Florida Bound 2012--Day 3

Another day, another road trip.

Was time to move farther east so we pulled out of Baton Rouge around 10:00 this morning. Was not in any hurry since we were only going 160 miles down Interstate 10 to Gulfport, Mississippi. Joanne and I have been to Gulfport several times, both before and after Hurricane Katrina devastated the place. U.S. Highway 90 runs along the beach for several miles going through Gulfport and Biloxi. Prior to Katrina the land side was lined with many large homes overlooking the Gulf. Katrina took most of these away along with most of the commercial buildings and casinos in an area up to four and five blocks inland. Each time we have come we have found it interesting to see what has been done to rebuild. The casinos and most of the commercial properties have been rebuilt. Only a few of the homes have been built back. Last time we were here, a couple of years ago, many of the lots had "FEMA" trailers parked on them for the owners to live in while they decided what to do. Now the trailers are gone and most of the lost are still empty. The big difference this time is most of them now have For Sale signs on them.

While here I hooked up with a fellow RVer and retired military friend. Les Crawshaw has been a full timer, meaning he has lived in his motor home, for several years. He just recently moved into the Armed Forces Retirement Home here in Gulfport. (For many years this was known as the Sailors Retirement Home but some time back it was merged in with the Army & Airman's Retirement Home in Washington, DC, and was opened up to persons from all services.) Les picked me up at the RV park and took me over to the place for a grand tour. Katrina had destroyed the old building so the military leveled it and started brand new. It is a beautiful facility now. I had always thought this would be a good place to retire but after today have pretty much changed my mind. The security procedures and numerous rules make it way to restrictive for my taste. Guess I'll just remain an Oklahoman for the time being.

After checking out the home we decided to grab something to eat before returning to the RV. We stopped at the Back Bay Seafood Restaurant for some great seafood. Really had a good afternoon visiting with an old friend and discussing RVing and the military, even if Les was not Navy but was a member of our sister service, the Marine Corps.

After returning to the coach and feeding the dogs I decided to head back down to the main drag (U.S Highway 90) and check out the casinos. Drove all the way over to the Biloxi side to the Hard Rock Casino. I'm not a big gambler and really don't normally like playing slot machines. If I'm going to "donate" my money I prefer playing Blackjack but only if I can find a table with a very low, like $1.00, minimum bet. This being Saturday night there were no cheap tables to be found. All that was available was $10.00 minimum bet. I did sit down at a .25 cent Wheel Of Fortune slot machine and played a few bucks. Wound up winning just over $36.00 so I took my winnings and headed back to the coach.

Florida Bound 2012-Day 2

Nice leisurely drive but still in Louisiana.

Up and around early this morning but not so quick to get going. After taking care of the dogs and then getting myself ready it was after 8:00 before we were ready to roll. Then we backtracked a couple of miles to the Flying J to fill the fuel tank with diesel and fill the propane tank. Finally around 9:30 we were out on the road. We drove a little under 300 miles to the Baton Rouge area.

We are currently in the Cajun Country RV Park in Port Allen, Louisiana. It was an easy drive down Interstate 49. I've learned over the past year that when Bridgit Jeane starts to whine it means she needs to get out to do her business NOW. At home, when the back door was closed, I've ignored her at my own peril. She will tell me when she needs to go out and if I don't listen then she will find a place in the house to go, usually in the middle of the living room floor. So, she has gotten me to stopping about every two hours or so. This is really a good thing since we all need to take a few minutes to get out and walk around.

After getting into Port Allen and getting the coach set up I decided to go see a ship. Over the years I have dragged Joanne thought a very large number of museum ships around the country. Pretty much anytime we were close to a former Navy ship that has been turned into a museum we would go, from the USS Pampinito (a submarine) in San Francisco to the USS Yorktown (an aircraft carrier) in Charleston, South Carolina. We even spent a week on a "work party" helping to preserve the USS Salem in Quincy, Massachusetts. (The Salem is a sister ship to my old ship the USS Newport News.) Anyway, in the past couple of years I've pretty much done the ship museum thing by myself so today was not any different. The USS Kidd, a World War II destroyer, is tied up next to the Interstate 10 bridge over the Mississippi River. So off I went this afternoon to take the tour. They have done a very good job of refurbishing this ship and it has a really good naval/military museum next door.

