Category Archives: Paul Goldberg Blog

France, Paul Goldberg Blog

Traveling, Again

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It has been a confusing few days. We flew to Rochester leaving GeeWhiz in California and almost immediately drove to Hamilton, ON for Aunt Dorothy’s 100th birthday. While we were staying at Marilyn Foreman’s place (cousin) I started looking at the calendar for our trip to France OOOPS! We are flying out of Rochester on Monday not Tuesday as I thought all along. We have time and we have adjusted and we will be ready with everything, including far too many medications for youngsters like us. 

Aunt Dorothy has never liked to celebrate her birthday, she contends it is bad luck. My comment when she said that was what would bad luck look like, a 110th birthday party? The families were the Caplans, her parents side and many of the cousins; the Cohen’s her husband’s (Uncle Mel) and friends from the building where she has lived for many years. The families are so big and spread out that it turned out the caterer is a cousin. Dorothy, aka Dodo to the American family, enjoyed her party as much as everyone else. 

We drove back to Rochester determined to avoid the Thruway. On the way to Hamilton we let the GPS decide and we drove a route neither Carol nor I remember taking. For those who know western NY we took 31 which is a fairly direct route so long as you want to pass through every town between here and there. We returned taking 104 which is similar but a bit further north. Both are far more interesting than any Interstate which is clearly faster and more direct. I think it may have cost us 15 minutes on a 2 1/2 hour drive. The only reason I think we never took 31 is because it never occurred to us. 

I am not sure how I will be able to post on this trip. My tablet does not permit me to use the email group I am using to send this out. You have the option of figuring out how to subscribe so WordPress will notify you when I post, or just keeping an eye on Facebook where I will post links to this blog and maybe even the entire output. I know, some of us hate FB and won’t ever open it, I don’t blame you, but for some purposes it really is the best way to share. Of course the grandkids almost never use it anymore. 

After the trip I will send out links to anything I might have had to say. 

 

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

Visit in SLC

We settled in to the Salt lake City KOA which we last stayed at in 2015. It hasn’t changed in the past eight years in any noticeable way. It is still close to the Temple District and it turns out to be very close to Azriel’s apartment, maybe 7 minutes away. 

I guess I’m not a great picture taker. Carol has many pictures and has posted them on Facebook. This was a special visit. He is our second grandson to get out on his own. He is much further from family than Josh and he is living in his own apartment with a job that is great for him maintaining regional jet aircraft. We had him at the coach two afternoons – he works 9 pm to 7 am 4 days a week – and had dinner with him before taking him back to his apartment to get ready for work. On Monday his girlfriend (I’m not sure anyone use that term today) came in by train from Grand Junction to spend the week before her class on diesel mechanics resumes in July.

We took a drive together to the Salt Lake State Park at the soouthern  end of the lake right next to a major copper concentrating plant. Then we went out to dinner at Laziz Kitchen. If you love Mediterranean food in a simple atmosphere, this is the place. I would love to go back and eat my way through the menu. I had a Mediterranean Salad plate with Kafta as an added protein. The salads were fresh and tasty –  but enough this is not a food blog.

Carol and I spent two two hour sessions with superb guidance in the Family History Library working through one brick wall I have run into in my geneology work. We know the family name was Sklarof (SP) before it was Goldberg. We know my grandfather’s mother came over as Mary Goldberg (or took that name upon arrival). There is a big space between saying “we know” and collecting documents to prove it. I’m closer, but not there yet. What I learned were techniques and the need for persistence. 

Today, Tuesday the 27th, we began our trek back to Jojoba Hills. We were on the road just about 5 hours and there were no events worth mentioning. We stopped for fuel, propane and lunch and to change drivers in Filmore and we are now at Temple View RV in St George UT. We have barely left the coach beyond the need to setup, it is HOT. I expect in the morning our prep for departure will also minimize time outdoors. The plan is to get to Barstow where we will stay at Slash X Cafe, a Harvest Host site. Supposedly they will be closed so we will just pull into their large yard and stay the night. It there is anything different I will report. 

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

Salt Lake City

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Not your standard tourist stop for us. The primary reason for coming here was to spend some time with Azriel, our grandson, who has been working here for a couple of months. Since his normal hours are 9 PM to 7 AM Wednesday through Saturday (Sunday morning) we have been seeing him from about 4 PM to 7 PM. Carol is seeing to it that he is well fed. It is really great to have this uninterrupted time with him. So far he has come to the RV. It turns out that the SLC KOA is less than 10 minutes from his apartment. 

