Monday March 28, 2022

Temperature 84 Degrees

Ongoing Cancer Care Treatment

Living with Prostate Cancer has been an experience. Though I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about it nevertheless it is always there in your subconscious. It definitely causes you to rethink what is important in life. It also makes you really cherish the moments of every day that you are given by God.

In battling it I’ve successfully completed Proton (yup, that’s how our little furry friend got his name) radiation treatment, and as part of my ongoing treatment I take hormone shots in my caboose every three months. What’s the purpose of them? Well, most prostate cancer cells rely on testosterone to help them grow. Hormone shots cause male testosterone from being produced which in turn helps the pesky little cancer cells to die or grow more slowly. And since I had a very aggressive form of prostate cancer the decision was made to use everything available to nip it in the bud. I mean I want you to know that I plan to live at least to the ripe old age of 100!

So today was the day to get shot up. Now normally the shots are no big thing. Oh, there was the one time after I was given it I swore someone had taken a blow torch to my backside. Oh baby did it burn. But that was several shots ago. Since then, no side effects whatsoever. So I sort of let my guard down. Bad, bad, bad. Today’s shot for some reason had that oh so nasty side effect of lighting up my caboose! Oh baby it got hot there for a few minutes. Thankfully, it doesn’t last long, but the few minutes it does. . .

Of course having suffered so grievously recompense was in order. Hence, I had Ms. Barbara take me out to lunch. Where to? We went to one of my favorites that being Culver’s Restaurant. I absolutely believe that their fish meal is just oh so good. The fish is North Atlantic Cod, hand cut, hand battered and golden fried only after you place your order. Add a side of cheese curds to the order and you’ve got yourself a scrumptious meal for sure. Ah yes, I was feeling oh so much better after my meal.

So that was our day on The Road of Retirement. The trip to the doctor and back, the actual visit, and lunch out was a total of just a little over five hours. Thus, not much else was accomplished today. That was fine by me.

Thanks again for stopping by today  It’s always great to be able to share our story with others. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish each day that God gives you and live it to the fullest.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

March 27, 2022

Temperature 80 Degrees

Provisioning

I’ve always been a big believer in if something works, then stick with it. So that’s what we decided to do.

We’ve been shopping this past week for can goods and staples which, as in the past, we can store in Elvira’s lockers. Earlier this week we stashed away several large multi packs of paper towels and toilet paper. We also grabbed a bunch of paper goods and packages of napkins.

Today, we packed our can goods in the six totes that we used when full timing. We make a list of what is in each box – 1 thru 6 – and post it inside by the kitchen. When we take something from a box we cross it off. This way we can see at a glance what exactly we still have onboard. We figure we currently have enough for about three months minimum, maybe a month more. The net result is, more time for sightseeing and less time in unfamiliar grocery stores.

We do something similar with meat for meals. We buy in large quantities and then break it down into smaller FoodSaver packages. We have chop meat, chicken, pork, meat balls, chicken cutlets, hot dogs, and so much more. In some cases we’ve made meals that we can pull from the freezer and pop in the microwave. They’re great for those times when we’re just staying a night. In other cases we have meat cooked that can be used for the basis of a meal such as chili or meat sauce. All in all it cuts down on the mess in the kitchen and saves time that can be better spent on other pursuits. At last count we had enough meat prepared and packed for a good four months if not more.

Provisioning, that is how we spent our day on The Road of Retirement. We still have some more meat to prepare and pack but we’ll leave that to another day. But we’ll get it done because in just ten days we’ll be back on the road again. We’re so looking forward to roaming the highways again. This summer has been a long time coming. It’s exciting to know that it is now just around the corner.

Thanks again for stopping by today  We always appreciate your company, and your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, live to the fullest the days that God gives you.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

March 26,2020

Temperature 73 Degrees

Taking Care Of Business

Did you ever have one of those days were you get up in the morning and all of a sudden it is time to get ready to go back to bed? And you have no idea what happened all day? That was today.

I know we went shopping. We had several items we had to get from the Depot and we had to make a stop at Aldi. I believe we also stopped at McDonald’s for drinks. I know I also spent some time packing more essentials into Elvira. But the rest of the day is sort of a blur.

