Out of the hospital

Our friend was released from the VA hospital this evening. He's doing much better. We'll spend New Years with him before heading back down south where it's warmer. Our camping friends from Sheboygan, WI has finely made it down to Palacios for the winter. They want us to go down there for a month or so because Jill will be going through kemo therapy and wants Barb to be there for her.

First Snow

It rained all night last night with threats of freezing rain then a dusting of snow later in the day. It turned out to be the heaviest blizzard in 20 years. Thinking back, I remember that blizzard 20 years ago. It's hard to believe I've been in Oklahoma that long.

Our veteran friend has been in the hospital since Wednesday last week so we are now house sitting for him. We are snug and warm staying in our motorhome next to his house.

Back in Choctaw, OK

We left Amarillo, TX around 8:00 this morning and drove the last 275 miles to Choctaw, OK where we will spend a few days before heading south into Texas for the winter. There has been no incidents on this 3200 mile trip to California and back until we pulled on the property when we got stuck and had to have a tow truck pull us out. I am happy we have Coach-Net as our road service.

Amarillo, TX

We left Grants, NM at 9:00 this morning and stopped for the night at the Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo, TX. No one wanted to take the free 72 ounce steak challenge. We'll be back in Choctaw, OK tomorrow evening.

Grants, NM

We left Kingman around 7:30 this morning on our way back to Choctaw,OK. We went 79 miles farther today than planned stopping for the night at the Bar S RV Park in Grants, NM. Nice little overnight stop with full-hookups for only $15 a night.

Kingman, AZ

We left Mojave around 8:40 this morning on our way back to Oklahoma, with our next stop in Kingman, AZ where we are spending the night at the Flying J Travel Center. Tomorrow night we will be stopping on the Arizona/New Mexico border.

Mojave, CA

We left Escalon, CA around 10 this morning on our way back to Choctaw, OK first stopping for the night after 302 miles on the road in Mojave, CA. This is like old home town for me after once living in Rosamond when I worked at Edwards AFB. I was born 60 miles east from here in Barstow, CA.

California State Sticker

We finely earned the right to place the California State Sticker on the map on the door of our motorhome. For those who know what our requirements are, you know why Barb is smiling. After 6 years on the road we now have 33 states on our map.

Escalon, CA

We left Bakersfield around 7:40 this morning on our last leg of our trip getting here just before noon.

Bakersfield, CA

We left Flagstaff, AZ around 7 this morning. Today we traveled 496 miles in 10 hours and have stopped for the night at the Flying J Travel Center just north of Bakersfield, CA on Hwy 99. 205 miles to go.

Flagstaff, AZ

We put in another 415 miles today leaving Santa Rosa, NM around 7 this morning, stopping for the night at Little America in Flagstaff, AZ. 704 miles to go. Tomorrow night we will stop for the night somewhere on Hwy 58 in the California Mojave Desert.

Santa Rosa, NM

We got on the road a little after 8 this morning on our way to California. 10 hours and 470 miles later, it was time for me to stop for the night. Our first night back on the road is at a rest area about 20 miles west of Santo Rosa, NM on I-40.

California

I always thought that I would never place the California state sticker on our map of places we visited with our current motorhome. But unfortunately I'm going to be wrong. Barb got word a couple of nights ago that her godfather in the Modesto/Stockton, CA area had passed away. She has always been close to her godparents. We'll be leaving early on the morning of October 11th on a fast trip out there and back. Barb's sister and brother-in-law from Arkansas will be riding out and back with us.

Choctaw, OK

We have relocated to a friend's house in Choctaw, OK while Barb is waiting for her shoulder surgery in November. He doesn't have an electrical hookup for us, so, I installed a 50 amp service on the side of his house next to his meter. For sewer hookup, he has a sewer cleanout about 70 feet from our motorhome, so, using a SewerSolution and a 75' 3/4" hose, we have a dump.

