May 17th - Home from California

The week with the grandkids in Mountain View, California was a great time. Here is picture of me with baby Wren (four weeks old) and three year old Violet. I couldn't get over how much Wren changed in just one week.

Yesterday we left San Jose, California at 9:30 a.m. with thirteen year old grandson, Kellen, returning back to Missouri with us for a month visit.  After two months of isolation in California he and his mother were both looking forward to some separation time. He has one more week of school work to do online while he is here. He said he would much rather go to school than stay home all the time.

Traveling by air right now is an interesting experience. Anyone dropping someone off at the airport, or picking them up, has to have a mask on, even if they never got out of their vehicle. Everyone entering the airplane had to have a mask on but you soon figure out that social distancing is impossible on an airplane.  Here is what they have done:

Everyone has to have a mask on to enter the airplane. No food or beverages are served. They want nothing put in the pocket on the seat in front of you so they pick up trash periodically. The middle seat is left open.  While the seat next to you is open, there is a person sitting directly in front of you and directly in back of you which is less than two feet. You would see people pretty laid back about the whole thing (like not wearing a mask in the terminal) to people traveling in hazmat suits, goggles, mask, and gloves. Here is a picture of the couple across from me on the flight from San Diego to St. Louis.

This morning I checked the new tires on Homer and two of the back duals were flat. I'm sure this is due to the braided valve extensions which are necessary to check the air on those tires. I will have to call tomorrow and get an appointment to get these fixed.  I asked that the tires be pumped up to their maximum, which is eighty pounds, but the ones holding air only had sixty-five pounds in them. I aired up all tires this morning to eighty pounds. I also aired up the air bags. I have to open the hood to access the valves for the front air bags. When I did so I found a partially decomposed mouse laying on the heater housing. I don't know what killed him but I'm glad he's dead. That makes four mice after storage this year. I have a plan to foil them for next year. Stay tuned for that. It is good to be home.