Cape San Blas to Cedar Key -The Road to Recovery

Do you think I have been gallivanting all over the country living the Roadtrek life ?  Not this time. I have been out of touch for over two weeks now and I'm sorry I haven't kept you up to date.  Most of you know I had to have my pacemaker surgery re-done (Originally done April16th/redone due to a problem with the leads on July 22).  I haven't been wallowing in self pity or stuck on the why me treadmill-well maybe just for a little bit !

We had booked St Andrew's State Park as the place to stay while I went in for my 90 day check up .  Little did we know that we would extend our stay from 2 days to 7 so that I could make all my test and doctor appointments.  Our little reservation angel must have been looking out for us as there was only 1 spot available for the extra 5 days !

 Space 90 at St Andrews, Panama City Beach

 During the day we would watch the boats sailing by 

This little guy stuck around the entire time we were at the campsite-kind of watching over us

I mean seriously if your Doctor's office told you they perform 300 of these a month and if the patients are lucky (or unlucky) maybe only 1 per month has to have it redone. Seriously think of those odds and I just happened to be the one.  Of course being THE ONE,meant having a chest xray to see where those pesky leads disappeared to and lo and behold they discovered a few unwelcome nodules on my lung while looking for the leads. So again, a problem turns out to be something that discovered a problem that could have been life threatening if not discovered early on.  OK , I'm beginning to see a pattern emerge here-thank goodness I can let go of the whining and the why me syndrome.  I can say with my whole heart and soul that I am blessed, I'm here enjoying the life we have and I'm one lucky girl to have the life I have.

Hailey was just as happy to be home as me !

We spent a few days at the condo and it felt so good-Jim was right in wanting a place to call home-it was nice to have a comfy bed to come home to and curl up in.  Not that the bed in Ruby doesn't fit the bill, but this time I felt even more vulnerable so cozying up in our place just felt right.

I knew when we started traveling that flexibility should be tattooed on our foreheads-that is an understatement.  I can't tell you how many plans we have changed and detours we have taken along the way in the last 2 months.

 Sunset Isle Club House

 I think the best sites are 1-6 and #8

 Space #4

We had no plans for July 25 and 26th so I booked Sunset Isle RV Park in Cedar Key-another really nice privately run rv park.  Our favorite is Low Key Hideaway right next door but they were booked.  Sunset Isle is on the water and sites 1 thru 6 and site # 8 are the best .  We were in site #4. They have showers, a community room and a great little cafe along with full hook ups and the price per night is under $50 .

Dinner our first night at Sunset Isle was a grilled dinner-grilled pork chops topped with grilled peaches topped with a pineapple habanero sauce with a side of grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese-yummy.

 And it's walking distance to the Tiki Bar at the Low Key Hideaway-we took advantage of that and spent Tuesday night catching up with Cindy and Pat-the Hideaway owners.  It's always so nice to sit around with good people and laugh and compare stories-kind of recharges your batteries !  We were supposed to leave on the 27th and head north about 30 miles to Manatee Springs State Park but instead we cancelled that and stayed at Sunset Isle until the 31st.

 Space 133 Fort DeSoto County Park-nice and shady, thank goodness because it's in the 90's

 I think we are back on solid ground now (even though I just changed campground reservations last night-ha).  We are in St. Pete at Fort DeSoto County Park-outstanding park-can't say enough good things about it.  I wish I could ride my bike (but can't for a month) because the beach is about a mile from the campground.  They have a great bike path that will get you there and I've thought of walking it-but just recovering from the surgery and the temperature in the high 90's I have opted for shady walks around the campground !

The resident camp kitty 

On Sunday we will take off for the Keys-first stop Key Largo. We don't normally  stay at private rv parks but sometimes we do and I'm hoping this one turns out to be a good one-Riptide RV Resort.  We have to put ourselves in Key Largo so my sweet fisherman can get his line strung for fishing in the keys-whatever that means. It will make him happy and that's all that counts.  They have a pool at the rv park so while I can't swim for a month yet I can at least dip my toes in and I certainly will be doing that.

My breakfast experiment-a grilled tortilla smeared with salsa,topped with fresh sliced avocado, then 2 eggs sunny side up on top of that,salt and pepper a little sprinkling of cheese and fresh cilantro and a dollop of salsa .  This was so good for breakfast-it went to the top of Jim's breakfast favorites!

One of my dinner experiments-Seared scallops topped with a Thai Sweet Chile Sauce with a side of Quinoa,Brown Rice,Garlic,and fresh Pineapple seasoned with Chinese 5 spices, red pepper flakes,fish sauce, fresh cilantro  and a little pineapple habanero sauce-this was so delicious and healthy too !

And guess what ? Remember Rita's ?  There is one in St. Pete and you better believe we will be stopping before we head south-visions of gelato dancing in my head !

Thank you all for the messages,emails and phone calls-you will never know how much they meant to me and how much they helped me get through this latest episode. Love and kisses to all of you and you know who you are !   Safe travels and Happy Trails...

Scenes from Cedar Key Definitely on Island Time and Now on Pacemaker Time

I can't believe it's been almost a month ago that we were sitting in the Tiki Bar of the Low Key Hideway laughing and enjoying our last night in Cedar Key before heading to the condo in Cape San Blas.  Little did I know what awaited me.  My life was moving along like a dream-everything falling into place. 

Everyday was a another day to be extremely grateful for- our health, the love and support of our family and friends and our sweet little Hailey.  We both felt so very blessed and thanked God every day for our blessings.  Then came Thursday night, April 10th.