BJ Bishop

We received word a couple of days ago that our friend B.J. Bishop of Marfa, TX passed away last Saturday. BJ was the owner of Loma Paloma RV Park & Golf Course in Presidio, TX where we stayed for 5 winters. BJ will surly be missed by all that knew him.
http://www.bigbendsentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=21&Itemid=52

Surgery Update

After much deep thought of life-long restrictions and a support group meeting, Barb has cancelled her gastric bypass surgery that was scheduled for tomorrow. Her shoulder surgery is still on for sometime in November. Our other veteran friends who's surgeries we mentioned in earlier post were preformed with no complications.

Oklahoma City update

We've been here in the Oklahoma City area for 10 days now. Space rent for September, $285 which includes electricity, is due tomorrow. Barb has had 2 medical appointments so far and is scheduled for gastric bypass surgery in 2 weeks. The VA has also scheduled her for surgery on her shoulder which she has been waiting 5 years for. A veteran friend of ours, who had his leg partially amputated earlier this year, has been told that he will have to undergo additional amputation of his leg in the coming days because he is not healing. Another veteran friend of ours will be undergoing breast surgery for cancer in the coming days. They have both been there when we needed morale understanding from friends and we have both assured them that we will be here for them with our morale support. With Barb's medical treatments and follow ups and our morale support for our other disabled veteran friends, we will probably be in Oklahoma most of the winter.

Midwest City, OK

We are at the Parkway Mobile Home Park in Midwest City, OK.

Grove, OK

We are at the Bear's Den Camping Resort in Grove, Oklahoma. It's been sixteen months since we were last here. Grove used to be a fun place to go during the summer months but it's drying up like the rest of the rural towns around the area. No activity around Bear's Den Resort either. We have a full hookup site until Friday then I think we'll just head down the road. Barb has some medical appointments next week in Norman and then surgery scheduled next month and we have a daughter and two granddaughters in Oklahoma City. We'll be staying in the Oklahoma City area for 2 months then heading down to the Texas Gulf Coast for the winter.

Hannibal, MO Day 2

We done a little sightseeing in Hannibal today. First we went up to Lover's Leap for a bird's eye view of the town. A couple of days ago a couple of women drove off the cliff, by accident, and lived to tell about it.

View of Hannibal from Lover's Leap

Lover's Leap from the river.

Next we went and toured Samuel Clemens' (Mark Twain's) boyhood home.

Mark Twain's boyhood home.

The fence that Tom Sawyer had his friends whitewash for him.

Huckleberry Finn's House.

Then we went for an hour excursion aboard the M/V Mark Twain Riverboat. Barb wants to do some more cruising on the Mississippi River now.

The M/V Mark Twain.

Afterwards we went to lunch at the Mark Twain Restaurant, a visit to the Mark Twain Museum and Gallery featuring 11 original Norman Rockwell paintings, then to see a live showing featuring Jim Waddell as Mark Twain back at the campground.

Jim Waddell as Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain

Hannibal, MO

"I have found out there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people than to travel with them."

---Mark Twain

Barb and I have been traveling together for 6 years now and we still like each other.

We left Kieler, WI around 9:00 this morning on our way to the Mark Twain Cave & CampGrounds in Hannibal, MO. We travelled in 4 states today, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois & Missouri, and crossed the Mississippi River 3 times. We went through towns named Dubuque, Key West, Davenport, Roseville, Tennessee & West Point. We'll be here for 2 days leaving out Sunday for Grove, Oklahoma.

Mark Twain wrote...
Tom Sawyer: "By and by somebody shouted, "Who's ready for the cave?' Everybody was. Bundles of candles were procured and straightaway there was a general scamper up the hill. The mouth of the cave was up the hillside - an opening shaped like a letter A. Within was a small chamber chilly as an ice-house and walled by nature with solid limestone that was dewy with cold sweat." -excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

Kieler, WI

We are staying at the Rustic Barn RV Park in Kieler, WI, just outside of Dubuque, IA, for the night. Next stop will be in Hannibal, MO, home town of Mark Twain.

