February 26, 2016

February 12, 2016

In my last post I said we would give you some hints about riding Amtrak.  Although we only rode the train from Manassas, VA to New Haven, CT and I am writing about just that experience, we are sure that these apply to any route you may take.

1.  Be flexible.  Delays occur just like on airplanes so be prepared for something to go wrong.
2.  The seats are much wider and a lot more comfortable that on airplanes.  Also, there is more space between rows.  That said, you still need to be respectful of the person sitting behind you.
3.  Take something to eat and drink.  The food on Amtrak is very expensive.
4.  Pack as light as you can.  You will probably be carrying your bags on-board the train and in all likelihood placing them in the overhead rack.
5.  Take you computer, iPad, etc.  There is free WiFi on-board however, it can get slow as more people board the train.

February 20, 2016

Last Thursday we drove about 70 miles south of here to Tavares, FL. for a visit with Dale and Linda Richardson.  Dale and I flew together back in the late 70’s when we were both assigned to the 7th Military Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB, CA.  Dale went on to an assignment in the initial cadre for the KC-10 tanker after leaving the 7th.

After catching up on our lives, telling a few war stories and solving some of the world’s problems, Dale took up for a ride in his bass boat.  After launching on Lake Eustes, we made our way through a cut over to Lake Dora where we docked and had lunch O'Keefe's Irish Pub and Restaurant.

It was great to see Dale and Linda again and we hope to see them at the squadron reunion next year.

For the last couple of days we have been dealing with my doctor’s office, Medicare and taxes.  I’m not going to go into the details about the problems we are having with Bend Memorial Clinic and Medicare however, suffice it to say that if your doctor bills something wrong you will have a mess trying to get it straightened out.  Also, if you call Medicare and one of the folks you talk with gives you information that doesn’t seem quite right, call back and talk to another person.  Oh, and you know that big thick book that Medicare sent you?  Read it!

Our tax issue isn’t really a big problem, We changed to a new preparer this year and for her the learning curve is pretty steep.  Genny lives in Idaho and we have to file our state taxes in Oregon. To make it even more confusing, the state changed their forms dramatically to 2015.  Also, since we had income in Arizona last year we have to file as nonresident there.  Genny is getting them done but it is taking some additional time but we think the task will be a tad easier next year.

February 23, 2016

I my a followup with my vascular doctor to discuss the results of my final leg test yesterday and the news was good.  He told me that the circulation has improved dramatically and that I am good to go.
I can’t believe that it’s almost time to start our travels back to Oregon for the summer.  Here is our travel itinerary:

Quincy, FL, 16-17 Mar.
Maxwell AFB, AL, 17-19 Mar.
Tupelo, MS., 19-20 Mar.
Cherokee Village, AR., 20-21 Mar.
Springfield, MO, 21-23 Mar. (Visiting family)
Joplin, MO, 23-24 Mar. (Visit friends).
Edmond, OK, 24-25 Mar.
Amarillo, TX, 25-27 Mar (Visit friends).
Tucumcari, NM, 27-28 Mar.as
Kirtland AFB, NM, 28-1 Apr
Winslow, AZ, 1-2 Apr.
Goodyear, AZ, 2-5 Apr (Visit family).
Indio, CA, 5-7 Apr.
Bakersfield, CA, 7-8 Apr.
Fresno, CA, 8-13 Apr. (Visit family).
Travis AFB, CA, 13-17 Apr.
Calistoga, CA, 17-21 Apr. (Visit family).
Corning, CA, 21-23 Apr
Chiloquin, OR, 23-24 Apr
Oakridge, OR, 26-30 Apr (Visit Glaspey’s)
Bend, OR, 30 Apr-1 Jun (Host at Pilot Butte State Park).

Yeah, I am kinda anal about planning our trips.  I hate to pull into a place just before my cocktail hour and find out there is no room at the inn.  Also, when we are going to stop to visit family and friends I want to give them a heads up for our visit.

February 25, 2016

So, the next day after Dr. C. cut me loose I had another episode that caused me to take a ride in an ambulance and a two day stay in the hospital.

Some of y’all probably know that I have a problem with looking up above my head or laying down and looking up for any length of time.  On Tuesday I was adjusting the temperature on our thermostat and got a little dizzy.  After having something to eat I laid down on the couch and instead of getting better, I actually was getting worse.  After about fifteen minutes I then started having trouble catching my breath.  That was when Joyce called 911.

I’m not going to go into too much detail here but after several tests including two CAT scans, a heart angiogram and about a gallon of blood letting, the doctors cut me loose today.  They feel that since I have some narrowing of my arteries, when I raise my head to look up I cut off blood to my brain.

Also, when I got to the emergency room my blood pressure was all over the place and my heart rate was real low.  The doctors changed one of my medications and took me off of a low-pressor medication that I have been taking for a couple of years.  I have a followup with them next week.

Abby ran a 5K race last week.

Travis is 6 months old now.

More later.

Barry & Joyce

February 12, 2016

January 6, 2016

Things have slowed down some after the holidays so Joyce and are finally able to catch our breath and relax.  We have been going to the gym some which we both need to do.

I have been doing some planning for our trip out west in March.  Since we will be leaving Florida in the middle of March and have to be in Bend, OR the first of May, we won’t have as much time as we like to make the trip.

We had dinner with Tom Jones, a good friend who I used to fly with many moons ago.

