Friday, June 10
Two tired Oldtymrs started for home this morning about 9. The smoke that we could smell last night from the Arizona fires and Colorado fires had subsided, at least for the morning. We had a beautiful blue sky and about 65 degrees when we left. The haze reappeared as we approached Salt Lake City. Have we ever mentioned that we hate SLC roads and drivers?! They've been working on I-15 since 1980-something, and it's still a POS. Won't drive through this city again.
Our reason for coming this direction was to, hopefully, see Ann and Dennis on our way home.
Sunday, June 12
We arrived at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho after an uneventful trip north and set up at Blackwell Island RV park for our visit with Dennis and Ann tomorrow night for dinner at our place.
Monday, June 13
It'd been seven months since we saw our friends, and we were happy to be sharing hugs with them. Ann had been to visit the docs and had good news and bad news. The good news is all four of the remaining tumors have gotten smaller. Three of them look like they're in remission. Yea! They're unsure about the fourth one. It has definitely gotten smaller, but it looks like it might still be active. The type of cancer Ann has is very aggressive so given that, she opted for another round of chemo. Yuk! The good news here is, she will be going in every three weeks for four sessions and will make a decision after that about going for more.
Ann and Dennis both looked great! The last time we saw Ann (end of October), she was a very sick lady in the hospital just beginning the hell she would go through for the next many months. After her recent hiatus from treatment, she has color in her face, a sparkle in her eye, has gained a few pounds and is feeling much better. Her finger tips and toes are still swollen, and she's sensitive to cold but not so much so that she couldn't enjoy ice cream with her brownie for dessert. Yea! We laughed that now would be a great time for her to commit a robbery or something 'cause she doesn't have any finger prints from the swelling. Ha ha, doubtful!
After visiting for a few hours, our friends headed for home. Ann started her chemo treatments the next day and won't be a happy camper for several days. We'll call in about three weeks, which is when she feels her best before going in for her next treatment. Our love and prayers are always with both of them.
Tuesday, June 14
With only a six-hour drive to home, we didn't rush too hard to get on the road but still left about 9:15 a.m. Once we got through Spokane, Bruce handed the wheel over to Geri for the next couple of hours. Fun, fun! Driving is so much better than sitting as a passenger, which is so boring! Her lesson had started on our trip east and would now continue. This time, we drove into and out of a couple of rest areas so more about maneuvering would be taught. Awesome!
Before the hills started again, Bruce took the driving back from Gear Grabbin' Granny. The truck has a chip called Edge with Attitude. Punching the buttons up or down determines how much extra horsepower the truck has. It needs to be catered to in the hills and still things to learn about tow/haul mode. Geri's got it figured out on flat ground, but the hills are a different story and there's no way she's going anyplace tight yet. ;=) We made it safely home, and Geri's next lesson will come on our way to Arizona in November!
Until then, stay healthy and happy everyone! We'll see ya on the flip side!
