Blogs from North America - page 6

Day 12 May 15, 2013 Didn’t sleep a wink, neither did Chris. So I got up super early and when the cab came at 6 am to take them to the airport, I was packed and ready to go. I figured with such an early start I would miss a lot of traffic (traffic in Key West sucks) and it would be a little cooler. I did miss the traffic; I found it interesting that there were a tremendous number of cars going south toward Key West. I assume that not everyone who works on Key West lives there. The ride up the Keys was as bad as the other three times I rode up or down the Keys. If I ever go back to Key West (doubtful) I will fly. The weather today was absolutely ... read more

May 14, 2013 (Oklahoma City, OK) Final preparations for Dean McGee's Global Eye Care Program's visit to Chengdu, China are underway. Final clinical responsibilities, packing, and getting the best seating we can on the flights over are all done. One more day of work to tidy things up before we leave for ten days. The team this year includes two DMEI faculty, one fellow, one resident, two ophthalmologists from Kaiser Permanente Northern California and eight members from the University of Oklahoma's CCEW program. The primary goal of this trip is to finalize and sign an agreement with Sichuan Provincial People's Hospitalto pilot and implement a plan to open the Sichuan Eye Institute (SPEI) in Chengdu. This "sister" eye institut... read more

We had a lovely drive up from San Francisco today. Most of the day was spent traveling through the giant Redwoods. After we got all set up at camp, we took a 31 miles drive called "Avenue of the Giants". As you can tell by my pictures, these are some VERY tall trees. We wanted to drive through the tree in Myers Flat, but Jon & Joyce truck was too wide and tall. Instead we walked through it.. It's amazing how old these trees are. We also toured through the "One Log House", which reminded us of our current traveling homes. More great Redwood scenery tomorrow.... read more

We are packed and anticipating heading to PHX by 9:00am tomorrow. Our flight does not depart until 2:30pm from PHX and so we plan to meet up with our "old" neighbors Rowena and Doug for an early lunch and to catch up! I have been battling a "head cold" (or so I thought) and decided to head to UrgentCare this afternoon. The verdict?? I have Sinusitis and have a cadre of drugs to help me great better. More to follow tomorrow!... read more

Gasp, groan, gurgle.....we have depleted what little energy we had left. This is truly a test of our endurance. I think we failed. Finally, dragging ourselves home, I find I can hardly walk from one end of the motor home to the other and we are only talking 37 feet! We started out kind of spry. I did pop a couple Motrin before heading to the tent because I knew what lay ahead. It was as expected. Hours on our feet, moving, lifting and putting our stuff from one place to another inside our tent. BUT the job is done! Whoopee! Even though we had worn our legs down to the pelvic area, we staggered around an adjacent field to see their lay out. This field is called The Meadows and many of the dealers specialize ... read more

DAY 22: MAY 13, 2013 After a drive of 293.5 miles I have come slap up against the Atlantic Ocean at a high priced little motel called the Ocean Crest on Oak Island, NC. I had a nice dinner at the seafood joint next door and am sitting around watching the sun go down out of the open motel room door. It is kind of bass-ackwards from what I am accustomed to seeing on the Pacific coast at sunset. This is more like a sunrise. Oak Island is just south of the estuary of the Cape Fear River. Locals hereabouts claim that the pirate Blackbeard went down in a blaze of glory a short distance above the little town of Southport. He was shot 19 times and had 7 saber cuts and his beard ... read more

10th May Arrived at the Grand Canyon. Booked in and set up the tent and then drove over to the visitors centre to check it out. There isn't anything to add about it that hasn't already been said, only those who have seen it really understand - its awe inspiring and big! There are specific view points with numbers of people taking pictures, but its easy enough to get away from the crowds. We were surprised that within a country where you can't do any free thinking without being told, with signs for everything and everyone seemingly obeying them, that the edge of the canyon was accessible to anyone brave or stupid enough to get as close to as one wanted. 11th May We had booked a day rafting down the mighty Colorado. Got up at ... read more

We arrived...after a long drive. Took about 1.5 hours longer than planned to get here (8hrs), but all was safe. The mountain passes were slow moving uphill, we could maintain about 45, but we were speed restricted to 35 going downhill...and we can understand why! We had several stretches of downhill w/ 7% grade for over 7 miles. The rig, made good use of its exhaust brake...kept us below 40 without touching the brakes. Amazing views all along the way! Mi Hyon drove for a couple hours to help out...2 hours is about all she can take. The RV park at Moab is about 1 mile from Arches NP and 5 from Canyon Lands and 102 degrees HOT! "but it's a dry heat ;-) Today we hit arches and words are not enought to describe the ... read more