On the Road Again (Finally)

Wow!  It's been awhile since we last traveled with many interesting and challenging adventures along the way.  We returned home from our winter trip to Texas sans the rig which we left in San Antonio for some new upgrades.  We piled most of our belongings into a small U-Haul that we pulled behind our SUV and headed home.  Once home the Captain went to his local orthopedic surgeon to confirm he had a torn meniscus in his left leg.  Since it was going to be a month before we had to drive back and pick up the rig in San Antonio we decided this was a good time to get his leg fixed.  The Captain had also been having some problems with his feet so we figured the orthopedist could address that issue, too.  Little did we know..........

Several weeks before his surgery I was out walking our two pups when I came across a black lab that looked like a mess.  At first I thought it had the mange but when it got closer I realized it had been in a horrendous dog fight.  It took two days and the Captain's help, along with many dog treats, to finally capture him.  And that begins our adventure with Rowdy.

This is how he looked the day we caught him.  Since it was a Sunday we took him to an emergency vet. He was in a great deal of distress with a high fever and swollen lymph nodes.  The vet said without help he would have died from sepsis as the infection was going into his blood stream.  We had to give the vet a name for him so I picked Rowdy.  

The vet sedated him and then shaved all the fur off his muzzle.  He brought us in to see him after he had cleansed all the wounds.  It was unbelievable how many bites he had.

The vet told us he had many other bites all over his body so it was a gang attack but the other bites were healing and the antibiotics would take care of them. 

This is how he looked after his surgery with a special cream smeared on his face to prevent itching and help to heal the wounds.

Twice a day the Captain diligently smeared the cream on his face and Rowdy was a very good patient.  We kept him in the garage so our pups wold leave him alone and also because he was dirty and full of fleas.

A week later we took him to our regular vet and he was given all his shots and tested for heartworm which luckily was negative. We checked with all our neighbors within a mile radius and no one claimed him.  One woman said he had been living in the woods and occasionally showed up at her house and shared a meal with her dog.  We knew he was young though, probably around a year old or less.  The final step was to get him neutered which was accomplished a week later.

After a pill to kill the adult fleas (we already had him on Frontline but it wasn't enough), and a deworming to get rid of the intestinal bugs followed by a nice warm bath,  Rowdy joined us in the house.  No bugs, no fleas, a tummy full of food, and a family to love you. What more could a pup ask for! 

  
Rowdy thrived and he quickly lived up to his name.  He became good friends with Desi and they played together all the time.  Lucy looked on with contempt because she is beyond those shenanigans at her mature age.

His face healed nicely and started looking like the beautiful lab that he is.

Rowdy also learned to love the water and retrieving a ball was one of his favorite games.

In our area there is an organization called Dog4U that helps unwanted or stray dogs to find a forever home in Massachusetts.  We knew we would not be able to keep Rowdy and honestly, it broke my heart because he was so easy to love.  But traveling in an RV with three dogs is difficult and it wasn't fair to Desi and Lucy because Rowdy was young and needed a good deal of attention. So we contacted the group and they made arrangements to have him shipped to the Northeast.  The state of Massachusetts has very strict spay-neuter laws so there is a shortage of animals to adopt.  A continual need for adoptable dogs and cats alleviates some of the overpopulation in the southeastern US but there are still tens of thousands of animals being euthanized each year.  Before Rowdy left I wrote a bio on him which went to the no-kill shelter in Sudbury, MA, where he was going. Five families had signed up to adopt him before he even arrived. The shelter very carefully vets all potential adopters to make sure the dog is placed with the right family and he was placed in his forever home in less than a week.

We received this picture of Rowdy in his new home.  They have renamed him Murphy and he is already becoming a BFF with their cat, Mercedes.  Looks like there are children's shoes in the background which means he has kids to play with which is great because he is such an active pup.  But I still miss him alot, he was an awesome pup.

