OLA: Being Ma and Grandma All Over Again!

April, my bunso, and Yeye, my granddaughter and her goddaughter in Sedona

at the Countryside RV Fitness Center

We left Las Vegas already feeling the coming onslaught of the summer heat and, just like that, it hit us in Bullhead City, just like a 15-minute sauna, except that this time it was a 24-hour punishment! We really should have been going up to Calgary for my daughter Claudine’s second baby but April had another global project team meeting in Cincinnati and had a chance to visit us and a BFF in Phoenix. So there we were, in the sweltering heat of the desert sun, for me to have the chance to be a mother and a grandma all over again(we had sent a ticket to Yeye, my second granddaughter and April’s goddaughter )!

taking time to get up from their sofa bed

The four days with them consisted of 5 neat activities: exercising, chillaxing, eating, sight-seeing, and shopping. We exercised on Saturday and Sunday at the Resort’s Fitness Center and April and Yeye swam at the Resort Pool on the morning and evening, respectively. The two also chillaxed every morning while waiting for the breakfast to be ready, once by Bill, once by me. The other one was just ensaymada con chocolate which did not need any time. I made the Filipino breakfast which April absolutely loved: daing na bangus with red eggs and tomatoes, over-easy eggs, and garlic fried rice. Bill granted their request for  blueberry pancakes with bacon and over-easy eggs! 

Inn and Out Burgers, April's treat!!!

Fat Willy;s at Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort, our treat!!!

April treated us to our first lunch at Inn-n-Out which she has sorely missed but she was sorely disappointed, the memory was better than reality! The next day we showed them Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort where we will be for winter and treated them to lunch at the Resort’s Fat Willys’ Bar and Grille. We all loved the Fat Willys’ and Southwest Samplers for appetizers and the surf and turf for entrees, leaving absolutely no more room for dessert. The following day Yeye treated us to a wonderful Mexican lunch at Arriba Mexican Bar and Grille for some pozole, chili Colorado, machaco tamales, and taco zaragozas. At our RV, we had 2 dinners of chicken inasal and salad greens one night and baked tilapia and cucumber salad another night.

going Mexican at Arriba, Yeye's treat!!!

Arnie and Itchan and the 3 of us at Starbucks!

Arnie, April’s friend, with her husband Itchan, picked her and Yeye up Saturday afternoon from a Starbucks café and took them to the picturesque Red Rocks of Sedona and the Slide Rock State Park. Unfortunately, as they were about to go home, their car broke down. Happily, the adventure did not at all turn stress-laden because it afforded all youngsters lots of food and laughter all the way home. Tired Bill picked them up and they got home at 1 am while I was sound asleep.

the ring!!!

But the biggest activity of all on both Saturday and Sunday was April’s first round of trying on wedding gowns. Right before her trip to the US this time, Clint Pijuan, her boyfriend of two years, put a beautiful diamond engagement ring on her finger with the fabulous Scottish Highlands as the backdrop. The ring looks absolutely gorgeous and they have scheduled the wedding for June of 2014 at an old Scottish castle. She looked radiant in the top 2 choices both of which are princess cut at the top with a mermaid bottom for one and trumpet for the other. So she has her work cut out for her for maybe the next half-year. I am so glad I was able to be there to help her get started!

Yeye and Bill, voting for each  wedding dress April tried on

One of the other places we went to had wedding gowns at rock bottom prices but none made the grade. Last Chance is a third outlet of Nordstrom. Apparel and shoes that don’t get bought at Nordstrom get sent to Nordstrom Rack and those that don’t get bought at Nordstrom Rack get sent to Nordstrom’s Last Chance. Fides Alviar gave us the hint! But it was Yeye, not April, who got crazy there. She got the most out of her shopping dollars for all of three hours! Little did she know of what was in store for her later. 

the girls packing

Her Alaska Airlines flight back to Seattle was at 5:35 pm. At 2:12 pm a Southwest flight that left LA bound for Austin, Texas (a 3-hour flight) was reported to have a bomb on board and was diverted to Phoenix instead. Both entrances to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport were blocked by the time we got there. When one opened, there was a huge logjam. We were able to get to Terminal 4 in time for April’s 7:25 pm British Airways flight back to the UK but, sadly, we did not make it to Yeye’s.

