May 31, 2007
Orlando, FL
OK, so we're just in Orlando to get the coach aligned, not to go see Mickey. So what? We're here anyway. This is the first time we've been here since December of 2004 (or was it 2003?) when we had a big TP confab at Walt Disney World. That was a pretty nice trip, since we had a chance to go to La Nouba (Cirque du Soleil) and Emeril's Tchoup Chop restaurant at Universal. And Geri got to meet Rich Sternhell for the first time. Good stuff.
We left Jacksonville a little before noon today and were just on the north side of Orlando before 3 PM. We hung out for a few hours (it's really nice to be able to flip up the dish and get to the 'Net in 3 minutes from anywhere) and then headed over to the place that'll do the alignment tomorrow. Josam (http://www.josamusa.com/) is actually a Swedish (go, ancestors) company that makes specialized equipment for wheel and axle alignment on heavy vehicles. People on various Internet groups swear by them for precision work. We'll see tomorrow!
We had a slight technical difficulty in getting here since, when you live by technology, you die by technology. I'd mapped out the route with Microsoft's Streets and Trips package, which is usually pretty accurate. Unfortunately, it told us to make a turn off US-17 in Orlando when we should have just gone straight to our destination. Geri will tell you that, over the years, I've taken her on some interesting diversions into "parts of town we shouldn't be in". Tonight wasn't the worst we've ever been in, but we did go through some pretty seedy areas. No issues, though.
Tonight, we're "dry camping" at the alignment shop. That simply means that we're not connected to any electrical, water and/or sewer hookups. This is really a non-issue for us, since we have the on board generator to run the air conditioners and have plenty of "tank capacity". We only had to empty the tanks once while we were in Alabama, for example. In general, we can go for at least a week if we're careful. So, a few days without hookups is NBD (no big deal, as they say in the commercials).
We'll spend most of the day tomorrow here, as the alignment should take until 3 PM or so. Geri made an appointment at the local PetsMart for a "tubbie", and we'll probably head up to Winter Park to the nearest Whole Foods for supplies (you can only get so many things at Wal-Mart while you're on the road. We made a Chicken Fried Rice mix tonight which came out OK. Sometimes we really need to make sure that we have things on board that cook up quickly. Tomorrow, we'll have one of those Bertolli pasta dinners that take ~10 minutes, since we won't pull off the road until close to 7 PM.
We'll stay just north of Jacksonville tomorrow night (same place we stayed Tuesday-Wednesday nights) since we won't leave here until afternoon. We'll stay in Selma NC (not AL) on Saturday, at an RV park right off I-95. We'll roll around DC to Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, MD by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Hopefully, we'll avoid some traffic by driving mostly on the weekend. Of course, every day is Saturday to us retirees... ;-)
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
We're smokin' now
May 29, 2007
Jacksonville, FL
With Mom safely housed in rehab with Rick and Annette's excellent care, we hit the road down Sand Mountain this morning. We had smoke from the Georgia and Florida fires on and off all day. We went south on US-431 to I-20, where we saw smoldering fires along the side of the highway near the Alabama-Georgia border. We were running ahead of schedule until we ran into a serious traffic jam right before we got to I-285 on the west side of Atlanta. It took us too long to figure out an alternate route so we missed the first available exit, right near Six Flags. We ended up getting off the next exit and going "overland" south and then east to connect to I-285 about 5 miles south of our original plan. The traffic was awful on the alternate, but better than on I-20, where the highway was basically shut down due to two multi-vehicle accidents.
We had more smoke, so strong it's filled the coach with aroma hours later, along I-75 near the Georgia-Florida border. We pulled in to the place we're staying a little after 7 PM (EDT, with an hour time change from Alabama). There were no road closures or anything, and even the construction zones were easily managed.
