Tales from the Road

We had an uneventful first day on the road on Wednesday. Unless, of course, you count hydroplaning through driving rain and dodging a tornado warning through Tulsa. We managed to slip by before a tornado ripped the roof off a gun club, thank heaven. Amarillo, Texas was our stopping place for the night. 653 miles traveled.

We felt every one of them.

Amarillo Sunrise

Then after a restful night, we headed into New Mexico at about 6:30 in the morning, hoping to make it to Phoenix for a 700 mile day. Since Amarillo's elevation is about 3600 ft, the dawn greeted us with a brisk 28 degrees. (If you want to know more about why the elevation matters to me, check out my Second Wind blog!)

I'd sort of forgotten that the Southwest is high desert, which means cold at night, hot by day. (Note to self: Pack a light jacket next time!)

My DH

I haven't traveled along the western I-40 corridor since I was a kid. Back then it was with my family--my parents, 2 of my sisters (my baby sister wasn't with us yet) and my grandparents--all piled into a station wagon pulling a camper. My dad always said we had 4-60 air conditioning, which meant we rolled down all the windows and went 60 miles an hour.

Our van is much more comfortable and I have the best chauffeur in the world!

New Mexico is much more picturesque than I remembered. Rocks break through the surface of the earth like an ancient dragon spine. Check out this unique formation.

Is it just me, or don't those reddish stones sort of look like a giant armadillo?

And how about this roadside sphinx?

I'd love to know how these things were formed, wouldn't you? (Take that Sheldon Cooper. Geology is too a real science!)

The road was climbing most of the day, heading toward Flagstaff, Arizona, which tops out at over 7000 ft.

I'm not sure when we first became aware of Mt. Humphrey (over 12000 ft.) looming ahead of us, because at first the snow-capped peak blended in with the gathering clouds, but we could see it for miles. When we finally reached Flagstaff, it was towering above us.

I was totally surprised by the number of trees in Arizona. Guess I always thought of it as a desert state. Then we dropped down out of the high country as we headed toward Phoenix. The landscape changed for a brief time to what I like to call Sound of Music mountains, with green meadows ringed by peaks. But that didn't last long as we dropped in elevation and entered the Sonoran Desert.

As deserts go, it's a lively one. Lots of vegetation compared to say, the Sahara. Saguaro cacti seem plentiful, but they are a protected native plant. Destroying one can result in a hefty fine. Stealing one from public land is a Class 4 felony!

At around 4 pm, we breathed a sigh of relief as we came into Phoenix, even though the city was bustling with more traffic than we'd seen since we moved from Boston two years ago. Unlike our first night, we didn't have a hotel reservation, since we weren't sure we'd make it all the way to Phoenix, even though we gained two hours and were now on Pacific Time.

So we started stopping at likely hotels.

No vacancy. We left I-17 and turned our faces west to LA on I-10. Still no rooms at the inns.

As it turned out, there was a trifecta of an air show, the last day of spring training for baseball and a Nascar event in town. We couldn't rent a pup tent in Phoenix.

Yuma was 160 miles away. So we filled the gas tank, got a couple bottles of water a piece and headed south into the desert, looking for someplace to stay. Granted, the seats in the van do recline, but I so didn't want to try them out.

The sun was setting as we pulled into that little place in the southwest corner of the state. Fortunately, the first hotel we tried had ONE ROOM LEFT!

(Note to self: Always have a reservation, no matter whether you think you'll make it there or not!)

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And now,  few more pictures from the road...

Travels with Herkimer

*Herkimer is my pet name for my POC (Portable Oxygen Concentrator)

Ok. The countdown has begun. In less than a week, my DH and I will embark on the voyage of our lives! We're flying to San Diego where we'll board Holland America's Westerdam for a 30 day cruise to Hawaii and the islands of the South Pacific.

I'm still pinching myself. 

We've always been enthusiastic travelers. Our kids had passports from the time they were 8 and 6 years old. Since my husband was a travel industry IT guy, we managed to make lots of trips we couldn't have otherwise afforded using flight benefits and tag-along business trips. But now the kids are grown and my hubby is retired. Our adventures can be just about us now.

Well, us and all the medical equipment I have to lug around in order to function.

