Goin' Road Trippin'

Remembering Mac

Only days after purchasing our little house in 2007, we realized we’d be surrounded by life’s variety of people. Our first memory of Mac was seeing him in his living room with the golden glow of lights beaming around his slender silhouette as he swayed to the rhythm of the music. We’d been working on our house all night and had stepped out into the brisk night air to take a break when across the street there he was, dancing the night away, alone. He went by the name Mac although his name was Dennis, and he would come to be like family to us. Although his language was offensive, there was a kindness to his soul. His ability to tell stories and remember facts was an impressive quality, especially considering his lifestyle choices. Mac was the kind of person who spoke the truth of life as he saw it. I once inferred something about health issues from alcoholism and he quickly corrected me, stating that he was not an alcoholic; he was a drunk. The most endearing, lovable, pot smoking, potty mouthed, truth speaking, drunk in the world, our neighbor Mac. His lifestyle choices were in complete contrast of our ways, yet we became friends. He kept an eye on our places while we were gone and we helped him when he needed it. Why then, why did he take his own life on Thursday August 21, 2014? Some say it was health issues and not getting the care he needed from the VA and that he was in pain, others say that the depression from drinking could’ve caused it. No matter the answer, it still doesn’t ease the pain of this irrevocable act. He’d been planning it for some time. He had laid out things with people’s names on post-it notes that he wanted them to have.

The Bible Mac left for us, his friend brought it over along with the tragic news

Days previously he’d given us a few Chinese lanterns, and although he seemed a bit quiet, we chalked it up to him not having his beer yet that morning. Why didn’t he just ask for help? We would’ve done more, we would’ve taken him to get help. What is it that goes through a persons mind to take them that far, so far that they pursue death? He made it through Vietnam, a horrible car accident, and the loss of his true love only to take his life years later at the age of 66 with a single bullet. Although he knew we loved him, I don’t think he really knew how important he was to us. I now stare out the window, looking at his empty house trying to grasp the reality of life, now that he’s gone. It is gut wrenching to know that he chose death. Dear God, please save his soul!

Papa sitting under the Chinese lanterns.... Papa's trying to come to terms with Mac's suicide just like th rest of us — Papa’s trying to come to terms with Mac’s suicide, sitting under the Chinese lanterns

If only…. To anyone thinking about suicide please seek help. Life is not fair, death is not fair, we all suffer, and we all struggle, you are not alone! Sometimes it may seem like there is no hope, but have faith, what you are feeling is not forever, it will get better, and you are loved. There is no shame asking for help, rely on others to help you find your way out from the darkness. Please don’t cause heartbreaking pain and suffering to those you love, you can get through the tough time you may be experiencing. Speak your pain, work through it and please don’t give up.

Hiya, Hiawatha Trail

“I’ve always wanted to do that”… the hearts desire of human nature is to have experiences. We all have things we’ve yet to try, adventures we long to experience and memories waiting to be made. The Hiawatha Trail has been on our “to do list ” for years and although it’s less than 2 hours away, we’d never made time to go. Taking action to experience more of life has proven to be endlessly rewarding, this was no exception.

The Hiawatha Trail near Wallace, Idaho was once a train route, with 10 tunnels and 7 high steel trestles spread over nearly 15 miles, making it the most exciting bicycle ride we’ve ever been on. We were mesmerized by everything we encountered along our ride.

A group of people head towards the tunnel

The vast amount of butterflies at the beginning of the trail was as if mother nature was welcoming us with open arms and drawing us down the trail. Every color of wild flower decorates the sidelines as we head towards the first tunnel called the St. Paul Pass (Taft) Tunnel, it’s the longest at 1.7 miles. The sign reminded us to take off our sunglasses, turn on our lights and stay away from the sides.

The sign before you enter St. Paul Pass (Taft Tunnel) — The sign before entering St. Paul Pass (Taft Tunnel)

Initially I felt a huge temperature drop as we entered the tunnel, along with a feeling of uncertainty and apprehension. My surroundings were pitch black except for the spot on the ground where my light was shinning and the glaring red light from Mitch’s bike. I was able to hear and feel much more than I could see. Water was running down on each side of the tunnel into canals and was dripping from above. It quickly turned into a wet damp cold feeling that chilled me to the bone.

The back light of Mitch’s bike and riders coming our way

The darkness began to feel as if it there was no end, a feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia set in, only to suddenly disappear when my eyes adjusted and the walls of the tunnel began to feel wider and I could see more clearly. I saw a faint white light ahead, and no longer feeling rushed I began to slow down and soak up more of the complexity and character of this almost 2 mile long tunnel.

Unknown to us, halfway through the tunnel we crossed over from Idaho into Montana, they say there’s a marker stating where the state line is, but we didn’t see it.

