Tackling the Practical Tasks of Being Terminally Ill...

There have been a number of tasks that I have ... well ... it's not that I've been avoiding them. I just put them on the back burner because I had better things to do: seeing Europe and the US, but today it was time to start tackling these necessary tasks.

Task 1 - Health Care Power of Attorney/Living Will 

Quite frankly this task is one that everyone over the age of 18 should complete and keep up to date on a regular basis. A health care power of attorney/living will gives directions to your health care proxy about life prolonging medical treatments. I can hear people now: "But Sandi, I'm young" and "I'm not sick." Yes, and tomorrow you could walk out of your house and be hit by a bus. Do you want to be the next Terri Schiavo? I do not. Of course, I have had a living will for years, but it needed some updating. Now, it's all ready to be signed, witnessed, and delivered to my physicians. It's pretty standard. What are my wishes? Unsurprising, no life sustaining treatments are to be given. Done!

Task 2 - Last Will and Testament

Let's start with the knowledge that I did have a will drawn up -- years ago. But times have changed and so has my situation; therefore, I needed to update this document. Fortunately, thanks to online legal websites, this chore was easily accomplished - particularly as my will is pretty basic. Another document ready for signing, witnessing, and storing. Done!

Task 3 - Researching Pennsylvania Cremation

I decided decades ago that when it was my time to go, I did not want to be stuffed in a box and placed in the ground. My plan is to arrange and prepay for the disposal of my remains. I spent some time today looking into crematories in the area and the approximate cost. Next step is to choose one and make an appointment to finalize my plans. 

Task 4 - Dispersal of Ashes

This assignment was more difficult than I expected. How do you decide where your ashes should be dispersed? First off, yes, I want my ashes spread somewhere. I don't want them sitting on someone's mantle. Ugh! Then I narrowed it down to something with water. One of the random facts I once listed about myself is that I love the water - any type (lakes, ponds, oceans, swimming pools, etc.). As I do love the ocean (but hate the beach), I have decided that I would like my ashes to be scattered into the ocean. I think my brother, Tom, needs to fly to Florida and he and my other brother, Tim, should rent a boat (bringing a case of beer with them) and take my ashes out into the ocean in order to scatter them properly.  No throwing them into the ocean from the beach. Uh uh!  I do not want to end up on the sand! With my luck, I'd end up in some jerk's ass crack.

Task 5 - Plan a "Good Death"

I read an article about tasks that the terminally ill need to accomplish and this task was one of them. What they meant by "good death" is: Where do you want your final moments to be -- your home, a hospital, a nursing home, or hospice facility? As with deciding on my ash dispersal, I found this task to be a bit difficult. Ordinarily, I would say I would prefer to die in the comforts of my home, but I don't actually have a home. Yes, my brother has kindly allowed me to live in his home, but it's not exactly my home. If it were, there would be different toilet paper in the bathroom. Plus, it's not fair for my brother to have that burden. A hospital is out. It's how my father died and that sucked! So I suppose I need to start looking for a good inpatient hospice facility. I started with making a list of some area facilities. The next steps would be to go and visit them to see what they're like and if they would fit into my "good death" scenario. Also, as cost is an issue, I have to find out if I can afford great hospice care. I'm sure I can afford crap hospice care, but that's not an option I'd want to consider.

Task 6 - Write my Final Blog

Okay, some people might find this ghoulish but I started to write my final blog which I will ask my brother to post after I croak. As this will be the last words that I will ever post, I want them to be perfect so I will continue to work and re-work this last blog in order to make it perfect. I doubt if it'll ever be perfect but I'll do my best to say goodbye to everyone in a way that will (hopefully) be equal parts of funny, interesting, and poignant.

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I had a few other minor tasks that aren't worth listing but were completed. I feel like I did well today on getting started and, in some cases, completing some necessary tasks. All in all, today was one of my more productive days of late.

And the Pain Goes On, the Pain Goes On (Cancer Update)

(What's the pop culture reference in the title that I co-opted?)

As I mentioned in my last update, this week was almost nothing but annoying medical appointments. After nearly 2 years of dealing with cancer, I'm over it. Can it all just go away? Even for a little bit? Nope, guess not.  And as I'm in too much pain right now to do any sort of sightseeing and traveling, it gives me something to do, I suppose. Here was my week:

On Wednesday, I headed to the hospital in order to have a thoracentesis performed. You may remember that I had fluid building up in the pleura around my lungs and this procedure drains the fluid. I arrived at the hospital at 7:00am and registered. I was told to head up to the Short Procedure Unit. Short Procedure - that sounded promising; perhaps I would be in and out in a short time. Nope! The nurse asked me to wait in the waiting room until they had a bed available. Around 7:45, the nurse (Lee) brought me back, where I had to change into one of those very sexy hospital gowns. After climbing into the bed, I went over my medical history with Lee. She then placed an IV in my hand and told me that they would be up in about 30 minutes to take me down to radiology. An hour later, I was finally carted off to the 1st floor. Both the nurse and the doctor gave me the overview of what the procedure would entail. Here's what happened: I was brought into the room, told to scoot to the side of the bed and lean over the x-ray machine bed. Then the doctor used an ultrasound machine to locate the pleural effusion. After marking the location on my back with a marker and sterilizing the area, he then stuck a rather painful needle into the area in order to numb it. Then a slightly larger needle was placed and the cap removed. The fluid flowed out into a liter glass bottle. I just had to lean and wait for the fluid to flow out. Approximately 10-15 minutes later, I was done and they bandaged the site. While I was waiting for them to roll me out into the hall, the nurse asked me if I wanted to see what had been removed. I said, "sure." I turned and saw 950 milliliters of bloody fluid. Holy crap! If you're like me and are a Metric idiot, 950 milliliters is 1 quart. A normal amount of fluid in the pleura is 20 milliliters. Well, no wonder I was having trouble breathing. Although oddly, it didn't do much to improve how I'm feeling. I'm coughing less, but otherwise, I still feel like hell. After a chest x-ray to make sure there was no pneumothorax (a collapsed lung), I headed back to the Short Procedure Unit and about an hour later (a little before noon), I was released and headed home.