Not too long after Rowdy left us our oldest granddaughter, Katelyn, graduated from college.  We went to the graduation and also helped empty out her dorm room to bring back all her "stuff" to her mom's house.

There she is, second from the left, that good looking red head with the big smile on her face.  She earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics with honors in three years so we are very proud of her.

Katelyn with her mom, Beth, and brother Lee.

Katelyn and her fiancee, Cole, who is studying to be a minister.

Our other daughter, Lynn, and husband Anthony, with theirs kids,  Madeleine and Dane, drove all the way down from Pennsylvania to attend.

Interesting........our oldest graduated from college and the youngest, Madeleine, is starting 1st grade this fall.

After the graduation Katelyn jumped on a plane and flew to France and Austria for a ten day trip with some other students from her school.  When she got back we helped pack all her "stuff" up again and drove her back to Winthrop to move her into an apartment she is sharing with two other girls while she matriculates in an advanced Master's program for the next 12 months.  Whew!

Oh yeah, a picture of a couple of old people who also got invited to the shindig.

Okay, back to the Captain story, or should I say Captain Stubby which is now his current name.  A week after his surgery he was not using a crutch as he should have and stepped wrong pulling his hamstring in the same leg that had just been operated on. That really messed things up and we are still struggling with it today.  We went back to the same doctor regarding the pain in his feet which the doctor diagnosed as plantar fasciatis and spent way too many weeks messing around with orthopedic inserts with still no relief.  After an x-ray of one foot and an MRI the doctor recommended aquatic therapy which was a good four weeks after going through regular physical therapy for his knee.

Finally, in frustration, we went to a doctor in Charlotte who is a podiatrist and surgeon and we brought along copies of the foot x-ray and MRI.  The doctor never even looked at them, in fact, he scoffed. He started massaging the Captain's foot and we heard a sharp and painful crack which was the doctor moving the cuboid bone in his foot back into the proper alignment.  He said the Captain had cuboid syndrome which is:

A condition that develops through either a single traumatic event or repetitive strain over time.  The cuboid bone is one of the seven tarsal bones located on the outer side of the foot.  The bone is cube-shaped and connects the foot and the ankle.  The cuboid helps provide for the stability of the foot and the movement of the toes, in addition to ensuring proper weight distribution and flexibility along the plantar fascia that runs along the sole of the foot.

 Turns out you can't even see the problem on an x-ray or MRI. So much for the orthopedist that we were seeing in our home town.  He may be okay on knees but he knows nothing about the feet.

We saw the foot specialist several times before we left on our trip this year.  He had to manipulate the cuboid bone in both of the Captain's feet.  The problem came about more than a year ago when we were clearing land on our property and the Captain twisted his foot wrong which caused this very small bone to pop out of alignment.  It is a much more common occurrence than we knew and happens often to runners and athletes.  The Captain's had become chronic because he tried to work around it for so long.

So now we are into special exercises that I do on his feet each day, a change in footwear to running shoes versus walking shoes because they have a stronger arch, and deep tissue massage which helps mainly his hamstring which is still causing way too much trouble.  What a mess!  Captain Stumpy is slowly improving and that is what is important.  

Out next adventure was our younger daughter and family moving from the Philadelphia area to Richmond, VA, and the purchase of a home in the suburb of Glen Allen.  It is a very nice area with good schools for the tots and the Captain and I became the advance crew arriving two weeks before they got there.  During that time we painted rooms, repainted all the cabinets and shelves in the kitchen and bathrooms, replaced a sink/cabinet in the utility room, changed out the electrical switches in the rooms we painted and other sundry jobs.  

Captain Stumpy working on base molding after he removed the old utility sink to be able to put the new one in.

We needed to get the new one in before the movers brought the washer and dryer since the room is a little on the snug side.

While in Richmond, VA, the RV park we stayed at could not accommodate us for a couple days so we drove over to Charlottesville to check out the area.

We took a drive up to Carter Mountain Orchard and saw some great views of the city below.

