Leaving the North BARELY ahead of Winter

After seeing Docs in Chicago,  we started our route south.    Since we make it a habit and rule to stop and visit friends if they are even remotely “on the way,” we stopped to visit the Enfingers in Tennessee.

On Our First “scheduled” stop, we paid a visit to our favorite mechanic in South Alabama.  We ALWAYS visit once a year at least…get an oil change, Lube and basically put hands on things while the bus is up in the air. 

This year,  we decided to replace a whole bunch of 40-year old hydraulic hoses BEFORE they failed.  We had one fail on the road last summer…not fun dealing with that on the side of the highway!

Then, again in the spirit of dropping in on friends “on the way,” we visited Peggy and Rick (whom we met in Alaska in 2019, and have managed to connect with on several occasions since) in Covington, LA. 

I realized something,  while in Covington:  EVERY restaurant there is near NOLA (certainly every one we have ever been to) is excellent, because merely average food would not be tolerated by the residents of LA.    

Then it was a stop to visit L.C. Cambre in Lafayette.  Uncle LC is one of those great kinds of uncles…the ones you choose, vs, sharing genetics with.  We have enjoyed LC’s gracious hospitality and charm many times as Lafayette always seems to be “on the way” to somewhere. 

This time, That stop included a visit to Don’s seafood for some Gumbo and Oysters…YUM!!!

Then, the intention was to spend a couple weeks in OKC, where the Thunder had a homestand of several games including Thanksgiving. This meant we could have a holiday meal with family, which we thot would be, and in fact was a lot of fun.  Since he was in town, Chet offered his home for the soiree, and the meal was prepared for us by Chet’s chef, which I have to say was a new treat.  Not only that, the meal included some new traditions for me,  such as Collard Greens, but we also prepared some of our family favorites, such as Wild Rice.  On the latter,  we bought several bags in Chicago,  because I know from experience they do not HAVE or understand Wild Rice outside of the Midwest!

As for seeing some Games in person AND some on TV,  the Thunder were (and are!) playing HISTORICALLY WELL.  One game, Chet had a monster night even compared to his usual monster nights. 

Another night, on about the 1-year anniversary of his serious injury the prior season,  Chet disappeared from the bench towards the locker room.  Sarah was PANICKING.  I reminded her that the Thunder were up by 30 in the Third Quarter, Chet probably wasn’t going to come back in,  and the most likely explanation for his trip to the locker room was he had to pee.    Anyway,  whatever the reason for his disappearance, he shortly reappeared, apparently uninjured, while Sarah nearly needed a defibrillator!  

We knew it was time to leave OKC when we woke up one morning to discover SNOW on the bus’s step and the car. SNOW in OKC!!!  Time to head south!!!

Then we made a couple of stops in North Texas as we made our way south to the Rio Grande Valley.  The first was a visit to Amanda and Max Hendrix in Brock,  just west of Ft. Worth.  There, we enjoyed some fabulous meals AND got the inside scoop on the Streaming series “Land Man,” which apparently is at least in part filmed in the Brock area.  After Brock,  we headed about 2 hours east, to Canton, Tx. Where the Lonestar Birds group was having their Christmas Rally.  We couldn’t stay for the whole thing, due to a Doc Appointment in the Rio Grande Valley,  but it was nice to connect with the group for a bit, anyway!

Our arrival in the Rio Grande Valley was timed to accommodate a Doctor’s appointment on about the 1 year anniversary of my Cardiac Misadventures.  You may recall that we had rented a spot near Alamo Texas last year where we could leave the Bus while we travelled to Central America.  That didn’t (couldn’t) happen last year, because of the aforementioned Cardiac issues.  We decided to rent the same spot for another year,  and try again to travel.  BUT,  we (well mostly Liz) needed the Cardiologist’s blessing for said travel; hence the appointment!

The Cardio visit was as routine as it can get.  He read the device and pronounced that the battery had 2.6 years left.  He also went OUT OF HIS WAY to explain that when the battery gets “weak,” the Pacemaker (and Dan) doesn’t just stop.  He said it had several battery (and life) – saving modes,  but it would be best to replace the device when there is still 6 months left (so, about 2 years hence).  We also discussed with the Medtronics engineer how to read the device while we are away.   While we are “home,” there is a small appliance that sits next to the bed and reads the device every night.  This is just to ensure that it is working properly.  Medtronic also has an option to do this reporting via an App on my phone.  With the guidance of the engineer,  we enabled the App and turned off the bedside device.    

And,  finally, when asked by Liz point-blank if it was OK to travel to Central America, he looked a little puzzled.  OF COURSE, he said.  The device is working gr8 AND HE was from Central America, so he thought it was a gr8 place to visit!!  I thot for a moment he was gonna give us his Gramma’s address to visit!

So, basically,  we are all set to leave for more remote adventures,  and plan to do so next week (more on that in a bit).

Finally, In the last month or so,  my sister has started sharing “words-of-the-day” with me.  These are some of my favorites: 

• Pistified:  it’s when you are both pissed off and mystified at someone’s stupidity
• Sarchotic: when you are so sarcastic that people aren’t sure if you are joking  or just psychotic
• Deja Poo: When you feel like you have heard the same crap b4
• Bitchilante: only being mean to people who deserve it