Bringing us up to date

Wow, I didn’t realize that the last posting was the 21st of August. We have had several inquiries wondering if we are okay. Gee, thanks for checking…we are doing fine.

Miss Kitty survived her sleep-over at the Vet in Kearney, MO. Her blood tests were still not normal, and she was dehydrated and had an infection in her intestine. The vet gave her an antibiotic and a hydration injection under her skin so that her body would absorb the fluid. He also put her on a short term diet of prescription AD pet food, which is very palatable. Upon arriving at home, we took her to the regular vet. Now, 3 weeks later, we are seeing an abnormal rise in liver enzymes. A sonogram several months ago revealed a tumor in her liver. With her hyper-thyroid condition, which causes rapid heart rate and excess physical activity (which we try to control with Tapizole but which has its own tough side effects) her little body is already under strain. She eats 4 to 6 times a day, ¼ to ½ can of food and still only weighs barely 6 lbs. The vet has advised us to be very conscious of her moods and feelings in order to monitor how she might feel. He does not believe her prognosis is very good. It is sad for our little friend to be in such distress.

We arrived at the Excel factory in Smith Center KS on the evening of August 23rd. We were a few days early for our scheduled service because I caused a failure in the black water holding tank. There is a flush intake valve right next to the city water hook up valve and I hooked up to the wrong one for an overnight stay. Consequently, in about 20 minutes, I had overfilled the black tank (luckily it was clean) and burst a seam. Water came out the roof vent but luckily we avoided water inside the coach. The technicians had to take apart the underside of the trailer to replace the tank. This, on top of the other work we needed to have done, caused us to spend a whole week in the factory parking lot behind the service department.

For those of you who wonder about how we spent our 40th Anniversary…well, it was in the parking lot in Smith Center Kansas. Now, it was delightful, believe it or not. Parked next to us, also having some work done on their trailer, was a couple we had met in late May from Colorado Springs. Betty, Troy, Betty and I had cocktails and snacks around 5PM while I cooked a marinated pork loin on the BBQ. When the roast was done, they ate their “hot-dish” and we had the roast and fresh corn. We had a delightful time with them and look forward to being with them again next week in Salida, CO for the Colorado Excel club gathering.

Upon leaving Smith Center, we traveled along US 36 to Bonnie State Park near Burlington CO where we R & R’ed for two nights. Then back onto US 36 we drove though Last Chance CO where my father had owned a dry land farm. I learned to drive on this farm at age 14 driving grain trucks hauling wheat. From Bonnie to Byers, I only passed one diesel fuel stop and fuel was $3.40 a gallon. I was too stuck up to pay that price and held out until Byers. I won’t do that again. When we got to Byers, the truck computer said I had 34 miles remaining until empty. I was REALLY sweating needles.

On September 6th we celebrated my mother’s 95th birthday. The family gathered at the White Fence Farm where we had balloons, cake, gifts, lots of roses and good food. Of course, any time we can all be together is good and this was extra special. After dinner, we browsed the unique collection of gifts and listened to the country music in the attached building.

And speaking of being with family, we were in Greeley CO last weekend visiting my cousin whom I have not seen for several years. Her daughters from Greeley and Fresno were there, too and it was such fun to be reacquainted and learn about their interesting lives.

Finally, we have now acquired full-time internet service. (see the link at the side for Broadband Internet via Cell Service). The computer has become such a way of life with us. We have struggled with connectivity issues during the entire time we have been traveling. We considered Satellite internet service, but the equipment cost, the monthly fees, and the critical set up each time we changed locations in order to hit the satellite were more than we were willing to accept. I tried dial up service through my cell phone, but it was not successful. We have burned up many hours in internet cafés along the way, and this usually takes up our daytime site seeing time...necessary, but not really satisfying. I guess we have become pretty dependant, and are “spoiled” about our desire for convenience. Yesterday I received my Verizon air card which plugs into the PCMCIA slot of the laptop and provides unlimited internet wherever Verizon or its cooperators offer service. In many cities, this is broadband internet. Outside of these areas, the service is supposed to be 5X faster than dial up. So, as we drive down the highway, Betty can log onto the internet and do her email, search for places for overnight stays, restaurants, pay bills, or just about anything. Of course, there are places where no cell service is available, but so far we have found these to be very few. The air card can also be attached to the antenna on the roof of the truck or trailer, both of which are cell phone boosters. We chose the Kyocera KPC650 air card, and the Kyocera KR-1 wireless router specifically designed for air cards. So, I plugged the air card into the router, set the SSID, 128 bit encryption and password and created our own little network. Betty and I are each on the internet right now trying to catch up on stuff. This is SO WONDERFUL. Of course, I have only had it one day, and it IS computer related so I fully expect glitches to pop up. If it can happen it will happen to Betty or Gordon, right Bill???? (Bill is our favorite IT specialist from Golden Gate NRA in San Francisco. We had lots of fun with him, but I think he is bald now because of tearing his hair out trying to figuring ways to solve our problems).

We leave on Thursday for Colorado Springs to visit our great nephews (oh yes, their parents, too). Then on to Salida for the Colorado Excel Club rally and to Chama NM for the New Mexico Excel Club rally. We will also enjoy some leisure time in Chama with a delightful couple from Albuquerque (Vicki and Betty worked together in Santa Fe in the early 90’s). We should be back in Colorado by early October then to Hawaii in November for our 40th anniversary celebration. We will have Thanksgiving with Betty’s brother and his wife who moved to Oahu early last year. Hmmm. Thanksgiving on Waikiki…sounds delightful.

Thanks for staying tuned and putting up with my delayed postings. We’ll see you down the road.