Motels, (as Kat labeled them) wanted $50. At this rate, we decided to pay a little extra for a nicer room here at the Best Western.
Tomorrow we will make our way to the Grand Canyon.

Real Road Trip Begins

We marked our route permanently on our atlas. We are taking Interstate 40 across the country. This is due to our time crunch. We wanted to see the Northern states but we will have to take a more direct route to reach our final destination. We have to return Kat to her home in Tennessee by August 3rd. She will be starting high school this fall and her orientation is on August 6th. We asked her if she preferred to camp out the rest of the summer at Indian Reservations and National Parks or to visit her beloved aunt Dina in Indiana and her grandparents in Ohio. She chose to visit with family! In order for us to have sufficient time, we will have to keep driving this coming week. We plan to be in the Grand Canyon within two days.
After that, we will stop to spend a few days in Oklahoma, where Bubba will be visiting with an Army buddy from the past.
Our goal is to reach Indiana in a week.
We left San Francisco today at 3pm but not without a few tapioca teas from the best shop in the city. Even Kat shares the tapioca addiction I have. I also made sure I enjoyed a Vietnamese banh mi.
What is definitely less delightful to remember is Bubba's evaluation yesterday at the Veteran's Hospital in San Francisco.
Bubba was scheduled to be interviewed by a few medical evaluators for a disability rating as a veteran. The appointment was early at 8 am. Since Bubba is practically immobile until he is filled with his daily, regular dosages of vicodin and morphine, I suggested he skip the medication in order to provide the evaluators with a 'real' impression of his pain.
Since Bubba's feet and legs are always in pain, I have learned that for my peace of mind and his comfort that the best option is to transport him around in a wheelchair. The VA gave him a wheelchair after his plantar fascitis surgery earlier this year.
Unfortunately, the surgery has done nothing to correct his pain and he visits with the pain clinic regularly for injections that serves a pain blockers as well as the electrical procedure of burning his nerves.
I was absolutely appalled by the attitude and response of the medical evaluators when we sat down with them.
The first doctor, Dr. Kenneth Chuang, made no attempt to learn who I was after I wheeled Bubba into his examination room. He said his name quickly and proceeded to insult Bubba with a very sarcastic tone. "Why are you in a wheelchair?," he asked Bubba. He started to read some notes on a computer screen, in short, accusing Bubba of being a 'healthy 43 year-old man.'
Bubba mentioned the surgery, the lengthy list of prescriptions that the VA doctors prescribe and his regular visits to the pain clinic. The doctor asked why Bubba wasn’t dismissed by a Military Medical Board sooner. Bubba was encouraged to teach war tactics in a University environment. The Military does not ever want to let go of its valuable, competent enlisted soldiers, especially this one of 24.5 years! However, we sat through the doctor’s lack of respect and courtesy, feeling defenseless.
The second doctor was no better, spoke in a low, monotonous and indifferent voice. He flexed Bubba's arms and legs with his hand, measured Bubba's back with a protractor looking device and made no explanation whatsoever of what he was doing. We did not even get his name.
It will be my goal to write a letter of disappointment to someone of significance regarding these doctors and their blatant disrespect towards America's veterans. Bubba isn’t asking for a hand-out or welfare. Bubba dedicated 24.5 years of his life to one of life's noblest professions. He was an airborne ranger and a special-ops soldier. He was engaged in every conflict our country saw. If an office secretary can experience carpal tunnel syndrome from typing, it is without a doubt the combat techniques that Bubba had to use took its toll on his body after two decades. Beyond Bubba’s injuries, the ultimate sacrifice was made by his dad, who died in the Vietnam War. Bubba was only 7-years old then and yet, of the three boys in his family, he alone followed the path of his father. The troops deserve not only the public's support but internal support. Give us a break, VA!

