Thursday, February 28 Through Thursday, March 7, 2019
Our stays in San Antonio these days are less about travel and more about taking care of business.
Thursday would be a fasting day for me because a colonoscopy and endoscopy were scheduled for Friday. Arriving in San Antonio we setup camp quickly. I found my colonoscopy ‘prep’ materials that I had hidden in the camper the month before. It was a different method than my first colonoscopy. In this ‘prep’ kit, I received a 32 ounce plastic cup and two bottles of the stuff that makes one go. You pour the stuff into the cup, fill the rest of the cup up with water and then chug it down followed by two more cupfuls of just water. It wasn’t long before I was in the campground restroom for two hours as the stuff did it’s work.
At 4:00 AM, I was up drinking the other bottle of the stuff that makes one go followed by the same amount of water as before. Another hour or two of quality time in the restroom as the second course removed the remaining material from my bowels.
Then off to the outpatient surgery center. Thankfully, patients are knocked out while the doctor performs the actual procedure. Think RotoRooter with a camera. No polyps. During the endoscopy, red sore areas in the stomach were biopsied. The appointment for discussing the results was scheduled for early April.
During recovery, while still feeling the effects of the anesthesia, I managed to embarrass both my wife and the recovery room nurse. They use compressed air and lubricants to make room in the bowels for their equipment. The inflated bowels need deflating during recovery. Patients are urged to break wind.
While the wind needed being broken, laughing hysterically, I pointed my index finger at Linda multiple times asking her to pull it. She declined each time. Each time I acted as if she did pull my finger. All wind broke loose. This made me laugh even more. The nurse was horrified as I was making quite a bit of noise.
After recovery, it was off to Cracker Barrel for a late breakfast. I had pancakes, eggs, hashbrown casserole and bacon. There is nothing better than the first breakfast after fasting. No wind breaking embarrassments there.
While at Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site doing the White Shaman and Fate Bell Shelter tours, Sandy the tour guide talked at length about this book that explains recent thinking on North and South Americans (e.g. Native Americans, First Peoples) before Columbus ‘discovering’ America in 1492. Being a slow reader, I’m not even ½ way through the book after a month of reading. Excellent book. Mind blowing. The inhabitants of the Americas before Columbus were not the people taught about in schools to boomers or their parents. The actual inhabitants were considerably more advanced in earth works, building, agriculture and culture. They were generally well fed and healthy.
Who knew? After 1491, I plan to move on the the second book: 1493 – Discovering The New World Columbus Created.
Monday, after getting the Jeep’s oil changed at Yaklin CDJR in Sequin, I met an old friend in Alamo Heights for lunch at the Broadway 5050. This was the second time we had eaten at this restaurant. The first time was a few years back. I vowed never to eat in there again. It had that kind of dirty feel that screamed for health department rescue. But it had that seedy hole in the wall vibe that I like in my dives. Since then, the restaurant has been renovated and remodeled. It is clean and lively. The food and service are better. While it doesn’t quite have that seedy hole in the wall vibe, I still liked it. It has become a non-dive dive. We both had classic cheeseburgers with tater tots. Then we talked for two hours.
Tuesday, we drove up to Princess Craft in Round Rock Texas (where we bought our camper) to see the latest 2019 Lance 1172 Truck Camper. The current camper feels a bit small when spending lots of time in it and having a bigger camper has become a consideration. The 1172 is huge compared to the 850. But, as with many RV purchase decisions, there zillions of trade offs. We have decided not to make any rash decisions until after we get back from our five month Alaska trip.
We also wanted to talk to Princess Craft about steps for our current camper. The ladder we have been using to get in and out of the camper isn’t safe. Falling off the ladder really hurts and the pain lasts for weeks to months. After each of us fell off the ladder at different times, we became more careful but it is only a matter of time until one of us breaks something. Then at the Broke Mill RV Park, we noticed that the back leg cross bar weld had broken free. The ladder was coming apart. We found a replacement at the Del Rio Walmart.
It is time to solve the step problem. We have seen other truck campers with scissor steps of different sizes and qualities. Some were narrow (12 inches) and not terribly deep (4 inches). Others were as wide as two feet and as deep as 8 inches. Prices were all over the map. We both felt that wider and deeper steps would be appropriate for us.
After consulting Google Search, the Brophy AS24 Aluminum Scissor Step and TorkLift GlowStep A7804 bubbled up to the top of my list. After consulting with Princess Craft Sales, Parts and Service folks, we decided on the TorkLift GlowStep with the All Terrain Landing Gear. We prepaid for the scissor steps and made an appointment in late March for the installation.
Wednesday, after Linda went to the Dentist, we went out to lunch with friends of ours and afterwards we went to their home and played dominoes all afternoon. I actually won one game.
Thursday, we packed up, put the truck, camper and Jeep into storage and left on our two day trip to St. Louis.
Hope to see you on the road ahead!