She had to spend another night at the RV and do her homework. We bought a pint of Starbucks Java chip frapuccino ice cream for her sole delight! Next morning Bill took her to the airport for her new flight at 6:20 am (while I slept and snored) and she arrived in Seattle around 9 am. She went straight to school, missing her first three classes, one of which had a final exam! Her Dad Deejay wrote an excuse letter for her and all’s well that ends well. The two are back home, safe and sound.

ABCD Family Quartet

The best souvenir of our weekend together is not the stress we all felt during that dreadful trip to the airport but four red plastic cups we all left behind at the RV: A for April, B for Bill, C for Carol and D for Daniela (Yeye)! We are a definite Family Quartet! Now I am eagerly waiting for the next time when in July, in Calgary, I will again be a doting Mom to Claudine anda spoiling Grandma to Enzo and a brand new baby boy, my fifth and Bill’s and my 10th! I will be Mom and Grandma all over again!!!

the girls at the Desert Botanical Garden

WOW: Overhauling Carol!

in the recovery room, after the cataract surgery on my right eye

To overhaul means: to take apart in order to examine it and repair it if necessary. I may not be a piece of machinery (though many say I am close to being one) but this is how Jack Dock, an engineer and husband of Bill’s sister Rosemary, suggested I title this piece. In 2 ½ months we probably wore thin the couple’s hospitality. I have told you about our many visits to family and friends and explorations of many points of interest from the warmth of their home, but the best is that I got my chance to be examined and repaired! 

dancing after the overhaul!

This is the disadvantage of the full time RV cruising lifestyle that I clearly did not foresee (please look at http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/04/debating-pros-and-cons-of-rv-cruising.html): inconsistent health care. I talked about ways to mitigate the disadvantage of not being close to family and friends in the post cited above but with inconsistent healthcare, especially with advancing age, the health risks of yesterday are turned into the health issues of today!

Besides, our lifestyle had us bouncing around 47 American states, 9 Canadian provinces, and 6 Mexican states in just a little more than three years. It’s bad enough that we have grown older; it is worse because we do not have a family physician who knows our history. Bill contracted pneumonia in Mexico (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/03/crossing-gulf-states.html), had arthroscopic surgery in Indiana/Ohio though not really due to RVing (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/08/ola-taking-much-needed-breaks.html), and even suffered a heart attack in Florida last December (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/wow-getting-scared.html). 

As for me, I have been having issues myself but we often joke about how major but easy Bill’s and how irritatingly minor and hard to diagnose and cure mine are. I had only talked about hypertension which produced GERD after the aspirins and diuretic regimen, I think, (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2012/01/wow-focusing-on-health.html). But I have been silent about the others, hoping they would simply go away. So Bill decided that we stay put at the Docks for however long it takes to take advantage of the good doctors the couple has.

find the wrist brace, not the grapettes!

Tendonitis. A couple of days before we arrived in Pittsburg, I had hurt my right wrist. Bill alleges it was because of 4-6-8 hours a day of incessant thumping on the computer keyboard because of various and sundry hobbies: blogging, surfing, facebooking, emailing, uploading and editing photos and creating albums, and WWF (Words With Friends). Dr. Carlson referred me to Dr. Stringer who gave me a PAINFUL steroid shot. And here I am, finally free of the wrist brace I was forced to wear for about a month! 

oral surgery on #5

Dental Care. Bill was not happy about the dental care I had with my #5. It hurt in 2008 and a dental clinic in Kent, Washington did a root canal. When I got to the Philippines in 2009, my dentist thought I had better see an endodontist. We went to one of only 2 such dentists in the country. She performed a root canal on a second root she discovered in #5. Well, I don’t think that went well and she instructed my dentist to be conservative about the kind of filling to use. 

