April 30, 2008 GREAT NEWS!

Carol went to the orthopedic-surgeon's office and left with something different than she has from the previous arthritis doctor - hope instead of pills. We saw the x-rays of the knees and her right knee is bone on bone. He first gave her a shot of cortisone into the knee and then advised us of a new procedure called Synvisc. This is a series of three shots into the knee that lubricates the joint. He said that this is a procedure that will probably put off the inevitable full knee replacement for months or longer. As we were leaving he said "We can help you." Sweet words that Carol has not heard before. The shot she got took the majority of her pain away almost instantly. "For the first time in a long time, I feel I can walk without hurting." Soon after she got home she took a warm bath. Another first for quite a while. She has had to shower because she could not lower herself into the tub and then get up and out without extreme pain. We really appreciate the kind words and prayers that we have received from so many of you. Hopefully, we can soon restart our traveling commentary again as we get out into this beautiful land. We enjoy sharing our sights, sounds, smells and experiences with you all.

April 28, 2008 Grand Blanc and Hartland, MI

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Carol and I go to see the orthopedic surgeon to see what the options are for her knees. She has had the x-rays, MRI and is now ready to see just what can be done to stop this constant pain. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will have some answers that will lead us to the next step. I have been meeting with my new boss at Waldenwoods trying to learn what my new duties will be. I will be working Mondays on days riding a golf cart and walking the park assisting guests and members and Fridays and Saturdays on nights at the Cromaine Hall in the park , providing assistance and security at weddings and parties. Another new experience. Ranger Jim is ready.

April 22, 2008 Grand Blanc, MI

Since we have arrived home from Florida, it seems like it has been go-go all the time - unpacking, doctors' appointments, meeting with Waldenwoods RV Resort about new summer job at their campground. Last Saturday was Birthday Party Day for Sarah, our newly 4 year old granddaughter. This is always a nice time because we are in Grandparent Hog Heaven on these occasions. Tomorrow, Carol has a MRI on her knee and I have a training session at Waldenwoods, after the MRI. Carol then goes to talk with an orthopedic surgeon in a few days about her options with her arthritic knee. Her family doctor said that there may be some alternatives to knee replacement at this time but the surgeon must be consulted with first. He also was not happy with the amount of arthritis he saw in the x-ray of the knee. We should know a lot more about our summer by next week.

April 17, 2008 Wapakoneta, OH to Grand Blanc, MI (Home)

We finally made it home this afternoon. We quickly unloaded the Montana of everything but some clothing and food and then took Monty to Waldenwoods RV Resort, where I will be workkamping this summer, and set it up. When asked if I wished to start work tomorrow, I advised them that we just got back and will talk with them later about starting. It is now later in the evening and I will try to post photos that we took today tomorrow after a shower and some sleep. As good as this adventure was, it was tiring.

April 16, 2008 Lexington, KY to Wapakoneta, OH

This was a beautiful travel day - hardly a cloud in the sky, the sun at our backs and a tailwind. We left the Kentucky Horse Park Campground and traveled as far as Covington, KY with Rich and Helen, friends from the MOC. We had lunch at a Flying J truck stop and they forked off of I-75 at I-71 and we continued north on 75 to Wapakoneta, OH, the Lakewood Village RV Resort. Soon after we set up, we met with Steve and Patty, friends from the MOC, and had dinner. Great folks who were Co-Wagon Masters at last years MOC Fall Rally. Got more good ideas and suggestions for this fall's rally. They will bring their Montana to Michigan later this summer and we will meet again. We left them in time to see American Idol. I told Carol that I believe that this is the best journey that I have been on since we have been RVing - spent the winter in Central Florida working with Mickey Mouse in Disney World, camped at the same campground as a couple of other MOC members so saw them regularly, taking over two weeks to get back home meandering up I-75 from FL to Michigan, saw other friends while in Florida, asked to be and accepted the position of Wagon Master for the 2008 MOC Fall Rally, was able to name Rich and Helen, two of the friends that we camped with at Mouse Mountain, as Assistant Wagon Masters, traveled with them from Florida to Kentucky, met with another pair of friends from the MOC for dinner today in Sidney, OH for dinner, advised that I will be Ranger Jim this summer at Waldenwoods RV Resort in Hartland, MI. Goodness, we will be home tomorrow so that we can start giving and getting family hugs that we have only been able to talk and think about for three months. Life just gets better. Now, if we can only get Carol's knees to stop keeping her in constant pain, it will be perfect. Saw some interesting sights today - the skyline of Cincinnati is always nice as you come over the mountain and see the town along the Ohio River, the statue of Christ along I-75, and, of course, the Welcome to Ohio sign. We also noticed that, in the mountains, we stopped seeing the green trees. Most were bare and some had only small buds on them.

