Thanksgiving Red Bluff 2012

Well, our thanksgiving weekend was one to be truly thankful for! It all started with Wednesday morning where Eric was able to get a early start off to work. This, combined with 4 hours of CTO that Eric had earned by going off to work on an early Saturday morning, allowed Eric to return home on Wednesday by around 1:15 in the afternoon. When Eric did get home, Carol had the motorhome all buttoned up and ready to head to Red Bluff. As Carol and Eric headed up to Red Bluff, they stopped at Granzellas in the town of Willams to pick up some sour dough bread. It should be pointed out that this is Charlies first time venturing out in the motorhome. We wonder what he thinks of the idea that the house he now lives in travels to new and interesting places. Charlie was probably a little nervous about this experience, so he sought comfort from Lily by sleeping by her side as we set out on our trip.

Once Eric and Carol arrived in Red Bluff, Eric’s sister Karen had a delicious dinner of Pasta, Chicken vegetables ready to eat. All that was needed was the Sour dough bread! After a delicious dinner at Karen and Mikes rig, we sat and did some catching up, including reviewing Mike and Karens latest coffee table book which was a result of their trip to Austrailia. You too can check out their Austrailian adventure by going to www.return2oz2012.blogspot.com.

On Thursday, we continued to do some catching up on stuff and enjoying the wonderfully warm weather that this Thanksgiving holiday was offering this weekend. Though it only got up into the high sixties temperature wise, there wasn’t much wind and the heat from the sun on ones self, felt wonderful.

Happy hour on Thanksgiving day consisted of the family favorite of Clam dip which Karen prepared. Yummy! For dinner on Thanksgiving day, everyone reposed to Carol and Eric’s motorhome for what turned out to be a wonderful Ham dinner, complete with Augrautin potatos as well as a green bean casrole which Eric and Karen’s mom frequently made on the holiday season. Dinner was toped of with a selection of a couple of peach pies as well as a seasonal favorite of Pumpkin Pie.

It is also seeming to be a tradition where a trip to Red Bluff wouldn’t be complete without some sort of ‘Field Repair’ of our RV. This time, it was a repair of the dash which has started to break down due to Rosie and now Charlie jumping up on the dash to keep an eye on things outside the front wind shield. Eric doesn’t set out to make trips to Red Bluff to be ones where ‘Field repairs’ take place, but sometimes it just turns out that way. The last time we all got together, Eric solicited Mikes help in repairing vinyl that Rosie had chewed up when they first got her. This time, though there wasn’t room for two to work on this project, Eric and Carol found the Crack on the dash forming. And, with Carol returning to work next week, Eric felt like he needed to get started on doing this repair sooner rather than later. So, on ‘Black Friday’ our group made a trip to Camping World to partake in our version of ‘Black Friday’ shoping! Carol and Eric picked up a couple of ‘Christmas’ items. A ‘Camp fire in a can’ and a tow hitch cover are both items that Carol has wanted for some time. So, since we had a 10 percent off coupon for Camping World and the ‘Camp fire in a can’ was at the lowest price that we had seen in a while, we decided to pick one up as well as a hitch cover!

After we were done at Camping world, we made a stop by Home Depot to pick up a few supplies so that Eric could repair the dash of the motorhome. After picking up some L braces, Silicone and Foam tape, we then went and got some lunch at a local diner where Eric and Carol shared a Veggie Mushroom burger and chocolate milk shake! They haven’t shared one of these in a very long time!

Once we all returned to camp, Eric started working on the dash repairs while Mike washed their motorhome and Karen and Carol solved all of the problems of the world! Eric’s dash repair consisted mainly of using some existing 2X4’s and duct tape that Eric had with the addition of the L braces to hold things in place and foam padding to fill the gaps of the brace. The clear silicone was used to fill the crack of the dash. For dinner, on ‘Black Friday’ we ate left overs from Thanksgiving dinner. The food was just as good the second night, if not better than the first night!

After dinner on Friday night, we went outside to try sitting by a ‘Camp fire in a can’ and see how it worked. It ended up working great! We are so glad that we have added ‘Camp fire in a can’ to our RV’ing equipment. Now, we can lighten our load a little bit by taking the firewood and the larger fire pit out of the motorhome.



