Sicko - Day 10 - On the mend

7:51 am - Mountain Time - Saturday - 38° F, humidity 72%, wind 4 mph out of NNE.....partly cloudy.....forecast high 63° F.  Slept last night without having to use a nighttime cold remedy.....first time in 10 days......

Friday was a watershed day for my current condition......no cold medication all day long....limited coughing, limited Kleenex use.....it appears I am officially on the mend.  TLE appears to be progressing through the stages at light speed.....she is made of much better stuff than I.......apparently.

Another task I had to take care of before we drive the coach over to 'All Aboard America' for service next Thursday is to detach the trailer from the coach once again.  You may recall I had moved the trailer forward and dropped it on the hitch ball about 10 days ago in preparation for our anticipated departure which is now not happening until near the middle of the month.  Once again I was surprised that such seemingly minor exertion resulted in my energy level being so rapidly depleted.  The whole exercise took less than 10 minutes at the end of which I was panting as if I had just run a 4 minute mile.  Nonetheless, I was successful, and quickly retreated to the comfort of my recliner to catch my breath.

In light of our acceptance of the fact that the east coast is not in our travel plans this winter I have been watching weather developments and see that the predictions of a colder than normal winter are coming to fruition......below is a copy of the 'CHILL MAP'.....

.......portions of all lower 48 states are under 32 degrees, and the average daytime temperature across the USA is 11° F.....the L.A. Times has an article entitled 'State of panic grips Northern California as atmospheric river approaches Sierra Nevada'.......I'm beginning to believe our inability to move eastward as planned is a blessing.  We happen to be in an area of Arizona that is outside the 'frozen zone' that is gripping most of the country right now.  Was checking out the webcam on the top of Mammoth Mountain and saw that the snow level is almost to the top of the sign.........

Middle of summer

Friday

......yup, it is definitely winter!

Once again I chose to limit my activity Friday in the interests of not over doing it and getting sick again, so I spent the better part of the afternoon reading and relaxing.  

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Sicko - Day 9

8:25 am - Mountain Time - Friday - 46° F, 71% humidity, wind 9 mph out of northwest.....forecast high 60° F.....high wispy clouds at present, but it is forecast to be clear all day long.  Slept well last night.......no cough, no runny nose. 

 'They' say a cold lasts 9 days, and Thursday was the 9th day.....I didn't take cold medication all day Thursday.....that is a big improvement! On Monday we pulled up the awning mat and hung it on the fence to get it dry before we packed up to leave after returning from our dental appointments, which, of course did not happen due to the need for several more dental appointments.  At any rate everything, including the ground had dried out enough by Thursday that it was time put the awning mat back on the ground under the awning mat to reduce the amount of dirt migrating into our coach.  However, before we could do that I needed to rake the ground under the awning mat level again as it was very lumpy due to us walking on it when it was wet, which we had no option but to do otherwise we could not leave the coach.  I spent about 30 minutes raking there, as well as erasing all the steps going toward the house and the Newell garage.  That is the first time in almost 10 days that I have done anything physical, and it felt so good to be outside in the sun working up a sweat.

Once the raking was complete TLE assisted me in moving the awning mat back into place, and I was done for the day.  Just that little exertion left me feeling weak......yup, this cold has really laid me low, and even though I am feeling better I need to be cautious and slow in returning to my previous activity level.  

Since we are not going to Florida this winter we have been busy making new Jello plans.....one of those plans is to take the Newell into a Phoenix, AZ bus place called 'All Aboard America' to get it serviced, as well as get the Jake brake fixed.......that is set for next Thursday, so we'll have to move some of our stuff out Wednesday and moved into our temporary quarters in our hosts' home.  It shouldn't take more than a couple of days all things being equal and the river don't rise.  We were referred to All Aboard America by Tom, our host here in Wittmann.  His guy there is Leo, who is quite familiar with Detroit Diesel series 92 and 60 engines.....of course, our power plant is a Detroit Diesel 6V92 TA Silver edition (V-6, series 92, turbo/after cool, 350 horsepower).  We had planned to have the servicing done when we were on the east coast at a place we have used previously called Choo Choo Express Garage in Rossville, GA, but since we are not going to be on the east coast this year we still need to get this done, plus now we need the Jake brake fixed.  