Tonight we went to a local BBQ joint -- why not, since we smell like smoke anyway? Neither one of us felt like cooking after a long day (we left at 7 AM CDT) on the road. We'll do some grocery shopping tomorrow so we have enough stuff for the next few days. Thursday afternoon, we'll head over to Orlando to have the coach aligned on Friday. There's a place there (JoSam's) that is supposed to be the best in the land, so we'll find out. They align everything in multiple dimensions, no just the "front end" like on a car. First, they adjust the ride height to make sure everything is to spec since height can influence the alignment settings. Then, they look at the alignment of each of the three axles. The front end manages the steering and tracking quality. If the drive axle is misaligned, the whole coach will run down the road with the back end to one side, which is less efficient. If the tag axle is out of whack, that causes increased tire wear. All these potential problems cause decreased handling and increased fuel use.. We're looking to get everything as good as we can get it.
Once we're done on Friday, we'll stay here in Jacksonville that night before heading north to the D.C. area. We'll take two days to make that trip.
Tomorrow will be a "down day", dedicated to cleaning up the coach (vacuuming, washing of floors, cleaning interior windows and mirrors, etc.).
We checked with Annette late today to see how Mom did with therapy and the report was very favorable. She was up and out of her room, ate well, and was in better spirits -- all good. Everyone is partially convinced that part of the issue is her "playing" us to get out of doing things, which is pretty much the regression you'd expect. We're hopeful that the therapy helps get her back on her feet.
Jacksonville, FL
With Mom safely housed in rehab with Rick and Annette's excellent care, we hit the road down Sand Mountain this morning. We had smoke from the Georgia and Florida fires on and off all day. We went south on US-431 to I-20, where we saw smoldering fires along the side of the highway near the Alabama-Georgia border. We were running ahead of schedule until we ran into a serious traffic jam right before we got to I-285 on the west side of Atlanta. It took us too long to figure out an alternate route so we missed the first available exit, right near Six Flags. We ended up getting off the next exit and going "overland" south and then east to connect to I-285 about 5 miles south of our original plan. The traffic was awful on the alternate, but better than on I-20, where the highway was basically shut down due to two multi-vehicle accidents.
We had more smoke, so strong it's filled the coach with aroma hours later, along I-75 near the Georgia-Florida border. We pulled in to the place we're staying a little after 7 PM (EDT, with an hour time change from Alabama). There were no road closures or anything, and even the construction zones were easily managed.
Tonight we went to a local BBQ joint -- why not, since we smell like smoke anyway? Neither one of us felt like cooking after a long day (we left at 7 AM CDT) on the road. We'll do some grocery shopping tomorrow so we have enough stuff for the next few days. Thursday afternoon, we'll head over to Orlando to have the coach aligned on Friday. There's a place there (JoSam's) that is supposed to be the best in the land, so we'll find out. They align everything in multiple dimensions, no just the "front end" like on a car. First, they adjust the ride height to make sure everything is to spec since height can influence the alignment settings. Then, they look at the alignment of each of the three axles. The front end manages the steering and tracking quality. If the drive axle is misaligned, the whole coach will run down the road with the back end to one side, which is less efficient. If the tag axle is out of whack, that causes increased tire wear. All these potential problems cause decreased handling and increased fuel use.. We're looking to get everything as good as we can get it.
Once we're done on Friday, we'll stay here in Jacksonville that night before heading north to the D.C. area. We'll take two days to make that trip.
Tomorrow will be a "down day", dedicated to cleaning up the coach (vacuuming, washing of floors, cleaning interior windows and mirrors, etc.).
We checked with Annette late today to see how Mom did with therapy and the report was very favorable. She was up and out of her room, ate well, and was in better spirits -- all good. Everyone is partially convinced that part of the issue is her "playing" us to get out of doing things, which is pretty much the regression you'd expect. We're hopeful that the therapy helps get her back on her feet.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Not a celebrity
May 27, 2007
Albertville, AL
Mom was strong enough yesterday that they released her from the hospital and moved her to a rehabilitation facility for (theoretically) a few weeks to get her strength back. I say "theoretically" because the time limit isn't important if she's making progress and, conversely, she won't stay there if she doesn't cooperate. We're hopeful that she'll get back on her feet over the next few weeks.
