Chapter 13
Because of the time of the year and the weather forecasts around the country, they decided to head north first. When they drove near Marco’s resort, John pulled in and parked. They hurried inside to talk to Luigi and Lori before they left on their trip.
When they walked into the resort, everyone greeted them warmly. They called up to Luigi’s office and asked if they could come up. They were told to go right on up.
Lori answered the knock and rushed outside and hugged Anne and John. She picked up Marco and exclaimed, “Look at how much he’s grown. He’s so beautiful!” Luigi walked over and shook John’s hand. They talked briefly about how the resort was doing.
John said, “We weren’t sure when or if you two were leaving, but we wanted to stop by and wish you all the best. From what I’ve heard, the department is getting ready to file the indictments and begin making the arrests. Marco tried to keep your name out of his information, but they might still want to arrest you.”
“We are planning on leaving in two days. We’ve got our tickets and are just closing up the last details with the new managers. Thanks for the warning. I don’t want to take any chances. I was too well known as Marco’s associate,” Luigi said.
“We’re going on an extended vacation, so we will miss the ‘excitement’, too, for different reasons. I don’t want to take any chances, either. We are heading now towards Las Vegas and then east,” John said.
“Did you and Lori get married yet, or is that a bad question?” Anne asked with a giggle.
“We got married almost two weeks ago. We are officially a married couple now,” Luigi said.
“I don’t know how long the honeymoon will last, but I have never felt so happy. My daughter is thrilled to have a dad and we are becoming a real family. We are getting excited about moving so far away, but I’ll miss this place. It has been like home to me for several years. It is sad to say goodbye to everyone. I’m so glad you stopped by. How are you doing?” Lori asked.
“I know what you mean. I don’t think our honeymoon is over yet; marriage just seems to get better all the time. We are doing fine. We are settled in as a family of five. Bryan is such a great help and so much fun to be around. I’d be lost without him,” Anne said. “I understand what you mean about this place. I was only here about a year, and I hated saying goodbye to the people and the area, too. We don’t know where we are going to settle down yet. If you want to write to us after you move, write in care of this address. If we do hear from you, we promise we will never tell anyone where you are living. I hate to lose contact with two such wonderful friends. If you write, I’ll give you a more permanent address when we settle down. If you don’t chose to write, we will miss you, but we understand. We love you both. Have a wonderful life together,” Anne said.
“Thanks for your friendship. I’ll always remember helping with your wedding. I think that’s when Luigi first really noticed me as a woman. Now look at me, I’m married to him. I hope the same long and happy life for all of us. Be careful while you travel and have a wonderful life together,” Lori said giving her another hug.
After visiting for a few more minutes, John, Anne, Bryan, and the twins left the resort and got back into the RV. John looked around before pulling out, and he was glad to see no one had followed them out of the resort. This is what John hoped would happen.
After they were back out on Highway 101 heading north, Bryan asked, “Dad, why did you say we were going to Las Vegas and then East? Did you change your mind about going to Oregon?”
“No, we’re still going north. I hope you will forgive my telling a lie, but I’m just not sure how loyal some people at the resort are now. I’m just being extra careful. We are treating this like a great adventure, but it may become really important later that we become ‘invisible’, like spies and stay hidden. Let’s pretend we are secret agents on a mission. We need to see and learn as much as we can, learn all we can about our locations, but not let the other side know who we are or where we are going. I am hoping no one will look for us at all but if they do, let’s make sure no one finds us until we are ready to be found,” John explained. “The first stop on our grand tour will be the California Redwoods National Park. I was there one time as a boy and was amazed at the size of the trees. It also has some good hiking and fishing places. Do you know how to fish?”
“I went ocean fishing once with my dad, but I didn’t catch anything,” Bryan said.
“Fresh water fishing is a lot different than ocean fishing. I can almost guarantee that you will catch some fish up here. That’s something we forgot about--fishing gear. We’ll pick some up, if you want to, when we get closer to Arcata,” John said.
“Can I have a fishing pole, too?” Bryan asked timidly. John nodded yes. Bryan smiled and laughed happily. When Bryan got tired of watching the scenery, he played with his Gameboy. Later, he got a drink out of the refrigerator, sat back down and said, “This is really a great way to travel”
.When the twins woke up, Bryan held one while Anne fed the other. Then they switched babies. Anne walked back carefully carrying Angela. She changed her on the couch and laid her down to sleep in the car bed. Then Bryan brought Marco back. He sat beside Marco and watched as Anne changed him. He carefully lifted him and put him in his car bed.
“It feels strange walking around when the RV is moving, but I think I can do it OK. I just don’t want to fall and drop a baby,” he said seriously.
“I know what you mean. It’s sort of like walking on a boat. It takes practice, but as long as we’re careful, I think we will be fine. Most of the time, we need to be belted in. Bryan, what I said to Lori is the truth. I can’t imagine life without you with us. You are a great help with the babies, but that isn’t why I couldn’t get along without you. I am so happy you are in our family, but it isn’t just because you are helpful. You are so smart and you make me laugh and feel happy. I love you,” Anne said giving him a kiss and a hug.
At lunchtime, they pulled into a small roadside rest area. John carefully backed the RV into the shade of a couple of trees. From there, they could see the ocean’s waves crashing on the rocky shore far below where they were parked.
Anne got up and walked back to the kitchen. “Do I have any orders for breakfast or lunch?” she asked in her best waitress voice. “I’m sorry to inform you that we have a limited menu today. You can have eggs, cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or hot dogs. What would you like, young man?” Anne asked.
Bryan giggled and said, “I had my mind set on pizza, but I will take the PB &J sandwich instead.”
John said, “I’d like a PB&J sandwich, too, with a glass of milk. For dessert, I’d like to kiss the waitress and the cook,” he added with a grin.
“Sorry, sir. I’m a happily married woman, but I’ll get your food ready right away.”
Anne quickly made the sandwiches, including one for herself. While she did that, John pulled the dining room table out. He got glasses of milk for each of them. He put them on the table and smiled as she delivered the food.
When she presented the ‘check’, John pulled out a nickel and put it on the table.
Anne put her hands on her hips and said, “That’s a pathetic tip.”
“If you kiss the customer, you’ll get a better tip,” John replied.
Anne bent down and kissed him on the cheek. John pulled out a dime and put it next to the nickel.
“That’s not much better,” she grumbled.
“A better kiss means a better tip,” he retorted.
Anne sat down on his lap and kissed him fully on the lips. John nodded and pulled out a dollar and handed it to her.
Bryan giggled, “I wonder what you’d have to do to get a $5.00 tip.”
