THIS KIND OF EXCITEMENT WE DON'T NEED!!

(written yesterday, Jan 28, 2014)

We'll we have had some exciting times lately.  First off Ron spent the weekend in the hospital.  He hadn't been feeling well since last Monday so we went to an urgent care center mid-week. They gave him fluids and took blood test and sent him home.  But Friday morning he starting feeling worse so we went to the ER of the local medical center.  After 11 1/2 hours and 4 tests they admitted him to be seen by a gastroenterologist.  Saturday they performed an endoscopy to remove gallstones that had lodged in his bile duct and to insert a temporary stent. Then Sunday laposcopic surgery was performed to remove his gallbladder.  It wasn't necessarily an emergency but this 112 bed facility is the only one within 25 miles and they are so busy that they run all tests, procedures and surgeries 7 days a week.   He came home yesterday feeling tired, and a little sore but all abdominal pain/discomfort is gone.   Because he has a follow up appointment with the surgeon in two weeks and will have to have the stent removed in 6 weeks, we have extended our stay in the Gulf Shores area.  All of the rooms at this medical  facility are private with sleeper sofas, so I was able to stay with Ron the entire time.  I was glad, but hospitals are the worse place to get sleep!  We luckily have a couple parked next to us at the campground who have been awesome!  They are ironically from Missouri, and have called or texted me a couple of  times everyday to see how we were doing and to offer help for anything we may have needed. They also brought Ron brownies and a card when we got home. Two other couples we have met here also stayed in touch as did the campground personnel.  Which is nice when family is not close.

The other exciting news is the weather.  A wintery mix warning is in effect for the gulf coast from Mississippi to Florida.  They are predicting 1/4" of ice followed by 1-4 " snow.  Closer to the gulf where we are, is only expecting 1" of snow but freezing rain is occurring as I write this.  Now this is not too exciting for anyone living in north, but the locals are panicking!  They have no snow plows or salt.  Since they have unlimited sand this is how they prepare the roads, however, I hate to tell them with ice then snow the sand will be pretty much useless.   The communities near I-10 and I 65 had salt trucked in from northern AL.  The meteorologist missed how far north the storm would track so the Montgomery area did not close schools today.  So when it got bad they couldn't get the buses on the road and parents had to scrabble to pick up their children.  They are leaving the schools open tonight and making arrangements for the children to spend the night if parents can not reach them.

Our poor little coach has never been in this type of weather!!!  Our goal when we started travelling was to "follow the sun".....what happened to that?!

The bushes don't like this and the palm trees REALLY don't like it!










The above pictures were taken around the campground.  The following picture was posted on line of snow at the Alabama Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL.

 The good news is even the worse weather does not last long down here.  Predictions are for mid 60's - low 70's this weekend.  I'm ready!  The weather since we got here in October has been unseasonably cold so maybe by extending our stay we will be able to enjoy the warm weather that brings us to the gulf!

That's all the news from "arctic Alabama".    Hope all is well!