A California Vacation

We were in the midst of a heatwave this whole week, with the temps climbing to as high as 105!
Even Kat remarked that we could fry an egg on the sidewalk and her dad, my dear Bubba, told her she probably could.
We spent our last week running around, doing tourist things. We visited the San Diego Zoo. The highlight was definitely the pandas. There is actually a long line to wait to view them. Kat and I lucked out. One of the two pandas lifted her head from her lazy slumber on a tree branch to allow us to take some good face shots.
We spent the next whole day at Sea World . The entertaining Shamu show of performing killer whales was impressive and so was the dolphin show. Its definitely worth the ticket price.
What I found most intriguing during our day at Sea World, were the number of Irish workers at the park. Almost everyone we encountered, from the food vendors to the door hosts, spoke English with a thick Irish accent. I figured that Sea World must have some kind of work-exchange progam. At the end of the day, as we were returning Bubba's wheelchair rental, a young lady named Egan, took care of us.
I decided to ask her if she was here for the summer, participating in a work-abroad exchange. To my surprise, she said no. She said that a large number of Irish youths decided to immigrate here to the USA...to San Diego permanently and they just happened to find their employment with Sea World.
Egan said she loves the San Diego weather and doesn't miss the grey weather of Ireland.
It was very refreshing to see a handful of Europeans making their way here, in what they would dub the 'New World!' Aside from the paperwork involved, its generally easier for Europeans and Americans to make their way around the world. When I lived in France as a student, I realized that I could stay put in France (or anywhere in western Europe and or other democratic nations) for up to 6 months at a time as long as I could demonstrate to the government that I had the financial capability.
This carte blanche to move about freely is one of the reasons I am so proud to be an American!
Our trip also took us to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. Since it has been part of my regular summertime destination, growing up, I took Kat and Bubba to all the major attractions that I favored; Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted House. I also proclaimed Peter Pan and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride as my all time favorites but the latter actually gave Kat motion sickness. It was sad to discover how much smaller and quicker the rides are now that I'm no longer a child. We stayed for the fireworks, situating ourselves on Main Street. Bubba took at least 50 pictures of the bursting displays. The standing area kept getting more and more packed. A neighborly father saw people crowding in front of Bubba's wheelchair, obstructing his view. The man, juggling his kid on his shoulders, constantly had to tap people to move out of Bubba's way. When the show ended, Kat and I thanked the man graciously for his thoughtfulness.
We are back in chilly San Francisco. Tomorrow Bubba has a whole day of evaluations by a VA doctor. Kat has been such a treasure to us. She is always thinking of ways to help with anything, from washing my sandals at the campgrounds to cooking dinner for us at the Naval Lodge. She just found out today that the guy she has had a crush on last year in 8th grade is moving away to Texas. Now that this friend, Mason, is leaving, he was able to proclaim his feelings to her and she is heartbroken. It was sweet seeing Kat's eyes light up at the discovery of 'requited love.' I could only tell her that time will bring a lot more people into her life as my uncle once told me when I was 20...and he was right, Bubba came into my life and he's the one I've been waiting for.

Mosquito Bites Galore

Bubba asked me if I have blogged yet. We have been on the road and our Verizon wireless service has been intermittant. So...that was my excuse for not writing. However, I am now sitting in a hotel room with two queen sized beds, a kitchenette and a walk-in-closet and the internet connection is superbe. We are in San Diego at the Navy Lodge inside the US Naval Station. Our plan is to visit Sea World and the San Diego Zoo in the next few days. We have been on the road since July 2nd. Bubba's younger daughter, Kat flew in from Tennessee to join us on this summer drive across the country. Our drive will culminate when we return her back to her mom's home in Clarksville.
We spent two long nights camping out in the woods at Bass Lake, 13 miles from the entrance of Yosemite. We learned a little too late that summer reservations for Yosemite camp sites begin as early as January of each year! My last minute planning allowed me to secure this one spot.
We arrived at Bass Lake, Fork Campgrounds, on the evening of July 2nd. Bubba had a canopy tent that can fit up to 10 standing people. It didn't require stakes. We threw a tarp on the ground and zipped a mosquito netting around this canopy frame.
Bugs can crawl in if they are determined. For more privacy, Bubba bought plastic shower curtains and tied it on the interior of the canopy. We were visited by a few ants, a spider and a beetle. It was outside of the tent that I was visited by the arch-nemesis of insects, the mosquito. It pierced me twice on the left arm...unbeknownst to me. By night, two little bumps caused me to itch-crazy. By next morning, these two bites turned into a sizeable bump on my arm. Little Kat said it looked like a tennis ball. I had to ice it down and take ibuprofen for the swelling.
On the first morning of our camp out, I woke to the rising sunlight. I looked for the time on my wristwatch but realized that since renouncing routines, I have retired my watch from sight. I went back to sleep until I awoke a few hours later to the heat of midday. Bubba made us hot water over a propane stove and offered us ramen, grilled cheese and tea.
We sat around and sunned and took a walk to Bass Lake to dip our hot feet. With Bubba's chronic pain, we couldn't go too far. We sat and watched campers boat and jet ski around the blue lake. By evening, we were tanned, hot and sticky. Bubba, with his special forces military training, never ever ceases to amaze me with his bag of tricks. He made us an outdoor shower on our campsite. On top of Bubba's SUV, he had strapped some bamboo rods to the roof-rack. He stuck these bamboo rods perpendicular to the roof-rack. Bubba had bought a five gallon shower pouch from the sporting goods store with a mini hose.

Bubba attached the bag to the side of the roof rack with a strong nylon cord. Then he tied an Army poncho around the bamboo rods to create a shower curtain. Since we left the shower bag out for the day under the 95 degree heat, the water was scalding by our evening shower. I let Bubba and Kat go first as I was afraid of misgauging the water source and using it all up. The shower was incredible and made us feel fresh as we retired into the tent for the night to play the name game, a game introduced to us by Bubba's sister. The players have to come up with famous names starting with the initial of the last name. For example, if I said, Cameron Diaz, the next player will have to come up with a D name, so one could say Drew Barrymore. The following player will have to announce a name beginning with B...and so on and so forth. We entertained ourselves for hours until Kat fell asleep, stumped by the letter R. One observation we had is that a lot of names came up with similar initials, such as C and T and R and S.
Our drive right now is limited to the state of California as Bubba has an appointment with the VA back in San Francisco on July 11th. Our plan is to return to the city for the day. We will enjoy some cool weather..as it has been so hot out here, a tapioca tea drink and some ethnic food before we take off on our northern cross country route on July 12th. I will have to figure out how to host pics on flickr so my readers can see our camp site shower...and the many other intriguing MacGyver-esque concotions by my darling Bubba.