Anne blushed, slipped the dollar into her pant’s pocket, and giggled.
John said, “I think this game is over for today. I can’t afford that
much tipping now.”
“This waitress is always ready to earn more tips,” she replied.
“Maybe later tonight,” John added with a grin. They all laughed and began eating their lunches. After eating, Bryan and John took a short walk along the cliff while Anne straightened up and stowed the food and dishes away. Before she stepped outside, she reached in the cupboard and grabbed the small automatic digital camera she had purchased for the trip. Before they noticed her standing outside, she had taken a couple of pictures of them standing together looking at the ocean. She called their names, and they turned to face her. She quickly snapped another one. She walked over to where they were standing and showed them the images she had captured.
“Mom, can I take a picture of you and Dad with your new camera?” he asked politely. She handed him the camera, showed him the zoom button and the button to press when he was ready to take the picture. After taking the first picture, he called out, “Hey, Dad, why don’t you give Mom a twenty-five cent tip?” John pulled Anne into his arms and kissed her soundly.
“I got the picture, Dad. You can stop kissing her now, or whenever you are ready,” he laughed, as they continued kissing. He walked over and hugged them. They hugged him back and they all walked slowly back to the RV.
“Are you getting tired of driving? I could probably drive for awhile if you wanted a break,” Anne said.
“I’m fine now. On the open road, it isn’t much different than driving a car. I can drive for hours if it stays like this,” he added. “Just sit back and relax. We’re going to stop in a few hours and find a place to stay for the night. We don’t have to drive hundreds of miles every day. Let’s just go until we see a reason to stop or until we are tired.”
Going through San Francisco was a harder drive, although John had once been assigned there so he knew the main streets fairly well. He easily negotiated the city streets, including the one way ones that usually caught travelers by surprise. In a few minutes, they were heading up the road onto the Golden Gate Bridge. John called Bryan to look at the size and the construction of the bridge. Bryan’s eyes got big when he saw the height and the massive cables that supported the bridge. He saw many small boats in the dock areas along the shore. Looking toward the east side of the bay, John pointed out the Oakland Bay Bridge. Once over the Golden Gate Bridge, he pulled off into a paved parking area so they could get a picture of the bridge for their ‘family photo album’ which they decided to create as part of Bryan’s school work for the trip.
Anne (the ‘Teacher’) gave him a notebook and said for every place that they stopped, Bryan was to take at least one photo and write about in his notebook to explain where the photo was taken and something to remember about the place. Bryan began writing in the notebook. This is what he wrote,
Picture #1, Mom tries out her new camera while Dad and I were looking at the ocean. Surprise!”
Picture #2, Mom takes our picture at the same place as picture #1 after calling our names. Now we know she has a camera. No more surprises?”
“Picture # 3 Bryan takes picture of Mom and Dad standing on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.”
Picture #4 Dad gave Mom a 25 cent kiss at the ocean and didn’t want to stop!”
Bryan handed the notebook to Anne. “Is this what you meant for me to write as entries for the pictures we took?” Bryan asked.
Anne read the captions aloud. John laughed especially loud at Bryan’s comment on picture 4. She laughed and answered, “Yes, that’s the idea. When we are at a special place, like here, I want you to also include some information about the location. Like now, we are parked at the Golden Gate Bridge. It is one of the most photographed recognizable places in America. Don’t just say this is the bridge. Tell something you learned about it or a thought you had about it. Write more when there is more to tell. Let’s all get out and look around for a few minutes. Then tell me what you learned or noticed about it.”
They got the twins out and put them in their new back packs. These were designed so the twins could sit and look forward. Anne carried Angela in her backpack while John carried Marco. Bryan was in charge of the camera and the diaper bag, if they were going to be out for very long. There were several other cars pulled over at the parking area. John locked the RV, and they walked over to the display area. They stopped and read each sign and studied the illustrations. The sun was just beginning to go down in the west. The sky was changing from blue into bright yellow and red. Bryan took a picture of the bridge with the sunset sky in the background. He had John and Anne stand by the guardrail, holding hands and facing each other. When he snapped the picture, he looked at it and laughed. The twins were reaching out, and it looked like they were trying to hold hands, too.
When they got back into the motorhome, they buckled everyone in, and John drove back out onto Highway 101 and turned north. One of the next towns was called Santa Rosa. That was where John hoped to spend the night. While they drove along, Bryan got out his notebook and began writing. He kept at it for several minutes. When he was finished, he started to put it away, Anne asked him what he had written.
Bryan handed it to her. She scanned it briefly and said, “This is much better. I really like that you put some facts in that are really interesting. I can’t wait to see the picture that you took. It sounds like a great shot.
Anne read it to John, Picture # 5. “We are standing by the Golden Gate Bridge. It is one of the largest single span suspension bridges in the world. It has a 6450 feet span length. It was completed in 1937. I don’t know how they managed to build it so it would stay up. The cement foundation goes down over 100 feet below sea level. How could they pour cement down under water and have it set up hard? They didn’t explain that. It was so big and beautiful at the same time. My family walked near it, and we drove over the bridge. My mom and dad like to hold hands. It looks like Angela and Marco want to hold hands, too. I love my family, and this trip is fun and interesting.”
John said, “Great writing, Bryan. You’re right. I do like to kiss and hold hands with Anne. I think we are really lucky to have her in our family. Hopefully, we can find a place to stop in Santa Rosa. From there it will be a very short drive to the redwoods. We can get some rest and start out fresh tomorrow.”
When they arrived in Santa Rosa, they located a beautiful RV campground off Santa Rosa Ave, near Highway 101. It had a space available. With the back view and side view cameras, John easily parked it in the space. He walked around it, and quickly connected the sewer line, water line, and the electric hook-up. He adjusted the leveling devices and smiled at Anne.
“That was fairly easy. These places with hookups make traveling so nice. It is also a good time to dump the holding tank and fill up with fresh clean water in the water tanks. Some of these RV parks also have nice shower rooms, laundry facilities, swimming pools, and sometimes they even have recreation rooms. Let’s take a walk around before we do anything else and see what they have here. If it looks good, we can stay another day and night, if we want, or we can head out tomorrow. We don’t have any firm plans,” he added.
They gathered up the twins in their backpacks, locked the doors, and started walking around the campground. Even though it was a little cool, Bryan wanted to go swimming. John walked back with him, so he could get his swim suit and a towel. While Anne waited, she put the back pack on the ground and lifted Angela out. She draped her chest and began nursing the baby. When John walked back with Bryan, he sat down and got Marco out. He held him while Anne finished with Angela. Bryan climbed out and jumped happily into the pool. In a few minutes a couple of kids came over and started swimming. Anne traded with John and fed Marco. They sat side-by-side and watched Bryan playing with the others boys. When the sun disappeared, and it began getting dark, the other kids hurried back to their trailers. After Bryan got out, he wrapped his towel around himself and began shivering. They qu
ickly gathered up their things and headed back to the RV. Bryan hurried into the bathroom and took a quick hot shower. He came out, grabbed his clothes and got dressed in the master bedroom.
