On The Road Again....

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Hope we didn't catch you unprepared. You should have been pretty well packed up minus the last minute things. We were. For the past week, we have slowly been gathering up all our paraphernalia and trying to make room for it all. Of course, we didn't have to worry about packing away our party tent...remember its' sad demise? All good things must come to end....including our tent. But mostly, our pleasurable winter's respite in Florida.

We hemmed and hawed about when to leave. Finally the weather forecast led us to select April 18th. Maybe we could have left earlier....other friends traveling north made it through the predicted bad weather above us but we waited. Was it right or wrong ...not sure. You need to flip back a few pages to decide.

Remember how we had the wonderful day at Disneyworld on April 10th (our anniversary)? Great time. Monday was just a putter day until friends came by for one last get together. Great time. Tuesday, we had our RV washed so it would look bright and shiny for the trip home. In the evening, we joined a group of friends at David & Linda Berry's last campfire. Great time.

And then Wednesday came. OMG...I'm sick! Sore throat, headache and nausea. What the he_l? No time or want for this! I crawled to my crash cart of pharmaceutical supplies and begin the treatment regime. Nothing to do but wait for the miracle to happen. I flop on the couch and there I stay! UNTIL WE LEFT! I manage to crawl around the motor home for necessities but quickly return to a supine position on the couch or bed. Whaaaat happened to me? Best I can figure, I probably picked up some disgusting, contagious bug at Disneyworld. With all those thousands of people coughing, spewing, sneezing, touching everything ...... It seems quite possible. I hope it's not some third world disease. Should have worn a surgical mask like the Chinese people and my mittens. Would have stood out in the crowd but would be healthy right now....and I'm not. Geeez.

With my nursing skills, I treated and resolved most of my symptoms but my fever clung on. My sinus drainage appeared infected ( I'll avoid the medical descriptions) which was the best I could access my cause for my febrile status. It has all left me with extreme lethargy and general malaise. Any small task exhausts me and forces me to collapse on the closest slab I can find. Fortunately, everything is very accessible inside the RV. I have just wallowed around in my sick bed hoping each day would bring a cure. Nothing! Saturday, I thought I could stay upright for more than ten minutes so asked Cory to chauffeur me to Costco's (for last minute things) and Fantastic Sam's for a haircut. Scratch that.....made it as far as our nearby Walmart and got my haircut there while Cory picked up a few last minute things. Then, back to bed. Whew! This is one mean bug! I have to get better....we have things to do and places to go before we leave. Not goin' to happen. Sam & Sandy waited patiently for the sick flag to be brought down....didn't happen. What's not done now goes on the bucket list for next year. I'm too weak to even do this blog so you know how bad off I am. On Sunday, God's Day, I seek strength. Jeff & Judy came by to say good-bye. I slithered outside and wished them well....best I could. Fortunately, Lulu gave them a hearty farewell. She's so good....always able to step up to the plate when needed. She'll miss Jeff.

Cory tried to make the rounds to say our good-byes for us. I'm sorry if I missed you....I really wanted to see you before we left. I don't think you wanted my strong breath belting out a farewell chant in your face, though. Please know I enjoyed our times together and look forward to more next year.

All day I just licked my wounds. By suppertime, I limped outside into Sam's car (Cory has packed ours) and they drove us to Cracker Barrel for our last supper. I has soup and toast. It was good. Bittersweet was the atmosphere. Where had the time gone? We would miss our times together. Sam took a final drive through Sherwood Forrest RV Campground to see how it has emptied out. Then, back home. I was ready to pile back onto our couch. Our final farewell to our dear friends, Sam & Sandy, was rugged at best. Never easy to say good-bye but when you have one leg in the grave, ever so much worst. It all seems so much darker. Through tears, waves and weakness, we admitted ourselves back into our infested infirmary. Stay well, stay strong and stay in touch, best buddies. We'll be seeing you again.