The other bucket list item for this trip was to take some time att the Family Research Library, a genealogy project of the LDS Church. I knew I needed a “brick wall” to bring to get some help. Tracing my paternal grandfather’s immigration and verifying which set of parents in Russia are his – my ggrandparents – has been a great exercise and a major learning experience for me.  Both experienced researchers gave me over an hour and plenty of new tools for me to work with. I have food for several hours of research on my own (more like days).

One other lesser goal was to replace a pair of very worn out shorts. I hate shopping and seldom ask Carol to do it for me. I found an REI not to far away and bought a new pair of shorts and new shirt.  

This is hardly the kind of exciting travel we are following with so many of our friends touring in Europe and other places far far away, but it is our travel for this part of the summer.

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

59 and Counting

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We have been married 59 years, today.  An oft told story, my roommate Jon Kerner was supposed to be my Best Man, but he chose to marry Peggy on the very same day, 400 miles away. He is no longer with us but we cherish the memory and the continued connection to Peggy.

We celebrated last night, the 20th, in Las Vegas, maybe the last place we would choose, but there you have it. We decided to visit our grandson in Salt Lake City and the way the schedule worked a stop in Las Vegas made some sort of sense. We pulled into las Vegas midafternoon coming from Redlands Truck and Motorhome. It would have been an easy 4 hours were it not for some major construction which added at least 15 to 30 minutes. We set up and had a snack before calling for a Lyft to take us to NY NY for the show. It was an anniversary trip so I paid for front row VIP tickets. The stage is a thrust design so we were right next to a stair that the cast used to get on and off the stage and often to perform right there on the floor in front of us – not more than 2 feet away! It seemed that no one really escaped that kind of closeness as the entire hall seemed to be the stage. 

The comic, a throwback to the Catskills made his standup by picking out audience members. When he picked on Carol he got what he was looking for, a 59th anniversary and some fund stories. Some of his stuff does not bare repeating.  We loved the show and would certainly recommend it to anyone who has not seen 14 variants on Circe du Solei. We cabbed back to the coach and after a good nights sleep set off for Salt Lake City.

I misjudged and misread my mapping software. We were on the road for 8 hours and 7 hours was on the move. Mostly we were moving right along although naturally there were some construction slowdowns. We rolled into the SLC KOA at 7:30 Mountain Time. and  by 8:30 we were set up and had eaten something – peanut butter and jelly for me. 

We violated our drive time standard of  two 4 hour shifts and done. After each of us did 2 hours, I took the wheel for the what turned out to be 4 more hours. Somehow I was energized and did not fell exhausted as we pulled into the KOA.

Good Night

Jojoba Hills

Some Thoughts

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Some thoughts as we prepare for a short trip. 

The weather is fine today. Carol headed out to pull some weeds along the road from the office up the hill into the park. Neither of us seems to get enough volunteer work to do. I spent part of this morning tracing a broken phone line for a founder of the park. My work as President does not seem to stop. It seems to be Newtonian, every action generates a reaction. which requires a response. I do remember this from prior bouts as an officer of various organizations. 

While Carol was busy weeding, I stared at the two small Barrel Cactuses we bought at Home Depot the other day and decided they needed planting. But what to do for a shovel? Years ago when we outfitted the Rubicon for offroading I remembered buying a folding trenching tool. But where was it? After 10 or 15 minutes of searching the shed, the Jeep and finally a couple of different bins in the coach I found it “in the last place I looked” (why would I look anyplace else after I found it?)

Here is a picture of the new tiny Barrel Cactuses amidst the slightly more mature specimens in our garden. 

Also here is a lousy picture of a bird spotted in the park (Granite Loop for park members) Google Lens makes it a West of England Tumbler, not a bird found in my North American database. Alexander chime in if you know this bird.

Park wild life is enjoying the relative absence of people. Regular visitors are Bobcats and coyote and the rabbit population is setting the table for these predators. Extra snacks include California Quail which are mostly appetizers and ducklings, also mere appetizers. We have seen bobcats with grown ducks in their mouth headed off to the dinner table. Snakes just make walking an exercise in attention to footing, especially after dark. The nonvenomous varieties do a good job keeping down the vermin as do the owls.

The planned trip is to Salt lake City (hereafter SLC) to visit Azriel who moved there to take his first job in his dream career maintaining and repairing aircraft. We will stop in Redlands CA to get the coach serviced then two days to SLC. If the timing works we will celebrate our 59th anniversary in Las Vegas with a show we won’t book until we know the coach will be able to roll on Tuesday. We expect to be back in Jojoba Hills on the 28th. There are no further current travel plans before we leave for the East on August 2 by plane. However Hawaii keeps getting mentioned since Avi is there on Kona.