7th Anniversary

Today is our 7th anniversary married to each other, our 4th anniversary of buying in as 50% owners of our boat the Shangri-La with Frank and Jill Wilti and our 2nd as full owners of the Shangri-La. We celebrated the occasion with friends by having a prime rib dinner, cooked by Barb, and drinks at the Oconto Yacht Club and then a camp fire at our camp site at the Holtwood Campground here in Oconto.

The Nina and the Pinta

In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...
Replicas of the Nina and the Pinta sailed into the Menominee River yesterday, docking at the NestEgg Marina in Marinette, WI. The Nina, 65 foot, and the Pinta, 85 foot, have been touring the US and foreign ports since 1992.

Barbie is home

Barb made it home today flying from Oklahoma City to Green Bay with a stopover in Chicago on United Airways. Home is wherever the motorhome is parked.

Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall

Yesterday I visited the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall as it came into Marinette, WI. The Moving Wall will be in Marinette from July 2nd until July 6th.

From StarBand Satellite to Verizon Wireless

We have changed how we access the Internet in our lifestyle. From November 2004 until April 2009, we used StarBand Satellite Internet with a large satellite dish setup on a tripod outside the motorhome. This was cumbersome and time consuming to setup and took up a lot of our storage space while traveling. Our connection was slow, we had to make sure that we didn't have any trees in the way, and it was expensive costing us $150 a month for their fastest connection, 1 mb down and 256 kb up. Our equipment was old and obsolete and StarBand wanted to force us to upgrade our equipment for several hundred dollars. While Barb was in the hospital, I bought a Verizon Wireless aircard so she could get her email and play her online games. While in a Verizon network, our connection speed is much like DSL, while in their Extended Network it is like what we had with StarBand, slow but usable. I also bought a Digi Wi-Point 3G celluar wireless router for the motorhome. We now have our own Wi-Fi network of 3 computers on a celluar connection that works great. No more lugging around the bulky satellite equipment taking up valuable storage space then looking for a clearing to set it up, which in Wisconsin is hard to find at times. We even have an Internet connection while traveling down the road. And with the advancement of celluar, if we have a cell phone signal, we have broadband Internet to all our computers. We have the Verizon Wireless 5 GB data plan, which is basically unlimited, for $60 a month.

Side trip to Eaton, IN

This past Wednesday, I took John Winter's boat to his brother's house in Eaton, IN for storage. Eaton is 450 miles from Oconto on SR-3 between Muncie and Fort Wayne, IN. I returned to Oconto on Friday.

The Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall

The Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall will be coming to Marinette, WI from July 2-6.

The local newspaper has a nice write up about it.

http://ehextra.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=5207

Barb and I went to the Wall in Washington, DC a few years ago on one of our trips up the east coast. It was a very moving experience, especially when I seen names of soldiers that I knew. I've never been to the Moving Wall but since it's only about 25 miles from where I an now, I'll visit it this time.

Oconto, WI

I left Kenosha at 5:30 this morning on my last leg of this trip to Oconto, WI. I stopped in Sheboygan and had breakfast with Frank Welti and arrive her around 11:30.

Change of plans

There was a change of plans as to where I was going to stop for the night. I'm now at the TA Travel Center in Antioch, IL, just outside of Kenosha, WI. Branden wanted to show me his boat. That was a mess to drive through coming up here. Branden got stuck in the wrong lane, the Express Lane, and there was a traffic accident in front of him. This will be much better anyway because I won't have the Chicago traffic to try to go through in the morning. Just 186 miles to go to get to Oconto, WI.

Greater Chicago

I planned on getting an early start this morning. Got up at 3AM, made coffee and breakfast, checked out the motorhome got it ready to go, cranked up the engine at 4AM, NO HEADLIGHTS. I traced the problem to the dimmer switch. The dimmer switch was not making a good contact and overheated ruining the switch. Here it is 4AM on Sunday morning and I need a dimmer switch to make my headlights come on. I waited until sunrise at 5:30AM and headed 333 miles to my next stop. Greater Chicago I-55 Travel Center in Bolingbrook, IL. I'll be here until Monday morning and if I can find a dimmer switch, I'll try again to get an early start before the Chicago traffic starts. Only 251 miles to go to get to Oconto, WI.

