On the way to the Soo

We've lost Uncle Al. Services will be Friday. We're on our way north.

Eagle River, WI

We're back in Wisconsin, hoping we'll get out of here by the end of the month. Cory's dad had his cast taken off Tuesday, but the orthopedist doesn't want him putting any weight on it for a while yet, so he'll be in the home for several weeks longer. We want to get him settled in, either at his old home or a new one, before we leave.

Elgin, IL

We took a break and headed to Chicago for a few days--trying to get some of our long-delayed doctor's appointments taken care of. PLUS we've been invited to a backyard barbeque at our "home address" -- hosted by friends JoAnn and Irene. Looking forward to having conversations that don't revolve around aging, relatives and long-term care...

Eagle River, WI

We checked Cory's Dad into a nursing home late last week and have spent the past few days trying to help him settle in.

In a couple weeks or so, after he's had some rehab and thorough evaluation, we'll have a better idea of what will happen next. Right now, the family is concerned about him going back to the house -- it's four levels, with no bathroom/bedroom on the same floor, too far out in the country for quick access to healthcare, and even a walk to the garage is about 300 feet away, all uphill. He fell last winter and, of course, there was the fall a few weeks ago. Everyone is concerned that at his age (90 in October), another fall could be disastrous.

Eagle River, WI

We rented the house in the Soo without problems, and were hanging out for a while so Cory could visit with Aunt Edith and Uncle Al. Then we got a phone call from brother Tom. Her dad Jim had fallen, broken his right arm, and Tom wanted us to come to Three Lakes ASAP to give him some reinforcement.

So we arrived here on Thursday. On Friday, Tom went to work at 6:30 am. When we got to the house that afternoon. Jim was asleep in his chair, so we didn't disturb him. Tom came home, we talked, then with Jim still asleep, we left. About 20 minutes later, Tom called to tell us he couldn't wake his dad. He called the ambulance right away.

It was a long, tough weekend, waiting at Jim's bedside. Last night, he finally woke up. This morning, he's sitting up in a chair, drinking from a cup and asking to walk to the bathroom.

Sault Ste Marie, MI

During our time in Sault Ste Marie, we visited the TenderCare facility almost daily to visit with Cory's Uncle Al. A sweetheart of a man, he's the proverbial "bachelor uncle" -- never married, never moved from the house where he was born. But his nieces and nephews revere him, as do hundreds of students at Lake Superior University (especially the hockey players!), where he worked as a maintenance man for many, many years.

(Sorry--the quality of photos taken with my phone is pretty sad.)

This is Aunt Eva's oldest daughter, Lucynda, with her nephew (sister Patti's son), Jack. Jack was a real pistol ... we had a great time with him.

Belvidere, IL

Jim and Joe have become enthusiastic bowlers. Aunt Cory couldn't bowl, but she kept score. Aunt Mary June couldn't bowl either, but she tried. Some day, I'll break 100 ...

Rockford, IL

Since the boys were toddlers, we've been taking them to Rockford's Magic Waters. And they still love it. Truth be told, so do we.

Bozeman, MT

At Jim and Mary's RV Park in Bozeman ...

Bend, OR

We rode the mystery train with Mom and Dad. Had a great time, and Cory got a kiss from a good lookin' cowboy.

Reno, NV

What a beautiful view ... the park at Boomtown Casino is nothing special, except for the view of the mountains that surround Reno.

Tucson, AZ

Well, we called ahead to reserve a special site -- to our knowledge, this is the only RV resort in the country that has sites with private jacuzzis, right at your site. But on arrival, none available. Perhaps we answered wrong when the reservation desk asked us "Are you in the market for a new RV?" Beaudry's is also one of Tucson's biggest RV dealers.

Las Cruces, NM

This one was a pretty little surprise. We stopped first at "the lowest price RV park in Las Cruces"...and drove right through. Even if they'd had a site big enough for our rig, we wouldn't have been comfortable there, as it looked rather rundown. Sunny Acres, with our Escapee discount, was even less! And we had a big, grassy site and free WiFi, to boot.

Fort Stockton, TX

Finally, we're on our way to Oregon! We spent the night right off I10 in the first RV park we ever visited that features 15' arrows buried in the ground...and a "herd" of silhouette buffalo just off to the north.

San Antonio, TX

Mission Concepcion, in San Antonio.

San Antonio, TX

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, just northwest of San Antonio. We've been to petting zoos where the animals weren't as tame ... and these fellows wanted to be handfed!

San Antonio, TX

We took my sister Susan to the Alamo ...

San Antonio, TX

Arrived January 29. Surgery for our old Barney required that we hole up in San Antonio for a couple months. We've had a great time here, especially during the week sister Susan flew in to join us. We went to Sea World, which was less than a mile from our RV park, had dinner with Shamu and saw ALL the animals! And of course, we did the Riverwalk. (One really can't miss the prickly pear margueritas at Boudros on the river...)

San Antonio, TX

Ah, the Riverwalk! Truly, San Antonio may have one of the most pleasant downtown areas we've ever visited. We'd heard about the famous prickly pear margueritas served by the water, so we made sure to stop for one.

Whatever you think prickly pear tastes like? You're probably wrong. It's sweet, delicate, delicious ... and PINK. We enjoyed ours...

Seguin, TX

Lost the turbo in the truck about 50 miles outside San Antonio, so we wound up staying in Seguin for a week for repairs.

Carencro, LA

Lafayette is one of our favorite destinations. Spent three weeks...and ate all the crawfish, crab, boudin and cracklins we could handle. Stayed at Bayou Wilderness RV Park.