The next day (yesterday), I headed back to the hospital for a CT scan. It was pretty much like every other CT scan I've had over the past 2 years. Arrive, sit, choke down a nasty barium contrast drink, lay on the CT machine, hold breath, get injected with a contrast solution, hold breath, and leave.

Today, I met with my oncologist to discuss everything. While he didn't give me specifics, he did say that the CT results showed that everything has gotten slightly worse since my last CT two months ago. Not surprising. He was disappointed that the draining of the fluid didn't do more, but he suspects that I'm just unlucky enough that even though the lung nodules are still relatively small, they're positioned in places that are causing me pain. Lately, I've been having stomach pains as well, and he suspects that's from the abdominal nodules. Oh joy of joys. He is still advocating chemotherapy and I am still adamant about not wanting to do any more chemo. So we have reached an impasse. The next step: the oncologist wants to be sure that it really is endometrial cancer that we're dealing with and not breast cancer so he is recommending a biopsy of one of the nodules. As there are now abdominal nodules that can be biopsied, the risk is minimal (as opposed to any lung nodule). Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will have the biopsy to confirm that we are dealing with endometrial. This procedure seems stupid to me. What difference does it make if I'm dying from endometrial or breast cancer? Whatever. I left the office with a prescription for Percocet for pain and an appointment to see him in three weeks.

Real Playgrounds Which are the Stuff of Nightmares!

When I was growing up, playgrounds were places of happy and imaginative entertainment. Slides, see-saws, swings, and other innocent, fun recreational equipment were the mainstay of my youth. I think if I had come across some of the playgrounds shown below, I would not have the fond memories of innocence. 

A picture is worth a 1,000 words. Enjoy!

Parents: I do not recommend you take your children to any of these places!!!

Pain, Pain, Go Away! (Cancer Update)

As I mentioned 2 weeks ago, I made the decision to head back to Philadelphia instead of continuing on my road trip to California. There were many medical reasons why I made that decision but mostly it was an extreme pain issue. If you remember back in January, the test results indicated that I had pleural effusion, which I needed to keep an eye on.

Reminder: pleural effusion is a build up of fluid around the lungs. And it is effing painful. For the past two weeks I've experienced everything from mild to severe pain - with occasional pain so bad that I've either vomited or burst into tears. The pain takes the form of a stabbing pain - like someone jabbing me continually with an ice pick with the occasional axe to my side. Adding to the pain is a chronic cough which developed thanks to the lung irritation. Pretty much the past two weeks have been hell.

Today, I met with a new oncologist. The doctor I saw in January was not covered under my new health plan. Let's not discuss what those visits and tests are going to cost me! Anyway, I met with my new oncologist who seems to be an understanding sort, but also a bit stubborn. So stubborn meets stubborn. Yay! Wanna guess who'll win this contest? Once again, I had to review my cancer history and my thoughts on moving forward. While he completely gets the desire to travel, he is also advocating the use of chemotherapy and Tamoxifen. <sigh> He means well and he did talk me into getting a prescription for Tamoxifen. Even though I have the pills, it doesn't mean that I'll be taking them. He may think the minor chance of a stroke or blood clots is worth trying it, I do not. Right now though, we're both focused on getting rid of my pain

Here's what's on tap for this week: (i) a chest x-ray (which I did after leaving the oncologist's office), (ii) another CAT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis, (iii) a thoracentesis, which is a fancy word for draining the fluid around my lungs (see photo) - hopefully that will help with the pain, and (iv) meeting with the oncologist at the end of all this to see where we go next.

A busy week of medical stuff and I'm already bored with it. Stay tuned for further updates.

Our Modern Day Romeo & Juliet - an Update!

Photo credit: Andrew Quilty, NY Times

If you've been reading my blog regularly, you know that I have been following a gut-wrenching story about a young couple from Afghanistan - Zakia and Mohammad Ali (past blog posts can be read here). It's been months since there was news about the young couple and I was hoping that "no news is good news". Alas, the troubles of our young couple continues.

A quick recap of the story: Boy and girl meet, fall in love, and wish to marry. But they are from different Muslim sects and the families disapprove. The couple elope and are forced to go on the run due to death threats to the couple by both families. Mohammad Ali is captured and charged with kidnapping and Zakia hides in a women's shelter. Eventually, Mohammad is released from custody after the charges were dropped and the couple were happily reunited. In a Hollywood movie, this story would end here with a "happily ever after" resolution. Sadly, that is not reality.

After the couple were reunited, they were welcomed and accepted by his family, but not hers, when they returned to their village. At one point, Mohammad Ali was chased by one of Zakia's brothers who was armed with a gun and a knife. Mohammad Ali managed to escape, and then he and a pregnant Zakia fled to some distant mountain villages for protection. They then moved to Kabul due to Zakia having a difficult pregnancy and the medical services available there. Finally the couple decided to seek refuge in another country.

