Back from the grind of a long week delivering files from Monterey to Phoenix. I was gone all week last week and decided to take Darla up to Reno for a quick getaway on Sunday and Monday. Darla was off work on Monday for Lincoln's Birthday, which is actually on Wednesday, but people who plan days off default to Monday. We drove up Sunday morning and stayed at the Atlantis Casino in Reno.

The Atlantis gave us a $120 voucher for dinner in their Italian restaraunt, Monte Vigna, and we enjoyed a romantic dinner on Sunday night. I have a frequent player card at the Atlantis and they generally either give us a free room (which is only a $45 value) or offer to buy us dinner or sometimes both. I had a delicious filet mignon and Darla had porcini ravioli. We also enjoyed an appetizer of fried calimari and I downed all of it with a Peroni italian beer. It was a great meal and for those of you who know me well, it was made even more delicious by the fact that it was complimentary.

I dropped a $20 bill out of my pocket while I was sitting at the table. Casinos pump pure oxygen through their ventilation system, which somehow effects casino guests to the casino's benefit. The oxygen makes my nose run and on one of my forays into my pocket for my hankie, I dropped the twenty.I realized it when I left the restaurant, but by the time I ran back, the money was gone. I found the waitress and asked her if she saw the bill. Fat chance. Strangely, about an hour later as we were sitting playing video poker, the waitress tracked us down and had my $20. The busboy had seen it and pocketed it. He handed it over when she asked him about it and wanted to find us because she enjoyed waiting on us. It was refreshing to see that level of honesty and I ended up giving her the bill anyhow. It sort of renews confidence in your fellow man when you experience something like that.

Darla and I dropped about $200 in the casino and we should be set for our next "free" dinner and night's stay next time.

The trip to Phoenix was anything but routine. I took a 17 foot U-Haul van with a gross vehicle weight of 11,000 pounds. The truck itself weighs 7700 pounds, which leaves the renter only 3300 pounds of goods to pack. I realized I had a problem about a third of the way through packing the truck with files. We had 420 cartons of files and each carton weighs about 35 pounds. Do the math. With the equipment and other miscellaneous items, I had over 15000 pounds of freight packed into a 7700 pound truck. I turned that U-Haul into an 11 ton behemoth. I knew I had a problem when I left the storage site and almost couldn't stop the truck at the intersection.

I left Monterey at 10:30 bound for Bakersfield. I knew by one-thirty that I would cancel my hotel reservation and drive on farther. I wanted to get as far down the road as I could. I had two concerns, one was tire blowouts due to the weight of the truck and the other was getting stopped by the highway patrol and not being allowed to continue on my sojourn. I took Highway 58 out of Bakersfield through the Tehachapi mountains and up to Boron and Tehachapi and Edwards AFB where the shuttle used to land. I stopped in Barstow for the night and the truck creaked to a stop in the parking lot. The next day I got a late start as I sat transfixed in front of the tv and watched Collin Powell lay out the case against Saddam Hussein and Iraq. I drove onto Highway 40 and the trip to Needles. The forecast was for high winds in the high desert areas and a warning to high profile vehicles. That I guess would be me with an eleven foot panel truck packed with files. I creeped my way up the mountain leading to Needles and finally crested the summit and started down the slope. As hard as it was to get up the hill, it was equally difficult to keep from going down the hill too fast. The wind was gusting up to 50 miles an hour and pushing hard against the van. I had to fight to keep the truck in my own lane. I looked down at the speedometer at one point and was shocked to see it approaching seventy. It scared me and I pressed the brakes to slow down just as a gust of wind hit the truck. It began to rock violently back and forth and my heart jumped into my throat and that adrenaline rush that almost blinds you hit my body. The steering wheel was suddenly jerked out of my hands and I could feel the truck rolling. I could just imagine flipping the U-Haul out on I-40 in Needles. I was able to wrest control of the steering wheel from the wind and eased the truck to the side of the road. I did a quick inventory of my faculties and realized that I was still in one piece and my drawers were bunched but dry. It was scary.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful and I arrived at Dad and Shirley's home in Sun City about 4:15 local time. Dad did mention to me that his son-in-law, Cameron, is now dyeing his hair. That was the second thing he said to me. I know my beard is getting a bit white, but c'mon, Dad. I think I've earned this gray beard as the step-father of two teenaged boys and the father of a female. Frankly with both of my grandfathers being cue ball bald, I'm thrilled to have hair. The color is beside the point. Dad fixed steaks and I enjoyed their company and hospitality immensely. I was tired and fell asleep about nine-thirty on the couch and woke up near ten-fiteen. I turned to apologize to Dad and Shirley for falling asleep on them and they were both out cold in their twin recliners snoozing away as well.

The next day, I met five guys from the office at a local U-Haul storage center and we unloaded the truck. I knew that the contents had shifted as I could hear something crash in the back on my trip. It took four of us to get the back door open and about three rows of files had toppled against the back door and were open and scattered. We cleaned up the mess and it took us about two-and-a-half hours to unload the files and properly categorize and file them properly. I bought all of the workers lunch at a local authentic Mexican food establishment and had my Arizona marketing rep drive me to the rental car site where I picked up a Jeep Grand Cherokee and got back to Dad's about two-thirty. That afternoon, for the first time in my life, I played golf with my Dad....and Shirley of course. We played at the local Sun City course, one of six courses that they have access to. I wore tennis shoes and used my old clubs and suffered through a 44 on the back side. We played at twilight rates and there was still light, so we went out on the front and played number 1 and walked over and played number 9 in. I had a ball and really enjoyed the game with Dad and Shirley. Dad has played golf sporadically in his life and he is just now beginning to get serious about the sport. He has a nice swing and was hitting the ball well off the tee. In fact he had several drives that were right next to me and I play at least once a week. I don't recall what he shot, but he putts well and has good tempo and I can see him being a mid-teen golfer in short order. Shirley is very consistent and hits the ball right down the middle and is a good match with Dad from a tempo and a temperament standpoint. The golf course is in wonderful shape and they are blessed to have a great life in the Phoenix area.

I was able to meet our CFO on this trip. He was instrumental in helping me in my battle with the Underwriting AVP. My meetings on Friday ran late and I got out at twelve-thirty. I had a two-thirty flight back to Sacramento and I had time just to poke my head in and say Hi. I thought he might be at lunch and that I'd miss him this trip. His door was shut as I approached and I almost walked on, but something made me knock. I heard a scratchy voice say, "Yeah". I announced myself and he told me to come in. He was rumpled and looking tired and he sheepishly told me that he was catching a cat nap, that his allergy medication had wiped him out. We had a good visit and he had some nice compliments for me. We set up that we'd get lunch together on my next trip to Phoenix. As I was leaving, he said, "Hey, Ken. This little nap I was having is just between you and Me. Okay?" Yeah, you and me and my blog readers.

That's it for this installment of Life with the Lyon's. Hope all is well with each of you.