Sullivan, MO

I left Oklahoma City around 7AM this morning enroute to Oconto, WI to work on our boat. After 8 hours driving, I stopped at a Flying J Travel Center in Sullivan, MO, just west of St Louis on I-44, for the night. I'll get an early start in the morning with my next stop in the Chicago area to visit with Branden deBuhr of www.BOASTY.org and Hot Media Group who is hosting our new web pages.

North to Wisconsin

I'll be leaving out tomorrow morning on my way to Oconto, Wisconsin. Barb still has a few followup medical appointments here in Oklahoma City so she'll stay with our daughter here and I'll drive the pickup back down here after the first of July to pick her up. We have to finish up the work that I contracted John Winter to do on our boat so we can get it moved before the end of July because he sold his property. I was supposed to be up there a month ago but because of Barb's hospital stay, we are behind. I have a stopover planned in the Chicago area on Sunday to visit with the guy who is hosting our new web pages.

Barbie has been RELEASED!

Barb was released from the Oklahoma City Veterans Hospital today after being in there for 6 weeks and 2 days. She is doing fine. For the next couple of weeks she'll have a few follow-ups and then it will be time to hit the road again.

A situation has come up with our boat so we'll be leaving here on June 13th heading up to Menominee, MI. John Winter, the builder on our boat, has sold his property and has to vacate in 2 months. I'll help him finish the work that we contracted him to do then move the boat back over to the Hi Seas Marina in Oconto, WI. We plan on being up in the area until the middle of August.

3-Day Pass

Barb received a 3-day pass from the hospital yesterday. She has to go in everyday though to receive an IV then sign-in again on Monday evening. They are now saying that they will release her from the hospital next Friday if everything goes ok this coming week and she will not have to undergo a daily IV at home afterwards.

2nd 12-hour pass

Barb had her second 12-hour pass from the hospital today. We visited our friend Suzi, who just returned from a 2 week trip to Belize, for a couple of hours and the remainder of the day just relaxing at home. We both feel she will be released from the VA Medical Center this week. She will still have to receive antibiotics through an IV administered by a nurse who will come to the motorhome until the middle of June.

12-hour pass

Barb got a 12-hour pass today from the hospital. I had to have her back by 10 PM this evening but I'll be able to take her out again for another 12-hour pass tomorrow. As soon as they are able to take the stitches out they will release her so she can come home. A nurse will come out then to the motorhome everyday for a couple of weeks to give her an IV of antibiotics.

Out of the shop

We got our house out of the shop today. The Pergo laminate wood flooring looks great. Final bill for repairs was $8198.84. I get to pay the first $500 and Foremost Insurance will pick up the rest.

Update

There were tornado warnings across Oklahoma City last night. The warning sirens were blaring and the news channels were telling everyone to take cover. There were heavy rains and reports of ping ball size hail. There was lighting and thunder and power transformers flashing through out the city. They showed where these vortexes were supposed to be but the spotters on the ground didn't see anything. After it was all over with there was very little damage.

Barb is doing better. They told her that they want her to stay up to two more weeks before releasing her. She is not to walk on the foot yet and has to use a wheelchair to get around. She will be getting a 12-hour pass on Saturday and Sunday so she will be able to leave the hospital but has to be back by 10 PM each night. It's a little time together. Our house gets out of the shop tomorrow so we'll have someplace to go other than my daughter's house. I'll be able to pick it up by 4 PM.

Mother's Day

Barb was able to "escape" from the hospital for a few hours today. We "borrowed" one of the VA's wheelchairs and first we went to the Tinker AFB Exchange to buy a few things. We also bought a small recliner that we have been looking for to put in the motorhome. She wanted sushi for lunch so we went to a new Vietnamese restaurant across from Tinker AFB called Pho Air One. A couple of hours of private snuggle time and then I had to get her back to the VA before she was missed too much. Barb is doing real fine. I hope they will release her by the end of the week. I hope we get our motorhome back by the end of the week too.

