Spring Training 2023 - Day 76

We got an early start today, getting on the road at 8:30 am.

It was a fairly easy drive.  Very little wind, lots of straight open road, and not much traffic.  I put it on cruise control and enjoyed the scenery.  Actually, there wasn't much to look at that wasn't any different after the first 30 minutes of driving. 

The first city/town we went through was Van Horn, TX.  Besides a crossroads oasis town, it is known as the site (30 miles north) of Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket launch site, where several high-priced celebrity sub-orbital rocket launches have occurred.  The Van Horn site uses the "New Shepard" launch vehicle and will be the vehicle used for Blue Origins space tourism they plan to expand in the future.  Blue Origin is an ambitious space exploration enterprise and hopes to be an active partner with the government in ongoing space exploration activities.

Blue Origin

Just West of  Van Horn we entered the Mountain Time Zone and went through the Border Patrol checkpoint near Sierra Blanca.  West bound you just go the sensor gauntlet. Eastbound you are stopped and talk to a Border Patrol agent.  They clearly seem to profile, and they always have dogs and handlers ready as needed.  Trucks have a separate lane with different inspection protocols apparently.

The biggest challenge today was getting through El Paso at the Western border of Texas. Every time we have come through here there has been highway construction. This trip was no exception but getting through has been significantly improved.  Since it is Sunday, traffic was a little less congested and we made it through without any delays.  El Paso has certainly grown over the years and appears to be thriving.

We arrived in Las Cruces around 1:00 pm due to the time change and ease of travel today.  We have a layover day here tomorrow at the La Hacienda RV Resort.  We stay here every time we come this way.  

Tomorrow will be laundry day and a getting few things from Walmart.  Tomorrow night dinner will be take out from La Posada de Mesila.  Our favorite Mexican restaurant anywhere,

Judy continues to make progress and she has expanded her mobility within the RV.  She diligently does here exercises, even while travelling.  I don't expect she will be able to exit/enter the RV without assistance before we get home, but we are not ruling it out. Her spirits remain high and wants to regain her previous strength and mobility as soon as possible but also realizes it is going to take some time.

We are still on track for returning home next Saturday, 5/6.  No severe weather is forecast or anticipated.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 75

 It was a hard travel day today. 

After the cold front came through last evening, it cooled down and the wind remained high on the backside of the front.  Nevertheless, we headed out from the RV park around 9:00 am and continued our journey west.  The skies were clear, and the wind was mostly a North-Northwest wind of around 20 mph with gusts. Our RV, even with towing our truck is still pretty light compared to larger and heavier vehicles and is susceptible to any crosswind component in the 20 mph and greater category.  So, it was two hands on the wheel drive pretty much the whole way on our 240-mile drive to our destination tonight, Ft. Stockton Texas.

The drive across West Texas between San Antonio and here is mostly rolling hills and few towns except for a couple of I-10 Interstate truck stop locations, no people and very few cows.  Just us, the semi-trucks and pickup trucks zooming by, often in excess of the 80-mph speed limit. 

We are staying at the Ft Stockton RV Park tonight. We have stayed here almost every time we have come this way, both East and West.  It is a nice, nothing fancy, overnight stop in the middle of West Texas.  There is a cafe in the park, but we ate in tonight. We had a frozen bag meal.  I cooked it, served it, did the dishes and cleaned up afterwards. I have significantly expanded my household skills on this trip.

Judy had a hard day riding sideways on the sofa as the RV bounced around on less-than-ideal road conditions and swaying from side to side fighting the wind. She did well despite it all.  Her appetite is returning, and she even had a small glass of wine with dinner. Leg strength, stability, and more energy remain her major rehab goals.

We continue West tomorrow to Las Cruces, NM, another familiar stop on our way East and West. We will stay two nights at the Hacienda RV Resort and on our layover day, do laundry, a little shopping for supplies at Walmart and Mexican food of course at our favorite restaurant there.  It will necessarily be takeout this year. Thats O.K. it will still be good.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 74

 Rest and Recuperation in Kerrville ,TX today.  We are pacing ourselves on our return trip and taking it easy as Judy recovers. She continues to do well and make progress towards her recovery.

We just relaxed in the RV today. Judy worked on her exercises, and I didn't do much except help her and work on some paperwork issues.

It was a nice day here until around 4:00 pm. Another front came through and we had some rain and high winds. We missed the heavy stuff again and it is clearing this evening.  The wind is forecast to subside overnight.  I hope so, so our trip tomorrow to Ft. Stockton, TX doesn't become a burden.  We have been fortunate with the travel weather so far and hope it continues.  From here, it really starts to feel we are back in the West.

One day at a time as we get closer to home.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 73

 We had a lot of heavy weather come through last night.  It was a pretty good front that dumped lots of rain, thunder and lightning sometime after midnight and lasted a long time.  It was all close, but thankfully no hail.  When we woke up in the morning it was still raining but the thunder and lightning had moved on to the East  and South.