Cory pulled in our slide outs and brought up the levelers to make sure everything was a go for in the morning. We can live in our narrow channel life style with no problems. So far, so good. Minus me, of course. I'm still pumping the pills and doing anything else I can figure to do to remedy this bastardly ailment. Oh, whoa is me. Pile on the sympathy and prayers, please.

Monday morning, April 19th: departure day. Cory takes care of the last of the hookups including the car. He positions himself in the driver's seat. The captain is in charge of his boat. Happy landing, hopefully. I belt myself upright in the passenger seat. This has been Sam's seat all winter. I'm thinking about that dear, sweet man right now. And just guess where he is at this final, heart-wrenching moment.....scooting around the Webster Flea Market. Once a picker, always a picker. Good hunting, Sam. The wheels begin to roll at 8:40AM. And, we're off. All set? Got you seat belts buckled, snacks at hand, sunglasses on? Ok....then we are ready. I am more than ready. I just want to get home now and nurse my wounds. I'll be better, I know it. Lulu and Cory have been wonderful nursemaids but home is what will do it for me. Of course, my doctor could help, too.....but I don't think I'm ready for him yet.

We pass the Tropical Palms welcome sign.....we'll read it again next year. We're set. Coming pass Old Town.....Not so fast! What's that loud, annoying noise coming out of the DVD player compartment? Rats. Something is banging around in there that needs securing. I unleash myself and stand in Sam's chair to reach in the compartment. Cory carefully keeps the RV in motion. I bring some stuff out, move some stuff....not sure if that's the answer. I don't care. I don't feel good. I'm exhausted, hot and short of breath. I fling myself onto the couch and take my accustomed position of repose. I'll be better after a minute of recuperation.

I'm missing the familiar sights I know so well on route 192. I can only see the tips of palm trees and clouds from my flat lookout on the davenport. I can hear ALOT though. Our hitch sounds clanky. The noise is still in the DVD compartment. I call these out to Cory. He turns into a friendly Wawa's (near the Ale House) to take care of things...me, included. The hitch is checked and is fine. He works inside the DVD compartment. He gets some gas ($2.15 diesel). Not much he can do with me. He gets me my blanket...in case I need it later. And we're off. I hope all this is not making you uncomfortable. It's hard traveling long distances with a big crowd on a good day.....I'm not making this cruise pretty.

Lulu tries to hold my hand...best she can since she has none. Back on the highway, we roll along. Of course, there's going to be lots of noises from our mode of transportation. Cory is driving a house while pulling our car down the pitted pike. This wheeled caravan is not made out of cotton or pillows but right now, that would be nice. Sniff....sniff? Does something smell hot to you, Cory? He can't smell anything. I think I do, though. Hallucinations? The DVD is still rattling. RATS! I can feel the RV twisting and turning and coming to a stop, again. Where are we, Cory? Just got on Rt 27 and at the Walmart. He's going take everything out of the damn DVD compartment or else! He removes most everything in it except for the 2 big boxes. He packs dish rags and a pillow around it. There! And, NO....there is no hot smell. Must be my sinus infection! Ok...sit back, lie back....whatever works for you....we are off, again.....third try is a charm.

While lying in my recumbent position, I wait for my health issues to pass. Now my legs are numb, feet feel cold, arms a little tingly. I touch my nose...it's warm. I learned years ago from Dr.Sale, a cold nose is not a good sign. I know it's not a stroke. I've been feeling anxious.....stress laden. Time to slow the breathing. No brown bag handy so cup my hands over my mouth and breath deeply. Eventually, the tingles and numbness go way and my feet are warm again. I hate cold feet. When they are cold, you can't ever feel right. I check my pulse and respirations....all okay. Crisis over. For safety sake, I stay in my healing nest for awhile longer. Cory focuses on his driving. He knows Lulu is checking my vital signs. Thinking we are near Gainesville, I call out for a location setting. Above Clermont, getting on Florida Turnpike soon. Good grief. But I would much rather have Cory drive slow and carefully than at ambulance speed. Even though he is transporting an invalid. I pull myself back into Sam's chair as we enter on to the turnpike. No familiar surroundings to enjoy and think about.

I'm okay. NO I'M NOT! I'm weak, very weak. I need food. My last food was with Sam & Sandy. I have 435 pills in my system. In my almost inaudible voice, I tell Cory to stop at the next rest area and get me food. I need food fast.....fast food fast or any kind of morsel. He stops-no facilities - that's ok. We have our own. I order a salami sandwich from him. He works at it in our cramped kitchen...not the fastest fast food chef in the world as I holler "just bring me bread." He completes the meal preparation and I devour the sandwich like a starving hyena. Oh, that was good .....SO GOOD. I'm good to go now. Cory has saved me, yet again. It's a good time for you to grab a bite to eat, also. I think he's had enough stopping for awhile.

It's time to start traveling northbound! We have made it to route 75. Everything is looking good but not for long. The traffic is slowing, slowing, slowing and now has stopped! We have just past an exit #382. I think the sign read for Archer or someplace. I know we were above The Villages and below Gainesville. AND we were beyond where we had our bad breakdown last year when we had to be towed for repairs ( just as soon forget that memory). Way up ahead was reported a terrible, deadly accident on I-75 northbound....Exit 387. A big truck carrying lumber lost control and rolled over. Driver was killed, truck demolished into pieces, lumber all over place. I never found out how many surrounding vehicles were involved....had to be many. Bad, very bad. We sat in stopped traffic for 2 hours! Slowly, we would inch along but mostly we and a thousand plus other vehicles just sat. The traffic must have been backed up to Tampa. When we finally passed the scene of the accident, most of it was cleaned up. Highway was all dirt, broken guard rails, burned pieces of a few truck remains on a flatbed, accident investigators all around. There was a second accident a few miles ahead of this one. A southbound truck had crossed over into the northbound land and went off the road. This slowed us up some but nothing compared to the other.

We're rolling now. Windows open....can you feel the warm breeze in your face? More than a breeze, I'm afraid. It's quite windy today. Cory holds the wheel like he has a jack hammer in his hands. He does a good job driving even though I think I should help him at times with my constructive suggestions. He says he'll let me drive anytime .....so I think I better shut up. I can hardly write this blog let alone try to manage handling this monster contraption.

We've done the best we can considering all the distractions. It helps to keep you alert. It's five o'clock for us and for others somewhere. Time to call it a day. Crossed the Georgia line and found a nice KOA campground in Kingstown. Cory was able to get a barbecue dinner here at the campsite (they delivered it to our door) and I had soup. He ate most of his meal....barbecue isn't his favorite except for chicken bar-b-que at home. My soup was good: chicken pot pie soup. Our bed provided us the most room & comfort so we watched TV from there. Sleep came quickly. I had good dreams about my dead grandparents. Haven't relived those fond memories in a long time. One should never wait to appreciate what you have until it is gone.....I'm so lucky to have had and have a family that shares and stays together.

And here we are! Tuesday, April 19th. Be sure and vote if you are in New York! I hope Trump wins! Before we even left Tropical Palms, we had made plans to make a brief stop to see our good friends from Wellsville who now have moved to Smithfield, N.C. Les & DeAnne McKay moved down here last September to be closer to their children. We have reservations at a campground in Selma, N.C. It is located 2 exits from them. We check in tonight and leave Thursday morning. I hope I feel well enough to enjoy our visit. I'm trying. Doubling up on my pills. DeAnne is a nurse so maybe she can work on me. We debated about just going home but I think I'm up to this much anticipated visit. If not, we'll just reboard this med-transport vehicle again and just keep going, just keep going (Nemo: just keep swimming).

So everyone, this has been a brief (lol) summary of our last days at a Tropical Palms and our excursion homeward bound. Lulu has shone herself to be the most capable of co-pilots. Cory likes her better because she doesn't say one word about his driving. She's a trooper. Don't give up your seat yet.....we still have a long way to go. Enjoy the ride.

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Photos

Packing up our RV
Last shot of Sam making his canons

Pulling out
Lulu says goodbye to Sam & Sandy

Bad fatality
Second accident

KOA
Kingstown, Georgia