Checking Out the Map?

I know I’ve been lackadaisical in regards to our winter travels.  It’s been hard to get too interested in checking out the map.  Mostly the weather has been nice with an occasional day or two of showers.  Those days give us time inside to play or work on projects.  Of course, the gorgeous sunny days give us time to work on outside projects.  Maybe now it’s time to think about what the next couple of months might bring.  We know the weather is going to get cooler.  We know more rains are going to set in.  We also know the longer we tally in the north the bigger the chance we just might see a little ice or even a little snow.  Forbid!

We’re not ready to head down the highway.  Besides, we haven't ticked off everyone up here yet.  We still have our kids, their spouses and a couple grandkids who would be okay if we hang around a little longer.  Plus, we do have a few things on our plate that need to be in this area.  For one Terry has several doctor appointments scheduled in October.  Once we get those behind us, we’ll know that there is no follow-up needed.

We also know if we just got ambitious and moved that motorhome about 400 miles south we’d probably alleviate any thought of ice or snow.  We’ve thought about doing that just to return and hang around here without the worry of traveling over icy mountainous roads.  Will we do that though?  We would if we could fly back and forth to it but then …. what about Duchess.  They won’t let us put her in a seat and she’s definitely too big to put in a dog carrier under a seat.  I know that the belly of the plane will hold big carriers for dogs but that’s not going to happen either.

So,  what about Duchess and the Vet?  Here’s an update.    Duchess is now on three different medications to help relieve the arthritis or inflammation in her joints and bones ($$$).  The vet thought at one point she may have a problem with one of her back discs but just like aging humans her main issue is the degenerative changes in her spine.   She is over 13 and for her breed she is well past her expected life span.  As long as we can keep her pain free with some enjoyment of life, we’ll help her hang on.  We aren’t sure how long that will be but we know the time is fairly close.  Having her with us or not with us as we head south will make a difference in what those travel plans might be.  Thus, it’s hard to know what we’re going to do right now.

There are some things we are thinking about.  For one our direction will be south but there is no way we’ll head down Oregon's 101 this year.  Our travel last year down 101 was not a pleasant one.  Southern Oregon’s 101 coastal drive is supposed to be one of the most scenic in the country.  The problem we ran into was dense, dense fog for several hundred miles.  Matter of fact, that dense fog was almost all the way to San Francisco.  We saw very little scenery.  Obviously, I didn't take pictures of the dense fog because there would be nothing to see.  I did have a few pictures of the light fog.  Thus, our southward journey will start on I5 and not Hwy 101.  The biggest question just might be when we’ll start that journey and the answer to that is ---- it depends.

‘Tis life on the road.

You can only predict things after they happen.