By the time we were ready to leave at 9:30 am, the rain had stopped.  There was standing water in the RV park, but nothing significant. So, we headed out, despite a traffic report on the local TV station that reported an overturned semi on I-10 W in downtown Houston. In the best of times, getting through Houston is never easy, we knew any kind of incident would impact travel.  Sure, enough approaching the incident, traffic was backed up big time.  Despite most of the mess being cleaned up, two lanes were closed, and we had about a 20-minute delay getting through. 

The rest of the trip towards San Antonio, after getting through Houston (that seems to go on forever) under cloudy skies was uneventful.  As we approached San Antonio, there was a lot of road construction and heavy traffic. San Antonio used to be an easy transit, but no more.  It is now a very busy city with lots of traffic.

Also had another stop at a Buc-ees, Their peach muffins are hard to resist, so we got a few to keep the hoarders from getting them all.

Anyway, we got through it all and arrived at our stop for tonight in Kerrville, TX, about a hour NW of San Antonio. We are staying at a very nice RV Park, the Buckhorn Lake Resort.

Some real progress for Judy. She had a good night sleeping through all the weather noise.  Also travelled well.  She now has her "sea legs' travelling on the RV sofa.  She also has a little more strength in her legs and was able to stand up from the sofa to the walker without assistance.  Her appetite is also coming back.  We had more Cajun food for dinner and she ate more than she has since we left GA.

Tomorrow is a layover day here. Nothing planned except rest and more work on Judy's strength and mobility exercises.

The journey homes continues. Going well so far.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 72

 It was a fairly short drive today (200 miles) to our stop for the night just East of Houston.  We have stayed here at the Houston East RV Park several times before.  It is a nice park and a good place to rest up before continuing through Houston and San Antonio to our next stop tomorrow n Kerrville, TX.

It was a low energy day for Judy today.  She slept most of the way here and didn't feel up to doing all of her exercises. It still looks like it is going to be a fairly lengthy recovery, but we are managing the return trip O.K. so far and she is doing well, considering all she has gone through.  Her appetite is improving, and her spirits remain strong,

Weather remains good.  It is sunny and mild here today and looking ahead, no problems forecast as least as far as New Mexico.  Of course, things can quickly change, and we will react accordingly if needed.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 71

A layover day today.  Slept in a little and some more rest for Judy.  Also, Judy had several rounds of her PT exercises today. She continues to make slow progress.

Still a quiet RV park. Not too many people here and it seems we have the park all to ourselves.

I tried to get caught up on rearranging Judy's medical appointments to when we get home, making new ones, and keeping up with normal financial obligations, and dealing with insurance issues related to the car on fire in our driveway incident.

I also did a little shopping at the local Cajun market near the d RV park.  Been there before and I went back to get some authentic Cajun food.  We had some for dinner and Judy did well, eating a little more than she has been doing.  Her appetite is starting to come back and that is good.

It will be a relatively short drive tomorrow to a RV park we have stayed at before just East of Houston (Houston East RV Park).  I didn't want to transit Houston in the afternoon after driving most of the day.  Houston is a large city, with lots of urban sprawl.  It is about 30 miles of suburbs and city, along I-10 and always busy. Also, no easy way to avoid it, just get in the right lane and stay out of everyone's way.  After our overnight stay in Houston, our next stop is Kerrville, TX for two nights before taking on "drive over country" heading West.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 70

 We left Pensacola around 9:00 am this morning. That is a fairly early start for us today even with dealing with our modified travel arrangements to facilitate Judy's travel requirements.

After a stop at Buc-ee's down the road for gas and supplies we continued West on I-10.  Buc-ee's is a major regional travel center (no trucks).  It has about 80-120 gas pumps, all kinds of take-out food, a bakery and sandwiches from brisket to pulled pork and all kinds of freshly made breakfast sandwiches in the morning.  It also has a gift shop like a Cracker Barrel gift shop on steroids.  It is always crowded and a must stop every time you find one.  It is an interesting business and a true oasis for the Interstate traveler.

Buc-ee's - Wikipedia

Judy had a pretty good travel day, on motion pills, she slept a lot on the sofa just behind the RV cab.  We made good time despite heavy traffic in Mobile and Baton Rouge and arrived at our destination RV park in Breaux Bridge, LA around 3:00 pm.  Actually, travelled through 4 states today (FL, AL, MS and LA).

We have stayed here before most recently on our trip East.  It has been rebranded as Camp Margaritaville RV Resort.  It is a large destination resort with lots of things to do for families and others.  Right now, the park is virtually empty. It is after the snowbirds have left, spring break is over and summer vacations have not yet started.