A NY Times article reports that "[o]fficials at the United States Embassy, as well as at several European embassies in Kabul, told them they could consider their asylum request only if they first fled as refugees to a neighboring country" (NY Times article, 3/7/2015). In October, the couple and Mohammad Ali's father, Anwar crossed into Tajikistan on visas in order to apply for status as refugees which would then allow them to ask for asylum in the West. Officials told them that they qualify for refugee status on at least 5 different grounds. While in the process of registering, the couple and Anwar were stopped by two men identifying themselves as police officers who robbed them of their life savings (some $5,000), jewelry that Zakia was wearing, and their cellphones. They then deported the couple and Anwar back to Afghanistan.

With Zakia's pregnancy nearing term, the couple returned to their village and have (for the moment) decided to remain in their village. Mohammad Ali spends his days in working the fields of his family's farm, armed with a gun for protection. Zakia refuses to leave the house, living in fear of her large family who continue to publicly vow to kill her and Mohammad Ali. The good news in all this is that the couple's daughter was born in December and according to Mohammad Ali, "'This is our proof that we belonged together...Nobody can take this away from us now'" (NY Times article, 3/7/2015).

You can read the entire article on the NY Times website. It's a heartbreaking tale, but the hopeless romantic in me hopes that love will win out in the end. While I understand the decision to stay in the village and homeland which they love, I'm am fearful for their safety and hope that they try to seek asylum again. 

Worst Job Ever...

I've been wanting to write a new post for the past couple of days but I couldn't come up with a topic on which to write. Today, I found a random question generator and after generating a few terrible questions, the generator came up with "What is the worst job you have ever had?" That got me thinking.

I've had a lot of jobs in my lifetime of varying types. I've worked in many different industries: retail, legal, telecommunications, education, insurance, medical, entertainment, and others. A couple of my jobs were fabulous (teaching and performing), some were okay (retail and medical), but many, many were just awful (all others). But was there one job that made every other job look amazing? Oh, you betcha!

Picking just one job that was the lowest of the low was pretty difficult, but I decided to narrow it down to a job that I held after I left college. I departed college after completing just 2 years in order to pursue a performing career, but naturally I needed to get a "day job" to pay my bills. I searched the newspapers and came across an entry level position at an insurance company in Princeton, NJ. The position was the company's receptionist/telephone operator. I actually kind of liked that position, as it was right up my alley of greeting and talking people. I excel at those tasks. After four months in the position, management decided that my "talent was being wasted" being a 'mere' receptionist, so they offered me a choice between two different positions: claims adjuster or human resources assistant. Hindsight being 20-20, I should have taken the claims adjuster position, but I decided to take the HR position. That was a HUGE mistake!

The job consisted of dealing with recruiters (ugh!), calculating vacation/sick days (blech), dealing with health insurance issues (kill me!) and a whole host of other horrendous tasks. While I didn't like the position or the tasks and responsibilities that went with it, that was the least of my issues. What I didn't realize when I took the position was that the Human Resources manager (and my immediate supervisor, Julie*) was insane. That's not an exaggeration, she was what psychologists would call "bat shit crazy". She was also terribly inappropriate - especially for an HR person. I'll give you an example. 

One day, Julie came to me to let me know that she needed to leave work early that day because she had a dentist appointment. I said "okay" and turned to go back to work. She then decided to share a story with me as to why she needed to see a dentist. It turns out that she had thrush (which she called a "yeast infection in [her] mouth"). Then she regaled me with the story on how she contracted thrush. It turns out that after she and her husband had sexual intercourse (when she had a yeast infection), she decided to provide her husband with oral gratification; thereby contracting the infection orally. Eeeeeuuuuwwwww!!! (By the way, this is the PC version; she was much, much more graphic in the retelling.)

This was a story that a 21-year old fresh out of college did not need to hear. And that is just one of many stories I could tell about this lunatic. I can't tell you how many times I went home crying from that job. I lasted all of 2 months in that position (six months at the company altogether). I decided enough was enough and I quit. I believe the dentist story was the last straw; although I can't be certain as it was 28 years ago. It made me never want to work in an HR position ever again.

Anyone have a worst job story to tell? I'd love to hear it.

*Name has been changed so I don't get sued!

Roadus Trippus Interruptus - A Reflection (GART)

When I started my road trip back in January, my plan was to try to visit as many states as I could - especially those states that I have never visited before. As you can see from the graphic, I made some pretty decent headway in achieving that goal in the 7 weeks I spent driving around the country. When I started this trip, I had visited 22 of our great states. I have now had the pleasure of visiting a total of 35 - adding 13 on this trip. The last 15 will be far more difficult to tick off my list. At the very least, I need to add California. Notice something about the map - a lot of really snowy and cold states from the center of the country have not been visited by me. Hmmm...wonder why that is?!

First let me give the necessary props to my Saturn Ion which went the distance without a single hiccup. No engine troubles, no flat tires, no dead battery - nothing. She was quite the trouper. You cannot ask for more than that for an 8 year old. Additionally, she was getting amazing gas mileage. Always good for 30 mpg, she was getting 34-35 mpg at times. What a good girl! She even had her own milestone during the trip - somewhere in Missouri we celebrated her becoming an adult:

As my brother said: "Mazel tov!"

When I started this trip back in January, I had some sites that I very specifically wanted to visit. The short list was: the White House, the Smithsonian, Arlington National Cemetery, the Biltmore house, Graceland, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, New Orleans, San Antonio River Walk, the Grand Canyon, Redwood National Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Coast Highway, Taos Pueblo, Mount Rushmore, Las Vegas, Mutter Museum, Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles.  Okay, there's still a lot I have not seen on this list. Mostly in D.C. and California. I can do D.C. while I'm here in Philly. California will just have to wait. I think Vegas and the Taos Pueblo are not going to happen.

