The new adventures of The Reluctant Rover: Off Again

Sept. 15, 2013, Hobe Sound, Fla.--Earlier today, I posted a picture of Jim standing atop of our RV, using a pressure washer to remove the three months’ worth of dirt that had accumulated since our last trek, which was in February to Tampa. We had planned to travel during the summer, but a couple weeks before our trip was to begin (on May 23), Jim had the misfortune of falling off the roof of the RV. The eight broken ribs are mending, as are his clavicle, scapula, hand, and foot. He continues his physical therapy, and the doctor has given him the OK to resume normal activities.

I did not want “normal activities” to include going up on the roof. But men—especially my man— are stubborn.

All the while he was calmly pressure-cleaning the roof, I not-so-calmly watched from a chair just inside of the garage. Each time he stepped over a hose or leaned down to pick up some debris, my blood pressure skyrocketed, as I nearly jumped out of my seat, holding my tongue to yell “Be careful!”

It took about two hours to clean the roof—a long two hours. This was on Friday.

It took us another couple of hours to pressure wash the rest of the RV, in preparation for a trip to the West Palm Beach and Orlando areas.

The real story of this trip, however, began yesterday (Saturday) morning.

We had parked our RV in front of the house so that we could pack up and get an early start. It didn’t take too long to pack up the food and clothes. The final thing to put on board was (you guessed it!), the cats.

Xena, our black cat, has been very accommodating lately. Usually she is the only who runs away and hides under a bed, refusing to come out. We usually have to chase her out with a broom stick. Not this time. She walked into the kitchen from our bedroom, where she has claimed our bed as her own, and plucked her up and carried her into the motorhome. (She did momentarily escape the next time Jim opened the door, but she allowed herself to be captured easily.)

Charlie? Well, as you know, he is our scaredy cat. He is the one who hid so completely in a cubby hole in our first RV (“Baby”), that we thought we had left him in Yuma, Arizona. Charlie seems to have a nose for intuiting that we are going to travel, for when it came time for us to transport him into the RV, he was nowhere to be found.

I had locked the cat door to the backyard, so I don’t think he escaped outside. But he must have found a really good hiding place in the house, because Jim and I looked for 45 minutes, to no avail. He was nowhere to be found. (So much for our early start!)

We finally decided he would have to get along on his own. (Cats can do this.) We left him with a clean litter box, access to the outdoors, a full water bottle, and a full bowl of food. We also left all the doors to closets and the garage open a bit, in case he was hiding.

We didn’t like leaving him, but we had no choice. I image he will be especially grateful to see us when we return Thursday.

Our adventures continue. 

Until later,

Your Reluctant Rover

The fall (and rise) of a good man

Jacksonville—They say you can’t keep a good man down. It’s true.

Three weeks ago today (May 23, 2013), at this time (7 p.m.), I was sitting in a waiting room in the UF (Shands) Health Trauma Center, trying to remain positive but oblivious to the status of my husband Jim. I knew he was alive, but I didn’t know the extent of his injuries. And I wouldn’t know for more than two hours. My husband had taken a fall—a long fall of 13 feet—from the top of our RV.

That Thursday morning, as Jim prepared to go the our RV to finish installing three solar panels on its roof, he said to me, “You have things to do here. You don’t have to come with me.” I told him I was going. I said, “You could fall. I need to be there.” (How prophetic was that?) He scoffed at the idea, but the two of us headed out to the motorhome, which is stored 22 miles from our house, at a quiet RV park on the intracoastal waterway.

I’m so glad I went.

When we got to the RV, Jim went up to the roof and worked on the solar panels. He came down and rested and hydrated a couple of times. (The sun was hot; it was in the upper 80s.) I remained inside, reading. A few minutes after he went upside to finish the job, I heard a horrible thump. It sounded like a 150 pound bag of rice or beans hitting the ground. Splat.

I ran outside, calling to him.

There was no response.