After leaving the Kidd I returned to the coach to take care of the dogs. They were ready for a walk and then supper. The three of us are settling into a pretty good routine. They enjoy the walks and are good company to travel with.

Florida Bound 2012--Day 1

On the road again.

Finally got the motor home's wheels rolling. Been doing this RV thing since 1997 and this is the first time I've done this by myself. Well, not totally alone. I do have Buddy Joe and Bridgit Jeane with me. We left home about 8:30 this morning and after 409 miles we arrived in Greenwood, Louisiana.

It is kind of good having the dogs with me. Joanne was always after me to stop every couple of hours to take the dogs out for a few minutes to "let them do their business". Now little Bridgit tells me every so often that she needs to go out. After several stops we found ourselves in McKinney, Texas, a little after noon so we stopped for lunch. We have RV friends based there where they work for a company that manufactures and sells power window shades for RV's. Gave them a call to say hi only to learn they had left around 11:00 AM, heading to Tampa, Florida, for the big Tampa RV Show that will be held next week. Hopefully I can catch up with Jim and Peggy once we all get down to Florida.

We are now in the TA RV Park in Greenville, Louisiana. When we came down to Louisiana this past October we found this to be an ideal stopping place for an overnight stay. We are directly behind a TA Truck Stop. Nice park with 50amp service and cable TV for a very reasonable price. After we got set up the dogs took me out for a walk and then back to the coach for supper. Now we've all settled in for the night and will leave out early tomorrow morning and head south. Taking it slow and easy. Not due in Navarre, Florida, until Sunday. Still thinking about where I want to stop along the way.

(No pictures in today's post since most was spent driving and we got into the RV park after dusk.)

Christmas 2011

A good Christmas weekend with the family.

Christmas was always one of Joanne's favorite times of year. She always enjoyed decorating the house and giving gifts to family members. Due to the many variables we have of family we usually started more than a week before Christmas Day so as to be able to have some type of activity with all of them. After her death last month I could not see participating in the holiday festivities and had planned to leave on Christmas Eve morning in the motor home. Just the dogs and me heading south. Family members, specifically my Dad and niece Carrie, talked me into staying.

The Stone family decided to have our gathering on Christmas Eve out in Yukon at my brother Chester's house. We had 27 all total there for a fine meal and fellowship. Included with our immediate family was brother Bill's mother-in-law, Lilas, and my mother-in-law, Mardell. Pictured with me here are my sons, Alex and Alan, along with Alan's family, Cathy, Katlyn, Madison and Cadence. Cathy's sister, Grace, who is visiting from Wisconsin also joined us. Chester had 12 of his family members there, all but one daughter-in-law who had to work. The other two brothers, Bill and David, were there with their wives but neither of their children were able to make it. Very much missing was our Mom, who also passed away this year, and, of course, my Joanne. In the picture to the right are us four boys with our Dad. We are lined up on each side of Dad by age: Bill, Chester, David and me.

Christmas Day was spent with "my other kid", Carrie, and her family. (Anyone who has read the last few entries here know that Carrie is actually Joanne's niece but I count her as my own.) My mother-in-law and I drove out to Carrie's in-laws house in Midwest City to spend the afternoon with them. Mike and Barbara Carpenter have been great about including us in their family activities. We spent Thanksgiving with them and also were out there for Carrie's son, JJ, fifth birthday party. In addition to Carrie's family (husband John and son JJ) we were joined by John's sister Kathy and her two sons. Barbara outdid herself again and put on a great meal. This picture is of Carrie and I that we took just before it was time for Mardell and I to head home.

It has been a good Christmas after all. Joanne would have thoroughly enjoyed it all. I'm glad that I was talked into hanging around.

Final closure

Memorial grave marker finally in place.