It was a nice place and the peaches we purchased were delicious. 

Our next stop was a place called Michie Tavern, a Virginia Historic Landmark that was established in 1784 by a Scotsman named William Michie.  The tavern served as the social center of the community and provided travelers with food, drink, and lodging.  It was owned by the Michie family until 1910.

The property has many Civil War artifacts for sale along with a general store, metal shop, tours of the old buildings and a very popular restaurant. 

This is a tear catcher popular during the war when those mourning the loss of a loved one would collect the tears in a bottle with special stoppers that allowed the tears to evaporate. When the tears were gone the mourning period ended.

Civil War items for sale.

A 100 lb cannon ball from the Civil War on sale for $800.

Amazing the difference between the two.

The metal shop had some lovely items.

The main restaurant was very beautiful but too crowded to get into the day we were there.

We visited several wineries in the area including one called Gabrielle Rouse. Run by two sons whose father had come here from Italy and started the vineyard, the tasting room was set in the woods in a very peaceful area. The wine was quite good but the funniest part was the family dogs interacting with our pups. Desi and Lucy were on leash and one of the owner's dogs took Desi's leash in its mouth and started walking him all over the property. 

Their yellow lab leading Desi into the woods near the tasting room.

The whole time we were there Desi was led around and didn't seem to mind a bit.  Other wine tasters were amused and took multiple pictures of the pair. 

One of the wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail.  We did not stop in.

Oh, did I forget, we also babysat a 130 lb Great Pyrenees for ten days until our daughter's move to Virginia was completed.  Richmond has had a good deal of rain this season and Daisy is afraid of thunderstorms so it was another adventure with her each day.

Sharing the rig with Daisy and our two pups.  Since we had just had our carpeting replaced in the rig and Daisy is a panter and drooler, we gated off the back area which made our space even smaller.  Notice I was drinking a glass of wine:)

Daisy freaking out during one of the many thunderstorms we encountered. 

Giving her melatonin only calmed her down a small amount so during the bad storms we sat up with her at night until they passed.

While babysitting, we took her into a groomer for a bath, haircut, and fur thinning and this was the results.

What a face!  Gotta love her.

She even posed long enough to show off one of the Captain's hats.

Finally the furniture arrived and we helped Anthony to get it all moved in and accounted for.  Several days later Lynn and the kids arrived.  We painted a few more rooms, helped arrange furniture and hung pictures on the walls to make it look more like home. 

The Captain checked off boxes as they were taken into the house.  By this time he could barely walk.

And then the day to leave came.  We finished as much as we could accomplish, left Lynn, Anthony, and the kids with tons more work to do, and waved goodbye as we headed north toward our rendezvous in New York.

Waving goodbye to our daughter as we left her in her newly purchased home.  We did promise to stop back in the fall on our way home knowing she already had more plans for us!

Driving through Virginia into Pennsylvania with all the beautiful mountains in the background.

A good part of the trip was driving along the beautiful Susquehanna River in PA.  

We spent the first night in a small town in Pennsylvania.  Early the next morning we left for our first stop in New York.  Or so we thought!  Our rear passenger hydraulic slide decided it didn't want to stay in and luckily we saw it happening before we left the campground.  The Captain jammed a piece of firewood into the gear section to keep it mostly closed and immobilized and we headed north. Entering New York we found an RV service center that took us in right away.  They fixed the problem but after testing it several times they saw there was another issue.  The motor controlling both slides on the passenger side was failing and they recommended it be replaced.  So that is on order now and when it comes in we will drive back to the service center and have the old motor replaced.  Never a dull moment with Captain Stumpy and his entourage.  Peace!

Our Crazy Winter Trip

Our plan was to leave early January for Mission, Texas, the same place we vacationed last year.  On Christmas Day we drove to Charlotte to spend the holiday with family and on the way home we were in an accident. We were only about 20 miles from home on a two lane highway when a car failed to yield at a stop sign and pulled out in front of our car.

