Decisions Decisions!

Theresa is feeling much better! She is re-hydrated, and feels almost normal again. We got some beautiful flowers from Larry and Jennifer, owners of Live Oak Resort, where we spent much of last week. We can't wait to visit there again.

We are now on the horns of a dilemma. We have been offered the wonderful option of suspending our trip and re-starting again in June. We can park our motorcycle and trailer in the garage of friends, Dr. Rios and his wife Sharon, near Houston, fly home, and return around June 24th to go to the Honda Wing Ding in Tulsa. From there we could still do Colorado, Utah, the Tetons, Yellowstone, and Sturgis. Coming back from Sturgis we can hit the states we are missing to have done 49; we go to Hawaii in March, that will be 50. Still not a bad trip. Theresa could rest for six weeks at home and I could do a little work and save some money for the continuation of our adventure later in the summer. We also save enough money by shortening this trip to pay for the upcoming cruises; October to Fantasy Fest, and March to Hawaii, which we planned a year ago.

The down side is giving up the West Coast and Alaska which was the main focus of this trip.

Our logic runs like this. Theresa’s health trumps all other considerations, period. However, we have had great treatment on the road and if this ordeal is truly past, we can continue and re-assess in a week or so. If she is really better we might press on knowing that if we shorten the trip, we won’t attempt Alaska again. Today we are in a 49/51 position leaning toward going home.

Dr. Scafuri and his wife Fara called today and did a very thorough re-cap of Theresa's condition and options. He has been communicating with all of Theresa's doctors and crafting a game plan for her treatment. If we paid thousands for concierge medicine we could not get better care. We are so grateful to have such a skilled, caring team looking out for us.

We have not seen Dr. Scamardo yet today so we still have to weigh his opinion. If we fly home, we should be there by Sunday.

While passing the time at the hospital I have more time to edit the blog. I can now elaborate on some prior thinking. If you are thinking about packing a trailer like ours for a long trip please consider this. PACK LIGHT! We thought when we left that we were carrying a reasonable amount of stuff but soon learned that we did not need the air mattress and inflation pump, the 2" foam mattress in the camper is adequate. We brought two flat 10" battery/ac fans and a small Coleman overhead fan with LED lights. I recommend you take one 10" fan only. Wash clothes as you go and buy them as you need them. You need riding/hiking boots and crocks, two pair of jeans, one pair of shorts, one T-shirt, (you will get more at events you visit), a hat for your messed up helmet hair, a minimal numbers of sox, etc. LED flashlights are great, bright, compact and light weight; take several. Leave all conventional flashlights and lanterns at home. They are too large, heavy, dim, and unreliable. The compact point and shoot type digital camera is probably best unless your main purpose of traveling is photography. The new Panasonic DMC-TS1 is the best I've seen but they won't be readly available for another week or three. It will also shoot HD TV! Channel 27 on XM Radio is so good, pay whatever it takes to get one on your bike. XM also gives you news, talk and other entertainment when you can't get local radio. It's great!

Expect to be approached every time you stop by someone who likes your bike, wishes they could join you, tells you that you are living their dream, etc. Theresa and I are friendly and enjoy this kind of thing but we were very plesently surprised at the reception we get everywhere we go.

On average, every day has been a good to great day. Even when Theresa was sick, we made friends in the hospital and had wonderful treatment.