January 9, 2011

On the 6th I went back to the cardiologists office to discuss the results of the test they did on my legs.  First thing Dr, C said was, “How is the pain in that right leg”?  Yep, had another blockage just above the knee.  Funny thing is I have not had much pain in either of my legs at all since I had them cleaned out in El Cento, CA two years ago.

So, on Thursday I was back in the Heart & Vascular Clinic in Jacksonville to have an angiogram done on my right leg.  Everything went well but I am healing a tad slower this time.  The doctor who did the work said that there is some blockage in my left leg as well so I may have that one done after our trip up to New Haven, CT in February.  I have a followup appointment Monday so we’ll know more then.

January 15, 2016

On the 10th I woke up to some pain in my right calf and numbness in my foot that I was concerned about.  Joyce also took my blood pressure and got some very high number’s so she called my cardiologist.  He said that the pain and numbing in my foot was normal after what I had done but he was concerned about the blood pressure.  So, off to the emergency room we go.

After being examined in the ER and being given some med’s, my pressure went back to what is normal for me.  We don’t have a clue for what caused the spike except that when I took my pressure at home, I had not taken my normal medications yet and I had drank a few cups of coffee.

I had the followup on Monday and that went well as we expected.  Doctor C. said that there is no need for more work on my legs right now and that I was good to go.  He did order another test on my legs just to be sure but he was optimistic that all will be good.

In November Joyce and I had made plans to go to the Tampa RV Super Show with our friends Rodney and Susan Zher so on Thursday we made the drive down to Zepherhills to the RV park where they are spending the winter.  We had a nice time visiting with them and then we went out for dinner.

Joyce had made reservations at MacDill AFB so after dinner we drove down there.  After checking into the quarters, we quickly found that we wouldn’t be staying the two nights we had planned.  Suffice it to say the room was very substandard so I will leave it at that.

On Thursday we met up with Rodney and Susan at the RV show and spent most of the day walking around drooling over all the new RV’s and the latest and greatest gadgets for RV’ers.  If only we had a few thousand bucks laying around.

January 24, 2016

It has been a very busy couple of weeks.

On Wednesday Joyce dropped me off at Michelle’s house and then she drove down to Ft. Myers to visit her grandmother.  While she did that, I spent Thursday and Friday watching Abigail and Skyler while Harold and Michelle Orlando for a sales meeting with his company.

February 12, 2014

It’s been quite a while since I last wrote and we have been very busy.

On the 30th of January we drove up to Plains, GA where we spent one night in the Plains Historic Inn.  You may remember Joyce and I were through here back in October to visit the home of President Jimmy Carter.  At that time we booked a room in the Inn, mainly because we got reserved seating in the church for the president’s Sunday School class.

On Sunday morning we were up early so that we could be at the Maranatha Baptist Church by 8:30 AM.  We had to clear the Secret Service’s security check, then we were escorted to our seats right down in the front row.

Miss Jan, who owns the Plains Inn and at one time worked for the Carter’s while they were in the White House, gave us a thorough briefing on what to expect during the president’s class.  She told us that before he started teaching his lesson he would ask sections of the congregation what states folks were from, not to speak to either the president or Mrs. Carter unless we were directly addressed and not to offer to shake their hands.  We were also not allowed to offer them anything or to ask for autographs.

President Carter is ninety-one years old so as you may expect, he doesn’t move around very well but I can tell you his mind is still very sharp.  His lesson was about leadership as it applies to your spiritual life and he only looked at his notes one time during his fifty minute class.

After his class was completed, we stayed for the church services.  Joyce and I thought we would leave after the class was over but in order to get a picture with President and Mrs. Carter you had to stick around.

 Miss Jan and President Carter.

That is one experience both Joyce and I will cherish for the rest of our lives.  President Carter wasn’t the greatest president we have ever had but he is a good man who had done amazing things since he left office.

After we left Plains we headed up the highway toward Manassas, VA., spending one night in Augusta, GA and the next in Rocky Mount, NC.  After checking into our hotel, we toured the Manassas National Battlefield.

On February 3rd we boarded an Amtrak train bound for New Haven, CT to visit Justin, Adrian and Travis.  This is the first time either of us has ridden a train for any long distance so we were looking forward the the trip.

From Manassas to New Haven there were eighteen stops, most of which were only a couple of minutes.  In Washington, DC, they had to switch from a diesel locomotive to an electric engine but even that only took thirty minutes.  We arrived in New Haven in a pouring rain but that didn’t dampen our excitement to see Justin, Adrian and especially Travis.

 We went to see Yale play Columbia.  Justin said it was the "smartest" basketball game being played in the country at that hour.  Yale won and took 1st place in The Ivy League Division.

 Travis, the Super Yale Fan!

After our all too short visit in New Haven, we boarded the train for our return trip to Manassas.  The train was 1.5 hours late due to a fatality on the track up north so that put us behind the power curve.  Then we had a passenger on our train needing medical attention in New York City so that delayed us another 15 minutes.  Then, when we got to Washington, DC the diesel engine they were going to hook up wasn’t ready so that held us up some more.  All-in-all, we didn’t get back to Manassas until 9:15 in the evening.

We got some snow while we were there.

Some Travis pictures.

Even with all the problems on the return trip, we would do it all over again rather than driving up through Washington, DC and New York City.  In our next edition of the newsletter I post some recommendations for riding Amtrak.

This guy passed us on our way south.

We then took a relaxing three days driving back down to St. Augustine.  It is good to be back in our own home and bed.

Abby and Skyler did a fitness challenge earlier this month.

More later.

Barry & Joyce