not (which she was not).
We went to a bank to exchange our US dollars for Canadian dollars. We were quite surprised to find out the exchange rate was so different and were happy to get more Canadian dollars for our US dollars. We were new at this and we felt we got a great deal by giving them $100 US for $124 Canadian!
While on Vancouver Island, we took in the sights at the botanical gardens and toured the beautiful city of Victoria. It resembled photos we had seen of London, England. We did not know it at the time but this began our collection of states and provinces during our many travels yet to come.
Vicki in Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
After my grandmother had been living in the convalescent hospital near my parent’s house, I found an opening in a hospital not far from my house. We got her transferred there and my grandfather was able to move back home where he was much more comfortable.
I now spent my days visiting with my grandmother before going to work and often stopping in at my grandfather’s to help out. My grandmother was suffering from dementia and occasionally could not remember who we were. This was very hard on my grandfather but he continued to visit her daily.
After visiting my grandmother, I left to go to work. I guess I must have been tired because I did not see the rather large Cadillac coming towards me as I pulled out in front of it. You guessed it; The Cad collided into the driver’s side of my car (Vicki’s car)! Fortunately, I was not seriously hurt nor was the other driver. I asked the highway patrol (CHP) officer call Vicki at her work to come pick me up. He told her I was okay.
As Vicki was arriving, she saw that her car was a total loss and the driver’s side was completely caved in. She panicked fearing that she was lied to by the CHP officer, stopped her car in the middle of the road and ran to where I was sitting. Once she realized I was okay, she took a good look at her destroyed car. She then told me she did not like that car anyway and I was going to buy her a new one. I am sure glad she had her priorities in order!
As the year progressed, my grandmother got much worse and we were told she did not have much longer to live. While my parents and sister were visiting her during the fall, my grandmother assured us all that she did not plan to die just yet, she wanted to see her new grandchild first. You see, Tina was pregnant with her second child and was expecting in November.
While working the night shift one night, I received a phone call from Vicki informing me one of Jason’s goldfish had died. She told me it was floating at the top of the fish tank and asked what she should do. I told Vicki to take it out and flush it down the toilet and she said, “Not me!” I then told her to wake Jason up to have him do it but she did not want him to see his fish dead. She told me she would figure something out.
When I got home, I saw that the fish was no longer in the fish tank and I asked Vicki how she removed it. She simply told me she went next door, woke up the neighbor and had him come over to take it out and flush it. I could not believe she did that, what great neighbors we had!
Chapter six
1989, Our 6th Year Together
My grandmother was very ill in January and was failing fast. While visiting her one evening, she ate a full meal and was able to remember us all. This was a good moment for us as the next day she passed away. Tina had her son, Tim in November and our grandmother was able to see her newest great grandchild before she passed.
I had been around death a lot from my days working as a paid-call firefighter and while working as an ambulance driver/attendant before the start of my law enforcement career. This was the first time I lost someone I was so close to and it hurt. My grandmother was one week shy of her 76th birthday. After being married for over 55-years, my grandfather lost his wife.
After we received my grandmother’s ashes, my grandfather told me he wanted to bury her ashes someplace nearby but where they would never be disturbed. Knowing just the place, he and I drove up to a nearby mountain with a great view overlooking the entire area.
As we drove up the mountain it started to get very cloudy. We then entered the clouds and could barely see more than 20-feet in front of us. As we neared the top of the mountain, the clouds began to clear and we were now above the clouds. My grandfather said to me, “We cannot get any closer to Heaven than this!” I then dug a hole under a pinion pine tree, buried the ashes and said a prayer before leaving.
I had been up to that spot many times over the years but have never seen the clouds like that day. My grandfather was right, it was like we were as close to Heaven as we could get.
During the summer, Vicki, Jason and I were invited to go boating at the Colorado River with neighbors John, Debbie and their kids. The boating bug stung Vicki and she told me she wanted to get a boat.
It was quite a coincidence that another neighbor was selling their pleasure boat near the end of the summer season and Vicki jumped on the deal. She talked me into buying the boat and we took it out a few times before the water got too cold. At first, I told Vicki I did not really want a boat but if she did, we would buy it. I must admit, the boating bug stung me as well. I found myself sitting in the boat out in our back yard several times just to admire it.
Jason played youth soccer the past couple of years but I was not able to attend a lot of his games and practices due to my work schedule. After a game or two that season, the coach called a team meeting where she announced she was moving and could no longer be the coach. A league official asked the parents if one of them would be willing to take over the team. When no one volunteered, the official said they would more than likely have to disband the team
Well, I got a phone call at work from Vicki later that evening and she told me she volunteered to coach Jason’s team and I was going to be her assistant! Not playing soccer as a youth and knowing very little about the game, I asked her if she was crazy. She told me no, she had no choice but to step up and take control as no one else wanted to. Vicki told me she was not going to let these kids stop playing.
Vicki changed the practice days and times so I could participate in at least one practice each week. Depriving myself of a lot of sleep, I was able to attend over half of the games during the season. Both Vicki and I quickly fell in love with the sport and we both enjoyed coaching Jason and the other kids.
Our team sponsor was the Moose Lodge of Morongo Valley, an organization my grandparents had been strongly involved in and a place where I often visited while living with my grandparents. Vicki hand-made an awesome team banner with the Moose Lodge logo on it and all the players’ names. Vicki was quite the seamstress and did a wonderful job on the banner.
During Thanksgiving, Vicki, Jason and I picked up my grandfather and took him to my parent’s house to celebrate the holiday. We brought our boat along with us and planned to take it out in the ocean.
We had a wonderful visit during Thanksgiving and on Friday; we took the boat out in the Pacific Ocean. We launched from San Pedro and took a tour around the Palos Verdes peninsula. I have to admit, this was completely different from the fresh waterways we were used to. The ocean was rougher and a whole lot bigger. We spent several hours out but never strayed too far from the coastline. I did not want to chance breaking down and having the tides take us to who knows where.
The weekend was a great