I found Jim lying on the ground, not moving. As I pulled my cell phone out and dialed 911, I called to him, afraid he wouldn’t answer. While I talked to the 911 operator, I nudged him, and he finally (it was probably only seconds) began to rasp. He tried to sit up, to turn over, to do something to catch his breath. He was in terrible pain.

The paramedics arrived, I think, within 10 or 15 minutes—an eternity. (We were in a fairly remote area.) They checked him out and finally took him to the trauma center. After closing up the RV with the help of a friendly “neighbor” who lives in the RV park (and who even went topside to gather all Jim’s tools), I programmed the GPS and drove to the hospital.

And waited.

The trauma center is not like a regular ER. It is a large, curtained area, where real traumas (think falls and gunshot wounds) are taken. It’s just like Grey’s Anatomy or ER, with surgeries and blood and lots of activity. So, when the doctors are busy, they don’t let any visitors back there.

Around 9:45 p.m. I was finally able to go back and see my husband, who was heavily sedated. I got home about 10:30 p.m.

During the night, Jim was transferred to ICU, where the trauma team determined that he had broken his right collar bone, the right shoulder blade, and at least eight ribs (with multiple fractures), and a bone in his left hand.

The second night in ICU Jim lost two liters of blood. (We later learned that one of the ribs had snapped like a twig and had plunged into the lung, causing the hemorrhage.) He received a total of four units of blood.

The injuries Jim incurred were excruciating. And if truth be known, the trauma team had probably never seen rib injuries to that extent. They had a tough time deciding the best course of action—do nothing and let the bones heal on their own, or operate. One problem was that the chest tubes (one had been inserted the night of his fall, the second a few days later) were not draining properly and he could develop pneumonia or another infection. The other problem was that his rib cage was essentially crushed on the right side. What to do? Finally, it was decided surgery was needed.

Two weeks to the day after his fall, amid a threatening tropical storm, my husband was taken to surgery. I kissed him good-bye at 11 a.m. I didn’t see him again until 7 p.m. It was a long day.

The surgery was a twofold operation. The first part addressed the congestion. The doctor cleaned out the congestion and inserted two new chest tubes. The second part of the surgery consisted on clamping three of the broken ribs with titanium plates and screws. These clamps would help rebuild his chest cage. It was a fairly unique surgery, and the attending surgeon will probably write a paper on it.

Jim was again transferred to an ICU, where he again received excellent care. On Monday evening (June 10), he was sent to a private (non ICU) room, and on Wednesday, five days post-operative, he was to be released to come home. We faced yet another problem, however. The doctor told us that one of the plates had loosened. We were given a choice: more surgery to put in a longer plate or do nothing. We weighed the risks and benefits of another surgery to fix the problem and decided against it. The risks outweighed the benefits, to our mind.

I am very grateful for all the support everyone has given me and Jim. Some people used prayer; some sent their positive thoughts and concerns through cyber waves. Whatever was sent, I appreciate it, and so does he. It makes a difference to know you are not alone.

Jim can be stubborn, obstinate, and inflexible. But he can be kind, sweet, and caring, too. He is a good man, and I am so grateful that he is already remarkably rising above his horrible injuries.

Three weeks ago, this good man fell. But today he is getting up again. Thank goodness.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

P.S. Friends have asked how the fall occurred. Jim isn’t sure. Most likely he was working stooped over, bolting down a solar panel, then stood up to assess his work. It is possible that he got dizzy. He says he remembers going down and thinking he would land on the skylight over the bathroom and it would break. Unfortunately, it did not break. Instead, it flexed and bounced him over the side.

Now, as Paul Harvey would have said, you know the rest of the story.

Too bad, peeping Toms!

Although we never close the blinds in the back of our house (the nearest neighbors are across the pond), I'm not a fan of voyeurism.

