a friend remembered

I'd like to take a moment to talk about a friend of ours, from this RV lifestyle, who passed away last week. Gerry Gnabah was just 71 years old and left behind his wife Joan of 50 years. He had developed a cold since arriving in Arizona which he couldn't shake. He went to the hospital and they diagnosed him with lung cancer. He and Joan decided he should head back to Ohio to get local medical help. Some family members flew down to help them drive their truck and 5th wheel back. While in northern Arizona Gerry had difficulty breathing and it was decided to arrange for an air ambulance to get him home. The family was required to put up $23,000 before he could be transported. Once back home the doctors determined that he had invasive cancer throughout his body and he died a few days later. It is a sad time for all, but what struck me is the unexpected costs that one can incur while enjoying this lifestyle. I thought it was important to put this down for those of you who read this blog because of an interest in traveling around the country as we do. This may be an unusual occurrence but it's certainly not unique. For Canadians, good medical coverage is imperative if we intend to travel, particularly in the States where medical costs can be excessive when compared to Canadian fee structures. Gerry will be missed.

We tried something new yesterday. A group of people in the park have started up a darts night. We tried it out for the first time last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I expect we'll be at the local darts store buying the necessary equipment. Apparently you can spend quite a bit of money on buying sets of darts. We hope to keep the damages to about $20.00 each. Time will tell. It will be interesting to see how practical my estimate is. I'll let you know later :-)

We've decided not to attend so many happy hours and pot lucks at the park this year. There is a tendency to eat too much, and sometimes the food choices are not the same as we would pick for ourselves if we were eating at home (our rv). We could always go out for the social aspect of it by turning up after everyone has eaten. We've had many great times sitting around the gas fireplace next to the pool area of an evening, talking with old and new friends about a wide range of topics. It's a fun time. Our son-in-laws' parents are enjoying a similar lifestyle in Florida this winter and they also really enjoy the social aspect. We're looking forward to hearing how their winter was.

Our hike today was to Hackaberry Springs, a five mile walk that was not too challenging but was picturesque. Because this was an easy hike we had 28 people show up. At times we were spread out over about a half mile. We had some new hikers that had never been out before and I think some of them found it pretty challenging; but everyone completed it and there is always a sense of fulfillment for newbies when they stretch themselves to accomplish more than they thought they were capable of.

Hackaberry Springs is at the foot of this cliff.


The views are always great as we get higher and higher