 

Jojoba Hills, Paul Goldberg Blog

Planning to Travel

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Finally! We have 4 planned trips for the summer and one of them will be on the motorhome. We are flying to Charlottesville on the 16th to celebrate Alexander’s graduation from UVa. We will be staying with Malena and Dan, along with the boys and Yechiel and Josh. sounds like a full house I will report with pictures at some point. 

We are back in Jojoba Hills SKP Resort from the 22nd of May until  June 1 when we will drive down the coast to San Diego, well actually Coronado. We met Beverly on our cruise in December and she invited us to stay so we will be staying for 3 nights with her before retuning to Jojoba Hills. We have a lot to see there, not least is Friday Night services at Ohr Shalom where the Rabbi we met on the cruise is the leader. 

We will stay put in Jojoba Hills until the 18th of June when we will stop in Redlands CA to have the coach serviced on our way to Salt Lake City where Azriel is working nights, servicing regional aircraft. We will return to Jojoba Hills before the 30th of June. We have no current travel plans for July.

No plans does not mean we are sitting still. I expect my duties as President will be rather light and we may take the coach out for another trip. On August 2 we fly to Rochester to pick up a rental car and drive  to Hamilton ON for Aunt Dorothy’s 100th Birthday. Dorothy is the last survivor of seven siblings including Carol’s mother. Our return to Rochester will be just in time to prepare for departure to France where we plan to embark on a river cruise on the Rhone ending with a three night extension in Paris. 

On our return to Rochester, our current plan is to stay there until the day after Yom Kippur when we will leap back into the fray in Jojoba Hills SKP Resort for the balance of my first term as president. 

I have refrained from blow by bloody blow of my term so far and will continue to do so. It would be of no interest to most of you anyhow and I am keeping a separate journal for my own amusement. When my term on the Board is over I will store it on the secure park server for the eyes of my successors only. 

Jojoba Hills, Paul Goldberg Blog

Nothing Much and Too Much

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Since mid March we have been mostly in recovery mode. Carol has been improving day by day and we have been entertaining and being entertained quite often. I have had my own medical scare. During an unrelated procedure a cancerous cell was noted in my bladder. There was a wait for the procedure  and then there was a wait for the biopsy report which came back negative. Someplace along the way, I chaired a board meeting wearing a catheter bag on my belt. I do not recommend this to most people. 

The support of our friends in the park has been wonderful. One couple, awaiting their own surgery, drove us to the hospital for my procedure and hung around for 4 hours until I had “recovered.” They used the time to shop for their planned event the next week. Naturally I have not been able to have any privacy, but in an elder community where the ambulances come and go and surgery and recovery is an ongoing happening it is rare to forgo the support of friends. We even had an emergency run on a Saturday and a good friend, Bo, drove us to the ER and waited for 4 hours until I was released

As the weather has warmed and the blossoms continue to advance from yellow to purple we are thinking about some travel, mostly by plane. Charlottesville May 16 to 21 for Alexander’s graduation. A drive in the coach to Salt lake City, timing to be determined, to visit Azriel who is working there. We have hints that we may have to go to Hawaii at some point and we have our trip to France in August with stops in Hamilton to celebrate 100th birthday with Aunt Dorothy and maybe a stay over in Rochester even. To be determined. 

Much is in a chaotic state of planning. Our Board will meet April 24 and May 24 before shutting down for the Summer. We will pursue our travel as we are able and tolerate more heat than we are used to here in Jojoba Hills SKP Resort home for active +55 years olds.

Jojoba Hills, Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

Two Months Later

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It has been a very busy two months since I posted last. I am now the president of the corporation instead of treasurer. Carol has had a great opening of her photo show in our new Library and various dramas both in the park and personal have played out.

Carol got pushed around by a powerful gust of wind as she turned around a corner of our shed. This resulted in a couple of days of hospital stay and a month in rehab. In addition to the fractured vertebra in her neck some other medical issues that had been lying and waiting came to the fore. She seems to have most of it under control and is now recovering from attempting to run her rehab in an understaffed under supervised facility. She will be running her continued rehab with a staff of one very dedicated worker. 

That is enough drama of a personal nature. I must admit that I have had dinner at several neighbors and much food was brought to Carol in the rehab when she let it be known the rehab kitchen left a lot to be desired. Also flowers and cards  have filled her room. I’m now looking for space for all that stuff in the coach. 

