Covid Rebound and the Bridges of Madison County

Last week was tough. We had had to euthanize our beloved Auggie on Wednesday, and on Friday I noticed that my nose was stuffy and my cough had returned. Uh oh. Bob and I took Covid tests and while Bob’s was negative, mine was positive. We had planned to spend the weekend with my niece Lori and her family; suddenly those plans were out the window. We were able to see them on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours, sitting outside under their covered portico while I remained masked and kept at a distance. What a joy to see them…it had been three years since we had been through Iowa last. It wasn’t enough but we’ll just have to come back so we can tour their newly built home.

I was back to isolating but have been very fatigued. No fever, but the post nasal drip kept me coughing and sneezing. It has been gradually improving, however, and today I felt well enough to go for a drive around Madison County to see some bridges. There are six covered bridges still in the area and we saw four of them before I had enough. The ones we saw are pretty much clustered in one small area.

Hogback Covered Bridge was built in 1874 by Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster to cross the North River. It is 106 feet long. If you click on the photo you will be able to get a closer view of the writing on the plaque.

It was named after a nearby limestone ridge.

Cedar Bridge was built in 1883 by Jones and Foster. It is 76 feet long and is the last bridge open to vehicles.

Built over Cedar Creek, it was moved to its current location in 1921. In case you are interested, those blue flowers were everywhere we went, and according to my Seek app, they are chicory.

Cutler- Donahue Bridge is 79 feet long and was built in 1870 by Eli Cox. It originally crossed the North River and was moved to its current location at the Winterset City Park in 1979.

We also enjoyed seeing the carvings and a small, restored log cabin that are featured in the park.

Holliwell Covered Bridge was built in 1880 by Jones and Foster. At 122 feet, it is the longest covered bridge in Iowa.

We also stopped briefly at the birthplace of John Wayne.

There is a museum which looked interesting but because I may still be contagious, we decided to pass on it.

In a couple of days we head on to Nebraska for about a week and a half.

Farewell Sweet Auggie

This is such a hard post to write. Yesterday we said goodbye to our little buddy and helped him over the rainbow bridge. In the last year we saw changes in his mental status as well as his physical abilities. He lost most of his eyesight and hearing. In the last couple of weeks I’m not really sure he knew who we were, and he seemed to be in pain.

Bob and I have had Auggie in our lives for the past fifteen years, and were told he was between 2 and 4 years old when we adopted him. He had been on Death Row at the animal shelter in Philadelphia when a kind volunteer saw him shivering in a cage, covered in mats and soaked in urine. He got his second chance when I saw him at a Petsmart adoption event; I immediately knew that he was meant to be my dog.

For years we gently shaped his behavior, teaching him to potty outside and not in a corner of the living room, impressing upon him the need to stay off the table, and insisting that he not try to kill the cat. Years. Yet eventually he learned! I taught him to alert me to dangers I could hear but couldn’t localize to, and he became my service dog. With those skills he was able to experience things and places that many dogs couldn’t. Auggie toured presidential homes and saw the laboratory of Thomas Edison. He romped on beaches in Florida.

He rubbed noses with the mules at the Grand Canyon and viewed mighty bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

I’m not sure he was always as impressed with these places as we were (except for the bison—he really liked watching them,) but he was always alert and ready to help me as needed.

When Auggie’s hearing started to go he was retired as a service dog but we still worked hard to give him fun experiences.

He loved running with the big dogs at the dog parks we visited on our travels.

And he enjoyed traveling; as long as we were nearby, he was “home.”

Auggie also got a kick out of dressing up for Halloween and strutting his stuff. Put a costume on him and he was in his glory.

We could see that the quality of Auggie’s life was deteriorating these last few months. He was no longer facing each day with the joie de vivre that he used to, and he often seemed confused and in pain. It was time to make that sad decision.

Auggie, you will always have a special place in our hearts and we will miss you terribly. We will love you forever, our sweet boy.

Moving Along but still in PA

Bob and I left Manheim, PA on Sunday morning, heading west. We crossed the mighty Susquehanna River before noon and continued on.

Our GPS kept trying to reroute us around the four under-the-mountain tunnels along the Pennsylvania Turnpike but we were familiar with the route and didn’t deviate our course.

We are spending just one night outside of Pittsburgh before moving on to Ohio tomorrow. While outside, Bob noticed this little creature about the size of a hamster sitting near the coach. Rather than running away, it froze in fear when we got close. I took this picture, then used Google Photos to identify it as a vole.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.

We’ll be two nights at our next stop in Ohio which will be nice. I’m feeling better but still tire easily.

Eight Blogiversary and Covid

Last week I had a fun day with daughter Catherine and grandkids Alex, Rob, and Jillian, painting the walls of Catherine’s newly renovated front porch. Back in December of 2020, the driver of a pickup truck lost control of his vehicle, bounced off a telephone pole on the driver’s side, then slid sideways into Catherine’s front porch. The porch was knocked askew and had to be rebuilt. It was finally finished this summer and now was ready to be painted. Everyone had an important role to play. Rob, Alex, and I did the painting while Catherine, who had twisted her ankle the previous week, was seated in the center of the room to alert us to any drips. Jillian was the designated time keeper. It really was fun! It looks so pretty in blue.

By the end of the day, however, Catherine was dragging, and she told me she was feeling a little under the weather. And the next day she tested positive for Covid.