There are sites that I visited not on the original list which I will remember in great detail and with much fondness: the MLK historic site in Atlanta, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Lincoln Tomb in Springfield. These attractions resonate with me because they're all about either ideals/people I admire or nature at her finest. Things that are bigger and more important than my pathetic, nothing life.

But even more important than these places I've seen was spending time with family and friends. Being in Florida to see my niece walking down the aisle in her beautiful wedding dress was a dream come true. Visiting with some of my best friends from high school who I hadn't seen in 30 years - priceless. Certainly spending time with my nearly 90 year old aunt is nothing to sneeze at. Seeing old friends and making new ones all over the country was well worth the time taken.

Total stats to date:

Starting odometer mileage on January 24: 92,989

Odometer mileage on March 14:  101,182

Total miles in the 7 weeks: 8,193

Number of states visited: 25 (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia)

After traveling nearly 8,000 miles, about 250 miles from home, I was done. I thought I cannot drive one more second and then I realized "Shoot, I still have 3 and a half hours to go." It was quite the annoyance. It didn't help that I was in massive amounts of pain and had not taken any meds to combat the pain. But I finally made it back to Philadelphia around 5:30 pm yesterday. The last 10 miles in particular were the worst! Stuck in Philadelphia traffic stinks!

A reminder: this is not the end of my travels but merely a hiatus. Sadly, my little Saturn will not have the opportunity to see California, but she'll be with me when I visit D.C. and all the other places that I still need to see, especially when I make it back to Massachusetts to visit my students and other friends... once the snow melts. I'm thinking that's happening in mid-July. 

Here are all the welcome signs:

 

Paying Respect to Our 16th President! (GART - Stop 23)

When I left the Grand Canyon, I had planned on driving straight home, but then I figured that I might not make it back to the Midwest. On my rather long bucket list of places to see, I had listed Springfield, IL - mostly to see the Lincoln Tomb and the Lincoln Home. Today, I made my slight detour to Springfield in order to pay my respects to one of our best and most admired presidents: Abraham Lincoln. 

History: Abraham Lincoln "presided over the most tumultuous period of America’s history: The American Civil War. He was elected to the presidency in 1861 and served until his assassination in 1865. His dedication to the preservation of the Union led the country through the difficult but transformative years of he Civil War, eventually leading to the eradication of slavery and reconciliation with the South. His place in the nation’s history is that of the Great Unifier as well as the Great Emancipator. Even to this day, elements of his legacy remain controversial, but his importance in the emergence of a modern, unified America is unquestioned. Much like Washington and FDR, Lincoln was revered as a political savior by those who supported him and derided as a tyrant by those who didn’t. He oversaw the beginnings of the industrial economy in America, expanded the role of the federal government and sought ernest reconciliation with those who sought to separate themselves from the Union. On April 15, 1865 Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth" (Deseret News).

Lincoln Tomb: Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and three of their four sons. (Their fourth son, Robert Todd is buried at Arlington Cemetery.) Lincoln Tomb is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. After Lincoln's death, his body was placed in a nearby receiving tomb and later in the state tomb. The mausoleum is owned and administered by the State of Illinois as Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site. It was designated one of the first National Historic Landmarks in 1960, and thus became one of the first sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, when that designation was created. With a 117-foot high obelisk and several sculptures on the exterior, this Tomb is impressive. Inside the tomb are several reproductions of famous sculptures of the President. The burial room features black and white marble walls and a ceiling of gold leaf. At its center stands the cenotaph, a 7-ton block of reddish marble inscribed with Lincoln's name and the years he lived. It marks the approximate location of the burial vault, which is 30 inches behind and 10 feet below. It was a moving site. 

Lincoln Home: Beautifully restored to its 1860 appearance, the Greek Revival house was Abraham and Mary Lincoln's home for 17 years - the only home the Lincolns ever owned. In 1844 they bought it for $1,200 and some land from the Rev. Charles Dresser, who performed their marriage ceremony in 1842. When the house was built, it was much smaller than you see it today (photo). The Lincolns enlarged the house to a full two stories in 1856 to meet the needs of their growing family. Three of the four Lincoln sons were born here, and one (Edward) died here in 1850 at nearly four years of age. When Lincoln won the 1860 Republican Presidential nomination, he received a delegation of party officials in his parlor. When Lincoln became a presidential candidate the house became a magnet for visitors, parades, rallies and other political festivities. After holding farewell receptions there in 1861, the Lincolns rented it, sold most of their furniture, and entrusted the family dog to a neighbor. 

After the President's assassination in 1865, the Lincoln family never lived in the house again. Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln deeded the family home to the State of Illinois in 1887 for $1 under the condition that it would forever be well-maintained and open to the public at no charge. Interestingly, about 90% of the furnishings in the house were owned and used by the Lincolns. There are only about 14 items of furniture which are replicas. The original 14 pieces had been purchased by the President of a Chicago railroad and he had a house fire which destroyed the Lincoln furniture.

It was an impressive stop in Springfield and I am so thrilled that I could make this stop on my way home. Please check out all my photos from Lincoln Tomb and Home on my GART photo site. Even though I will not actively been traveling for a couple of weeks, this is not my last stop. I plan on perhaps doing a couple of day trips from Philadelphia (perhaps Gettysburg, Valley Forge, other places).

Travel stats:

Grand Canyon odometer mileage: 98,796

Odometer mileage in Springfield: 100,340

Miles driven to Springfield: 1,544

Total miles driven to date: 7,331

States driven through: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois (whew!)