When we purchased Junior, we discovered that the previous owners had removed the privacy curtain and replaced it with window shades--on all front-cabin windows except the door! We immediately put up a shade on the door, and it did not take us long to discover that the shades did not offer 100% privacy. By design, a gap existed between each of the shades, which meant that at night, anybody walking by our parked motorhome would be able to look in and see us, in whatever state of attire we chose. Not a good thing.

On our first two trips, we used stop-gap privacy methods: I hemmed strips of blackout fabric, which Jim attached by Velcro to cover each gap. The solution was only marginally acceptable, and we decided to bite the bullet and re-install a privacy-curtain system.

We purchased flexible drapery track, the hardware, and blackout fabric. I sewed the curtains.

We had to "relax" the flexible track for several days in order to work with it. Today, Jim installed it around the front windows and we put up the curtains I made.

I'm happy to say we have privacy again.

Any peeping Tom will have to work harder to see inside of our home on wheels.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda

Another small step toward traveling

Buying a used RV is like purchasing a previously owned house: You want to put your own personal touches on it. In our case, the "personal touches" mostly address rearranging the dining area and creating a desk/storage area in the interior. That came out very nicely--lots more storage and a place to put the printer, laptop, and external hard drive. We put the finishing touches on this amenity yesterday.

Yesterday Jim also replaced the side-view mirrors.

When we purchased Junior, we bought it "as is," except for items needing to be fixed that affected safety. One of the side-view mirrors (on the driver's side) was broken. The top half of the mirror was OK; the bottom half, which gave a wide-view of the rear, was missing. La Mesa, the RV dealer, said it would replace the mirror, since this was a safety issue.

We patiently waited. And waited. And waited for it to be sent. After a couple of months, Jim finally followed up and we received it. (Jim said he would put on the replacement, since it would be inconvenient to take Junior to the Orlando-area dealer for installation.) Alas! The mirror was chrome, not taupe. No way were we going to have a mash of mirror colors!

When we called the dealer, Jim said we would be happy to return the new mirror, or if they preferred they could replace the other mirror to match the new chrome mirror. They said they would replace the other side-view mirror, at their cost. That was a good thing, because a search for this type of replacement mirror found that they each cost about $750!

Yesterday was mirror-changing time. The change-out was easy...just unscrew, unplug, plug in, and screw in. We are back in the side-view mirror business!

The next thing Jim wants to do before we head out West again is to put up the solar panels that he had removed from Baby. He is designing a way to adjust the angle of the solar panels, to catch maximum rays when (and if) we do any dry camping. (Not high on my priority list.) The panels will help keep our house batteries charged.

Finally, we need to put up our new privacy curtain. For some mysterious reason, the previous owners removed the curtain track (and curtains) and put up window shades. Shades sound like a good option, until you realize that they do not offer 100% privacy, since there are gaps between the shades. So, we ordered new tracking and I made the drapes. We had to allow the flexible tracking to "relax" before attaching it around the windshield. I think it will be ready next week.

Our travel plans? Looks like we are going to go back to Yuma/Los Algodones, then head up to the northwest to visit national parks. It will likely be a long trip.

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda

Old friends, high times

Tampa, Feb. 17, 2013—Some things get better as they age. One of those things is old friends.

This weekend 14 of the 20 “George’s Kids” got together for our 48th reunion. I think we all leave on an emotional high, anticipating when we will get together again in September of 2015 for our 50th reunion. (God willing, we will all make it!) 

Sharon Goodnight Sylvester—whom we identify as being the force for bringing us all together 23 ago—will be the coordinator of our next adventure.

Our Peru 1965 Group Director was George Zucker. His daughter Lisa helped organize all the details of our weekend, from arranging for the hotel to coordinating with the Peruvian restaurant where we feasted on traditional Peruvian cuisine, including the best ceviche all of us had had since leaving Lima in 1965.