The facility is a relatively new place and seems very professional. The down-side is that it's in Gadsden, about 25 miles away (the hospital she was in was about 10 miles from home). They're much more limiting on visiting hours during the week, as they need most of the day for the physical therapy (about 5 hours a day). We'll visit her today (Sunday is a "free day") and tomorrow evening.
Our current plan is to head out on Tuesday, which was our original schedule. I'll post more details on the plans for the next few weeks in a subsequent entry.
Albertville, AL
Mom was strong enough yesterday that they released her from the hospital and moved her to a rehabilitation facility for (theoretically) a few weeks to get her strength back. I say "theoretically" because the time limit isn't important if she's making progress and, conversely, she won't stay there if she doesn't cooperate. We're hopeful that she'll get back on her feet over the next few weeks.
The facility is a relatively new place and seems very professional. The down-side is that it's in Gadsden, about 25 miles away (the hospital she was in was about 10 miles from home). They're much more limiting on visiting hours during the week, as they need most of the day for the physical therapy (about 5 hours a day). We'll visit her today (Sunday is a "free day") and tomorrow evening.
Our current plan is to head out on Tuesday, which was our original schedule. I'll post more details on the plans for the next few weeks in a subsequent entry.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Doing much better
May 23, 2007
Albertville, AL
Well, Mom's doing better. She's still in the hospital, but should be released to a rehab facility in the next day or so, assuming all things go as planned. She needs to get the focused physical therapy to help get her back on her feet -- literally. We're trying to convince her that she'll be like a movie star, since they all go to rehab (albeit of a different kind) these days. We're not having much luck with that, or course.
We're almost done getting her apartment cleaned. The carpet and floors are done and most of the furniture is back in place. Tomorrow, we'll try to get the counters and cabinets cleaned up, and we'll be all set for her when she gets released from rehab. That and a quick trip to PetsMart (we're almost out of some dog supplies) and we should be in pretty good shape.
Albertville, AL
Well, Mom's doing better. She's still in the hospital, but should be released to a rehab facility in the next day or so, assuming all things go as planned. She needs to get the focused physical therapy to help get her back on her feet -- literally. We're trying to convince her that she'll be like a movie star, since they all go to rehab (albeit of a different kind) these days. We're not having much luck with that, or course.
We're almost done getting her apartment cleaned. The carpet and floors are done and most of the furniture is back in place. Tomorrow, we'll try to get the counters and cabinets cleaned up, and we'll be all set for her when she gets released from rehab. That and a quick trip to PetsMart (we're almost out of some dog supplies) and we should be in pretty good shape.
Monday, May 21, 2007
We're ba-a-a-ck
May 21, 2007
Albertville, AL
Well, my last line in yesterday's blog was wishful thinking. Not only did Mom try to get up from bed last night, she fell again in the process. Erik got her back in bed, but she fell again in the bathroom after she got up in the morning. We headed back to the ER (primary care physician's phone was busy all morning). They ran some more tests and, needless to say, they decided to keep her overnight, for at least one night. We got her settled in her room and went home to take care of the pups. We went back in the evening, and she's doing well even though she doesn't want to be there. She's less resistant than I'd have expected.
This evening, we cleaned up the mess from today's fall and aired the apartment out. Tomorrow, we're having the carpets cleaned and Wednesday we'll wash all the floors, counters and cabinets so everything will be clean when she comes home, probably some time Wednesday.
Erik's doing a great job of helping out, making sure that he handles all his chores and helping keep Grandma calm. She was really happy to have him visit this evening.
We'll get through this...
Albertville, AL
Well, my last line in yesterday's blog was wishful thinking. Not only did Mom try to get up from bed last night, she fell again in the process. Erik got her back in bed, but she fell again in the bathroom after she got up in the morning. We headed back to the ER (primary care physician's phone was busy all morning). They ran some more tests and, needless to say, they decided to keep her overnight, for at least one night. We got her settled in her room and went home to take care of the pups. We went back in the evening, and she's doing well even though she doesn't want to be there. She's less resistant than I'd have expected.
