Day 10 - A day for healing and reflection

Our original plan was to head to Monterey, CA today but Jenny's back is really a mess. So we plan one more night at Novato to see how things go.

We think the back is out from too much sitting, especially the 4 hr. Seahawk game on Sunday combined with the dinette which is very uncomfortable, and certainly not helped by the rough road yesterday that we didn't anticipate!

Day 10:
By mid morning I go to the Urgent Care center as I can hardly walk and can't face the idea of riding in the truck for more than few minutes. The Urgent Care doctor gives me muscle relaxers, recommends anti inflammatories, ice, stretching and don't sit too long. He also says to get an MRI when we get home, but he thinks it is arthritis in the back since I already have the history of arthritis with the two replacement surgeries this year. Then, most surprisingly, he recommends I go vegetarian!

His own story is similar, arthritis in his back, surgery to remove a bad vertebra, when he started doing his own research. His discovery is that cultures where people eat lots of animal protein and dairy products have a much higher rate of arthritis and osteoporosis than societies where protein is plant-based. He gave me some literature to read and think about. He claims that since going vegetarian he feels a lot better. Hm, I will think about this and do some research on my own.

I swim at the RV park pool and feel a little better for the exercise. The rest of today we take it easy and just wait.

A couple funny episodes happened today.

We were stopped at a stoplight with the windows down -- it is in the 80s today -- and a guy pulled next to us. Noticing our bullet holes in the truck he says "Hey you must have been to Oakland!"

Later we are at the Sportsman's Warehouse looking around and the salesman approaches Johnnie, "did you find everything you need?" Johnnie says, "we are looking for Seahawks stuff". At first the guy is really serious and says they have it but you need to order online, then when Johnnie tells him he is just giving him a hard time, the guys says "Get out of here, this is 49er country!".

Reflections at the Halfway Point
As many of you know, this is a trip for us to reflect on what our new season of life will be now that I am retired. For years we have talked about traveling in our retirement, buying the RV and joining the millions of Baby Boomers already on the road. We have talked about doing volunteer work and traveling at the same time through the SOWERS (http://www.sowerministry.org ), short term mission trips or other church groups.

So in part, this trip is to "try that on for size" and see if that is really something we want to do. So here are some midway thoughts we have about that topic.

What is working about our travels?
Since this is our first big road trip together since my retirement, we are reflecting on what we like and what we don't like so far about this journey.

• We like the Oregon State Parks. They are clean, nicely maintained and very scenic. 
• We like the Good Sams rating system; it seems to be very accurate for the places we have stayed.
• We like setting up for several days in the same location and then touring around from a home base. This is preferable to sightseeing as we travel between locations.
• We like traveling about 4 hrs. per day; this is especially good for me with replacement joints and an arthritic back that make it important to stop and move about a lot.
• We like full hookups! Lets face it, we are just loving the ease of it all.
• We love the coastline and will definitely want to come back for longer visits in some places.
• We love the local restaurants and diners. Friendly people, good food, and good prices usually.
• We prefer the setting of a campground vs. an RV park although the RV parks tend to have the better amenities such as laundry, WIFI, and pools. Some RV parks are practically mobile home parks with people that live there long term, while others are just travelers. The ones that are mostly travelers have a friendlier atmosphere and we like that better. People engage more with the other travelers sharing experiences, laughs and comparing notes on mileage, rigs, problems, favorite stops, etc.

What do we want to change for the future?

• We definitely need a bigger RV. Our little camper is as comfortable as we can make it but the biggest drawback is the bed. It is extremely difficult to make it, and getting in and out of it you need to be a seal! The dinette is also uncomfortable; we are thinking a couple recliner chairs are just the ticket!
• We don't like "one night stands" or even two nights can be frustrating if you are trying to see anything in the area. Three nights would be good as it allows two full days of sightseeing.
• We think it would be more fun to travel with friends. Not that we don't love each other's company, we just see people traveling two or three families together and they share their experiences, their meals, and sit together in the evening. That looks like a lot of fun!
• We want an RV without a lot of steps. This camper has too many steps and it is exhausting!

What we don't know yet

• Are we 2-3 week travelers, two month travelers or ?? Until we get another RV and try it again, we really won't know that. We could enjoy the longer trips if we were more comfortable but with this camper, we are ready to go home now if it wasn't for the plans we already made. Both of us know we are not cut out to be full time RV'ers though; we like our little "patch of dirt" we call home
• What does the Lord have in store for us in this next season of life? We are still seeking that. The opportunities for volunteerism abound but we don't want to get so busy doing odds and ends of things that we miss the calling for the more important ones.