8/30 Labor Day Weekend & Other Big Holidays

I have not been posting much lately because I have not been doing much traveling.  Basically, summer is a time when I visit family in Ohio and get caught up on doctor and dentist appointments, which I have been doing.  Mostly, my health is good, but a trip to the shoulder orthopedic clinic confirmed that the pain in my left shoulder has been due to arthritis and an irritated tendon, so someday I will probably need to get it replaced, but I am putting it off as long as I can.  In addition, I have a couple of teeth that need to be pulled--one because it broke off and another because the cap is coming loose.  Both of these are due to cavities, so I am waiting for an appointment from my dentist.  

When I visit Ohio, I always stay in state parks--mostly Punderson and West Branch.  A couple of years ago, the state of Ohio updated some sites in each of the state parks and added new sites with larger and flatter cement pads, along with full hookups.  If you think you cannot park a larger RV in a state park, check these out.  Many federal and state campgrounds throughout the U.S. are replacing smaller, older sites with bigger ones with full hookups to meet the needs of today's campers.  These do fill up fast, however. 

This Labor Day weekend, I am staying in a state park near Lake Erie because my son and his family own a condo nearby.  I'll spend my nights here and days visiting them, and then head to Michigan on Monday afternoon.  I have friends and relatives there I will be visiting. Also will be stocking up on some foods I cannot get elsewhere. 

Normally, if I am traveling alone, I try to avoid big state parks on big holiday weekend because of the crowds, noise, and just general craziness.  Big holiday weekends are when families gather in groups and bring their children and friends, with every campsite packed all weekend.  It ends up being one huge party, which is fine if you want to party, but I am not really a vacationer who has to stuff a lot of experiences into a weekend.  It's just not for me.    

In addition, because I scheduled this weekend late, I ended up in the most crowded and oldest part of this state park.  There are way too many young kids riding tiny scooters and bikes around the place, which always scares me since I don't want to hit a child. 

If I can plan ahead and know a big weekend is coming up, I usually try to pick someplace to stay, based on the following "old folks" criteria:

• No lake or boating
• No swimming beach or pool
• No organized kids games
• Not close to a big city
• Camp sites not close to one another 

So, basically, I would be looking for a place where there is nothing to do and where most people do not want to go--a nice, quiet place away from everything, where I and my fellow quieter travelers can enjoy the wind rustling through the trees (or cactus), birds hopping about, and something scenic to look at like mountains.  Basically, I and a lot of other full-timers really just want a very dull place where there is nothing to do and nobody to bother us while we are doing it!!  It would be a bonus if there is an outdoor cooking or fire ban, to boot in order to reduce the amount of smoke!!  

We really don't want to share the smoke from your cooking fires or camp fires in the evening.  And we really want to be far enough away from other campers so we can't hear your jokes or music, or even smell your food.  

Nothing personal, of course!  😄  

Note:  I plan on heading to Florida for the winter at the end of September, so I'll be posting more on camping and my travels then.  In the meantime, I will be posting on a few camping tips and some suggestions on the positives and negatives of full-timing, as I have been doing for the past 13 years!

Stay tuned, and if you have any questions, ask away!  

8/7/2025 I'm Back in the U.S.A.!

Sorry for not posting for a while.  I arrived back in the U.S.A. on July 22 at San Francisco Airport.  Since my son and his family were not scheduled to return from their long family camping trip until the next day, I took the shuttle to Napa, picked up my motorhome from its storage place, stopped for groceries, and got set up in the campground spot I had reserved.  It was a very long day when you add the 8 hours of time difference between London and California!

I spent the next couple of days unpacking all the stuff I took with me and the stuff I acquired in the U.K.  I am a person who always encourages people to travel lightly and pack only essentials, but I confess to not only buying a few new clothing items, including a new pair of shoes, plus stocking up on several books, a ton of brochures, some sheep souvenirs, and a selection of tea from Harrods and other places.  In fact, I came home with a small suitcase that I did not take with me--needed it to bring back all the junk I bought!

If you have been following the blog I was writing on my trip to the U.K., you know that I fell flat on my face in a store and really messed up my right knee and leg.  Basically, there was a small step that I missed, but people in the store were very helpful, as was a woman who was passing the open door and saw me as I fell!  The whole story is described here:   https://2025humongousenglandwalesadventure.blogspot.com/2025/07/718-missed-step-and-my-experience-with.html

I spent a few days visiting family, and then headed east with my motorhome to return to Ohio and my other son and his family.  While I tend to alternate winters in Florida and the Southwest, I nearly always spend at least a month or two each summer in Ohio.  This gives me a chance to catch up on doctor and dentist appointments, and also to visit friends and relatives in Michigan.  This year, however, I am planning on looking for a condo near my younger son and his family in Ohio.  After 13 years of non-stop traveling, and reaching the advanced age of 82, I have decided to settle down a bit, at least for most of the year.  I may still do some traveling, but probably not in my motorhome, which is aging faster than I am!  We are both slowly falling apart, or so it seems.  

The biggest thing that has occupied me since I returned from my long trip to England and Wales is taking care of the knee I fell on and my lower leg and foot.  Not only has it taken a long time for the swelling to get less, but the blood or fluid that was in my knee has now migrated to my foot, which became swollen and very sore.  Not only that, but I developed and ignored pain in both of my feet while on my U.K. trip.  I should have known better since I had plantar fasciitis many years ago, but the temptation to walk somewhere on what will probably be my last trip to London made me keep walking, no matter the pain.  The result is now that I have substantial plantar fasciitis pain in my left foot to go along with the pain from my fall in my right foot and knee!  

So, a lot of my time over the 2+ weeks since I has returned have been focused on driving and propping my foot up whenever I can.  I can barely walk through a grocery store and to fill my tanks with gas, so no sightseeing for me and not much exciting to write about, which is my excuse for not posting recently. 

Once the swelling went down on my leg, several hidden lumps have appeared, so I made a second emergency room visit in Nevada to have them checked out.  One was especially a concern since it was near the knee prosthesis that I have had since 2008.  (The last thing you want is infection around a knee replacement because it requires taking it out and redoing the knee replacement!)  Friends and family had also been reminding me about the dangers of deep vein thrombosis when you have a large bruise due to a fall. 

So, a visit to an emergency room in Nevada and several more tests, plus a referral to an orthopedic surgeon who does knee replacements, was needed.  The results of more tests was that the lumps were probably collections of blood, not signs of infection.  My whole knee, lower leg, and foot are still very sore, but the doctors gave me antibiotics and assured me it would take weeks and maybe months for these lumps to completely resolve.  In meantime, I am taking breaks from driving so I can walk and keep my muscles moving, and also propping that leg up as often as I can.  

And to make things even more fun, my motorhome refrigerator died, which means the cooling unit that is accessed from outside my vehicle failed and lost all its ammonia, which acts as its coolant.  So, I had to throw out a lot of food and am currently keeping food and drinks cold in a large cooler I bought.  It is a pain to have to keep feeding it ice every day, but I like to have food, snacks, and drinks available as I travel. 

Right now, I am in a Corps of Engineering campground near Des Moines, Iowa, and spending a couple of days here so I can rest my leg and spend more time elevating.  Next stop will be along the Mississippi for a couple of days, and then stops for a night or two in Illinois, Indiana, and finally in Ohio.  

I am hoping to find a condo that I like, but the offerings are pretty skimpy lately as people seem to be hesitant to move in these unstable economic times.  If I do not find a condo I like, I will probably get some of the things fixed on this motorhome and head to Florida for the winter.  I'll try to post more often on my plans.