The family is growing

 My oldest daughter and her husband have become parents to the most beautiful baby girl, and we are the happiest Grandparents.

It’s that time ….. dirt bike time

When we left San Diego, It was suggested that we sell my dirt bike, and I could get a replacement when we get to North Carolina.

Well a major shoulder surgery and rehabilitation precluded me from moving forward with that plan. 

Physical therapy got me moving pretty good, so, it’s dirt bike time. I bought a 2021 Kawasaki kx450x. It seems to be a great bike and I got to ride it once before it got too cold. Did some woods riding. I Pulled up to the facility and introduced myself to a gentleman, and he let me tag along. 

I intend to do some woods racing, (something I haven’t injured myself at, yet)

So follow along.

This is the group of guys I rode with

 

Shoulder surgery

 Shoulder was wore out.

Had to de-burred the rotator cuff.

Torn labral muscle

Detached bicep muscle and reattach to humorous bone.

Cyst deletion.

Bone on bone contact in ball joint. They have to grind that down to build up scar tissue.

Found someone to ride with

 Steve and I heading up to Little Switzerland.

Some other shots of riding:

Biggest change so far. North Carolina

We sold the house in San Diego, and Moved to North Carolina to be near my Daughter (whom is in South Carolina, about 2 hrs. away), and nearer my Sister 5 minutes away. this also puts us within Driving distance of Kim's Sister, and Father in Ohio.

The move was mostly driven by the need to make retirement affordable. Less house payment, less cost of living. We sold the house in SD and cleared enough money to buy a house cash in NC. No more house payments (for now).

It is a very different feel here. The people are a bit more polite, more rain storms, more affordable housing. Culturally different in that people are more about freedoms such as guns, and less regulations on your property, and self.

We lived with my sister for a few months, and then found a house near by that suited our needs. 2,600 sqft, big yard, spacious neighborhood. we are about 7 miles from a big recreational lake (lake Norman).

We are also not too far from some nice mountain parks, trails, waterfalls, and even Some famous Street bike roads through some twisties.

Here is some pictures of the house.

Some pictures of the garage getting painted.

We had to install a water filter because the well water had a lot of sediment.

Some pictures of the lake, roads and trails:

 

One last ride, then the long one across country

My favorite ride, ran us to the mountains with my daughter and some friends. Then… I ran into a great friend from the past I hadn’t seen in 20-25 years.

Then Kim and I had the house packed up and we drove across country. The movers loaded up the rest and we met them in NC.

Rick is a great friend of mine and one of the few people who can make me laugh to tears.

Sydney had her friend Kassidy come along, and she rode passenger on my bike.

 

The yard make over and sale

 The cost of putting in artificial turf and water smart plants was the best move. It shows well, uses almost no water, and no mowing.

I bought the turf and had my buddy with a construction company do the installation.

Then we put the house up for sale. California has just gotten to Liberal, and too expensive to live in. We are approaching our retirement years, and need a cheaper cost of living. north Carolina is where my sister lives, and My Daughter is in SC, notfar away.

Next, the bathroom

The tub had to be replaced due to rust, (and a hole that developed), which means everything around it had to be ripped out. 

Plumbing, tile, drywall, paint, light fixture, cabinet floor boards, and floor tile.

We re-drywalled the interior walls, and added the Schluter membrane for water proofing. It goes down onto thin-set, and adheres like wall paper. We had to swap out water valves, and new copper. New spouts, and shower head. Removing the old tub ( that is the same size as the studs, means you have to slide it out) we had to tear out drywall beyond the tub, which means we had to patch the base drywall.

We moved an outlet or two, and put in a new tub.   new mirrors, and a new vanity

My good friend John, and my daughter did most of the dirty work. It turned out pretty good!

 

Decision to move time to update

 We have made the decision to move out of California. The cost of living is too high. The real estate, taxes, insurance, registration, gasoline, groceries, you name it.

So, we started making some changes and upgrades.

It started with painting the house. We did this ourselves by cutting in the paint with brushes, then borrowed a power sprayer and Did it ourselves. It turned out great.

This is when the bad got worse for my health. I was experiencing chest pains while working.

I went to a cardiologist, and Had a stress test done. The doctor knew i had Ischemia. 

He ordered a angiogram, and a week before getting it, The insurance company canceled it saying it was not medically necessary. Those bastards!!!

I was so mad, My blood pressure went through the roof, and I wound up in the ER. The rushed me into surgery, and found a 99% blocked LAD Artery. in my chest. They said if I would have had a heart attack, i had a very small chance of survival. 

They put in a stent, and I felt better.... until the put me on medications. I could not keep my head from being dizzy, heart palpitations, tingling in the hands, and short of breath. I took me a few weeks to realize it was the medication. 

Birthday flight

 For Kim’s birthday,  I asked my good friend John to take her and Sydney on a short flight around San Diego They took off from Gillespie field in formation, flew toward the cost. Went along Mission Beach to La Jolla, the downtown San Diego. Then back the El Cajon. I had to sit this one out due to my hamstring injury.

The girls had a great time and no one got sick!