After going through the tunnel people take a break and enjoy the warmth and the waterfall

Although the parking lot was full and there were people all around, it didn’t seem crowded and everyone went their own pace. A few things I would like to mention to those who haven’t gone before and if you are planning on going.

A wonderful waterfall welcomes you after you make it through the tunnel

*If you bring your own bike, make sure you have a helmet and a light for the tunnels. Our lights were strapped onto our bikes and were 60 lumen, they worked ok, especially after the eyes adjusted. Next time I would also like to have a light on my helmet so I can look around inside the tunnel as I ride.

Mitch heading out of the tunnel — Mitch leaving one of the shorter tunnels, the beautiful sound of his whistling through the tunnels is already a favorite memory

*If you plan on renting a bike or other equipment you must do so at Look Out Pass, which is not located at the trail. Look Out Pass exit is 0, the Hiawatha Trail exit is 5 coming from Spokane.

So high up you are above the tops of trees

*If you park at the East Portal (which we did) you will begin the trail going through the 1.7 mile tunnel and it’s a 1% grade the whole way down. You can choose to ride your bicycle back up to your car or you can take a bus. The people we passed going back up said it wasn’t a hard ride back up the hill. We opted for the bus.

Our bus ride back took about 20 minutes — Our bus ride back took about 30 minutes

*The last few miles on the trail had plenty of gravel and made it for more work than the rest of the trail.

*The chipmunks are beyond cute and friendly, but please remember they are still wild and are not to be fed people food.

*Our cost to ride the trail was $10 each and then to take the bus back up was $9 each. One thing to note, the bus drops you off before the Taft Tunnel and you will have to ride back through the 1.7 miles to get to your vehicle.

*Wear clothes that you’re ok with getting dirty, especially as you ride through the wet damp tunnels, the mud will splatter from the back tire onto your back, everyone ends up with a Hiawatha Tail going on the Hiawaytha Trail.

The splatter of mud from the tunnels we named the Hiawatha tail — Mitch’s Hiawatha tail

If you don’t shout it out, it stains! ooops.

*There is a time zone change from Washington into Idaho/Montana and we were totally thrown off, so keep that in mind.

Go before they close for the winter, pack a lunch snack into a backpack, maybe a jacket for the tunnels, bring the whole family and have a great time! It does wear on the body afterwards, especially the vibratations, if you’re not an avid rider, be prepared to sleep solid that night and be sore the next day.

The Diminished Seasons and Rejuvenations

Have you ever went looking for a patio table in the middle of July and find yourself walking into isles of school supplies instead? How about going to look through the lawnmower and Barbecue section only to find rows of fake Christmas trees and decorations? It’s so frustrating that retailers have become overly eager for the next season, so much so, that the season we’re still in, is forgotten. I went to Hobby Lobby today, heading towards their cute little section of chairs and furniture when BAM, fake Christmas trees.

I was seriously annoyed, I mean come on, it’s the middle of August! I made it a point to tell every associate I encountered that they’ve drained every ounce of charm from Christmas putting out stuff so early and that it makes me sad. The last associate made a great point, he said, “The only reason we put Christmas stuff out so early is because people buy it.” With that said, I encourage the people to only buy holiday decorations in December or at yard sales. Yard sales always have super cute Christmas stuff!

Do you really need all those decorations now?

Papa’s batteries have been running low lately, literally. Last week he went in to get his ICD (Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator) replaced.

ICD is basically a pace-maker/defibrillator in one, and he’s had one for about 20 years now and it’s his third replacement, so the batteries are good for about 10 years.

One thing about papa being a smoker for 60 years, the heart doctor actually suggested not replacing the battery because a heart attack is a quicker, easier way to die than lung disease, and at 73 he has the body of a 93 year old. Yikes.

finally able to drink his coffee and have some meatloaf, all smiles

Talk about a reality check, it makes us hold on a little longer with hugs and cherish every moment that we’re blessed to have with him.

The cutest store I’ve seen and smelt in years is in small town Reardan, WA. It’s called Rejuvenations and has a warm glow that’s comforting with an inviting ambiance, highlighted with a level of taste that’s rare to find.

Who’s that fella sitting in front? Hey, that’s Papa!

If you’re ever in Readan, I recommend checking it out.

So much stuff you have to look twice to soak it all in.

Papa and I went and checked it out after a gal that looked at our truck told me about it, unfortunately she didn’t buy the truck.

The biggest life change has been for Mitch’s sister Cindy.

Mitch and Cindy, always the life of the party

After realizing that her work environment was no longer a fit, she went to visit their sister Angel and it was a changing of the stars.

Cindy decided to pull up roots and move the Lancaster, CA. We headed to Portland the first of the month and helped make it happen.

Thankfully she was super organized and it all went swimmingly.