The filling that was placed fell out just a few weeks after (in Taiwan, actually, even before we got back to the US!). I had that filling redone twice while we were cruising in the US. In March 2010 when we returned to the Philippines, my dentist and endodontist checked their work and went ahead and said it was ok and just put in another filling. About 6 months after our return to the US that last filling fell out, as well as half of the tooth. Dr. Mendez, the Dock’s dentist, referred me to Dr. Lowe, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. And now I have one brand new tooth!

Chronic Hives. The day Bill returned from the hospital after his heart attack, I had sciatica. Excruciating pain left me to be cared for by Bill who was, himself, just recovering. It eased a week after but then aggressive hives took over. I woke up with a swollen left eye one morning so we went to an ophthalmologist who prescribed antibiotic drops and tablets since he thought it was a bacterial infection. 

hives on arms and legs

But then the hives spread to the right eye, then the neck, and downwards to the arms and torso, and finally the legs. One day, the itchiness became intolerable we took refuge at an urgent care clinic near the campground where I was given steroid shots. We then finally surfed for a nearby family doctor who quickly referred us to an allergist. I could not muster enough confidence in these two doctors so we asked Bill’s cardiologist for a new referral.

She turned out to be a beautiful Filipina doctor whose tests led her to suspect lupus and so we were referred to a rheumatologist. He ruled it out and so we were referred to a dermatologist. The skin test was positive for hives. So we went to another allergist. Her tests revealed that at one point I had been infected with hepatitis A, which my Filipina doctor contested. We left Florida, still with recurrent hives, still dazed and confused. 

At the Unbearables reunion in Nova Scotia, Jeep gave me her bottle of liquid Benadryl (I had been using cortisone before then)! It was like a miracle lotion! I could not understand why not any one of the doctors who saw me recommended this over-the-counter gem which largely controlled my hives. But in Pittsburg, Jack’s family physician, Dr. Carlson, gave me an aggressive dose of non-sedating anti-allergy meds. Here I am a month and a half now, virtually free of hives, except for one or two that appear once in a while!

the left eye in preparation three weeks after

being wheeled for the right eye

Cataract Surgery. Nobody has seen me without any glasses, except for my grades 1-3 classmates. I have had aggressive myopia since I was in grade school. My study habits did not help at all. In 1997 I was one of the very first beneficiaries of laser eye surgery in the Philippines. Less than ten years after, however, my vision started to deteriorate again. In 2009 I had new prescription lenses done in the Philippines. 

left eye patch being removed

Back in the US only 6 months later, I needed another set of corrective lenses, especially. When I was back in the Philippines in 2011 I had new lenses prescribed and, again, only 6 months after returning to the US I needed new ones again. The ophthalmologist who saw me for my swollen left eye, the start of my hives, had said I had better have my eyes checked for cataracts when I got ‘home’. 

both eyes now done!

So I went to Rosemary and Jack’s ophthalmologist, Dr. Lazenby, and eye surgeon, Dr. Bhend, and both recommended cataract surgery on both eyes. Well, I now carry 2 cards for my implants and can clearly see! I wake up every morning without having to look for any glasses (except when I need to read or look cool with fancy dark ones) to put on. Bill survived the fear of my finally seeing how he really looks with 20/20 vision!

the mass more clearly revealed by ultrasound

Possibility of Breast Cancer. But, guess what may be the biggest one? A mammogram detected a 7 mm mass on my right breast. An ultrasound was done, then a physical examination. I am supposed to have another mammogram in another 3 months to see if the mass has grown so a biopsy could be done to test malignancy. The process of overhauling may not be completely over. Still, our stay with the Docks had overhauled Carol, though a somewhat bionic one! 

with my pink top ready for
breast examination

It certainly showed to us that full-time RVing should not be carried to the extreme we did at our age.  It was certainly possible to full-time without being constantly on the move as we have been. Our next travel patterns shall have to change to 4-5 months in Europe, 2-3 months visiting family and friends, and 4-5 months settling down in a normal home, in other words, moving closer to the sunbird/nesting stages (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/04/going-through-five-stages-of-cruising.html). We will be in Arizona for about 2 months looking to find a home much like the Docks’.  We now think there is wisdom in having some roots, even if, as Bill would say, we are not trees (may I add, plants?)!      