We are planning on staying here two nights. We have several two-night stops planned on the way home along with relatively short daily drives.  This will help facilitate the travel impacts on Judy and help her full recovery.  She is making progress, but it is going to take time to fully regain her strength and mobility.  Her spirits are good and she is doing her daily PT exercises as she can while in the RV

Our next stop on Wednesday is just East of Houston.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 69

 On the road.

We left Tifton, GA this morning around 10:00 am and headed southwest on US 319 towards Tallassee, FL It is a good highway that travels through rural Southern Georgia.  Lots of ag land, mostly fallow right now, small towns with a couple of gas stations, a Dollar General, and at least one or two Baptist churches. Since today is Sunday, there were a lot of cars parked in the church lots. We saw some really poor housing situations as well as some impressive larger houses/plantations along the way. Not a Confederate flag in sight but lots of American flags in the yards of houses we passed.

After entering Florida just North of Tallahassee and turning right as we entered the city on to I-10W, we headed toward Pensacola, FL, our stop for the night.  It was almost a perfect travel day, driving wise. Clear skies, dry roads, no wind, light traffic and no construction delays. We will be on I-10W most of the way home.

We were concerned how Judy would be able to effectively travel as she recovers from her bout with pneumonia.  She remains weak with limited mobility and strength. Her throat is still a little raspy but does not have any respiratory symptoms or any cognitive limitations. Consequently, we have modified our RV travel arrangements somewhat. Since Judy cannot easily get in and out of the front seat of the RV, she decided to travel sitting/laying down on the sofa just behind the front cab.  It worked pretty well but she reacted a little to the normal bouncing around of the RV, After taking a motion sickness pill, she was a lot better.  Likewise, bathroom stops cannot be made while the RV is moving.

Nevertheless, we safely arrived in Pensacola around 3:00 pm local after gaining an hour entering the Central Time Zone. It is a nice RV park, just off of I-10W near the many things to do in the Pensacola area.  We have done most of them on previous trips with great memories but will not be doing so again this time.

Our next stop tomorrow will be near Lafayette, LA (Breaux Bridge).  We are staying there for two nights. We will be taking our time going home and expect to arrive on Saturday, May 6th if everything goes well.

It is great to be finally heading home.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 68

 Leaving for home tomorrow.  First stop Pensacola, Fl.

We are ready. Judy doing well in recovery.

Updates to follow. No side trips, just careful travel home making Judy comfortable along the way.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 67

 We are continuing to work on Judy's ability to getting around in the RV as she recovers.  We have made a few facility adjustments to accommodate her strength and mobility limitations right now.  It is going to be a slow full recovery and our goal is to get home safely as soon as possible while making the trip as a comfortable as possible for her.

Pending her status and progress, the plan is to stay here another day and leave for home on Sunday. One day at a time.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 66

 Discharged today and back in the RV. Still very week and no leg strength.  Some difficulty in walking and standing.  Also low energy.

It is going to take a while before we can travel.  We will stay here until then.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 65

 Discharge tomorrow.  Trending upward

Spring Training 2023 - Day 64

 More improvement for Judy today.  Looks like another 2-3 days before discharge.  Then depending on Judy's ability to travel, we will plan and begin our trip home.  We are ready,

Here are a few pictures of the hospital where she is staying.  A very nice medical center, modern and fully staffed. I have no complaints about her care.  We were lucky to be able to access this level of medical care while on the road.

Tift Regional Medical Center

Spring Training 2023 - Day 63

 A lot of progress for Judy today and she has been moved from ICU to the ward.

We may be getting close to discharge.  She still needs a little more strength and mobility, Looks like the pneumonia is essential resolved.

We will have a better idea tomorrow re: discharge benchmarks after talking to the doctor,

Spring Training 2023 - Day 62

 We are still here in Tifton.  Judy remains in the hospital recovering from Pneumonia.  She continues to gradually improve but it has been a slow process.  No estimate just yet when she may be discharged, and we will be ready to travel.

I visit the hospital every day at 8:30 am and leave at 6:00 pm at the end of ICU visiting hours.  She is receiving excellent care at a modern regional hospital in rural Georgia.  We are lucky we landed here in need of major medical care.

I am staying in the RV in a campground just south of town, about 5 miles from the hospital.  I am getting by and learning how to survive by myself in the RV.  I have been spoiled.

Hoping for Judy's continued improvement so we can start for home soon.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 61

 Judy is making progress towards recovery.

More information tomorrow.

Spring Training 2923 - Day 60

 Judy had a much better day today.  Recovery is progressing.

Spring Training 2023 - DAY 59

 Judy had a bit of a setback today and they moved her to ICU.  Additional tests did not detect any new issues and she is resting but weak,

Tomorrow should be better.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 58

 No progress today.  Judy is still in the hospital working on recovery from pneumonia.

Looks like it going to take a while.

