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Herb & Martha Discover America

April 2018 - April 2024
I am a recently retired nurse and my husband and I have just sold our house and we are going to full-time RV until we get tired of it.
There is so much of this country that I haven't seen. Herb has seen a lot more of it, but it was 50 yrs ago. Read more
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  • Herb & Martha Discover America

    Getting ready

    April 9, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    I am a recently retired nurse. My husband, Herb, is retired postal and USAF Reserve. We have a Class C RV and we are going to travel this beautiful country while we still have the health and energy to do so. There's a lot I haven't seen. Herb saw a whole bunch of it when he was 20 or so--he and an another soldier took an Army exhibit 18-wheeler all over, but that was 50 yrs ago and they weren't thinking of sightseeing at the time!

    As we sit here, in our old house with the chaos of packing all around us, we are also setting up our itinerary. Herb is always organized and he likes to know where we are going and when and he carefully builds a binder with all the various reservation confirmations and addresses to enter into the GPS. It's also a good way to keep our eye on the prize. 

    So far, we are leaving here May 4, stopping in Amarillo overnight then spending a week in Oklahoma City.. Then we will head on to Branson, MO for a few days. We haven't yet looked at the shows that are available, but we do know we are going to go to Carbondale, IL, so Herb can look at the college campus, Southern Illinois University, Extension Program that gave him his Bachelor's after 32 years of mostly fruitless butting his head against the brick wall of Algebra--nevertheless, he persisted! 

    Our next long stop will be Minneapolis/St. Paul: I have a driving NEED to see the Mall of America while some stores are still open! Fortunately, I was astute enough to marry a man who likes to shop (eat your hearts out, Girlfriends!) 

    Then we will be off to Chicago for a few days and head for New York with side trips to Cleveland's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, Canton's NFL Hall of Fame, and Cooperstown, NY for the Baseball Hall of Fame and, of course, Niagara Falls. That's about the first third of our plans. You don't think I'm excited, do you?    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    Day 1

    High Desert RV Park

    April 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 41 °F

    The biggest obstacle to our getting on the road to our adventure in America has been passed. The house is sold, the new owners, JR and Emily Shaw, are getting it ready to their specifications. We had a really nice dinner with them at Ruth’s Chris the night we closed—they paid the whole, very expensive bill for the dinner, because they said, we had been gracious and because we left a lot of stuff we couldn’t take/store/sell/or pawn off on family! BTW, while the company was wonderful, the food was exceptional!
    The second obstacle was Herb finishing his rehab from his foot surgery, which is essentially done, but 2 months ago, while he was non-weight bearing on that foot, he fell off his knee walker when he made a sharp turn, landing on his left shoulder. It has been really painful and Dr O’Guinn at Presbyterian has tried a steroid shot and PT. When that didn’t work he ordered an MRI. We have the result on his MyChart, which used the word “tear” when discussing the rotator cuff tendons and ligaments. Much of it went over my head, but we have an appointment with the Dr. Wednesday to discuss options.
    In the meantime, we are comfortably ensconced in an RV park in West Albuquerque with the dogs, Touly and Fonzie. With very few obligations, we have some things left to see in New Mexico. This is a very beautiful state and while the weather this week hasn’t been ideal, it will be improving! I think today might be a good to go see the travelling Da Vinci exhibit at the Natural History Museum!    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    Day 12

    Zero Day -2

    May 2, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Well, we've spent the last two weeks getting the RV set up for us to travel with all the stuff we're going to need and it looks like we are there! Last goodbyes to the kids tomorrow and a last goodbye to our dance buddies at The Dirty Bourbon tomorrow night, then we will get up Friday morning and take off East. First stop Amarillo for one night, then on to Oklahoma City for a week. I hope you will all go along with us and that I can keep you entertained!

    We had casually talked about taking an RV to see all the country for many years, but when we discovered how much we enjoyed RV-ing, coupled with my need to hang up my stethoscope because I was just too damned old to work like a dog anymore, we decided it was time. Another issue was that we moved to Albuquerque to give the kids here five years or so before moving to someplace in Texas (cue the Tanya Tucker song, “Texas When I Die”). We ended up giving them 9 years! 

    In any event, the time had come to sell the house and move on, so we bought the RV last year and put the house up for sale in November. We closed on our house April 19, to JR and Emily Shaw who turned out to be Bob Jagla's niece. Bob is a retired nurse I knew from Presbyterian Hospital and we used to walk with him at the mall every day--we really hit it off with JR and Emily and celebrated the closing with them at Ruth's Chris. It was totally cool to sell to someone who saw it as their dream house!

    The timing worked out perfectly however. The weather North and East of here has finally broken and Spring has sprung! I had my heart set on Branson, Mall of America, Chicago, Cleveland (Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame), Canton, Ohio (Football Hall of Fame), Niagara Falls, Cooperstown, NY (Baseball Hall of Fame), New York City, and points South, so this is where we head to first. I am officially excited!

    Getting the RV ready for two people with TONS of stuff was no easy task. We pretty much bought out The Container Store! Arranging it so we could access what we needed while preserving room to walk around and the dogs to stretch out, without looking like the Joad family from Grapes of Wrath was top priority! 