OLA: Taking Me Home, Country Roads, WV

the tallest capitol dome in the US is in Charlesto, West Virginia

We kept on humming John Denver’s  ‘West Virginia, my old momma, Take me home, country roads’  while we drove to Charleston (3 hours one-way) from our campground in Wilmington, Ohio. We had decided not to take our RV there but take the most direct route to Florida (our home this winter) instead: through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. After all gas prices are still up and at 20,000 pounds, M’A guzzles gas at 8 miles to a gallon. Besides the Thousand Trails System where we are a member has no campground there.

the Mothman Statue

the Silver Memorial Bridge built in 1969
to replace the one that collapsed in 1967, killing 46

At the border of Ohio and West Virginia we crossed the shining Silver Memorial Bridge on the Ohio River to the little town of Point Pleasant. Paul, a new friend we met at the Wilmington Resort (he owns a Newmar Mountain Aire 1997 exactly like ours!) lent us a DVD of the 2002 movie, Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere, Debra Messing and Laura Linney, which was based on a book by John Keel about the town’s legend. We also met Robert, caretaker of the Mothman Souvenir Shop, who was a great story-teller.

town memorial of the bridge collapse
that killed 46 during the rush hour on 12/15/1967

Paranormal enthusiasts flock to the town in search of Mothman, a large creature with 10-foot wing spans and red glowing eyes, said to inhabit an abandoned TNT factory from WWII. It is believed to be a harbinger of imminent disaster, now being seen around the globe before great tragedies. The legendary creature was reportedly seen from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967, when the Silver Bridge, an I-bar chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint, collapsed during rush hour. All reports of sightings mysteriously stopped after that day when 46 people met their tragic deaths.

the small town amphitheater by the Ohio River
with the railroad trestle at the background 

                                                                               For a town with a current population of 4,600, 46 deaths meant that almost every household was affected. A marker was erected on the site and the new Memorial Bridge was built in 1969 a few miles away. And Point Pleasant eventually recovered. Looking out to the old railroad trestle above the Ohio River is the amphitheater which the residents use for community events. The wall separating the little park from downtown is painted with many murals of the town’s history.   

Such is the charm of country roads and captivating legends.

Renaissance Village

Charleston, on the other hand, looks very much a charming metropolis (population, 350,000). From the campus of the University of Charleston across the river, the dome of the state capitol, the nation’s tallest, is elegantly crafted with 24-carat gold leaf and strikes a grand shimmering pose among the verdant trees,. The statues of Stonewall Jackson on its side and Abraham Lincoln at its front guard this magnificent building, underlining the fact that the state was formed in 1861 out of Confederate Virginia as a symbol of the Union’s victory early in the Civil War.

colorful bridge shops

Even the town market, The Capitol Market, is like a little Granville of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. The upscale shopping district on a tree-lined street is called the Renaissance Village. And from the central town bridge, up on the hills where the rich live, pretty colorful Bridge Shops abound.

But we did not get to the parts of the state on its really scenic routes, extensions of John Denver’s ‘Almost heaven West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River’. Sometime in the future, we will get another chance. In the meantime we are content with our little magnet for our collection from the souvenir shop. It reads, ‘Dreaming of heaven, West Virginia’. Anyway, the small town atmosphere of Point Pleasant and the distinctive sights in Charleston were enough to fill another wonderful day in our wanderings in the meantime.