We are still discussing our local travel plans over the next months, and once we have both fully recovered from the black plague will probably be making some short term decisions about nearby destinations in the next 10 days.

TLE seems to be progressing through the stages of her cold much more quickly than I.....I hope so for her sake......at least she has not had to sleep in her recliner yet!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sicko - Day 8

8:33 am - Mountain Time - Thursday - 42° F, 87% humidity, wind 5 mph out of ENE......wispy clouds, but lots of sunshine......YAY!  Forecast high.....62° F.  

I slept all night in my bed without one single coughing spell.....it's amazing how much appreciation I have for such a small improvement.  After the past 8 days of Kleenex usage I am sure their stock must be on the rise....I have gone through almost three boxes of Kleenex in the past 8 days.....one box in less than 24 hours.  That my nose did not become raw and begin hemorrhaging copious amounts of blood is nothing short of a miracle......love those 'plus lotion' tissues!

Sunrise in Wittmann on Wednesday

Wednesday showed a lot of progress in my recovery....my cough mostly abated, I'm blowing my nose less and generally feel much better.....well, better is comparative......compared to how I felt 2 days prior.  I'm still in my 'cautiously optimistic' mode, and still taking it easy.....I do not want a relapse of this stuff.  On the spousal front, TLE is now, officially, getting something similar to what I had.....she usually does not get sick.....this is probably only the 2nd time in 6 years she's gotten a cold.

The sun finally came out

On the 'Breaking Bad' front we finished the final episode sometime just before midnight Wednesday night.  I want to thank all who vigorously pushed this series as one to 'binge watch'......it was captivating, and the finale could not have been more perfectly written and presented.  I went to sleep with no remaining questions.....well, maybe one question.....did Walter die of his wound, or the cancer?

I had to call Sunset Isle RV Park in Cedar Key Wednesday to cancel the remaining portion of our original reservation since we will unable to travel there this winter as planned due to our dental stuff.  As I was sitting at my laptop typing today's missive I was reminded that our original plan was to have been arriving in Cedar Key, FL January 5th.....today.  Time to work on the new plan!

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Sicko - Day 7

7:22 am - Mountain Time - Wednesday - 40° F, 85% humidity, wind 4 mph out of NNE.....partly cloudy.....forecast high 62° F.

Elaine and I were up by 5:16 am to get ready to be on the road to Los Algodones for our dental appointments no later than 7 am.....it's 193 miles, and would take about 3+ hours.  I had taken the nighttime version of a popular cold remedy, and as one might expect, the nighttime version includes ingredients designed to help one sleep more soundly.  My eyes did not wish to be open, especially at 5:16 am.....especially.

I slept in the recliner once again in order not to cough, and I did not cough, so I had that going for me.  I hadn't been outside the Newell more than a few seconds since Saturday and the thought of having to sit in a car for 6-8 hours Tuesday did not appeal to me.....even a little.  

Tuesday's dental menu included the finish to TLE's root canal, and me, hopefully, getting my impressions done for my two crowns, and finally TLE having two other teeth examined for possible cavities.....fingers crossed.

We stopped briefly in Gila Bend for a potty break (I was driving) and then 26 miles later at a rest area near Dateland, AZ to change drivers......TLE got us to the Quechan border parking lot by 10:20.  By this time I was ready to take a nap, but that was not to be......we sat in the car for about 20 minutes and then began our 10 minute walk over to Dr. Hernandez' office where TLE's root canal work would be completed......my appointment was at 12 noon, however, shortly after arriving at Dr. Hernandez' office Dr. Eva Urena's office called to say they were ready for me early, so I walked across the courtyard to get my impressions done....

 The courtyard in front of Dr. Urena's office....Dr. Hernandez' 

office is to the left

Dr. Hernandez' office

......well, as they they say, "if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck....", and that was my fate Tuesday......during the past month I had allowed food to get stuck between my temporary crown and the next tooth, and food to get stuck around the tooth next to the implant, which caused gum inflammation, which meant she could not get a good impression.....which means......yep, you guessed it....another month to allow the gums to heal, and during which time I must work vigorously to keep the area clear of food.......HELLO MR. JELLO!  I know when this happened......since I have been sick I haven't kept the best dental hygiene, and that is my bad......lesson learned.....no matter how shi**y you feel, floss and brush every day!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I walk back over to Dr. Hernandez' office to await TLE's appearance, take care of paying the balance on her root canal (total cost was $420).  She came out a few minutes later and we headed back over to Dr. Urena's office for her to have two other teeth assessed.  It turns out both teeth will probably have to have root canals and one of them a crown.....there goes our cross country trip to Florida.