Soon after the burial and memorial services for Joanne a headstone was ordered. They usually say it takes about eight weeks to get them completed and set. Since I have been planning to leave in the motor home soon they promised they'd expedite getting it done. Last Friday we were notified that the markers had been set in place. (My brother and sister-in-law, Bill & Nancy, decided to go ahead and buy one and have it set at this time.) This past Saturday I took my mother-in-law and my dad down to the cemetery in Byars to see the marker.

The grave marker is made of polished black granite. The front has both our names and information with the "Stone" name in what is called raised letters. It also shows our wedding date. The back of the marker has a picture of a motor home with the words "on the road again". We always joked that was our theme song since we both enjoyed our travels in our coach. (The picture of the back side came out a bit blurry. Apparently I did not wait until my camera did it's auto focus before snapping this shot. Seems my eyes were filled with water that was blurring my vision.)

The Byars Cemetery has many of our relatives buried there. Where our grave site is located is adjacent to the main road going into the cemetery. In this row are now four sets from our family. First is Bill & Nancy's stone, then my parents, next Joanne and myself and last Aunt Esther and Uncle Joe Riggan (my dad's sister and her husband). This puts my folks between Bill and I, which is appropriate since he is the oldest and I am the youngest. Also, Esther & Joe were pretty much like second parents to us boys as we were growing up so eventually we will all wind up together.

A great evening--for a change

Great company, great entertainment, great evening.

After sitting around, feeling sorry for myself for the past month I decided it was time I got out and did something different. A while back I had purchased tickets to the stage play of "A Christmas Carol" that is currently being performed by Oklahoma City's Lyric Theater. Joanne and I always enjoyed live theater so I had planned to surprise her with the tickets. Tonight was the night we were scheduled to go to the theater. Our wonderful niece, Carrie, was more than happy to go with me. She definitely deserved a night out on the town.

We started off at a little Italian restaurant, Rococo, that was close to the theater. This has been operated by several different names over the years but has always served Italian food. Turns out this was one of Carrie's favorite places to go to eat on her birthday when she was a kid. We had a nice dinner and a good visit. She had a new dress that she had not had an occasion to wear so this gave her an opportunity

After dinner we headed to the theater, Lyric on the Plaza. The main Lyric productions are in the summer and are held downtown at the Civic Center Music Hall. During their off season they do smaller productions at what was a movie theater, called The Plaza, until the 1970's. Lyric has done a fantastic job converting this theater for live productions. The current show, "A Christmas Carol" has my friend, Jonathan Beck Reed, starring as Scrooge. (We have followed Jonathan's career for many years and have always enjoyed his performances.) Carrie had to agree with me about how good Lyric productions are.

Overall it was a very good evening. Had dinner with one of my favorite people, saw a fine show and got to introduce Carrie to something new.

Back to a routine---well kind of

Trying to get back to some semblance of a routine and still cope with everyday life.

Dealing with the aftermath of a death is hard. It is amazing all the details that have to be taken care of, the agencies and organizations that have to be contacted, the people that need to be notified. All that and still trying to cope with the fact that one is now living by themselves again. That last part is especially hard on someone who never really liked living alone to start with.

Fortunately, there has been plenty of help and support or I'm not sure I would ever had gotten through all of this. First there was the outpouring of support from people all over the United States. It has been amazing all the cards, e-mails and phone calls that have come in after word got out about Joanne's death. As has been mentioned before, as avid RVer's we have made friends from one end of the country to the other. Second, and even more important, has been my family members who have rallied around me. From my oldest brother, Bill, who calls and checks on me, even when he is working out of town, to my Dad, who also lost a wife this year, to my youngest granddaughter who likes to grab and hug me. I've always said when everything is going wrong your family is your best resource in dealing with it all.

My kids have been the biggest help of all, all three of them. (Yes, I typed THREE on purpose.) My oldest son, Alex, called almost immediately and offered to come stay with me. He was here the first week after Jo's passing and was a major help. At that point I was pretty much in a fog and he took care of all the little things I kept forgetting. My dogs really appreciated that when it came to their meal times. Alex kind of served as my lifeline that first week and for that I extend my greatest appreciation.

