We're like a couple of kids waiting for Christmas. We've buzzed around the house getting things organized, thought through the itinerary and packed way too much stuff. We're ready.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
A change in plans
We decided that I could not climb in and out of our tent. Knowing that despite my accident and no treatment for the break, I was healing and getting better every day. We decided to alter our schedule and method of travel.
Initially we thought to wait until October, travel to Savannah, Georgia where we have a rental cottage and camp afterwards during November and December in Florida and the inner Gulf coast. This idea held on for a while, until I proved that I was getting better.
We decided to push back our time and find rental cabins and cottages throughout our travel area.
We will travel to Land between the Lakes, stay in the lodge for two nights. Move on to Tennessee and visit family for two nights. Move to the Smokies and stay in a cabin for a week. Travel to the Blue Ridge area of the Appalachian mountains and stay another week in a cabin. Transition from the mountains to the seashore by staying in a hotel in Columbia, South Carolina then a month in a rental cottage in Savannah.
The Savannah stay will allow us to drive the coast and visit Jacksonville, Florida and the Okefenokee swamp.
On our return, we'll stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Brown county Indiana where the covered bridges are located.
Initially we thought to wait until October, travel to Savannah, Georgia where we have a rental cottage and camp afterwards during November and December in Florida and the inner Gulf coast. This idea held on for a while, until I proved that I was getting better.
We decided to push back our time and find rental cabins and cottages throughout our travel area.
We will travel to Land between the Lakes, stay in the lodge for two nights. Move on to Tennessee and visit family for two nights. Move to the Smokies and stay in a cabin for a week. Travel to the Blue Ridge area of the Appalachian mountains and stay another week in a cabin. Transition from the mountains to the seashore by staying in a hotel in Columbia, South Carolina then a month in a rental cottage in Savannah.
The Savannah stay will allow us to drive the coast and visit Jacksonville, Florida and the Okefenokee swamp.
On our return, we'll stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Brown county Indiana where the covered bridges are located.
A bump in the road
On August 19, I fell to my knees at State and Madison streets and broke my left patella, kneecap in two places. We were going to the Kurt Elling concert in Grant Park. The area where I fell was in a construction zone, the city is repairing the elevated tracks.
There was a wire sticking up between the cracks in the pavement and I was unable to either avoid it or limit the damage as I fell. I did remember to drop and roll, not drop and stick. Two young men stopped and helped me up and I lumbered off. We stopped in a sandwich shop and filled a baggie with ice. While we listened to the concert I drank wine and iced my knee.
I later discovered that I had two vertical cracks in my kneecap. If the cracks were horizontal it would be unlikely that I would have been able to walk immediately. As it was, the pacing of scheduling the medical oversight, PCP, personal care physician, X-ray, response, PCP, CAT scan, response, referral and orthopedist took three weeks, one half of the recovery time. I was told that a bone heals in six weeks.
It was obvious that tent camping was not going to happen.
There was a wire sticking up between the cracks in the pavement and I was unable to either avoid it or limit the damage as I fell. I did remember to drop and roll, not drop and stick. Two young men stopped and helped me up and I lumbered off. We stopped in a sandwich shop and filled a baggie with ice. While we listened to the concert I drank wine and iced my knee.
I later discovered that I had two vertical cracks in my kneecap. If the cracks were horizontal it would be unlikely that I would have been able to walk immediately. As it was, the pacing of scheduling the medical oversight, PCP, personal care physician, X-ray, response, PCP, CAT scan, response, referral and orthopedist took three weeks, one half of the recovery time. I was told that a bone heals in six weeks.
It was obvious that tent camping was not going to happen.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
What do you bring for 2 months on the road?
We're about 4 weeks away from starting the trip and we began to have this conversation, "What do you bring?"
Last year my two stuff sacks looked like this. Surprisingly, I only wore 1/2 of these clothes. That fuzzy thing at the top left of the photo is Toby sleeping.
This year, I figure that we're traveling south during the fall with Appalachian altitude during the first month, not Rocky Mountain altitude, and living in a rental the second month. This altitude thinking is important, because it may be 50 on the flatland, but it's 30 on the mountain. Also living in Savannah for a month means I can't get away with multiple tee shirts and jeans every day.
One of Ilze's friends suggested going to a resale shop in Savannah, then re donating the clothes after you leave
Here's the start of my packing.
As you can see socks and underwear figure prominently. You also see a new Radius toothbrush and their Vegan floss. Finally, when you're buying stuff you can ALWAYS buy more art supplies.
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