While he was doing that, Anne and John began looking at the groceries and figuring out what they could fix for dinner. When Bryan came out and sat down with his Gameboy, Anne and John finished cooking. They brought over plates of spaghetti and meatballs, toasted French bread, and a small salad for each.
Bryan swiveled his chair around and smiled. “I think I’m going to love this trip. I like your spaghetti, Mom. I had fun playing with those kids at the pool, and I’m feeling so happy. That’s the first time I’ve played with other kids since before I was put in the hospital after the accident.”
Anne smiled at him and said, “I hadn’t thought about that. I’ll bet you’ve missed playing with other kids. I’m feeling very happy, too. I hope the rest of our trip is this easy and this much fun. I feel so content being here with you and the twins. Of course, I’m very happy our chauffer is here also to do the driving . Shall we see if the TV works here. There’s an antenna system that is supposed to search for signals when it is turned on.”
John turned on the antenna system and the TV set. In less than a minute, a show appeared on the screen. They didn’t have a lot of channels to choose from, but, at least, now they knew it would work. After watching one comedy show, they didn’t see anything interesting coming on, so they turned it off.
John got out their travel log, and he and Bryan began looking at the map and the RV’s odometer settings. They continued with the entries. John had logged their stop at Marco’s Resort. John told Bryan what the last odometer reading was. He had Bryan check to see what it was reading now. Bryan came back and wrote it in the log book. Now John said, “How far did we travel this afternoon since leaving Marco’s place? Then how far have we driven since leaving Mr. Ferguson’s house?”
John watched as Bryan figured out the answers. “Great, Bryan. You did it correctly. Is there anything else we need to log in tonight? Look at the headings of the columns.”
“Yes, we stopped for gas when we were about to enter San Francisco. Did you keep a record of the amount we bought?” he asked.
“Yes, I have the receipt. I want to keep all of them. We may be able to deduct some of the mileage and travel expenses on our taxes if we combine it with locating places to make donations for MSA Bequests. The receipts will prove where we went and the log will note places we stopped at to look around for places to give awards of money. Can you put in the mileage, the amount of gas, and the total cost? I also want to figure out what our gas mileage is on this trip, at least in the beginning. That’s another way you can keep a check on how well your engine is working and when it might need a tune-up. Do you know how to do that part?”
John showed Bryan how to figure the mileage. Since there were a lot of decimals in the problem, Anne gave Bryan his new calculator to do the math work. John shook Bryan’s hand and said, “You did great work, Son. It is neatly written, everything is in the right place. I am proud of you. Help me remember each time we get gas or servicing, or stop for the night, to complete the log book. Since you are doing this job each day, I will pay you $5.00 for each day you correctly make an entry. That way you can earn some spending money so you can buy some things for yourself. One important thing you need to learn is how to earn and spend money. I wish someone had taught me that before I started out on my own. It would have kept me from making some foolish purchases. As you can see, life is all about making choices, learning lessons, loving people, and helping others. I think it’s about time to get to bed. I’m going to get cleaned up and ready for bed,” John said.
Bryan took the log book and calculator, and put them in the cupboard where he could find it. He brushed his teeth in the half bath and pulled on his pajamas. Anne fixed the twins’ beds under the dining room table. That way there was more room to walk through the center of the RV. By the time Bryan was ready to go to bed, Anne had the blankets out and the bed was nearly made.
Bryan said, “Thanks, Mom. If you show me where the things are stored and how to do that, I can fix my bed at night and put it away in the morning.”
Anne smiled and said, “Thanks, Bryan. You are so thoughtful. I don’t mind doing it, but I’d love your help. Climb in now and get some rest. Is there anything you want to talk about that we did today or anything else? Do you say your prayers at night? I always do. Let me pray with you tonight. Praying at night always helps me sleep more peacefully. ‘Dear God, Thank you for today and for our safe travel. Please guide us and protect us. Help us to live the way you want us to live. Thank you for my family. Amen’.”
Anne kissed him and pulled the covers up. She turned off the light in the kitchen area, but left a little one in the half bath on. She walked back to the master bedroom. She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower and put on her night gown. John was already in bed. She quietly climbed in and moved over closer to him. He turned toward her and said, “I think I still owe you a few ‘tips’ for all the special things you do for me and the kids. I love you so much. I’m so happy living with you. Thanks,” he said as he rolled over and kissed her with gentle passion. She snuggled closer and put her head on his shoulder. They talked quietly a few minutes and then gradually drifted off to sleep.
About 3 am, Bryan tapped on the door. “Mom,” he whispered, “the twins are awake.”
Anne woke up and climbed out of bed. She hugged Bryan and said, “I’m sorry they woke you up. I’ll try to quiet them down so you can go back to sleep.”
“I don’t mind. I like being up with you when you take care of them. You’re a really good mother. Can I hold one while you take care of the other?” he asked timidly.
“Of course. I love your help, but if you feel tired and want to go back to bed, I’ll understand. Here’s Angela. She seems to relax and get quiet when you hold her. She is lucky to have a big brother like you,” Anne added softly.
They sat and talked quietly so John wouldn’t wake up. When the feeding was over and the twins were back in bed, Anne tucked Bryan in again and kissed him goodnight. She walked back and fell asleep without waking John.
Early in the morning, John woke up before the others. He walked outside and strolled around the campground. It was just before dawn, and only a few lights were turned on yet. He sat by the pool for a few minutes and watched the sun rising in the east. He sighed and felt all tension drain out of him. He walked back to the RV and quietly entered. It was still quiet. He walked back into the bedroom. where Anne was still sleeping. John looked at her and lay down watching her sleep. He was starting to doze off when he felt her stir. He opened his eyes and saw her looking at him. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said.
“Good morning to you, too, handsome husband,” she murmured sleepily. He slid over and held her close. He kissed her and breathed deeply. “You look and smell good enough to eat,” he said quietly, “but this is not the time or place to do what I’d like to do. Bryan is beginning to wake up, but I still want to show you what a $20.00 tip is worth.”
