Saturday, October 8, 2011

Well, the erlichiosis killed most of my September....I did make it to the Red Sox game (Beckett pitched and they lost) and to the Ovarian Cancer 5k walk, made it but didn't walk it. 

Pam, Sandy, Charmine, Pat, Joanie, Carol and Steve comprised my team.  I got to sit and wait for them to walk the route and come back.  Steve ran the 5k and then when the walk started, ran it again!  I was so impressed with him.  A few other folks were signed up to walk but couldn't make it.  Oh well, I didn't make it either!  Next year...."Annie's Army" will be bigger and better.   We did make close to $1500 for the cause, not too shabby for our first effort! 

I had to miss a lot of work in September due to the exhaustion from the stupid illness.  Lot 'o money down the drain.  What are you going to do?

The day we left to go to Acadia I made the command decision to stop taking the doxycycline.  It was making me so sick to my stomach and I had already taken it for three and a half weeks.  I looked up on line about the criteria for taking it for erlichiosis...most said 7-10 days.  I was satisfied.

We did make it to Acadia, left on Wednesday and returned last Monday.  It was so gorgeous up there.  We stayed at the KOA right at the top of Mount Desert Island, our site overlooked the water---sweet!   The weather was great the first three days, we rode around the island, scoping things out on Thursday and Friday.  We climbed Bubble Rock...well, I partially climbed it, Sandy and the dogs climbed the whole thing.  On Friday we drove up Cadillac Mountain and hiked around up top....it was SOOOO windy!    We tried to hike down to the gorge, but it was way too steep for us and the dogs.  We had to be "content" with the hike around the top, checking out the gorgeous views of the park and the harbor. 

On Saturday the weather was nasty, rainy and cold.   We had planned to go shopping anyway, so that's what we did.  Hit Reny's, LL Bean Outlet and Marden's.   Got more socks...that's been my "thing" this year...buying socks.  I have picked up quite a few pairs of Smart Wool, LL Bean and the other brand of wool socks (the name escapes me now).   I'm all set for heavy duty, walking socks, hiking socks, you-name-the-activity socks....I got 'em all!

Sunday morning we were up and out early to hike around a pond on one of the carriage roads.   The carriage road was great...nice and broad, great surface for the us and the dogs, no rocks to scramble over, like the other paths we had been taking.  We hiked around "Witches Hole"  and got to a cross road.  Sandy asked me if I wanted to continue hiking in the direction we were traveling which would bring us back to where we started, but was 2+ miles or turn around and go the way we came, which was a mile.   I swallowed hard and said, "keep going."  

About a half mile down the road, I felt like puking.  I stopped and the feeling passed.  I took a few short breaks along the way back and made it all the way!   I was so shocked and proud of myself.  Sandy checked the distance listed for the hike and we had gone 3.2 miles!   What a difference a week makes!  And what a difference not taking doxycycline makes!

Being in Maine, without great tv reception, I missed the whole sad demise of the Sox.  Thankfully I was spared.  All I can say is, they sucked in September and I hope they got that out of their system.  I am so sorry that Terry Francona is gone, I loved him as a manager, but he had lost control of the jimokes in the clubhouse.  Grown men behaving badly.

So, now the decks are cleared for my Pats and the Huskies.  GO TEAMS!!!

We are working on getting the RV ready for winter.  It will be sad to put her away for the season.  We have gotten good use out of her this year and we are quite attached to her already.  I have to clean it inside and wash the outside....and try to wax it too.  Then we have to get it to the RV place to have them winterize the tanks, gas and water lines.  Then we drive it to Jean's and park it, until the Spring.  Already I can't wait!

We had been talking about going to Nova Scotia next summer, but after our trip to Acadia, we are rethinking this.  We may go back to Acadia and do more exploring up there.  There is so much to see and do in the park and we would be happy to do that instead of Nova Scotia.  But...we skip Bar Harbor...too commercial and too busy.  We will be seeking out the quiet places in the park.  And we will go in the "off season" of September/October again.

So, this week I went back to work on Tuesday and Thursday, yesterday went up to be with Bob Miller while Wini went off with her daughter.  Nice.

I'm feeling stronger and stronger.  Still not back 100% but getting there.  Can't wait to be strong enough to go back to gym and do a good workout.

Now I have to get washed up and changed to go out to the Fisherman for dinner with Sandy and Jean.  We will be celebrating our anniversary...number 26 or something now.  I have lost count!

Later!