Next Post: Riding on Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit 

OLA: Digging into Ohio's History

Santa Maria, the ship Columbus sailed from Spain in 1492 to land on American shores

Staying three weeks in one place affords us some time to get to know it. We could have gone on to visit many historical sites but we also had to take care as Bill was just recuperating from his arthroscopic surgery. So we did a little digging (not the archaeological kind) of the state's history, especially about the two historical contests she has found herself in.

First, there have only been 44 presidents in the US and 8 came from Ohio! William Henry Harrison, his grandson Benjamin Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren Harding all made Ohio their home or were born there. We enjoy visiting presidents’ homes. Walking where great men walked is one thing; to be where they lived is quite another! So we visited both the Harrison homes.

home of William Howard Taft on Auburn Hill

It also happens that the home of William Howard Taft is right in front of The Christ Hospital.  Taft was the first Governor-General of the Philippines, laying the foundation of the country’s public systems and infrastructure. With a background that is deep into the US judicial system, this gave him the administrative experience for the presidency. And his strong judicial background gave him the unique opportunity to be the only president who later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

home of Benjamin Harrison in Indiana

But it is a different state which is dubbed the “Mother of Presidents’. 8 US presidents, most of them soon after the 1776 Revolution, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson, either made Virginia their home or were born there. Two years ago, we visited Washington’s Mt. Vernon, Jefferson’s Monticello and Poplar Forest (his summer home), Madison’s Montpelier, and Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland.

William Henry Harrison's Tomb in Ohio

Thus the title that is given Ohio is ‘The Mother of Modern Presidents’. It is interesting to point out that William Henry Harrison is in both lists. He moved to Ohio from Virginia (his grandson Benjamin moved later to Indiana) and his grand tomb rests there. He served the shortest presidential term ever, dying of pneumonia just a month after his inauguration.

Second, Dayton, Ohio is the birthplace of Orville and Wilbur Wright but it was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where the brothers succeeded in first flying a plane (a glider).  Thus North Carolina is called ‘The Birthplace of Aviation’. Ohio, on the other hand, carries the title, ‘The Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers’ and it is well deserved! Huffman Field, where the Wright Brothers tested and launched the first practical plane, is called the First Airport in the World.   And John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, pioneer astronauts, were born in Ohio!

Huffman Field, World's First Airport, where the Wright Brothers launched the first practical plane

Ohio's Pride!!!

Because of the tremendous contribution of the Wright Brothers to aviation, the outstanding National Air Force Museum is in Dayton, Ohio, the best flight museum in the country. It boasts of the most comprehensive exhibit of military aircraft (about 300 planes) used in all the wars the US has been involved, from WWI to the Cold War. I was especially moved by the early dirigible, the bomber Bockscar which delivered the 2nd atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki (Enola Gay that bombed Hiroshima is in the Smithsonian), and the collection of missile heads. Bill loved the bombers, fighter jets, and stealths.

Lucius Quinctus Cincinnatus with Big Mac Bridge behind

Third, this is the uncontested part! Ohio has inspired many great works of men (for a time, the state had the highest inventions per capita) and many great men have also inspired the state! Cincinnati is proud to be named after the Roman general, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. He was forced to work on his own small farm after his son was convicted in absentia and condemned to death. In 458 BC, Rome called on him to quell an invasion by rival tribes as its dictator, an office he immediately resigned after achieving victory.

This has been an oft-cited model (Washington’s?) of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, and modesty. But Cincinnati is not the capital of Ohio. It is Columbus and there we found the most authentic replica of the Santa Maria, the ship Columbus sailed from Spain in August of 1492, arriving on American soil two months after, changing the world forever. A giant statue of him stands in front of the City Hall, a gift from Genoa, Italy, the town from whence he came.

Voice of America Relay Station

Fourth, this is the coolest part! Taft was not the only connection to the Philippines. En route to the Cincinnati Tennis Open we also chanced upon the National Voice of America Museum in West Church, Ohio. It was the relay station of the significant radio of the WWII.  VOA became quite prominent in the Philippines even after the war because it became the country’s most reliable source of foreign news. These little connections to Philippine history were particularly heartwarming for me.

