Up Early And Very Busy

Yesterday morning we were up early, or at least early for us, and busy all day. Because I write late into the evening sometimes and don’t post my blog until after midnight, we seldom get to bed before 2 AM, and seldom get up before 10 AM. But yesterday we were up at 8:30 because we had a lot to do.

After quickly checking e-mail and taking care of some things that had to be handled with all of that, we were out the door by 10 o’clock and headed north on Interstate 95. Our first stop was at Coastal Integrative Healthcare in Palm Coast for chiropractic adjustments from our pal Doctor Melony Thomas. We haven’t seen her in a while so it was great to get adjusted, and even better to get to visit with her for a bit.

We didn’t stay long because we had to get back on the highway headed further north because Terry had an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville at 1:15. We arrived a few minutes early and checked in, and they took her right back. This was just another follow-up appointment, all part of dealing with the effects of the intensive radiation she had 21 years ago for her cancer. Sixty days of radiation with weekly chemo and two radiation implants saved her life, but it also created lots of problems that she is still dealing with. But she is alive and healthy, and what more could we ask for?

We were done at Mayo and out the door by 2 PM, headed 60 miles southwest to Beck Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram in Palatka. This is the dealer that had the Ram Laramie pickup I wrote about that had been stuck in limbo at the Port in Jacksonville for a couple of weeks. It finally arrived at the dealership sometime Wednesday afternoon, and yesterday morning Adam Pollack, the sales representative I had been dealing with online and over the phone, texted me some pictures as soon as it came off the truck before they had a chance to clean it up or anything.

It’s a 2022 Laramie with all the bells and whistles, including heated and cooled power seats, an airbag suspension that raises and lowers as needed, power multi-function tailgate, which can open as a conventional tailgate or open in two pieces like a barn door. It also incorporates a step that pulls out from underneath the truck. This was something we really wanted because it makes life a lot easier for vertically challenged people like Terry and me.

Adam really went the extra mile for us, even arranging a slight change that I wanted done to the truck, and helping us get the power seats set up so that the seats and pedals automatically adjust to fit myself or Terry, whoever is driving. Thanks for everything, Adam.

And I can tell you right now that if Terry has her way, I won’t be doing much driving. She really likes it! It was getting dark by the time we finished up all the paperwork, and my night vision sucks, so she drove the 80 miles home on a combination of two-lane roads and Interstate 95, and the truck rides and handles even better than her Chrysler Pacifica.

It will take us a while to learn how to use all of the different controls on the truck, but we are looking forward to doing so.

And while it may seem silly, we both had to say a sad goodbye to our old 2005 Ford Explorer. For 11 years, it followed along behind our motorhome in our travels as fulltime RVers, and then took us around town and around the country in the five years since we hung up the keys. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend, but it was time.

I am a big believer in setting goals, and I also believe that rewarding oneself for achieving a goal is important. Getting the new truck was both a goal I had set for myself as well as a reward for a goal that I have worked hard to get to that I will be achieving today. It’s something I will be excited to share with you in tomorrow’s blog, once it’s official.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Buck Fever, the first book in my friend Ben Rehder’s immensely popular Blanco County mystery series. If you’re not a fan of Ben’s books you have no idea what you are missing out on. Wacky characters, great humor, and superb writing. Give them a try. You won’t be disappointed. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with U.S. addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. – Herman Melville