Doctor, Doctor, Where are you?

Calling a doctor and actually getting an appointment are two different things. We have an appointment for Tuesday morning. When John protested and said we needed to get in right away, the nurse assured him that was the first appointment. The doctor is only in his office two days a week and the rest of the time he is doing surgery. Okay. We will be patient.

We are hopeful that this is just a bad bruise and maybe if the doctor drains the fluid from his knee, just maybe we can reload the RV and continue on our adventure. Okay, John says I am being too optimistic. And maybe I am. But until Tuesday I am not unpacking our bags. We'll see.

Thanks to Amy and Phillip for coming to our rescue last night. They helped me finish unloading the RV of all the perishables and clothes and things we might need over the next few days....or weeks of necessary. They also brought pizza and two grandchildren which was also a big boost. Today I feel well rested and not as sad. I have finally stopped crying at a moment's notice. Again, I am probably too optimistic. LOL.

So, John now just has to stay off his leg for the next few days and I will do whatever he needs to keep him comfortable. The challenge now is just keeping him off the leg. Yikes this man is stubborn. But I won't trade him for anything!!!----penny

ER

We left Tunica at 10am and arrived in Decatur at 8pm. With only one driver it was a long tedious trip. We went to the ER as instructed by our doctor over the phone. X-rays showed nothing broken. The knee has a lot of fluid and hurt to bend it. They gave him some good meds, put the leg in a brace, and gave him crutches. We came home and somehow got him up the stairs. I had to find the essentials in the RV by flashlight and made several trips up and down the driveway. This morning we call an ortho doc and hopefully find out what happens from here. We are going to hold off unpacking the RV until we are sure it is cancelled. Now the fun of trying to get him dressed.

After spending so many hours driving that RV I feel like I could drive it through the eye of a needle. I stopped twice for fifteen minute naps and once for food. At least the wind was calm.

We did play in a poker game Wednesday night. John finished 27 out of 40. I finished fifth and actually got cash for my second time. I had a blast and want to play again. Lol.

So fans, don't count us out just yet. ------penny

An Ending

Our adventure is ending. John has aggravated an old knee injury and can't walk. We will eat breakfast and pack up to turn around and head for home. It will be a seven to eight hour drive with only one driver. John is now in a wheelchair and we are both very sad. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, but first breakfast! Not sure how I will get the RV unloaded lol but need to get him home for the doctor or hospital. ----penny

Glitches, Yes We Have Them

Camper packed. Check

Food packed. Check

Bike in camper. Check.

Showers: um. Mostly check. The shower curtain rod fell and we couldn't get it back up. glitch

Off to get haircuts at 9:30. Um. Our appointment card said Jan. 17th but they had us both scheduled for the 18th. Ooops. So we left without haircuts. My bangs were longer than Amanda's! Glitch

Gas: check. Wow. How about a contest. Enter by mailing your guess to penley3993@gmail.com. How much do you think it will cost us for gas on our trip to Texas? The tank holds fifty gallons at a time. Closest guess wins absolutely nothing except recognition on our blog. Start guessing!

So, battled high winds all the way to tunica. Had to scale back on our speed just to keep control. So someone, to be named later and it wasn't me, that someone keep driving off the road. What fun.

So we arrive at tunica, SAMs Town casino and I go in to register. Um. After checking various computer screens it was determined we did not have a reservation. We are tired, my bangs are hanging over my face,and we need a room. Finally after several phone calls they found my reservation-----in Vegas! I did get a guy volunteer to drive me there but I turned him down. A credit card got us a room for the next three nights at a rate close to what I had in Vegas so we were fine. Glitch resolved.

It is Wednesday morning and we are having fun. We slept late. John went down for a coffee and to smoke and when he came back to the room I had my hair cut. Luckily I had a pair of scissors with me. So, off to have a good time. More later.----penny

Snow What.......

We took two snow shovels and a broom to dig out the RV this morning. It really wasn't snowed in so we decided to drive through the drift. Um...no big deal if you drive straight and then turn the wheels once you are past the drift. I decided to take the "shortcut" and turn too soon. Luckily I didn't really get it stuck but just had to drive back and forth a couple of times to straighten it out and bring it home. Here is how the poor pathetic thing looked when we arrived this morning. Just think...by Friday morning she will be sitting in sunshine in Texas!!!!---Penny

Bring Snow Shovels

We are driving to Mt. Auburn to pick up our RV tomorrow morning. No big deal, right? Um....we have been informed that there are snow drifts around our RV. So we are going there early in the morning with snow shovels to dig out the RV. Um. I think we are even more excited about going to Texas now....I mean, snow shovels to dig it out??? YIKES!!!!

