Jackie's Blog

Having spent 4 hours in the emergency room last night with Dick, I am grateful that we have health insurance. It all started with a phone call from Dick saying he had fallen off his bicycle on his way home from work, and would I come and collect him as he was a 'bit banged up'? I rushed there and the first thing I saw was that I could hardly see his eyes- he was having a severe allergic reaction to something that was manifesting itself in his sinuses. All he could remember was having a huge sneezing fit after he 'woke up' having fell off his bike. 'Woke up'?? He couldn't remember hitting his head, although the scrape on the right side of his forehead showed he'd definitely banged his head. His first concern, naturally, was that the bike and his laptop were ok. However, we did not hang around to check them over, we just loaded them into the car- after he taken an anti-histamine that I always keep in my bag. For Dick to say he is hurting is unusual enough,...

Those of you who know us, know that fast vehicles are a big part of Dick's life in particular: first it was the motorbike- his baby, all cooped up still in Georgia; then came the Mustang convertible, the fun car, perfect for California; then the very swish Specialized bicycle, and now.... the razor scooter! I have done nothing but giggle since Sunday morning, when on a trip to Target to buy a new inner tube for the bicycle, Dick decided that a Razor scooter would be perfect to get about the campus at Google. So, as it was his birthday week, it came home. He loves it! The apartment complex is just perfect for scooting around, whilst I am walking Pepper- so long as no one is looking! As soon as anyone older than a child is around, Dick steps off it and pretends it isn't really his.. (although I must admit, I'd probably do the same). In case you don't believe me, I took this picture only yesterday (which he wouldn't have let me take if he'd have known what I was...

Today we hiked up 'El Toro'.... Wikipedia says.. El Toro means "The Bull" in Spanish. According to a local legend, author Bret Harte named the hill when he climbed it and discovered two bulls fighting near the summit (they subsequently chased him back down). The official name shown on USGS maps is simply El Toro. Elevation at the summit is about 427 m (1403 ft). The Annual Spring Hike up El Toro is the only time when you can officially hike up there as it is private land, so there were at least a couple of hundred people who took the chance. There are two start times, 7:45 am and 9:45 am, and we went to the later one this time. We had planned to get up earlier but as it turned out, the hill was covered in low cloud first thing this morning, so it may have been cooler, but the view would not have been as spectacular as it was later. The hike itself is about 1.5 miles to the top- all up hill. Kudos goes to a Morgan Hill Scout troop who had cut in steps and erected a ro...

This is an extract from some of the emails I have been sending friends since I arrived on the West Coast at the end of February. Since we arrived in Morgan Hill, I have explored all the shops in the small high street- they are very eclectic shops; there is everything from a knitting shop, to jewelery, one of a kind clothing shops, nick-nac shops and a large independent book store (with an in-store book-club!) There are also several restaurants (fish, Mexican, Italian, BBQ, a breakfast bar, coffee shop and a couple of bars). There is also a small local newspaper which is published twice a week, and a regular Saturday farmers market, and a fish and meat store- all locally run. Obviously there are the chain stores, a Safeway supermarket, and even a new Trader Joes (yay!) but they are a little further away, but within a mile or two. Just to help those of you who are not geographically inclined, Morgan Hill is about 20 miles south of San Jose, and 70 miles south of San Francisco. We are als...