Anne giggled and kissed him tenderly. “I can hardly wait, John, but you don’t have to ‘tip’ me. I enjoy it as much as you do,” she admitted blushing coyly. Anne got up and put on her robe. She walked out into the kitchen area and started a pot of coffee. In a few minutes the coffee was ready. John came out and poured a cup for each of them. They snuggled together on the sofa in silence, enjoying the peaceful moment. A few minutes later, Bryan woke up. He sat up and stretched and looked around. When he saw Anne and John were sitting on the couch, he walked back and snuggled up against Anne.
John said, “Good morning, son. Do you like coffee in the morning?”
“I don’t know, but it smells good. Can I try some?” he asked.
“Sure, on this trip we won’t be as fussy as when we settle do
wn. A little coffee now and then would be OK for you. I’ll fix it the way I used to drink it when I was young,” John said. He filled the cup about halfway full and added milk and sugar. He stirred it and handed the cup to Bryan.
Bryan held it carefully and felt the warmth through the cup. He took a sip and made a face. “It’s a little bitter, but it makes me feel warm inside. I think I like hot chocolate better, but I like doing things that you do, Dad,” Bryan added.
“I’d better be careful what I do, if you are going to copy me!” John said with a quiet laugh.
Anne giggled and said, “I think you picked a great person to copy. John is one of the kindest and most honest men I have ever known, but no one is perfect. What do you two want to do first today—eat or explore? We can have cereal or eggs or French toast here or we can get dressed and eat at a café along the way. I’m game for either,” Anne said.
“I talked to a man earlier this morning by the pool. I think he runs this RV Park. He mentioned an African animal park around here. He said it was not very big, but his grandkids enjoyed it. Why don’t we get ready to leave and see if we can find the place? It isn’t very often that you get to watch lions and elephants before breakfast. If it doesn’t look interesting, we can start out for the redwoods and get breakfast along the way,” John suggested.
“Wow! Do you think we can really see lions and elephants? I’ve never seen them except in movies or on TV. What do you say, Mom?” Bryan asked.
“It sounds like we will have an African adventure this morning. Let’s get ready and go hunt up some wild animals,” Anne said quickly. Bryan went in and cleaned up and got dressed. John went outside and began disconnecting the RV lines. He re-set the stabilizer settings, checked the tires and signals, and got ready to move. While he was working on the outside of the RV, Bryan folded up his bedding and stowed them in the storage compartment. Anne quickly cleaned up the kitchen, stowed the coffeepot, clean cups, and got dressed.
When John climbed back into the RV, they were ready to start out for ‘Africa’. “That was really quick work. Of course, we didn’t use the pull out sections, but it’s nice to see that it won’t take long to move out if we are ever in a hurry. Is everyone buckled up and ready to move?” John asked.
He started the RV and carefully pulled out of the space. Once on the frontage road, he spotted a sign about the animal park. With Bryan and Anne navigating, they found the park and located a place for the large RV to park. It was still early in the morning. The Safari Adventure Park was just opening, and there were only a few people waiting to go inside. With the twins changed and in their backpacks and Bryan beside them, they walked up and paid to go inside.
The park was nearly deserted. It was almost like they were really alone in Africa, and the animals were there just for them. They walked along until they found a tram that would take them along the perimeter of the park where they could see the animals in their natural habitats. It was a little cool, so Bryan put caps on Angela and Marco. The air felt cool and crisp as the tram slowly circled the park. The man driving the tram told them interesting information about the animals they were seeing. Away from the park buildings, Bryan could imagine he was actually in Africa. He watched the giraffes stretching to reach the leaves in the tops of the trees. He laughed at them when he saw how they had to spread their legs out sideways to bend down to get a drink from a small water hole.
The adult lions were resting on the ground, but two young cubs were tumbling around together, ‘play fighting’. After a few moments, they dashed over and pounced on their mother. She stretched and playfully batted them off. They scampered away and began pouncing and tumbling again.
Bryan laughed at the cubs. “They remind me of kids on the playground at the park near my old home. That’s how the little kids played and then ran back to their mommas, and then they took off again. I wonder if they still play at that park?” he asked wistfully.
Anne put her arm around his shoulders and hugged him. “It’s all right to remember the old times. I hope we will make a lot of happy memories for you on this trip. It must still hurt sometimes when you remember the past. Talk about it, if you want to. You know that John and I will always love you, Bryan.”
John said, “Anne’s right. After my mom and family died, I tried to be brave and keep everything inside. I didn’t know it was OK to talk about them. It made my dad so sad that I stopped talking about them. Years later, when my first police partner was killed, I fell apart. It was then that I had to stop and mourn for them and for my friend who died. Don’t feel like you have to hide your feelings, Son. It is normal to miss them and be sad sometimes. If you are sad or upset, we will understand and love you even more. I don’t want you to be unhappy, but we are here for you no matter how you feel. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do. Sometimes I see someone that looks like my mom or dad and I get excited, but then I remember it isn’t them, and I feel awful. I feel like crying, but I usually hold it in. I don’t want you to think I don’t love you,” he admitted shyly.
“Bryan, if you didn’t remember them, miss them, and feel sad, I’d worry about you. When you think and remember things about them, it doesn’t mean you don’t care about us. It is normal to love them. They were your parents, your mom and dad and your siblings. There is always enough love for everyone. It seems to grow bigger the more people we meet and love. I could never imagine how I could love more than one child, but it just came naturally. I love you and Marco and Angela and, of course, John. You are all special to me in different ways. I can’t imagine the pain you and John went through losing so many loved ones while you were so young. I still grieve for my mom and dad and now for Marco. Sometimes I see or hear something and I feel sad and lonely and miss my mom, even after all these years. It hurts less now, but I think I will always miss her and remember her. Just trust in your feelings and trust in John and me to understand when you feel sad or lonely. I will always love you, Bryan, and I know John feels the same way,” Anne said gently.
After touring the petting zoo, they bought food at a food stand at the park. They sat outside and watched the monkeys swinging on ropes and tree limbs in their enclosure. A group of howler monkeys began howling and people came flocking over to watch them. The twins were startled by all the noise and they began crying. John and Anne took them out of their backpacks and covered their ears. After a few more seconds the howling stopped just as suddenly as it had begun. While they were still sitting at the table outside, Anne pulled out a small jar of baby food. She began patiently trying to feed Marco some cereal. His tongue pushed out almost as much as Anne managed to get inside his mouth. She kept at it until he had eaten a couple of spoonsful. She wiped off his face, and then she tried to get Angela to eat some cereal also. Angela managed to keep more of it in her mouth, but still a lot came bubbling out for every little bit that stayed inside.
Bryan watched as Anne fed the babies. “They sure don’t like cereal very much,” he commented.