In for repairs

The motorhome went in for repairs today at AAA Fiberglass in Oklahoma City. The winter before last we flooded out the bathroom area when a valve stuck in the toilet causing an overflow. The chipped wood sub flooring never dried out and became soft causing the ceramic tile to start cracking this last fall. The soft sub flooring migrated into the galley area too. All the tile in the bathroom area and wood floowing in the galley area has to be tore out so the sub flooring can be repaired. It will be replaced with laminated wood flooring. The repairs may take up to two weeks. In the meanwhile, I'm staying with my daughter Evon in Oklahoma City while Barb is at the OKC VA Medical Center.

Update on Barb's condition

Barb finely went through her surgery yesterday. All they had to remove was her big toe. Her surgery was completed by 10am, she was wheeled back to her room by 11am, she set with everyone else for lunch at 12 noon, she was able to walk by herself to the bathroom by 1pm. She will probably remain in the VA Medical Center for another week while they care for her wound ensuring that it's going to heal which is a good thing because our motorhome goes into the shop next Monday so the floor in the bathroom and galley to tore out, repaired and replaced which will take a good week or two.

Update on Barb's condition

Barb has been in the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center for 10 days now after being admitted with a severe infection in her left big toe where the infection has gone into the bone. Last night they moved her into the Extended Care Unit. She is scheduled for surgery next Tuesday where the toe will be amputated.

Tinker Air Force Bace, OK

We have relocated to the Eastland Hills RV Park across from Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, OK for the summer while Barb undergoes medical treatment through the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. Her doctor tells her she should plan spending at least three months here.

Update on Barbie's condition

Barb was admitted into the VA Medical Center here in Oklahoma City this past Wednesday.

Barb burned her left foot last July and it never completely healed. Last November a surgeon in Alpine, TX removed the toe nail because infection had got under it. It looked like it was going to heal but it was taking a long time. Last Wednesday, while down in Dallas getting the motorhome serviced, her toe had literally exploded. Since she doesn't have any feelings in her feet, she didn't feel anything. I brought her up to the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City where she was admitted. Yesterday the doctor gave us the bad news that there is infection in the bone and the toe will have to be removed. We will be here in Oklahoma City probably the whole summer until we are sure that it is healing. The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center is one of the best in the nation for caring for our nation's veterans.

We are currently at the Rockwell RV Park but will be moving over by Tinker AFB where we can get a better monthly price. The only thing Rockwell RV Park has going for it is an indoor pool and hot tub. I think the rest of it, especially where they want to put their monthly's, is a dump for $500 to $550 a month.

Oklahoma City VA Medical Center

Barb got up this morning and her big toe on her left foot was swollen from when she burned it last July and looked really infected. So we loaded up and left Buddy Gregg's in Lewisville, TX around 9AM and headed to Oklahoma City, OK so I could get her in to see the VA. We used to use the facilities here so we were in their system. We arrived at the Rockwell RV Park around 12:30 and I had her in the emergency room by 1PM. They are giving her large doses of antibiotics and are keeping her overnight.

While waiting at the emergency room, our insurance company called wanting us to take our claim to a different repair shop. I told her that we were in Oklahoma City and she set us up with AAA Fiberglass to repair the bathroom and galley floor.

Goodbye dear old friend: A. Kelly Pruitt

We received word today that a dear acquaintance of ours in Presidio had passed away. A. Kelly Pruitt was literally a legend in his own time. Kelly was best known as an Artist — a Western artist.

I remember the first time I seen Kelly was at the El Patio Restaurant in downtown Presidio, TX. There was this old guy dressed in old western clothing. You know something that you would see Tom Mix wear in old western movies. He looked out of place even in Presidio. I was wondering if there was something happening in town where people were dressed that way that day. But no that was the way Kelly always dressed.

Kelly was much, much more than an artist. He was a writer, poet, philosopher, spiritual visionary and an intellectual; however, more than even that, he was an extremely kind, courteous, and compassionate gentleman.

