Trip Update Nov/ Dec 2007

The only trip we took in November was a trip to the island of Bonaire, in the SE Caribbean. It was a very relaxing week; we stayed with our friends Eldon and Lois. We went snorkeling a few times and saw an octopus and several Moray Eels. The most unusual thing we saw was a school of squid. I avoided night snorkeling, and didn’t end up in the hospital like my last visit. Several years ago, Eldon started a project to improve wastewater treatment at his resort, so Yanjin and I designed and then consulted on the operation of this new advanced wastewater treatment plant. It is in service now and is the only plant on the island designed to remove nitrogen. Excess nutrients are killing coral reefs in many popular locations. A paper on the success of this project is being prepared.

We celebrated my father’s 85th birthday and he is doing better since his fall last month. A week later we celebrated Pat’s father’s 80th birthday with his large family. Pat’s mother was moved into a nursing home where she developed a blood clot. A filter was installed in her vein to keep the clot from moving to her lungs. She returned to the nursing home after that operation.

After Pat’s mother’s surgery we headed down to Hilton Head SC. We enjoyed warm weather most of the week while the first snow storm of the year swept thru the mid Atlantic. Sometimes you get the timing just right! We enjoyed a relaxing week, with walks on the beach, biking on and off the beach and exploring the isolated island of Daufuskie via golf cart. On our last night we attended a professional production of ‘Camelot.’

We headed up to Myrtle Beach SC for a few more days. The record high temps continued. We attended a youth (4-18 years olds) ballet performance of ‘The Nutcracker.’ What could be funnier than 4 year olds running around in tutus trying to do synchronized ballet? We also attended a Country Christmas Show at the Carolina Opry. During the day we explored the parks and beaches in the area.

We headed back to cold weather and spent a few days in MD seeing doctors and friends. We had Christmas with both families and visited Pat’s mother who was back in the hospital. Currently she has pneumonia.

Trip Update Oct 2007

The plan for October was to spend several weeks in the mountains of North Carolina. Our first stop was our property in Lewisburg WV. We needed to do some work on our garage where we store all of our household stuff. We rushed to finish this task because we were informed that Pat’s mother had a minor stroke. We headed back to York, PA and spent the next nine days there. Her mother was in York Hospital and the doctors were running tests to determine if it was a stroke or a tumor. The doctors have tentatively decided it is a tumor deep in her skull. It is too deep for a biopsy. At times the family was providing 24 hour coverage to insure she didn’t get out of bed and fall in the middle of the night. After about 9 days at York Hospital she was transferred to a rehab hospital. Her condition stabilized and visiting hours were limited.

About the same time that this was going on, my father tripped and landed flat on his face. He broke his dentures and bruised his face. He spent several days in the hospital undergoing tests, then a few days of rehab. He is doing fine now.

With the family health situation stabilized, we decided to resume our trip to the mountains. After a two day drive we checked into a timeshare in NC, just north of the GA/SC line. It was a great location to check out the three state area. We drove south and explored Tallulah Gorge SP in GA. Scenes from the movie Deliverance were filmed here. The following day drove into SC and we hiked into the Ellicott Rock Wilderness area, down to the Chattooga River, which was made famous by Burt Reynolds’ infamous canoeing trip.

We saw lots of waterfalls during the week including the 411 foot Whitewater Falls. We discovered Panthertown Valley, called “The Yosemite of the East”. Despite this overstatement, it was fun to explore this wilderness area with no signs or trail markers. On our last day we climbed to the summit of Whiteside Mt., and enjoyed the great fall colors.

We left NC and headed back to York to check on Pat’s mother who was still in the rehab hospital. There was little change in her mental condition but physically she has regained some use of her right hand and is more mobile.

Trip Update September 2007 - Danube River Trip - Eastern Europe

Because our Australia Trip had to be postponed until next year we decided to take a Danube River Cruise this year. We started with 3 nights in Romania, 15 nights on the Vantage River Explorer, and ended with three nights in Prague, visiting 8 European countries.

