Happy Trails to Me

Now that I’ve got my weeks straight, and have confirmation it’s the right time ─ because the hotel sent an “about your upcoming visit” email, I’m mostly packed and ready to join the multitudes on the road first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully at the crack of dawn, when those stuck in traffic on the freeway, as we speak, have reached their destination and are off the road, before the next wave of traffic commences and before the projected storm hits this area.

I can’t check into the hotel until 3:00, but I'll spend time at Twin 2's condo, a 2 minute walk to/from the hotel.

Why, you ask, am I staying at a hotel when Twin 2’s condo is a hop skip jump away?

Twin 2 had offered/suggested I stay with her, but I’m accustomed to being alone, having my own space.

Twin 2 has a guest bedroom, and I’ve spent time with her before. But she’s married now, and the guest bedroom has been taken over by a stepdaughter. She has a pull-out bed in another room, which is where Twin 1 sleeps when she’s visiting. But a pull-out bed in a room that doesn’t have its own bathroom and TV is more like camping for me ─ not my thing. Plus Twin 2 has a dog ─ my grandson Patches, a jack russell terrior. Not to mention every member of that household is very social. I expect friends and neighbors would be dropping in/out ─ also not my thing.

At any rate, so Twin 2 won’t be mad because I opted for a hotel rather than her place, it would be good if I could arrive around breakfast time and spend the day there until check-in.

There was no fooling Trainer. Inasmuch as he knew I’d be doing a 5K on Thursday, it wasn’t much of a stretch for him to figure out I’d be skipping Thursday’s session without my bringing it to his attention. So he pushed me pretty hard Monday and Tuesday. It was two sessions of my grunting and groaning and utterances of Oh God! ─ using the Lord’s name in vain. At the end of which, I yet and still gave him that Starbucks Gift Card and wished him Happy Thanksgiving. LOL.

The seniors had their Thanksgiving Potluck today, sponsored by Activity Director. I was way too busy to check in, so no idea if it was a success or if few showed up.

Thanksgiving Day is likely to be a ghost town around here.

Seniors with family will be picked up and taken out, or to a relative’s home, for the day. Those with no family will do their own thing here in the Community Room. Probably bingo with another potluck.

Last week, I saw the Residents Volunteer Activity Committee was raffling off a Wookie at today's potluck.

That’s how the RVAC funds itself. They take a donated new item ─ quite a few of which come as casino gifts given to Apache for being a high roller, raffle it off, and use the money collected to purchase prizes for bingo winners.

The casino has given Apache a lot of great items that he says he doesn’t need nor want, such as cookware, kitchen appliances, a dehydrator, cordless tire inflator, etc.

It’s not always Apache making donations, sometimes it’s a resident donating a new item for the raffle. I myself have had a few impulse buys I donated rather than returned.

The Wookie was an impulse buy by Apache. He saw it, liked it, bought it, then decided he didn’t want it. Instead of returning, he offered it up and I saw the posting.

Geek that I am, all over Star Wars and finding the walking talking Wookie cute, I purchased six one-dollar tickets. I could, of course, have gone to Walmart and purchased a Wookie, but I’m not a collector of Star Wars memorabilia. Just thought Wookie was a toy I'd like to play with and jumped on the opportunity to win it.

Win it I did.

I didn’t have to be present for the drawing and wasn’t present but, along about 3:00, Apache knocked on the door and there was wookie in his hands.

So the Thanksgiving Holiday is starting off on a good note, i.e., I’m done working out for the week, I won Wookie and all I need now is for the predicted rain storm to not happen ─ or at least wait until I’m out of the area before it starts.

Have a Great Holiday. Type to you when I get back.