I believe I spent some time tinkering with the passenger side slide. It goes out, but right near the end of its motion it makes a weird noise. I’ve hunted, searched, checked and double checked and I still can’t find the source of the noise. At this point I’m going to say it is what it is and we’ll have to live with it. Until. You get the idea. It’s either that or I turn my hearing aids off when I put it out. Now, that’s an even better idea!

The other item is the dash air. I got two years out of it since it was last fixed. However, it is again on the fritz. We have a resident here in the park who in another life was an RV A/C technician. He told me he would come over one day this week to check it out. My main concern is the compressor going bad, seizing up, and throwing the serpentine belt while on the road. If JT can assure me that that will not happen I can live without the dash air.

Now, what else happened today? Beats me. Let me think. OK, I cleaned the tires and checked air pressure. Went through some papers we have been carrying around for like forever. I filled the windshield washer bottles on both the car and the rig. That was me. I believe Ms. Barbara also spent some time after shopping getting meals together for the road. She ordered some things we needed from Walmart. She did some research on various attractions we want to visit. Oh yes, in the evening we played Phase 10.

So that was our day on The Road of Retirement. What about yours? Hope you had a great day, that you were able to accomplish some things you wanted to get done; and, maybe even had some time to dream about the future.

Thanks again for stopping by today  We always appreciate your company, and your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, live to the fullest the days that God gives you.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

March 25, 2022

Temperature 75 Degrees

We’ve Made The Decision To Go

Once again the stars seem aligned against us. We spent the better part of last year planning for a full summer of travel in 2022. We scouted the internet for interesting places to visit. We checked out numerous RV parks. We laid out various routes to travel. Everything was coming together just fine. And then. Then, of course being the current cost of fuel. What a shock.

So what about travel this summer? To go or not to go? Our trip will be approximately 7,000 miles in length. We hemmed and hawed. We debated for hours. Common sense screamed stay home. But the call of the open road continued to beckon us to throw caution to the wind and head out.

The open road won out. We’re going back on the road. Probably not the smartest decision we have ever made. Yet, we have our reasons. Me and the rig are not getting any younger. Getting cancer was also like a wake up call. The time to live is now. Understand, I’m not a fatalist by any stretch of the imagination. However, I do believe in living to the fullest the days that God gives me. And less you think I’m the only one eagerly wanting to go, Ms. Barbara is also totally onboard with this decision.

Our first day out will be Wednesday, April 6th.

So, we’ve begun to pack in earnest. I’ve taken everything out of all the lockers and sorted everything out and determined what can stay home and what we need to take. My tools are all onboard.

A wagon full of things that need to be packed in their proper place.

Can’t forget this. The water filters, hoses, regulators, etc. have already been put in their place.

So many things to do. Tire inspection. Slide seals to lube. Leveling jacks to check by running thru a couple of cycles. The operation of the slides needs to be checked. Currently we have two that are giving us fits. But no time to take it in for repairs. They go out, they come in – after a fashion. It is what it is. We’ll live with them as they are. Everything on the roof has been caulked. Locker doors and locks have been lubed.

We’ve moved a good deal of stuff from the house back to Elvira. The weekend before we leave all our clothes, etc. will be brought onboard.

Ms. Barbara is putting together meals that she can freeze then just pop in the Microwave when we’re on the road. She’s buying more stapes and paper goods. Enough probably for the next three months or more. We’re picking up can goods tomorrow. We’ll use the same box system for storage that we used when we lived on the road. It worked like a charm then and I’m sure it will now.

We’re excited and nervous at the same time. Does that seem possible? The price of fuel is the biggest concern. Who knows perhaps mid trip I’ll have to stop and get a job at McDonald’s so that we have fuel money to get home. But the cost of fuel, while a huge concern, doesn’t concern me as much as does the talk beginning to circulate of possible fuel shortages this summer. What a bummer it would be to get to South Dakota and not be able to get home. Time will tell.

Thanks again for stopping by today  We always appreciate your company, and your comments and suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, live to the fullest the days that God gives you.

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before