Usually you don’t confuse Adventure Travel with a Package Tour, but apparently no one bothered to inform the airlines of this. We showed up at the airport and found out our Delta flight to JFK was delayed and we would be rerouted through Atlanta. It took the incompetent agent 30 minutes to reroute us and our bags on this new itinerary. In Atlanta we had to take the train from Terminal A to Terminal E and just made the connection. We were lucky to get an Airbus for our trans-Atlantic flight. Each seat had an individual screen for movies, TV and games on demand. They even fed us for free!

The good times ended when we landed at Charles DeGaul airport in Paris. Here we had to go from terminal E to B. Despite what you hear about high speed trains in France, all they had were slow buses to get you between the terminals. By the time we found our assigned gate, the boarding was closed. The security line was going nowhere.
We gave up and went to the Air France desk to get rebooked on a later flight. The agent checked the scheduled flight and discovered that there was only one seat on the assigned flight for us. (Thanks, Delta!). We passed on the opportunity to split up going into Romania. The agent then rebooked us on a Romanian airline, but at the gate they refused to honor the code share ticket. Air France upgraded us to Business Class because of Delta’s screw ups. Finally after a 5 and 1/2 hour wait, we departed on a flight to Bucharest. I was looking forward to a big fat seat and drinking champagne, but the only difference from Economy was a better meal and silverware in lieu of plastic ware. With all these delays, we figured that at least our bags would be waiting for us in Bucharest. Of course, there were no bags for us in Bucharest. One bag was due in 3 hours later and the airline could not locate the second bag. Since we missed our scheduled pickup at the airport, we grabbed a taxi and headed for the hotel without our bags. The traffic was worse than in DC, and the drivers cut in and out of the traffic lanes, like OJ on the LA freeway. After a total of 26 hours of traveling we reached the J W Marriott Hotel.

The Communists ruled Romania for 45 years and the last 30 years were the most damaging. This is most evident in Bucharest where many communities were leveled to build “Stalin gothic” ugly and poorly built apartment buildings. In contrast, the dictator built the “People’s House” for the Parliament. This is the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon. With its drab architecture and horrific traffic, we have little desire to return to Bucharest. One day we did take a bus ride into the Carpathian Mountains and visited the Pelisor Palace and the Peles Castle. Both were impressive, but it was a long drive in and out of Bucharest. The most interesting thing about Bucharest was its history, particularly the overthrow of Communism during the Revolution in 1989.
The dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were both executed by firing squad after a mock trial. After the execution they found ten times more bullet holes in her than in him. If behind every good man is a good woman, then I guess behind every bad man is a bad woman. I guess we know who wore the pants in that family!

After leaving Bucharest, we boarded our river boat, the Vantage River Explorer (170 passengers max.), and headed west to the Black Sea. The next day we arrived at Cernavoda, Romania. The Danube Canal starts here and was built as a short cut to the Black Sea. Due to low water levels, we had to take a one hour bus ride to the coast. We toured the seaside towns of Constanta, a large port city; and Mamaia, a resort town.

From the coast we headed east into Bulgaria. We expected more “Stalin gothic” architecture in Bulgaria but were surprised that their Communist dictator had not destroyed all the houses to build apartment buildings. The town of Ruse was our first stop. It was a pleasant city to visit and walk around. That night I started to feel sick. (Stalin’s Revenge; OK, I made that up, but everything bad here is blamed on Stalin). Actually about half the passengers got sick. The next day, I didn’t stray too far from the bathroom. Pat, who had been suffering with a cold (or allergies) for the first few days, was now felling fine so she took the full day tour to Veliko Turnovo and Arbanassi, Bulgaria. This included a home hosted lunch by a Bulgarian family and later a Orthodox choir performance. She told me what a great time I missed.

