Arrived in Vancouver ...............

early this afternoon and we're camped out in front of Dug's house. Got electricity, satellite TV working and Becky has her internet so we're both happy. We'll be here until Thursday when we have our reservation at Paradise Point.

Got things kinda settled in and then "B" and I went in search of some lunch............stopped at Goldie's BarBQue joint and it was OK. I like my ribs with the meat falling off the bone; but, these weren't.........good flavor and the sauce was good too. We might be back.

Damn, I left the Jeep keys and remote clicker at home.........think I left them in the Honda when I parked it in the garage. Anyway, we went looking for a locksmith. Found one and because of the chip in the ignition key it would cost over $60.00 for a duplicate...........still cheaper than the dealer. We'll have our friend check the Honda and mail my keys to me if that's where I left them. Otherwise, bye bye $60+

Rained most of the night at the Oregon state park and we had some rain off and on on the way to Vancouver. Right now it's cleared up; but, probably more rain tomorrow. We were going to Woodland to have dinner with the Beagles; but, now the rain is pushing them North sooner than expected so that lets dinner out. Talked to Larry and we'll get together later this week or after we get back from Coos Bay.

That's about it. W&B

Made It Through Another Week..............

without any gigantic problems tummy wise. We did go to the Casino on Friday, which is seafood buffet, and they had Dungness Crab so we had to give it a go. I pigged out on the crab.........sorta of a "dry run" for when we hit the Oregon Coast and can really pig out on FRESH crab. Had some tenderness in a couple of spots but the old system seems to be working pretty well. Haven't had the courage to try a rib eye yet; but, soon!

Got up early this morning and started loading trailer with RZR goodies and finishing up the M/H. It was nice and cool then; but, managed to warm up pretty good as noon time rolled around. Since most of the big stuff is done we took a casino break about 1400 and I managed to escape with $40 of their money. Last trip until August so left it on a good note...........

Got a few more things to secure on the trailer and then tomorrow morning we'll just pack up stuff in fridge, computer goodies, etc. and should be outta here before noon. No hurry to get on the road as we'll only be going up to Valley of the Rogue SP or else Seven Feathers Casino and that shouldn't take much more than 5 hours. Depends on how "warm" it is, if it's hot we stay at the SP with electricity. If not too warm we'll camp on in the casino parking lot.

Gonna meet up with some of our Yuma Caching Buds on Wednesday, la84fishn and Beagle 39z. Beagles (Wayne and Phyllis) are heading toward Issaquah where they'll be baby sitting a day use park and Larry lives in Gresham so hopefully we'll get together for dinner in Woodland.............or someplace. Knee giving me some problems the last few days so if I take in easy the next two days maybe we'll be able to do a little caching in the Woodland area on Wednesday. Time will tell.

That's it for now...........in a couple of days we'll be in tall tree country where it'll probably be raining. W&B

Made It To Sunday...................

...without pigging out on anything and so far so good. Old digestive track seems to be handling everything I've thrown at it the past few days. Still would like a nice ribeye; but, that's probably further down the road..........also no veggies (the fresh variety). All in all I'm doing pretty good............well pretty good for "someone my age!)

Went to the big "give away a wallet" at casino night last night and I spent 45 minutes waiting in a line for a wallet with $5.00. Well, not all that time in line as Becky and took turns standing in line and playing the slots. The first machine I played I was ahead $48.00 so we managed to play it down to where I cashed in $10 and that combined with my $5 wallet gave us enough money to have dinner at Denny's. I tried some pancakes and B had some kind of shrimp salad. First time I've eaten out in a month.

Today was Father's Day at the casino, so we filled up with gas (at least we put in over $10.00 to turn in the casino for play points) and found the casino so crowded that we didn't want to stand in line with our gas receipts. They were giving away $100 every 1/2 hour and we spent some time there playing pennies; but, my name was never called.

Finally came home, stopped at the store and picked up some hamburger and I wolfed down a cheeseburger when we got home. Hamburger from the local store and this time we had some flavor with the meat. It doesn't pay to shop haphazardly for hamburger.

Hearing aids doing me some good (I think) 'cause I don't have the TV blaring out and I can actually make out some the words. I was curious about the VA hearing aids and today I looked them up on the internet and found they would have cost me $2700 if I had paid for them. It's taken a long time; but, I'm getting some returns from the VA!

Well, gonna kick back the rest of today and then get the M/H ready to roll in 8 or 9 days. Later. W&B

Saw The Doc Today...........

and he poked on my belly, asked a few questions, refilled a prescription and told me I could start on "soft food"; but, don't pig out on anything. Gotta go see him again when we get back from PNW in August. He said I'd probably have to watch my diet for the next decade or so; or, until I kiss this world goodbye..........whichever comes sooner.

We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some goodies.........among them hamburger. Well, I got home, whipped up some hamburger gravy, slopped it over a bun and had it for supper. Bummer...........the gravy was so bland I couldn't taste it......added some salt, tried again, more salt and couldn't even much taste the salt! Doc said pasta, mashed potatoes, etc. and avoid fresh fruits and vegetables as these are the things that may cause me problems. He recommended I stay on soft foods at least until I return to see him in August. Well, I'll try.