Speaking of swimming… we went for a swim at Cindy’s apartment complex and wow was it fun. One night we had the pool to ourselves and decided to hold hands, run and jump in the water together, we all felt like kids again. I’d forgotten what a wonderful feeling it is to swim since it’d been years, but I just loved it! I hope that if you haven’t taken the plunge in a while, you go jump in the water, it’s so rejuvenating!

A clear mind after a great swim feels like a clean apartment after loading the U-Haul

Thankfully, Mitch and Cindy had a safe drive to California

This is like my brain before the swim, ha

and my first long drive home in Fancy went fabulous. She’s so cool.

Check out that shine…and she's mine. What a blessed day it is! — I got Fancy right before the fancy song came out. Can you guess how excited I was when I heard that song! seriously! They must’ve written it for her!

The Unforgiving Stranger

I do my best to be kind to others, no matter my mood or situation. I’d like to think that with my friendly disposition, I’d get the same in return from everyone I encounter; not so much.

I can’t shake my bewilderment when a stranger is quick to anger and unwilling to forgive. The phrase, “that’s just the way some people are” is a saying I find hard to accept. Two recent encounters have reminded me to appreciate the kindness of most strangers.

You get more humingbirds in life with sugar, why be so spicy?

The other day, while driving I approached the main street in town, to my surprise there was absolutely no traffic, not a vehicle in sight. My excitement of not having to worry about crossing traffic was abruptly interrupted as a man on a bicycle shot in front of me, yelling at the top of his lungs “STOP SIGN LADY, STOP SIGN!!” His anger had no filter as he passed by my car window, continuing to yell at me as I was trying to apologize for not seeing him. For good measure he looked back as he rode off, giving me the stink eye as if I had done it on purpose.

I wont forget to double check for cyclists again, thanks to you yelling man. Can you stop being mad at me now?

As a bicyclist myself I take extra precautions with vehicles and never assume that they see me, and am vigilent with my surroundings when I drive, but mistakes still happen. As I think about the mans frustration and his treatment of me in the moment, I gave pause and thanked the good Lord that nothing tragic happened and hoped that this close call will result in the prevention of a future accident for both the bicyclist and myself. Lesson learned; so I will take this experience, accept my mistake, forgive myself and try to love the angry yelling bicycle man.

After watching extreme couponing Mitch went crazy clipping coupons for a while. Thankfully he tired of it within a couple months and we are now on our last batch of coupons before they expire. I decided to use as many as I could on my last trip to Walmart. Three hours, 4 check ins with papa patiently waiting and an overflowing cart of buy two save 50 cent items, I was in line to check out.

I placed my like items together on the conveyer belt, keeping the price match items at the end and thought we were moving along quickly. As the register passed the $300 mark I realized we hadn’t been grocery shopping in a month and it was adding up. The couple behind me placed their items on the belt and instantly began impatiently sighing. I hear the wife say to her husband that there were two checkers down the way that didn’t have anyone. I turn to her and say, “I’m sorry if it is taking to long”, and I get a blank stare in return.

Where's the happy pappy? — Where’s the happy Pappy?

She then mumbles, “how much longer is it going to be?” Again I apologize for the amount of groceries I have, and that I also have coupons and I hope it won’t take too long. I make a comment to her about trying to save money, and at this point she not only doesn’t say anything to me, she won’t look at me. I am amazed by the treatment I’m getting from this complete stranger.

Maybe I shouldv'e given her a raspberry — Maybe I shouldv’e given her a raspberry

If that wasn’t enough, the coupons weren’t scanning easily and the checker had to double scan quite a few, just perpetuating the volume of sighs and fidgeting the grumpy grocery shopper was doing. After I swipe my card and sign away for a stock pile of aftershaves and paper towels I try one last time to make peace with the mad mumbler.

Life won’t give you warm and fuzzies if all you put out are pokey vibes

I say to her, “thank you for being so patient and understanding, God Bless You.” Still she said not one word, just a blank stare as if I were invisible. As I pushed my overflowing card out of the store I held my head high knowing that I was kind the whole way through.

These types of encounters seem to happen in batches for me. I can go through life for months and it’s smiles, rainbows and butterflies and then BAM, angry people. I have a challenging time accepting mean people, no matter who they are, whatever their excuse.

Occasionally I give into their anger, give them back what they’re putting out and ultimately end up feeling as if I’ve let myself down.

I try and find a reason for the experience, or figure out what it is that I could get from it to better myself. With this event occurring I could learn to be more accepting of being ignored, appreciate the fact that maybe she didn’t have anything nice to say, so she didn’t say anything at all, or that when you have that many coupons put a warning sign at the end of your items stating COUPONING IN PROGRESS!

Make small encounter with strangers count, you never know what may come in life

Of all the things that I could’ve learned from this experience, I’ll never learn to give up on strangers. Instead of taking that time in the isle to turn a stranger into a friend; she decided to fester in her frustration. Please, don’t be a fester, become a friend in the world of strangers.