The next day we cruised through the Iron Gates of the Danube, a beautiful limestone gorge cut through the Carpathian Mts. In Belgrade, Serbia we were entertained on board by eleven local performers with their dancing and music. It was outstanding. Our Balkan history lesson continued as we learned more about Tito and the breakup of Yugoslavia.
We toured the city fortifications and visited Tito’s grave. Each day, before we landed in a new country, a local would come on board and give us a briefing of the history of their country. So after hearing the Serbian explanation for the war with Croatia, we were able to hear Croatia’s side of the story the next day.

In Croatia we drove through Vukovar, a town which had been totally destroyed by three months of Serb army occupation. We also toured Osijek and had an excellent home hosted lunch. A Croatian band came on board and entertained us that evening.

Our first stop in Hungary was Pecs. This was the home of Victor Vasarely and we toured his fascinating Optical Art Museum. Pecs will be the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2010. It’s a fascinating small town to visit. While exploring a street fair, we found a fence with hundreds of padlocks attached to it. Initially we thought this was some kind of political statement, but found out it represented love. Lovers would close the lock and throw the key away.

For something different we went to a ranch and watched Hungarian cowboys perform tricks on their horses. One cowboy stood on the back of two horses as they raced around the field. I learned how to crack a whip and brought one home to the RV. Something that should come in handy next time we argue about whose turn it is to do the dishes.

The next morning we were in Budapest along with the President of South Korea. Security was tight at the Parliament Building - the sign said it was closed for public tours but somehow our group got in. There were riot police and surveillance vehicles preparing for a planned demonstration due to the government reduction in fuel subsidies. (Apparently some aspects of Communism were hard to give up). We saw a lot in one day, but could have spent several days here. We left after dark and enjoyed seeing the city lights along the river. In contrast to the big cities, we stopped in Neszmely, Hungary where we were greeted by the mayor and many of the townspeople. We watched a strudel demonstration and then Pat made one from scratch. I told her I would be expecting one everyday. I’m still waiting!

Our last stop on the river was Vienna. We toured the Treasury Museum and Schonbrunn Palace which was similar to Versailles, but not quite up to that standard. We spent one afternoon in the House of Music and still didn’t see it all. We attended a wonderful classical music performance and drove thru the Vienna Woods. This was Pat’s favorite city.

After we departed the boat, we took a 5 hour bus trip through the beautiful country side of the Czech Republic and checked into the Prague Marriott. After a short bus tour, we were on our own and toured many of the sights around the city including the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock. We attended a black light theater show for which Prague is famous. The Museum of Communism covered the mass demonstrations in Prague in 1989 which led to the resignation of the Communist leaders. For the last night of our trip we attended the Folklore Garden dinner theater. The dinner and entertainment were great. I learned how to do the broom dance. The next day we had an uneventful trip home. This time we did not get an Airbus, and got to watch the three movies that the airline picked. Even though it was a great European trip, with nearly perfect weather, it was still good to get back home.

