GOODBYE SACRAMENTO: WE HIT THE ROAD

When I woke up this morning, it was still dark. I was excited, ready to get up and go.

Last night, we had done everything that could possibly be done the night before departure: tires checked and aired up; vacuuming completed; outdoor rugs and chairs stowed away. Odel had removed the big snap-on sun screens, and I had stowed and secured the dishes, books, etc.

I peeked at the clock: 12:30 am! Sheesh. I thought it was around 5:00. I reluctantly put my head back on the pillow and slept until 5:30.

It was forecast to be another hot day in Sacramento, and even hotter in Redding, 150 miles north, our destination. We planned to leave around 9 am, to complete the 3-hour drive before it got too hot - and we were on the road way early, 8:20. By 9 am, Sacramento wasn't even a speck in the rearview mirrors.

The drive up I-5 through the Central Valley of California is flat and boring, a drive we have made too many times. I am still surprised, though, by the vast agricultural spaces in California. We passed cornfields and rice paddies close to Sacramento, hayfields farther north, then the olive groves around Corning.

Just before Corning, we glimpsed a welcome hint of the beauty to come: the faint, faint mirage of huge Mt. Shasta looming to the north, and the much closer, less impressive Mt. Lassen to the east. Both are still covered in snow. Mt. Shasta is totally spectacular, seemingly standing alone, overwhelming. We'll get beautiful views tomorrow.

We were in our site at the Redding Elks Lodge (read our review here) by noon. We make this Elks lodge our planned stop when traveling I-5 for two reasons: its beautiful setting, and the wonderful walking opportunity.

The lodge is on the banks of the Sacramento River, running high, fast, and cold today. A paved walking/biking trail runs for miles in both directions, through lovely green parks, under huge riverside trees (photo above - the span is a railroad trestle).

As soon as we deployed, got the A/C going, and finished lunch, we took off down the trail, heading east to the Sundial Bridge, about a mile and a half distant. What a unique and beautiful bridge this is, with its opaque, green glass surface and unusual style. The large "fin" at the end is actually a sundial arm, marking the passage of time on tiles set in a garden to the north. A few steps away is a strikingly colorful arboretum of plants suited for northern California's climate. What an asset Redding has made of its river frontage!

Tomorrow's drive is spectacular, up past Mt. Shasta into Oregon and Grant's Pass, our stop for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We have a climb of around 4,000 feet to the top of Siskiyou Summit so, once again, the hot temperatures dictate an early departure (yes, I know that many of you are laughing when we call anything prior to 9 am "early"). We're looking forward to Oregon's cooler sunshine.

WRAPING UP OUR SACRAMENTO STAY

Tonight will be the first night in a week that we will eat dinner at home. That's a first for us!

Everything we needed to do in Sacramento is done, and our last week here filled up with social events... all dinners. We've eaten out with friends old and new, with my sister and bro-in-law, and with my parents. Yes, I have retained my hard-won ability to fit comfortably into my pants, but barely.

It has been particularly nice NOT to be cooking since we are suffering through Sacramento's second heat wave of the season. Yesterday the highest recorded temperature was 104 degrees, which tied the current record for May 17, which was set LAST year. Yes, we were here for that one, too! UGH.

Though our two air conditioners can keep us cool indoors, cabin fever sets in quickly. We've spent many hours daydreaming about the cooler weather soon to be ours in Oregon (today's photos are from our last visit there in 2007).

Today is forecast to be slightly cooler (highs in the upper 90's). Odel is on his way to the golf course, and I am heading out the door shortly to walk to the nearby Best Buy store to checkout new laptops.

Our current Toshiba laptop is 3 1/2 years old. We use it daily, heavily... in fact, the most-used letters of the alphabet have worn right off our keyboard!

It is now developing a worrisome problem: every so often (once a day, average), the screen freezes, then slowly fades to very light pastels or white. If I jiggle the screen, it usually "comes to life" again and on we go - but I am thinking it is a problem that won't fix itself.

If anyone knows of a reliable fix for this, let me know. At Best Buy today, I'm "just looking", since we will be in Oregon soon and can purchase a computer without paying sales tax. When the time comes, I want to have our options narrowed down.

So, out the door I go. This is likely to be my last posting until we are one the road again - SOON. We're leaving Wednesday morning, spending Wednesday night in Redding, then heading to Grant's Pass, Oregon, to hang out by the Rogue River through the Memorial Day holiday (we like to be OFF the roads during holiday periods). Woo-hoo!

GREAT NEWS HAS TO BE SHARED!

Odel called me from the golf course a few minutes ago - he had just received a call from the doctor's office with the results of his first followup PSA results since receiving Proton Beam Therapy for prostate cancer this past winter. PSA: 1.5!

Odel's highest PSA reading was 9.7, in October of 2008. After 45 Proton Beam treatments, the prognosis is that the first followup PSA reading should be half of what it was prior to treatment. 1.5 is fantastically fabulous! I am teary-eyed with happiness and relief as I type this (while he is out on the golf course no doubt grinning ear to ear).

Odel was diagnosed with prostate cancer 11 months ago, right here in Sacramento. If any of you want to read about the treatment he chose, here is my long (and illustrated) description of the process from a prior blog post. To read more about Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC), Odel's treatments, and our three month stay in Loma Linda, click on LLUMC under "Find Blog Posts by Topic" on the left side of the blog. We can't say enough good things about the LLUMC experience.

And one last reminder: please, please, all male readers, get a PSA test. Medical experts say to begin testing at age 50, earlier if there is ANY history of prostate cancer in your family. Establish your "baseline" number early, then watch for "doubling", a sudden jump in the number (no matter how high or low). Maybe it is nothing, maybe it is something - monitoring and perhaps a biopsy will tell. Odel's cancer was caught early, so he had his choice of excellent treatment options. Everyone should be so "lucky". :)

Now, back to my previously scheduled program - vacuuming and dusting! I'm floating on air.