Luckily no one was hurt in either car but the old Trailblazer was messed up pretty well. 

The car has a few years and miles on it but we wanted to keep it until we went to Alaska because the roads can be challenging up that way.

No major damage was done to the engine so the insurance company did not total it.  Of course, since it was the holidays, it took some time to get an appraisal and start the work on repairing the car.  Luckily it was not our fault so the other driver's insurance had to pay.  The work was completed on the 15th of January and we were on the road on the 16th heading to Richmond, VA. Right.....that is not the way to Texas!  Our younger daughter and family found out they were moving to Richmond from Philadelphia, PA, and she asked if the Captain and I would drive up there first and meet her to look at houses to purchase. We arrived in Richmond on Martin Luther King weekend and toured the area and homes on Saturday and Sunday.

While we were there it started to rain, the weather turned colder, and ice started forming.  It wasn't enough to mess up the roads which is a blessing but it didn't help our rig out at all.  On Monday morning when the Captain went to close the slides so we could leave, they wouldn't go in.  The slide toppers above the slides had filled up with water which had frozen and it was a mess.  The Captain had to climb up onto the roof of the rig carrying a broom and slide along on his belly to "chop" the ice off the toppers.  It was a cold and dangerous assignment but he is the Captain!

We left Richmond and spent the first night in North Carolina.  It was still quite cold and all we wanted to do was get to the warmer weather.  Second day we were in Norcross, GA, all set up for the night and eating our dinner when we heard a loud bang.  It sounded like the side of the rig had been hit.  The Captain went outside to look and noticed the rear passenger slide was not quite straight.  When he pushed on it it moved inward and hydraulic fluid came running out.  We were unable to close the slide so we called a roadside service and they came the next morning.  They told us our hydraulic line had broken causing the fluid to spill out and they were not equipped to fix problems like that.  So after getting more equipment, they were able to force the slide in and wedge a piece of wood into the side of the slide to keep it closed and we were able to continue on our trip.

When we got into Texas we saw ads for a gas station called Buc-ee's that sells diesel, too.  They have very good prices so we decided to stop and fill up at one of them.

The place has close to one hundred pumping stations.

It also has a dog walking area with cute reminder signs.

Walking into the store there were rows and rows of ice machines.

The store is huge and has all kinds of deli foods and clothes to buy, and many other sundry items.

Almost any kind of goodie one could imagine.

And other cute items to purchase.

The Captain was lucky enough to get a special picture taken with Buc-ee.

We finally limped into San Antonio, TX, to Iron Horse RV Maintenance.  We had already set up an appointment with them for our basic maintenance and we just added the hydraulic slide problem to the list.  One of the things we have found owning a rig is that there are few places where one can get really good maintenance.  Most shops are not certified or the technicians don't know enough about Class A motorhomes so often there are mistakes.  We had been to Iron Horse before and we liked their work which is why we came back.  The owner of the shop has a Class A so he understands how they work.  He has a list of items that should be checked after so many years or miles and we realized that these maintenance jobs had never been completed on our rig.  Most places just change the oil and lube a few things but that's it so if you don't know what you need you can't expect to have everything serviced.  We told the shop to go ahead and get everything checked out.  

Little did we know what this would involve.  The diesel engine is in the rear of the motorhome so they had to go through a trap door in the bedroom to get to it.  What we didn't know was they also had to go through the closet floor to get to all of the engine.  Since the floor is carpeted they had to cut through the carpeting to get to the second trap door.   That really proves that the needed maintenance work on the rig was never completed.

Everything from the closet had to be removed to get to the engine.

And then they had to remove one of the dresser drawers and cut the carpeting through that space to get into the engine.

Access to the diesel engine.

Men at work.  While doing the maintenance they found that our exhaust pipe had separated and the heat from the engine was being pushed back into the rig.  This is very dangerous and could cause a fire so we are glad they found and fixed it. 

