The good, the bad, and oh the pain!

Coyote Valley RV Resort
Morgan Hill, CA

I would say last week was a typical week, 

but it didn't end up that way.

The Good...

We had our second golf lesson on Tuesday,

and also went out twice to the driving range to

practice our skills.

Wednesday my Mom drove up, 

and we took her to the airport to see her off

on her cruise up the Mississippi.

She and my Dad had taken

several cruises with American Cruise lines,

so she booked another one!

Turns out a friend of theirs decided to go

on the same cruise, so she's having fun :-)

We get to borrow her car while she's gone,

which is a nice bonus!

The bad...

George had noticed a leak under the truck,

and we both hear a 'whining' sound coming

from under the hood.

So...

he took it into the Chevrolet dealer in Gilroy.

Alternator was going bad,

and the leak is from a bushing and seal

in the transfer case. 

Parts...$700

Labor...$1200.

Warranty of course has been out for awhile.

Sigh...

good thing Amazon gig is only 5 months away :-)

Oh the pain...

Friday afternoon I had a sudden pain in my Sciatic nerve

down my right leg.

I've had sciatica before, but this one had me in tears.

I ended up not working on Saturday,

and basically was flat on my back popping any pill I could find :-)

Yesterday it was no better, so George took me to the urgent care.

Since I couldn't stand up straight or walk,

George graciously got a wheelchair for me..

Not very flattering, but you get the picture!

They gave me a shot of Ibuprofen,

and prescription for steroids to reduce the inflammation,

and pain pills to help with that.

Pumped full of narcotics,

I rested most of the day and watched movies.

The relief wasn't really coming yet,

and so I decided to 'google' sciatica relief online.

I used to go to the chiropractor years ago,

and he had specific things he would do to

get me back in alignment.

I found some great stretches which helped a LOT,

but this morning it was still painful.

Back on the floor I went to do those stretches,

and I'll repeat them several times today.

Every time we're in California, something sends me to the urgent care or ER!

Looks like I'll be skipping golf tomorrow :-(

We've also made our future plans,

as we'll be making our way to Montana 2 weeks from today.

George and I will stop in the Sacramento area

for one night on May 11th to visit with my childhood friend Maryjane.

By Wednesday the 13th we'll be staying in Idaho at

Buffalo Run Campground

so that we can explore Yellowstone until Monday the 18th.

From there we'll be going straight to our new summer gig at

Conestoga Campground

in White Sulphur Springs, Montana.

Both of us are looking forward to hitting the road,

taking a week off,

and getting a new backyard :-)

A little drive and a visit

Coyote Valley RV Resort
Morgan Hill, CA

Yesterday we took a ride up to

JD Grant County Park.

It's up in the hills of nearby Santa Clara county,

and not too far from the Lick Observatory.

Our main purpose for the ride was to visit 

a fellow blogger and friend, Susan.

You can see what she's up to in her blog

What's Up with Susan & Company.

She's currently the camp host at this park,

and really enjoys it!

We found her easily, and she promptly took me

for a ride in her electric cart on a tour of the campground.

George stayed behind as there was no room :-)

It's a lovely area!

 There's even a small amount of water in the reservoir..

We got back to her 'Spot' and sat and chatted for awhile.

Susan's dog Angel is the cutest thing!

I caught a western bluebird out in the back sitting on the grill cover.. 

We really enjoyed our visit, thanks Susan for the tour!

Looks like today is going to be warm, in the mid 80's!

I do believe some practice at the driving range is in order :-)

Golf lessons - part 1

Coyote Valley RV Resort
Morgan Hill, CA

As I mentioned in the last post a week ago,

we were to start golf lessons on Tuesday the 7th.

Unfortunately we had a rain out on the first day!

Yesterday George, Greg, and I hopped into the golf limo

and rode over to Coyote Creek Golf Club for our first of 4 lessons.

Pretty cool as we are the only 3 in the class!

Our instructor is Don Leone, a PGA professional,

and a great teacher, very patient :-)

He had us all gather in a tent,

where there was a mirror set up so that we could watch our posture.

He taught us the proper grip,

then took pictures of it so we could practice it..

He showed us the proper swing, and we practiced that

as well inside the tent.

Once we got that down,

we headed outside to practice some swings

and actually hit the ball off the tees.

We were all busy, so I didn't get pictures.

It was a matter of feeling the weight of the club,

and letting the club do the work.

I had to be reminded of my 'death grip' on the club,

as well as proper swing techniques.

George and Greg were star students :-)

Next Tuesday we'll get to learn more technique

with the full swing.

Until then we'll go over to the driving range and practice, 

practice, practice!

When we got back to the clubhouse at the RV park,

there was some music playing.

Matt Cullen was staying in the park.

He's a local musician who graciously serenaded us with

some tunes to dance to.

Tomorrow we're taking a short ride to

visit a fellow RVer/blogger.

Stay tuned for more California fun!

Movie day

Coyote Valley RV Resort
Morgan Hill, CA

Now that all the family has returned home,

our life has gotten back to our normal routine.

Connie and I are walking again,

and I've started planning our route to Montana this summer.

I had some family matters to attend to in Bakersfield last week.

My Mom and I drove down, and spent the night.

While we were there, I got to see my aunt Judy's new great-granddaughter.

That would make her my 2nd cousin, once removed :-)

She is a cutie!

Yesterday we had an outing with Connie & Greg.

The four of us went to see the movie

Woman in Gold.

It is a true story starring Helen Mirren & Ryan Reynolds

about a family in Austria who had artwork stolen by the Nazis.

We highly recommend it!

Afterwards we had an early dinner at Rock Bottom.

It's a really good place to eat!

Today Greg, George, and I start golf lessons!

The golf course that sits behind the RV park had

a special of 4 lessons for $125, so we took advantage of it.

We woke up to rain here in the bay area, so hopefully it will clear up!