Anne said, “I don’t know if that’s why they spit it out. This is the first time they are trying to eat ‘solid’ food. Until now, everything they ate was liquid. They haven’t quite figured out how to control their tongues and swallow yet. Just think, you ate the same way when you were this age. They aren’t really messy. They are just beginners. For their first time, they did pretty well.”
Once they were back on the road, Bryan got out his notebook and looked at the pictures he and Anne had taken at the African animal park. “Do I need to write an entry for every picture we took at the animal park?” he asked.
“No, choose one or a few that you like the most and write something about them. You can write more if you want to, but that would be up to you. After we get the pictures printed, we will type up your notes and make a travel album for the family. It will help us remember some of the things we did on our trip. I know we will really enjoy it
as the years go by. What did you like the best there?” Anne asked.
“I liked the giraffes and the monkeys best, but I think the funniest thing was watching you trying to feed the twins. I got a couple of funny pictures of that, but I don’t know if that would be OK to put in the book,” Bryan said.
“I think that would be great. When the twins get older, they will love to see their own pictures, even with messy faces. I like your sense of humor, Bryan. I will leave the choice up to you. I want this to be a fun project for you, not a chore that you dislike,” Anne explained. “We may put in extra pictures, but we’ll decide that when they are printed up. I bought a small color printer that will do digital photos without needing a computer. I put it in the storage compartment, because I thought we might wait until we were ready to start the book before we got it out. Between the three of us, we should be able to figure it out.”
“That sounds like fun. Do you think I can help with the photos?” he asked.
“Of course, you can probably figure it out easier than Anne or me,” John admitted with a laugh. “Kids just seem to catch on to things like that better than old folks like us.”
Anne made a face at him and said, “I’m not getting old; like good wine I am getting better with age.” Bryan laughed and went back to looking at the images in the camera’s view screen.
A couple of hours later, they turned off the highway and drove onto a road that narrowed down to two lanes as they approached the redwood park. John pointed it out and told Bryan, “In the past, roads were only two lanes wide —one lane in each direction. Most modern roads have been widened, but this area is so beautiful, they left it two lanes so they wouldn’t have to destroy any of these beautiful giants. They made a by-pass highway around the outside of the main groves for people who are in a hurry. I purposely chose to drive down the old highway. We are nearly to Arcata. In our RV guide book, they mentioned an RV campground that sounded perfect for us. We should be there in a few minutes. Did you know we are just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean now? The reason these trees grow so big here is the temperature and moisture level is just what these redwood trees need to thrive.”
Bryan smiled and asked, “Dad, you seem to know about everything. How did you learn all of this?”
John laughed, “To be truthful, I read the guide book this morning before you two woke up. I hope you aren’t disappointed to learn I really don’t know everything.”
“I already knew that. Nobody knows everything, but you seem to know a lot of things. I want to be like you when I grow up,” Bryan added.
“That’s the nicest compliment anyone ever gave me. I hope I don’t disappoint you as you get older. I just want you to be the best you that you can be.”
A little later, John spotted the sign leading to the Riverside RV Park. They followed the winding forest road about half a mile through wooded land until they came to a series of intertwined roads with RV and trailer campsites. John stopped at the office and rented a spot for the night. He carefully maneuvered the RV into the spot. He and Bryan worked together and hooked up the lines and soon lunch was cooking. They had stopped at a large Wal-Mart store in the last town and bought more supplies including fishing poles and other fishing gear. There was a barbecue set up near the picnic table at the campsite, so they decided to have hamburgers for lunch. Anne had also bought other things including beans and sandwich fixing. While she got things ready to cook, Bryan and John explored the campground. When they came back from their hike, Anne was ready to start cooking the hamburgers.
Bryan came rushing inside, “Mom,” he shouted, ”the river is just a short walk from here. Some people were down there fishing. They caught some big fish. After lunch, Dad and I are going down there and see if I can catch some fish for dinner. Do you want to come? It is really pretty over there, and there are shady places so the twins won’t get sunburned. Can we go?”
“That sounds like fun. Let’s get lunch ready and then we can decide. I want to see you catch a big fish today. We need to remember to get a picture of you fishing, and hopefully, get a picture of you with your fish!” she answered excitedly.
John lit the charcoal and got the fire ready for the meat. He put the hamburgers on the grill. Soon the smell of the meat grilling had everyone feeling famished. Anne prepared fixings and brought everything out to the table. Soon they were seated at the picnic table. John led the blessing, while Anne and Bryan said a happy “Amen.”
“These are great, Dad. Mom, can I have another one?” he asked.
“You can, if you are hungry. Everything cooked outside seems to taste better than food cooked in the kitchen. Do you want to split one with Dad? I’ll bet he would like another one, too,” Anne asked.
“That sounds great to me,” John said. “It was delicious, but I don’t think I could eat another whole one. Is half a burger enough for you, Son?”
“Sure, I don’t think I could eat another big burger either, but it tastes so good,” Bryan answered.
While the guys fixed and ate their burger, Anne fed the twins, changed them, and got their gear ready to go to the river. Traveling with six month old babies meant taking more things with them, but they quickly cleaned up the camp area, put stuff away in the RV and hurried down to the river. John spread a blanket partly in the shady area, and they laid the babies in the center of the blanket. Anne sat on the blanket by them and watched the two guys start fishing. The fresh air and sunshine soon lulled the twins to sleep. Anne picked up her camera and walked down to the river bank and took off her shoes. She rolled her pants legs up to her knees and waded into the water. It was icy cold, but she smiled with joy. She kept looking back at the twins who were peacefully sleeping.
While she was standing there in the water, she heard Bryan yell, “Dad, I think I have a fish!”
John waded over to where Bryan was standing with his pole. The tip was bobbing up and down. “It looks like you have your first fish,” he called excitedly. Anne got her camera ready. She walked over closer to get a better picture.
Bryan reeled in the line. When he got it close to the shore, he lifted the rod and found a fish about ten inches long on his line. He shouted, “Look, Mom, I caught it! I got my first fish. Can we have it for dinner?” he asked excitedly. Anne quickly snapped the picture.
“I’ll cook it if you guys will clean it. I’m not really sure how to do that part, and I don’t know if I want to learn it either,” she said. Anne took several pictures so Bryan could chose the one he liked best for the album. She walked back over to the blanket and took a picture of the twins still sleeping side-by-side. A little later, when they woke up, she took pictures of them as they kicked and moved around. Since no one was nearby, she nursed them and laid them down on the warm blanket. They moved their arms and legs and cooed to each other. Anne laughed when she watched them. “It looks like the twins like it here. They look like they are trying to talk to each other. I wonder what they are thinking about all of this?” she sighed happily.