Next is my other son, Alan. He and his lovely lady, Cathy, have been great. They have come by and allowed me to drop in on them at all times. Just knowing they are there anytime I need them has been such a great help. Friday nights were always what Jo and I called 'date night' and we had dinner out. The first Friday after Alex went back to his house I found myself especially lonely and feeling sorry for myself. Called up Alan and Cathy and they dropped any plans they might have had and we all went out to eat dinner, including their three precious little girls. So, thanks Alan for being there when you were needed most.

Now for my 'third' kid. Although Carrie is not my child by birth she definitely is by choice. (Carrie is actually Joanne's niece.) She has always been one of my favorite young people and I was thrilled some years ago when she allowed me to walk her down the aisle and give her away at her wedding. On the day that I took Jo to the hospital and they admitted her to the ICU Carrie was the first person I called. She immediately took off from work and came to the hospital. She stayed with me all evening, even though she had a husband and small child that also needed her attention. The next morning, after Jo had died, Carrie was the first person I called. Since then she has been my rock to lean on. She still checks on me on regular basis and makes sure I'm included in her family activities. (This picture was taken of Carrie and her son, J.J., at Christmas 2010.)

But, now that things have started to settle down some I have tried to get some semblance of order back in my life. I have resumed my 'grave walking' activity out at Chapel Hill Cemetery this week. Taking headstone pictures and getting these graves documented on findagrave.com. I'm back into my routine of stopping at Taco Bell for lunch. I've gotten a little better at giving my dogs, Buddy Joe and Bridgit Jeane, the attention they need. And, finally, I've started to plan getting back into the RV and back on the road. This last thing will be a bit strange, especially this first time out, since I've never made an RV trip without Jo by my side. Just another thing I'll have to learn to cope with in this new life.

Being thankful

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in this country. Needless to say I have not had much to be thankful for the past couple of weeks.

On reflection, even with the loss of my precious Joanne, I do have many things to be glad about. I'm thankful that I made it to the big 65 years of age this month and still be in good health. I'm thankful for the family and friends that have rallied around me during these really trying last two weeks. I'm thankful for all the good memories from the past 23 years that Joanne and I got to spend together. I'm thankful for all the traveling and the sights we were able to see over these years.

Thanksgiving day was spent with our niece, Carrie, and her family at her in-laws house. I picked up the mother-in-law and took her out to their house east of town for a magnificent feast. I am so thankful for having Carrie in my life. She has been my rock during this ordeal and has been right there through the whole thing.

I am thankful for my sons. My oldest, Alex, called almost immediately and volunteered to come stay with me. His being here for the week following Jo's death was tremendous. This house had gotten awfully quite and lonely all of a sudden. Having him here, helping with all the details that had to be attended to was wonderful. My youngest son, Alan, and his lovely lady, Cathy, have also been very supporting. Even though they have three young girls in their household they still made time to spend with the "Old Man".

I'm thankful for all the family members, 31 in all, that came to the cemetery last Saturday to help me say goodbye to Joanne at our private burial service. Also thankful for all the family, friends, former classmates, former co-workers and neighbors who attended the Celebration of Life service we had this past Tuesday. Especially thankful for Ron & Kay Rivoli who drove their motor home all the way from Louisville, Kentucky (800 miles) to sing at the service. (Only to immediately turn around and drive 800 miles back home so as to be with their family on Thanksgiving Day.)

I'm thankful for all the cards, e-mails and phone calls I've received from people all over this great country. This has been a real testament to the number of people who's lives were touched by Joanne over the years.

So, if nothing else comes out of all of this I wish to relay one thing to everyone reading this blog: Live life to the fullest, let your loved ones know that you care and tell them often, hold the ones that matter close to you. We never know what tomorrow will bring.

Saying goodbye

This has been the worst week of my life. I had to say goodbye to my partner, my soul mate, my best friend.

