On this, our third long driving day, we are (well, I am) finding that there's just not time nor inclination to get out and set up the laptop in order to blog. I find myself posting funny tidbits to Facebook because I can use my iPhone easily from the passenger's seat. I just had a V8 moment: "there must be an app for mobile blogging!" Of course there is....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Hiatus Ends!
We will be hitting the road shortly for a summer family tour. So glad a friend of ours will be minding our house--it pays to have a fog-free location when others are socked in all summer....
We've sanitized the water lines and HWH; cleaned the skylights and solar panels; scrubbed, dusted, and vacuumed everything (including the A/C filter and ducts); tightened screws; filled the tires; and held the mail. All annual maintenance done earlier this year. What are we missing?
All that we see left to do is stock 'er up and, somewhere along the road, find a truck wash, propane refill, and do an oil check. Poor gal sat the longest she's ever sat :-( But we'll go put 7-8k on her and she'll be back to being happy.
Tentative easterly route (pending weather and smoke from wildfires): I-40 to our favorite spot, Hot Springs, AR, then cutting south to Mobile and over to St. Augustine and Julie's parents. Gotta make miles to arrive in 6 days (to accompany Dad on a surgical procedure), but perhaps we can squeeze in a dip in the hot springs....
Returning a more northerly route to allow us to visit Lisa's parents, Julie's 4-month-old great-great niece, and perhaps our Colorado friends (westward via I-70 to US 50 to I-80 and home). Can we squeeze in a corner of Nebraska so that we can fill in a "hole" on Rocksie's US map? To be determined.
It's all dependent on the weather and timing. Just discovered a great web site to monitor the pervasive smoke from so many wildfires in AZ, NM, TX, GA (thanks to Linda Sand for reminding me to check this!): US Air Quality: The Smog Blog. We hope the tornadoes are done for the season, and let's not have any hurricanes, shall we?
Even though we're shaking our heads at the folly of traveling during "record-breaking heat" and "oppressive air quality," we're still eager to hit the road. Off we go soon!
We've sanitized the water lines and HWH; cleaned the skylights and solar panels; scrubbed, dusted, and vacuumed everything (including the A/C filter and ducts); tightened screws; filled the tires; and held the mail. All annual maintenance done earlier this year. What are we missing?
All that we see left to do is stock 'er up and, somewhere along the road, find a truck wash, propane refill, and do an oil check. Poor gal sat the longest she's ever sat :-( But we'll go put 7-8k on her and she'll be back to being happy.
Tentative easterly route (pending weather and smoke from wildfires): I-40 to our favorite spot, Hot Springs, AR, then cutting south to Mobile and over to St. Augustine and Julie's parents. Gotta make miles to arrive in 6 days (to accompany Dad on a surgical procedure), but perhaps we can squeeze in a dip in the hot springs....
Returning a more northerly route to allow us to visit Lisa's parents, Julie's 4-month-old great-great niece, and perhaps our Colorado friends (westward via I-70 to US 50 to I-80 and home). Can we squeeze in a corner of Nebraska so that we can fill in a "hole" on Rocksie's US map? To be determined.
It's all dependent on the weather and timing. Just discovered a great web site to monitor the pervasive smoke from so many wildfires in AZ, NM, TX, GA (thanks to Linda Sand for reminding me to check this!): US Air Quality: The Smog Blog. We hope the tornadoes are done for the season, and let's not have any hurricanes, shall we?
Even though we're shaking our heads at the folly of traveling during "record-breaking heat" and "oppressive air quality," we're still eager to hit the road. Off we go soon!
On Hiatus
Our poor RV, Rocksie Candu, sits outside our house, covered in spring pollen, waiting for us to hit the road. But I'm afraid we've been sidelined for a while and will continue to be for the foreseeable future....
You see, I was visiting my parents in Florida in March (I flew because I thought it would just be a quick trip!) and my dad fell and broke his hip during my visit. Because my mom has Alzheimer's, I needed to take care of her AND do the hospital duty. That was quite a juggling act until the cavalry (Lisa, and then later my brother and his wife) arrived and we could do more "divide and conquer" care. All I can say is this: Never, ever go to a hospital by yourself. Seriously. All of us need someone with us to advocate, double check, write down questions, and prevent really dumb mistakes....
So, it's now June and I'm making my third trip back to FL. Dad is still in rehab for his hip (after 3 hospital trips), and Mom is sort of getting used to having 24/7 caregivers staying with her. Sort of. She hasn't locked anyone out this week, at least. We are hoping that we're getting all of Dad's complications sorted out so he can continue his rehab and get back into the house with Mom, but no one knows yet if that will be possible. He is 88, after all, but remarkably resilient and committed to doing his exercises.
We are hoping that when the next move is clear, we can perhaps drive the RV to Florida to help them move or get the house set up for walkers/wheelchairs/live-in caregiver. Or, if that's not possible, to at least squeeze in some mid-week California trips. There are some national parks in CA we haven't visited yet: Lassen, Kings Canyon/Sequoia in particular.
However, we are sad to report that we still don't have a canine traveling companion yet, either. We brought home the puppy we'd been following his whole little life and discovered he had a serious cardiac deficiency that would cause him to have a short life. We decided that we had enough cardiologists in our lives right now, so we returned him to the breeder to live out his life, before we got any more attached to him. Boy, was he ever a cutie. Here he is, at 10 weeks of age, checking out his reflection in the piano, as we gave him the house tour.
So, now we await another litter, which will probably be for the best. We had actually wanted a pup from this second litter initially (the parents were very "experienced" and known) and it will probably work out for the best anyway, given the Florida care giving situation.... Everything does, doesn't it?
You see, I was visiting my parents in Florida in March (I flew because I thought it would just be a quick trip!) and my dad fell and broke his hip during my visit. Because my mom has Alzheimer's, I needed to take care of her AND do the hospital duty. That was quite a juggling act until the cavalry (Lisa, and then later my brother and his wife) arrived and we could do more "divide and conquer" care. All I can say is this: Never, ever go to a hospital by yourself. Seriously. All of us need someone with us to advocate, double check, write down questions, and prevent really dumb mistakes....
So, it's now June and I'm making my third trip back to FL. Dad is still in rehab for his hip (after 3 hospital trips), and Mom is sort of getting used to having 24/7 caregivers staying with her. Sort of. She hasn't locked anyone out this week, at least. We are hoping that we're getting all of Dad's complications sorted out so he can continue his rehab and get back into the house with Mom, but no one knows yet if that will be possible. He is 88, after all, but remarkably resilient and committed to doing his exercises.
We are hoping that when the next move is clear, we can perhaps drive the RV to Florida to help them move or get the house set up for walkers/wheelchairs/live-in caregiver. Or, if that's not possible, to at least squeeze in some mid-week California trips. There are some national parks in CA we haven't visited yet: Lassen, Kings Canyon/Sequoia in particular.
However, we are sad to report that we still don't have a canine traveling companion yet, either. We brought home the puppy we'd been following his whole little life and discovered he had a serious cardiac deficiency that would cause him to have a short life. We decided that we had enough cardiologists in our lives right now, so we returned him to the breeder to live out his life, before we got any more attached to him. Boy, was he ever a cutie. Here he is, at 10 weeks of age, checking out his reflection in the piano, as we gave him the house tour.
So, now we await another litter, which will probably be for the best. We had actually wanted a pup from this second litter initially (the parents were very "experienced" and known) and it will probably work out for the best anyway, given the Florida care giving situation.... Everything does, doesn't it?
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