    The video shows how it looks. This is the best it's gonna get so let's get this adventure started!!

    https://youtu.be/Rwot5zTxmj0    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    Day 13

    Last day before trip!

    May 3, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    Day 15

    Day #2, Choctaw, OK

    May 5, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    Day 2:

    Yesterday we left Albuquerque and started a whole new chapter of our lives. I had truly expected that it would feel scary to be homeless, but I quickly realized we weren't homeless--we have a very comfortable home. And we get to drive it to wherever we go!

    Friday we packed up all the outside bins and stuff and put them in the RV or in the car, then we had a fairly easy drive to Amarillo. Once there we got hooked up, returned the outside bins outside and ordered an Uber to Saltgrass Steakhouse. Unfortunately I lost a black polyester sweater that I bought cheaply at the Aloha Stadium Flea Market in 2006. I have always loved it, but Uber charges $15 for returning a lost item--heck, it didn't cost that much when I bought it! One of the things I have learned as I have aged is that wasting emotional energy in getting upset about pretty much anything is exactly that: a waste!

    This morning, the task was even easier because we developed a system! The drive to Oklahoma City was pleasant and only about 4 hrs. Which is a good thing since by the time we got here, Herb's left shoulder and arm were in agony. Fortunately we have 7 days to rest his shoulder.

    Driving toward Amarillo, the country was all pretty much desert, but I was amazed to find Oklahoma really looks a lot like North Texas (I know, Duh!, right?). It's pretty country--grassland and some really pretty trees. The campground here is really pretty. Lots of shade trees and friendly folk. Herb's new computer was waiting when we got here. My new bluetooth headset arrived too. Only problem was it wasn't bluetooth--I hate when I so that. But, WTH, I ordered it through Fry's and it was free shipping  back.

    One of the things that was a pleasant surprise is how well the dogs have traveled. We are all developing a daily rhythm that stays the same no matter where we are. Stay tuned..    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    1
    Day 17

    Day 4--Oklahoma City Memorial Museum

    May 7, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    We visited the OKC Memorial Museum on Monday. I remember the tragedy well. I was in Day #1 of my re-certification for PALS at Cook Children's Hospital on April 19, 1995 when we heard about the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. About 2/3 of the building was destroyed--including the day care on the 2nd floor. The doer was a home-grown terrorist, Timothy McVeigh, who planned it as a retribution for the Branch Davidian debacle.

    The memorial is very moving. It starts out describing the day as just like any other--until it wasn't. Read more here: <https://www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bo…;    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    Day 18

    Day #5--Bricktown Water Taxi, OKC, OK

    May 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    They've created a riverwalk reminiscent of the riverwalk in San Antonio (it's a man-made canal, 1 mile long and 4 ft deep--a pretty pale imitation, but WTH!) . It's a pleasant couple of hours anyway. The bronze statues of the Oklahoma land rush are spectacular--larger than life and incredibly detailed. If you don't know, they were called "Sooners" because so many managed to sneak in early and claim their parcel. Read more here: <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the…;Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    Day 18

    Day 4 and 5 of our adventure

    May 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Yesterday we visited the inside of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. It was really worth the trip and if anyone is coming to OKC to visit I would recommend taking the time to take the tour. It was a real eye opener. Martha did post some pictures on Facebook.

    Today we took a water taxi along the Bricktown canal. It is OKC version of the river walk. It was pleasant and we did learn somethings about the area. We are talking about going back either Thursday or Friday evening. Bricktown is basically their entertainment district.

    All is going well and looking forward to Branson.    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    1
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    Day 19

    Nat'l Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

    May 9, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    I have extremely impressed by Oklahoma City! Initially, I had been rather off-put by the right-wing rhetoric emanating from Oklahoma in the news. Stuff like this: "...in the Oklahoma House, the press-averse head of the House’s chaplain program, State Rep. Chuck Strohm (R-Jenks), has done all he can to make sure no non-Christian faith leaders are given an opportunity to give a prayer in the House chambers." <http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-politics/…; But that certainly doesn't represent the warm, down-home people who make up the people here.

    The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum was s wonderful experience! Certainly one of the best museums I have ever seen. Art and culture in equal portions and I especially liked the exhibit that paid homage to the depiction of cowboy culture in the movies and TV.

    https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/    Read more

  • Herb & Martha Discover America
    2
    Day 23

    Branson, MO

    May 13, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Yesterday we left Oklahoma City and continued on to Branson. For some reason, it seemed a difficult trip and it was hot when we got here.  We got overheated getting set up and that didn't help. Since getting to OKC my sinuses have been playing havoc with me--unaccustomed humidity I am guessing and I am taking pseudoephedrine 90 mg to decongest and quell the head pressure.

    I had been told that Branson would likely be disappointing when we got here, and they were right. Straight out of the 50s Las Vegas cheesy! Cheap and totally touristy, but it has a certain character even for that. I will take lots of pictures, promise, and we can snigger together. 
     
    The country is beautiful--lush green grasses and trees cover rolling hills. There are lakes and rivers wherever you go and we will most assuredly explore many of them. I think we should unpack Herb's SUP and give it a workout.    Read more

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