So sorry for the lapse

Good Evening,
I tried, I really did. I borrowed a car Friday night and drove 7 miles up a winding road to a point where my cell phone kicked in and worked well but the data card in the laptop with Sprint could not find a signal at all. After an hour of searching I finally had to admit defeat, something I very much do not like to do. Pam was kind enough to add a message to the Thursday posting but I'm not sure how many of you noticed that. Thanks Pam for trying.
Dave and I drove to the lake on Friday with a stop in Waterford for a subway sandwich and some groceries. The day was hot and we took our time reaching our campsite in the early afternoon. We quickly set up the motorhome which meant positioning it, plugging in the electrical power, hooking up to the water supply, putting out the awning and the carpet and the pug welcome mat. we even set up the BBQ which attached to the side of the motorhome. Then we used the leveling system to raise the front of the coach so the frig would be sort of level. The system had not been used in two years and we would find out later that was probably not a good idea. We went up and talked to others in the group for awhile and when I went back to check on the doggies I found the AC had quit and the interior temp was 103. Starr was in distress so I quickly put ice cubes in her water and then took both of them to the lake which was filled with very cold water. For the first time ever Starr waked right into the lake up to her tummy and stayed in the water for a very long time. After a few minutes she shopped panting and started enjoying life again.
There is a wonderful fact of life, the Tracy Church Family has a whole lot of varied talent. Well the crew descended on the motorhome and while I was planning on driving home Dave and the others started working. One PG&E man had a meter and checked the line voltage at the plugin. It was just 97 volts when it needed to be 115 or more. The drop in voltage caused the AC to overhead its motor and quit. Soon Rod and Joyce discovered the same things was happening to their trailer AC. The crew checked the voltage on a little plug beside the main 30 amp one and found it was full voltage so we plugged in there and it never failed again. We did discover that when it was 103 outside it was about 85 inside at best. RV's just don't cool down that well. Ron and Phyllis did as well as anyone by using small fans as well as roof cooling units. We often found the group to be gathering in their coach enjoying their cool hospitality.
I cannot begin to describe how meaningful the weekend was to me personally. As Nan got more and more ill we were unable to go on the campouts as they were held for about the last two years. How Nan loved to enjoy the Tracy people, to make her famous Sam's chicken, her oatmeal patties or her cottage cheese loaf. The motorhome is still full of her cooking devices which allowed her to make anything while we were on the road. To get to spend casual time just sitting and watching the lake, to wade out in the cold water to find relief from the heat, to fellowship around meal after meal with an amazingly wide variety of foods, fruits, water vegetables, real vegetables. So good, so special. On Sabbath Morning Dave cooked breakfast for us, eggs, potatoes, good cold milk. Dave had insisted we buy another pack of water and we drank water constantly the entire time. The frig kept things frozen, cold and safe, he used the cook top for the first time in about 2 years, the oven, the microwave.
On a Tracy SDA Campout a very special thing happens, some people live in tents, some in trailers, some in motorhomes and some drive in for the day. For a brief time people can watch each others kids, nap, talk, read, tell stories, remember past trips, take walks, start new friendships, keep an eye on each other so the sun burns can be avoided. This special group of God's children are non judgmental, talented, accepting, sharing and caring. The old learn from the young, the young get to rub shoulders with the middle aged, we sing, we pray, we worship and mostly we relax in God's great outdoors. Yes it was hot and even miserable at times, was it worth it, a thousand times yes. And a special thanks to Dick and Becky Lanza for keeping these trips going year after year. They work, they build people, they create memories and they make life more worth living. Thank you to each and every one that was there and a special thanks to Dave for being such a good co pilot and friend.
This afternoon when we decided it was time to head home we pulled in the awning, folded our carpet, secured the interior of the motorhome and I pushed the button for the auto levelers to lift and secure. Of the 4 three folded away and one refused to budge. Over and over we tried, Dave finally had me drive forward onto some blocks and then manually forced the errant one to fold up. It is still not working right but we were able to hit the road without further incident.
The dogs were happy to get home, I was invigorated, mowed the lawn, rolled the trash can out for a pickup, emptied the motorhome and then parked it, picked up the bug and did an appraisal, the order had come in while I was gone. How exciting, to be greeted with a COD order upon arrival home. Wow!
It felt very strange to have no cell phone or laptop the entire weekend. I thought about Nikki, Steve, Keanna and baby Kallie wondering if she might come early. But they are fine, her room is absolutely beautiful and totally ready for her arrival, Keanna's rooms is splendid, those kids have done so much work in the past few days, I was just amazed.
And so another week begins, are you as excited about facing the week as I am. I even have two appraisals to do tomorrow, one in Rancho Cordova and then right next door (not) in Oakdale, yes there will be a bit of driving involved and yes Diesel is now nearly $4.50 a gallon but with 43 miles per gallon it is still very much worth it.
Thank you for allowing me a two day lapse in blog writing. There was nothing I could do, no service at the little store, no town nearby and all the friends assured me the readers would understand.
I've included a couple photos of some of the group. I suppose there was nearly 40 people there for Sabbath lunch, perhaps more.
Sending slightly sunburned wishes for a good week to everyone.

Love

tim
ps I got to talk to Jo as I was pouring gas at CostCo this afternoon. Baby Timothy is adjusting to sharing his room with Julie his grandma. He is certainly giving her lots of chances to bond with him. What a special little guy he is.