Itinerary:
4/16-4/17 Ventura, CA
4/17-4/20 Paso Robles, CA (Mary turns 90)
4/20-4/22 Driving to Albuquerque, NM
4/22-5/1 Albuquerque, NM (dancing with Kris Jensen)
5/1-5/3 Driving to Denver, CO
5/3-5/11 Denver, CO (dancing with Bronc Wise)
5/11-5/18 Driving to St. Louis, MO
5/18-6/1 St. Louis, MO (Swing Me In St. Louis Convention)
6/1-6/7 Driving to Forest City, IA
6/7-6/13 Forest City, IA (Winnebago Factory repairs and tour)
6/13-6/16 Driving to Indianapolis, IN
6/16-6/21 Indianapolis, IN (AACE Convention)
Last time that I wrote, I was the only one doing well. Chris had tweaked his back, Rita was on antibiotics, Lucky was scratching off his fur due to allergies. That changed the day after I wrote this.
The day after Easter we decided to buy Easter candy as it would be on sale. It wasn’t, so I just bought us both, one each, large chocolate candy bar, which we ate before going to bed that night. I had an awful acid reflux reaction to the chocolate in the early morning hours which resulted in a bacterial infection in my ears. My right ear was so swollen I couldn’t hear. This caused me to have balancing problems, resulting in me tweaking my back. Not just tweaked, but out completely. Pain management couldn’t see me without another referral from my doctor, who was out of town that whole week. The nurse practitioner sped through the referral, but they had no openings for another complete week. I was given pain meds (and meds to bring down the swelling in my ear) and told to stay in bed. So staying in bed (with the dogs playing Dr. Lucky and Nurse Rita) and no dancing Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. By Sunday I was up and about, so did attend the Phantoms dance, both sessions. At a Challenge level dance I had less concern over anyone pulling or pushing or grabbing. My back did fine. Still couldn’t hear out of my right ear. Chris is absolutely fine. Rita, according to the vet, is just old. She has no allergies, infections, nor diabetes. Just old.
Monday back to the nurse practitioner. Still deaf, still red and swollen. Z-Pack did nothing so onto steroids. As I write this on Wednesday, still deaf. I have a saline solution to squirt up my nose every hour on the hour to help clear out the nasal area. Monday evening we went to the Tinseltown C3 then C2 workshops. I couldn’t hear the whole call at one point and tried to do what I did hear and got told off by the caller for trying to make others go the wrong way. Tried to explain; he didn’t want an explanation. Moved on. The last tip was over 30 minutes long and my back went “TING” 20 minutes before it was over. Back on the meds.
In all of the meantime we got the coach washed and waxed. By doing this at least once a year (and washing it once or twice in between), the coach always looks fresh. Being over 10 years old is becoming a worry for travelers because campgrounds are using a cutoff to keep decrepid looking rigs out of their parks. Washing also revealed the chips of paint knocked off by road debris, so when we get to Forest City, Iowa, we’ll get blue paint and I’ll dab over the white spots.
So many friends to see and things to do. Tonight we will be going out to dinner with our old Castaic neighbors, Kathy and Talia. We got visited this morning by a fellow RVer who saw our license plates (they reveal we are square dancers). He dances Advanced in central California. This afternoon we were visited by an Australian couple who are visiting the United States for the first time. They saw our name on-line under RVillage, an RV app that pings where you are staying, and anyone in the same park can message you. We saw their ping and told them to look us up and gave our campsite number. Last night we went to sushi with Kim for the last time until we return to California. But, what is neat, she will be in Michigan the same time (July) that we will be passing through Michigan, and we will get together then! On our return trip we will be passing through Washington visiting friends. Turns out her son lives there now (same area as our friends) so we will look him up as well. When he was between the ages of 9 and 13 he went on camping and fishing trips with us. He’s all grown up now—don’t know if we will even recognize him.
A fifth wheel moved in next to us. Husband, wife, seven year old girl, and two male beagles, who are howling because Chris just took ours out for a walk before dinner.
Tomorrow we wake and leave at 6:30. No shower, just throw on clothes and go. When we get to Paso Robles I am seeing Mary’s hairdresser to get my hair done. I was to wash my hair this morning but not use any other products, curling nor straightening iron. She wants to see the natural frizz and curl. So today and tomorrow will be frizzy and curly. By Friday it will be as natural as it comes.
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