This is probably the last road trip until we head off to Quartzsite in Arizona in January. But, never fear, we will continue to update the Blog on a regular basis as we proceed through the Holiday season.

Happy Camping! – Eric and Carol -

Double Trouble

This last weekend, Katie and Russ brought Mac, our grand dog by to meet Charlie. Ever since we met Charlie, we commented how much Charlie and Mac are alike. Asside from Charlie maybe being a little older.... Well, you'll have to judge for your self!



Happy Camping! Eric and Carol Anderson

Veterans day

Carol and I once more made the short journey to the Mather Field VA hospital which is just across US50 from our home. At this VA hospital they conducted the 7th annual Veterans day celebration. We were both so thankful to be able to attend this wonderful event. Last year when we went to this event, there was a storm that came through. None the less with tents with covers on three sides of each tent, the event went on. This year, the weather was beautiful. Frankly, it was a glorious day. There were veterans there that served as far back as World War II. Every branch of the military was represented at this event. The sad part of the event that there wasn't a better turn out of 'non-veterans'. Carol and I found this sad. None the less, we were so proud that we were able to attend this event

There was a fly over of C-130 at the beginning of the event. All through the event, the 59th Army band performed a wonderful number of arrangements.

There was a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem was sung by a trio of young ladies from the Cordova High School Choir.

There was a  speech given by Daryl Steinberg the President protem of the California State Senate.

Also, the mayor of Rancho Cordova gave a wonderful speech.

The keynote speech was given by a Jonathan Cullifer, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and a recipient of the Purple heart. Jonathan talked about his service in both the Marine corps and the US Army. He also spoke of his battles with PTSD and how the fine staff at the VA hospital  helped to talk him back from 'The edge' of taking his own life. We are so glad we had the opportunity to hear him speak about the challenges he has faced and it was clear about the bravery he has faced his challenges with.

Carol and I celebrate our veterans and current service personel everyday of our lives, but it is events like this where we really realize just how lucky we are to live in this great nation, and just how thankful we are to have the brave men and women that serve in our US Armed forces.

As you can see, our dogs are proud and thankful too!

Happy Camping! Eric and Carol Anderson

Charlies first full day with us...

Charlie continues to do very well in his new home, he is getting along great with the other dogs!

Here is a little bit of Charlie's history:

Charlie's early life is very much unknown. However on June 5^th, 2012, he was picked up as a stray and taken to the shelter from the Civic Center Park area of Berkeley. According to Local law enforcement, it’s an area known for drug dealing. While in the care of Berkley Animal Care services, he was fully vaccinated and micro-chipped. He had some bumps on his belly, and the veterinary staff put him on meds for 21 days. The Vet checked him out again on 7/27 where he was given a good prognosis. They thought it was some kind of allergy or contact dermatitis. Charlie waited to be adopted by someone at the Berkley city shelter for 3 months. He was scheduled to be euthanized on September 4. Volunteers there loved him so much and recognized what a wonderful dog he was, and immediately started networking to find him a home or foster. Karen Teague, foster coordinator for Chako, picked up the message and re-posted on Facebook.

Shortly after returning from their honeymoon, Dan and Audrey Kelm volunteered to provide a Foster home for Charlie if he could just pass his behavior evaluation. One of their dogs was finally recovered from having both ACL’s being repaired. Dan and Audrey had previously fostered Tyson for Chako until he found a new forever home. They had really bonded with Tyson, and felt the process was so rewarding, that they wanted to do it again. So when Karen re-posted on Facebook that Charlie was scheduled to be put down, they immediately stepped up to help this special guy.

Once Karen had foster parents, she sprung into action and coordinated everything. Nick, a volunteer in Berkeley, graciously offered to drive Charlie up to Sacramento. His status as a "Chako dog" entirely depended on him passing a Behavior Evaluation upon arrival in Sacramento. Should he fail, he would have returned to Berkeley and be euthanized that night. Nick made the journey on September 4, E-day for Charlie, in the evening. Dan and Audrey anxiously waited at their home to hear how the evaluation went. Charlie passed all of tests with flying colors but for one--the "bum" test. Charlie did not want anything to do with Dawn Capp, the founder of Chako, who dresses herself in a trench coat and holding a broom as part of this ‘Bum Test’. He shied away and sought comfort from another nearby volunteer. Audrey says, “To be fair, I would do the same thing!” Because he didn't react aggressively, Dawn made the decision to pass him because he was so good with the other tests. So, on September 4 at around 9:00 p.m., Charlie was delivered to Dan and Audrey’s home.