I had just returned from taking Jim to the airport in Panama City-feeling very proud of myself since it was my first driving journey in Ruby all by myself-I felt like a big girl !  Jim was going to drive back our car and the boxes that were being stored at my sisters house.  Me, I was looking around the condo prioritizing my jobs to do while he was gone.  The starfish photo caught my eye, the same way it caught my eye on line-it had a peaceful glow to it and I found the perfect spot for it.  I set up the ladder,climbed it, measured the spot,went back down the ladder,got the hammer and nails and climbed back up , pounded in the nails and in a quick moment for some reason a thought flashed through my mind that I was going to fall ( I was at least 8ft up).  That was all I remembered.

I know I was unconscious for an hour based on a call I made right before the fall and the time of the call to 911 after the fall.  I don't remember what I said to 911- I honestly think my training and 13 years as a dispatcher kicked in the auto response for me to call 911.  The next call to my sister scared the daylights out of her because I was pretty incoherent and very confused and frantic-I didn't know where I was, I didn't know where Jim was and then in an instant the medics showed up.

I don't remember much about my interaction with them other than the neck brace and telling one of the EMTs that this was my very first ambulance ride.  When I woke up on Friday- Thursday night was pretty much a black out.  I lay in my bed thanking God,Jesus,Buddha,the Universe, my deceased  grandmother Eva and my deceased Aunt Mary (those two are the angels always watching over me)- I knew I could have been dead,paralyzed, blind or who knows what.  But there I was with a subdural hematoma,some swelling between the discs in my neck and  a very sore tailbone.

My medical family consisted of a Neurosurgeon, a Trauma Specialist and a soon to be added Cardiologist.  After 3 CAT Scans, multiple xrays, an MRI and Lord knows how many blood tests they decided the hematoma seemed to be taking care of itself and slowly dissipating.  What they were now worried about was the fact that my resting heart rate was only 30.  Now I'm not an athlete, I a little over weight and I walk anywhere from 2-6 miles per day depending on my mood so 30 was not a good sign.  The cardiologist thought I had a heart block that caused me to faint and fall from the ladder-that would explain no sore arms or no sign of bruising from  me trying to break my fall.

Next task, a tilt table test to check out my heart rate-I didn't do so well on that-my heart rate fell to 26-unbelievable and the next thing I know my Doctor was scheduling me for a pacemaker.  This was all too much for my brain to handle-it was still sloshing around from the fall. I cried a little that night in my hospital bed-correction-I cried a lot. I kept thinking how could this be ? What I survived Lyme Disease only to have to tackle this ?  And then it dawned on me how lucky I was-they found I had a problem because the fall put me in the hospital. I started thinking of all the horrible scenarios that could have been had they not found out about my lazy little heart.

So now I'm home, safe and cozy in the condo-loving watching the waves coming in and feeling very blessed again.  I started going through my photo library and came across pictures of our wonderful time in Cedar Key and again I'm so happy to be alive.  I don't know why all this has happened.  I always felt I went through the Lyme Disease battle in order to discover how precious life is. I got it-really I did.  Now I wonder what the universe has in mind for me-make no mistake -there is something I should be doing-I didn't survive all of this by accident.  I'll be trying to live in the present moment but in the back of my rattled little brain will be the thought of what is my purpose-and when I discover it, I will let you know.

In the meantime I will appreciate and value every moment and I will never forget the love and support you all sent my way-it really helped me gain my strength and center myself again. Thank you all so much.  Won't be 

traveling far distances for a few months but I'll keep writing -thank you thank you thank you all so much my friends,my family especially and my dear sweet husband-I love you all.

Happy Trails

Oh So Chillin at the Low Key Hideaway

Life is very good at the Low Key Hideaway in Cedar Key-an adults only RV park and Motel.  And not your typical RV park-only 3 sites !  You have your own little dock or swing to sit on all day long or all night long if you can tear yourself away from the hammock or the Tiki Bar.

I knew when we were making tentative (loosey goosey) plans for this trip that this place had to included.  And because of our timing and when we needed to be in Cape San Blas to start the remodel/refresh effort on the condo, we didn't want to be driving all over Florida from park to park.  We wanted some place where we could really relax; get some adult peace and quiet; have some adult party time; and meet people who just plain want to enjoy life !  This place fits the bill more than I could have imagined.  I said before you feel like it's your own little piece of heaven-and that's because of what Pat & Cindy Bonish have done with this place. Everything is thought out to be a really fun,funky,cool laid back place where you can let your hair down and have a wonderful experience.  Trust me, this place is unlike any you have ever been to and if you are heading to Florida I suggest you start booking now ! We plan on making this our getaway place once we have settled in.  Pinch me, we will be living on Cape San Blas with that gorgeous beach and we would come here to getaway !

Try the signature drink "The Hideaway" but be careful-it's so good you don't realize what you are drinking !

Rum, rum and more Rum 

The party starts at 4pm and runs until 9 and no dwi because you are just  steps away from your bed !

The grounds are all funky and artsy-my kind of place !

Our new evacuation plan for our condo !

So many choices of where to kick back,have a cold drink and relax 

Amazing sunsets right out your back door

Mr. Pelican man flew in just as the sun was setting and promptly took his front row seat

You can check out their travel blog at Every Miles A Memory to see how this lovely couple ended up here. Or visit their gallery pages on SmugMug-here's a taste of what you can experience from the Low Key Hideaway Gallery.  Did I tell you that both of these folks are accomplished photographers ?

Well , it's 5 o'clock somewhere and I'm heading out to the sunshine with a cold drink-Happy Trails