Joanne Marie (Priolo) Stone

June 30, 1944-November 16, 2011

We had been told in late September that Joanne had breast cancer. It was determined that she had not had it long but it was a very aggressive form and had the capability of growing fast. We had already scheduled a two week trip to Louisiana for a RV rally and Joanne decided she did not want to cancel. Prior to leaving she had all the necessary test such as biopsy and an MRI exam. It was decided that she would need to start heavy doses of chemotherapy soon after we returned. This was to be done once per week every three week for three sessions and then they would do surgery. The doctors determined that she was in such good health that she could handle this level of treatment. She felt good about fighting this battle and conquering it.

She had her first chemo treatment on Tuesday morning, November 8. It took five hours for the drugs to enter her body through IV tubes. Afterwards she was feeling good and just wanted to go get some lunch. On Wednesday she was again feeling good when she drove back to the cancer center to get a shot of something to help offset the loss of while blood cells from the chemo drugs. By Thursday she said her joints ached, which apparently was a normal reaction. Thursday through Sunday she was very tired but still kept plugging along, going out to eat and going down to visit my Dad on Saturday evening. By Monday she was having extreme back pain and could not get comfortable. By Tuesday morning she was in even more pain as we headed to the cancer center for her scheduled lab test. When we got to the cancer center the nurse immediately brought in the Oncologist and she was moved over to the hospital. By afternoon she was moved to ICU and then placed on a ventilator. By the wee hours of Wednesday morning it was obvious she was failing fast. She passed away around 3:30 AM on Wednesday, November 16.

We were married 23 years this past August. We had celebrated our anniversary while in her native Minnesota. As most people will tell you we were pretty much inseparable, especially since our retirement in July 2006. We had become RVer's in 1997 and after retirement we were able to expand our travels drastically. In recent years we had cut back on traveling due to the need for Joanne to be home to help care for her mother. Our attitude was that our parents were in their 90's and would not always be with us. After that we could continue traveling this great country. Although we did not get to go to all the places we desired, while reviewing our pictures this past week I have been amazed at how many miles we did cover and the things we saw and the places we went.

We held a private burial service at the Stone family plot in the cemetery in Byars, Oklahoma yesterday. We had 31 family members from both sides of the family. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, November 22, at Grace United Methodist Church. This is the church where we first met through their singles group. We were married at Grace on August 26, 1988 by our pastor, Burrel McNaught. Although Burrel is now retired and usually declines doing services any longer he will be conducting the service for Joanne. Additionally, two of our dearest friends, Ron & Kay Rivoli, will be here to sing for her one last time. We have enjoyed listening to Ron & Kay as we have crossed paths with them as they travel the country performing professionally at shows and RV rallies. They are driving in from their home base in Louisville, Kentucky just for Joanne.

Based on the calls, cards and e-mails that have been coming in it is very apparent that Joanne was loved by many people throughout the country. Due to the RV lifestyle we have made friends from every corner of the nation. The emotional support that has been offered by both family and friends has been a tremendous help in coping with this sudden and unexpected loss.

Time for a change

Out with the old and in with the new.

After nearly six years of driving/towing the Chevy HHR it was time to make a change. We bought the HHR in March 2006 before we retired. Now, after driving it 69,960 miles and towing it another 55,000 or so, she was starting to show her age. We've had an electrical problem with the transmission that two different Chevy dealers could not diagnose or get repaired. We've pretty much enjoyed this little car and really liked the fact her color matched up well with the coach. But there always comes a time for change.

So, meet the newest member of our clan. A 2012 GMC Terrain. Went down to the dealer in Purcell, Oklahoma, yesterday to see what they had. Was first interested in the Chevy version of this car, the Equinox, but found the Terrain had more standard equipment for basically the same money. The silver color will not match the coach but otherwise she should make a good "towed". She has most of the bells and whistles of the new cars, including a color backup camera, On-Star and satellite radio. If she holds up for over 100,000 driven/towed miles like the HHR we will be very content. Now all we have to do is order the tow package and have it installed on the front.