Most mornings you could find Kelly at the Oasis Restaurant having breakfast where he would be working on one of his new books. He also would frequent the Loma Paloma RV Park where he would visit his old friend BJ Bishop. Wherever he was you would also see his pet wolf. Kelly was always an invited guest at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at the RV park.

Friends and family are grateful to Kelly’s very good friend Terry Bishop of Presidio. Terry was with Kelly in his Gypsy wagon and his dogs as he took his last breath. One of Kelly’s great “intentions” was to pass from this life in a state of conciousness and not be drugged with chemicals and medications. Terry was kind enough to facilitate Kelly’s last wish right to the grave. Kelly was buried in his cowboy bedroll wearing a white shirt, Levis and a colorful scarf — boots and hat went along.

"Real cowboys wear white shirts."

A. Kelley Pruitt

Feb 9, 1924 - Feb 15, 2009

You can read more about Kelly at the following links.

http://www.alpineavalanche.com/articles/2009/02/24/front/front04.txt

http://us2.newsmemory.com/crawler/pma_index7/taosnews/dar_5/cd_20090226/A.-Kelly-Pruitt,-noted-Taos-artist,-cowboy-philosopher-dies.htm

http://www.akellypruitt.com/

In the Shop

We left Palacios last Saturday morning heading to Buddy Gregg Motorhomes in Lewisville, TX for services and repairs on the coach. When we arrived here at the dearship, there were 3 spaces left and someone pulled in just after us. The dearship has 14 spaces with hookups available at no charge for customers coming in for services. We will be here for about 2 weeks. Our services and repair to our air conditioning system was completed by Tuesday but we have an insurance claim in for repairs to our bathroom floor. After flooding out our bathroom about 4 times, and a small leak in the toilet, the sub-floor as started to rot out. They finely looked at our floor problem yesterday and they said the rot may have spread up into the galley area. Hopefully they will be able to start work on this project and have it completed within a week.

Summer Plans

I mail in our reservation form and deposit today returning to River Park in Menominee, MI again this summer. We'll be leaving here around the middle of April heading first to Oklahoma City for two or three weeks and then up to Menominee being there around the middle of May. Next fall we will head back down to Oklahoma City the beginning of September for a month or two then back down here to Palacios again for the winter.

Valentine's Dinner

Last night Barb and I had an early Valentine's dinner for two at the Outrigger Restaurant here in Palacios.

Our friends Frank and Jill were at the table next to us.

Palacios and Matagorda Bay

Fast trip to Oklahoma

Right after we got here and set up last Friday, we left on Monday making a fast trip up to Oklahoma City for a doctor's appointment. On the way up there, we stopped in Rhome, TX to visit our friends Frank & Jill Welti who have been stranded there with motorhome problems since right after Thanksgiving.

El Campo, TX

We took a side trip to El Campo, TX today to check out the town. We had lunch in a small seafood restaurant where I had a big bowl of seafood gumbo and Barb had coconut shrimp. The town also has a HEB grocery store, a Super Walmart, a 3 screen theatre, and we found a restaurant where we can get boiled crayfish when in season. El Campo is about 35 miles inland from Palacios.

Blessing, TX

We went to the Hotel Blessing Coffee Shop in Blessing, TX today for lunch. We seen this little restaurant featured on RFD's Texas Country Reporter and the Travel Channel. For $7.50, we had an all-you-can-eat buffet like grandma used to make. Blessing is about 12 miles inland from Palacios.

Happy New Year from Palacios, TX

Well this morning we've seen everything and now we can get off the road. Maybe we seen too much. As we were packing up and getting ready to continue our trip, we looked across at another travel trailer at the RV park and there was a couple walking their pigs. Two of them. They were not small pigs, they were huge. They had a leash on them and everything. Maybe this couple was from the back woods of Kentucky or Arkansas, or maybe they were from California. There's a lot of weird people we see from California. See the picture below.

Well after the strange sights, we were on the road by 8:30 AM this morning on our last leg of our trip to Palacios, TX, were we are staying at the Serendipity Bay Resort. We'll be here for a couple of months anyway.