Donner — Arriving after 4 years

This afternoon, after loading up the car for the Donner Lake Triathlon, Rachel and I drove to Del Mesa to pick up Mom and Dad. This would be their first visit to Donner Lake since 2010. The ride up was pretty easy, a little traffic in Stockton and again in Sacramento. After getting drinks at Starbucks, Rachel noted that “watching G’ma and G’pa cross the street is the cutest thing ever.” Dad is helpful and caring as Mom moves to the car.

The audio selections in the car are always difficult when driving with M & D. Radio Lab episode about the Galapagos tortoises seemed to be a good choice, until one of the naturalists tried to help George, the only surviving tortoise on one island, mate with a female from a different island. It was about then that Dad announced the batteries in his hearing aid were going out. Coincidence? We didn’t stop at Ikeda, much to Dad’s delight. According to him, all of his cars automatically takes the turn off for fresh peaches and cheeries. After Auburn, the audio selection was “Tech Week” which bored all but one in the car. The sun was beginning to set, and the light on the hills around Blue Canyon was pretty special. Dad noted how beautiful the Sierras a couple of times. Indeed they are.

Dad does the shopping in Carmel these days. We stopped at Safeway for pizza, sweet rolls (they still make those?) and ice cream. At first Rachel and I kind of lost track of Dad, only to discover he was on a mission for hearing aid batteries. Choosing the right one is a little more challenging than you might think. Dad’s ultimate goal when shopping is to spend as little time in the store as possible, even if his granddaughter were still getting cereal. Donner Lake doesn’t change a whole lot, so the drive around the lake was pretty fun, seeing the same cabins and signs around So Shore Dr. Once at the cabin, Mom took her time getting down the path, but it wasn’t difficult at all. Dad was a little out of breath, but he insisted on carrying a bag down from the car. Once in the cabin, they were both very happy. They thanked Rachel and me several times for driving and getting them to the cabin. At one point, Dad looked at Mom and said, “I love you.” Talk about touching. As we enjoyed our dinner of Digiorno pizza, we noted that the pine cones decorating the cabin were probably 45 years old. We reflected on those summers prior to buying the cabin, particularly renting this cabin while it rained for two weeks. Dad described getting the phone call from Carson White describing a new cabin that came on the market, and how the purchase occurred. We headed to bed full, happy, and looking forward to seeing Katie & Roy tomorrow.