Follow The White Rabbit

This post is different than my normal posts. I want to honor my dear friend while he is around to be honored. I hope you enjoy the following stories but it is written more for him to enjoy and relive some of his life. I decided to do this because I am not there to personally talk and laugh with him.

Ken my favorite old fart. I found out today that you, one of my best friends, are not doing so well. You have been a blessing in my life so I decided to share a few stories about you. I hope that when you read this it brings back some wonderful memories, laughter, and smiles. That is my goal and Ken, I hope that you do not mind me sharing. I want to start way before we met.

This is one of my favorite stories. I believe it was around 1936 when in high school in Oakland California at the age of 16 he met the young girl who would become the love of his life. While in a class he asked his friend who was the blond girl. His friend said her name is Ann which Ken replied introduce me. That day after school he walked Ann home even though it was in the opposite direction of his home. When he arrived at his home his mother asked him “how was your day”. He replied “I met the girl I am going to marry”. Ken told me that his mom just rolled her eyes like yeah right.

5 years later Ken asked Ann for her hand in marriage. It was a Saturday and they decided to announce their engagement the next day. The next day happened to be Sunday December 7th, 1941. Millions of lives took a different direction that day. Ken told Ann he was going to war. Before he left for military service they went to Lake Tahoe to get married. They were only a month a part in age. Ann being 21 years old and Ken only 20 ( a couple of weeks until 21). At that time to get married you had to be 21. The person who did the service ignored his age and they were married.

Ken volunteered for the Navy and after boot camp was sent to the Seattle area where Ann followed. Soon he was sent overseas and into the war. He served mostly on destroyers (tin cans) and was in some of the major naval battles. He was in the Philippines going up and down the slot near the Solomon Islands. At night the Japanese navy would be going one direction and the American navy would go the other direction. The whole time they would both would be blasting the hell out of each other. One night his ship was sunk and into the water he went. He told me that while in the water he was thinking about his brother who was in the Army. His brother told him whatever you do don’t join the Army because “you will be sitting in a fox hole with water up to your nose”. Ken’s thoughts while floating in the ocean “at least in a fox hole I could touch the bottom with my feet”. He was only in the water around 20 minutes or so when a ship traveling behind his picked him up. He was at the battle of Midway, he watched the USS Franklin burning and he had friends die next to him. He was in Hawaii waiting to be assigned to a new ship when the war ended. He was sent home a week later. Get this, when he volunteered it was not for 2 years or 4 years it was for the duration of the war. If the war had lasted 20 years he would have been there. That amazed me. He thought he would sit around when he was back in Oakland and talk to his buddies about the war. Problem was he got home so quick they were all still over seas for another 10 months or so.

Ann and Ken ended up in San Leandro, California and raised 3 boys. His father owned a bar close to lake Merrit in Oakland. There are two stories about the bar that I remember. One that his father bought one of the first color TV’s and put into the bar. One morning when he went to open up for the day. He unlocked the door and when he open it there was light coming in through the sky light. Thing was he did not have a sky light. Apparently during the night thieves had cut a hole in the ceiling and took the color TV. Another story is about the small back room accessible by a back door. There was a table that his father would put a shot of brandy on everyday. Seems the local priest would slip in everyday unseen have his shot then slip out.

One time Ken and Ann got together at a friends house. The men were planning on painting the kitchen cabinets (dark blue) while the women went out on the town. While the men were painting they enjoyed one or two cocktails. One accidently splashed a little paint on the refrigerator and the friend who owned the house said “no problem paint it”. So the men proceeded to paint the entire kitchen blue. Including appliances, cabinets, walls, counter tops, sink, I mean the entire kitchen. When the women returned I guess the wife was none to happy with any of them. Ken said she was still mad 20 years later.

When they retired they moved to Cool, California and built a new home. So newly retired and sitting in the new house one day Ann handed Ken a bank book that he had never seen before. He asked her “what’s this”? She replied “our fun money”. While Ken was working he always gave Ann his pay check and she would give him $50 dollars spending money. Ann was very good at saving money and over the 40 years she had saved over $100,000 dollars for their retirement without Ken knowing. They went to Europe, cruises, road trips, Hawaii, etc….. it took over 10 years to spend it and they sure had fun. I got a laugh when they told Diana and I the story about Ann saving a 100 grand. After they got done telling us Diana turned to me and said “don’t expect that from me”.

Every Friday night Ken, Ann, Audrey, and Grant went out for dinner with friends or just the four of them. Diana and I tagged along once or twice a month. After Grant passed the five of us kept it going. Then Diana passed away and those three came a got me every Friday night for dinner whether I wanted to or not. I was not in a good place (heart or head) but they were a rock in my life. A few years later Audrey moved to Seattle. Audrey I think was 94 and Ken and Ann 91. Ken, Ann and I flew up to Seattle to see her. Ann and Audrey were so glad to see each other they were like girls in high school laughing and talking. It was a good visit. Soon after our trip Audrey passed.