Who was there? Well, if you look at the picture below, starting with the bottom row, you’ll find Mary Mullins Sugar, Mary (Coche) Carr, Sharon Goodnight Sylvester, George Zucker, Nancy Jones de Villalobos, Diana Glad, and Izora Harrison White. Top row includes Cheri Biddle Engber, Sherrie Hitchcock McKenna, Irene Gnemi Melendez, Rita Marsh-Birch, David Clapp, Linda King Kelsey, Linda Jefferson Segall, and WinEllen Gruber Marcum.

George and his "kids" at our 48th anniversary celebration.

George Zucker had 20 "kids" to take care of in 1965. We are grateful he took on the task of herding us around Peru and teaching us Don Quixote!

The picture does not include Craig Zucker, George’s oldest son. Craig was 2 years old and his brother Eric about 3 months old when the Zuckers took on the task of watching over our diverse group in Lima. We all felt old when we realized that little Craig had turned 50!

Craig Zucker with Irene. Craig was just 2 years old when he had his year in Peru!

Who wasn't there? Sue Turner, Coleman Dirhan, and Richard Lee--all because of health issues, either their own or a family member's. The others who weren't there were Carolyn Blanchard and Trina Tyler, both of whom we cannot find, and of course Jane Brown, who died in an airplane crash in 1998.

Several of the spouses accompanied the reunion goers: They included Marcelino (Irene’s husband), Bobbi (Dave’s wife), Jim, Mike Engber (Cheri’s husband), Wade Birch (Rita Marsh's husband), and Howard (WinEllen’s husband). George’s lady friend Maxine, Lisa’s daughter and husband, and Craig’s wife also enjoyed the festivities.

Jim, as a former travel agent, was surprised that we had not scheduled a group activity for the “down time” on Saturday before we met for dinner (other than meeting at George’s house). We didn’t need a planned activity; what we really wanted was to get to talk to each other. And talk we did! I think this time I spent time with everyone who was there.

It’s interesting, really, how the conversations have changed over the years. The first reunion we held, in 1990, I think we reminisced the most. I remember that we didn’t recognize each other. We had to catch, find out what everyone was doing (we were all working), and then talk about our Peru experiences.

Cheri Biddle Engber

Mary Carr. We all call her Coche. (Coche means car in Spanish.)

David Clapp and Nancy Jones de Villalobos. 

Diana Glad and your Reluctant RoVer

Izora White Harrison and Nancy

Linda King Kelsey and Irene 

Mary Mullins Sugar. Mary and I go back to high school! We were in the same city at Indiana Girls' State back in 1962.

Sherrie Hitchcock.

This year, the main question was, “Are you retired yet?” Followed by, “Do you have grandkids? How many and how old?”

As we were saying our good-byes, Nancy, Coche, and I observed that one of the nicest things to come out of these reunions was a re-renewal of friendships. When we were in Peru, natural “friend groups” formed. We all liked each other, but we just did not have the opportunity to socialize for one reason or another, outside of group activities.

The reunions have given us the opportunity to get to know each other on a different level—to become friends all over again. It’s a great feeling.

It’s also a great feeling to know that of all the IU Junior Year Abroad groups, ours (to our knowledge) is the only one to keep in such close touch. We give credit to Sharon Goodnight Sylvester, who, a few years after we all graduated, started sending out an annual newsletter. She would solicit news from us (via snail mail, since e-mail had not yet been invented), compile the juiciest parts, and even occasionally include photographs.

Sharon Goodnight Sylvester and Mary

Finally, in 1990, somehow we decided to get together. It took 25 years, but since that first reunion, we have met every five years—until now. We decided that because we are getting older, the reunions ought to come more frequently. Hence, this was our 48th anniversary celebration. We intend to meet in Chicago in 2015 for our 50th.

Yes, some things do get better when they get older. Friends are one of them.

(I apologize for the quality of the candid pictures, and the fact that I don't have any of Rita! I don't know how that could have happened, but that omission, unfortunately, occurred.)

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda 

Yum!