Got some goodies in for the RZR so just loaded it up and will take it to the dealer in Red Bluff tomorrow. He said he could get everything installed next week if he had it before Saturday. Got a fuel injection management system and good thing I'm taking it to the dealer as I read everything and couldn't understand anything. Guess I'm old school as I understand a carburetor system better............well a little better.

If things stay on schedule right now we should be heading North on the 27th or 28th of June. Later. W&B

Time Still Passing Rather Slowly...........

.....but at least it's passing with nicer weather all this last week and looking good for the coming days.

Still on my liquid diet.....at least until I see the Doc on Thursday and then hoping I can start adding some "soft" food to the mix. A big old juicy hamburger sounds pretty good right now.

We've been making our casino runs regularly and filling up the gas tank $10.00 at a time so Becky can take the receipt to the casino and get $10.00 of play for each slip. She's done pretty good at that and we've gotten a lot of "free play".

Gotta get out and do a little more so mowed the front weeds yesterday; but, ran out of gas (me) before I finished up the backside. Maybe I'll finish that today before it gets too hot. This sitting around is costing me money..........been surfing the web looking for goodies for my RZR and spending money on it like a drunken sailor. I've got an electric power steering kit that should arrive on Monday, a set of sand tires that I had sent to Johnny in Oregon and I'm pondering over a Yoshimura Exhaust for it. After that I won't have money to buy gas for it! So it goes.

Gotta go pick up some prescriptions in Red Bluff so better do that before it warms up too much. Still driving my old Honda and it's still running pretty good although no AC. I drove 166 miles with it, filled it up with gas and it took 4.1 gallons to fill. Damn good for an old beater! Guess $12.00 worth of new spark plugs helped it out. All for now. W

Still Surviving.............

......but, just barely. Haven't seen any "solid" food for so long that I wouldn't even know what it tastes like. Doc ses "liquids" only........at least until I see him on June 16. So, I've been drinking Ensure, making milkshakes, downing tea and apple juice and water. Went to the casino briefly today and pigged out on lemonade........Doc ses no carbonated soda either.

Been taking some little bitty pills he prescribed that are supposed to help the old innards respond........only problem is they are doing too good a job and I have to stick close to home when I take one. Oh well, can't last forever.

Becky pitching me crap today because I hopped in the car and drove downtown for the mail and some other goodies. "You aren't supposed to drive for six weeks!" Bah Humbug!

Rain finally disappeared today and it's nice, warm and sunny; however, don't know how long that will last. All the rain and sun is sure making the weeds grow...........and I'm not up to mowing the lawn yet. Just getting a bit better day by day and I think we'll be ready to head North by the end of June.

That's about it for us........later. w&b

Got Home at 1800...............

this afternoon..............now if I can just stay here for awhile. Doc ses "LIQUID" diet for the at least three weeks. And NO Pepsi or carbonated drinks. Bummer.

Ill probably lose a 100 pounds. Later. w43

Holy Crap................

...been a long time since last update so will catch you up somewhat. After I went home after surgery on May 22 I ended back in the hospital on May 25.........seems that my bowels decided that they weren't going to cooperate. So, back to hook ups with IVs and a nose tube and bed rest. A few days of that and I got unhooked from the tubes, ate liquid lunch, liquid breakfast the next day and about noon I was back to being hooked up with my tubes again.........digestive tract still too lazy to work!!

So I've been walking the hallways, eating through an IV and trying to stay warm. I finally found someone with enough "juice" to get me a space heater for my room so the last 3 nights have been tolerable. Didn't know it at the time; but, a lady asked if I needed anything...........I send yes, a space heater. She said I'd have one before she left for the day........lo and behold it appeared in my room. I was talking to the Nurse Supervisor and didn't know it. She'll be my best bud for life!

Last night I had NG tube blocked off and this morning they removed it. Had a late "liquid" lunch and right now I'm just waiting to see if everything remains where it should. My Doc came in and said I could go home this afternoon if lunch stays with me. Becky just arrived with my computer so I'm using the time to update the blog.

Hopefully, will be home this evening. More later...........it's been a long 16 days; but, think I can see a little light at the end of the tunnel. W

Been Another Long Week.....................

.....as I went in for surgery to have gall bladder removed on Wednesday and the Doctor sprang me from the hospital this afternoon. Supposed to have been an hour or so to remove gall bladder arthoscopically........no such luck. I had surgery 25 or 26 years ago and the Doc found my belly to be quite a mess from previous surgery. All kinds of scar tissue and the small intestine wasn't located where it was supposed to be. The Doc spent about 2 hours fixing those problems and then another hour to take out the gall bladder. It was in pretty bad shape........walls thickened, sludge and puss floating around in it and I had a 3 centimeter stone threatening to plug up the ducts. He took it out and I guess I spent over 3 hours in surgery. Anyway, he said it was "remarkable" that I was even walking around. I guess I could have been in serious trouble if I didn't get the surgery when I did. Good news is.......I'm starting to mend only it'll take about 6 weeks for recovery instead of 3 or so he originally estimated. Gonna slow down our exodus to the Pacific Northwest........just wanna get there in time to go duning at Coos Bay in July. Shouldn't have any problems making those date.

