I'm back...was a great trip!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2005
I'm back...was a great trip!!!
1
Fri, 07-11-2008 - 4:37pm

I do believe we just tipped the 4,000 mile mark - lots of gas$$ + a couple new tires in Albuquerque - but home in one piece and good visits - tho short. And beautiful weather!! Nothing above 92 the entire trip once we headed north thru Nevada until we came down our last 60 mile drop from Kingman, AZ to our 116 degree desert heat!! It's toooooo HOT here.

Headed out to Mountain Home, Idaho for weekend visit w/D26 & SIL. The date for their deployment back to Afghanistan so far is Aug. 22 so very glad we made it there. Haven't seen them since they got back last Summer and hadn't seen their new house yet either. Also learned the rules of play for Beer Pong... don't ask!! :)

Then headed northeast & drove along the Grand Tetons into the southern entrance of Yellowstone Park to the Old Faithful geyser & out the east side ending up just outside Cody, Wyoming for the nite so could go thru the museum there before aiming southeast to Nebraska for a visit w/friends now in Geneva that we hadn't seen since before we left Barstow, CA about 14 yrs ago. Good visit there - have you ever seen a Labradoodle? Kewl dog!! Then northeast to Cherokee, Iowa to see my Uncle, Aunt & one of the cousins & her new DH & now 11S (+ my folks made it over also as they hadn't done a visit in quite a long time). Cousin's DH gave our 18S some great employment opportunity ideas to consider, some for back that way & others w/some travel opportunities...

Then off to spend the 4th weekend w/my folks in Clear Lake, Iowa. I got a sick headache & sick to my stomach - didn't feel at all well Friday the 4th - but S18 pointed out that I'd probably gotten dehydrated w/not drinking enuf water to begin w/then the pain pills adding to that. Was much better by Saturday - but the fireworks were absolutely fabulous anyway. They always are since they're shot off 4 barges out on the lake - but the finale this year was almost overwhelming in it's intensity!! (I guess they were cancelled in Phoenix where S21 is doing his summer internship because of the lightning storms...).

Left Sunday after a Chinese brunch w/a bunch of my folks friends (w/whom we had lakefront front lawn seats for fireworks) & made it southwest to Wichita, Kansas then off to Gallup - except the left rear tire split it's tread right outside a rest stop about 40 miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico - so DH changed to the spare & we stopped in Albuquerque for the nite to buy a couple new tires at the Big O tire store before venturing on the remainder of the way - especially since it turns out the spare had a bad valve stem & lost it's air overnite. Made a stop by the Kingman office to pick up my supplies they were holding for me from the Tempe office so I wouldn't have to make the drive back there before the annual workshop I'm giving for my county providers this Saturday and everything was still intact when we got home - dogs excitedly leaping out of the shop building as we drove in, a certain amount of accident mess to clean up from the old male cat (luckily confined to the linoleum floors - but still enuf to add to DH's desire to see the cats gone!!) & only lost a couple potted daisy plants. Good trip, but good to sleep in our own bed too!

They never did hold our mail, which worked out nicely for my 1st of the month menu reading (my little p/t job w/#'s due by AM of the 10th) & getting the household bills out timely. Got an intro call from the atty in Los Angeles who is going to handle the claim against the trucker that ran me off the road ins. co.. Got the check from our ins.co. today for DH's totalled car. DH has started looking for a replacement, but for now we are a one car family - & I have yet to drive, guess tomorrow is it as he should be going back to work here soonly... Went in & got my follow-up x-rays of the ribs/lung. My emergency room doc is now on a 5-day vacation so got in to see my family doc yesterday thinking I'd get some information or direction as to the best way to proceed. I know I'm extremely lucky to not have major problems after such a horrendous accident - the ribs & lung seem to be healing nicely - tho the attached nerves take awhile & there's really nothing they can do but give them time to heal themselves, no disk compression, etc..., but I don't want to be left w/the kind of soft tissue stuff, muscle/ligament issues that basically cause chronic pain any time I do anything either... I'd gotten to the point where I was feeling fairly decent except for the occasional rib sensitivity, the dull achiness thru my back, & waking up w/headaches, but I've been sitting on my rearend taking pain meds for the past 5 weeks also (& discovered a feather pillow makes good seatbelt shoulder harness padding). So we get home & I slowly tackle simple stuff like cleaning up after the cat, DH helped clean out the frig interior before I restocked it, watering my plants, etc... had my back aching. Basically walked out of the doc's office w/a prescription for a muscle relaxer & an appt. for 2 months from now to see how I'm doing at that point after allowing more healing. He's of the opinion that at this point further testing isn't going to reveal much but if I still have the back pain, headaches, etc. in 2 months - then will be time to go there... I feel like I really didn't get much information & he really didn't want/need to hear much about how my body's handled the whole episode and/or what to expect other than it should get better on it's own w/the help of continuing on the Advil & the muscle relaxer, w/occasional pain med if I feel the need, wait & see!!

Maybe I'll go ahead & go see my emergency room doc when he returns from his vacation to give myself a second opinion as to what I should be doing, or not...

Stopped by the HS w/DH to p/u a picture they'd printed for him & Principal offered me a teaching job - they are in need of an English teacher. Explained I'm focusing on Math, w/probability of being highly qualified by next year when one of the teachers is planning on leaving, but I consider the SPED Math position on Emergency certification if the HQ gal they interviewed for it decides not to take it & they don't have any other takers... We'll see - Jr Hi starts here next week & the HS goes into session Aug. 3rd.

Well, enuf of a catch up for now. DH just got back w/our replaced cell phones & the neverending chore of laundry awaits.

Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 07-11-2008 - 7:40pm

HI Jo


It sounds like your trip went very well. Aside from the flat tires. I would see the ER Dr if you are not sure your regular Dr gave you the information you

                          &n