We will be bringing it home to load it up with everything.....except the kitchen sink...we were unable to pull it from the wall. Dang!!!-----Penny

Packing and Rats and Poker

Oh my gosh!!! What do we take with us to Texas? I mean, the RV is only 30 foot long...and we keep adding more things to the pile to take. Seems like to me that we are probably taking too much. We have heard that most people take too much the first time and every year after that they take less. We will probably be normal.

We have friends at the RV park where we are going for at least the first two weeks. We have been calling them and they have called us. We are known as "rookies" which certainly fits us. Yesterday we called to find out if my bike will be secure sitting outside. Of course, they said. Then John asked about leaving his golf clubs under the RV. Um, no they said. The rats would eat them. RATS?!?!


It turns out that the ladies there have a quilting group that gets together so the wife, Lynn, suggested I bring my sewing machine (my NEW one I just got as an early present for my birthday). Sounds like fun. But I was glad to hear that they play Texas Hold 'Em.....but....it sounds like it is a guy thing. Um, yup I enjoy quilting and sewing and all those girlie things...but I really LOVE poker....so I hope they let me play.

So tomorrow we spend refining our packing and cleaning the house. ----Penny

A Magical Lunch

John and I took lunch to his first mother-in-law at the nursing home where she lives. It seems that even 90-year-old ladies like Krekels hamburgers and shakes. She was so excited to have this special attention and we enjoyed her company for two hours. She had made special arrangements to secure a room for us to eat in. We also took along our wedding and honeymoon photos for her to look at. We left two photos with her and helped her get back to her room when we were finished.

I know at my advanced age (soon to get one year older on Sunday) I am aware of nursing homes and the possibility I will wind up in one. A quick plea to everyone. If you know of someone in a nursing home, please visit on a regular basis and remember to take goodies to them. Now, if it is me, please bring chocolate. When I am 90, I will not care about my diet any more!!!

So, it was a magical lunch with a lady who appreciated that we cared enough to spend the time with her. ---Penny

Wal-Mart

I stopped at Wal-Mart on Tuesday to pick up just two items. It was during the afternoon when my gang goes there...you know....the old blue-haired retired people. We have gang meetings at Wal-Mart and at restaurants... now you know. Well, for some reason there were even more people in the store. And when I went to check out the lines were full...all of them were at least three people deep. The "20 items or less" lines were about six deep on both ends of the store. The "do it yourself" lines were all shut down. So I just found a line and waited my turn.

The lady in front of me was complaining to me that the lines were too long and that this big store should have more people working and what were they thinking. I just wanted to get home after running errands and didn't mind waiting in line but I smiled which just encouraged her. She raised her voice so the clerk would hear her and kept up her ranting. Finally the lady in front of her was being waited on. She just wanted chewing tobacco (for her father) and it took the clerk awhile to find the right brand and the right package. Oh boy!! Now I know all the brand names of chewing tobacco in case there is a quiz.

Finally it was the complaining woman's turn. And she let the clerk have it....."a long wait.....biggest store in town.....you should have more people working...." And her voice kept getting louder. He assured her he would pass this information to his boss but he had no control. She left still growling. I was next! I just wanted to get out of there. Then the supervisor came over to our line just as I am paying for my stuff. The clerk relayed the customer's complaints and the supervisor asked me if I was also complaining. I said no, I was fine. But then the woman in line behind me yelled that she was not happy either and her wait was too long and and and....I flew out of the store. It was a mean day at Wal-Mart and I wanted to get away!!!

The Next Adventure

We are one week away from leaving for Texas and we have lists of things to get accomplished. Tomorrow morning John has his second cataract surgery so hopefully he heals fast so he can help drive!! Our plan is to spend the first three nights in Tunica, Mississippi, and have our final casino "fix" before we go to a dry state. It is amazing the planning that we are doing since neither of us has ever done anything like this. But I am sure that we will get down and realize there was something we forgot. On the other hand, we will get down there and wonder why we brought some of the things we packed. It will be interesting!!--Penny