April 15, 2008 The Kentucky Horse Park

We saw beauty today in the forms of several breeds of horses at The Kentucky Horse Park. This is a 1,200 acre showplace featuring the horses. It is owned by The Commonwealth of Kentucky and is actually part of their state park system. They have hundreds of horses that they show, breed and take care of in modern facilities. Man-O-War, probably the finest racehorse that ever lived, is memorialized here. There is a huge statue of him over the spot where he is buried. This horse was so huge that his stride was 28 feet. Besides the live horses, there are lifelike statues throughout the park with various themes around them. We went to a couple of horse shows that were presented by volunteers and employees of the park. The black horse with the white hairs hanging over its hooves is an English Shire horse. This is a very muscular work horse and one of Carol's favorites. The rider of one of the other work horses performed acrobatic tricks on its back. In case you didn't recognize us, that is Carol and me under the statue of Man-O-War. This is our last day in Kentucky. Tomorrow we travel to Wapakoneta, OH, which is just north of Dayton. We will meet with some friends from Troy, OH for dinner and then travel on home Thursday. What a journey this has been. It is just starting to hit me that we are actually heading home and this portion of our life's journey is about to close and the next about to open. Wonder what it will have in store for us. We will partially unload the Montana at home and then set it up at Waldenwoods RV Resort in Hartland, MI, where I will be Ranger Jim for the summer.

April 14, 2008 Berea, KY to Lexington, KY, The Kentucky Horse Park

This was a short jaunt up I-75 to the campground on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park. This campground has 260 water and electric paved sites with acres of green, green grass. Very clean. The only thing missing is the sewers at each site. That makes an excellent campground into just a really great park. The Kentucky Horse Park is 1,200 acres set in the rolling hills of Kentucky, just before the bluegrass becomes the Appalachians. There are horse barns, horses of all kinds, horse fences and show arenas all over the place. Also what seems like miles and miles of beautiful pasture with grazing horses. We got to the visitors center about 4:15 PM and the shows were done and the park was about to close at 5:00. We were able to figure out a rough proposed itinerary for tomorrow, though, with Rich and Helen. This area would have to compare to Graceland for Carol - she LOVES horses and Elvis. We went to dinner at a steakhouse that we located by using our GPS Points of Interest feature. This was a very old restaurant/bar in Lexington that advertised that it had been serving people for many years. We were not sure even about the neighborhood when we parked the truck and were even more apprehensive when we entered the old building. Quickly the trepidations left as we were served well, quickly and with delicious food. One of the sides was sweet potato casserole. I love sweet potatos, sweet potato pie and, now, this place's sweet potato casserole. This had raisins and pecans in it and brown sugar glaze on top. Oh, my - that, in itself, would make me want to come back. Tomorrow we will see the followers of Man-O-War, Secretariat, Cigar and other great thoroughbreds. We will see draft horses and who know what else. We will do this park like we did Disney - walking slowly, stopping a lot and really enjoying what we are seeing. The weather is still reminding us that we are nearing Michigan. The thermometer said it reached 44 degrees today but it is hard to believe. It was cloudy and spitting rain part of the day. Tonight it is supposed to get down into the 20s so we filled our water tank and put our hoses and water filters into the basement where it will be heated. The holding tanks will be heated by the furnace also. Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny and go up to a "balmy" 58. Where is Florida when we need it?