I also had something stuck in my vacuum system and they had to get to it through a bathroom drawer.  Not a fun job.

Our front TV was also coming loose so they had to pull it out to fix the problem.

So after a week in San Antonio at Iron Horse RV we were able to head further south.  BTW, one of the nice things about Iron Horse is that they have power and water hookups so you can stay in your rig on their property while the work is being done unless it is something significant.

We drove from San Antonio to Fredericksburg, TX, to spend a few days before heading to Mission.

While there we spotted a car wash that also advertised a dog washing service so we took the pups in to get them cleaned up. 

       

We were able to wash both pups for ten bucks and they supplied everything needed for the bath.

Desi getting the works.

Wow! Two excited and clean dogs.  I wish they had these doggy washes in our area.

We arrived in Mission, TX, on February 1st for a month.  The park is very nice and the weather was absolutely fabulous in the upper 70's and 80's everyday and cool in the evening for sleeping so you could keep your windows open.

Right outside the park there are plenty of things to do.

This is where we stay in Mission.

Spring was already beautifying the area.

Rigs can either park on the sides of Bentsen Palm or around four separate circles in the center of the park.  We like the circle area  because it gives you great views and seems roomier.  Inside each circle is a palapa used for entertainment.  This palapa has pool tables in it.

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The circle we were on.

This year we put up a screen attached to the awning to give us some shade.  It really came in handy. The pups got so used to it we could let them lay out there without leashes and they stayed in the area. 

One of the things we like about this RV park is that it is very dog friendly.  The dog run area is huge and in the afternoon there can be 20+ dogs all running around and playing while the owners chat.  It is also a great way to make new friends.

One of my favorites is "Freckles".  She was only 10 months old and just full of herself.  She is a mix of Great Pyrenees and Border Collie.  She has the size and personality of  the Pyrenees and some of the color markings of the Collie.  She was very shy when we first met her but soon became friendly and played with our dogs.

We adopted Desi from the Cinderella Pet Rescue which is a no-kill shelter in Mission, TX.  Every year they have two benefits in February to support the shelter.  The woman who owns and runs the shelter, Suzanne, opened it in 2008.  She is a widow who spends all her time and efforts to help needy animals in the area.  Along with dogs, she also rescues cats, boards horses, and runs a bed and breakfast.  All pets that are rescued are spayed or neutered and chipped.  And to do that she has to drive them to Brownsville 1.5 hours away because it is the cheapest spay/neuter clinic she can find. 

They get all their annual shots along with monthly heartworm medicine and Frontline for fleas and ticks.  In the cooler months of the year the Winter Texans spend many, many hours volunteering at the shelter to help.  Suzanne receives no financial aid from any government agency so the benefits and donations are vital to her operation.  This past year with the help of the volunteers, large pens were built to allow the rescues a place to run and play in groups. It is to help socialize the dogs with others.  The dogs wear special colored collars to identify the personality of the animal; shy, rough and tumble, aggressive, and so on.  The runs have swimming pools for the dogs to play in and cool off.  A volunteer is in each run with the dogs to supervise and monitor their behavior.  Also this year all the dog pens had covers erected over the dog houses so the animals would have more shade in the hot summer.  

The first benefit was at Bentsen Palm Ratama which is right next door to where we stay.  In this RV park the people purchase their lots/homes for their RVs.  The benefit was a lovely sit down dinner with items that were raffled off afterwards. Many of the volunteers at Cinderella live here and donate their time several days a week.  Many of them also have pets they adopted from Cinderella.

In our RV park we have an annual dog parade and they also sell raffle items and provide food to purchase.  But for this one the dogs are the center of attention and awards are given for the best dressed dogs.  Here are a few of the many imaginative costumes these pups paraded.

This is "Ammo".  He's a Great Dane/Mastiff combination. 

He was in a Harley Davidson outfit.

For such a big boy he is just the sweetest laid-back pup.