Trip Update May/June 2007

We continued our tour of SE Mo., hiking and sightseeing at many of the state parks in the area. As we approached St Louis, three days of rain greeted us. The point of going to St Louis was to do the Gateway Arch, something that we had bypassed in past trips as we hurried west. The view from the Arch was a bit disappointing, no doubt due to the rainy weather. We did see a movie on the making of the arch - what a marvel of architecture, engineering and stainless steel construction! It was completed in 1967 at a height of 630 ft. McDonalds is planning an adjacent golden arch;>)
Across the Mississippi we visited the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, former home of the largest prehistoric Indian settlement north of Mexico with 10 to 20,000 residents. Heading into southern IL, we camped at Giant City SP. We found the natural beauty of these huge sandstone bluffs and unusual rock formations to be a hidden treasure, mostly enjoyed by locals. A little further south, we hiked in Cache River State Natural Area, a swamp with the same federal designation as the Everglades and the Okefenokee. Pat’s highlight was watching me jump as I almost stepped on a large snake. (The snake and I parted company quickly, so no ID was possible - a missed hospital visit opportunity).
After my last Dr. visit in Memphis, we were ready to head east. Fall Creek Falls is the most popular state park in eastern TN. There are four main falls there, the tallest drops 256 feet. In NE TN we spent a week in the Big South Fork NRA. A lot of areas to explore there, a great place to visit but not well know outside the local region, fortunately for us.
A little further north we stopped to see Cumberland Falls in KY. Besides being one of the largest falls in the east, it is the only place in the world (except for Victoria Falls in Africa) where you can see a “moonbow”. A moonbow is formed by the mist from the falls and the moon light. At the Cumberland Gap we learned how critical the Gap was to westward expansion.
We met up with Lois and Eldon in Warm Springs, VA. We all stayed at a B&B there and took a soak in the “Baths” and hunted for fossils. Eldon and I were the oldest fossils found that day.
We retuned to the MD area to continue my doctor visits and to get some work done on the RV. I was able to attend a training course in Emmitsburg, MD to get certification credit for my operator licenses. A quick visit to the VW dealer turned into a two week ordeal fighting to get our transmission replaced under our extended warranty. Eventually the warranty paid over $6K for a rebuilt transmission. After the brakes and transmission were done, the RV dealer repaired our toilet. This downtime gave us ample opportunity to visit with friends and family. Special thanks to the Chandlers, Tom & Julie, Eldon and Lois, and Pat’s parents for their hospitality.
We are back on the road for now, although being stuck camping in the Mid Atlantic area was not where we wanted to spend the summer. We are revising our Australian trip plans to make it even more exciting and memorable.

Trip Update April 2007

When you are dealt lemons make lemonade. Last month we received a truck load of lemons, so we tried to make the best of it. Fortunately Memphis turns out to be not so bad a place to be based. From Memphis, it is only a short drive into Arkansas or Mississippi. And within 2 1/2 hours or less you can drive to Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois or Alabama. We tried to take advantage of this location and explore areas that were new or unusual to us.

Last month ended with an ER visit in Branson. We had to leave there after only 2 days to get back for another doctor’s visit in Memphis. We have now been in and out of Memphis so many times that it is starting to feel like home.

Our next road trip was to Arkansas, into the mountains west of Little Rock to Petit Jean State Park. This park is their most popular park due to the unusual geological formations found there. In addition to bluffs, canyons, waterfalls and grottos; the turtle rocks are there. After a couple days of hiking there we headed farther west to Mt Nebo. Both of these parks were initially developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the 1930’s and their beautiful lodges and well worn trails are a testament to the quality of their manual labor. On the way back to Memphis we spent 2 nights at Village Creek State Park. Here we hiked on sections of the Old Military Road; better know as the Trail of Tears, used by the Creek, Chickasaw and Cherokees tribes forced to move west.

After another stay in Memphis, we headed east into northern Alabama, near Muscle Shoals. Due to heavy rains we sought out some museums. First stop was the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Nat King Cole, Lionel Richey, Hank Williams and others were featured. Pat wanted to see Helen Keller’s birthplace and a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, so we ran out of time and didn’t get to visit the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard. (The bird dog museum is in TN). We headed southwest into Mississippi, and for two days we traveled the middle section of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 440 mile road between Nashville, TN and Natchez MS. The original trace started out as Indian hunting trails. By 1810 it was the most heavily traveled road in the Old Southwest. Soon afterwards, steamboats provided safer and quicker transportation and the trace was abandoned. The Parkway parallels the original trace and there are many historical points of interest along the road.

Corinth MS, in 1862, was the strategic crossroads of 2 Confederate rail supply lines. This set the stage for the Battle of Shiloh. Here C.S.A. Gen. Johnson attacked Grant’s army by surprise before the Union army could march on Corinth. In two days of fighting, there were 23,746 casualties. After our battlefield tour, we returned to Memphis and visited the STAX Museum of American Soul Music, (Otis Redding, Booker T and others) and the Pink Palace, a regional history museum. With more time between doctor’s visits we were able to head into SE Missouri to visit the parks and springs around the Mark Twain NF. We ended the month with a 14 mile canoe trip on the scenic St François River. Health-wise I’m doing fine. No hospital visits this month, just a lot of blood tests.