I’m so grateful that new treatments have become available. She was able to call her local urgent care, had a telehealth professional call her right back, and was prescribed Paxlovid which she started right away. Such an easy process—no schlepping to an ER and waiting for hours to be seen.

The next day I tested positive and got right on Paxlovid as well. It’s an amazing medication, and after 12 hours I felt so much better. Apart from a seriously icky taste in my mouth, I had no problems with it. And that was worth it to have the fever, body aches, and headache under control. The only symptom left after 4 out of the 5 days of antiviral treatment is a lingering fatigue that is a little better each day. I’ll continue to isolate from the rest of the world while we travel, until I can be around people again.

Bob is fine, by the way. He must have a pretty strong immune system because he didn’t get sick at all.

Today Bob and I left NJ for our trip west. This summer just flew by. I know I say that every year but this summer was gone in a blink. So strange. And today marks eight years since I started this blog and we were preparing to drive away from our house. So much has changed. It’s been a good eight years.

Rhode Island Family Party

It’s been a few years since we traveled to one of my sister Wendy’s summer parties and this year we made it! Bob and I left the motorhome behind since going up to RI for the weekend takes a lot of planning (reserving a campground months in advance) and the costs would be prohibitive. Crossing the GW Bridge alone with a MH towing a car costs $95 and that’s just one toll of many. Toll charges for three axles add up. Plus fuel costs: 8 mpg times roughly $6/gallon times 350 miles round trip. I’ll let you do the math. 

So for those reasons we hopped in the car and just went. It took about seven total hours of driving to get to Wendy’s house since we hit traffic, but we stopped at my nephew’s new house to see it and some of the family who were staying there before continuing on to Portsmouth. Wendy had her beautiful new guest room all set up and it was so comfortable, like a 5-star B&B. We helped Wendy and her husband Bill set up for the party the next day. And what a fun day it was! The weather was perfect, my three sisters and my brother were all there as well as most of the in-laws and lots of niece and nephews, and we had a blast.

Auggie was a little angel although he did fall in the pool twice and needed to be rescued each time as he has never been a swimmer. He ended up sleeping through most of the party under my chair. I guess nearly drowning takes a lot out of a dog!

Our trip home was much easier and we hit very little traffic for a Sunday so that was a relief. Going through NYC is never fun.

We have less than a week left until our scheduled departure from NJ. How does time go so fast?

GrandCamp 2022 part 2

We sure packed a lot into Ben’s GrandCamp this year! Besides doing daily swimming and S’mores, we took him to Indian Echo Caverns, a cool place to visit on a hot summer day. I mean, literally cool. Temperatures are always 52 degrees in the caves no matter how hot it gets outside. Ben really seemed to enjoy the tour, and Bob and I do as well.

We visited a pretzel factory and saw how pretzels were made in the 1800s. We also learned that the hard pretzel came after the soft pretzel and was created by Julius Sturgis in Lititz, PA. As an aside, these pretzels are now being made by Tom Sturgis and if you think all pretzels are the same you should try Tom Sturgis pretzels. They have a different kind of crunch and are now my favorite kind.

Of course we had to play some miniature golf!  Ben has gotten quite good and really enjoys it. 

After miniature golf he asked to go to the Toy Train Museum so off we went. It’s been years since I’ve been there and it was as much fun for me as for Ben. He loved the Lego train, especially.

We were both fascinated with some of the displays. On our last day we drove out to Gettysburg, about 90 minutes away, to visit the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitors Center. Bob and I were eager to show him the Cyclorama, a massive oil painting 377 feet long, 42 feet high, and weighing 12.5 tons. One stands on a viewing platform and the painting encircles you. 

This is just a small part of it. You really feel like you are in the middle of the battle when viewing it.

This was Ben’s first introduction to the Civil War and he was fascinated.

Next I’ll tell you all about our trip to Rhode Island for a family party.

GrandCamp 2022 part 1

We always look forward to GrandCamp with the grandkids who still want to camp with us, and we had a blast again this year. We chose to revisit Lancaster County since we had so much fun here three years ago (has it really been that long?)  Alex and Jillian were up first, and despite a slightly shorter time with us (due to a combination of volunteering commitments and summer programs) they had a blast. They enjoyed S’mores and swimming daily.

When we take them swimming, Bob and I take turns so that one gets swim time and the other gets an hour or so to ourself every other day. Sometimes we do chores and other times we relax.

We visited the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum where they learned about living in the olden days. Jillian enjoyed the tinsmith shop where she modeled a tin bonnet and floral bouquet.

They both enjoyed the exhibits throughout the visitors center.

One of the favorite things for the GrandCampers when we are in the Lancaster area is to eat at Shady Maple Smorgasbord, reportedly the biggest and best in the area if not the country. This place is huge and has so many choices.

Miniature golf is also a regular activity for GrandCamp and all of the children’s skills have grown over the years. We chose a course near the park that was a lot of fun.

All while GrandCamp was going on, I was able to spend a few minutes a day to spin a little yarn. Each year during the Tour de France bicycle race, Ravelry spinners have an event termed Tour de Fleece. It’s a pretty flexible event; spinners set their own goals (mine were to spin daily for at least 15 minutes) and to post progress photos. Because of the event taking place at the same time as GrandCamp, time to spin was very limited. However, I managed to fit some in while we were in the car or at the crack of dawn before anyone else was up. I used a variety of spindles.  

Tomorrow I’ll write about Ben’s GrandCamp.