By the time all of our remaining dental dates have come and gone we will be well into March, which means we will be hanging around the Arizona and California deserts boondocking and dry camping until it is time to return to TVC*.  Right now we are trying to wrap our minds around our disappointment.  As one's years advance it is more difficult to make long range plans.....there are so many more things that can happen healthwise that force you to change your plans.  You can sit around feeling sorry for yourself, or you can change the plan and create a new vision for the next few months.....after all, we do have wheels on our home, and we can spend the next few months in a number of amazing places within driving distance of Los Algodones, and that is what we will do!  We will be returning to Borrego Springs at some point, heading to Death Valley at some point, heading to Quartzite at some point, and who knows where else?

Crossing back over the border into the USA took forever.....usually it takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes, but this time the computers were running very slowly and it took us well over an hour.  By the time we stopped for a bite of lunch, and to refuel it was after 3 pm and we still had the 3+ hour drive back to Wittmann.  We arrived back at the coach around 6:30 pm, and settled in for the night.  More good news followed our arrival home.....TLE thinks she is getting a sore throat......😩

TLE went to bed early, and I continued to watch Breaking Bad.......I finished off season 4 around midnight, turned the heater down, and settled into the recliner for my night's sleep.....still can't sleep in bed without coughing, but I can in the recliner.  Feeling much better....blowing my nose less, coughing less as I sit here typing......for a while this week I was afraid I might die (figuratively), and then I was afraid I might not die (figuratively)......now my future looks bright again.

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*TVC = Tahoe Valley Campground

Sicko - Day 6

5:31 am - Mountain Time - Tuesday - 40° F, humidity 87%, wind 5 mph out of NNE.....partly cloudy......had to sleep in the recliner again last night, but I did sleep in my own bed for the first 4 hours until a coughing fit made that option untenable.....up so early because I went to bed at 9 pm, because today we drive back to Los Algodones for our dental appointments.

I woke up in my recliner Monday morning feeling as if I had been drug through the proverbial knothole backwards.....it was January 2nd and it was nearly time for the annual Rose Parade, the grand daddy of them all.  For the first time in years TLE and I actually watched the entire Rose Parade.....as has been our tradition for years now, we watched it commercial free on the SoCal local channel 5 (KTLA).  As I have mentioned before we have DirecTV and we keep it on the west coast feed all year round.  We really don't care about watching 'local' TV when we are traveling.

Around 11 am (Mountain Time) the first bowl games began (Outback Bowl and Sugar Bowl)......neither was very interesting to me, so I turned on Breaking Bad once again and watched episode after episode until sometime after 3:30 pm when I turned on the Rose Bowl game which featured USC vs. Penn State.....USC has not been to the Rose Bowl for at least 7 years, and USC has always been my college team as my father went to school there.  Both teams traded touchdowns in the first half with the half time score being 27-20 in favor of USC.....I decided to watch another Breaking Bad episode during half time....yeah, I'm hooked....I admit it.  By the time that episode was over they were well into the 2nd half and suddenly it was 35-27 in favor of Penn State.....uh oh.  I decided to watch another episode of Breaking Bad......by the end of that episode it was 49-35 still in favor of Penn State beginning the 4th quarter......not looking good for USC.....so I watched another episode.  As that episode ended I checked the score again and found it was tied 49-49 with 37 seconds to go....Penn State had the ball and was driving.....then suddenly with 25 seconds to go USC intercepted a long pass by the Penn State quarterback and ran it back to the Penn State 35 yard line.  USC ran one running play getting the ball to the about the 28, or 29 letting the clock run down to 5 seconds.  They then kicked the winning 45 yard field goal with no time on the clock to win the game 52-49!  What an amazing ending!

I continued watching Breaking Bad until 9 pm......had to go to bed early as we have to leave for Los Algodones at 7 am Tuesday to get there on time for our dental appointments......