This evening, we cleaned up the mess from today's fall and aired the apartment out. Tomorrow, we're having the carpets cleaned and Wednesday we'll wash all the floors, counters and cabinets so everything will be clean when she comes home, probably some time Wednesday.
Erik's doing a great job of helping out, making sure that he handles all his chores and helping keep Grandma calm. She was really happy to have him visit this evening.
We'll get through this...
Sunday, May 20, 2007
You just can't leave us alone...
May 20, 2007
Walking up the driveway and back is a constant challenge.
Albertville, AL
As mentioned, Friday was Alyson's graduation. Well, it's graduation season, of course, and tomorrow (Monday), one of Annette's nieces graduates from High School as well, in Florida near Orlando. So, early this morning, Rick, Annette, and Alyson left for the drive down there, leaving Eric (still has school part of this coming week) and Mom with us. Gerry, Lois and Chrissy left this morning as well. We had all our instructions (feed Mom, give her her meds, water the plants, feed the cats) and were all set.
This morning, I started doing some cleaning on the coach (damn bugs) and everything was fine except that Mom didn't want to walk (she has to walk the length of the driveway for exercise). Since her health problems began, she's not been up and moving anywhere near enough, and she's become very unsteady on her feet due to muscle atrophy. She's also extremely afraid of falling, which tends to become a self-fulfilling prophesy. So, what happens? You guessed it; we're not on our own with her for half a day and she falls on the steps coming out of her place. There are 4 brick steps, and she must have been a couple of steps away from the bottom when she toppled over backwards. She hit her head on the second step and put a 3/4" ding into the back of her scalp. So, off to the emergency room we go. They did a CT scan (everything looks OK) and hit her with 5 surgical staples and a shot and sent us on our way.
She did reasonably well once we got home, eating her dinner (usually a challenge) and watching TV. When it was time for bed, she got wobbly again getting out of her chair, so she really needs to be monitored at all times when she's not sitting down. This will be OK as long as she remembers this and doesn't keep trying to get up on her own!
Walking up the driveway and back is a constant challenge.
Those damn steps!
You know you're in small-town America when...
May 19, 2007
Albertville, AL
Yesterday was Alyson's graduation, and a good time was had by all. It was held at 7 PM on the high school's football field, with the audience in the bleachers and the graduates in folding chairs set up on the field. The weather was cooperating nicely. The last rain was Wednesday, and everything dried out nicely. As the sun went down, it got a little cool (into the upper 50s), and most of us wished we'd brought another layer, but we managed fine. They do things quickly here. The ceremony started right on time and they graduated a rumored 198 or 199 young adults and wrapped the whole thing up in an hour's time.
We brought Mom in her wheelchair, since there was no way she could walk all the way from the car to the other side of the football field. Rick's Mother-in-law, Lois, and Father-in-law, Gerry were already there with Annette's sister, Chrissy. Since we had Mom and Lois in their chairs, we were able to sit on the edge of the field in front of the bleachers, so we had an unobstructed view. I shot with the D200 using the 70-200 zoom lens which, given the digital conversion factor, is about 105-300 mm in film equivalent terms. It's a good thing the lens has internal vibration reduction, as I didn't bring the tripod (didn't want to stand out too much). Since the sun was going down, I adjusted the ISO equivalence to 400 for speed (hopefully, I'll remember to adjust it back). Here are a couple of pictures.
The graduate on her way to the ceremony.
Mom (left) and Lois before things got rolling, just as it started to cool off rapidly.
The "Suits" (aka School Board) doing their MIB impression. Rick's the 5th from the left.
The graduate takes the field.
As I mentioned, it was a pretty quick ceremony, especially given the number of graduates. All in all it went very smoothly, with a couple of interesting quirks that let you know you're in a small town. First (for me) was the number of references to Jesus, not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm used to a more PC environment; I half expected the ACLU to run on the field and call a halt to everything. Second, the valedictorian's speech concluded with a reading from Dr Seuss, which seemed like an interesting choice. And third, you gotta love parents who'd name their kid "Rusty", especially when his middle name is "Chevy".
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