A Visit to 4 States and the Majestic Grand Canyon! (GART - Stops 21 and 22)

After resting all morning in my Albuquerque hotel, I sadly said "ciao" to my friends and left Albuquerque around 12:30, heading for the closest place to stay to my next destination, the Four Corners Monument. As I drove northwest, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I did not expect was such spectacular scenery. It was quite breath taking. The closest hotel to Four Corners is roughly 90 minutes away in Farmington. After a night's sleep, I was up at dawn and ready to head out. I left Farmington around 7:30 am. Somewhere along the ride, I actually drove through the Navajo Nation on my way to...

Four Corners Monument: Located in an incredibly remote location, Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to this area's being called the Four Corners region. The monument consists of a granite disk embedded with a smaller bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state seals and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area. Circling the point, starting from north, the disk reads with two words in each state "Here meet in freedom under God four states". Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food. While some people might consider this cheating (myself included), I am adding Utah and Colorado to my list of states that I have visited. Yeah, okay, it was merely a few yards around the Four Corners, but I'm counting it.  This means that I have visited 32 of the 50 states. Cooooooooool.

After leaving Four Corners, I made my way to...

The Grand Canyon: The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona and is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. "The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet). Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests that the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration" (Wikipedia). I arrived at the Park around 11:30 am and proceeded over the next couple of hours to make several stops along the route to stop and see the Canyon. It's impossible to describe the beauty and wonder of this site. It's definitely something that has to be experienced. After checking into my on-site hotel, I took a bit of a rest and then took a sunset bus tour of the Canyon. The tour guide had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Canyon and showed us some of the most beautiful vistas. We even saw a herd of elk! The sunset was amazing and worth the light blindness. 

Today, I woke early and hit the road, heading back to Philadelphia. I ended up driving for 689 miles which is approximately 10 hours. I drove through 3 different time zones (Mountain (MST), Mountain (DST), and Central) and 3 states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas). I love traveling west because you gain extra time every time you cross a time zone. Conversely, traveling east sucks because you lose time. What can you do?

Today's bit of annoyance: As I was heading into Amarillo and my hotel, I was stopped on the interstate by a police officer who pulled me over for speeding. Apparently I was doing 80 in a 75 -- even though my speedometer said 75, which means either his machine was off or my speedometer is. Either way, he let me off with a warning, but seriously, who pulls over someone for doing 5 miles over the speed limit????? 

Check out all my photos from Four Corners and the Grand Canyon on my GART photo site. I've decided that I'm going to make one more stop before I go home. As I will be traveling very near Springfield, IL, I will make a stop there to see Lincoln's Tomb and Home, especially as I doubt I'll get back to the Midwest anytime soon.

Travel stats:

Albuquerque odometer mileage: 98,330

Odometer mileage in Grand Canyon: 98,796

Miles driven to Grand Canyon (with a stop at 4 Corners): 466

Total miles driven to date: 5,787

States driven through: New Mexico and Arizona (and Utah and Colorado)

A Change in Plans - Sadly (GART)

Early this morning, I had to come to the difficult decision to cut short my road trip. After hours of extreme pain which no medication could seem to alleviate (leading me to a pain-induced vomit fest), I decided that I needed to head home. I'm hoping that once I'm home, the doctor can stabilize my symptoms. Then, hopefully after a couple weeks of rest, I can fly to California, in order to visit friends and see the sites of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Yes, flying is a cheat, but I can't make that cross country trip again. My intention is to drive back to Philadelphia, but if it turns out to be too much, I'll stop at the nearest airport and fly the rest of the way home. How my car will get back to Philly with that scenario I have no clue.

But before heading home, I plan on visiting two more sites. Tomorrow, my plan is to visit the Four Corners Monument and then head to the Grand Canyon for the day. These sites are just too close to not to make a visit. I think I can push through another day or so before heading back East. I've decided not to go to the pueblo as planned today, so that I can spend the morning resting my aching weary body.

These turns of events are a disappointment. I really wanted to finish this road trip, but I didn't count on my body breaking down so fast. Perhaps I've pushed it too much over the past couple of months. It's been fun so far, but for the past few days, it's also be extremely painful. I suspect it's only to get worse. Let's hope that after a couple of weeks rest, I can continue with my travels. Fingers crossed.

A Fun Day in Albuquerque (GART - Stop 20)

Today, I woke up -- feeling like death warmed over and thinking that I might have to stay in bed all day. Fortunately, my plans to meet up with friends was for late morning and I manage to rally myself after resting for a couple of hours. Man, I'm going to be pissed if I have to cancel this trip before I get to California!

Anyway, today I spent the day with a few friends. Okay, one friend (Melody), her wife (Hannah), and their friend (Allyson), but now they are all my friends. It turned out to be an amazing and relaxing day. After meeting up with my friends, we decided to visit some artists' studio as part of the Albuquerque Museum's celebration of local artists. On three consecutive Saturdays in March, participating New Mexico artists will open their studios to the public; visitors will be asked to vote for the artists they would most like to see included in an exhibition at the Albuquerque Museum.

We started with visiting a studio (and home) of a friend of theirs. The neat thing about this first stop is that the couple designed and built their beautiful adobe house and artists studio in the back. It was stunning. We then moved onto another site in which three different artists shared the space. I found one artist to be particularly interesting. Jessamyn Lovell created an art project/book, entitled Dear Erin Hart. Ms. Lovell's identity was stolen and she created an art project in response to crimes Erin Hart committed using her name and identity. I was so interested in her project that I pre-ordered the book.