Our plans to go to Tucson for Escapade have come to naught, it starts in two days. Our plans for a river cruise on the Rhone at the beginning of May are still in place. I have a procedure scheduled for early April and I hope that Carol is recovered enough to go and I won’t have a long recovery either, it is outpatient so I have high hopes. 

The Super Bloom is blooming all over the place.

This is just a couple hundred yards up the road from our site. I took a walk with our neighbor Bill Outlaw on the high ridges around the park to see all the bloom. It is great but this is the best picture I got. 

We have had an unexpected amount of rain and chill (I can’t really call it cold, overnight lows in the mid 30’s at worst). It certainly has not been the lovely warm winter we remember from prior years. Today is warm and sunny for the moment, but back into the wet and chill for next week. 

I would love to regale my followers with tales of governing drama, but the only really exciting stuff is confidential. Other stuff is still to come before the board and I am trying to contain my normal desire to wade in on one side or the other. I need to chair the meetings in order to let all side present their perspective before letting the board vote. Several of the questions do not engage me directly other than trying to prevent the sides from becoming inflamed. 

 

Jojoba Hills, Paul Goldberg Blog

Changes Coming

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I haven’t posted much about the goings on at Jojoba Hills SKP Resort. I’m not sure anyone is even interested, but I do need to record some thoughts. Carol I are up to our eyeballs in activities here. She is planning a first opening in a new gallery space. After we renovated and revised our center around the pool the Library has space for hanging art and it has been approved to use it as a gallery. There are a lot of new prints on metal in our shed waiting to be hung in February right after our Annual Meeting on February 2 the opening is on the 6th.

My term on the Board has two more years to run. However this year we are looking forward to extensive training for the entire Board. It is planned for three days. It should be interesting.

The resort was built over 30 years ago and much of the infrastructure has passed its “use-by-date” Fortunately our predecessors wisely set aside a substantial reserve fund and the new water tank and the repairs to the septic systems are covered by those reserves. I did say systems. There are 17 distinct systems serving the 283 sites and the public buildings. Septic 11 is the system we are on and the heavy rains overloaded the leach field for our system. We have been “camping” with our holding tank valves closed for the past week. It’s sort of like being out in the desert where there are no utilities although we do have water and electric. This should be fixed by Monday.

My work as Treasurer has been satisfying. I have managed to spread our CD investments out almost evenly – laddered – so plenty of cash will be available very 90 days. Working with the Finance Committee we have an excellent budget going into 2023. And even with crazy utility and other inflated charges it looks like we will have a small surplus to carry forward into the new year.  It does remain to be seen whether I will continue as Treasurer after the Annual Meeting. We are electing 3 new members to the 9 person board and we immediately have a meeting of the new Board to elect officers. The current President has said he will not stand for reelection to that position. Stay tuned.

Tonight we are going with a gang from the resort to Mexican dinner and a performance at Pechanga Casino of the “Fab Four”, a cover band with excellent reviews. There is a group called “Trips and Tours” that regularly puts together these events. 

I just turned down an invitation to play Bridge this afternoon because we have other plans to get together with friends in their rig, just to catch up between their travels and ours. We now have enough people to actually play Bridge fairly often and even some men, so I am no longer the only guy in the room. I hope I can find the time after the Annual Meeting to report on that and other happenings. We are not the US Congress so I do not expect multiple rounds of voting to elect the new officers. 

 

 

Jojoba Hills, Paul Goldberg Blog

Life at Jojoba Hills

Since my last post we have been staying on our site while actively participating in the social life of the park while also doing the things required by the volunteer positions we have taken on.

A day in the life is a high example of total involvement. It was a Wednesday so I got up to go to the JCATS 8 AM meeting to have coffee and learn if someone needed a tech fix. After the meeting 3 of us met in phone room to install two VDSL DSLAMS to replace one old ADSL DSLAM. Just ignore the acronyms, the translations may also be meaningless – we installed 2 smaller faster boxes to replace one older slower box. I had to leave to join a zoom from George Eastman Museum that I had signed up for. As that came to an end I got a call to take a couple on a tour of the park. Carol had the cart so I walked down to Ranch House to meet them and begin a tour that was to last 2 hours. I walked back up the hill by 3 just in time to join an impromptu Bridge game in the Card Room. By the time Carol came back from town and I walked back to the coach I was tired. 

 That may have been at the extreme end of daily activity, but it certainly is not uncommon for me to find myself participating in two or more activities in a day. All the while Carol is leading an equally busy schedule. The weather is chilly, even here it is winter,  and late afternoon gatherings on the patio even with windscreens and heaters are not pleasant, so we gather with one or two couples in someone’s coach.  Life here has a rhythm and it is easy to adopt it and go with the flow.