Not much else to report right now.  At the hospital all day, the RV at night.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 57

 Slow progress for Judy today. They are working on getting her O2 level stabilized, and the lung congestion eliminated.  Lots of antibiotics.  Also, some PT.

I have moved the RV to another RV park south of town. More amenities and a laundry, that I did tonight.  Take out pizza for dinner.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 56

Judy had a pretty good day today with some evident progress.  They have also diagnosed a specific type of Pneumonia - Aspiration Pneumonia - a nasty version. They have expanded the range of antibiotics and we'll see what tomorrow brings.  

Crazy weather here.  RV heater on this morning, AC when I got back this evening.

Hard to say when we can start home.  Maybe this week but only when Judy is ready to travel.

I am also moving out of the overnight RV park where we have been staying to a KOA down the road, A few more amenities for our extended stay..

Spring Training 2023 - Day 55

We are still here. Judy is still in the hospital and getting better but is not ready for discharge just yet.  It has been a bad case of Pneumonia that is taking time to resolve. 

Not much else to report.  I go to the hospital at 8:30 am and leave at 6:00 pm.  Then back to the RV. for dinner (I am not cooking beyond the microwave,)

The weather here has turned cloudy and cool (60 degrees during the day and 45 degrees at night}.   I am surviving and doing OK.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 54

Judy is progressing but still in the hospital.  With continued progress, she will hopefully be ready for discharge early next week.  Hard to predict, but we are hopeful.

The weather here has changed from hot and muggy to cool and rainy.  A frontal passage today but no severe weather, just a significant cool down with some light to moderate rain.

I am surviving on take-out BBQ.  Skipping the catfish, fried pickles and grits.

Happy Easter!

Spring Training 2023 - Day 53

Judy is still in the hospital.  Slowly getting better but no estimate for discharge just yet.

Not much else to report tonight.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 52

 Judy is getting better.  She had a pretty good day today with notable progress.  Not ready for discharge, still a way to go and I suspect, with the Easter weekend ahead, early next week may be the target.  Of course, it will depend on her condition.

Obviously, we will not be home as planned by 4/15.  We will pace ourselves accordingly and may lay up for a few days after discharge to make sure she is ready to travel.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 51

 An interesting day today.

Judy continues to progress in her recovery. Improvement is slight but seems to be steady as the antibiotics treating her Pneumonia kick in.  It is still going to take some time before she is well and ready to travel.

We also had an incident back home early this am (2:00 am).  Two cars, one apparently following the other, missed the turn at the bottom of our street (Black Oak Dr,) went airborne into our property with one landing at the bottom of the driveway and catching fire. Our son Kevin, who is at the house, is dealing with the aftermath. Another day in the hood.

Oh, going home from then hospital the truck would not start.  I left the headlights on when I arrived at the hospital this morning.  It was then a AAA call for a jump start to get back to the RV.

Tomorrow will be better.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 50

Judy continues her recovery at the hospital. Each day is a little better, but it is going to take some time to get well.

She is getting great care at a modern 5-county hospital in rural Georgia, although Tifton, GA is a fairly large city in the center of a busy agricultural part of GA. We are fortunate she didn't get sick in a more remote area of the country on the way home.

I am at the hospital all day and staying in the RV at night at the RV where we arrived last Sunday.  Doing OK.

Spring Taining 2023 - Day 49

Still here in Tifton and Judy is still in the hospital.  There are continuing her tests and monitoring her condition.  Vitals are still good, and she is resting but tired.  Might know more tomorrow.

She in a very good hospital and getting great care.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 48

Judy woke up this morning and wasn't feeling well.  We went to the ER at the regional hospital in Tifton to make sure it wasn't anything serious.  After a series of tests, they decided to keep her overnight for more tests in consideration of her medical history. She is feeling better than this morning and we will see how everything goes tomorrow.

We have cancelled our trip to Alabama and will head straight home when Judy is ready.

Spring Training 2023 - Day 47

We left Bay Bayou at 10:00 am after topping off the propane and checking out.

It was a busy drive through Tampa heading North on I-75.  It got worse as we approached Ocala. Traffic was very heavy, and we had congestion for the better part of an hour going forward (10-20 miles per hour}. No construction or accidents just too many vehicles. In observing license plates as we were creeping along, most were from out of state.  Snowbirds and spring breakers on the way home is what it looked like.

We also had some wind, some construction lane compression delays near Valdosta, GA and a thunderstorm as we approached our destination. Anyway, we are now in Tifton, GA (about halfway to Atlanta)., arriving around 5:00 pm.

We are staying in a unique RV park, a type we have never stayed in before. Its business model is a place to park your RV for the night with full hookups in a gated location.  Thats it. You get a reservation online and a gate code, a site assignment and an Internet password.  Not a site employee in sight.  Anyway, we are here.  The weather has passed, and we leave for Anniston, AL in the morning.

The return journey begins.