Trip Update March 2007

This is the trip update were I was going to tell you about the wonders of the Copper Canyon in Mexico; how it is deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon and other such superlatives. Well you may have figured out that trip didn’t happen. In fact the trips to Hawaii and Australia and almost everything else we had planned to do this year will be postponed. How did I get into such a mess? Here’s the short version.

First I made the mistake of going to a doctor and telling him I was experiencing some shortness of breath when hiking in the mountains. Instead of telling me it was likely due to being over weight and out of shape, he scheduled me for a treadmill stress test. After reviewing my EKG, he said he saw an abnormality on my EKG at the end of the test. He referred me to a Cardiologist.

The Cardiologist said it’s probably nothing, but recommended a nuclear stress test. So they injected me with dye, hooked me up to the EKG machine and put me on the treadmill. Immediately the aids started to freak out - they thought I was having a heart attack. Turns out they set the EKG leads up incorrectly. (At least they figured that out before they administer the Last Rites).

Of course I had to return to my Cardiologist a week later to get the test results. The plan was to see him and then start our drive to Texas to start our Copper Canyon trip. However due to the results of the previous test, he said I needed an angiogram. I said fine, schedule one for next fall when I return to the area. No, this could not wait, he replied. We told him we were about to leave on a trip to Mexico. He made a few phone calls and scheduled an angiogram that afternoon at Washington Hospital Center. He said to come back and see him after the Mexico trip.

That same evening I was released from Washington Hospital Center with a clean bill of health. Blood flow to the heart was good, no stint needed. The next day, Friday, March 16, we got new tires on the front of the RV, put the trailer in storage, and headed for Texas via Lewisburg, WV and Louisville, KY. My post-OP instructions said to limit driving, so Pat did most of the driving. On Sunday we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with Pat’s friend Margaret, who is living in Louisville. My post OP instructions said to expect bruising and mild swelling, but by Sunday night my right leg was two inches in circumference larger than my left leg. Since I had not consumed that much cheesecake, Pat convinced me to call the Cardiologist, who advised me to get checked for internal bleeding or a blood clot.

We headed for the ER at St. Francis Hospital in suburban Memphis. The ER was great, except they found a blood clot near the incision point for the angiogram. I was admitted that day and expected to be out the next day. My delight in having a private room and my high esteem for the hospital gradually eroded as an overnight stay continued to be extended indefinitely. The whole point of my stay was to thin my blood to therapeutic levels by an IV drip of Heparin. A week later I was released and we planned to go to Branson MO for a week of R&R. That fantasy died quickly when we found out I needed daily monitoring of my blood level. By the following weekend we did get away to Branson for two nights. A severe pain on my right side got me another ER visit. Three hours later I was OK and released. I hope April will be better!

Climb Every Mountain

Before I retired I did a presentation on goal setting. Setting goals can change your life. I know people who have set goals to climb the highest peak in each state. Some want to climb the highest peak on each continent. Some have visited all the state capitals. My goal, while not as “lofty” as those above, is no less challenging. In fact I believe my goal has never been reached by anyone in the history of the world. I have contacted Ripley’s to document my achievements so there will be no doubt as to who is the record holder.
My goal is to be the first person hospitalized in all 50 states. Concurrently I will be working toward my follow up goal of being the first person hospitalized in fifty foreign countries. Wish me luck!

State count: Hawaii, Maryland, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee; plus Washington D.C. for bonus points.
Foreign County count: Netherlands (Bonaire)

I used to collect souvenir tee shirts. When I got too many tee shirts, I switched to hats; but how many hats do you need? Then we covered the refrigerator with souvenir magnets. Of course in the RV we don’t even have space for magnets. Now I’m collecting hospital wrist bands!