Bryan rushed up, grabbed the camera and captured Anne and the twins asleep on the blanket. When John walked over, he showed Bryan how to operate the self-timer on the camera. They put the camera on a nearby picnic table, pointed it at the blanket. When they pushed the timer’s button, they dashed over and flopped down on the blanket and pretended to be sleeping, too. Later, they gathered up their things and wandered back to the motorhome.
The night was cool and the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees lulled them all to sleep. In the morning, they heard birds chirping and singing in the trees around the RV. They took a long hike through the redwood forest. The light shining through the tall trees caused rays of light to shine through like long fingers pointing to clumps of ferns growing on the ground. Except for the sounds of the birds and the breeze, it was like they were the only people for miles around. In some places along the trail, there were signs that told about the t
rees.
Bryan read one out loud, “The Coast redwood trees are some of the tallest trees in the world. The tallest ones in this grove are over 373 feet tall.” Bryan looked up and tried to see the top of the tree. He bent so far backwards that he nearly fell over.
“I can’t even see the top of the tree,” he cried. It’s too tall,” he exclaimed.
John said, “If you could back up several yards you could see it. The trouble is there are too many trees in this area to get back far enough to see the top. I guess that’s what the expression ‘You can’t see the forest for the trees’ means.”
The family talked that night and decided to stay at the campground an extra few days, because it was so nice in the forest. Bryan fished again and caught several more fish. They cleaned them, wrapped them, and packed some in the freezer; the rest they cooked for dinner.
A few days later, they drove north on highway 101 towards the Oregon Dunes area. As they approached the area, Anne said, “Look at this, Bryan. I’ve never seen a place like this before. On the right side of the highway there is a large mountain covered with forests. Then there is a small lake; running beside it is a river. Then, there’s the highway we are on. On the left of the highway there are huge white sand dunes. On the other side of the dunes, although we can’t see it from here, is the Pacific Ocean. All of these different things together in one place is amazing! I don’t know what to look at first,” Anne enthused.
Before finding a place to settle down for the night, they pulled in at a building that advertised Dune Buggy Rides. Anne and John put the twins in their backpacks and they all went to the ticket booth. John bought tickets and they piled onto the back of a flatbed truck that had bench seats down the middle of the truck bed. There were seat belts attached to each place. Once they were all belted in, the driver began moving towards the dunes.
“Unless you’ve never seen an ocean, you have probably all seen sand dunes, but unless you’ve been here before, you have a lot to learn about dunes. These sand dunes run about 40 miles along the Pacific Coast. They stretch about 2.5 miles across. The average height of the dunes is 250 feet. The dune we are climbing first is only about 100 feet tall. Once we get to the top, you will see some of the taller dunes and get an idea of how extensive this area is. We have to drive carefully to keep from slipping down the steep sides sideways. Some people say it is like riding a roller coaster, but there are no tracks. When we start down, we may begin sliding. If I holler ‘right’ or ‘left, please lean that direction.”
Bryan, Anne, and John held on to the safety hand rails as the dune buggy began sliding down the steep side of the dune. Gradually, it straightened out and began climbing up the next dune. When they crested the dune, the driver slowed and pointed out several areas of interest that were only visible from the 200 foot height of the dune. For the next 20 minutes, the truck carried them up and down the dunes, finally ending up back at the parking lot and gift shop. Bryan had received his first ‘pay’ from doing the travel log, and he proudly carried his money into the gift ship and looked at the things on sale. He finally chose a small model dune buggy, a small bag of candy, and a couple of post cards. He proudly paid for his own purchases. After touring the sand dunes, they stayed in a beautiful Oregon state campground for the night. They climbed on and slid down some smaller sand dunes near their campsite and visited with others in the campground. Just like every night, they listened to the news and weather on the satellite TV. So far, there was no news about the investigation John had led. Even though there were no hookups at this campground, they were able to use their battery power.
The next morning after a light breakfast, they started the RV and headed inland towards Crater Lake National Park. The highway was now a two lane road that wound through the tree covered Cascade Mountain Range. Between the hills, there were open valleys with small towns and rich looking farmland. Part of the way they drove along some of the many rivers and streams that drained from the higher elevations to the Pacific Ocean. Everywhere they looked, they saw green forests and streams tumbling down rocky stream beds.
“There are so many beautiful vistas, I can’t decide which to photograph,” Anne commented.
“Just wait until you see Crater Lake. It is one of the deepest lakes in the world. The original mountain was once a huge volcano that erupted several thousand years ago. Melted snow filled in the huge crater that was left after the eruption and created Crater Lake. It is more than 1800 feet deep in places. You won’t believe how blue the water looks. Besides all that depth, it is surrounded by the steep walls of the original volcano caldera high above the lake level. The forests are dense and beautiful, although they aren’t as tall or impressive as the coast redwood trees,” John said. “Yes, Bryan, I studied the travel guide book we got from AAA.”
Bryan laughed and said, “I thought so. Thanks for telling us about it. Now I know what to look for. I’d still think you are smart, even if you read it to us directly from the book. Mom, we are getting a lot of pictures on the camera’s memory card. Maybe tonight we should start working on the laptop and printer. Do we have an album or something to put the pictures in when we get them printed?”
“I bought an album before we started out, but we may want to pick up some more supplies at the next big town. I had no idea how many beautiful pictures we would take. We can load them onto the laptop’s hard drive so we can save them all, but we’ll just print our favorites for now. We can even watch them as a slide show on the laptop computer. I’m anxious to see how they look, too,” Anne said.
After exploring the park all day, they pulled into their RV’s site in the campground and settled down for the evening. Anne began fixing dinner while John and Bryan unpacked and set up the photo printer and the laptop computer. Anne put a blanket down on the floor and laid Marco and Angela on it. They were beginning to try to turn over. If placed on their stomachs, they kicked their legs and tried to move around. Anne laughed when they were on their backs, because they looked like little bugs kicking and trying to turn over. Bryan laughed and clicked another picture.
They feasted on macaroni and cheese (one of Bryan’s favorite foods), hot dogs and fresh corn. For dessert, they had a dish of ice cream and fresh baked cookies. While they were eating, John switched the TV on so they could listen to the news. Their dinner conversation stopped abruptly when the TV newsman began talking about a big news story out of Los Angeles.
“The big news story of the day is about massive arrest raids in five different states aimed at organized crime ranging from drug sales, prostitution, extortion, assaults, murders, and other organized crime activities. More than 60 indictments in California alone led to the arrest of more than 48 people. Few details are available tonight, but rumors say the arrests are the result of an undercover operation by one police officer while working with Marco Martinelli, a leading California crime boss who died recently from cancer. In an unprecedented action, similar raids were conducted by federal agents in Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, and Florida. It may be the most wide spread coordinated state and federal arrest action in US history. Rumors indicate the raids were the result of a long term investigation by a few undercover agents. Hopefully, after the arrests are finished, and detainees are arraigned, more information will be released.”