They have some more tests to run me through because of the gall bladder pathology report so gotta wait for those results. In the meantime Becky is acting as my "slave".........which will probably only last for today and possibly tomorrow and then back to "Do It Yourself!!" Oh well, I'll milk it as long as I can.

Anyway, that's where we are at this time for those of you who've been following our progress. More later, looks like I'll have a bit of time on my hands.............casino here I come! W&B

Big Cold Snap Hits Corning...............

and we've been freezing our butts off! Didn't get out of the 50s today and it's breezy making everything seem like it's below zero!! Well, maybe I exaggerate somewhat.

The Junior Rodeo was held this weekend and since it's held a few blocks away we could hear the loudspeaker blasting away on Friday and Saturday. Must be over with 'cause I haven't hear a thing today. Kinda considered going over; but, weather cooled down and I'm not that much into the "cowboy" scene. Maybe next year.

Friday I saw a Suzuki Vitara offered for sale in Paradise, about 40 miles down the road, the price was right...........actually very good. So away we went to have a look at it........ran out pretty nice and it had A/C; but, the check engine light was on and it wouldn't pass SMOG. Finally decided that it wasn't for us. Anyway, we checked out Paradise, got lost once, stopped at Costco in Chico so the whole day wasn't a total loss. Still looking for something with air conditoning so guess I will continue to look.

Made a few runs to the casino, lost some, won some so came out about "even" in our gambling. The casino is giving a $10.00 promotion on your player's card if you bring in a gas receipt for more than $10.00. Been filling up the Jeep and Honda a little at a time so Becky has about 4 entries in the daily drawing. They give away $100.00 a day in addition to putting the ten bucks on your card. What a gimmick to get you to stop by..............which is no biggie for us as we seem to make a daily run out there anyway. Being 10 minutes away doesn't help. So far no luck on the daily drawing.

Got pre-op appointment at the hospital tomorrow afternoon and still scheduled to go in for surgery on Wednesday. Other than that, nothing much happening here. Later. W&B

Tuesday.............

and not much happening. Coming back from Woodland I got a "check engine" light shining on the dash like a diamond in a goat's butt in the M/H. Called local Ford and they now have it and are checking it out. I "think" the power train is still under warranty as I have under 12,000 miles on it. Hopefully it'll get fixed under warranty. Time will tell.

Had a Dr. appointment on Monday with a surgeon in Red Bluff. I was referred to him after my bout with diverticulitis.............he said he didn't see any evidence of diverticulitis in the test results. However, he said I had a "classic VA gall bladder"...........I said "huh" and he explained that a lot of vets come in with a gall bladder similar to mine and usually they have no complaints; but, he highly recommended that I have it removed before I really have "problems". It was probably the gall bladder that was giving me fits instead of diverticulitis. Anyway, I finally said "OK" so I'll be going into surgery on May 18th to have my gall bladder removed. I probably won't miss it too much. He hopes to use arthoscopy procedures to remove it and I should be pretty much functional again in 3-4 weeks.

Other than that, nothing new.........weather has been pretty nice for the most part and we haven't had any "heat" spells yet. Later. W&B

Happy Mom's Day All You Mothers....................

here we sit in Woodland, came down Saturday morning and since the Fairgrounds was full up due to Highland Games we're sitting behind Brian's house, a couple of miles out in the country. He ran out an extension cord for us, we got shade trees and it's just like downtown........and quite! Only problem was, after we got up and Becky was headed for the shower, we lost electricity. I thought maybe we tripped a breaker in the house so plugged in the generator so Becky could finish her shower. The coach batteries are completely "dead". Probably ran low on water and cooked them since we keep it plugged in all the time. Anway, I found we did not trip a breaker, Brian has some pups in his back yard and apparently they were tugging on the cord and unplugged our electricity!

We drove to Mather for Bryce's games yesterday evening; but, Old Granny couldn't handle the "cold" so we left during the first game. Really nice little league park; but, it was windy and the old temp dropped rapidly after the sun went down. They had back to back games and didn't get home until around midnight. Then he had another game at 1000 this morning. Whew............too much for these old folks to handle so we skipped today's game.

Met Rhonda and Jace for breakfast at our favorite diner and then both Moms and the kid headed home and later this afternoon they'll go down to Davis. I opted out and drove out to Cache Creek Casino to give them some of my money.................and that I managed to do. Was getting beat up pretty badly and finally found a kind and gentle slot machine that helped me get some of my money back............not all of it; but, enough to make the trip an "entertainment" visit.

Well, I'm just gonna kick back at the M/H until they get back from Davis..........then we'll probably head home about 1700. Later. W&B