Lost and Found (What a Beautiful Day!)

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We are living just west of West Salem in the Lodge, our pet name for the 22 ft. single axle “Bambi” Airstream Sport that we have used for spring, summer, and fall travel since 2017. Living in it because we sold our condo in New Orleans, and our home in Salem is under construction.  There are delays. We thought we’d get in by this time, but now even the middle of June is planned but questionable. I worry about residency status for driver license and all that kind of thing, and feel as if my creative spirit is a bit tamped down as I worry, worry, worry. Also my aging body is doing stuff that adds challenges (knee, throat, brain). I am making do and it’s all manageable. I hope to post again soon. In the meantime, a little story. 

Yesterday was as fine a day weather-wise as is possible. Carol and I decided to drive 4 miles from our RV park to the West Salem Safeway parking lot to avoid the busy traffic on the highway, unload our bikes, and ride along the Scenic Bikeway north of Salem for about 14 miles to a park with lots of bike paths. We unloaded our bikes, bought some sunscreen at Safeway since we forgot that, and were about to set off. I checked my pockets for the keys so that I could transfer them to the panniers, but they weren’t there. Nervously, I checked each pannier: no keys! Oh, shit, locked in the car! I peeked in the windows but didn’t see them, probably left them in the back. We would have to call our road service (Better World Club), but I realized that I don’t have the membership card in my wallet! So I Googled it. While cycling thru the phone tree, I “absent-mindedly” put my hand in my pocket and felt…THE KEYS! They were in a pocket below the one I checked earlier (cargo shorts). I know it seems strange, and believe me, you are right. I have a sort of explanation I will be willing to share if asked. Anyway, we got to experience the emotional challenges of a locked-the-keys-in-the-car episode, but only for 10 minutes until the challenge was canceled! And I was alerted to the problem of no membership card in the wallet. Problem corrected. The bike ride was amazing, winding thru the edge of downtown and some beautiful old neighborhoods, past the Auto Mall (thank you Toyota, Honda, Subaru, et al for putting in that bike path, Share the Road!) and on thru the adjacent city of Kaiser before emerging into the lush farmland of the Willamette Valley, with the coastal range of mountains on the west and Mt. Jefferson peaking over the massive orchards of hazelnuts on the East. 

Tomorrow I visit the orthopedic surgeon to discuss fixing my torn knee cartilage. Happily although walking is difficult and hiking impossible, I can still feel pretty comfortable on the bike. That’s just fine, alright!
Carol relaxing post-ride.  Look at the size of that key collection!


It arrived on May 8 (see previous post)


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