"Murray"

This little girl is "Pippa".  She only weighs a few pounds but runs with the larger dogs every chance she gets.

Right......

Dogs of all shapes and sizes were present.

"Kaiser" is a beautiful Boxer dressed as Batman.

Another favorite of mine is Miles.  He was dressed as a US Border Patrol dog.  Check out the pistol on his side!  

He can also carry three tennis balls in his mouth at one time.  Never saw anything like it!

Even a Green Bay fan.

They also brought rescues from Cinderella who are looking for a forever home.

The mama of these puppies was pregnant when she came to Cinderella.  These cuties are now up for adoption.

 Both benefits are a lot of fun and for a good cause but there is also a darker side to the conditions of many of these dogs.  Too many dogs are abandoned in the area or are taken away from abusive homes and they wind up at Cinderella.  Suzanne purposely chips all her dogs even though her adoption process is quite lengthy.  Some people decide they just don't want the pet later but don't want to take it back to Cinderella so the pet is dumped somewhere or taken to a dog pound.  Many times Suzanne has been called because the pound checked for a chip and found out the animal was from Cinderella.  The dog is always brought back to her facility to save it.  

 The next picture is very ***GRAPHIC***.  I show it only so you will know what a great organization this is and how much they help unwanted animals.

This poor animal was found almost dead.  This is a picture of him when he was first picked up.  He spent a good deal of time at the vets getting stabilized and then weeks in a foster home before he was well enough for adoption.

This is "Rex" today.  He is at Cinderella now awaiting a forever home.  He is the sweetest, most gentle guy and so happy to get a pat on the head or a little loving.   I  still am amazed he survived at all.

So that is why we support the Cinderella Pet Rescue.  It is great organization that is always in need of help.  If you love animals and are looking for a charity this might be just the one for you.

While in the southern Texas area, we checked out some of the local stores to see all the colorful pottery.

They even had Texas-flavored bedroom suites.

This table was carved from one piece of stone and decorated with a lovely Mexican dish setting.

One day we drove about an hour west to Falcon State Park to take the pups on a hike on the Rio Grande River and saw more signs of spring.

The trees were full but not very large.

Across Falcon Dam you could see mountains on the Mexico side.

And we finally got to see one of the wild boars of Texas that we were warned about.  Actually they are peccaries which are somewhat related to the pigs but are no longer classified in the pig family.  In Texas they are called javelinas and are usually daylight animals.  They can live in groups of up to 50 and sleep in burrows at night under the roots of trees or in caves.  Although they mostly ignore humans they will react if frightened and can defend themselves with long tusks.  They normally feed on cactus, mesquite beans, fruits, roots and small vertebrates.

We had parked at a campsite at Falcon Dam and saw them as we were leaving.  They will also hang around camp areas looking for trash. 

They are big enough that you don't want to get close to them, especially with dogs.

The land out here is very dry and stark and most of the towns are small along the Rio Grande.

This town was called Rio Grande City and if you turned one block to the south you would find the international border with Mexico.  

Much of the town was old and failing but the newer sections were further out.

We saw this large cathedral and were curious to know what it was so we stopped by.  It was a local bank.  Only in Texas!

March 1st we left Mission and drove back up to San Antonio.  And guess where we wound up?  The Iron Horse RV Maintenance Shop.  We decided we wanted a few more items repaired on the rig such as new slide toppers, repair of a wall in the rig that had water damage, new carpeting in the rig, and a few other things.  Well, remember when I said you could stay in your rig while the work was being done unless it was something significant.  This work is!  So what we did was rent a small U-Haul and we drove back home with part of our worldly goods to South Carolina.  The work is supposed to be completed in a month and then we have to get in the car and drive all the way back again to pick up the rig and drive it home.

It was a long trip home from San Antonio and the pups were exhausted riding in the back of the SUV.  We haven't had the heart to tell them we are going back again in less than a month!   Peace!