THE LAST FEW DAYS....

Sunday, my last full day with Patrick, we went to Huntington Beach Dog Park. California affords a dog a great life!! The beach went on forever and there were dogs and people walking and swimming together, like nothing I ever saw before.
What a wonderful climate to enjoy the outdoors; Florida without the humidity...very beautiful.
I was able to have a visit with my friend Violet who was kind enough to meet us there; I had not seen her in over 2 years, what an unexpected treat. It was tough planning my visits with friends since Patrick & I were working with one car and priority as far as I was concerned was on his personal and academic needs; after all that is why we were there.
After spending the afternoon at the beach, we headed back and had dinner near where Patrick lives, without Bosley.



Violet and me along with Bosley overlooking Huntington Beach.









I left California Monday (8/10) afternoon and arrived home at 2am Tues (8/11) morning. I am very glad I went, it was important for me to be a part of Patrick's initiation into the academic world of Vet Medicine.
On the way home I had a layover in Las Vegas for a few hours; my first time ever in that town. I was amazed at the airport environment, it felt like the casino world came right out of town onto the runway; slot machines all over and people obviously aglow in the ambiance of a party town. After getting a little glimpse, it seemed like a place I would like to visit sometime.
It was emotionally challenging for me to arrive home, I felt very grounded but very sad. There are some very powerful energy flows occurring in my life right now and I am in awe over it. It is surreal to me!
Today was a down day for me, I began easing back into my routine.
I will end this blog now after having traveled approximately 7500 miles around the U.S. over the past 18 days. I want to thank all of you for supporting us through this journey, it was a lot of fun along with many personal awarenesses.
As I close I wish to say the Paddy's went west and one Paddy has returned east but looks forward to visiting with the western Paddy from time to time.
I want to ask all of you reading this to send Patrick (and his other 104 classmates) much positive energy, prayers and intentions for a successful academic and clinical experience over the next 4 years. I know one animal lover who Patrick has on his side, watching over him...Karen.

I send love and blessings to all of you...

Patrick (the older chap)

Re-establishing communication

We finally arrived in Pomona, Ca. about 2:30pm on Saturday, 8/1. The last part of the journey was approximately 3 1/2 hours from Needles, Ca. to Pomona. Patrick's new home was still a work in progress or refab when we arrived. It is probably about 90 years young and really cool. It is a duplex and has recently been updated.

What a view from his front door, GORGEOUS! Not like the mountains of Florida!

The landlord seems to be a great person and "oddly" or "coincidentally" has recently lost his wife to cancer; so a similarity for me. When running into someone on my life path who has similar or common experiences it always feels like a special bond or connection.

After arriving we wasted no time; we assessed local resources with help of landlord and new neighbor and rented a U-Haul truck to pick up some needed furniture.

Off we went to GOODWILL with economics and low budget at top of priority list. Since Patrick traveled here with me and dog in small Hyundai, there was no furniture with us, so he only needed EVERYTHING!




We managed to get him a bed, couch, entertainment center and hope chest/coffee table. We also became freqent visitors of WalMart this week.

The first few days were challenged with work being finished up in the house but we made do.
We also had the usual "move-in" stuff to deal with like gas and electric being connected or not, depending on the day we are talking about. I spent one day waiting for Verizon to hook up Internet only to find they were not coming at all. Last bits of touching up by contractor was being done until Wednesday about noon. I was glad to be here, I was able to see shortly after arriving that I was needed and it was and has been an honor to be there for my son in this capacity. "It was meant to be", something Karen always said.
For the first few days it was necessary for Patrick to have car at school, so it was me and Bosley against the world during the day, just being "homebodies". Bosley is just a great dog, close to human I believe.

Temperature in the day is similar to Florida but at night it cools down more than Florida. There is a large population of Hispanic people here, so Patrick will have opportunity to refine his Spanish language skills. His apartment is less than a mile from school, very convenient.

THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS IN PALM SPRINGS

Thursday I got a chance to visit with a few friends from Florida who now live in Palm Springs, just a little over an hour ride from Pomona. Howard is someone Karen and I met when we first moved to Florida and I had not had a chance to see him in quite a few years. It was a short visit but great to see him, as well as Meg. The last visit I had with them was when Karen and I were leaving New Mexico to fly back to Florida. Karen and I had gotten married in Santa Fe, N.M. and we frequently visited there. The time we last saw Howard and Meg was our last visit there.

Howard and Meg

Howard with me (probably could have figured that out)

I have another friend of mine, I am hoping to visit with before heading home on Monday, but the weekend schedule will be busy with school ceremonies and final "things to do".
This trip has been a very cathartic experience or me, I am amazed at the depth of sadness I have experienced during our journey as it has given another window to through at the life I have had with Karen.

I will close for now and hope to update in the next day or two as my time here comes to a close and I head home to Florida.

love & blessings to all....

Across the Cally border about 9:00pm Pacific Time

Hi to All...

A challenging day. I had a headache during a greater part of the day. I think a combo of lack of sleep, stress and experiencing varied elevations. We left Kanab (near Zion Nat'l Park) about 12:15pm MT, crossing border into Arizona about 15 min later. /We decided to head for Grand Canyon (GC) and forfeit other ideas of Zion Park and Vegas due to time constraints.
Taking back roads to GC took quite a long time, we got to GC about 4pm and hung out there until about 5:30pm. We then headed south to US40 West.


US40 took us right into California, arriving to Needles, Ca. for a nights rest. We are both looking forward to completing the last few hundred miles of this long drive. Today we drove about 45o miles, not much in length but very tiresome.
We arrived in Needles and it felt like we were getting out of the car into a clothers dryer, wow was it "close". We got a bite to eat and I swam in the pool for a little bit






Poor Bosley was suffering today, his head is black and a magnet for the heat but what a great dog.










Plan for tomorrow is to get to our destiny and begin setting up house for Patrick.
Set up means getting least expensive furniture as possible where it be 1st hand or 2nd hand, it does not matter...dealing with LOW budget.
I will continue with the blog until I head back east in about 10 days. There are some friends I hope to visit while out here and I will also be attending some functions at Patrick's school that will start off his education in Vet Medicine. The next week should be interesting and very enjoyable.

I am pasting some random pics from our day today, it is easier than thinking of what to write. I feel very tired and need a good nights sleep tonight.

K is for Kanab, the town we stayed in, and of course I thought of Karen as well.



PJ, PS, & Bosley in Arizona on way to Grand Canyon. What awesome scenery, red earth, white earth and mountains as far as can be seen.











Countdown....L.A. is about 80 miles further than where we are going.












Driver with sleepy co-pilot. He is apparently studying road through his eyelids. Also, imagine how versatile the driver is subbing as the photographer as well.














One of the day's stops. This was located in Seligman, Az. The store contained items found in a traditional hardware (General) store and a load of souvenirs.









Pic of Grand Canyon



Sunset from Arizona

Love and blessings to all of you on your paths,

Patrick J.