Feb. 16, 2018, Tampa—I guess you could call Jim and me “foodies.” We appreciate good food. Although we sometimes eat in “ordinary” restaurants and Chinese buffets that include freshly made sushi and sashimi, we prefer various types of ethnic foods, from Vietnamese to West Indian and everything in between. The best ethnic foods, we’ve discovered, are usually found in hole-in-the-wall restaurants frequented by peoples from that culture. We love it when we are the only non-ethnics in the place! It means the food is authentic. It has become our “rule” to seek out such restaurants when we are traveling.

Today we discovered an exception to our rule: The Columbia in Ybor City in Tampa.

The Columbia brags that it is the oldest restaurant in Florida and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. It is famous for its architecture as well as its cuisine, and is spread among several adjoining buildings at the edge of Ybor City, which is famed as the (handmade) cigar-making capital of America. The Columbia was established in the late 1800’s as a corner cafe. In 1920 the owner added a dining room and decorated the restaurant in the fanciful world of Don Quixote, with hand-painted tiles and lavish furnishings. The restaurant has branches in St. Augustine, Sarasota, Clearwater Beach, Celebration, and two other locations in Tampa.

Jim waits for lunch at The Columbia. The Don Quixote-esque decor of the restaurant can be seen in the background.

The Columbia uses a lot of hand-painted tiles in its decor, like these, which festooned the outside of the restaurants.

Today, as we explored Ybor City (and learned about cigar making in America), we decided to would put aside our prejudices about dining in tourist restaurants and try The Columbia. We’re glad we did.

Jim ordered mussels and chorizo Andres, which is described: Fresh Prince Edward Island mussels, diced Chorizo, sauteed, simmered with extra virgin olive oil, onions, celery, tomato, basil, spinach and garlic splashed with dried white wine and lemon.”

When I eat at a Cuban restaurant, generally I order ropa vieja or picadillo. I passed on those choices and tried something new (to me)—salteado. The menu describes it: The Columbia’s Traditional Method of Sauté. Inspired by the Chinese who lived in Cuba in the 19th century, a very hot iron skillet with extra virgin olive oil is used to sauté onions, green peppers, fresh garlic, mushrooms, diced potatoes, chorizo, splashed with a hearty red wine. Served with yellow rice.”

I liked it more than Jim’s, so I would have to say my choice rated “muy, muy delicioso!”

This was a fine-dining experience, and the bill reflected it (for lunch). But, we agreed the price was well worth the cost. And we might consider returning—if only there weren’t so many darn good hole-in-the wall places to try!

Until later,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Is RVing cost-effective?

I just read an article in today's paper saying that the RV industry is experiencing a comeback. The show we attended a couple of weeks ago attracted about 55,000 people. Jacksonville will have its own "mega" show next weekend, when it is expected to draw about 8,000 visitors.

What's the lure?

As you know, I am a Reluctant RoVer. The "RV lifestyle" is not for me...that is, living in an RV for extended periods of time. I consider our motorhome a traveling hotel. So, is it worth the money?

Generally the longer the trip you take, the more cost-effective it becomes, aside from the initial cost of purchasing and licensing the RV.

For example: Last year, when we were on the road for 64 nights, our diesel and RV park fees totaled about $2600, for an average of about $40 a day. We also saved a lot of money by doing our own cooking--something that can't be done if you are traveling by car and staying in a hotel.

Our three-night trip to Tampa, on the other hand, cost us approximately $250 (about $82/night) for diesel and camping fees. Had we driven our car and stayed three nights in a hotel, the cost would have been about the same--assuming we could find a hotel for $75 a night during high season.

We will be going back to Tampa in two weeks for my Peru reunion. Our diesel and RV costs will be about $217. The Hampton Inn's rates are $119 a night, so you can see that for a two-night stay, traveling in our RV is more cost-effective.

Perhaps more important, though, is the comfort we experience: We sleep in our own bed, shower in our own bathroom, and have our own food available if we want to cook, or even make coffee.

RVs are cheap, but they make an excellent hotel-on-wheels--especially if you don't have to drive! (And I don't do that.)

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda