Now in Florida

Things have been fairly slow since last post. We had a spell of nasty cold weather that used a lot of Propane. So several trips to Texas T Campground. The last time we got ready to go, the air lines in our truck had frozen. So I could not release the parking brake. Planned on waiting till it warmed up, but Scott was making a trip to Pulaski. We put the tank in his pickup and after shopping and lunch went to Ingas rather than going out of our way to Cornersville. The price was less than $2.00 more than the campground. BUT when I went in to pay, I discovered that they were charging by the tank rather than by the gallon. So, I paid for 40# and they only put in a bit over 30#. What a way to knock down on the customer. I will NOT return there except in emergency as Texas T charges for what one gets.

One evening we struck something while heading down the road. Next day Scott and I were washing vehicles and discovered one of the driving lights had been knocked out of the bumper. Only thing that I can think of was that I had hit a bird. The mounting ears (plastic) were broken off and I could see no good way to repair them. So I shopped around and found another pair of 4" diameter lights that appeared to be able to mount to the bracket molded into the bumper. So when it warmed up a bit, I installed the new lights - BRIGHT. But they sure do look good.

The chiropractor helped Loretta's back and she is now able to get around most of time without either the walker or cane. She does use the walker here on the gravel driveway though. Yesterday she went for her appointment with Dr. Barr, her Kidney specialist. He was at the Dialysis Center, so his wife examined her. The results on the sample she had left a few weeks ago wasn't as good as expected. Six weeks ago, the protein level in her urine was about 3 times normal which was indicated that the Prednisone dosage looked about right. However this time it was up to about 4 times normal. They took another sample and a blood sample yesterday and hopefully they will show improvement.

The doctor said the barring something unforeseen, we could head for Florida and they would call with the results today. However as of supper time we hadn't heard. We wouldn't have travelled today anyway as it rained most all day and no sense hooking up in bad weather unless needed. However the cold snap has passed and this morning

LATER

There was a voice mail message informing us that we were free to travel and could stay away 12 weeks. Loretta does need to have a urine sample tested in 6 weeks and results sent to Dr. Barr. They did maintain the 30MG of Prednisone every other day for 2 more weeks then 20MG till after they get results of test. Hopefully the dosage will be reduced some more then.

So we got hooked up Wednesday morning in mild weather with light fog. After stopping for her new prescription, we headed east on US-64. After getting on I-75, we stopped at Camping World for some supplies near Chattanooga. I had hoped to get to a Flying J in Georgia for fuel, but level in tanks made me nervous so we put about 20 gallons in as soon as we could after crossing the state line. $2.60/gal. Could have done better in Tennessee. We stopped at the Flying J near Resaca, GA for supper and overnight. Met another Fleetwood owner there and he expressed interest in joining the Fleetwood Travelcade Club, so I gave him some literature.

Thursday morning was very foggy, so we had coffee and visited some, temperature was only 34. Fog seemed to be lifting, so we got underway and conditions soon cleared off except for a misty drizzle most of the day. We had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel, then stopped to fill the tanks at Flying J near Jackson, GA. We would have had enough fuel to gotten there, but barely. Price there was $2.43/gal. We continued on to the Flying J at Lake Park, GA. We spent night then dumped tanks I also topped the fuel tanks, only 16 gallons, but the price is much higher in Florida. Our Friend Cal (who we are going to visit before CHRISTmas) had stopped by during night and left a note. He was on way to Atlanta to transport a vehicle for the dealer he works for here. The night was almost too warm and Friday was beautiful. When we first started out, we encountered the only accident of the trip. A van pulling a car carrier trailer had jackknifed damaging the van, trailer and the car on the trailer. 2 lanes were blocked but one was open so we were able to continue. It appeared that no one should have been injured, however we met an ambulance with lights flashing heading that way. We stopped at a lovely Cafe for breakfast then at the Miracle Ear store in Crystal River Mall. They made a small adjustment to one of Loretta's hearing aids. Then on to the home of Cal and Marilyn near Homosassa.

Cal still had not returned from Atlanta and Marilyn was away getting a medical treatment. So we parked and got mostly set up. We were pretty well beat by then, so took rest of day relaxing. We didn't go to visit when Marilyn came home, but Cal did stop by to say Hello when he got here. Saturday I finished setup and caught up on books as well as working on email some. Loretta hasn't been sleeping well and didn't feel well. However in the afternoon, we went to Wal-Mart near Inverness. There she got her hair done, I walked the store - I had a prescription to refill, but they told me it would be 3 hours wait. So after getting some groceries, we came to the Wal-Mart where they said they could fill it in 20 minutes. After lunch, we came home to unwind some more.

Today plans were to go to church. However, Loretta was feeling poorly again. Also I put my Ham Radio antenna up early this morning and while doing so, my back went out without me again. It had been quite a while since that had happened, but I wasn't sure I could sit that long say nothing about getting up and down for songs. I went for breakfast with Cal and Marilyn then later when Loretta was feeling better we went out for a short ride and Sunday Dinner. Rest of the day spent here at R&R, bookwork, TV, etc.

Hopefully my back will be better by tomorrow, if not I expect a trip to the chiropractor will be on the schedule. Later in the week we will go to Daytona Beach where we will spend CHRISTmas with Loretta's family there.

Merry CHRISTmas
and Happy New Year to all.

Andy and Loretta

Feels like winter

Scott dressing out nice buck

Really not a lot to report since our last post. Loretta decided to go to our chiropractor with the pain in her hip as it wasn't improving. He examined her and said the problem was in her back. After Several adjustments, she was improved enough that he said to only return if she felt the need. She had been using a walker to get around since her injury, but now only uses it for security on the gravel driveway here. I think that she is also sleeping somewhat better as the Prednisone dosage is lowered. However still sometimes has difficulty on the nights after the medication.

I have puttered around on a few tasks around the trailer and gotten the ham radio transceiver working again. So now I can check into my favorite RV networks, but usually only make the RV Service Net at 6-8AM Central Time. Mostly it has been running errands, etc with several trips to Texas T Campground for propane. We had a chilly spell that put quite a demand on our furnace. However the past week has been abnormally warm which helped. However, I think that is about to end for now. Temperatures have been in the 70's and past few nights in the 60's. But this morning it was 34 and I think stayed in the 30's all day. Tonight is expected to go down to the 20's and also the next several nights. Yesterday was beautiful, but it started to rain during the evening and continued off and on most of night accompanied with heavy winds. This morning I looked out to see a fairly large limb over 20 feet long from the Maple tree that we park under down next to our trailer. Fortunately it had missed the coach so no damage was done. I moved it out of the way later along with a quantity of small limbs.

We celebrated 3 Thanksgiving dinners. On Thanksgiving day, we went to son Woody's down the road to celebrate with his family. Here at daughter Sharon and Bill's they observed the holiday the following day due to work commitments. And we had two dinners here, one at noon as some had to leave early and one in the late afternoon for those that couldn't arrive in time for the first dinner. Of course there was way too much food at all and I now have to get rid of the several pounds that I added. But it sure was all good including the leftovers.

Loretta has her next appointment with the Kidney doctor on the 11th, and unless something unforeseen comes up, we will be heading for Florida shortly thereafter.

Otherwise not a lot to comment on.

GOD Bless
Andy and Loretta