Cruise ships and airlines make every effort to accommodate guests with special needs, but they require advance notice. Months ago, I had to submit my request to carry Herkimer on. Oxygen tanks are not allowed on airplanes, but my POC is FAA approved and I can use it during our flights. This is a good thing since a pressurized cabin is like being at 8000 ft above sea level. At that elevation, I seriously need an extra puff of O2 to maintain good sats. When I arrive at the airport, I'll need to produce my prescription for the device, evidence that I'm carrying 1 1/2 times more battery life than I'll need to complete my travel and permission from Oxygen To Go (the agency that vets FAA approved devices) in order to board.

The upside is that I'll probably be shuffled into a wheel chair and my DH and I will hop to the front of the security line. 

Last year, Herkimer died on me without warning and I went without supplemental O2 for a couple of days while waiting for his replacement. Not fun, but at least  I was at home when it happened. I crept about the house with all the vim and vigor of a 3 toed sloth. I didn't want to find myself bobbing around in the Pacific in that condition, so we splurged and bought a back up unit. I'll be traveling with 2 Herkimers--one in his rolling cart and one in my carry-on bag. 

Also in the bag, which measures the required 20X14X9 inches, I've packed my bi-pap machine (whom I lovingly call Morpheus!) which gets me through the night, all its tubing and plugs, extra batteries, charger and electric cables, extra cannulas, my prescription meds (for 30 days, let me tell you that's a prodigious amount of pills!), a pair of jammies, 2 changes of undies, and socks. My toothbrush, make-up and other toiletries will have to travel in my DH's carry on.   

I used to say there were two classes of travel: First Class and With Children. Now I'll add a third: With Medical Equipment

But it's all good. Once we unpack on the ship, it'll be like being at home. Holland America has already promised to have distilled water waiting for me in our cabin to use in Morpheus. Only getting to the pier from the Midwest with all our stuff in tow will be a challenge.

These devices, which some might think would weigh me down, actually give me freedom. I'm so thankful to be living now when my lung condition can be stabilized with drugs, when, between Herkimer and Morpheus, I have high enough O2 sats to feel like having a few adventures.

And I'm beyond grateful to celebrate 40 years of marriage with my Dear Husband on this exciting trip.

If you'd like to armchair travel with me, please visit The Coldwater Gazette, my author blog, and sign up to follow it by email. You'll find the form for you to type in your email in the right-hand column under my picture. I'll be posting photos, sharing our experiences, and wishing you were here.

Hope to see you there! 

A Tiny House Moment

In 13 days, the DH and I will embark on the voyage of our lives!

Yep, we'll board the Holland America Westerdam in San Diego, bound for Hawaii, Tahiti and a host of other stunning islands before turning back to the US. The Westerdam is a medium sized ship, hosting under 2000 passengers with a crew of about half that number. It's not quite the floating sideways sky scraper some of the really big ships are. For example, Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas can accommodate over 6300 passengers (and probably 3000 crew.)

There's no rock climbing wall on the Westerdam. No water slide. No miniature golf. No ice rink. (No joke. Just in case bobbing around in the ocean doesn't make you unsteady enough, some lines let you strap blades to the bottom of your feet!)

We lovingly refer to Holland America as the "old fart" line. Mostly because we'll be among the younger cruisers aboard. But we've traveled with Holland for a number of shorter vacations and really enjoy the laid-back atmosphere. It's quiet. The music is more my speed. We'll be more likely to hear a string quartet in a lounge than rap.

But as I was doing some packing the other day, the DH and I were both in our small laundry room running into each other while we sorted things out in the cramped space. And it occurred to me that not only will we be cruising to exotic locales for 30 days, we'll also be sharing a 212 square foot cabin.

For 30 days.

I've often marveled at the folks on HGTV who chuck their sprawling houses for teeny tiny living spaces. I wonder how they manage to store their clothes and stuff and keep from tripping over each other.

I suspect I'll find out.

Of course, on the ship we'll have a steward to help us keep things tidy. And there's no space wasted on a kitchen in the cabin. All in all, I doubt I'll feel too claustrophobic since we have the whole ship as our backyard.

And that's sort of the point of a tiny house, isn't it? The folks who live in them want to spend more time out of the house having adventures. Well, that's the plan...

I'll keep you posted and share some pictures from our trip all the along the way!