We decided that we had built up a hunger, so it was time to find some excellent New Mexican food. We traveled a few minutes away to Old Town. Old Town is a historic district in Albuquerque, which dates back to the founding of the city by the Spanish in 1706. Old Town comprises about ten blocks of historic adobe buildings grouped around a central plaza. Many of the buildings in Old Town are houses that have been converted into restaurants and small art and souvenir shops, so yes, it's very touristy. Lunch was at High Noon restaurant and I had one delicious enchilada. 

Seeing as how we were in Old Town and I am a tourist, we decided to spend a little time checking out Old Town. We visited a few shops, and made a stop in the historic church of San Felipe de Neri which was built in 1793.  Ordinarily, I'm pretty good at not purchasing stuff, but I tried on a Mexican baja hoodie and I couldn't resist the purchase. It was only $13, plus it looks good on me!

Check out my very limited photos from Albuquerque (only 10 photos) on my GART photo site. Tomorrow, Melody, Allyson and I will be traveling west of Albuquerque to visit a pueblo: Acoma. Originally, I had wanted to see Taos Pueblo but it's in the middle of its winter quiet time and is closed until mid-March, so Acoma it is. 

Fun photos from the day!

Current travel stats:

Carlsbad Caverns odometer mileage: 98,034

Odometer mileage in Albuquerque: 98,330

Miles driven to Albuquerque: 276

Total miles driven to date: 5,321

States driven through: New Mexico

Mother Nature in all her Glory! (GART - Stop 19)

The best "welcome" sign yet!

Why is it when things are going well something happens to change all that? It appears that I might have to cut my road trip short due to an unforeseen medical issue.  I'll know better on Monday when I speak to my doctor on whether I have to go home to take care of this issue or if perhaps I can find a doctor on the road to deal with the problem. I'll know more on Monday, but in the meantime let's continue with my adventures.

Thursday, I left San Antonio at 8am to start my travels to Albuquerque, NM. As I mentioned in my last blog, there are parts of northern Texas which are quite beautiful. There are also miles and miles of cotton fields, oil fields, and cattle ranches. I've never seen so much open space. Halfway to my final destination, I stopped for the evening. Yesterday morning, I left Lamesa, TX to head toward my next adventure - Carlsbad Caverns. I decided that I wanted to make a stop or two before I arrived in Albuquerque. Thanks to an early departure and gaining an hour of time when I crossed into New Mexico, I had plenty of time to explore my first, and what turned out to be my only, stop. 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States National Park in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. The park contains over 119 caves. Three caves are open to public tours. Carlsbad Caverns is the most famous and is fully developed with electric lights, paved trails, and elevators. Slaughter Canyon Cave and Spider Cave are undeveloped, excepted for designated paths for the guided "adventure" caving tours. The primary attraction of the park is the show cave, Carlsbad Cavern. Carlsbad Cavern includes a large cave chamber, the Big Room, a natural limestone chamber that is almost 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high at the highest point. It is the fifth largest chamber in North America and the twenty-eighth largest in the world. It's approximately the size of 14 football fields and is beautiful! 

In addition to the beauty of the caves, the Carlsbad bats are a major attraction for visitors. Seventeen species of bats live in the park, including a large number of Mexican free-tailed bats. The Mexican free-tailed bats are present from April or May to late October or early November. On summer evenings, the park has a bat flight attraction where visitors can watch the exodus of the bats from the cave on their way out to hunt for food. I hear it's an amazing scene, which sadly I couldn't see. Mostly because the bats are still in Mexico for the winter. 

When visiting the cavern, there are two ways to enter. The first is to take an elevator down to the Big Room, the second is to enter through the natural entrance and walk a mile and quarter of a switch back ramp-sidewalk that takes the visitor 750 feet below the surface. Stupidly, I went through the natural entrance. I keep forgetting that my lungs are compromised and I really shouldn't over exert them. I'm an idiot, but I took it slow and stopped for regular breaks. Despite the effect on my body, it was well worth the walk to see some of the most stunning views. My entire visit took 2.5 hours to walk the entire path that has been laid out by the park service. 

I departed the cavern around 12:30 to head north to Albuquerque. Along the way, I drove through Roswell which was going to be my second stop, but I was tired and changed my mind. The only thing that I thought I might visit while in Roswell was the UFO Museum, but I heard that all visitors had to have a full examination including an anal probe and I decided to just keep trucking. Roswell was surprising because they didn't have nearly as much UFO/alien paraphernalia as I thought it would. There was the odd green alien in front of a hotel and an Arbys with a sign saying "aliens welcome", but otherwise it was a fairly normal looking town. 

I arrived at my hotel in Albuquerque at 6pm last night. It was 8 hours of driving and 2.5 hours of exploring a cave which made for a very long, very exhausting day!!

Check out all my photos of Carlsbad Caverns on my GART photo site! Time to explore Albuquerque and visit with some friends.

Current travel stats:

San Antonio odometer mileage: 97,533

Odometer mileage in Carlsbad Caverns: 98,034

Miles driven to Carlsbad Caverns: 501

Total miles driven to date: 5,045

States driven through: Texas and New Mexico

San Antonio Does Not Disappoint (GART - Stop 18)

Remember when I said that Florida was a boring ass state to drive through. Well, East Texas is in 2nd place when it comes to boring scenery. The only reason why it's second place is because of the amount of cattle located in East Texas. I get a kick out of seeing the cows along the drive. Cows are cute - it's a shame they're also delicious! North Texas, on the other hand, has some surprisingly beautiful vistas.