Don

Trip Update Feb. 2007

We started this month at Myakka State Park, near Sarasota, which is as far south as we got this trip. We took a wildlife cruise on the lake at the park, but the weather was too cold and windy for much activity. We headed up to the Hillsboro SP, near Tampa, and canoed the Hillsboro River down to the Dead River. We proceeded to Silver Lake SP because other campers were telling us how nice it was. From here we canoed Juniper Springs, in Ocala National Forest, our all time favorite creek. It is very small, but beautiful, full of twists with wildlife beyond each turn. Since Silver Springs was right next to the campground, we decided to check it out. See the separate attachment, “Monkey Business” for a report on this visit.

At Manatee Springs, we went out with a manatee expert and several manatees swam up to our canoe. In west central FL we found some real wilderness in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, good for canoeing, dirt biking and dry camping. We explored Cedar Key and learned about its history of pine, cypress and cedar logging (for pencils) and collecting oysters, fish, sponges and sea turtles until the supplies ran out due to exploitation.

We joined a Winnebago RV club for Rialta owners. It turned out they were having a get together of Rialta owners in north Florida. Forty-six Rialtas in one campground was quite a sight. We compared modifications, exchanged ideas, and even got some modifications completed.

We entered the Okefenokee Swamp from the west side and camped at Stephen Foster SP. The canoeing was excellent, large gators were everywhere. The west side is much more scenic than the east side where we canoed previously. Tall cypress trees covered with Spanish Moss lined the waterways. We practically had the swamp all to ourselves.

Did you know?
Raccoons wash their food because they can not produce saliva.
Owls have to swivel their heads because their eyes are fixed in their socket.
Stephen Foster never saw the Suwannee River.
Rednecks go to Napa Valley to see how they make auto parts.

Monkey Business

Last month I told you about the alligators and manatees in Florida; now would you believe me if I told you there were wild monkeys there also. Actually most people in Florida and even some people who should know such things (like naturalists and park rangers) are unaware of this fact

Although I’ve been to Central Florida at least a dozen times, I had never visited Silver Springs. Maybe you have never been there either, but I am sure you have seen it. All of the “Sea Hunt” TV shows were filmed there, the first six Tarzan movies, and several scenes from James Bond movies were also filmed there. Also the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and other jungle/ underwater movies were shot at the Springs. So one day we went there and toured the grounds. We also took three different glass bottom boat rides along different sections of the Sliver River. We floated over the large sink where Silver Spring emerges from the ground.

We learned a lot about the history of the place. It has been a commercial resort 23 years before Walt Disney was born. In the 1930’s Colonel Tooey, a concessionaire who operated the Jungle Cruise boat ride, deposited a boat load of Rhesus Monkeys on a island at the resort. The next day he brought a boat load of tourist to the resort to see his latest attraction. As luck would have it, there was one thing he did not know about these moneys - they were excellent swimmers! When the tourists arrived at the island, the island was deserted. Over the 80+ years since then, the monkeys have appeared over much of east central Florida, but are still mostly in the area where they got off the boat (just like a lot of New Yorkers). We did not see any monkeys that day, although one of our guides said he has seen them on a previous trip that day. Now I really wanted to see them. The next alternative was to canoe up the Silver River and hope that we see them.

We had never canoed the Silver River before because we thought access to the springs was blocked by the resort. We learned this was not the case, so we set out on our quest for the elusive wild monkeys of Sliver Springs. The Silver River, of course, starts at Silver Spring. This is a first magnitude spring, discharging 500 million gallons a day of 71 degree water year-round. This is one of the largest springs in a state full of springs. It took 3 hours of steady paddling to travel the five miles to the springs. On the way up we saw 22 gators, lots of beautiful tropical birds and hundreds of turtles; but not a single monkey! We floated over the spring and saw underwater props from an old James Bond movie. We started our easy paddle back down river. After about two miles we saw a few canoes near shore. They had found a group of about 16 monkeys. A mile downstream, we found another group of 8 monkeys. It made our day! Now the Silver River is our favorite canoe run – in a state of wonderful canoeing spots.