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Sicko - Day 5

8:02 am - Mountain Time - Monday - 43° F, humidity 91%, wind 7 mph out of east....still heavy cloud cover, and the Newell is kind of surrounded by a moat of water and mud.....I have not been outside the Newell since early afternoon on Saturday.  Slept in my recliner all night.....could not lie down without coughing.  Not my favorite sleeping venue.....nap venue, maybe, but not for sleeping.  The upside is I did not cough and did sleep in two hour bursts.  I opened up a new box of Kleenex yesterday morning, and it is half empty as I write.....where does all that snot come from?

Sunday, of course, was New Years, but there was no Rose Parade, no Rose Bowl, and no bowl games period.......they are all happening January 2nd.........just wall to wall NFL football, so I spent the better part of the day sitting in my recliner watching football.  My good friend Tom, on whose property we reside, knocked on the window next to my recliner.....I looked out to see him holding a plate of cinnamon rolls.....he couldn't come to the front door as there was a small lake blocking access.  I opened the window next to the driver's seat and he passed the plate to me.  Just what I needed......a little 'comfort food' to take my mind off my misery for little while......

......a cup of hot coffee and a couple of cinnamon rolls.....nice way to start the day!

My Broncos played their last game of the year verses the Raiders in Denver.......I expected them to lose once again as their offense has been missing the past weeks, but they ended up playing their best game in weeks winning decisively 24-6......they won't be going to the playoffs for the first time in a few years, but they did win the Super Bowl  last year, so now it is someone else's turn.  The Seahawks also won their afternoon game over the 49ers 25-23, and the N.Y. Giants won their game verses the Washington Redskins 19-10, so it was a clean sweep for me on the last day of regular season NFL football, except for the Raiders.....someone had to lose that game, right?

I continued 'binge watching' Breaking Bad, and am now up to Season 3, episode 11......I decided to call it a night about 11:15, and actually tried to sleep in my bed, but as I wrote earlier, was unsuccessful, and finally decided to sleep in my recliner sometime around 12:30 am.  I slept until a little after 7 am before deciding to get up and take a long, hot shower.

As I sit here staring at my laptop screen I am trying to evaluate the current state of my misery......I have to say I do feel like I have turned a corner.....I will have a better idea later today.  In case you may be wonder about TLE, she seems to be made of better stuff than I......I'm thinking if she hasn't shown any symptoms by now she is going to be fine.  She has been a wonderful 'nurse' keeping me hydrated and as comfortable as possible.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sicko - Day 4 - New Years Eve

7:06 am - Mountain Time - Sunday - 🎉 HAPPY NEW YEARS!!🎉 -56° F degrees, 89% humidity (should be 100%....it's been raining for a couple of hours), wind 4 mph out of ENE......as I related a few characters previously, it has been raining steady for the past four hours, and most of the night.  It is obvious now we will not be moving the Newell on Monday.....the ground is just too soft.....forecast high is 50° F.

After a night of rain (pictures courtesy Tom McCloud's security cameras)

The normally dry wash behind us is now running full

As I sit here at the keyboard typing the latest drivel from my life as a sick person my head feels like has gained 3 hat sizes, my nose is running, I sneeze on a regular basis, and I am up earlier than normal as lying down makes me cough.  I took a nighttime cold remedy and it worked until about 7 am.....don't have any daytime cold remedies on hand......may have to send TLE to the store in a canoe.  My eyes really don't want to be open right now.  So, obviously, all my efforts to avoid a full blown cold appear to have failed.

Saturday I stayed inside all day with the lone exception of going out with TLE to pull up the awning mat and hang it on the fence so the rain would wash it off before we stow it, but now we are thinking we won't be moving the coach on Monday as planned.  The ground out here in the Wittmann outback gets very soft and spongy after a prolonged rain, and is not compatible for vehicles weighing 15 tons.

Of course, being sick and confined to the coach is a perfect scenario for 'binge watching', and I continued to 'binge watch' Breaking Bad......I'm up to season 3, episode 4, and that is where we left off early New Years morning at 12:30 am as we welcomed in the New Year.  Right now the New Year is not off to a great start for me, and there is no where for me to go but up.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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