After leaving Oak Alley plantation, I spent the next 7 hours driving, which included miles of swamp land in Louisiana, a traffic accident causing delays in Baton Rouge, hours of boredom in Texas, and a massive traffic jam in Houston. The worst part of boring driving is that I end up spending way too much time in my head - revisiting the past 49 years of life, especially the last 5 years. <sigh> Not a good idea! Although I did see this towing company billboard as I was traversing through Texas, which gave me a laugh:

Anyway, I spent the night in Sealy, TX and yesterday morning, after 2 more hours of driving, I drove into San Antonio. San Antonio was another city that I have always wanted to visit (specifically because of the River Walk) and I am glad that I came to visit this city.

My visit started with seeing the exterior of a small house that the short story author, O. Henry lived in during the 1880s. I was slightly annoyed that the museum was not open, despite the hours posted on the door saying that it should have been open. Sadly, I did not get to see inside this small 2-room house. It was a disappointment, but what can you do. I then moved along to visit the...

Spanish Governor's Palace: Don't be too impressed. Don't let the word "palace" lead you to expect something grandiose. It's a translation of palacio, which in Mexico means any building used as the seat of government. This was the house of the garrison's captain. It's a handsome building constructed of adobe and stone that dates from 1722. There isn't really a lot of old San Antonio left, so this is worth the visit for that alone. While the 1930 "restoration" was hardly sympathetic, at least the bulk of the original building is there and preserved and it has been furnished in an appropriate style. In 1977, a conquistador statue situated outside the palace was given to the people of San Antonio by the Spanish government. At $5 to tour the site, it's reasonably priced and worth a quick visit. Two blocks away from the palace is...

San Fernando Cathedral: The San Fernando Cathedral had humble beginnings as a parish church. It was commissioned as a simple stone church in 1738. The colonial society of the day was divided into two principal classes: the Canary Islanders, who, having been born in the Old World, were above those of Spanish descent born in the New World, which included most of the garrison and their families. But the project of building a church united them, and in choosing the patron saints, they selected one from each continent -- from Europe, Our Lady of Candlemas, and from the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe. What is seen today mostly dates from the 1870s when the church was elevated to cathedral. Changes continue into the present century. For example, the gilt altarpiece was introduced only a few years ago. The most interesting thing about the cathedral is that a coffin in the entry purports to hold the ashes of the Alamo defenders: Davy Crockett, James Bowie, William Harris, and others.  

I left the cathedral and returned to my car to make my way to my hotel for an early check in and a bit of a rest. Then it was onto...

The River Walk: The River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of Downtown San Antonio. It is a public park open 365 days a year, lined with individual businesses composed of restaurants, hotels, attractions and more. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours just strolling, people watching, and enjoying the beautiful views. Any visit to San Antonio must include a visit to the River Walk. There are water taxis available to take you along the river to your destination, although I just walked. My visit to the River Walk included a stop for lunch at a Tex Mex restaurant. After eating, I headed over to...

The Alamo: Originally known as the Mission San Antonio de Valero, it is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, and the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. "The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission, killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna's cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution" (Wikipedia). The Alamo is now a shrine and a museum. Currently, the mission building has a display of weaponry which would have been used during the battle, which didn't interest me very much. I'm not much for objects which injure and kill people. The grounds have been beautifully maintained and the former barracks have a complete history of Texas, San Antonio, and the Alamo. For history buffs, this site is a must see, and the best part, it's free.

After touring the Alamo, I returned to the River Walk and hopped aboard a river cruise boat which was worth the $8.50 to see sections of the River Walk that I didn't even know existed. By the end of the tour it was late afternoon and I was exhausted. I returned to my hotel where I rested, had a little dinner, and then called it a night. This cancer crap is really killing my night life, I just don't have the energy to go back out.

Check out all of my photos of San Antonio on my GART photo site.

Current travel stats:

Oak Alley odometer mileage: 97,019

Odometer mileage in San Antonio: 97,533

Miles driven to San Antonio: 514

Total miles driven to date: 4,544

States driven through: Louisiana and Texas

A Visit to a Southern Plantation (GART - Stop 17)

As New Orleans disappeared from my rear-view mirror and I headed toward San Antonio, I decided to make a stop about an hour outside of New Orleans to see a plantation. I’ve always had a moral dilemma about visiting a Southern plantation. It’s hard to visit a place in which people made money off the backs of slaves, but I realized that it’s a sad part of America’s history. Ignoring it is unacceptable, therefore I went to a plantation to honor those people who suffered through slavery. There’s a location between New Orleans and Baton Rouge dubbed “Plantation Alley” where quite a number of plantations are available to tour. I decided to tour one of the most popular and well-known plantations: Oak Alley Plantation. 

Oak Alley is named after its distinguishing feature – an alley created by a double row of live oak trees which were planted in the early 18th century – a hundred years before the mansion was built. Originally named Bon Séjour, Oak Alley was established to grow sugar cane. In 1836, Jacques Roman obtained ownership of the 1200 acre plantation and the 57 slaves who were part of the plantation. The following year, Roman began building the mansion utilizing the enslaved labor. After the plantation was lost by the Roman family due to over expenditure and the Civil War, the plantation went through several owners who could not afford the upkeep of the house and by the 1920s the mansion and outbuildings had fallen into disrepair. In 1925, Texas cattle rancher Andrew Stewart purchased the property for his wife, Josephine, and spent thousands of dollars refurbishing the property. Josephine was the last owner to live in the residence. When she died in 1972, she left the historic house and grounds to the Oak Alley Foundation, her foundation - which opened them to the public.

I started my tour of the plantation with the slavery exhibit. The original slave quarters were in such disrepair that they were torn down. Replica buildings were placed on the footprint of the previous buildings. The exhibit shares the daily life of the slaves, including topics such as healthcare, punishment, and life after emancipation. One of the buildings has engravings on the wall with the names of the slaves as an honorarium. 

