Since we haven't blogged since Mark's eye appointment, we should report that he is still seeing that giant floater in his right eye. But perhaps the spider-webby sight in that eye is getting less pronounced, and things don't seem to be worse. It could be six months before he sees improvement, and we have a follow-up appointment next week. In the meantime, he's still playing pickle ball through the haze, and we've started a new activity at Benson Grove Resort.
Welcome to water volleyball! It's in the indoor pool and the only rule is that the ball must go over the net (eventually). Multiple hits by one person are acceptable, and a team has unlimited hits to get it back over the net. An unlimited amount of laughter is also allowed. No pictures of the game, since we are too wet to have a camera in the pool at that time. This indoor pool is also where Denisa goes to water aerobics.
"So what else are we doing to keep busy this winter?" you might ask. One of Denisa's favorite activities is line dancing. The group of dancers keeps growing as others have found it is great exercise for the mind and the body. Her favorite class is the Wednesday morning advanced session. We have some complicated step combinations that move at the speed of light. It's so much fun!
We're also playing lots of pickle ball. Last year Bentsen Grove built a two court indoor air-conditioned pickle ball facility that is put to good use. It is scheduled with player groups that allow us to meet well-matched players from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. It doesn't matter if it's hot or windy outside because it's always good ball weather inside.
Another new activity at the park is bean bag baseball. Even though the board below looks innocent enough, some days it is very hard to get that little bag into one of the base hit holes--and very easy to get it into the "out" hole. Three tosses without landing in any hole is also an "out" for your team.
Denisa didn't realize it, but she has an interesting technique when she makes her tosses. It wasn't until Mark took pictures that she found she has a "high back kick throw style." That technique has even been responsible for an occasional good throw on that board.
We have around 50 retired people show up to throw bean bags, cheering for their team, and heckling their opponents. Even though the game is fun to play, the 10th inning party afterwards is another reason so many people show up to play each Friday afternoon.
Another weekly activity is our Monday afternoon Spanish class. We meet for a couple hours to study pronunciation and play games that trick us into learning Spanish words. Our teacher also takes us on field trips to places like a local Mexican grocery store where the products are from south of the border. We also had a field trip to a Mexican sea food restaurant where we had to order in Spanish from the Spanish menu. If you ever find yourself in this situation, we recommend steering clear of the Pulpo section of the menu. Spanish students like us know that "pulpo" is "squid."
Our Spanish class also hones our skills for deciphering the random Spanish signs we see in our area. We are especially adapt at finding these signs because we are rewarded with little candy bars when we bring them to class where we translate them.
We are also in the rock club this winter, where we are getting trained to operate the saws and polishers. It's been really interesting to see what can be hiding inside an ugly old gray rock.
Using the club polishers, Mark also had a chance to shine up one of those Petoskey stones we found on the shores of Lake Michigan this summer. On the left is the plain gray rock that this petrified coral masquerades as until they get wet--or polished. On the right is the shiny piece of petrified stone that now highlights the outlines of the coral segments frozen in time.
Another of Denisa's favorite activities is the Wednesday afternoon card-making class. She has already crafted enough birthday cards to send to all of our great nieces and nephews in 2019. Besides being a fun craft class, she might even be saving us some money (if you don't count all the money she has spent on card stock and paper).
If we didn't have enough to keep us busy during the day, we also have programs and dances to go to in the evening. We prefer two-stepping our way around the dance floor, but we don't have any pictures since we're both pretty busy with that. But Mark did take this picture when Denisa was called up on stage to help sing to YMCA.
A meal of chicken cordon bleu and a dance at the park is a great way to celebrate a romantic holiday with the one you love the most. We're having a great time here in the Rio Grande Valley!
During our winter resort vacation, we don't blog as much. We don't have that steady stream of pretty pictures taken on hikes or kayak trips to give us good subject matter for new blogs. So as we're settling into a life filled with activities like pickle ball and line dance, Mark decided to spice up our schedule. One day he assumed he had something under his contact lens that was making things blurry. But after his afternoon of pickle ball, he took out his contacts and his vision didn't clear up. He realized that the blurriness was caused from something inside his eye. We've both had little floaters, but this one was big enough to cover his entire line of vision in his right eye. He found this picture on the internet that illustrates the blurry vision that he was suddenly experiencing.
The Rio Grande Valley is blessed with a large number of medical professionals, all kept busy with the winter Texans that live in the valley. We found a well-regarded eye care center that was covered by our insurance, and Mark was sitting in the ophthalmologist chair the very next morning.
After dilating both eyes, Mark was diagnosed with a PVD. That's a shortened version of the longer diagnosis of Posterior Vitreous Detachment. It seems that as we get older, the jelly-like vitreous inside our eyeballs turns to liquid. Pieces ripping off is quite common, even though his is larger than most. But we read that 75% of the people over 65 will have a PVD. The problem comes if the area detached includes the retina. That's when a patient sees sparks of light, and surgery is necessary to re-attach the retina. The ophthalmologist said this was not happening, but we are to hurry back if he sees any changes.
Eventually, this detached piece floating in his eye should be absorbed. But we've read that can take from three weeks to six months. Mark is already tired of walking around in a blur, but the doctor has told him that he can do anything he is accustomed to doing. So he is still playing pickle ball, which is rather amazing since that little ball is now speeding toward him in a blur. But prayers have been answered in that the tear hasn't gotten worse.