Ken and Ann always had places to go and things to do. Every year they headed to Palm Spring for a few days. The last time they drove there I believe they were 93 years old. When they left for home Ken drove for a few hours then read a sign out loud “welcome to Arizona”. Ann’s reaction was to say “why the heck are we in Arizona”. Ken had made a wrong turn when leaving Palm Springs. Ann not being able to see just rode along for the ride. Ken decided that was their last long road trip.

The three of us continued our Friday night dinners. They would come over and pick me up then we headed out to eat. In 2017 Ann passed away. They had been married over 74 years. That lady always made me smile! She had slowly over the years lost her eye sight but always recognized my voice.

Ken and I kept up with Friday nights and added taco Tuesdays. He would pick me up and most of the time we would stop and he would have his two drinks with our favorite shitty bartender Natalie (see picture). Then head out to one of the many local eating establishments. Natalie Ken and I love you both!

Ken, I hope that when you read these stories and see the pictures you smile. There are many more stories but these are ones that stand out and make me smile. In life you a very lucky when you have a few friends that you can count on no matter what. I want you to know that I consider you one of mine. I love you.

Randy

A special note to Karlon and Bill. You two have been so good to and for Ken. Thank you!

Yesterday a make believe wedding was held at the casa. Elena has been taking a class that teaches how to plan events. She and three other young ladies Liset, Julie and Darla have been learning many things. Food prep and presentation, design and hands on experience making flower arrangements, room layout, financial planning , and room decoration for different events.

Every few weeks they put an a themed presentation that can be very elaborate. This week is was an Ecuadorian traditional wedding. It happened in the lower yard at the casa. Liset was the bride and David (Elena’s son) was the groom. It was very cool, food tasted and looked great. The flower arrangements looked fantastic. They really do a very nice job. Mirian and Ricardo their professors supervised and provided tips. A very nice morning. A side note, I was to be the groom but because of my ankle they replaced me. If that would have happened I would have posted that I was married to see everyone’s reaction.

Well I haven’t done a road trip on Yamaha rig since I purchased it. The farthest I had been is Quito and I was itching to for a cruise. I asked Daniela for some ideas and she suggested two different locations. The city of Ambato or waterfalls just outside Otavalo. When I woke up in the morning I realized my ankle was sprained. The hike to the waterfalls was not going to happen now so off to Ambato. Daniela put off her project for the day and was game also.

The city is about three hours away driving the rig. You travel south along the Pan American highway from Quito. The city has a population of over 300,000 and is known for flowers, textiles, fruits and other industries. Daniela had never explored the city so it was new to both of us.

It was a easy ride and when we arrived we headed for the heart of the city. It being Sunday we figured the city would be busy but we got a little surprise. People in Ambato don’t work on Sunday’s and everything was closed. Very few people on the streets, just plain quiet. We walked a few blocks and nothing was open. Across from where we parked was a small restaurant so went in for some wings. As we were eating it started to rain not hard but enough. When we left we put on our rain gear for the ride home. All in all I don’t think we spent 2 hours in the city.

Just a few miles out of town we stopped at a scenic area to check out the lake below. Lots of people everywhere and we watched dozens of people taking pictures with the sidecar from our vantage point. In the states 99% of the people would not dream of touching your bike without permission. Here it’s a little different with the sidecar. They climb all over it like it is a jungle gym in the park. I almost think I could charge money for them sit on it and take pictures.

Since we had plenty of time to make it home Daniela suggested a side trip to the village of Salcedo. She said their ice cream is famous all over Ecuador so heck yeah I’m in. We left the highway and made our way to the village and parked on the square in the center of town. Daniela jumped out and headed towards the store to score us our ice cream. She came back empty handed. Seems they don’t make the ice cream locally anymore and the delivery truck is over a week late. No ice cream in the whole village.

Back to the highway and on the way we passed the ice cream monument. Before getting back on the Pan American we found a store and bought some ice cream. Daniela then said she wanted a picture with the highway sign for her blog. She decided we would eat the ice cream while stopped for the picture. By the time we found a sign worthy of her picture the ice cream was half melted. In fairness she got tired of waiting for the right sign and wanted to stop and eat our ice cream sooner. But by then I was on a mission and did not stop until the right sign appeared. It had to have no people, no trucks, or buildings in the background.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful and we even managed to avoid the rain until close to home. So our day consisted of visiting a city that was shut down for the day. Then to a village famous for ice cream with no ice cream.

Just what the doctor ordered. Glad we went because the next morning my ankle was screaming at me. Thank you Daniela for sharing.

This is the second time I participated in the DGR. It is a worldwide motorcycle ride for men’s health. This year because of covid it really is just a ride for yourself. In some cities it was an organized ride but not here in Quito. I went to the local church to buy a jacket, shirt and tie. Daniela, Borigar and I took a couple pictures in front of Rosario’s store for the DGR website. Then Daniela and David had fun taking more pictures with Borigar. Then a quick ride around town. It is for a good cause.