For two months, Charlie lived with Dan and Audrey who have 2 male dogs of their own. One blue-nose pit (Remington), and the other is...well...a mutt (Bosworth), possibly a beagle/dalmation mix. Charlie's introduction couldn't have gone smoother! Remi and Charlie were immediate bff's and Boz tolerated him just fine. As the weeks went by, all the boys grew closer and Charlie easily fell into their routine. He even started to learn some of their tricks for cookies! Charlie even eventually won Boz over as a playmate. Audrey says “He is just so charming! Dan and I love Charlie so much and vowed to be very selective with his forever home. He is such a happy boy with so much love to give! We are so thrilled that he is finding his happily ever after in your home and know he will get all the love, playtime and family that he deserves!”

Dan and Audrey also wrote that: “Charlie adores playing tug of war, especially with ropes.” Our dog Rosie does love to play tug, but Charlie, these first couple of days seems a little timid about it because Rosie is so vocal. The Kelm’s also reported that “… pretty much anything that squeaks will warrant a play session for him!”

One interesting story that Audrey shared with us was that she was talking to a friend who knows Charlie's story and Audrey and the friend found it so interesting how he chose our home too. The first couple that came to meet and greet him, he was just not feeling it. He wouldn't leave the Kelm’s front door until they took their other dogs out to play. And then he still had no interest in this couple. They put the other dogs back in the house after wearing them all out enough and then Charlie mostly just stayed by Audrey, really didn't want to be pet by them, almost as if he was saying, "Are they going to leave soon so we can get back to our evening?!" Audrey said after our initial meet and greet, “Seeing him climb up in your laps and give you guys kisses was a complete 180 difference!!!”

We met Charlie on November 4^th at the Pell street overpass. Rosie met five candidates, Aengus; Bolt, Charlie, Auzzie, Blue. Clearly, the dog that Rosie got along with the best was Charlie. They both greeted each other. Carol and I agreed, as well as Dawn and Shannon, that Charlie was the best fit. The rest as you can see from later in this post as well as many posts from this point afterwards, are history!  

Well, we have a wonderful story to share with you all!

So Charlies foster parents told us that when they leave the house with the dogs un-attended, they put Charlie in a wire crate. Well, when we first got Rosie, that's what we did as well. She didn't like it at all and escaped just about everytime we put her in there. She must have some trauma associated with it. Here is a picture of the one time she didn't escape and we came home to find the fall-out.

At any rate, I went to go get lunch. I was only going to be gone for an hour, just to get him use to us not being there and the routine behind it. Well, once I put him in the crate, Rosie laid down on the couch right next to him. Wasn't quite sure what it meant, but I had a guess. Well, I went to lunch and make a couple of other quick stops and returned home about an hour and half later. Well, normally, Rosie would be on the dash waiting for us when we got home, but I thought it interesting that she wasn't. I came into the Motorhome to find Rosie laying in the exact same place as she was in when I left an hour and half earlier! So very cool.

At any rate, here is a video of Charlies first full day living with us!



Enjoy!

Happy Camping!  Eric and Carol

Here's Charlie

Hi there everyone,

Here is a video of our new dog Charlie.


Check out our blog later this weekend for the full story on Charlies life, as far as we know it.

Happy camping! - Eric and Carol -

Hoping Charlie can come to our home

Today we took Rosie to meet 5 Pit bull males in hoping to find a new addition to our home. We pretty quickly narrowed down the search to Charlie, a 18 month old who is being fostered through Chako. Here is a quick video featuring Charlie.


We are doing a Home check on this coming Friday. So, keep your fingers crossed that it all goes well for us and Charlie!

Happy Camping! Eric and Carol Anderson