Bridge Coast to Coast Saga
This journal got its start back in 2005 when we started full-timing in a motorhome and traveling around the country, visiting with family and friends and seeing the sights of America. The focus has changed through the years as we became more stationary and no longer travel by motorhome. Since October of 2018, it is the story of the journey of Tom Kell and I. To view entries before June of 2013, go to http://archive.bridgeccs.com
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Saturday, July 2, 2022, MN
Monday, June 27, 2022
Monday, June 27, 2022, MN
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Saturday, June 25, 2022, MN
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Sunday, June 19, 2022, MN
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Thursday, June 16, 2022, MN, WI
On Sunday, I saw lots of cousins at Wanda’s 90.5 birthday party. She recently got a diagnosis of Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer, has elected no treatment, and didn’t want a birthday party but was up for seeing everyone at a picnic. The turnout was great and she dropped her head and cried when we all sang Happy Birthday to her. I learned that she sang and played guitar and stand-up base for the Goose Island Ramblers, a local Madison polka band, starting when she was only 16. Mike and I followed that band back in the mid-80s and later on, they went on to record their tradition folk and polka music for the Smithsonian Institute.
I went to see Mike’s brother Tom and his wife Karen on Monday and had a really nice visit with them. We sat on their covered porch and had sandwiches from Fraboni’s and watched the sky turn gray off in the west. Violent storms passed through and did lots of wind and hail damage to parts of Madison, but missed Monona. Some areas were out of power until the next day (temps rose up to 97° on Tuesday).
Sunday, June 5, 2022
Sunday, June 5, 2022, MN
Friday, May 27, 2022
Friday, May 27, 2022, MN
Fifteen and a half years with this little guy have left a mark on me that I will never forget. He is the first little dog that we ever had and he stole my heart immediately. His job was to keep Mike moving, but he and I ended up to be the best of walking buddies. He has comforted me through hard times and been by my side in all of our travels. He made friends with lots of people and their pets - had the best of manners and was allowed in homes of family and friends who weren’t really that fond of dogs.
He lived up to the many names that he had through the years; Scruffy, Dude, Frisco, Frisky, Buddy, Frisky-butt, Osama Bin Frisco, Muttley, Dog, etc.
Since the day that he rescued us from Wonder Dog Rescue in San Francisco in 2007, he has been:
🐾 A constant traveling companion
🐾 By my side through thick and thin
🐾 The best friend I could ever have and friend to many others
🐾 Loved me unconditionally
I will miss:
🐾 His sniffing under the bathroom door to check that I am ok
🐾 Being my shadow whenever I left the room
🐾 Sleeping next to my bed
🐾 ’The stare’ to let me know that he needed or wanted something
🐾 Picking the goodies out of his food before eating the kibble
🐾 Making sure that he got a treat after every trip outdoors or a nail trim or ear cleaning
🐾 The endless supply of blonde hairs that marked where he had been
🐾 His messy blonde Mohawk
🐾. His watching over me from corners
🐾 My walking and hiking companion
🐾 His eagerness to be friends with everyone, as long as they weren’t in the Pit Bull family or
were small critters that moved quickly
I have been blessed with fifteen and a half years of his company.
I went to be with Jill and the girls tonight and it helped me to dry the tears for a while. Of course, they are hoping that I get another pet. Charlotte went for a sleepover with her friend Betsy, and I asked what they would be doing at the sleepover and her reply was “the usual sleepover stuff; watch romance movies that are rated PG13, eat lots of junk food, and stay up until midnight”. She posed for a photo with her sullen look and her big girl suitcase that I bought her for their Mexico trip - my 10 year old teenage Granddaughter.