Hit the Road

Howdy!

How’ve you been? It’s been a while since we’ve chatted with many of you. Yep…we’re back on the road and six days in Kentucky. This is Jethro’s first trip here, and so far he’s lovin’ it. We drove him straight through on Friday night and Saturday morning, April 13-14th. Mike and Michelle Fink left the door open for us; they’re off in Montana celebrating Michelle’s birthday. Gunner sends his best to all his fans.

It’s been a tough winter in Lexington. Last year the trees were greener on April 1st than they are today, April18. You can tell they’re just itchin’ to show some color very soon, though. We had lite snow yesterday and the nights are still in the 30’s. None of that bothers the Bluegrass, however. It’s the same inviting emerald green as ever.

This year didn’t start off to be our best ever, so we’re glad to be “on the road again.” Lizzy and Lenny both decided (upon the recommendation of our ophthalmologist) to have those nasty Cadillacs removed from our eyes. We tried to get our eyeglass prescriptions changed, but she said, “I can’t really help you.” This was after we both sat behind those Star Wars goggles that every ophthalmologist has. You know…the ones when they ask you, “Is it better with one or two? Two or three? Five or seven…ad infinitum.” You know the drill. Well…I guess she got tired of our responding - “They’re both the same…blurry!!” Thus, she sent us off to get rid of our Cadillacs.

The good news is that Dr. Wesley Herman (Cadillac Doctor) is about the greatest guy you could ever meet. His bedside manner is second to none. He literally spent (and this is no exaggeration) a full hour personally with each of us explaining the whys and wherefores of each of our eyes and the anatomy of same. It’s the longest any medical doctor, except my son, has ever spent with either of us.

Enough, already! Those surgeries went blissfully well. We spent every weekday for two weeks at Vision Quest on Central Expressway. We know everyone there. Experiencing the world through uncluttered eyes with razor sharp vision (without glasses) that’s almost too bright. Lizzy has adjusted beautifully.

Lenny, on the other hand found that his crystal-clear vision was still obstructed by the nasty vitreous saggy-bag (floaters) that had plagued him for almost a decade. While at the retina doc (a precautionary post-surgery recommended visit from Dr. Herman), Lenny bitched about the amoeba/jellyfish cruising around inside his best eye. The retina doc said, “We can take care of that Monday.” “Really?,” Lenny replied. “Yep; it’s called a vitrectomy. If you’ve had that nasty mess in your eye for as long as you claim, we can rid of it.” Since the Cadillac surgery with Doc Herman went so blissfully well…well…why not git ‘er dun!

Cliff notes: Don’t ever volunteer for a vitrectomy unless it’s the only thing standing between you and total blindness. You see, Lenny has a propensity towards glaucoma. Simply stated, he doesn’t handle eye pressure on the high end or the continuum very well at all. As with most glaucoma patients, keeping his eye pressures low is paramount. Normal pressure range is between 8 and 22. With glaucoma, the docs shoot for the 12-13 range. Post vitrectomy, Lenny’s eye pressure was at 40. No…that’s no misprint. The result is a new scotoma in his left eye to match the one in the right. Where they intersect, sans two-eyed compensation, there’s no vision - a blind spot, if you would. 

Hey…that’s easy enough to deal with. We adapt to things like this quickly. What sucks is the price of seven eye drops everyday for, perhaps, the rest of his life. Right off the shelf they’re in the $400-500 a bottle range. That’s for 50 days worth. You do the math…that’s an expensive drug habit. And…that’s just one of his three eye drop prescriptions; there’s two more! It’s a good thing we don’t take any other meds; knock, knock, knock on wood.

So…

…now do you know why we were anxious to get the hell outta Dodge? 

We’re super stoked this year because we have friends joining us just about everywhere. Here in Kentucky comes brother and sister-in-law Al and Jo; best buds Pete and Willie, other great buds Charlie and Cindy and our awesome neighbor and great friend Beth. Finally, we get to show some folks around our beloved Kentucky second home.

From here we’ll load ole Jethro and head to Lake Placid where we’ll reunite with Beth for a week before we settle in at the farm in Saco, Maine. Can’t wait to revisit Pam and Nicol. I’m hoping he saved some grass for me to mow. We’ll be there from mid-June to mid-July.

At the end of that stay, we’ll swing by home long enough to wash some clothes and tackle some eye doctor follow-ups. Then we’ll join forces with Charlie and Cindy as we caravan up to Steamboat for August and much of September. We’re trying out some new digs in “The Boat” this year. We’ll be right downtown along the Yampa River. Can’t wait! Charlie and Cindy will spend the first week with us. Later we’ll be joined by Jordan and Amanda and, perhaps, others during our stay there.

At the end of September we’ll mosey over to Sonoma, CA to celebrate son Jordan’s wedding. After 43 years, Amanda was well worth the wait. She’s everything he could have hoped for and so much more! The wedding will be atop their mountain abode in Sonoma. Too cool.

So, I guess we’ll be moseying home sometime in early October. Oh, in case you’re wondering why no mention of our beloved motorcycles, well…they’re up for sale on consignment. Yeah, you really need to see with both eyes if you’re gonna haul your main squeeze around on your Wing or your Beemer. Hey, it’s all good. Life’s full of adventure and variety’s the spice that makes it worth living.

Hope we haven’t bored you silly and you will join us for Odyssey 2018.

Later, dudes! Stay tuned…