11/29 Good RIddence to November!

November was a rough month, to say the least, so I am glad to have it almost gone!

While it is easy to take care of routine things like colds, cuts, and other injuries on the road, medical things catch up with you eventually, and you have to take care of them.  November was my month to do that because I was back in Ohio for a few weeks.  Besides getting my teeth cleaned and plans made for a replacement crown done in the spring, my doctor visits involved routine things like having an annual checkup with my internist, seeing a dermatologist to check for potential sun damage to my skin, getting a long-overdue colonoscopy, seeing an orthopedic surgeon about my sore left shoulder, and getting a small "blob" in my lung that had been showing up in a couple of cat scans over the past year checked out.  

It had been growing very slowly and the doctors in Oregon were just keeping an eye on it, but it concerned me, so I ended up with a bunch of pulmonary tests and a PET scan, which checks for cancer.  I had a few nervous days worrying about the results, but the scan was negative, which was a big relief.  I have never been a smoker, but apparently even a substantial percentage of non-smokers end up with strange nodules after a certain age.  It could be an infection or scar tissue from an old infection, or who knows what, but I will have to have repeat tests over the next year.  At least I was able to skip the nasty-sounding biopsy. Yuck!  And did I mention that the colonoscopy was not exactly fun???

Plus, to make my stay in Ohio even more miserable, it was much colder than usual, and it snowed and then melted a couple of times.  I do not own snow boots, and until two weeks ago, I did not even own a hat or gloves.  I had an OK, but not really warm enough, winter coat, but still felt cold most of the time.  I gave in and bought a hat and a couple of pairs of gloves, which helped.  Also, I put that weather film on my motorhome windows and hung a bedspread to block off the drafts at night from the cab area.  

It was good to visit with my son and his family, but I will be back again right after Christmas, so I was happy to get the all-clear from my doctors and head south where it is warm!  I might even buy a pair of light-weight snow boots before I go back. 

The good news is that I have almost made my way to Florida and have been able to take the window film off of my windows.  I am in Savannah for a couple of days and then will drive to Fort Clinch State Park in northeast Florida on Monday.  Had a couple of days of rain on my way down, but temps have been in the upper 60s and lower 70s for the last few days, which feels wonderful.  Supposed to be even warmer next week, so I am saying good-bye to a cold November and looking to a warm and sunny December!  Yea. 

And I plan to do more posting for the rest of this year.   Tomorrow I am taking a shuttle to spend the day in Savannah.  I have been here before, but am looking forward to seeing it again. 

11/3 Cold Ohio - Brrrrr!

I'm back in Ohio and spending time with family and taking a short trip to visit with friends in Michigan.  I spent a few days in my son's driveway, but since that is outlawed in his neighborhood, I didn't want to push it and moved for a few days to Punderson State Park, where it snowed overnight one day.

I then headed to Detroit, stopping for one night on the Ohio Turnpike.  Did you know several of the service areas on the turnpike have RV parking areas that include electrical hookups?  Some are back-ins, but this one just east of Toledo was a pull-through.  There is lots of room on both sides for slides, and as you can tell, I was the only one here for the night.  Cost is $20 per night. 

 

Each parking area has a dump station, as shown here.

 

And a drinking water fill, as shown here:  
There was a considerable amount of noise overnight, with big trucks pulling past, but this time of year, it is very hard to find a place to stay for the night.