“Well, it looks like the police have made their first move. I’m sure the rest of the information will be leaked out or released soon. It may be time to switch to another name I used when I was undercover when we register or go to places and need to use a name. Let’s hold off until we hear more about what has been released,” John said.
He walked over and hugged Anne. She smiled and said, “I’ll love you no matter what name we use. We’ll follow your lead. As long as we are all together, I’m happy.” Bryan walked over and hugged them. “Me, too,” he said. “We’re a team, and we’ll stick together.”
“We’ll get through this together,
” they said in unison and laughed.
After Crater Lake, they drove to Portland and visited the Children’s Hospital. They walked in the entrance and looked for the waiting room. They sat down and began talking to people sitting there. The comments they heard were positive, for the most part, but they did hear some suggestions from the parents for things that would make it nicer for the patients and the visitors. They made mental notes of the things that were mentioned. Later, Anne wandered up to the children’s ward. Anne explained that she was in the area and was specialized in nursing with critically injured or ill children. She asked questions about possible jobs and talked about what the staff thought they needed to improve the children’s department.
After leaving the hospital, they got on the road and headed north to catch the border with Washington. Once there, they turned on the scenic Columbia River Gorge Highway and headed east towards Idaho. Partway to the Idaho border, they stopped in a beautiful campground that overlooked the huge Columbia River. Large boats travelled along the river. In places the river was several hundred feet below the highway. This campground was much closer, but it was still high above the water level. The sound of the river rushing over the rocks in the narrow place in the canyon sounded like the roar of a distant jet. Because of the swiftness of the river, it was much too dangerous to think about getting closer to the water. There was a small stream that meandered through the campground that was just right for wading and fishing.
That night, the news again talked about the arrests. John nodded his head when he heard several of the names of people who had been arrested. The newsman said they were still looking for several other people, but did not reveal the names. Nothing was leaked about John’s part in the investigation. John’s boss and Joe were both interviewed, but neither mentioned him by name. They relaxed and spent part of the evening working on the pictures for the album. Anne helped Bryan type up his captions for the first few photos. They cut them into strips and put them with the appropriate pictures. Everyone helped with the album. Marco and Angela seemed to look at the pictures. They celebrated by watching a DVD movie and ate microwave popcorn. Anne spent part of the time, holding the twins and feeding them.
The family decided to head East into Idaho to see more of the country. The road was more winding than usual, so they took their time and decided to stop when they saw something interesting or they were getting tired. The landscape gradually became less steep. The hills changed to be more rolling hills than steep slopes. The trees were not as dense as they were higher up in the Cascade Range, but the land was still green and there were small towns in the valleys. Then it began getting warmer, and there were fewer rivers. Once they got to Boise, Idaho, the state Capital, they looked for the children’s hospital. After parking, they wandered into the hospital and again began exploring and talking to people there. Anne’s specialized skills made a good introduction. She explained they were travelling through the area and thought about settling near Boise. The staff was eager to show her around. With her keen sight, she noted things both positive and negative. One thing she listened to carefully were the parents and patients that she met. After leaving, she sat down and made entries of both positive and negative comments while John headed east on Highway 84.
A couple of hours out of Boise, the appearance of the land changed drastically. They dropped down into a bizarre looking black desert that stretched for miles. As far as they could see, the ground itself was black. There were a few trees and bushes scattered along the road. The terrain was so dark and desolate, it looked like something awful had happened to the area.
When they passed a sign that said Craters of the Moon Park, Bryan said, “Are we still on the same planet? This does look like pictures I’ve seen on TV about the Moon.”
Anne and John laughed, “We are still on the Earth, but it is so different from the forests we just left this morning, it might as well be the moon.”
They pulled into the Craters of the Moon National Monument about 4 pm. The Lava Flow Campground was practically empty. They got out and looked around. The weather was much warmer than it had been in Oregon. The quiet stillness and lack of people and traffic added an unearthly ambiance to the place. When they sat down at a picnic table, they noticed there were large numbers of chipmunks and squirrels. They sat quietly watching them scamper around. Although they did not come close, they didn’t seem afraid of people.
John said, “This is a strange place, but I like the peacefulness and quiet here. I think we should stop here for the night. I thought we might make it to Yellowstone this afternoon, but it is always so crowded, I think it would be better to stay here tonight and get to Yellowstone early tomorrow morning. I think I’ll go on line and see if I can reserve a RV space for the next five days in Yellowstone. What do you think about that?”
“You’re the driver, and I agree with you,” Anne said. “I saw a sign that the rangers put on nature programs at night in this campground. That sounds like it might be fun to go to.”
“I vote we stay here tonight. I’d like to figure out why it looks like this here? Why is it so different from the other side of the mountains?” Bryan asked.
John said, “Let’s check our travel guide book. It may tell us.” He retrieved the book from the cupboard and opened it up to Idaho. “The name of our campground might give us a big clue. Lava Flow comes out of a volcano. We are standing on the remains of a huge volcanic eruption. Large cracks or fissures in the earth’s crust resulted in a massive black lava flow that covered this area. It says there are trails that go through underground lava flow tunnels as well as trails along the surface. Have you ever explored in a lava tunnel? I haven’t. That might be something unique to do while we are here. It must have been a huge volcano to cover so many miles of land.”
After dinner, they gathered up the twins and headed over to the outdoor theater area. Although the park appeared nearly empty, several vehicles pulled into the small parking area near the large campfire ring. There were about 40 people seated on the wooden and cement benches in a semicircle around the campfire by the time the ranger began the program. The park ranger showed some slides of the park and told about the history of the area. He was funny and enthusiastic and led them in singing silly camp songs while the bonfire burned down to glowing embers. He gave information about the hiking trails in the underground lava flow tunnels and the special guided tour that was given each morning. Bryan and John decided to get up early and do the guided tour with the ranger. Anne chose to stay at the RV and spend her time playing with the twins.
About 10 am Bryan and John came back to the RV. They were covered with black dust. Bryan and John stripped off their dirty clothes and washed up. While John showered, Bryan took the camera and showed Anne some pictures he took of the lava tubes. Then Bryan took a quick shower, while John got the RV ready to travel. He had made up a simple checklist to be sure he remembered to disconnect or reset each thing that needed to be done before moving out of the space. Anne got the inside straightened up. About noon, they pulled out of the campground for the short drive to the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. John had a spot reserved for them to spend four nights in a campground near Old Faithful. Just as he had heard, the park was crowded with visitors. Many of the campgrounds were already filled up for the night. Because the campsites were close together, Anne and Bryan helped guide him into the spot. As soon as they were parked, Bryan went for a walk through the campground. There were several kids his age camping near them. In about an hour, he showed up with two other kids.