So Daniela and Bernie took me on little bike ride last Saturday. It was only a short ride only 21.7 km (13.4 miles). The elevation gain was up, up, and up, around 458 meters or just over 1500 ft.. OK that’s pretty tame for around here but come on I have to give myself a little credit. Kicked my butt but I only walked a short distance on the steepest section. I felt pretty good about it. At one spot those two stopped to take a break but I just keep going. I knew if I stopped It would just hurt to get started again. So I felt pretty stoked about the ride and planned on riding every day this week. Well plans change don’t they. That afternoon I helped do some weed eating and the next morning woke up with a sprained ankle. I don’t remember even twisting it. Ugh, huge bummer!

This is the second time I have been to this National Park. It is only around 1 hour from where I am living. Beautiful area over 4000m (12,000 ft) in elevation.

Daniela is guiding a mountain trip next weekend at over 5000m so she wanted to head somewhere high in elevation. I am always game for a road trip so off we went.

On the way I pointed out a road heading up the side of a mountain that I had noticed a few days earlier on a bike ride so we turned off to check it out. We end up in a village named “El Tablon de Pifo”. A small neighborhood with a few hundred people. We passed a car that had taken a wrong turn down a driveway that people were digging out trying to get it unstuck. Suave Monjita was able to pull it out easily and as thanks we were invited in for tea and breakfast. Turned out to be a family restaurant. Nice place, I would like to return for supper one night. The road turned out to be a dead end so we turned around and headed to the park.

As we pulled into the park the road to the right headed to the park entrance and the road to the left we had no idea. We went left. The road turned back down the mountain and we ended up back on the highway by a small village we had passed earlier. On the way we passed what Daniela thought at first was a bull ring but turned out to be some kind of religious temple. It was very well kept and I am not sure what it is for.

Then we headed into the park we drove up to the top parked and went on a short hike. I want to get a camping permit and spend some time fishing some of the many lakes. It would be a little chilly because of the elevation but I have a good sleeping bag. I did slip in a muddy part of the trail and Daniela being so caring said to look sad for the picture. It was a great day exploring but our hike was pretty short and it should have been longer. I really enjoyed the day.

Yesterday we took a little road trip to a village named Nono. Originally it was just supposed to be a stop on the way to a town where Daniela’s professor had open a musuem from archeological digs in the area. Unfortunately we did not make it that far so that will be a trip for later on.

We were planning on taking the bike but that changed when Elena wanted to go. Her doctor said no to the bike since she is still recovering from covid. That worked out fine since it really started to rain pretty good on the way home.

Nono was a cute little village in it’s own valley. The have some bike trails I would like to try that go to some smaller villages in the hills. It reminded me of visiting small towns centered on tourism in the USA like Coloma or Sutter Creek.

Elena and Daniela love to take pictures and be in pictures so they had fun with all the old architecture. Actually most all Ecuadorians love to take pictures and record videos with their phones. I think that is probably the case in most of the world. After a while I started to take pictures of them taking pictures.

On the way home we stopped at a restaurant own by a friend of Elena’s. It is in what is referred to as the “middle of the world” Mitad del Mundo that is close to the equator. Very nice place with a hotel, pool and spa.

Very nice nice day.

If everything goes right I pick up my new (to me) motorcycle next week. It’s a 2002 Honda Africa Twin. A very capable adventure machine with 36,000 miles on it. My plan is to remove the sidecar from the Yamaha (sell the Yamaha to pay for the twin) and install it on this to make an expedition machine. I’m very excited about the possibilities. This bike will have enough power to add a bike rack, winch, gas cans, camping gear, etc….

I love the Yamaha but it can’t go everywhere I want plus it’s way to pretty. I just enjoy riding not polishing.

The twin should be a go anywhere machine when I am done. Watch out South America if/when this covid thing slows down.

Continuing with the second half of our road trip.

So after being chicken and turning back on the 4×4 road we headed towards Otovalo. Daniela said our choices were Lagunas Monjanda which we had been to or a new place to us called Cubilche. I voted for the new place. A dirt road destination not to far from the town.

Cubilche is a group of small lakes on top of the surrounding mountains. It reminded me of some of the high alpine lakes above Markleeville CA. One of my favorite areas in California. Can easily spend week fishing for golden trout and doing some local hiking there. Just breath takingly beautiful and one of my favorite spots in the world.

Back to Cubilche. The hike was short, only 3km and it should have taken a little more than an hour. Took me 2 hours. I’m not sure of the starting elevation but the summit was 3840m (12,596 ft). The trail was all up hill. The others didn’t even slow down but it was a good work out for me. We arrived at the first lake just a the sun was going down.

Had some light rain overnight, nothing too hard. In the morning I got up early and hiked to the ridge to watch the sunrise. When the others got up they went for a short hike then we headed down the hill. Of course I was trailing behind everyone on the way down. It did make me feel good to see some of the locals I passed that were heading up doing a little huffing and puffing of their own. Nice trip but again a little quick. I would have liked to camp another night. Guess who was the dummy that forgot the camp stove in the car. A first for me on a overnight hike was that we carried full cans of beer back down!

Thanks again to Daniela for finding interesting and beautiful places off the beaten path to check. I’m also thankful to her and her friends for putting up with my lack of the Espanola language and putting up with me in general. I have been picking it up slowly but not very well. Makes me feel like a shunsho. I have been very lucky having so many wonderful people around me!

You all go out have a wonderful day now. God bless.