Tuesday, April 17, 2012

We Feel Like We're on a Shakedown Cruise....

  ...and we are the ones being shook down!

But before getting into that, let me tell you: Suzy is now down 70 pounds since early January! Yesterday morning we did the monthly measurements (14 points to measure, such as neck, left calf, right calf, waistline, etc.). In the two and a half months since surgery, she has lost a total of 53 and a quarter inches! And she tells me she hasn't felt this good in years.

For those wanting pictures, you need to wait just a little longer. Suzy promises the before-and-current shots soon, probably at the three month mark, or a little later.

And because we have no pictures of Suzy this time, here are some recent shots:
Of course we dyed Easter eggs! But #12 was so badly cracked we didn't dye that one!
A typical sunset in Benson, Arizona!
Prickly Pear Cactus on the edge of our lot.
Some, a few, many, perhaps all of these buds, will flower this year! Which ones?
Prickly pear may be beautiful, but ALWAYS dangerous!
Now about that shakedown cruise. This morning we left for our first real outing in the motorhome since October. Our target: Roper Lake State Park just south of Safford, Arizona. It was only 79 miles from home. The plan was to stay here a week, then move about 60 miles further north on US 191 to Clifton, and spend a week there. These towns are prominent on Arizona's Salsa Trail, a byway featuring hometown Mexican restaurants, each promising award-winning salsa and proprietary Mexican recipes. Oh wow!

To make this an even more special trip, Suzy let me drive the motorhome part of the way! Since we are planning to renew our original travel style, and because we are going to need to share the driving in the future, she's relinquishing her sole authority over the helm.

We arrived at Roper Lake in good style, settled in to our pull-through site, and disconnected the toad. And that's when the problem hit. To tow our Suzuki XL-7, it is necessary to put the transfer case in neutral, the transmission in Park, and the key into Accessory. We did all that. When we got here and disconnected the toad, I could not get the transfer case out of neutral! It simply would not budge, regardless of the adjustments i made, the swear words I used, or the way I combed my hair. Nothing made any difference.

Of course at that point we called Coachnet, our emergency service. After a short musical interlude on Hold, Joann came aboard to ask the required first question: "Are you in a safe place?" After the usual pleasantries, I was able to explain our predicament, which explanation seemed to fly right above Joann's head and out the window on the other side of her cubicle.

She figured out that the place to call would be Drew and Crew Motorsport Center in the town of Safford. I explained that Drew and Crew Motorsport was certainly at best a motorcycle center, but by goodness, she had found them on Google and was not to be deterred: I must call them and find out! And then call back to Coachnet in the morning and talk to somebody who might really care.

I did my part, I called the number, only to learn that the number had recently been disconnected. And in Safford, "recently" could have been any time in the past decade, as time is slow in this part of Arizona. Which of course is a large part of the charm of this part of Arizona. You wouldn't be surprised if Doc Holliday popped up from a soda fountain and tried to sell you a sarsparilla.

That's all we know at this point. Stay tuned and see what happens as we hobble through this episode of... Our Life in Wheels.

13 comments:

  1. Super job Suzie! I can picture you in my mind! And you are beautiful!

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  2. First of all Suzy - you are doing fantastic and I am so looking forward to the before and after pictures. But what a pain with the car. We had to do those same steps when we towed our Avalanche but we never had a problem with it after we unhooked. Even Jim couldn't come up with any ideas for you to try. Good luck tomorrow.

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  3. I have never heard of the Arizona's Salsa Trail. WOW...need to put this on one of my lists for sure.
    Paul said we had a similar problem like that with our Jeep. He start the engine and forced the transmission in drive but that didn't work. So he pushed the vehicle about a foot and then started it and put the transmission into drive. Not sure if this will work with your vehicle, but it did for us.
    Suzy...way to go girl. Can't wait to see the photos. Better label them, we may not know it is really you!

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  4. It is great to see you guys on the road again. Suzy is doing so well that she will be a poster girl for all the rest of us that are to short for our weight.

    I wish I had some help for you on the tranny, but nothing comes to mind. Good luck with that.

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  5. Well, you were going strong there for a while. Pretty Easter eggs, beautiful sunsets, dangerous cacti with promising buds, and Jerry gets a chance to drive the motorhome. But car problems are not fun, so I wish you a speedy and non-pricey solution to your current dilemma. What, the out-of-business motorcycle place couldn't help you?? Somebody should inform Coachnet!

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  6. Having lost a few large blocks of weight several times in the way distant past I can identify with Suzy feeling better. It's amazing how even a 10 pound drop can make such a difference let alone 70 pounds like Suzy has. She will soon be leaping tall buildings in a single bound. The physical & mental benefits are immediate when it comes to weight loss for sure. Unfortunate about the car problem & I can feel your frustration. Darn mechanical stuff!! Hopefully it turns out to be something simple & you can get on with your trip. That whole Roper Lake area is one which we haven't made it to yet...........

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  7. WOW, you go Suzy -- AWESOME, looking forward to the pics. I know NOTHING about vehicles and why they do what they do, so I'm no help for sure! I'm a little concerned about Coach Net -- we have them as well but haven't had to use them -- YET!

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  8. Waiting patiently for Suzy's "debut"...She is a beautiful woman already...and I'll bet she is enjoying her clothes shopping much more now!...As for the road trip..I hate when a plan doesn't come together as it should..Keep us informed..

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  9. 70 pounds....my goodness. Can't wait to see pictures


    Not a good report on Coachnet. I hope they get it straightened out for you.

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  10. Yeah Susie!!! I love it. I know you do too! You take care of yourself.


    And Jerry ...you know you can't wipe the smile off your face....lol

    My hubbie loves me no matter what size I am...but I know he would be just giddy to get the old me back...lol I tell him he got two for the price of one when he married me...it just didn't go into effect until we were married 25 yrs...then wham..2 for 1...lol

    I am glad the surgery has worked for you! You are a real inspiration.

    Hugs Cindy from Texas

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  11. Congrats to Suzy - 70lbs is amazing.

    As for the vehicle, I haven't got a clue but pushing it a few feet, if possible, to see if something comes un-stuck, is probably a good idea.

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  12. Wow, Suzy's doing great! So are you Jerry, you haven't really wrecked anything yet with driving and all. We had a Coach Net call earlier this week ourselves, so I know what you're talking about. They did a good job for us, so we're thankful for that. Now, we're just waiting for the Fit to get fixed up, and maybe we can be on our way again next week. Thank God we've had it easy compared to what it could have been. Thanks for sharing, and hope things go better for you, now.

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  13. WOW,,,Congratulations to Suzy! Outstanding job! Can't wait to see the pictures. probably won't recognize her.......
    I notice your not showing a bunch of FOOD pictures,,,,,,,now you know what I'm talking about.....maybe?

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