Anne invited them to come in and have lunch with the family. They quickly checked with their parents and came running back over. Anne had stocked up on snack foods and sandwich ingredients. She served them grilled cheese sandwiches and chips and a bowl of soup. After eating the boys took off on a short hike over to the Visitors’ Center. Anne and John, each carrying one of the twins, hea
ded over and met them outside the gift shop. John treated the boys to an ice cream bar. Together they all walked over to the Old Faithful Geyser observation area. The boys were busy playing tag, but they came running when the ranger began his speech. He told the crowd that the geyser was named Old Faithful, because it usually erupted a 120 foot tall water spout of hot steamy water every 80-90 minutes day and night. First they noticed a little extra bubbling and a fine mist began escaping. Suddenly, a fountain of boiling hot water shot high into the air. Bryan shouted with excitement and jumped up and down. After the geyser stopped spouting, the crowd of people quickly wandered away. They saw a series of wooden walkways leading out into a flat meadow area. John, carrying Marco in his backpack, took Bryan’s hand and walked down one of the boardwalks. Anne, carrying Angela, followed a few steps behind the guys. On either side of the wooden walkways, there were pools of bubbling hot water of different colors. The sign explained that the colors were caused by different types of minerals that were dissolved in the water deep below the surface of the ground.
Bryan noticed a small pond that was bubbling a light color of tan mud. He laughed and said, “That looks like a pot of oatmeal bubbling on the stove.”
Anne said, “I don’t think it would taste like oatmeal. Should we take a potful home for breakfast?” Bryan laughed and shook his head.
After walking back to the Visitors’ Center, John noticed an ad for a bus tour of the park. He got tickets for them for the next day. The park had many miles of roads that ran through all the sections of the park. The driver of the bus was full of great information about the geology, history, and wildlife of the area. He stopped at major points of interest and allowed people to get off and explore and to take pictures. He took them to places where they could see elk and deer feeding in the meadows. They also spotted several bears along the road. They were able to open the windows and take pictures from the safety of the bus. Some people in cars got out, but wisely ran back inside when the bears began moving toward them. The bus driver explained that the Yellowstone bears had become unafraid of people and were a serious problem. He warned them to keep their distance if they saw a bear wandering around. Bryan took several pictures of the animals. John asked the bus driver if he would take a picture of all of them sitting in the bus. “I just want to prove that all of us came on this trip,” he laughed.
By the time the bus tour was over, it was getting dark. While Anne fixed dinner, Bryan and John began printing some of the pictures they had taken. When the TV news came on, they heard John’s name mentioned for the first time. Another related story told that crime boss Marco Martinelli's Will had been filed and disclosed he had left his estate and property to a woman who had been staying at the resort with him. She had recently given birth to twins named Marco and Angela. It didn’t give any other details, but it implied that the woman had been living with Marco. Anne shook her head when she heard it. John put his arm around her and gave her a hug, kissed her on the cheek, and said, “It may get a lot worse before it gets better, but we know the truth. That’s the important thing. You did nothing wrong. The truth will come out in the end.”
Anne nodded and said, “I know, but I was hoping the twins wouldn’t be mentioned. We will need to be careful about using their names when we are out in public.”
There was so much to see in Yellowstone that they decided to stay four more days. Bryan and John went fishing on the Yellowstone Lake in a rented boat. Anne and the twins rode along with them. Bryan caught a large cutthroat trout. The lake was much larger than Crater Lake. It was the largest body of water at a high altitude over 7600 feet above sea level. The sun was bright and the lake was much shallower so its color was much lighter blue than Crater Lake. A gentle breeze blew across the water. Anne kept the twins under a shade most of the day to protect them from sunburns. The others used ample amounts of sunscreen. They pulled into the shore and had a picnic lunch on the sandy beach.
A couple of nights they attended the Campfire Programs at the campground. They rode a shuttle bus to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and walked the trail along the rim near Artist’s Point and took pictures of Yellowstone Falls. While there, they saw a small herd of buffalo grazing in a meadow and a group of elk walking across the open field to disappear in the dense evergreen forest.
On the last day, they explored the Mammoth Hot Springs area and walked along the pathways around the terrace-like formations created by limestone deposits. Some of the formations were more than twenty feet tall and were splashed with many different pastel colors. One large one looked like a fairytale castle. From there, they drove to the south entrance and left Yellowstone. They drove down a winding road that ran along a river that rushed down the steep mountain area. There were several beautiful primitive campgrounds along the river. They pulled into one and found a spot so close to the river that they could hear it rushing over the rocks. That night, they slept with the RV windows open so they could listen to the river sing its travelling song.
This was the first night they had to rely on the generator. It worked perfectly, so they had electricity and even caught the local news broadcast. The announcer said, “The mystery woman linked to Marco Martinelli has disappeared from sight. This is an old picture of Anne Lanford when she was training to be a nurse.” He continued, “A large unexpected donation was made to the Children’s Hospital in San Francisco by the MAS Foundation. It was learned that the MAS Foundation was created and is administered by the woman who inherited Marco Martinelli’s estate. People speculated that she may be travelling around and making generous donations to hospitals and other charitable organizations. Someone said she had been seen in the San Francisco Children’s Hospital about three weeks ago. The big question is “Where is she now and who will be the next ones to receive donations from the foundation which was rumored to have several million dollars in assets? If you see her, please call this TV station and give us your information.”
Anne was shocked that so much had been disclosed so quickly. “We need to send off a donation to someplace where we have not been. I’d like to make a large donation to the two hospitals where I worked before we got married.” She got on the internet and gave instructions to her lawyer and accountant to send letters similar to the one sent to San Francisco Children’s Hospital. She also sent grants to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and St. Jude Hospital in Tennessee.
John said, “It looks like the game is on now. When we leave the Grand Teton area, let’s head down toward Phoenix or Tucson. I think we need to go to another section of the country and send grants to places in the Northwest to throw the newsmen off the track.”
“One good thing is they haven’t connected us and that we are married and we have Bryan with us. It is time to be inconspicuous and blend in with our surroundings. I think we’ve done a good job so far, and I agree with you. Let’s head to the Southwest and hope they continue to look for us in the northwest. This is turning out to be a good adventure,” Anne said.