So we'll continue to wander His wonders, even if it's a little blurry--thankful for doctors that can answer our questions when a medical emergency comes up along the way.
Since we started traveling full-time, we enjoy looking back each year to find our favorites. We had a shorter travel loop this year, so our hiking list is shorter. But our kayaking list is longer, as we made our way through Minnesota--the land of 10,000 lakes. The length of these two lists might also be related to the fact that Denisa's sprained ankle kept us off the trails for a while. But a swollen and bruised ankle can rest quite nicely propped up on the side of our inflatable kayak. We also found that many of the midwestern states we visited this year have some great bike trails. So it is a nice trip down memory lane as we list some of our favorites for 2018. We would definitely recommend each one of these experiences to fellow travelers. Be sure to read to the end because one of our favorite list of favorites is the last one--our Favorite Experiences.
FAVORITE KAYAKING
Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore - Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Boundary Waters - Hegman Lake - Ely, Minnesota
Boundary Waters - Numbered Lakes - Ely, Minnesota
Ash River Falls - Voyageurs National Park - Minnesota
Ozawindib Lake - Itasca State Park - Minnesota
Spring River - Twin Bridges State Park - Grove, Oklahoma
Steinhagen Lake - Martin Dies Jr. State Park - Jasper, Texas
Cypress Trails - Caddo Lake State Park - Uncertain, Texas
Lake Kabetogama - Voyageurs National Park - Minnesota
FAVORITE HIKES
Chapel Rock Trail - Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore - Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Horse Thief Springs Trail - Cedar Lake, Oklahoma
Cascade Rivers State Park - Lake Superior's North Shore - Minnesota
Temperance River State Park - Lake Superior's North Shore - Minnesota
Baldy Dune - C.S. Mott Nature Preserve - Bear Lake, Michigan
FAVORITE BIKING
Katy Trail - New Franklin to Rocheport, Missouri
Tow Path on the Erie Canal - Delphi, Indiana
Pumpkinvine Trail thru Amish Country - Shipshewana, Indiana
Lake Bemidji State Park - Bemidji, Minnesota
Martin Dies Jr. State Park trails - Jasper, Texas
Mackinac Island, Michigan
FAVORITE FESTIVALS
Art Prize - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Apple Festival - Niles, Michigan
University of Missouri Homecoming - Columbia, Missouri
Hill Climb - Newport, Indiana
Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators - Shreveport, Louisiana
Petoskey Bay Festival - Petoskey, Michigan
FAVORITE EXPERIENCES
Hunting for Petoskey Stones - Lake Michigan's Eastern Shores
Amish Bakeries and Farms - Northern Indiana
Picking Blueberries around the lakes of Northern Minnesota
Eating fresh-caught walleye fish that our neighbors caught on Lake Kabetogama, Minnesota
Listening to the Call of the Loon - Minnesota's State Bird
Attending the College National Baseball Championship Game - Omaha, Nebraska
Watching the big cargo ships dock on the Great Lakes
Finding all the Covered Bridges in Parke County, Indiana
Watching the Whopping Cranes near Rockport, Texas
Boat Ride with new Friends around the Apostle Islands, Bayfield, Wisconsin
Being at the Hospital when our first Granddaughter was Born in Kansas City, Missouri
Enjoying the beautiful outdoor Wedding of our Youngest Son and his Bride in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2018 was a great year of traveling, and we were proud to welcome two new members into our little family. We have wandered God's wonders in new and special ways this past year!
Every year Mark makes a map that outlines where we traveled the previous year. It's always fun for us to see our path. We're a little late in getting it published, but he finally had a chance to connect all the dots for 2018. The following map includes points that represent stops of at least one night. The list on the right contains the name of each campground. Clicking on the picture below will make if easier to read. As you can see, we made a figure-8 this year.
We started 2018 in the panhandle of Oklahoma. Then we made a quick trip down to the tip of Texas for a stay of two months during the coldest part of the winter. We headed north as the rest of the country thawed out. That's when 2018 became "the year of the family." We were back in Oklahoma to spend time with Mark's parents in the spring. Dot #18 was another longer stay, as we stayed two months to properly spoil our first grandchild after her birth on May 2. Then we had another big event as we drove to Oklahoma City for our youngest son's wedding. What a busy spring!
We were back on the road at the end of June, heading straight north to get out of the heat. We went all the way to the Canadian border, enjoying northern's Minnesota's Voyageur National Park and the Boundary Waters. This was the summer of the Great Lakes, as we explored Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Even though we didn't get any ocean-time in 2018, we decided these lakes are so big they feel like an ocean. We made our way across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and then hugged the east coastline of Lake Michigan as we started our drive south.
In 2018 we added nine more states to our list of places visited in our motor home, as we headed back towards home through Indiana and Illinois.
Our year by the numbers:
We parked at 55 different camping spots.
Our average nightly camping fee is $12.85 (includes free nights boondocking or staying with family and friends).
Our average paid nightly camping fee is $18.04.
We visited 11 different states this year.
We spent $1,832.06 on 600.77 gallons of diesel (at an average price $3.05 per gallon) for the motor home.
We spent $36.47 on 12.95 gallons of DEF for the motor home.
We don't even try to keep up with the amount of gasoline we purchase for the car, as we use it to explore while we are camped.
2018 was another great year of family time and wandering more of God's wonders!