Next Stop: Flying to Las Vegas 

Getting My 'Fixes' Around Cincy.....OLA

Ohio Barn Quilt

I am a tennis fan-addict! Bill cannot quite understand why I passionately stay awake up to the wee hours of the morning to watch the rounds of the majors. Finally in Cincy (cute nickname of Cincinnati, Ohio) I got the chance to go to my very first live ATP Masters tennis tournament: The Western and Southern Open. It is part of the US Open Series prior to the US Open which just started today in Flushing Meadows, New York. The Cincy tourney has been running since 1899 and is the only one still playing in its original city. The Lindner Family and Tennis Center in Mason, a suburb of Cincy, is one of the country’s major tennis centers.

Blake-Baghdatis encounter on Opening Night

You cannot imagine my excitement as I waited in line for the gates to open, toured the many exhibits and kiosks, gobbled up many souvenir items (for our grandchildren and myself!), took countless photos, and watched #1 woman player Caroline Wozniacki and #2 men’s player Rafa Nadal practice at the side courts! I was frozen many times while watching even just the early rounds. My eyes followed the living ball whizz to and fro during the Blake-Baghdatis, Harrison-Chela, and Roddick-Kohlschreiber matches. Now, watching at least one of the four majors is a definite addition to our bucket list!

a section of Highway 127 in Ohio

Just like any other female, I am also a shopping fan-addict! But, retired and without the income I had before, it has evolved to become more of treasure hunting. Last year I was just reading about the World’s Longest Yard Sale in a travel magazine. It’s all of 625 miles along Highway 127, from Gadsden, Alabama to Hudson, Michigan on the first weekend of August. I ran into It when I took to bring Bill home from his surgery. On its last day, I dragged Bill, still in crutches, to get my ‘finds’: ‘Hot Wheels’ for my other grandson, Kenji who lives in Seattle, some bake ware, and other bargains! 

 

the Great American Ball Park

I am also a fan of Paul McCartney who chose Cincy as one of the venues for his 8-city ‘On the Run’ tour. It was a sell-out crowd of 41,500 at the Great American Ball Park. Unfortunately, we were not one able to go because of Bill’s surgery. Later we were able to go to the famous home of the Cincinnati Reds (although they may not be playing well nowadays)! I thought…wow they indeed got the best name for a ball park even if it is not ranked as one of the top 3 (Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees, Wrigley’s Field of the Chicago Cubs, and Fenway Park of the Boston Red Sox)!

the family with Bill, catching a small one

Admittedly, another addiction of mine is to entertain! The Wilmington RV Resort had a family centers basketball/volleyball/tennis courts, indoor pool and spa, mini-golf, horseshoe pits and shuffleboards, and 3 fishing ponds! Former I/ACT colleague Lea, husband Jimmy and children, Miles, Patrick, and Mathew visited us there during our first weekend. Matthew had long wanted to inspect RV living up close and personal. So in our Chicago reunion, Lea decided to visit us in this Ohio campground, just 30 minutes away from her home. I had a lot of fun watching the family catch three fish in just thirty minutes, enjoy the ‘ride’ on the RV slide-out going out, and take a nap on the dinette turned bed!

how can I bring home this chair???

And the biggest addiction of mine…the color yellow…got fed as we explored the farms around Clinton County. There we found more barn quilts (56) than the collection in Houston County, Minnesota! Wilmington is also the home of the first banana split in the world and the site of the annual Banana Split Festival in mid-June. But the most special find of all is the biggest chair I have ever seen, probably about 10 feet tall…and it’s all in yellow! 

We are having a lot of fun but soon I have to fly to Vegas for a mini-reunion with gal pals Jingjing and Ann and a visit to my friend Angie and cousin, Ate Tesing. Finally, Bill might be able to have time for his own ‘fixes’…sans moi!