After seeing the exhibit, I toured and photographed the exterior of the mansion and the grounds, including the 300 year old oak alley and the Stewart Family graveyard. 

Then it was time to tour the house. I joined approximately 15 other visitors. The tour began in the parlor and then went through the dining room, the 2nd floor bedrooms, the 2nd floor balcony, before returning to the ground floor to see the plantation office. Beautifully decorated with period pieces and a few original Roman artifacts, it was a fascinating look at the antebellum period. Oak Alley has been featured in many Hollywood movies, including Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte; Interview with the Vampire; and Primary Colors.

Check out all the photos from the Oak Alley Plantation on my GART photo site. Onto San Antonio.

Current travel stats:

New Orleans odometer mileage: 96,964

Odometer mileage in Oak Alley: 97,019

Miles driven to Oak Alley: 55

Total miles driven to date: 4,030

States driven through: Louisiana

New Orleans - Days 3 and 4 (GART - Stop 16)

Squirrel!!

It's official - I hate New Orleans! 

The final straw that caused me to loathe this city was trying to catch a streetcar early this afternoon. Across the street from the resort is a streetcar stop. The hotel staff swore that it was the best way to get around the city and yet, I find that it is the most inefficient public transit that I've ever come across. Today, I had decided that I was going to take a ferry across the Mississippi River to see the town of Algiers. I headed out to catch a streetcar which would take me to the ferry. I waited over 25 minutes for a streetcar to show, which was then packed to the gills and I couldn't get on it. When I complained about the wait, I got a blank look from the driver who shrugged at my complaint. I was so angry that I just walked off, returned to my room where I spent the remainder of my afternoon - reading. I refuse to give this city one more bit of my time. Yesterday, as I was about to get on the streetcar to head back to my hotel, the driver said for me to hang on a second before I got on and she grabbed her bag and left the car in order to go to the bathroom. Now I get that drivers need bathroom breaks, but seriously, she left the streetcar filled with passengers and a line of waiting customers to take a 15 minute bathroom break. This kind of crap would never fly in cities in New York, London, Paris, or any other major metropolis. I hate the laissez-faire attitude of the workers in this city.

That's just one of the many complaints I have about New Orleans. I do not get the charm of this city. I don't understand why people come here every year on vacation. I never want to set my big toe (let alone the rest of me) in this city ever again. This city is fine for people who like to go out and party, but that's not where I am today. Perhaps 20 years ago I would have appreciated this city, but there is nothing here that really interests me. I have no desire to drink or eat myself into a stupor, or shop, or to hang out in a bar listening to jazz/blues - much of which is crap. That's about all there is to do in this city.  Okay, there are a few other things, which I have done over the past couple of days, but seriously, not much.

Yesterday, I woke to gray overcast/rain threatening skies. Therefore, I decided that it was a museum kind of day. I didn't feel like traveling to the art museum, so I went to the National World War II museum. The museum "focuses on the contribution made by the United States to victory by the Allies in World War II, and the Battle of Normandy in particular" (Wikipedia). My favorite part of the museum is the award-winning 4-D film, Beyond All Boundaries, which gives the visitor an overview of the war on every front. The film was produced and narrated by Tom Hanks and took over 5 years to produce. It was a great way to begin my visit to museum. There's a lot to take in at this museum - I spent 3 hours exploring the museum. Even then, I didn't see everything. 

After visiting the museum, I headed over to Cafe du Monde, where I lucked out to find a very short line. Cafe du Monde is an iconic New Orleans cafe known for café au laits, chicory coffee and beignets since 1862. I order myself some beignets and a hot chocolate (I don't like coffee). The beignets were good and reminded me of the zeppole that I grew up eating. Basically, it's fried dough covered with powdered sugar. They weren't even all that hot. I'm glad I had them, but they are not worth waiting hours. I would have been really annoyed if I waited in a long line for them. Plus there was the slow service - it took 10 minutes before a server came to wait on me and 20 minutes to receive my order! This is at a time when they weren't all that busy. What is service like when they are?? (Add this moment to the list of things I hate about NOLA.)

My favorite house.

This morning, I decided to visit the Garden District, an area that was originally developed between 1832 and 1900 and is considered one of the best-preserved collections of historic southern mansions in the United States. I found a self guided walking tour online and saw some beautiful mansions and visited one of the oldest cemeteries in New Orleans. A few of the mansions on the tour are currently or formerly owned by famous individuals: Sandra Bullock, Nicholas Cage, rockstar Trent Raznor (Nine Inch Nails), John Goodman, Archie Manning (Eli and Peyton Manning's father), and, of course, Anne Rice. In fact, there were several former Anne Rice homes on this tour. The cemetery in the Garden District is Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and has a few famous residents. Perhaps the most famous tombs of the cemetery are the fictional ones. Among the fictional characters who are buried here are the family of Mayfair Witches from Anne Rice’s Witching Hour book series and the vampire Lestat from Rice's novel Interview with a Vampire.  In 1994, Interview with a Vampire was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and all the cemetery scenes were filmed at Lafayette Cemetery #1.

And so ends my time in New Orleans. Thank you! I'll be glad to see the back of this city when I head out of town tomorrow. I plan on making a stop at one of the plantations about an hour outside of New Orleans, before heading to Texas. My next stop will be San Antonio. I can't wait to see The Alamo and The Riverwalk. 

You can check out all my Garden District walking tour photos on my GART photo site.

Former Anne Rice home and the setting
for the Witching Hour series (Mayfair Manor).