trip to sequoia

 the sequoia trip 

ch.3

     " i'm done with this damn stuff," ann yelled as she scolded the knife she was trimming plastic with. " my hands hurt and i am tired of this, we could just load this van up and haul it up to gordons leather shop and have a new interior in it.  i will feel good just writing a check!"
      " you may feel good , but i am sure i'm not going to feel your enthusiasm when i write one to you for my half." said lee in response to ann's terse comments and also trying to calm her down.
      " lets take a break and grab a bite and sit and eat outside on the dock dear?" lee remarked when he saw ann's puzzled look.
       then  she says to lee with a smile on her face " you are kidding me arent you? i am a gunnite. did you hear me boy?  a gunnite. we dont do windows let alone the curtains for them . and now look at me cutting plastic trim for the floor of a n old v.w. van . what next? "
      "wel-l-l-l-lllll",  lee said slow and drawn out to insure that ann knew the meaning of what was to come. lee had purchased new canvas material to redo the tent pop up on his vw van." i need the canvas resewn on the roof dear."
     " not going to happen tonight and probably not this weekend. need to find a new needle for my sewing machine to handle the canvas.."  she pauses and lifts a water bottle to her lips and stares off into the distance thinking of the job ahead .
       " still have at least a couple of weeks work on the engine before we can take it out for a test drive. would be nice to have it all done by then. maybe we can go some where close and check it out. , anyways ann lets just plan on trying to get everything done by then and be ready to make our trip to sequoia in about a month from now. we will need to get online and check out where we are going and work up an itinerary."
     "itinerary-sureminerary you say. my arent you the party planner?  lets inject a laugh here. yuck! yuck!" ann laughs as she mockingly tries to make lee laugh and he smiles a big grin. he knew ann was messing with him but it was that type of camaraderie or chummy jovial play that made their relationship special.
     she put down her water and fussed about cleaning up behind them and there wasn't a speck of dirt on the new carpet in the van. the lining in the roof was replaced also and the glue smell hung in the air. the seats were still out and the subfloor was primed and painted prior to placing the new flooring down. things were coming along on anns end.
      lee spent his fair share of time chasing down shorts in the tail lights as well as running to the machine shop and the junk yard to get all the parts he needed. this last time he was in a new junkyard and found the side glass that was cracked in his van. he bought it for 150 and felt great about his purchase.  lee was going to wait tilll the van was back up running and take the van to a glass shop and have it installed.
       the engine that was in the van was taken out and this we took to a machine shop in town and had them rebuild the engine according to specs. this cost a chunk as lee had almost 2000 in the engine alone . also he purchased all the parts he needed to have a back up engine including jugs and heads , push tubes , and whatever else he needed for back up of an entire engine. this cost an additional 1200 dollars as it was left unassembled as you don't know exactly what part may break.spare body parts , tools and engine parts were  placed in a small box to be carried on trip. along with a manual. the engine wasn't ready but would take little time to hook up. having some of this work done in other places allowed lee to focus on making sure the fuel system and tank were in good shape. the electrical system didnt have any bugs or shorts and the tires and suspension was all checked out and everything was safe.
          lee wanted nothing less for ann than to be safe. he loved and cared for her. it was evident when looking at them as they had eyes only for each other. stealing glances as they talked and smiling at their jokes or looking curious at one another when one had taken way to long to answer a question as lee usually did when rambling on. ann would kick her head sideway and give lee a quick open eyed look as to say- what?
        he had made the mistake one time of not being there for ann , and it seemed as if it was about the end for them . somehow love found their way into  their hearts again and the trip to the sequoia national park was the glue that was going to bring them finally together as one , both spritually and physically as lee had some other plans for the big trees when they got there. in fact he had already purchased the equipment and was planning on trying ann out on his new idea.
      they took lunch on the deck of the boat dock on the river. tall sycamores with their white logs and branches reaching from way up high and dipping almost to the river majestically lined the river banks. a vapor seemed to rise up off the waters surface and in a way its was in  your soul as you  inhaled the aroma of wind blowing the stew at you. they laid quietly on the chaise lounge as i watched them from the porch of my cabin. the river rolled under their feet as they bobbed on its surface like jetsam and floatsam heading no where in purpose but just being. sometimes such is life. the lounges were side by side and ann napped quietly as she held on to lee's arm.

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