Day 3 - The Slow Day!

Hospitals are friendly places. Did you know that you can park there all night without being hassled? It is a good thing too, because, Walmart's hospitality toward RVers is not universal. In their defense, once you get into a resort or destination area, they would be overcrowded with scum too cheap or too unplanned to have a paid place to park for the night.

It is a (relatively) short drive from Pensacola to Destin. We pulled into the state park in Destin and announced that we were just here for the day. Ms. Surley inquired about reservations and was quite put out that I might want to picnic without calling ahead. I had explained that we had a place for the night - I did not explain that our travel agent wears a blue smock with a smiley face on it. We did manage to run the gauntlet and break through their defenses by paying to use their dump station to empty our holding tanks.

Back on the beach front roads, headed east, we looked for points of public access where you could park an RV. A couple of u-turns and there it was, roadside Nirvana (mythology not music), gravel paved, parallel spot with a long empty approach just yards from the beach access sign. I parked the Sunseeker, hopped out, and headed for the beach with Brian in tow. Looking back I realized that we were alone. The girls were in the RV "getting ready". I should point out that this does not include putting on a bathing suit since the water is too cold to actually get in above your ankles. To try to use the "get ready" time usefully, Brian and I decided to overhaul the transmission and put in a nitrous oxide kit. Just as we finished, Cherri and Holli emerged looking the same as they did when we left Pensacola. Brian, Holli, and I crossed the street and headed down the boardwalk, when we looked back and saw Cherri taking pictures of ... whatever. In a 50-foot walk Cherri is 20 yards behind us and has taken 10 pictures (do the math).

Walking down the wonderful white sand beach of Destin, Brian, Holli, and I turn around and see Cherri on her cell phone while taking pictures. The good news is that Cherri learned that Baby Pookie has a real name now - Ellyana Hope Brown. You can see from this photographic evidence below that Cherri was a good distance behind us (and this, with a telephoto lens). Destin is the only place I have seen the Nike barnacle in its natural habitat. Named for the goddess who personified victory, the Nike barnacle is so called because, to survive, it must be victorious over the hoards of people who pluck them and put them on their feet.

After a long walk down the beach, it is a long hike back up the road to the RV. The kids were quite amused when their mother suggested we "jack" the golf cart at the Crab Trap Restaurant. On the way, Holli found her dream home for only $1,395,000 since it was not on the beach side of the road. What I noticed was that everything was for sale. I think the now common joke about 401k's becoming 201k's is having an affect on this largely retiree funded community. Stereotyping am I? We were the youngest people in the RV unfriendly Destin Walmart. Although Holli got tired of being mistaken for someone's granddaughter and having her cheeks pinched, I thought it wrong of her to put "That's How I Roll" bumper stickers on their HoverRounds.

We decided to hit the Wally World parking lot early tonight to maybe tailgate with the other RVers. After our daily supply trip through Walmart, we looked for the "correct" corner of the lot for "our" kind - there were none! Then we noticed the signs that said "No Overnight Parking". Thinking that, "Ok, this is Destin; I understand the problem that could create". So we headed back up the road to the town of Ft. Walton Beach only to find that they too were not the welcoming kind. We found a spot away from the signs, and the front of the store, and set up for the night since it was late and I was not feeling well - where had the last 5 hours gone? Well, there was that stop at Chick-fil-a; and, well, you know Cherri "Rachel Ray" Hollingsworth just had to interogate poor Amy: "If you only had one day in Destin, how would you spend it?" "Where is the best place to eat seafood off the beaten path?" After exchanging blood types and cross matching for organ donor compatibility, we were back on the road. Yes Cherri actually took a picture of a chain retaurant because they are soooo different looking than the one in Spring.

A shout out to Mom here. Still looking for the rest of the hospital story? - here it is.

Did I mention hospital and not feeling well? I was wondering what to blog about and decided to go to bed instead because it had been kink of a slow day. As soon as I laid down, the nagging little pain that had been in my stomach since lunchtime, became a "full-on" attack. Apparently, my gallbladder decided to use the ammo I had created inside it to catapult the stones at the tiny opening that connects this organ to the rest. I have known they were there for some time; but since they were not bothering me, I decided to put off removal until after busy season - oops!

This is how we found out that hospital parking lots are great places to park in the middle of the night. BTW, Google Maps has the location of the Ft. Walton Beach Medical Center several miles from its actual location and not even on the same street. Cherri at the wheel, Brian navigating, and Holli blissfully sleeping, we are doing donuts in parking lots, cutting through churches, and making three point turns on busy or narrow roads. We wind up getting directions from a beer-wielding cousin of Wade's at the Circle K. He knew right where it was and gave great directions - no doubt he and his buddies had been there several times immediately after saying, "Hey guys, watch this!"

12:40 am - The sign in the ER said "Sign In - If a triage nurse is not present, press the button below and hold your breath until one shows up. Either a nurse will show up shortly or you will pass out and the pain will not bother you anymore." After getting triaged, Martha said to get comfortable, it could be a while. We later learned from Jim (the 54 year-old RN who just bought a boat, loves to catch pompano, worked in Texas for a few years while he was running away from everything, moved back, raised a family, works nights because his two college-educated sons failed to launch, is looking forward to them becoming independent and wants to spend more time fishing with his wife) told us that they had actually seen 157 people with only one Doctor and five nurses. Can you tell that Cherri was with me? Actually, I was wondering how much this pleasant conversation delayed the morphine; but, I did not say anything. I have learned over the years that her friendliness often gets us better care at hospitals and deals at retailers and hotels.

Next stop was the x-ray room in the ER. One shot standing and one lying down. When I went to lie down on the machine, I noticed that there was a blue ball point pen taped to the control head of the x-ray machine with a tape lanyard about 6 inches long. Hmm, not long enough to be used practically as a pen. My question was soon answered as my x-ray tech grabbed the pen, held it like an ice pick and jammed it in the machine until the light came on. While centering the machine and lining up for the shot, the machine timed-out, and she had to stab it again. I was wondering what I was going to do if she lit up, but, all went well. She did seem to have a certain "glow" about her, though.

Dr. May wakes me up from my morphine-induced sleep and says, that if the pain is gone, I can go as well...never again to enjoy cheeseburgers, french fries, Mexican food, pizza, or any other spicy or fatty delight!

Ana was right, something happens every time I leave town. It just usually doesn't happen to me!